WEBVTT 00:00:16.010 --> 00:00:21.429 has been here. Mark and his wife actually started 00:00:21.429 --> 00:00:24.210 a church with his father. His father was a pastor 00:00:24.210 --> 00:00:28.550 in Washington, and they planted a church and 00:00:28.550 --> 00:00:30.370 pioneered a church in Whidbey Island, and he 00:00:30.370 --> 00:00:33.329 did that for about 17 years. And then the Lord 00:00:33.329 --> 00:00:34.869 spoke to him. He'll probably share a little bit 00:00:34.869 --> 00:00:36.609 about that. The Lord spoke to him in the midst 00:00:36.609 --> 00:00:40.890 of being a successful senior pastor there to 00:00:40.890 --> 00:00:44.759 pick up his family, move, and pioneer. the Phoenix, 00:00:44.979 --> 00:00:47.420 Arizona greater area in Gilbert, Arizona, so 00:00:47.420 --> 00:00:49.259 he's been doing that for the last four or five 00:00:49.259 --> 00:00:54.579 years and I just Have such great honor for guys 00:00:54.579 --> 00:00:57.960 that are pioneers. It's a whole different breed 00:00:57.960 --> 00:01:01.659 Of being able to launch something and do something 00:01:01.659 --> 00:01:04.819 and have that apostolic grace to forge into a 00:01:04.819 --> 00:01:07.620 place takes a grace to pastor something that's 00:01:07.620 --> 00:01:10.280 already established. But there's just an honor 00:01:10.280 --> 00:01:13.159 there of what it takes to go through that process 00:01:13.159 --> 00:01:16.799 of starting from scratch and the faith to see 00:01:16.799 --> 00:01:20.079 it. And so he had an amazing message last night. 00:01:20.219 --> 00:01:24.640 I can tell you that I was purposely with him. 00:01:24.920 --> 00:01:27.959 Haven't shared a lot about our journey and just 00:01:27.959 --> 00:01:30.319 where we're at as a church. And the word of the 00:01:30.319 --> 00:01:33.599 Lord last night to the church in the time of 00:01:33.599 --> 00:01:38.500 the season was was awesome. I know he heard the 00:01:38.500 --> 00:01:40.980 very voice of God and the things that he spoke 00:01:40.980 --> 00:01:43.200 to Jenny and I, even last night, if you'd like 00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:46.680 to get the CD, was phenomenal just in what he 00:01:46.680 --> 00:01:48.579 heard and picked up from the Spirit of God. It 00:01:48.579 --> 00:01:51.140 just falls in line. And God has been so good 00:01:51.140 --> 00:01:53.680 over the years in some of our anniversary services 00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:59.579 just to reestablish every year at some point 00:01:59.579 --> 00:02:03.359 part of the original vision to let us know What 00:02:03.359 --> 00:02:06.299 the mandate and what was heard is still the thing 00:02:06.299 --> 00:02:08.400 that's on the heart of God? So would you this 00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:11.039 morning welcome? Pastor Mark Cargill as he comes 00:02:11.039 --> 00:02:12.860 to the stage this morning give him a life Bible 00:02:12.860 --> 00:02:25.099 welcome. Thank you Thank you very much, thank 00:02:25.099 --> 00:02:29.400 you so much give me a second here I lost my little 00:02:29.400 --> 00:02:32.909 pack thing so I'm trying to Find out what to 00:02:32.909 --> 00:02:38.409 do here. We'll get her figured out All right, 00:02:38.969 --> 00:02:45.229 tell you what no, I got it Put my wallet on the 00:02:45.229 --> 00:02:48.689 pulpit and there you go replace it with the pack. 00:02:49.289 --> 00:02:51.550 Well. It's great to be here today. What an amazing 00:02:51.550 --> 00:02:54.909 Time we had last night, and I'm excited about 00:02:54.909 --> 00:02:57.389 the things that God wants to speak into our hearts 00:02:57.389 --> 00:03:04.099 this morning and we are down in Gilbert, Arizona, 00:03:04.120 --> 00:03:07.460 getting ready to start our service here in just 00:03:07.460 --> 00:03:09.979 a few minutes. In fact, right now, they are in 00:03:09.979 --> 00:03:12.699 their prayer time and just crying out to God 00:03:12.699 --> 00:03:15.520 for God to show up there. The name of the church 00:03:15.520 --> 00:03:18.000 that we planted is called Hope Church. If you 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:22.379 want to find us online, it's hopechurch .co .co. 00:03:23.300 --> 00:03:27.819 And we planted in 2011 and moved down there in 00:03:27.819 --> 00:03:33.360 2010. father of five wonderful children, four 00:03:33.360 --> 00:03:38.879 boys, and a girl. The last one was a girl. And 00:03:38.879 --> 00:03:43.500 funny enough, my wife's mom bought a placard 00:03:43.500 --> 00:03:46.539 that's on the wall over her bed that says this, 00:03:47.280 --> 00:03:51.060 what part of princess don't you understand? So 00:03:51.060 --> 00:03:52.719 that should kind of tell you the kind of the 00:03:52.719 --> 00:03:55.099 chemistry in our kids and what's going on with 00:03:55.099 --> 00:03:58.280 there. It's a pretty fun family to be around. 00:03:59.400 --> 00:04:01.419 We're excited about what God is doing. My wife 00:04:01.419 --> 00:04:03.639 Cheryl and I have been married for 27 years, 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:07.259 and it's just been an amazing journey of joy 00:04:07.259 --> 00:04:09.840 and excitement. We've experienced God do some 00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:11.919 amazing things. And in this new chapter of our 00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:14.340 lives, we've been watching as God's been leading 00:04:14.340 --> 00:04:18.339 us and helping us to build a church there in 00:04:18.339 --> 00:04:21.560 the Gilbert, Arizona, Phoenix metro area. We 00:04:21.560 --> 00:04:23.459 have a big vision, big heart to see what God 00:04:23.459 --> 00:04:26.810 wants to do. There in the Phoenix metro area 00:04:26.810 --> 00:04:29.790 is over 5 .2 million people. So there's a lot 00:04:29.790 --> 00:04:32.949 of people that need Jesus. And our mission is 00:04:32.949 --> 00:04:35.269 to make it hard for people to go to hell. And 00:04:35.269 --> 00:04:38.490 so that's really what we want to see happen there 00:04:38.490 --> 00:04:40.970 in that region. So we're committed to those kinds 00:04:40.970 --> 00:04:43.290 of things. But I know God's called you to do 00:04:43.290 --> 00:04:45.470 some amazing things here. So my time this morning 00:04:45.470 --> 00:04:49.069 with you is really to just encourage you. And 00:04:49.069 --> 00:04:51.850 whenever I go to a church to minister and I've 00:04:51.850 --> 00:04:54.740 been in many different places all over the country 00:04:54.740 --> 00:04:56.699 and around the world, and it's been an interesting 00:04:56.699 --> 00:05:03.019 journey to just let God speak through me about 00:05:03.019 --> 00:05:06.860 people and about churches. Usually when I come 00:05:06.860 --> 00:05:09.439 to a church, I really spend a lot of time just, 00:05:09.459 --> 00:05:11.439 God, what do you want to say to this people? 