KEYS TO OVERCOMING THE ENEMY AND POSSESSING THE PROMISES OF GOD
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OUTLINE
1.BESEECHING
2.FORCING
3.WRESTLING
4.RESISTING
5.PRESSING
6.SOWING
7.LABOURING
THE MESSAGE
KEYS TO OVERCOMING THE ENEMY AND POSSESSING THE PROMISES OF GOD
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1.BESEECHING
There is a determined prayer that will bring God’s blessing. Jacob prayed ’I will not let you go unless you bless me’. Our prayers must be such importunate and desperate petitions. God looks at our hearts and when we pray and seek His blessings with our whole heart He will respond to our cry and shower His abundant blessings in our life. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Let us seek God with our whole heart and receive His blessings in our life
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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Genesis 32:26
So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.
When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.
Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered.
Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”
Isaiah 62:6-7
I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest,
and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.
Ezekiel 36:33-38
" ’This is what the Sovereign LORD says: On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt.
The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it.
They will say, "This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited."
Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the LORD have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it.’
"This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Once again I will yield to the plea of the house of Israel and do this for them: I will make their people as numerous as sheep,
as numerous as the flocks for offerings at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts. So will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the LORD."
Luke 18:7-8
And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?
I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"
Hebrews 5:7
During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.
1 Timothy 1:18
Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well,
2.FORCING
The Kingdom of God suffers violence and the violent take it by force.In the Old testament when the people of Israel reached the promised Land they found that it was occupied by the enemy.They had to drive out the enemy by force before they could enjoy the promised land. The devil occupies the promises that God has given to us. We wonder why we are not enjoying the promises God has given to us.It is because the devil is preventing us from enjoying God’s blessings.We must force the devil out of the territory that God has given to us and enjoy Gods’s abundant blessings.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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Matthew 11:12
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.
3.WRESTLING
Apostle Paul says that we wrestle against spiritual forces of evil.There is an intense spiritual warfare going on in the heavenlies that affect the destinies of nations , families and individuals. If we want success in our endeavours we cannot avoid these spiritual conflicts. Wrestling is a close battle where two contestants struggle in close contact.The key to a breakthrough in our life and labour is to overpower and defeat the spiritual forces that oppose us.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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Ephesians 6:10-18
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
4.RESISTING
The Bible says ’resist the devil and he will flee from you’.The devil constantly attacks us in many ways.If we do not resist him we will suffer great loss and hardship. The devil brings fear, worry, discouragement,condemnation,ill health,failure and many other things to attack us. We should not crumble meekly before these attacks. We must stand firmly in faith and resist him.Our faith will give us the victory.Unless we learn to resist the devil we cannot have victory in our lives.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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James 4:7
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
I Peter 5:8-9
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
5.PRESSING
The Apostle Paul says ’I press toward the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus’ . The secret of success is to press toward the goal that God has given us. People who live aimlessly can never acheive anything worthwhile.There may be many obstacles but we must press on and press through until we reach our goal.Jesus was single minded about finishing the work that God had given Him.He said’my meat is to do the will of God and to finish His work’.It is such determination and commitment that will help us to accomplish our purpose in life.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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Philippians 3:12-14
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
6.SOWING
The principle of sowing and reaping is fundamental in the kingdom of God.Whatever we sow we will reap. If we do not sow we will not reap. Whatever we want to receive in our life we must first sow them. If we want love , kindness and favour we must first sow these qualities in the lives of others.Often people have great desires of what they want to receive but they never sow these things and therefore they never reap a harvest.We must be careful about what we sow because we will have to reap what we sow.We sow with our thoughts,words and deeds.If we sow evil we will reap evil.Let us sow good seeds and reap a harvest of blessing.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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Galatians 6:7-9
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
II Corinthians 9:6
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
7.LABOURING
The Apostle Paul says ’I laboured more abundantly than they all’. Labour and hard work is indispensable to success. Jesus worked so hard in the ministry that many times they did not have time even to eat.People who will not work hard cannot expect success in their lives. There is a price to pay and it takes toil and labour and perseverance and commitment to attain success and victory.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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I Corinthians 15:10
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
