Skip to main content

Sermon #27: THE BATTLE BELONGS TO THE LORD

  “But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. So I will stretch out my hand …” Exodus 3: 19-20 I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him,” God said to Moses. I rephrase this statement as follows: “I know that the devil will not leave you alone unless a mighty hand compels him.” That sounds totally true. Satan has to be compelled to leave you alone, to let you go. He will never willingly let you go. This goes to show the determination that Satan has when it comes to constraining the children of God; he wants to keep them in bondage forever. Christians, therefore, need to be more determined than the devil to free themselves from his shackles. Unfortunately, a number of Christians are too lukewarm or absent-minded to even think of getting their freedom; such Christians, therefore, remain under Satan’s bondage in various areas of their lives. The devil is determined to bind you forever. If the devil i...
Post a Comment

Sermon #24: I WILL NOT LET YOU GO UNTIL YOU BLESS ME


Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” Genesis 32:26

I think every Christian has gone through the following experience at some point in their Christian journey. One moment they are on fire; they feel like their prayers are blazing right into the Throne Room. They are energetic and appear to fly as they go through their paces in the prayer room.

The next moment they are down. They are totally demoralized; they appear like all energy has been sapped from them. They can hardly lift their tongue to pray and wonder whether they are making any real progress in their prayer life. “Does God even hear my prayers,” they wonder to themselves.

But what’s the recommended attitude for the believer to adopt?

Here it is: “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” That’s the attitude. It’s called ‘perseverance’. It’s called ‘never giving up’. It’s called ‘trusting in the Lord’. It’s called ‘sticking with God, no matter what’.

Believers should never let external circumstances dictate the status of their walk with God.

It may be raining outside, it may be icy, it may be cloudy, it may be sparkling bright, but the Lord never changes, His love for you never fades, and His eye never leaves you. May you cast this in concrete in your heart!

“I will not let you go unless you bless me.” These words reveal the extent to which Jacob believed in God. They also reveal Jacob’s attitude in life, a man who did everything he could to get what he wanted, sometimes putting his life and the lives of loved ones at risk.

“I will not let you go unless you bless me.” In saying these words, Jacob was, in a way, saying:

  • You and you alone are my God. I have no other.
  • I am totally dependent on you. So, if I do not get help from you, it means I will have to do with no help at all because I seek it from no other.
  • You are able to do as I ask.
  • You are willing to do as I ask.
  • You are ready to do as I ask.
  • You can immediately do as I ask.
  • So, I cling to you as a matter of necessity.

That’s the recommended attitude for the believer.

Do you believe the same? If so, never allow the variableness of your feelings to let you down.

God never changes. He is the same when you are happy. He is the same when you are sad. He is the same when feel strong in your body. He is the same even when you feel weak or even ill.

God will never leave or forsake you. So, stay motivated, I exhort you.

Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” Genesis 32:26

Here is the outcome of Jacob’s determination: Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel …” Genesis 32:28

God gave Jacob a new name, confirmation of changed circumstances. That’s the power of perseverance, the power of faith and trust in God, the power of surrendering oneself fully to God, and the power of sticking with Him no matter what the situation might look like.

What a glorious ending! And remember, such an outcome is also yours for the taking!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sermon #5: THE CHRISTIAN SOUL FOOD

“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” John 4:34 I find this to be a very powerful declaration! How encouraging it is to the Christian soul! Consider the scripture quoted above. Jesus had not eaten anything up to this time of day. The disciples knew therefore that Jesus was hungry; so, they brought Him some food and asked Him to spare some time to eat. But note Jesus’ response! First Jesus told the disciples that He had food to eat that they did not know anything about. Of course, the disciples would not have known anything about the food Jesus referred to because they had never considered it to be food; this is why they wondered if somebody had already brought Jesus some food to eat. Then Jesus explained, “My food… is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” John 4:34 Jesus’ response challenges me to the bone! Just imagine how important food is. Food gives us energy; it keeps us active. Food maintains our health and a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sermon #4: THEY WILL CALL YOU "BLESSED"

“O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusts in him.”  Psalm 34:8 Who does not want to be blessed? Who does not  want to be called ‘blessed’? What should one do to be blessed? Here is a simple formula you should follow if you want to be blessed –  trust in the Lord. Believe in Him. I have heard of various formulae that people have used or are still using in the quest for them to be blessed of the Lord. I cannot vouch for one or the other, but I am sure that if such formulae do not equate to trusting or believing in the Lord then the formulae will fall flat – they will not result in the achievement of the intended objective. Blessings come from an appropriate relationship with the Lord. I want to use only the text of the opening Bible verse to explain why one will be called blessed if they trust/believe in the Lord – it is because  the Lord is good ! If you trust in the one who is good, then you are blessed. The Lord wants only the good to be...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sermon #22: STAY POSITIONED ACCORDING TO GOD'S WILL AND PURPOSE FOR YOUR LIFE

  The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live.”  Genesis 26:2 I want you to picture the context. According to Genesis 26:1,  “… there was a famine in the land…”  Genesis 26:1 Whenever there is famine in a given place, some residents emigrate. Some stick it out, and for some, it is because they have no choice – they just have nowhere to go. Emigration happens regularly in developing countries. Sometimes the economies of developing countries, for one reason or another, collapse, compounding the economic hardships, leading many to seek greener pastures elsewhere. We usually see on the news crowds of people from developing countries emigrating to developed countries, sometimes under very punishing and treacherous circumstances. Some of them would be quite vulnerable as they travel, in various respects. It looks like Isaac had considered emigrating to Egypt, but before he could even make the necessary arrangemen...
Post a Comment
Read more