00:05:12.339 --> 00:05:17.519 There are some that kind of... Go over their 00:05:17.519 --> 00:05:19.819 messages. They've preached in other places and 00:05:19.819 --> 00:05:21.779 kind of repackage it and preach it again in a 00:05:21.779 --> 00:05:23.800 new venue and they've never heard it before so 00:05:23.800 --> 00:05:27.139 they don't know and and I have to say that that 00:05:27.139 --> 00:05:30.100 I haven't really done that very very much, but 00:05:30.100 --> 00:05:32.819 I have done it And I got to tell you that as 00:05:32.819 --> 00:05:35.360 I was thinking about coming here the Lord spoke 00:05:35.360 --> 00:05:39.860 to me a very clear word About your church and 00:05:39.860 --> 00:05:44.360 about where you are as a people and So the Lord 00:05:44.360 --> 00:05:46.319 gave me three messages, and I'm preaching three 00:05:46.319 --> 00:05:50.560 times, so I thought, what a great fit. So I decided, 00:05:51.019 --> 00:05:52.800 I just really felt led by the Spirit of God to 00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:55.740 just do a mini -series of messages starting last 00:05:55.740 --> 00:05:58.040 night. It's all on the subject of possessing 00:05:58.040 --> 00:06:01.579 the promises. In Joshua chapter 1, God told Joshua, 00:06:02.019 --> 00:06:04.600 I'm promising you the same thing I promised Moses, 00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:08.279 and you're going to go in and possess the land. 00:06:08.680 --> 00:06:10.759 And it's important that you have to understand 00:06:10.759 --> 00:06:13.689 that Promises once they're given must be possessed. 00:06:14.350 --> 00:06:17.310 You do have to go in and take them. Or else they're 00:06:17.310 --> 00:06:19.250 just gonna sit there in front of you as you sit 00:06:19.250 --> 00:06:21.610 there and ask God why they're not coming to pass. 00:06:22.230 --> 00:06:24.750 You've gotta go in and take the land. You have 00:06:24.750 --> 00:06:27.610 to take the promise. You have to possess it. 00:06:27.910 --> 00:06:30.649 So last night we talked a little bit about the 00:06:30.649 --> 00:06:33.449 importance of being strong. And three times God 00:06:33.449 --> 00:06:35.269 told Joshua to be strong. In fact, it was the 00:06:35.269 --> 00:06:37.949 first thing that he told Joshua to do was to 00:06:37.949 --> 00:06:39.870 be strong. So we talked about strength for the 00:06:39.870 --> 00:06:42.149 journey last night. This morning I want to go 00:06:42.149 --> 00:06:45.050 into talking a little bit about what God told 00:06:45.050 --> 00:06:47.649 Joshua when he said that no one will be able 00:06:47.649 --> 00:06:49.689 to stand against you all the days of your life. 00:06:51.170 --> 00:06:53.290 And what that means basically is, okay, you're 00:06:53.290 --> 00:06:54.870 going to go into the land, but there are going 00:06:54.870 --> 00:06:56.970 to be people that are going to attack you. You're 00:06:56.970 --> 00:06:58.970 going to have an enemy, and he's going to come 00:06:58.970 --> 00:07:01.790 against you. He's going to try to undermine what 00:07:01.790 --> 00:07:05.889 I have told you to do. I don't know about you, 00:07:05.930 --> 00:07:08.050 but I have discovered in my life that whenever 00:07:08.050 --> 00:07:11.029 God gives me a promise, the enemy has heard it 00:07:11.029 --> 00:07:13.750 too. And then he will do everything he can to 00:07:13.750 --> 00:07:16.089 keep me back from fulfilling the promise and 00:07:16.089 --> 00:07:18.569 receiving and seeing the promise come to pass 00:07:18.569 --> 00:07:21.610 in my life. It's no different from you. God has 00:07:21.610 --> 00:07:24.449 given you a prophetic purpose here in this church. 00:07:24.709 --> 00:07:27.129 He also has a prophetic purpose for your life 00:07:27.129 --> 00:07:31.129 personally. And he wants to see you fulfill it. 00:07:31.290 --> 00:07:35.470 He's given you promises and purpose to bring 00:07:35.470 --> 00:07:37.389 your life together with the purpose and plan 00:07:37.389 --> 00:07:40.689 of God so that you can live life on purpose and 00:07:40.689 --> 00:07:43.610 experience the promise being fulfilled. But the 00:07:43.610 --> 00:07:47.970 enemy knows that promise too. And he wants to 00:07:47.970 --> 00:07:50.730 resist you. And he wants to come against you. 00:07:50.970 --> 00:07:53.490 And he wants to attack you. And he wants to hinder 00:07:53.490 --> 00:07:56.639 you. And so my job this morning is to help equip 00:07:56.639 --> 00:07:58.800 you with some things that I think will help you 00:07:58.800 --> 00:08:00.920 in overcoming resistance. So I want to speak 00:08:00.920 --> 00:08:04.800 to you from that subject today, overcoming resistance. 00:08:05.420 --> 00:08:07.920 Because every church will experience resistance. 00:08:08.220 --> 00:08:10.019 And I was telling Pastor Brad last night after 00:08:10.019 --> 00:08:12.800 the service, I said, I really believe that you're 00:08:12.800 --> 00:08:17.060 in a very, very key time as a church. You're 00:08:17.060 --> 00:08:19.560 just in a strategic season. Now, churches are 00:08:19.560 --> 00:08:22.720 always in strategic seasons. Because it's a strategic 00:08:24.580 --> 00:08:27.980 Organism. It's what Jesus died for. It's what 00:08:27.980 --> 00:08:30.639 he said he was going to build. And so by nature 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:35.139 it's strategic. And so all the time you are being 00:08:35.139 --> 00:08:37.500 a strategic people in a strategic time. But I 00:08:37.500 --> 00:08:40.820 thought in this 12th year anniversary, you've 00:08:40.820 --> 00:08:44.399 celebrated 12 years of God establishing and building 00:08:44.399 --> 00:08:46.919 and growing. And today, I really believe that 00:08:46.919 --> 00:08:49.980 you're in a season and time where God's wanted 00:08:49.980 --> 00:08:52.960 to take you up into a whole other level and to 00:08:52.960 --> 00:08:55.320 another place of purpose. And in order for you 00:08:55.320 --> 00:08:58.659 to do that, you need to overcome the resistance 00:08:58.659 --> 00:09:01.340 of the evil one because He has heard the purpose 00:09:01.340 --> 00:09:04.440 too. And he knows what's in your pastor's heart. 00:09:04.620 --> 00:09:06.940 And he knows what God has written across the 00:09:06.940 --> 00:09:09.720 destiny of this church. He knows what God has 00:09:09.720 --> 00:09:11.759 in mind. He has heard the prophetic words in 00:09:11.759 --> 00:09:14.720 years past. He's heard the vision as it's been 00:09:14.720 --> 00:09:17.240 written down and heard it as it's been preached 00:09:17.240 --> 00:09:21.080 from this pulpit. And the enemy knows. And he's 00:09:21.080 --> 00:09:23.440 gonna resist you. One of the classic stories 00:09:23.440 --> 00:09:25.340 in the Bible about overcoming resistance and 00:09:25.340 --> 00:09:29.250 the enemy resisting. The plan of God in building 00:09:29.250 --> 00:09:31.509 and restoring something is out of the book of 00:09:31.509 --> 00:09:35.490 Nehemiah. In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah was 00:09:35.490 --> 00:09:39.970 a man who was told by God to go to the city of 00:09:39.970 --> 00:09:42.289 Jerusalem, which had been totally destroyed by 00:09:42.289 --> 00:09:45.870 the enemy. Its walls were broken down. The city 00:09:45.870 --> 00:09:49.029 was just really a rubble heap. And he was told 00:09:49.029 --> 00:09:53.190 by God to go there and rebuild the wall of the 00:09:53.190 --> 00:09:58.200 city. And so he began to do that and began to 00:09:58.200 --> 00:10:00.419 ask God for favor and open doors. And when you 00:10:00.419 --> 00:10:02.620 know it, God gave him favor. Not only that, but 00:10:02.620 --> 00:10:05.340 God paid for his way there. Not only that, God 00:10:05.340 --> 00:10:12.700 paid for the project by a pagan king. And so 