DEFEATING THE ENEMY OF YOUR PRESENT

Hebrew 12:2(Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God).

The irony of life is that the enemy of your present and your future are both the same; your present predicament is to keep you in one spot so that you will not bother about the future. Our greatness in life is in our future not in the present; that’s why the enemy has mastered the act of using our present challenges to blind us from seeing what lies ahead of us. The glory is in the future; the bibles said in Job 8:7(Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase). What is happening right now in your career and your spiritual life is a distraction; if there is nothing in your future Satan will not bother about your present. Genesis 15:5(And he brought him forth abroad, and said, look now toward heaven, and tell the stars if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, so shall thy seed be). God told Abraham to look beyond where he was; Abraham obeyed God and Isaac came (Genesis 13:14, 15:1-6). His childlessness was a distraction to the call of God in his life; he made a mistake with Ishmael because he shifted his focus from God but he realized his mistake and quickly adjusted his focus. Whenever we look away from the future that God is showing us and focus on the present we will be prone to mistakes and that’s what the enemy wants. How you handle your present challenges is what will determine your glorious future; you are the one to choose how great you want your future to be, not the devil. As a redeemed child of God you have been empowered to define your future by what you do with your present. Let’s look at the example of Job and his challenges; the bible said he was a perfect man and God loves him and everything was going well with him until the devil entered the scene. What happened to Job was very bad; it was a sad situation and the bible said that in all that happened to him; he refused to sin against God. The objective of the devil was for Job to curse God, but he refused even when his wife advised him to do so. Job never knew that there was a bargain on his trust and loyalty towards God; at that point he was a pond in the hand of the devil. My main point is that; Job forgot that he was an anointed man of God because he focuses on the present situation and continues to lament. The only time he realizes that he had the power to turn his situation around was when God asked him to pray for his friends; after the prayer the Lord turned his captivity. Job 42:10(And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD have Job twice as much as he had before). Most times we allow ourselves to be carried away with what the devil is throwing at us and forget who we truly are in Christ Jesus. If God will answer Job’s prayer for his friends is He so wicked that He would not answer his own prayer? When you check yourself and your relationship with God and you know that they are intact the bible says we should wait and be patient for our turnaround (Hebrews 10:36). While waiting the best attitude is to be praising and thanking God in anticipation for what He is about to do in your life; your praise to God is a slap on the devil; you are telling him that you know what is happening. That you are challenged does not mean that you are not anointed; so don’t let pride defeat you. How to defeat the enemy of your present is to look beyond the present and focus on the future; start praying for those who is facing similar situation, when you do that you confuse the enemy; what you are doing is telling the enemy that you know what he is doing and that you are beyond that; believe me Satan does not like wasting his time he will go and look for those who are ignorant of their power. Satan loves to take advantage of our ignorance and that’s why we need to have the knowledge of who we are in Christ through the light of the scripture; the bible is our guide; all the examples we need are all in it; please take advantage of it and you will overcome them in Jesus name. Jesus Christ said that in the world we will have tribulation but we should be of good cheers because he had overcome (John 16:33). We are made an overcomer because he overcame; these words are meant for the children of the kingdom not strangers. (1 John 4:4) If the greater one is not inside of you, you cannot overcome; the greater one is Jesus and the only way to overcome Satan is to hide yourself in Christ. Friends, in case you have not made the decision to hide in Christ; here is another opportunity, do it and be blessed in Jesus name.

Lord Jesus, I come to you today, I am a sinner, and I cannot help myself, forgive me my sins, and cleanse me with your precious blood. Deliver me from sin and Satan to serve the living God. Lord Jesus, I accept you as my Lord and savior. Now I know I am Born Again, Amen.
#womanyouarefree Twitter: @woyouarefree
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neneisahoc@gmail.com

GET YOUR GOLIATH’S HEAD OFF HIS NECK

1 Samuel 17:51(Therefore David ran, and stood upon the philistine, and took his sword and drew it out of his sheath thereof, and slew him, and cuff his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled).

