If the devil says you can't do something, you should do it just to piss him off!
Gen. 32:22-32 Jacob wrestled GOD until he got what he was seeking.
Jacob seized The Kingdom! Not only in this verse, but also when he wrestled his brother Esau in their mother's womb. And when he purchased the birthright from Esau.
Jacob was always a hard worker, and always did whatever it took to get what was rightfully his.
Some people say he deceived, lied and cheated his way through life. But the truth is, he did exactly what he was supposed to do in GOD's Will for him, to attain what was appointed to him by GOD. But even though GOD appointed his those things, he still had to wrestle/fight to get them!!!
Rod Steward Song: "Run Across Shorty", "It's you that I want to wed".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIAqiS639IM
In the song, 2 men run a race. Whoever wins gets to marry the girl. Miss Lucy instructs the man that she wants to win, to cheat, to run across the middle and get ahead of the other man.
The city boy Dan, would surely feel cheated. But Miss Lucy's true love was what really counted & a happy ending according to what was truly right, that it would be the country boy Shorty that would win and marry Miss Lucy.
2 Tim. 4:1-8 Fighting the good fight, finish race, kept the faith.
Testimony: A man had asked me to fast about something for him, maybe to get a job, or a house, or something, I can't remember for sure what it was. But I fasted for him. Then later, he told me that he didn't get what he had prayed for. But that he KNEW he would not get it. Immediately upon hearing his words of lack of faith, I knew that I had starved myself in vain. If I had fasted for weeks for this man, he still would not have received the reward because he never believed. His lack of faith and his negative thinking hindered and blocked what he wanted to receive. I wasted my time praying for him and fasting for him. Don't ask anyone to pray or fast for you if you yourself don't believe in GOD's goodness to give you what you ask for!
Testimony: A woman felt called to sing in church. But the pastor at that church would always pick other people to sing, but not her. She felt that she was being treated wrong. So did some other church members. But what they did not understand, but I did understand (being a pastor myself & with Holy Ghost discernment), is that the pastor wanted her to seize the opportunity for herself rather than waiting to be asked to sing. When GOD calls someone to sing or to speak in church, they must take the initiative to do so.
Definition of initiative:
The power or ability to begin or to follow through energetically with a plan or task; enterprise and determination.
A beginning or introductory step; an opening move.
A person has to grab their calling and run with it.
Testimony: I never waited for someone to tell me that I was called to be a pastor. I always felt the calling & saw the need of the people. I felt compelled to obey GOD & to fulfill my calling AND to help the people.
Eccles. 9:5-10 Ask & Believe, Then Go Do it with all of your might/strength/effort!
Don't do something thinking you won't get results. Negative thinking will cause us to produce less results, because we're not putting all that we have into the effort. Whatever you do, do it with all of your might/strength/effort!
Don't be childish with GOD. Don't expect daddy to do everything for you. Get up & do it for yourself! Do be a lazy Christian. But rather an active, powerful Christian, hot on fire for The LORD!
Most things are not handed to you on a silver plate. You got to grab it!
Whether it's weight lost, muscle building, a job, or THE Kingdom. You have to step one foot in front of the other in order to attain it. It's not just going to come to you. Even GOD's gifts and talents must be exercised to be able to increase it and use it effectively. If we don't, then we will be a fruitless tree, and be like the man in Matthew 25 that had only one talent and didn't use it, and Jesus was angry with that man in that analogy. The gift of prophecy has to be perfected. The gift of preaching has to be perfected. The sing of singing has to be perfected. The gift of playing musical instruments has to be perfected. The gift of languages has to be perfected. Like body building and weight lost, and good health, we have to use and exercise our spiritual gifts to make them strong in us. We shouldn't need pushing by another person to attain it. We should WANT it bad enough ourselves. We should want to be the best that we can be for our Saviour, for The Kingdom, for the work of the Kingdom, for our families, and for ourselves.
But if we get provoked to good works by someone, that's a good thing that someone loves us enough to tell us that we could do better and NEED to do better! Thank GOD for that honest person!
Eph. 6:10-20
A. We wrestle spirits, not flesh & blood. Many times you might THINK that you are fighting only a physical ailment, when it's really a spiritual issue that has caused the physical ailment. The physical problem can be put onto your body by either GOD Himself, or by the devil, or by your own thinking. Science proves that negative thinking and stress causes physical sickness. AND that positive thinking causes physical healing. A physical problem can be real in the physical realm, yet be caused by spiritual or emotional reasons. Even if not caused by spiritual or emotional reasons, the correct emotional and spiritual actions can still cause healing. So even in that case, we're still wrestling spirits, whether those spirits are good or bad, we need to be wrestling and fighting and seizing what is ours.
B. Wearing the Armour of GOD means that we are an army. An army works & trains HARD! And fights hard! This army needs to get MUCH stronger BEFORE The Great Tribulation.
1 Cor. 9:24-27 Not as one boxing thin air. But everything possible to win!
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