00:10:12.700 --> 00:10:14.659 he gets there with money from the wicked and 00:10:14.659 --> 00:10:17.379 he arrives on scene to build and he sets his 00:10:17.379 --> 00:10:19.220 hand to build the temple of the Lord. And when 00:10:19.220 --> 00:10:21.620 you know it, even before the first stone is laid, 00:10:21.659 --> 00:10:26.029 he finds resistance. from a man by the name of 00:10:26.029 --> 00:10:29.110 Sanballat who is a type and a symbol of Satan 00:10:29.110 --> 00:10:33.929 and Sanballat begins to resist Nehemiah at every 00:10:33.929 --> 00:10:36.809 turn resist him and resist him and resist him 00:10:36.809 --> 00:10:40.330 in the story of Sanballat and Nehemiah I really 00:10:40.330 --> 00:10:43.720 believe is a great Story of you and I overcoming 00:10:43.720 --> 00:10:46.120 resistance because the evil one is going to resist 00:10:46.120 --> 00:10:48.919 you and it's going to resist God's plan and purpose 00:10:48.919 --> 00:10:52.120 for you for your children for your business For 00:10:52.120 --> 00:10:54.740 your future for what he has for in store for 00:10:54.740 --> 00:10:57.419 you for your marriage God's got a plan and a 00:10:57.419 --> 00:11:00.220 purpose for your life and he wants to do something 00:11:00.220 --> 00:11:03.039 in you But the enemy is going to come against 00:11:03.039 --> 00:11:05.200 you and resist you you need to deal with the 00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:08.019 sand ballot in your life and overcome the resistance 00:11:08.019 --> 00:11:12.730 of the evil one Nehemiah chapter six, verses 00:11:12.730 --> 00:11:16.669 one through 16. We'll start there and jump into 00:11:16.669 --> 00:11:20.289 this scripture today and try to dive through 00:11:20.289 --> 00:11:24.490 this and get there as quick as we can. Nehemiah 00:11:24.490 --> 00:11:26.850 chapter six, verse one through 16. Now it happened 00:11:26.850 --> 00:11:30.289 when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Gesham the Arab and 00:11:30.289 --> 00:11:32.669 the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt 00:11:32.669 --> 00:11:36.070 the wall and that there were no breaks left in 00:11:36.070 --> 00:11:38.149 it, though at that time I had not hung the doors 00:11:38.149 --> 00:11:41.549 and the gates. that Sanballat and Gesham sent 00:11:41.549 --> 00:11:44.730 to me saying, come let us meet together among 00:11:44.730 --> 00:11:51.429 the villages in the plain of Ono. Yeah, it's 00:11:51.429 --> 00:11:53.549 Ono every time Sanballat wants to get together. 00:11:54.570 --> 00:11:59.169 And they thought to do me harm. So I sent messengers 00:11:59.169 --> 00:12:01.889 to them saying, I'm doing a great work so that 00:12:01.889 --> 00:12:05.950 I cannot come down. Why should the work cease 00:12:05.950 --> 00:12:09.970 while I leave it and go down to you? But they 00:12:09.970 --> 00:12:13.009 sent me this message four times and I answered 00:12:13.009 --> 00:12:15.029 them in the same manner then Sam Ballant sent 00:12:15.029 --> 00:12:18.169 his servant to me as before the fifth time with 00:12:18.169 --> 00:12:20.610 an open letter in his hand and in it was written 00:12:20.610 --> 00:12:24.850 it is reported among the nations and Gesham says 00:12:24.850 --> 00:12:29.090 That you and the Jews plan to rebel Therefore 00:12:29.090 --> 00:12:32.110 according to these rumors you are rebuilding 00:12:32.110 --> 00:12:36.039 the wall that you may be their king And you have 00:12:36.039 --> 00:12:38.419 also appointed prophets to proclaim concerning 00:12:38.419 --> 00:12:40.860 you at Jerusalem saying there's a king in Judah 00:12:40.860 --> 00:12:43.820 Now these matters will be reported to the king 00:12:43.820 --> 00:12:47.639 so come therefore and let us consult together 00:12:47.639 --> 00:12:51.879 Then I sent to him saying no such things as you 00:12:51.879 --> 00:12:55.080 say are being done, but you invent them in your 00:12:55.080 --> 00:12:59.019 own heart For they are for they all were trying 00:12:59.019 --> 00:13:01.480 to make us afraid I'm gonna say that again for 00:13:01.480 --> 00:13:05.769 they all were trying to make us afraid saying 00:13:05.769 --> 00:13:09.590 their hands will be weakened in the work and 00:13:09.590 --> 00:13:12.049 it will not be done. That is what the enemy is 00:13:12.049 --> 00:13:14.730 trying to do to you. He's trying to weaken you. 00:13:14.830 --> 00:13:19.789 He's trying to make you afraid. So that the purpose 00:13:19.789 --> 00:13:21.669 and plan of God for you and for this church will 00:13:21.669 --> 00:13:25.350 not be done. So then Nehemiah says, therefore, 00:13:25.549 --> 00:13:27.830 O God, strengthen my hands. We talked about that 00:13:27.830 --> 00:13:30.929 last night. Verse 10, afterward I came to the 00:13:30.929 --> 00:13:33.669 house of Shemaiah, the son of... Deliah and the 00:13:33.669 --> 00:13:36.389 son of Mahathabal who was a secret informer and 00:13:36.389 --> 00:13:39.250 he said Let us meet together in the house of 00:13:39.250 --> 00:13:41.450 God within the temple sounding all spiritual 00:13:41.450 --> 00:13:44.190 And let us close the doors of the temple for 00:13:44.190 --> 00:13:46.070 they're coming to kill you and indeed at night 00:13:46.070 --> 00:13:48.009 They will come to kill you and I said should 00:13:48.009 --> 00:13:52.590 such a man as I flee And who is there? Such as 00:13:52.590 --> 00:13:54.870 I who would go into the temple to save his life. 00:13:54.870 --> 00:14:00.350 I will not go in Then I perceived God had not 00:14:00.350 --> 00:14:03.840 sent him at all But that he pronounced this prophecy 00:14:03.840 --> 00:14:06.840 against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired 00:14:06.840 --> 00:14:11.879 him For this reason he was hired that I should 00:14:11.879 --> 00:14:18.500 be afraid and act that way and sin So that they 00:14:18.500 --> 00:14:22.080 might have cause for an evil report that they 00:14:22.080 --> 00:14:25.919 might reproach me My god remember Tobiah and 00:14:25.919 --> 00:14:28.759 Sanballat according to these works and the prophetess 00:14:28.759 --> 00:14:30.480 Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who have 00:14:30.480 --> 00:14:34.179 made me afraid Verse 15, so the wall was finished 00:14:34.179 --> 00:14:36.980 on the 25th day of Elul which by the way in our 00:14:36.980 --> 00:14:45.940 calendar is October 2nd It's just a interesting 00:14:45.940 --> 00:14:52.720 piece of information there In 52 days the work 00:14:52.720 --> 00:14:54.860 was done it happened when all our enemies heard 00:14:54.860 --> 00:14:57.539 of it all the nations around us saw these things 00:14:57.929 --> 00:15:00.190 And they were very disheartened in their own 00:15:00.190 --> 00:15:04.649 eyes. I want you to listen to this for they Perceived 00:15:04.649 --> 00:15:11.710 that this work was done by our God Even the devil 00:15:11.710 --> 00:15:17.509 knew Wow God showed up there and in record time 00:15:17.509 --> 00:15:22.750 and in record ways God built his purpose in that 00:15:22.750 --> 00:15:26.549 place, you know, the enemy wants to And Sam Ballett 00:15:26.549 --> 00:15:28.909 had certain plans and goals that he wanted to 00:15:28.909 --> 00:15:31.330 accomplish in attacking and coming against and 00:15:31.330 --> 00:15:34.570 resisting Nehemiah. Same for you. In this story, 00:15:34.970 --> 00:15:37.750 there are specific things that we see in the 00:15:37.750 --> 00:15:40.230 verses that I read that really illustrate for 00:15:40.230 --> 00:15:43.929 us what the enemy's goal is for you. On the other 00:15:43.929 --> 00:15:47.009 side of it, God has a strategy for you to be 00:15:47.009 --> 00:15:49.769 able to counteract the enemy and what his plan 00:15:49.769 --> 00:15:52.070 is. And I just want to quickly go through these 00:15:52.070 --> 00:15:54.750 things today and really just encourage you to 00:15:54.750 --> 00:15:57.070 recognize that even though the enemy wants to 00:15:57.070 --> 00:16:01.009 come against you, to hinder, to discourage, to 00:16:01.009 --> 00:16:03.710 make you afraid, to do all the different things 00:16:03.710 --> 00:16:05.789 that he's going to do to try to distract and 00:16:05.789 --> 00:16:08.850 to try to undermine and try to neutralize, The 00:16:08.850 --> 00:16:11.009 plan and purpose of God. Friend, I got news for 00:16:11.009 --> 00:16:13.750 you today. God wants you to live a life of victory. 