A couple weeks ago on a Friday morning I went down to the
Manor to meet with Roger, the owner, to discuss the Christmas party that we
were having for Church at the Manor. By
the way this year, Roger is paying for the catering that will cover the costs for
all the hors d'oeuvres and food for the festive event. It all started last year with generous
friends from BC, Tammy and Ross, who believed this is what the Lord told them
to do and put on a lavish event last year https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goQvD86BPdI
So, here we are again and now Roger wants to make it bigger
by inviting all the staff of the Manor and friends and well. A Jewish owner of a strip club paying for a
Christmas party for a Christian church celebrating the birth of the
Messiah! Amazing…only God!
As I walked in the office there was a man with his head in
his hands overwhelmed by his own personal situation. Michel hadn’t been able to see his boy,
Bentley, for the past 6 months and he was distraught. He just recently started doing renovations
for Roger on some of his rental properties.
Roger tells him Jack is here for you and he can help you with your
soul. So as Michel shares and I listen, we connect and a good
conversation flows. At the end of our
time together, I ask Michel if I can pray for him and prayer begins for reconciliation with the
mother and for God to open the door back to allowing him to see his son. Michel shows up for church on Sunday and
listens to our message on ‘Overcoming Giants’ in our lives and there is an
opportunity to take smooth stones and a sheet of verses to remind those
attending on how to slay the giants in our lives. I hand them to Michel and encourage him to
trust God.
The next Sunday Michel shows up to church and he is flying
high. He has been reunited with his son
and he can’t contain himself. It was
such a great opportunity to affirm the power of prayer that we have seen and
the bond that we both have after sitting together in Roger’s office….God works
in mysterious ways.
It appeared to be a giant in Michel life, but it was overcome by the power of God.
So, what are the GIANTS that we face in our lives… well we took
an easel out at church and here are the responses we heard
·
Finances, fear, depression, anxiety, fear of
death, fear of others, loneliness, stress, self-doubt, jealousy, believing
lies, rejection, frustration etc..
Just as David took up five smooth stones to defeat the giant
Goliath in his life, we need to take the same approach and be on the offensive
with the stones we need to use to slay the giants in our lives.
We affirmed the following as the stones we need to use in
our day to day lives.
1.
Worship and Thankfulness
2.
Speaking Truth and Declaring Verses Out Loud
3.
Forgiveness and Love
4.
A Renewed Mind – Staying positive, focused on
the good things. Simply put, if you
focus on all the crap around you in your life, you are going to feel like crap!
5.
Stay in Community, not withdrawing. Learning to reach out for support, positive
influences in your life, people that support you and encourage you.
The smooth stone is a take home
reminder, something to place on your bathroom counter and the verses need to be
put on your fridge or bathroom mirror.
WORSHIP and THANKFULNESS – to overcome a spirit of worry, anxiety,
finances
Psalm 100:4
Enter His gates with thanksgiving,
And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
in everything give thanks; for
this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
SPEAKING TRUTH AND DECLARING VERSES OUT LOUD – to overcome fear
Proverbs 18:21
Death and life are in the power
of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit,
John 8:32
Then you will know the truth, and
the truth will set you free.
2 Timothy 1:7
For God hath not given us the
spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
FORGIVENESS AND LOVE – to overcome unforgiveness, bitterness, anger
1 Peter 4:8
Above all, keep loving one
another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
Colossians 3:12-14
Put on then, as God's chosen
ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and
patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another,
forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect
harmony.
RENEWED MIND = to overcome depression
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers and sisters,
whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think
about such things.
Romans 12:2
Don't copy the behavior and
customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing
the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is
good and pleasing and perfect.
STAYING IN COMMUNITY – to overcome loneliness
Hebrews 10:24,25
And let us not neglect our
meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now
that the day of his return is drawing near. Let us think of ways to motivate one
another to acts of love and good works.
1 Thessalonians 5:11
So encourage each other and build
each other up, just as you are already doing.
So I had a wonderful opportunity
to pray over Carrie’s home last week as she and her children discovered that there
had been a little baby’s life had been taken in that apartment by a former
tenant. We wanted to pray over that home
and pray against the spirit of death and pray for the Spirit of life to dwell
there. We prayed over every room and
anointed them… even the bathroom!
Why? Well, the enemy can also
grip us with lies about who we are in that place. So, it was powerful and God was moving and we
took turns praying. Before I left,
Carrie asked her daughter, Trinity, if she would be ok with me praying for
her. She said yes and we had a great
talk first and it was in her room that I sensed a spirit of anxiety. She readily affirmed that social anxiety was
a huge struggle for her. As we talked it
became clear that even days before when Sharon was there that she struggled
even with living itself and through Sharon’s hug, she felt the presence of
God. She wanted more and that led us to
a time of prayer where she gave her life to Jesus! It was such a strong affirmation that God has
placed on my heart to see new adoptions into God’s family and raise up sons and
daughters of the King!
