We Can Win The Battle Of Life!

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:10-11 KJV

Life is a battle! Whether you know it or not, whether you are aware of not, whether you are prepared or not. The battle of life will go on and we are all in the army of life, fighting the battles of life.
If somehow or the other we don’t seem to be winning or getting ahead, then there is either something not right with you or something not right with the battle you are fighting.

What at the things that makes a person a good soldier

1. Training
2. Good health
3. Preparation 
4. Discipline 

Why do they insist so much on discipline in the military?

1. Without discipline there cannot be any cohesion or moving in the same direction 
2. Lack of discipline can pull the whole army down Joshua 7:1-5
3. Discipline is a sign of obedience to law and rules 1 Samuel 15:22
4. To protect yourself so you are not kicked out

We have to be disciplined. If we are going to be a child of God, if we are going to win the battle we have to be disciplined/ When the battle is toughest been the right type of soldier will help us in going far.

When David was going to fight Goliath what did Saul tell David? That he was not a soldier and Goliath has been a soldier from young. The devil we fight with has been fighting battles even before we were born, before man was banished to the earth. He waged a war on Adam, on Abraham, on David and a lot of others.

The enemy has different battle strategies, they are not weary but keep coming. Many Christians do not like battles because we have become lazy. This laziness has affected the whole world. The enemy knew what and who we would be from where we were born and the major goal of their battle is that we do not become who we were created to become.

We are the greatest and best creation of God must not lose the battle! We just need to be more disciplined. What we need is a little more push to push it through. We need to take the battle more seriously for our own good.

How can we fight the battle? How can we win the battle? All that we need is as seen in Ephesians 6:13-18. This gives us a complete picture of what the soldiers of Christ need to win over the enemy and to fulfill purpose and reach our destined promised land.

• Taking unto yourself the whole armour of God
• Having your loins girt about with truth
• Having on the breastplate of righteousness 
• Your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace 
• Taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked
• Take on the helmet of salvation
• The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God
• Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit
• Watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints

The Battle of Life

And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. 1 Sam 17:4,43,50 KJV

A lot of us have great potential and a lot more have great battle arrays. But we still are not able to win against the enemy and this is why we face so much difficulties in life. The enemy has someone who will always champion their fight. They are battle ready and are ready to fight with all they have.
Why does the enemy fight each one of us?

• The enemy wants to possess your land
• The enemy want to subdue you
• The enemy wants to make slaves of you; to enslave you
• The enemy does not want you to succeed and to fulfill your purpose

This is why we are working so hard each day and we do not see the fruit of our labour. For 430 years the Israelites were slaves in Egypt but the Egyptians were enjoying the fruit of their labour. In the same way, a lot of us work day and night, with hard labour but we do not enjoy the rewards of our hard labour. This is why we must fight to get our freedom. The world fights those who are not ready to fight.

The Philistines saw the start of Israel and were determined that they would not get there. They therefore used the bullying and intimidation that is common to the enemy -devil. He bullies you into thinking you can’t win. He begins by sending a champion, in the form of sin and vices. To take away your strength, then you begin to doubt yourself and you believe that he is right.

This strategy is to cover up their own weakness. Just like Goliath was not the strength of the Philistines, so also whatsoever the enemy is using to trick you is his weakness. All we need is to see it as what it is, the weakness of the enemy. This is because no matter how cunning or strong the enemy thinks he is, his strength can be overcome by the sling and stone of David.

What is this sling and stone? These are the word of God, fasting and prayer. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. Matthew 17:21 KJV. Know God’s word for yourself, accept it for what and who it is (God’s word is God himself) and believe in the word. Live by it and pray His words, remind God of them through fasting and praying!

Why are Christians not on top of their game?

And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: Deuteronomy 28:1 KJV

If you look around the world today, who are those people in position of authority? The richest men in the world, the ones in the corridors of power. The people serving as role models, teaching and inspiring people on being the best they can be..........these people at the top that youths of this day look up to are mostly not born again Christians. Some may even go to church but in all sense of the word are not followers of Christ. Why is it that Christians are not at the top of their game?

We don’t find serious born again Christians in commanding heights of the economy. Why is this? Why is it that no born again, spirit filled person is in a place of authority in the Nigerian government? This is due to a variety of things but in this particular part we will look at one of the major reason behind this. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. Hosea 4:6 KJV. The lack of knowledge of God and who we are in God has limited the growth of Christians and stopped us from getting to the top. We rely on what word comes from the pulpit and refuse to search the word for ourselves.