00:16:14.110 --> 00:16:16.169 And he wants you to overcome and he wants you 00:16:16.169 --> 00:16:19.309 to fulfill his plan and purpose for your personal 00:16:19.309 --> 00:16:22.090 life as well as this plan and purpose he has 00:16:22.090 --> 00:16:24.850 for this church. And no demon in hell is gonna 00:16:24.850 --> 00:16:27.649 overcome the kingdom and church of God. And no 00:16:27.649 --> 00:16:30.070 plan of the enemy is gonna succeed against the 00:16:30.070 --> 00:16:33.590 people of God. And no thing, no weapon formed 00:16:33.590 --> 00:16:38.679 against you will prosper. So what is it that 00:16:38.679 --> 00:16:41.519 we do to overcome the plan and strategy, the 00:16:41.519 --> 00:16:44.000 goal of the evil one? Well, first of all, let's 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:45.740 think about this. We'll go back and forth as 00:16:45.740 --> 00:16:48.179 we talk about the enemy's plan and God's strategy. 00:16:48.299 --> 00:16:51.279 First of all, in this story, Sanballat wanted 00:16:51.279 --> 00:16:55.980 to discredit, he wanted to discredit Nehemiah. 00:16:56.279 --> 00:16:59.039 He wanted to put it out there that Nehemiah had 00:16:59.039 --> 00:17:01.100 his own agenda. He wanted to put it out there 00:17:01.100 --> 00:17:03.860 that his motives weren't right, that he was really 00:17:03.860 --> 00:17:06.460 wanting to be king, that he really wanted to 00:17:06.460 --> 00:17:09.980 rebel against the king and do his own thing. 00:17:10.460 --> 00:17:12.759 And really, really, he just, I mean, he was spreading 00:17:12.759 --> 00:17:16.220 a report. about Nehemiah and his motives. And 00:17:16.220 --> 00:17:19.140 the enemy will try to discredit you. He will 00:17:19.140 --> 00:17:22.380 try to discredit you in your own personal life. 00:17:22.420 --> 00:17:24.119 There will be people that he will send maybe 00:17:24.119 --> 00:17:27.019 on your job or in school or something. They'll 00:17:27.019 --> 00:17:29.380 be talking about you and trying to discredit 00:17:29.380 --> 00:17:33.279 you. And you cannot let that affect your focus 00:17:33.279 --> 00:17:36.759 on the purpose of God for your life. You've got 00:17:36.759 --> 00:17:41.119 to be trained with your eyes on the vision of 00:17:41.119 --> 00:17:44.259 what God has said for you to do. I have a friend 00:17:44.259 --> 00:17:49.099 of mine who owns a lot of restaurants and when 00:17:49.099 --> 00:17:50.859 she was first starting out, there were people 00:17:50.859 --> 00:17:54.680 in her company that were not, they were doing 00:17:54.680 --> 00:17:56.539 this very same thing, spreading rumors about 00:17:56.539 --> 00:17:59.339 her and saying that she really was in it for 00:17:59.339 --> 00:18:02.619 her own. plans and trying to undermine the favor 00:18:02.619 --> 00:18:05.740 with her boss. And she had a goal and a plan 00:18:05.740 --> 00:18:08.400 and a purpose to really make this thing succeed 00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:10.880 and honor her boss. Her motives were right and 00:18:10.880 --> 00:18:14.019 her motives were pure. But everybody, not everybody, 00:18:14.140 --> 00:18:15.880 but there were a lot of people that began talking 00:18:15.880 --> 00:18:18.480 and undermining certain key people were really 00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:21.700 trying to undermine her position in the company. 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:25.700 She just stayed true to what she knew God told 00:18:25.700 --> 00:18:28.839 her to do and she let God be her her justifier 00:18:28.839 --> 00:18:32.160 she let God be her vindicator and and wouldn't 00:18:32.160 --> 00:18:34.539 you know it but man God showed up in an amazing 00:18:34.539 --> 00:18:37.779 way and vindicated her and in really miraculous 00:18:37.779 --> 00:18:39.539 ways the story's pretty involved I won't go into 00:18:39.539 --> 00:18:42.359 it but just to say this that God vindicated her 00:18:42.359 --> 00:18:44.920 and showed up in a way that established her motives 00:18:44.920 --> 00:18:47.539 as pure and caused the thing that was in her 00:18:47.539 --> 00:18:52.269 heart to come to pass and today she owns Nine 00:18:52.269 --> 00:18:55.589 restaurants. And as a multimillionaire, sows 00:18:55.589 --> 00:19:00.349 tons of seed into the kingdom of God. But the 00:19:00.349 --> 00:19:02.069 enemy in the beginning tried to discredit her. 00:19:02.829 --> 00:19:05.390 You know, the enemy has tried to discredit you. 00:19:05.869 --> 00:19:08.430 The enemy has tried to discredit this church. 00:19:08.509 --> 00:19:11.309 The enemy has tried to discredit the plan and 00:19:11.309 --> 00:19:13.690 the purpose of God for what He's wanting to do. 00:19:14.089 --> 00:19:16.950 I mean, I didn't really know this, and in a conversation 00:19:16.950 --> 00:19:20.549 with Pastor Brad, I actually had seen this thing 00:19:20.549 --> 00:19:26.140 on online and also on a newspaper, and this was 00:19:26.140 --> 00:19:27.900 in the Spirit, it wasn't something that I actually 00:19:27.900 --> 00:19:30.019 read, I was just praying about our time together, 00:19:30.039 --> 00:19:35.579 and I saw the enemy trying to label you. and 00:19:35.579 --> 00:19:37.980 to try to put things on you that were not true. 00:19:38.319 --> 00:19:42.099 And I saw this headline in a newspaper on this 00:19:42.099 --> 00:19:45.400 website as well as people were writing and blogging 00:19:45.400 --> 00:19:48.380 and trying to discredit the plan and the vision 00:19:48.380 --> 00:19:50.359 of this house. And I've got to tell you something. 