In the battle of destiny without your Goliath’s head on the ground you cannot reign peacefully as a King or Queen. Your crown as a Queen and King can only be given to you after you have successfully slain your Goliath. Slaying your Goliath is a must; it is something that has to be done; so the sooner you do it the faster your journey to the throne. Everyone that entered into something has their goal in mind; as a believer we give our life to Christ in order to emerge as a ruler. Revelation 5:10(And has made us unto our God Kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth). Peter asked Jesus what is our gain for following you and Jesus said enthronement. Matthew 19:27(Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? 28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon the twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel). There is nothing wrong with knowing why you are doing something; in fact not having the objectives in mind is foolishness. You need to have a business mentality; David said what is in it for him; he loves God quite alright and he was aware that Goliath has been harassing the armies of the living God, he also knew that the job was for king Saul but he was weak; so if he has to do the job he wants to know what he will gain in return. 1 Samuel 17:26(And David spake to the men that stood by him saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine and taketh away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?) He was a consummate businessman and God did not pick offence in that neither did Jesus pick offence with Peter for his question; because it was the will of God to give us the kingdom but we need to prove that we will trade with it wisely (Luke 12:32). Knowing what is in the journey for you before embarking on it is a motivation; it will keep you on the go. Following who has not defined his objective is embarking on a suicide mission. You can never become giants until you kill the giant who is occupying or blocking your throne. Our fathers in faith are called giants because they cut off the head of their giant to become who they were in destiny and their name remains here on earth forever. No one can remove their name from the bible. It is a double pay package; they continue to reign here on earth and reign in heaven; so don’t be deceived, choose to serve God with your reward in mind. No man can pay you better than God who owns everything; looking for human’s reward is an insult to God who called you to Himself. Who is Goliath? A goliath can be that habit that will not allow you to willingly do that which is profitable for you. I met a young man during one of my outreach; he is very skillful in playing drum and singing but he was a drunkard and take drugs; he said to me, sister, anytime I play instrument in the church I always remember my condition and ask God to have mercy; that also he would like to be doing evangelism but who will listen to him. I told him; then cut off his head; he said who? I said the Goliath of your destiny. You need to kill the Habit if not you will never manifest your destiny. Those habits were there to stop him from moving forward; anything that will make you ashamed; that will make you say, I would have loved to do this if not because of this thing, is a Goliath. It can be affliction, sickness or disease, shame and reproach, addiction, poverty, love for money that will make you engage in some illegal activities and then hide from the crowd that you are ordained to move with. To successfully kill your Goliath, you need to despise him. David despises Goliath that he even refused to call him name; he called him uncircumcised Philistine; you need to mock him if not he will turn you into mockery. “What you don’t want, you don’t watch” Bishop David Oyedepo. It is your hatred for that situation that will compel you to look for a way out. The only way out is your love for God and the things of His kingdom (Matthew 6:33). As soon as you genuinely repent, and ask God for help; then the grace to overcome will be released to you. If you choose God over the Goliath, He will empower you to cut off his head the same way He empowered David and he was enthrone as King because they cannot share the same space. Friends; if you are still struggling with your Goliath and ready to kill him finally; then you are the next King or queen to be enthroned. Please make up your mind to give your life to Christ today and let him help you because you cannot do it alone.

Lord Jesus, I come to you today, I am a sinner, and I cannot help myself, forgive me my sins, and cleanse me with your precious blood. Deliver me from sin and Satan to serve the living God. Lord Jesus, I accept you as my Lord and savior. Now I know I am Born Again, Amen.
#womanyouarefree Twitter: @woyouarefree
www.womanuarefree.blogspot.com
neneisahoc@gmail.com

IF I PERISH I PERISH (THE WINNERS MENTALITY)

Esther 4:16(Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish).

Life is a battlefield and Christianity is a race; as a believer we are called into a race of destiny and we are to contend with the destiny hijackers in order to be able to make it to the end. You will get to your destination in Jesus name. At times the battle may be too tough that you may be thinking that quitting is the only option; remember that no quitter ever has a place in destiny. The greater one is inside of you and quitting is an insult to Him (1 John 4:4). If you can just endure and keep moving no matter what is happening around you and say to yourself that “if I perish I perish” in no time you will find out that the giant you are seeing in front of you is nothing but just a mirage. Many have quit and end up as a servant instead of a King that they are destined to be but that will not be you in Jesus name. Your enemy will not leave you because of your tears; neither will God listen to you because of your tears. Your tears give the enemies joy to pursue you more; it is an indication that what they are doing is working and that will make them intensify their attack on your destiny. God is always there even though it may seems that He is no longer around; He is a covenant keeping God, when He says that He will be with you always unto the end of the world He meant it (Matthew 28:20); so tears is an insult to Him and it get Him upset. God inhabited the praises of His people not the tears (Psalm 22:3), He told Moses to tell the children of Israel to move forward and stop crying: and as soon as they moved the red sea parted and the Egyptian were perished. Putting their feet in the red sea means if I perish I perish; who perished? Their enemies perished (Exodus 14:13-31). They would have gone back into slavery if they did not make that decision to perish; following God’s agenda for our lives required if I perish I perish mentality. The wall of Jericho fell when they sang praises and blew trumpet (Joshua 6:1-27); the enemies of King Jehoshaphat destroyed each other when the children of Israel praised God (2 Chronicles 20:15-24). The greater one inside of you will not manifest until you learn how to praise Him in the midst of your challenges. Your praise is what will provoke Him to action not your tears. As a destiny child your life is a threat to the enemy and you are always going to be in danger; that is why you need the heart of a Lion. It is either you or them; no King emerges without killing his Goliath in this kingdom. It is only a giant killer that can reign here in the midst of serpents and scorpions. The bible says in Psalm 110:1(The LORD said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. 2 The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of ZION: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies). Esther was determined to reign as a Queen; she was not going to allow Herman to kill her and her people like a chicken; she rose up as the Queen that she was and slayed her giant. If Herman were to survive they would be no Esther. When it comes to the enemies of our destiny it is either your destiny or them; Friends, so rise up and awake the giant in you and slay your Goliath. Remember your crown can only be given to you after your Goliath’s head is off. Friends, note that it is only those who sat at the right hand of God that He empowered to rule in the midst of their enemies; the throne is for the children of God; if you are not Born Again you are not His child and that disqualifies you from receiving your crown. What is a mirage to the children of God are real to the children of the world. Friends, here is another opportunity to become a child of God today in case you are not yet His daughter or son; take a bold step and make a decision by praying this salvation prayer below and be blessed in Jesus name. I will see you occupying your throne in Jesus name.