Our founding christian fathers didn’t have the right knowledge and taught us based on their own understanding, in most cases this is still happening. Some taught doctrines that is not in the bible or things that are just a part of the Bible and they leave others out to suit themselves. This lack of knowledge has sent people out of the fold and stopped some from coming in. As a creation of God who seek him, we have to do it right. Doing it right means seeking out the knowledge of God for yourself and to authenticate every word that comes from the pulpit using the Bible as the control and check.

It is the duty of the christian to read the Bible, hold on to it and live the Bible. It is our responsibility to seek knowledge for ourselves. Other things they (Christian leaders) teach us is that we are irrelevant to the world and heaven bound so we should focus on heaven only. The truth is that our purpose here on earth is linked to us making heaven. We are created to be a blessing to others. Make sure that our life has an impact on the life of others and makes their life better.
Nobody has the monopoly of anointing or Rhema from God. We are to know for ourselves what God says and wants of us, because it is in this knowing that we would be able to be who God wants us to be.

What do you need? Seek God for yourself! Seek out the secrets of God. Find out what you need to become, what make you who you are or should be. How can you as a person be a christian in truth and be influential in the government of the day? The knowledge of this would go a long way in bridging the gap for us and bringing people to God. The knowledge of who you are would open your eyes to truly see God and take you closer to Him.

Questions to ask yourself as you go about your day and week….

1. Who does God want you to be?
2. What do we do to be who God wants us to be?

LIFE! as we see it

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  Ephesians 6:10-12 KJV

As we tend to get a bit more casual with Christianity the older we are I our faith. We become a bit more relaxed and get a bit lazy here and there; we tend to forget that we are in a battle for life and of life. The heat of the battle does not reduce the closer we are to the finish line, in fact the enemy fights harder to see that we don’t finish the race well.

Apostle Paul was telling them in the early church that life is not easy. He said that life is a wrestle; according to him our problems are not the people (not against flesh and blood) we see but against spiritual authorities. Your brother is not your enemy, not your mother, your husband, your children, or that member in church. Paul described this authorities as

1. Principalities
2. Powers
3. Rulers of darkness of this world
4. Spiritual wickedness in high places

So he says we should put on the whole amour of God so we can win over the wiles of the devil. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians 6:13 KJV. He says the devil is not coming to you frontally. It is not just a boxing match but a wrestling match, an intimate (body to body contact) fight. This means that the enemy is closer to you than you think. It means that we must be attentive, watchful, prepared, we must be able to resist the wiles of the enemy. Why? Because we fight a no -holds-barred match with spiritual authorities which works through the people around us.

In fact their is a principality, power and rulers of darkness operating in the spiritual that is holding us down. The principles that helps us overcome in this wrestling match are

1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Obedience
4. Dwelling in the word

We are to bring every thought we have to the obedience of Christ. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you Phil 4:8-9 KJV. We need to fight our battles in our thoughts and begin to bring under submission and obedience to Christ every one of those thoughts that gives the enemy a leg in the door.

At the end of our journey here on earth our desires should be that after we have done all, we are able to stand before Christ and the father knowing that we have fought a good fight and finished our race.

The Principle of Aspiring PT 2

And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them. 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid. 1 Samuel 17:23-24 KJV

The victory over Goliath required a counter challenge by the children of Israel. David had an understanding of what Elisha said to his servant. And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. 2 King 6:16 KJV. 

Everybody has a Goliath that is speaking against our face saying we will see how you succeed. To counter this however, in every home, nation and place there is a David that has been looked down on. It is up to us to let go of our fear and let David overcome the uncircumcised philistine that is enslaving us  and trying hold us back that we may not succeed.

There is nothing wrong in aspiring in life, career, family. It is human nature to aspire to succeed. The challenge in life is that even as we aspire we are frightened by the Goliath in our life, We are afraid to come out of our comfort zone. We have become enslaved by the circumstances of our life, we listen to what people say. The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets. Proverbs 26:13 KJV. 

Too many people have very little aspiration and most people aspire to nothing. In 1 Samuel 17 the children of Israel saw the giant and ran away, their aspiration of victory in battle over the philistines were dashed by a goliath. They were gripped by fear. Life is for the bold and the brave, and the life we are not strong to protect will run away from us. Goliath means an exile, a wanderer from the wine press. Goliath was therefore not worthy of the fear because he was a nobody in the land, all he had was the noise he made. A lot of the Goliath in our life has no substance and is not worthy of the fear and attention we give to it.

For us, that challenge we face may seem like a big and insurmountable but the truth of the Word of God tells us that nothing can be too big for the God who is lord over all we can see or think. The mystery of challenges is anything that is big is only so in our imagination. It is like smoke in the wind, like chaff. Whatever is big in our eyes is very tiny before God, all we need to do is to give David a chance in our life to express himself and to try what he wants to try so he can bring the Goliath in your life down.