00:19:50.900 --> 00:19:53.000 Don't listen and don't pay attention to those 00:19:53.000 --> 00:19:56.240 people. God will vindicate you. God will help 00:19:56.240 --> 00:20:00.019 you. God has your reputation in His hand. And 00:20:00.019 --> 00:20:02.980 He won't let it come to nothing. He's gonna stand 00:20:02.980 --> 00:20:05.680 with you and when all those people at the end 00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:09.019 of the story line up and they're gonna have to 00:20:09.019 --> 00:20:11.799 print a retraction. They're gonna have to retract 00:20:11.799 --> 00:20:14.079 what they said. They're gonna have to take back 00:20:14.079 --> 00:20:16.420 what they decided they were gonna put out there 00:20:16.420 --> 00:20:19.299 because God is your vindicator. Now one of the 00:20:19.299 --> 00:20:21.119 things the enemy's trying to do when he's trying 00:20:21.119 --> 00:20:24.099 to discredit you is he's trying to attack your 00:20:24.099 --> 00:20:27.700 identity. So your strategy is to make sure that 00:20:27.700 --> 00:20:34.359 you confirm your identity. in Christ. The goal 00:20:34.359 --> 00:20:38.859 of the evil one is to discredit you. God's strategy 00:20:38.859 --> 00:20:41.880 is that you confirm your identity, that your 00:20:41.880 --> 00:20:46.160 hand is involved in what God has said that you're 00:20:46.160 --> 00:20:51.440 to do and that who you are is the thing that 00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:54.519 consumes your mind and who you are in Christ 00:20:54.519 --> 00:20:57.140 is the things that establishes what you're gonna 00:20:57.140 --> 00:21:02.529 do and who you are. Let me say it this way. Who 00:21:02.529 --> 00:21:06.250 you are will determine what you do and if the 00:21:06.250 --> 00:21:09.190 enemy can get you confused about who you are 00:21:09.190 --> 00:21:13.470 You won't do what God wants you to do When he 00:21:13.470 --> 00:21:15.869 tries to attack you to discredit you he's trying 00:21:15.869 --> 00:21:19.509 to attack your identity Listen, you are no longer 00:21:19.509 --> 00:21:22.750 a slave to sin. You're no longer a slave to the 00:21:22.750 --> 00:21:24.769 things of this world You're no longer you've 00:21:24.769 --> 00:21:27.430 been redeemed out of sin and into God's glorious 00:21:27.430 --> 00:21:32.009 kingdom. You have a new identity You have a new 00:21:32.009 --> 00:21:33.849 plan. You have a new purpose. You're no longer 00:21:33.849 --> 00:21:36.490 living for yourself. And you need to rehearse 00:21:36.490 --> 00:21:40.450 in your mind who you are in Christ. You need 00:21:40.450 --> 00:21:45.130 to rehearse who I am. I am born again. I am a 00:21:45.130 --> 00:21:49.150 child of the Lord. I am not no longer am I stuck 00:21:49.150 --> 00:21:53.029 and bound in sin, but I am now the righteousness 00:21:53.029 --> 00:21:56.420 of God in Christ. And you need to rehearse that 00:21:56.420 --> 00:21:59.460 identity, and Nehemiah refused to let Sambalit 00:21:59.460 --> 00:22:02.660 define who he was. I'm not a rebel. I'm not an 00:22:02.660 --> 00:22:05.160 underminer. I'm not somebody that's gonna come 00:22:05.160 --> 00:22:07.119 in and just kind of do my own thing. I'm not 00:22:07.119 --> 00:22:10.619 gonna be a revolutionary. No, I'm here to serve 00:22:10.619 --> 00:22:13.900 the plan and purpose of the king. And he did 00:22:13.900 --> 00:22:17.680 not let his identity be stolen from him. The 00:22:17.680 --> 00:22:21.660 enemy's goal is also to divide. To divide. He 00:22:21.660 --> 00:22:23.579 wants to come in and divide. There's a story. 00:22:26.950 --> 00:22:29.750 That was from a long time ago about a weaker 00:22:29.750 --> 00:22:32.690 army that had surrounded a stronger force. So 00:22:32.690 --> 00:22:36.430 you had this weaker army, but they had made it 00:22:36.430 --> 00:22:39.289 so that they could surround this force that was 00:22:39.289 --> 00:22:42.569 even stronger than them. But some of the soldiers 00:22:42.569 --> 00:22:44.490 were a little kind of concerned because they 00:22:44.490 --> 00:22:46.190 knew that the force they had surrounded were 00:22:46.190 --> 00:22:49.980 very skilled, very strong, very powerful. And 00:22:49.980 --> 00:22:51.779 so one of the soldiers said to the general of 00:22:51.779 --> 00:22:54.259 the weaker army, he said, how are we going to 00:22:54.259 --> 00:22:57.259 overcome such a strong force? And the general 00:22:57.259 --> 00:23:00.980 replied to the soldier and said this statement, 00:23:01.079 --> 00:23:03.859 we can't conquer from without until we divide 00:23:03.859 --> 00:23:08.940 from within. And their strategy was to send in, 00:23:08.940 --> 00:23:12.160 and he had plants within that stronger army that 00:23:12.160 --> 00:23:14.759 caused. hearts to be turned, betrayals began 00:23:14.759 --> 00:23:18.579 to take place, and the weaker force overcame 00:23:18.579 --> 00:23:21.240 the stronger army because of the divisions within. 00:23:23.779 --> 00:23:27.180 Same is true of the kingdom of God. Jesus said 00:23:27.180 --> 00:23:30.460 this statement, a house divided against itself 00:23:30.460 --> 00:23:35.400 will not stand. So that means for us, our strategy 00:23:35.400 --> 00:23:40.140 is that we guard our unity. And here at Life 00:23:40.140 --> 00:23:42.569 Bible Church, we need to guard our unity. We 00:23:42.569 --> 00:23:45.329 need to be on guard with it. The Bible says that 00:23:45.329 --> 00:23:48.690 we keep the spirit of unity and the bond of peace. 00:23:48.890 --> 00:23:51.049 The word keep is actually a word which means 00:23:51.049 --> 00:23:55.950 to watch and guard. We need to guard our unity 00:23:55.950 --> 00:23:59.190 in first Corinthians 1 10 It says I plead with 00:23:59.190 --> 00:24:01.849 you brethren by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ 00:24:01.849 --> 00:24:04.869 So Paul is invoking the name of the Lord Jesus 00:24:04.869 --> 00:24:08.329 Christ the most authoritative authoritative statement 00:24:08.329 --> 00:24:11.130 that he could use this is the this is the greatest 00:24:11.130 --> 00:24:14.490 authority qualifier that he could put on to his 00:24:14.490 --> 00:24:18.049 his Appeal is the name of the Lord Jesus Christ 00:24:18.049 --> 00:24:20.390 And so he says by the name of the Lord Jesus 00:24:20.390 --> 00:24:24.559 Christ that you all speak the same thing That 00:24:24.559 --> 00:24:27.119 there be no divisions among you, but that you 00:24:27.119 --> 00:24:30.480 be perfectly joined together in the same mind 00:24:30.480 --> 00:24:34.880 and in the same judgment Listen friend. I got 00:24:34.880 --> 00:24:40.480 to tell you today all of us have an agenda Every 00:24:40.480 --> 00:24:44.880 person in this room has got an agenda The question 00:24:44.880 --> 00:24:48.559 is will you submit your agenda to the vision 00:24:48.559 --> 00:24:53.130 of the house? There's no such church. There's 00:24:53.130 --> 00:24:55.250 no church on the planet that doesn't have people 00:24:55.250 --> 00:24:58.710 that have an agenda in it I've got an agenda 00:24:58.710 --> 00:25:03.230 Pastor Brad has an agenda You've got an agenda 00:25:03.230 --> 00:25:05.130 everybody comes to a church and they have an 00:25:05.130 --> 00:25:08.230 agenda they have expectations They have ideas 00:25:08.230 --> 00:25:10.369 about what a church should be like everybody's 00:25:10.369 --> 00:25:14.490 got one The question is will we submit it to 00:25:14.490 --> 00:25:18.730 the vision of the house? because division literally 00:25:18.730 --> 00:25:26.079 means two visions So if your vision is competing 00:25:26.079 --> 00:25:28.799 with the vision of the house, that's a problem 00:25:28.799 --> 00:25:32.180 And I just want to speak to you in the name of 00:25:32.180 --> 00:25:36.359 the Lord Jesus Christ Submit your agenda to the 00:25:36.359 --> 00:25:40.500 vision of the house There will be no success 00:25:40.500 --> 00:25:44.000 in God's purpose in your life without submission 00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:51.980 to the authority of God in your life And so we 00:25:51.980 --> 00:25:54.500 have to have that spirit and come into agreement. 