Lord Jesus, I come to you today, I am a sinner, and I cannot help myself, forgive me my sins, and cleanse me with your precious blood. Deliver me from sin and Satan to serve the living God. Lord Jesus, I accept you as my Lord and savior. Now I know I am Born Again, Amen.
#womanyouarefree Twitter: @woyouarefree
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neneisahoc@gmail.com

OVERCOMING TEMPTATION PART 3: THE EXAMPLE OF ESAU AND JESUS (GENESIS 25:32 AND MATTHEW 4:1-11)

James 1:12(Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him).

Life is a battlefield and Christianity is a race; as a believer we are a citizen of heaven sent here on earth by our heavenly father for a purpose, and to fulfill this purpose there are so many forces that we need to contend with. The ability to overcome these forces is what makes us who we are in life; and one of those forces is temptation. The bible makes us understand that God will not allow us to be tempted with what he has not empowers to deal with. So, when next time you are confronted with temptation just looks for the escape route that God has created for you and flee. 1 Corinthians 10:13(There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make away to escape that ye may be able to bear it). Our success as a believer is measured by the number of battles we fought and won. Since temptation is not something that is peculiar to only one person, overcoming it should be easier than we think. The bible is our guide; it is there for us to study and learn from those who have overcome temptation and learn from what they do and follow their footstep. In this segment we are going to look at the life of Jesus and Esau. Jesus and Esau were both tempted with food, one overcame and was given a name that is above every other name both in heaven and on earth; the other failed and his destiny was given to another person. Matthew 4:2(And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, if thou be Son of God, command that these stones be made bread). What Satan wanted when he asked Jesus to turn the stones to bread was to steal his destiny but because he valued his assignment and knew who he was he overcame. He stole from the first Adam and put man in bondage he would have succeeded in stealing from the second Adam if not that he was fully aware of who he was. Esau on the other hand collected food from Jacob and sold his birthright to him. Genesis 25:32(Esau said behold I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? 33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink and rose up and went his way; thus Esau despised his birthright). Thank God for Jesus who refused to sell his birthright to Satan, you and I would have still remained in bondage by now. The same way; if you sell your birthright which is your destiny to temptation many that are waiting for you to manifest will wait in vain and you will have to give an account to God why you refuse to manifest because the bible says that the whole world is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God (Romans 8:19). Temptation is the time to choose between God and Satan and those who choose God to the point of death are the overcomers; those who have the “If I perish I perish mentality”. Some temptation comes in the form of life or death situations; but it is a deception because if you endure the Lord will send help to you; the same way He sent help to Jesus (Matthew 4:11). He is still the same yesterday, today and forever. God cannot stand those who despise what he gave them. Please be careful. Samson despised his anointing; he chose beauty over what God gave him. He allows pride to overtake him and he won't listen to his mother's instruction.  The Angel spoke to his mother about his destiny so she was her guide. The same way the Angel spoke to Mary about Jesus' destiny and she guided him; for she told the disciple whatever he asked you to do.  Even though he did not want to but because he recognizes the place of his mother in his ministry he performs his first miracle and he was enthroned (John 2:5); but Samson despises the instruction of his mother and his two eyes were plucked out.  If your two eyes will cause you to sin against God, pluck it out before your enemies do it for you. A real warrior killed themselves before their enemies capture them and that’s why Jesus said if your one eye will cause you to sin, you pluck it out. Temptation always comes when you are close to your goal in life; it may come in the form of bribes, being forced to tell lies etc; so be vigilant. Receive grace to endure to the end in Jesus name. The bible says God is faithful, who will never allow you to be tempted above that you can bear. If you are not a child of God, it will be very hard to enjoy His fullness. Friends, here is another opportunity to align yourself with God in case you have not done that by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior.

