2 Corinthians 5: 5-7: 5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. 6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight)
Prison House of Discouragement | Bring Out the Prisoners
Isaiah 42:6-7 I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
DISCOURAGEMENT: A sense of unhappiness arising from a loss of confidence in one’s abilities,
• a loss of our dependence on God or in the power of the Gospel.
THE WORD DISCOURAGEMENT COMES FROM THE ROOT WORD COURAGE.
• The prefix dis- means “the opposite of.”
• Discouragement is the opposite of courage
WHEN WE ARE DISCOURAGED, WE HAVE LOST THE MOTIVATION TO PRESS FORWARD.
• The mountain seems too high to climb
• the valley too dark
• or the battle too fierce
• and we lose the courage to continue.
Joshua 1:9: Have, not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
• After God’s leader, Moses, died
• Joshua had “big shoes” to fill
• But God told Joshua that “HE” would be with Him
Deuteronomy 31:6: Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
GOD COMMANDS HIS PEOPLE TO TAKE COURAGE
Psalm 31:24: Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.
Psalm 27:14: Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
THE APOSTLE PAUL’S MINISTRY BROUGHT DIFFICULTIES, DISAPPOINTMENTS, FAILURES AND DISCOURAGEMENT.
• But he never quit
• He was committed to the work
• that God called him too
AT THE END OF HIS MINISTRY HE WROTE IN
2 Tim 4:6-7:For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.7 I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
TO BE A COMMITTED MINISTER OR EVEN A CHRISTIAN
• takes everything a person has
• A selfless commitment
• Which sometimes can bring Depression and Discouragement
PAUL WANTED TO TELL TIMOTHY TO “DEAL WITH” THE SAME KINDS OF SITUATIONS THAT HE HAD TO FACE IN THE MINISTRY
2 Timothy 1:8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel according to the power of God;
• Don’t expect things to be a piece of cake
• Smooth sailing
2 Timothy 2:3: Paul said: Thou, therefore, endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
Give your heart to Jesus today by saying this prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank you for dying on the cross for my sin. Please forgive me. Come into my life. I receive You as my Lord and Savior. Please, help me to live for you the rest of this life. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus, I pray.
Amen.
Conspiracy Lies and Half-Truths | Love the Truth
2 Timothy 4:4: And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
God’s Strength Lies and Delusions | Believing a Lie
Eph 6:13: 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.
• Yes, we live in an evil day
• Where people believe or consider anything that comes out of somebody’s mouth
• Even if it is a conspiracy theory
• Even if is a political propaganda
• Even if it is a lie
2 Thess 2: 2-3,9-11 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or trouble, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; (down in vs )9. Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.11And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
YES, EVEN THE VISIBLE EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN MASSES ARE BELIEVING
o Anything that comes out of someone’s mouth
o Rather than consider what “Thus saith the Lord” (The Bible)
o And Not a so-called “Prophet or Prophetess.”
Jesus said in Matthew 5:14-16: Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
THE WORD OF GOD SAYS THAT JESUS CHRIST WILL COME AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT
- If we are HIS LIGHT
- His coming should not overtake His faithful followers as a thief
1 Thess 5 1-8: But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
LET THE LORD BE YOUR STRENGTH IN THIS DARK HOUR
Psalm 18:1-2: I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.2 The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
• But how do we get God’s strength and have it show in our lives?
Psalm 147:10,11 tells us: He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.11 The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.
Zechariah 4:6: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the LORD of hosts
Give your heart to Jesus today by saying this prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank you for dying on the cross for my sin. Please forgive me. Come into my life. I receive You as my Lord and Savior. Please, help me to live for you the rest of this life. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus, I pray.
Amen.