00:25:54.940 --> 00:25:56.940 And there can be no agreement without submission. 00:25:58.220 --> 00:26:02.900 Agreement without submission is impossible. And 00:26:02.900 --> 00:26:07.140 God doesn't bless disagreement. He only blesses 00:26:07.140 --> 00:26:10.079 agreement. And so we've got to guard our unity 00:26:10.079 --> 00:26:13.039 and come together. The third thing that the enemy 00:26:13.039 --> 00:26:15.799 wants to do is he wants to instill dread. He 00:26:15.799 --> 00:26:18.960 wants to bring fear. He wants to bring intimidation. 00:26:19.299 --> 00:26:21.940 He wants to paralyze you. Remember what Nehemiah 00:26:21.940 --> 00:26:24.859 said. He did these things to make us afraid so 00:26:24.859 --> 00:26:28.140 that we would not do what God wanted us to do. 00:26:29.059 --> 00:26:31.220 Some of you are afraid. You're afraid of failing 00:26:31.220 --> 00:26:34.299 and so you won't risk. Some of you are afraid 00:26:34.299 --> 00:26:36.880 of what other people are going to think and so 00:26:36.880 --> 00:26:39.799 you won't do what God has called you to do and 00:26:39.799 --> 00:26:46.390 step out of your comfort zone. Some of you are 00:26:46.390 --> 00:26:49.930 afraid of your past coming up again because what 00:26:49.930 --> 00:26:53.170 happened before Was so terrible. You don't want 00:26:53.170 --> 00:26:55.230 it to repeat itself. So you're afraid of risking 00:26:55.230 --> 00:27:00.910 again Sometimes we get paralyzed by all kinds 00:27:00.910 --> 00:27:03.990 of fear My wife experienced a tremendous amount 00:27:03.990 --> 00:27:05.950 of fear when we were first married. She didn't 00:27:05.950 --> 00:27:08.089 want me to to leave She didn't want me to go 00:27:08.089 --> 00:27:10.730 anywhere. She just when I did and maybe traveled 00:27:10.730 --> 00:27:13.230 out of town or whatever, she just had this paralyzing 00:27:13.230 --> 00:27:15.930 fear, thought something would go wrong, or something 00:27:15.930 --> 00:27:18.450 would happen, and may unlock all the doors, and 00:27:18.450 --> 00:27:21.069 every little sound, she couldn't sleep, and just 00:27:21.069 --> 00:27:22.970 the spirit of fear attacked her. Can I just say 00:27:22.970 --> 00:27:27.569 this? Fear is a spirit. Paul says this in Timothy. 00:27:27.670 --> 00:27:31.730 He says God has not given us the spirit of fear. 00:27:34.619 --> 00:27:37.039 It's a spirit and you need to take authority 00:27:37.039 --> 00:27:39.579 over it and so we we prayed for my wife and just 00:27:39.579 --> 00:27:41.779 really saw a real release out of her life to 00:27:41.779 --> 00:27:43.740 have this spirit of fear that was attacking her 00:27:43.740 --> 00:27:46.660 and she's just been Completely freed from that 00:27:46.660 --> 00:27:48.960 but it's been an amazing journey as God has worked 00:27:48.960 --> 00:27:50.940 that into her life Fran I got to tell you if 00:27:50.940 --> 00:27:54.299 you're if you are paralyzed by fear You will 00:27:54.299 --> 00:27:57.339 not pursue God's promise for your life. You will 00:27:57.339 --> 00:28:00.849 not possess the promise You will stay stuck being 00:28:00.849 --> 00:28:02.710 afraid of the giant on the other side of the 00:28:02.710 --> 00:28:05.809 river. You'll be stuck being afraid of the obstacle 00:28:05.809 --> 00:28:07.849 on the other side of the river. You'll be stuck 00:28:07.849 --> 00:28:09.829 at the bank of the river as other people are 00:28:09.829 --> 00:28:12.710 going across taking risks and pursuing God's 00:28:12.710 --> 00:28:14.670 plan and pursuing the promise and you're gonna 00:28:14.670 --> 00:28:21.109 be stuck there paralyzed by your fear. You need 00:28:21.109 --> 00:28:23.789 to break out of that and just have God come and 00:28:23.789 --> 00:28:26.329 bring into your life a whole new level of faith. 00:28:27.299 --> 00:28:29.799 And just believe that God is gonna be with you 00:28:29.799 --> 00:28:32.160 and no matter how fearful you might be, He's 00:28:32.160 --> 00:28:34.299 gonna increase your faith. And that's what God's 00:28:34.299 --> 00:28:36.839 strategy is, to increase your faith, to overcome 00:28:36.839 --> 00:28:41.339 your fear. Because fear, courage is not the absence 00:28:41.339 --> 00:28:44.539 of fear. It is acting in spite of your fear. 00:28:46.299 --> 00:28:50.259 So when God says to Joshua, be strong and courageous, 00:28:50.559 --> 00:28:52.940 he's saying to him, I know you're afraid. I know 00:28:52.940 --> 00:28:54.539 you know there's giants there. I know you know 00:28:54.539 --> 00:28:56.099 there's enemies there. I know you know there's 00:28:56.099 --> 00:28:58.059 the evil one there trying to come against you. 00:28:58.059 --> 00:29:02.619 You cannot let him overcome you. Increase your 00:29:02.619 --> 00:29:06.400 faith. The way you increase your faith, let me 00:29:06.400 --> 00:29:08.400 give you a couple just real quick things to increase 00:29:08.400 --> 00:29:11.160 your faith. First of all, stop listening to negative 00:29:11.160 --> 00:29:16.200 voices. Some of us are listening to negative 00:29:16.200 --> 00:29:18.900 things people that are coming against the sand 00:29:18.900 --> 00:29:22.599 ballot was so negative He was accusing Nehemiah. 00:29:22.599 --> 00:29:25.519 He was putting him down He was just doing all 00:29:25.519 --> 00:29:28.299 these distinct being negative towards Nehemiah 00:29:28.299 --> 00:29:29.920 and Nehemiah just would it's kind of like la 00:29:29.920 --> 00:29:34.980 la la la la la I'm not listening Now listening 00:29:34.980 --> 00:29:37.259 to the negative voice another thing is read large 00:29:37.259 --> 00:29:41.549 portions of scripture do it every day Read large 00:29:41.549 --> 00:29:43.470 portions of scripture every day. Let the Word 00:29:43.470 --> 00:29:45.410 of God. What does the Bible say? Faith comes 00:29:45.410 --> 00:29:49.009 by what? Hearing and hearing and hearing and 00:29:49.009 --> 00:29:51.710 hearing and hearing and hearing. You have to 00:29:51.710 --> 00:29:53.410 let the Word of God. I encourage you read it 00:29:53.410 --> 00:29:57.029 out loud. Let your ears hear your voice. Speak 00:29:57.029 --> 00:30:00.289 the Word of God. And then I think one of the 00:30:00.289 --> 00:30:02.109 other things to build your faith is speak faith 00:30:02.109 --> 00:30:04.980 over your life. I just got to know that man at 00:30:04.980 --> 00:30:06.720 night time, and he read the book of Nehemiah, 00:30:06.799 --> 00:30:08.240 I know he liked to go out at night on prayer 00:30:08.240 --> 00:30:09.779 walks, and you got to just think, as the wall's 00:30:09.779 --> 00:30:12.140 being built, he's probably walking around the 00:30:12.140 --> 00:30:13.660 wall going, come on God, you're going to make 00:30:13.660 --> 00:30:15.619 this thing work, you're going to cause this thing 00:30:15.619 --> 00:30:17.579 to happen. I don't care what Sam Ballett says, 00:30:18.019 --> 00:30:20.140 you're for me, when God's for me, who can be 00:30:20.140 --> 00:30:22.599 against me? I mean, Nehemiah was a man of faith. 00:30:23.119 --> 00:30:25.779 Look, this church is a church of faith. This 00:30:25.779 --> 00:30:28.099 church is a people of faith. You've got to begin 00:30:28.099 --> 00:30:31.180 to step into your promise with a spirit of faith. 