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SCRIPTURE Ro 8:31 AUGUST , 2015 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? SUBJECT - YOU CAN BE VICTORIOUS!!!! What would you give if, no matter what the situation or circumstance that you found yourself in, you could be guaranteed to come out on top, or victorious?? Think about it. Cancer, stroke, sugar diabetes, AIDS, Alzheimer, or any one of the other ailments and diseases that afflict mankind, that man has not found the cure for, and you come through them without so much as a scratch. Or what about something less critical like finances, career, persecution, crime, threats, fear, or any one of the other human faults that we all face, and once again, you come through it without a scratch. What I am getting at is what many would call a fantasy or pipe dream, is an actual reality that rests out there for anyone that wants it. However, there is a price to pay, and it is not with money. Now, you might ask, 'how can there be a price and not be talking about money?' Well, if you think about it, there has been, and still are situations where a person, who may not have money, will offer someone their services, to attain something from them. Sometimes it may be trading something for something. It is known as bartering. The bottom line is, in this case, the price you have to pay is your obedience to the individual that has what you need. In this case I am talking about God/Christ. When we consider what the underlined portion of the subject scripture is saying, and realize the Truth of that statement, you should realize that every thing is under God's control, both good and bad, and as such nothing can happen to us unless God allows it, and by the same token we can't achieve what we want or need without His help. In the course of our daily lives, we go about doing whatever we want to do and don't give it a second thought. And most of the time, for most of us, it is a breeze. We have a good job, a loving family, most of us are in good health, we have a roof over our head, clothes on our backs, food on the table, a means of transportation, and a lot more. All of this is because God has seen fit to allow us these things, even though in many cases, even in my own, I have done absolutely nothing to deserve it. The fact that I mention myself, is so you won't think that I am some 'holier than thou' preacher that sits back and rails on everyone else, while trying to hide my own faults. It has been said, that when a man of God is preaching, he is first preaching to himself. At least that is the way it should be. I know of preachers who, rather than preach anything that would convict them in their spirits, would totally skip over the subject and find something more to their liking. And this is where the majority of our problems crop up. You see, when we are doing our thing, so to speak, and things are going well, many of us will thank God for our blessing, as well we should. However, when we are facing trouble, it is because of one of two things. We are either standing on God's Word, and people/the Devil don't like it, or, and this is mostly the case, we are doing something wrong in God's eye, and because the preachers we listen to, are those who are more concerned about themselves and what is in the offering basket, God has no choice but to withhold His Blessings from us. If you will look at the underlined part of the subject verse, you will see a promise being made to His people, and that is, IF God is on our side, which means we have to be following His directions, then there is absolutely no one or no thing that can come against us to cause us pain, suffering or death. Of course we have to realize that there are things and people that we may run in to whose purpose is to cause us distress, but, the end result will always be in our favor. Look at these scriptures. Isa 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Isa 43:2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. Isa 43:3 For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. The stories of Daniel and the Hebrew boys in the old testament book of Daniel [Chapters 3 and 6], are examples of how God, because of their refusal to compromise with laws that required them to denounce their obedience and faith in God, or be killed, turned the tables on them and had them suffer the fate they had planned for Daniel and his friends. Then we have the story Elisha and his servant [2Kings 6], being surrounded by an army that was sent there to kill them, and God delivered them out of their hand. 2Chr 32:7 Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him: 2Chr 32:8 With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. If you will look at these few examples of how God rescued His servants from certain death at the hands of their enemies, He will do the very same thing for you, IF. That's the part that is the key to victory. And that's the part where many fall short. You see, just because a person is God's servant/child, does not mean they can go about doing whatever they please, then when trouble comes, expect God to deliver them. In order for God to be expected to do His part, you must be doing your part, or at least trying to. You essentially have to be willing to follow God's rules so to speak, in order for you to have total victory in your life. For many of you, that is a no brainer. After all, just like you would not reward a disobedient child with giving them what they want, then you realize that God is the same way. Many times the