Today speak to God and ask that where ever your David is, the Lord should bring him forth and let him take on the Goliath and put an end to him. Stand today with the believe that every Goliath in your life is of no significance because Christ has already nailed them to the cross. He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets. Colosians 2:15 MSG. Therefore that Goliath in your life has already lost its power; all it has are barks with no bite. Move on and live the victorious life of Christ that lives in you.

As children of God we have the answer to the Goliath that is holding us back from overcoming.

1. Having an understanding of who God is- God is all powerful, all encompassing and can do all things which includes overcoming trillions of Goliaths with just the move of a finger
2. Having an understanding of who we are - He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world 
3. Have the ability to aspire to greater things- aspire and take action, move in the trust in the God who holds you in the palm of His hands
4. We must get away from those things that is holding us down
5. You must know and differentiate the fact from the truth - fact was that Goliath was a giant who was a champion fighter but truth is that God is greater and mightier than every Goliath combined
6. All that we need to know is that God can do all things and he can make little things to solve dig problems - David was a small young man before a giant but Goliath was so big that a small stone could not miss.

The Principle of Aspiring PT 1

And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them. 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid. 1 Samuel 17:23-24 KJV

Goliath was a champion, one who had won so many battles, who had been challenging the children of Israel for days on end. He would come out every day and challenge the Isrealites to chose a person to battle. He made fun of the children of Israel. He promised that his people shall be slaves to Israel if just one of the soldiers of Israel could beat him in battle. Every one of us has a Goliath shouting against our success and breakthrough, saying and making us believe we would not enjoy the promises of God.

Goliath stood out and kept the Isrealites in a state of fears and trembling. In Nigeria one of our Goliaths is called corruption, it is shouting that Nigeria would not progress. It is frightening the children of God and making it difficult for the Christians in Nigeria to progress.

David was a young man of 17 years and he heard the challenge of Goliath and asked about what is happening. To him Goliath may be a giant, he may be tall and a champion in battle; but in all of this achievements and victory reports all was is an uncircumcised philistine. 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? And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him. 1 Samuel 17:26-27 KJV.

The spirit of Goliath is a spirit of

1. Threatening
2. Fear 
3. Enslavement 
4. Shame 
5. Reproach 

David's aspiration was to face the giant who spoke against the chosen one of God. To him the battle was against the Holy one of Israel and therefore the battle was already won. Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. 46 This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 1 Samuel 17:45-46 KJV. 

David looked the enemy in the face, stood before him with a complete trust in God and knew that the battle was already won. He saw Goliath and he saw a man of no significance and so he didn't even allow fear to have any place in his heart. David knew God was bigger than Goliath, God had won more victories than Goliath could ever fight in, God had all lives in his hands and so the goliath had already been defeated.

The Glory of His Presence PT 2

Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest

Exodus 33:13-14 KJV

 Moses said, having a discussion with God, that God has not given him a helper. He asked God to show him his ways and God said that His presence will go with him and will make the work easy with him. Moses then told God that if His presence will not go with them, He should therefore not take them out of where they are. 

Life can be extremely difficult but can also be outstandingly easy. It can be extremely difficult if we:

• Make the wrong assumption
• Do things the wrong way
• Have the wrong approach
• Do things the way we know how

Whatever God has asked you to do is just for you to do it. Whenever God gives you an assignment you have to go back to God and ask Him how you are to do and carry out this assignment. To do this we must have a close and intimate relationship with God. To have a relationship with God we must then understand the secret to life. Having a close relationship with God is not about how holy we are, how righteous we are, or how wise we are.

Even King Solomon in the bible said that in wisdom is a lot of grief. Sometimes when we know too much and too full of wisdom we become burdened. Then he said that the job of a man is to please God. Every morning when you wake up, you ask yourself how can I please God? What do say that will please God? Where do I go to please God? What do I wear to please God? Ask such questions about each step and everything you are about to do to know if it will please God.

Ask yourself, ‘what would Jesus do?’ If you can ask yourself consistently before we react or take action on things living our life would become easy and free of stress. This might be difficult to adjust to at the beginning but the end of the matter would be that we would have pleased God.

It is not our business to know how things get done, that is God’s business. It is God who will work through us to make things happen. That’s why God sad to Abram, “walk before me and be thou perfect”. What does the presence of God do?