00:30:31.200 --> 00:30:34.220 That's the only way you will possess it. Overcome 00:30:34.220 --> 00:30:38.200 the resistance of the evil one by faith. Well, 00:30:39.380 --> 00:30:43.619 I got a lot of territory to cover here, but I'm 00:30:43.619 --> 00:30:45.680 just going to land the plane, I think, with this. 00:30:46.240 --> 00:30:49.059 I just want to say this tonight, or this morning. 00:30:50.740 --> 00:30:54.019 The evil one has a plan to undermine the plan 00:30:54.019 --> 00:30:57.220 and purpose of God for your life personally and 00:30:57.220 --> 00:31:01.339 for this church. He has set in motion things 00:31:01.339 --> 00:31:04.200 to try to come against you. There are people 00:31:04.200 --> 00:31:08.099 that are going to be motivated by the evil one 00:31:08.099 --> 00:31:11.359 to come and distract and attack and undermine 00:31:11.359 --> 00:31:13.920 what the plan and purpose of God is for your 00:31:13.920 --> 00:31:17.740 life personally and for this church. I want to 00:31:17.740 --> 00:31:20.680 tell you, greater is he that is in you. that 00:31:20.680 --> 00:31:24.380 he is in the world, and that there is no weapon 00:31:24.380 --> 00:31:26.680 that the enemy fashions against you that will 00:31:26.680 --> 00:31:29.400 prosper. And I tell you that when the enemy comes 00:31:29.400 --> 00:31:31.319 in against you like a flood, the spirit of the 00:31:31.319 --> 00:31:33.259 Lord is gonna raise up a standard against him. 00:31:33.369 --> 00:31:36.269 He's going to silence the voice of the accuser. 00:31:36.630 --> 00:31:39.710 He's going to cause the voice of the one who 00:31:39.710 --> 00:31:42.829 would come to separate and divide to be silenced. 00:31:43.210 --> 00:31:46.690 He's going to cause the evil one to be hampered. 00:31:46.730 --> 00:31:48.970 I just saw the work of the Lord coming in. The 00:31:48.970 --> 00:31:51.089 enemy like a roaring lion is trying to seek whom 00:31:51.089 --> 00:31:54.029 he may devour and the evil one is going to receive 00:31:54.029 --> 00:31:56.910 just the fist of God down upon his head. The 00:31:56.910 --> 00:31:58.769 Bible says in the book of Psalms that the Lord 00:31:58.769 --> 00:32:03.799 shatters the teeth of the lion. I like that. 00:32:04.799 --> 00:32:07.259 Shatters the teeth of the lion. Let's just knock 00:32:07.259 --> 00:32:12.619 out K .O., the evil one, right there. You need 00:32:12.619 --> 00:32:14.839 to overcome these resistances. The evil one is 00:32:14.839 --> 00:32:18.380 not gonna just let you waltz in to your promise. 00:32:19.460 --> 00:32:21.940 It's gonna walk in there going, oh, this is great. 00:32:22.180 --> 00:32:24.740 Boy, that was easy. No, actually, you're gonna 00:32:24.740 --> 00:32:30.460 get in here and go, wow. We fought. Boy, it was 00:32:30.460 --> 00:32:34.339 tough. But God is good. He brought us victory. 00:32:34.759 --> 00:32:37.559 And He made us overcome. And He's gonna help 00:32:37.559 --> 00:32:39.960 us. And no matter what it is, no matter what 00:32:39.960 --> 00:32:42.519 financial difficulty, the enemy will attack you. 00:32:42.740 --> 00:32:45.220 Locusts from the evil one will come. And He will 00:32:45.220 --> 00:32:52.569 try to devour. the seed and the finances of the 00:32:52.569 --> 00:32:54.990 house, but I gotta tell you the evil one is going 00:32:54.990 --> 00:32:57.430 to be stopped and those things are gonna be beat 00:32:57.430 --> 00:33:01.210 back. I tell you that God has set an order of 00:33:01.210 --> 00:33:04.650 blessing on this house and no plan of the devil 00:33:04.650 --> 00:33:08.029 can overcome it. No plan of the evil one can 00:33:08.029 --> 00:33:11.210 undermine it. No plan of the thief can steal 00:33:11.210 --> 00:33:13.809 it. There is nothing that the evil one can do 00:33:13.809 --> 00:33:17.390 to revoke the purpose and plan of God. The Bible 00:33:17.390 --> 00:33:21.150 says that the Lord commands a blessing. And who 00:33:21.150 --> 00:33:25.809 can revoke the commandment of God? And God has 00:33:25.809 --> 00:33:28.470 commanded a blessing over this house. Well, Mark, 00:33:28.490 --> 00:33:30.549 I don't see it. I mean, you don't know my story. 00:33:31.170 --> 00:33:33.549 If there was ever a time of lack anybody could 00:33:33.549 --> 00:33:38.150 experience, I am experiencing it. It's okay, 00:33:38.190 --> 00:33:41.039 you stand in that place of faith. You begin to 00:33:41.039 --> 00:33:43.980 declare the blessing of God. You begin to keep 00:33:43.980 --> 00:33:46.180 your eyes open to the divine opportunities of 00:33:46.180 --> 00:33:48.819 heaven and God will open up doors for you as 00:33:48.819 --> 00:33:51.420 you contend, as you resist, as you come against 00:33:51.420 --> 00:33:54.019 the evil one and as you stand contending for 00:33:54.019 --> 00:33:56.940 the blessing of God, doors will open for you 00:33:56.940 --> 00:34:00.319 and you will see God bless you and see the things 00:34:00.319 --> 00:34:07.519 that were resisting you fall to nothing. I wanted 00:34:07.519 --> 00:34:08.659 to pray for you. Would you just stand at your 00:34:08.659 --> 00:34:26.599 feet this morning? I really believe that a spirit 00:34:26.599 --> 00:34:28.920 of victory is gonna be released in this church 00:34:28.920 --> 00:34:33.340 and a confidence is gonna be released in this 00:34:33.340 --> 00:34:36.980 church of the victory of God. The people who 00:34:36.980 --> 00:34:40.239 come in here have been overwhelmed by defeat 00:34:40.239 --> 00:34:43.659 after defeat after defeat are gonna be infused 00:34:43.659 --> 00:34:47.059 with the spirit of victory. They're gonna be 00:34:47.059 --> 00:34:50.400 infused with an overcoming heart. something's 00:34:50.400 --> 00:34:52.480 gonna shift in their heart because the atmosphere 00:34:52.480 --> 00:34:57.519 of this place will be a place of victory. When 00:34:57.519 --> 00:34:59.679 you're in a crowd of champions, the atmosphere 00:34:59.679 --> 00:35:06.599 is different. And this church is gonna be a crowd 00:35:06.599 --> 00:35:09.920 of champions. And the atmosphere is gonna be 00:35:09.920 --> 00:35:11.039 different. And there are gonna be people that 00:35:11.039 --> 00:35:13.079 are gonna be gathered from all over this region 00:35:13.079 --> 00:35:16.820 who have come from losing lives and they'll be 00:35:16.820 --> 00:35:20.409 changed into champions. Because of what God is 00:35:20.409 --> 00:35:22.710 doing here because you've overcome resistance 00:35:22.710 --> 00:35:26.750 because of what the evil one has intended God 00:35:26.750 --> 00:35:29.190 is going to turn it for good and you are going 00:35:29.190 --> 00:35:32.969 to be a church known for testimony after testimony 00:35:32.969 --> 00:35:36.670 Story after story of people who come in here 00:35:36.670 --> 00:35:40.650 beaten devoured clubbed Defeated by the evil 00:35:40.650 --> 00:35:44.650 one in their lives changed and transformed and 00:35:44.650 --> 00:35:48.699 they will be turned into champions This would 00:35:48.699 --> 00:35:51.860 be a church of champions. If you're here today 00:35:51.860 --> 00:35:54.599 and you say, Mark, I've just been dealing with 00:35:54.599 --> 00:35:56.679 some stuff. The evil one has been resisting me. 00:35:56.880 --> 00:35:58.960 I've just felt like I'm under the gun. I've got 00:35:58.960 --> 00:36:01.699 the pressure of this or the attack of that. And 00:36:01.699 --> 00:36:04.800 you just feel that enemy being in your face and 00:36:04.800 --> 00:36:06.659 maybe even on your back. And you want to see 00:36:06.659 --> 00:36:09.079 God just help you shake that off and step into 00:36:09.079 --> 00:36:11.860 a life of victory. I want you to raise your hand 00:36:11.860 --> 00:36:15.340 right now to say, that's me. I want some victory 00:36:15.340 --> 00:36:17.860 in this situation. I'm facing something that 00:36:17.860 --> 00:36:21.079 I need God to bring victory into my life. Mark, 00:36:21.400 --> 00:36:23.619 I just have the enemy coming and attacking me. 00:36:23.619 --> 00:36:26.219 I want to see God break through in my behalf. 