problems we face, are those of our own making. God tells us not to do something, and we do it anyway, or vice versa, then when things go wrong, we run to Him, and start claiming how no weapon formed against us shall prosper, we start rebuking the Devil, and all of those other victory verses, yet, we haven't repented for being disobedient to Him. As long as we keep being in that state of mind, He will let us suffer the consequences because to do otherwise, would violate His own Word that says, Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap [Gal 6:7]. We can't expect a Righteous and Just God, to apply that to His enemies, yet allow His own Kids to get away from it. In observing what the majority of our problems in this nation, and especially in the black community are, I see a direct parallel between our disobedience to Him, and what we are suffering. Yet, when told this, the response that comes back is much the same as it was when Moses delivered the ten commandments to the children of Israel. They didn't want to hear it. They essentially claimed 'separation of church and state.' The black community has the distinct position of being the number 1 supporter of all that God hates, because it is the number 1 supporter of groups of people that engage in the things that He hates. In case you don't see it, let me paint the picture for you. Abortion[the number 1 thing that God hates], homosexuality, affirmative action, and environmentalism, just to name a few. The black community overwhelmingly supports these things. And that includes most church folk. And how do we do this??? By supporting a political party that has these things as their foundation!! Over 90 percent of us exclusively support this party, and therefore support these things. The result??!! The black community suffers the most when it comes to economics, health, and crime. The statistics don't lie. And then when asked what do they think the problem is, most black preachers who are leaders in the community, blame it on racism. They completely ignore what God says, reaping what you sow, so that they can cover their own rear ends. As a result, we continue to suffer, with no victory or deliverance in sight. Make no mistake about it, God is fully able, and wants to deliver His children from whatever man, and the Devil brings against them, but, He will only do it when we are attempting to do as He says. When we choose to follow Christ's directions for our lives, it is as if He picks us up and carries us through to stormy tests and trials that confront us in life. Many times, He runs interference for us so thoroughly that we never even realize we were being threatened. I can remember the story of a young lady that was walking home after attending a bible study at her church. Her house was a block away and there was a park between them, so she routinely walked through it to get there. Well on this particular day, as she was walking home, a man was walking towards her and he had this weird look on his face. Well she prayed as he passed her, and kept on home. The next day, a policeman knocked on her door, and when she answered it, he asked her if she had seen anything odd in the park the night before, and she recalled this man with the funny look on his face. The officer asked her if she could identify him, and she said she could. The officer asked her to look at a man that he had in his car and when she did, it was the same man. When she asked what the problem was, the officer replied he had attacked and tried to rape a young woman in the park yesterday. The woman asked the officer could she ask him something. When the officer said OK, she asked him, why he didn't attack her. His response was, 'it was those two big men you had walking with you.' Though she hadn't seen them, she was being escorted by two angels, and was completely unaware of the possible danger she was in, because God had hidden it from her. If you think about it, you might be living in one of the worst neighborhoods in town, surrounded by all types of things that would normally cause the average person to live in fear. But, because God has your back, even if you are a little worried about your surroundings, no one ever bothers you, probably because they see those angels standing guard around you, and your house. When you are on the job, on the road, or at play, if you are backed by God, because you are following His directions, you have nothing to worry about. When warnings come out about diseases circulating the community like the flu, while people are running to get shots and still getting sick, and here you are maybe not even getting shots, and nothing happens to you. That's God, running interference. Being sued, persecuted, taken to court by the government on false charges?? IRS coming after you for taxes??? People lying on you??? You name it!!! If it is meant to make you live in fear, or to be stressed out, where you can't sleep, then remember, if God is for you, He is more than the world against you. How much unnecessary suffering are we/you doing today because we have chosen to walk outside of the will and purpose of God for our lives?? We get warned that we are not doing what we should be doing, but, we refuse to stop, and even attack whoever it was that told us. Psa 91:4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Psa 91:5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Psa 91:6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. Psa 91:7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. WORD!!!! AMEN!!! |