Lord Jesus, I come to you today, I am a sinner, and I cannot help myself, forgive me my sins, and cleanse me with your precious blood. Deliver me from sin and Satan to serve the living God. Lord Jesus, I accept you as my Lord and savior. Now I know I am Born Again, Amen.

#womanyouarefree Twitter: @woyouarefree
www.womanuarefree.blogspot.com
neneisahoc@gmail.com

OVERCOMING TEMPTATION: PART 2

Galatians 5:16(This I say then, walk in the spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would).

Life is a battlefield; your flesh and your spirit are at war with each other, they are both seeking your attention. We are here to war against the enemy of our destiny; if you cannot control your own flesh how would you be able to control what God wants to entrust you with. Every child of God is redeemed to live a life of purpose. The battle of life is between darkness and light; darkness does not like light because light will always expose what darkness is hiding. To overcome temptation one needs to know his or her purpose here on earth; you need a mentality of someone who is on assignment. Having the knowledge of who you are will help you to overcome temptation; when you know about the glory that God has prepared for you; it will help you in resisting what the devil is offering and focus on your journey (Hebrews 12:2). Your ability to control your lustful desire will determine your level of achievement in life. If topmost top is your desires you need to put on a fight of faith; your faith in God is the power you need to win this battle over temptation. Satan knows that your flesh is yearning for that particular thing he will now go and bring it to you. That's why the bible says that we should put our flesh under control by denying our flesh what it wants and feed our spirit with the things of God; Let our spirit rule us. To overcome temptation one needs to be a man or a woman of the spirit (Zechariah 4:6). The flesh profits nothing which means the flesh has nothing to offer me but the spirit is given to everyone to profit with (1 Corinthians 12:7). John 6:63(It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life). The flesh is selfish, he only thinks about himself, he wants to satisfy his desire, he wants to take care of himself. He wants to get whatever he wants and anytime he wants it. All he wants is for you to deny the spirit what he wants, and it is the Spirit that quickened. Our profit lies in our relationship with our spirit man because the spirit of God in us is what connects us with him. Satan knows what your flesh desires most and he is ready to offer him; the flesh and Spirit are always at war with each other; they can never be friends. They are both contending for your attention; this is a serious problem. But since you have control over them you can choose where to put each one at any time. They are both part of you, which means you can control them. How? By aligning yourself with God who is a Spirit. Flesh cannot communicate with God, it is only our spirit man that can communicate with God and if you choose to make God your number one priority He will give you power to have total dominion over flesh and it will never be your concern any more. Paul said that what he did not want to do he found himself doing because of his flesh that had dominated him. Roman 7:18(For, I know that in me dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 1 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not  that I do). He fought against the flesh and he overcame and received the crown of glory (2 Timothy 4:7-8). He said in fasting, he fasted often (2 Corinthians 11:27). Fasting means setting a time aside to deny flesh what he wants and feed your spirit man.  Fasting is you learning how to ignore your flesh. When your flesh says he wants water and food, you will say no. I choose when to give you food and water. The same way in the battle of life you will see yourself controlling other powers. You tell your flesh you will not collect bribes. You will not perverse judgment, and you will always say the truth in every matter; you will not steal and you will not do evil against your neighbors.  If you can control your appetite during fasting you will overcome temptation.  As it is written every commandment of the scripture is for our profiting.  You will not fail in Jesus' name. Jesus Christ came to teach us how to control our flesh. That's why before the tempter appeared to him, he had already finished his war against flesh for 40days and nights; he battled with his flesh for 40 days and nights (Matthew 4:1-11). He fed his spirit man and his spirit was the one responding to the devil, bringing out every word that he ate during that period. Friends, I pray for you today to receive grace to prepare your spirit man against temptation in Jesus name. You will not be weak on the day of adversity in Jesus name (Proverbs 24:10). To walk in the Spirit you need to be born of the spirit; that is, you need to be born again and become a child of God. John 3:6(That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again). Make a decision today to win this war against the enemy of your glorious destiny by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior and be blessed.

Lord Jesus, I come to you today, I am a sinner, and I cannot help myself, forgive me my sins, and cleanse me with your precious blood. Deliver me from sin and Satan to serve the living God. Lord Jesus, I accept you as my Lord and savior. Now I know I am Born Again, Amen.

#womanyouarefree Twitter: @woyouarefree
www.womanuarefree.blogspot.com
neneisahoc@gmail.com