00:36:26.639 --> 00:36:29.000 I want to see him bring freedom to me and just 00:36:29.000 --> 00:36:34.460 let God bring victory in a whole new level. Father 00:36:34.460 --> 00:36:37.000 to God, we pray today in every person and that's 00:36:37.000 --> 00:36:39.460 their hand raised that you would come into their 00:36:39.460 --> 00:36:41.940 story right now into this moment of their life 00:36:41.940 --> 00:36:45.510 and you would unlock the things that the evil 00:36:45.510 --> 00:36:49.309 one has tried to bind upon them. We pray against 00:36:49.309 --> 00:36:52.449 the spirit of defeat and a spirit of fear. We 00:36:52.449 --> 00:36:55.480 bind it in the name of Jesus. The plan that the 00:36:55.480 --> 00:36:57.860 evil one has engineered and crafted for these 00:36:57.860 --> 00:37:00.920 people, may he fall into it himself. May the 00:37:00.920 --> 00:37:03.820 stone he positioned to fall upon them, may it 00:37:03.820 --> 00:37:06.239 roll back upon his own head. May the pit that 00:37:06.239 --> 00:37:08.900 he has dug for them to stumble into, may he fall 00:37:08.900 --> 00:37:12.059 back into it himself. And instead let these people 00:37:12.059 --> 00:37:15.480 rise out of the struggle, and out of the difficulty, 00:37:15.880 --> 00:37:18.320 and out of the trial, and out of the attack, 00:37:18.760 --> 00:37:22.360 and let a spirit of victory come into them. Father 00:37:22.360 --> 00:37:25.179 I pray for solutions into their life. I pray 00:37:25.179 --> 00:37:28.699 for directions into their life I pray for a revelation 00:37:28.699 --> 00:37:31.039 to come to their mind that they would know what 00:37:31.039 --> 00:37:32.900 it is that they should do next and you would 00:37:32.900 --> 00:37:35.739 show them what they should do I pray for confidence 00:37:35.739 --> 00:37:38.400 in the heart of every person here to know that 00:37:38.400 --> 00:37:40.659 no matter what they're facing you are a good 00:37:40.659 --> 00:37:43.420 God and you will take what the enemy meant for 00:37:43.420 --> 00:37:47.659 evil and you will turn it for good I pray for 00:37:47.659 --> 00:37:50.329 every person here that is experiencing really 00:37:50.329 --> 00:37:53.090 the opposite of victory. They're seeing defeat 00:37:53.090 --> 00:37:55.090 in front of them. They're seeing the contradiction 00:37:55.090 --> 00:37:57.570 in front of them. And I pray right now the truth 00:37:57.570 --> 00:37:59.989 of heaven would come into their story and you 00:37:59.989 --> 00:38:03.210 would change that contradiction into a confirmation 00:38:03.210 --> 00:38:06.190 and you would see them to be transformed out 00:38:06.190 --> 00:38:09.150 of a life of being defeated into a life of being 00:38:09.150 --> 00:38:12.909 a champion. And I pray over the atmosphere of 00:38:12.909 --> 00:38:15.909 this church. That there would be a transformation 00:38:15.909 --> 00:38:19.090 of lives that come into this place. This would 00:38:19.090 --> 00:38:22.570 be a hospital and it would be a place of rejuvenation 00:38:22.570 --> 00:38:25.190 and restoration. That it would be a place of 00:38:25.190 --> 00:38:28.369 the turning and it would be a place of the transformation. 00:38:28.610 --> 00:38:30.829 And it would be a place where those who have 00:38:30.829 --> 00:38:34.469 been overwhelmed and overrun and defeated and 00:38:34.469 --> 00:38:37.070 left for dead, they're gonna come into this place 00:38:37.070 --> 00:38:39.630 and be resurrected. They're gonna come into this 00:38:39.630 --> 00:38:41.840 place and find victory. They're going to come 00:38:41.840 --> 00:38:44.019 into this place and find deliverance. They're 00:38:44.019 --> 00:38:46.000 going to come into this place and find freedom. 00:38:46.380 --> 00:38:49.960 And you're going to turn their defeat into victory. 00:38:50.300 --> 00:38:52.679 You're going to turn what they've lost into what 00:38:52.679 --> 00:38:55.139 they have won. You're going to turn what the 00:38:55.139 --> 00:38:57.300 enemy meant for evil into what God has intended 00:38:57.300 --> 00:39:01.559 for good. God, I pray that this will be a place 00:39:01.559 --> 00:39:04.260 of the turning. This would be a place of the 00:39:04.260 --> 00:39:07.199 transformation. That this house would be filled 00:39:07.199 --> 00:39:10.159 with an atmosphere of champions. And that winning 00:39:10.159 --> 00:39:12.539 spirit would be upon them. And they would know 00:39:12.539 --> 00:39:15.360 that nothing that comes against them, no matter 00:39:15.360 --> 00:39:18.780 what it is, no matter how insurmountable it may 00:39:18.780 --> 00:39:23.840 appear, you will overtake them. You will cause 00:39:23.840 --> 00:39:26.780 them to overtake the evil one, overcome the evil 00:39:26.780 --> 00:39:30.039 one. And every plan and purpose of hell will 00:39:30.039 --> 00:39:33.179 be defeated. and every plan and purpose of heaven 00:39:33.179 --> 00:39:38.079 will be accomplished. I pray today that they 00:39:38.079 --> 00:39:41.980 would be strong and very courageous, and that 00:39:41.980 --> 00:39:46.039 no one would be able to stand against them in 00:39:46.039 --> 00:39:48.960 resisting and defeating the vision that you have 00:39:48.960 --> 00:39:55.179 for this place. Silence the voice of the accuser. 00:39:55.460 --> 00:39:58.239 Bind together that which the enemy is trying 00:39:58.239 --> 00:40:03.780 to divide. I pray today that you would come and 00:40:03.780 --> 00:40:08.280 help this church, help these people rise to a 00:40:08.280 --> 00:40:11.199 place of overcoming so that they overcome the 00:40:11.199 --> 00:40:14.960 resistance of the evil one. Now let a confidence 00:40:14.960 --> 00:40:18.239 be in their heart today as we say amen at the 00:40:18.239 --> 00:40:21.300 end of this prayer. May they know beyond the 00:40:21.300 --> 00:40:23.599 shadow of a doubt that you are turning, you are 00:40:23.599 --> 00:40:26.539 working and you are overcoming the plans and 00:40:26.539 --> 00:40:29.170 plots of the evil one. And we're not going to 00:40:29.170 --> 00:40:30.809 live by our feelings. We're going to live by 00:40:30.809 --> 00:40:33.170 our faith. We're not going to live by what the 00:40:33.170 --> 00:40:34.989 reality is on our hand. We're going to live by 00:40:34.989 --> 00:40:38.090 what the vision is for our future. And we're 00:40:38.090 --> 00:40:40.510 going to say, God, we believe and trust you. 00:40:40.769 --> 00:40:45.550 We're victory in our lives. Victory in our church. 00:40:46.150 --> 00:40:51.010 This will be a house of victory and a house of 00:40:51.010 --> 00:40:56.389 champions. In Jesus' name, everybody say amen. 00:40:57.449 --> 00:41:00.889 Amen. Amen. God bless you.