1. It brings about prosperity 1 King 5:2-6. This is an all round prosperity; financial prosperity, marital prosperity, emotional prosperity, social prosperity. 
2. It will bring about grace and promotion. There would be a grace and favour around you that will bring about promotion. You would just have that favour which even you won't understand and people just promote you and lift you up. 
3. It will bless you and bless the people around you when you are in God’s presence. The bible said that the Lord blessed the house of Portiphar because of Joseph. You become a blessing to generation yet unborn
4. It leads us in His presence. 
5. When we are in the presence of God we can do no wrong
6. The presence of God brings about deliverance out of a problem
7. The presence of God gives you complete of joy Psalm 16:11

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

The Secret of Life

There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.should make…: or, delight his senses. For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I? For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit. Ecclesiastes 2:24-26 KJV

What is the secret of life? Is it to obey God’s commandment, to do God’s will, live a holy life, live a content life, living in God’s favour, have the fear of God and love your neighbour as yourself? If you obey all the commandment of the law, does that mean that all things would work out fine for you? Is living a fulfilled life hinged on righteousness?

Life is very delicate, small things can cause big problems. Just hissing at an old woman and moving on, can cause us problems in our life. Just by ignoring to help the neighbour beside you can result in a major challenge in our life. But then who can know which of this things can be a trigger? Except we know that secret of life that puts us right before God at all times.

What then is the secret thing that we can do in life that would make everything go our way? If we look at the word of God we can x-ray our life, we can see who we are in God’s eyes. We can see the little areas where we are not doing things right in accordance to the will of God. As children of God we have that mirror which helps us see who we are in God’s eyes. Seeing who we are helps us have an understanding of where we have to adjust.

Solomon was the wisest and richest man who ever lived. According to him wisdom is not the best thing in life. Therefore it is not the secret of life. Then he goes further and talks about pleasure of life, looking at this he sees that this is not the key to having a fulfilled life. He says that the accumulation of wealth and doing good works does not also give us fulfillment.

The secret of life is pleasing God. When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. Proverb 16:7 KJV. So pleasing God is the secret of the Christians life. Every morning as we wake up we must ask God what it is we can do to please Him. According to Solomon and Jesus Christ pleasing God is the key to living a fulfilled life. For us to be able to please God we must first seek the kingdom of God. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you Matthew 6:33 KJV. 

The Glory of His Presence

 And Moses said unto the Lord, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. 

Exodus 33:12-14 KJV

God’s presence will always go with us and we shall have our rest. In the passage Moses a prophet of God was having a conversation with God, so much so that he heard God clearly. Moses was talking to God and he heard a 7 point agenda

1. Asked to bring up the people. We all have the mandate to lift up the people. To change life
2. God will send a helper our way; to help us fulfil our purpose and God’s assignment for our life
3. God knows our name. He know who we are, what we are and what our capabilities are. Therefore it mean we are not a mistake but a deliberate creation of God
4. God’s grace and favour is always available to them who knows the ways of God
5. Prayer is important if we want the presence of God to go with us. 
6. Asked that God show him the way. The ward says and we believe that Christ is the way. With Christ in our life we would always walk on the path that leads to life
7. He asked that the presence of God go with the people

The presence of God does quite a few things in the life of his people. The presence of God in our life brings and opens the doors to prosperity. To prosper, just make sure that God is with you. Luke 5:1-12. The fortunes of Simon turned around because God got into his boat. That is why we are to dedicate all achievement and steps of success to God to make it sustainable. Anytime we talk to God, we are to always ask God to be with us; as God been with us will bring about a great prosperity. No one that has prospered has done so outside the permission of God.

God been with you brings about grace and promotion. The bible says “Joseph found grace in his sight” because God was with him. Promotion does not come from the east or west, but comes from God alone.

When God is with you He will bless all the people around you. A lot of people are blessed because of the people who walk with God. God’s blessing is not limited to you but to the people around you.

The presence of God connects us to the helpers of our destiny. God’s presence in our life serves like a magnet that would attract the people that would help us fulfil destiny.

NEW BEGINING

And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldeans, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran. Genesis 11: 31-32

Terah died at the edge of breakthrough, God can replace anyone of us. We must always be prepared because many things are combined to limit success and progress. Never for once think the world is fair, and you must be ready for a war. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephisians 6:12 KJV. 

As parents we are to make our children know about the evil around them, because not everyone think the way we think. Some people are naturally evil and some are naturally good. So you must be prepare to experience the good and the bad side of life, if you can anticipate life, you must eliminate life. It is important that we stop looking back, because doing so won't let you move forward .

1. Don't allow temporary situation to become permanent situation.
2. We need to be alive and hopeful, and never give up (Saying  a living dog is better than a dead lion)
3. You need to start afresh and you must know this God, because God never count you out.
4. You need to hear a word from God, because it's one thing to know God and another thing to hear Him it is important to hear God from God.
5. You need to behave God and run with the word Matt 21 vs 21-22, Gen 11 vs 27-37.

How do we hear from God

• Still clear voice
• Audible voice 
• Inward witness
• Through dreams and vision
• Quiet time
• God speak figuratively
• Through the pastor
• Through a donkey: it can be through someone who is not born again.