Advancing in Adversity:4

1 But now the Lord who created you, O Israel, says: Don’t be afraid, for I have ransomed you; I have called you by name; you are mine.

2 When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up—the flames will not consume you. (Is 43:1-2; TLB)

ADVANCING IN ADVERSITY BY THE FORCES OF

1. PRAYER

• Prayer is our line of communication with God. It is how we communicate with God. Just as communication is important in every relationship, prayer is important in our relationship with God.

• Prayer is the divinely prescribed remedy for every affliction in the life of any child of God (James 5:13a; 2 Ch. 7:14). Remember, the season of adversity is also the season of affliction and difficulty in the life of a man.

• Prayer does the following

• Connects us to the Presence of God (Exodus 33:15) (see, Pastor Paul Enenche, Principles & Power of Prayer, 2015)

• Provides us with a divine doorway to vision and purpose (Hab. 2:1-2) (ibid.)

• Brings divine direction and answers to pressing questions (Jer. 33:3; Psalm 37:23) (ibid.)

• Births power (1 Kings 17:1; James 5:17) (ibid)

• Guarantees protection and preservation (Daniel 6:20-22) (ibid.)

• Brings comfort in the season of adversity (James 5:13a)

• Prayer must flow from a healthy, lively relationship with God (ibid.)

• Prayer that brings answers or solutions (i.e. prayer that prevails) must be offered with faith and from a position of victory (1 John 5:14-15; Mark 11:24-25; James 1:6-7, But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering [doubting nothing]. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.)

• We are told to pray always, without ceasing; according to His Word or will and in the name of Jesus (1 Thess. 5:17, Pray without ceasing or continually be prayerful; John 16:24, ISV; So far you haven't asked for anything in my name. Keep asking and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete; 1 John 5:14-15, WNT; And we have an assured confidence that whenever we ask anything in accordance with His will, He listens to us. And since we know that He listens to us, then whatever we ask, we know that we have the things which we have asked from Him.)

• Prayer is fruitful when combined with praise and a forgiving spirit (Mark 11:24-25, ESV; Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.)

• Prayer is the life-wire of faith. E. M. Bounds says, "when your faith ceases to pray, it ceases to exist".

1. POSITIVE PERSISTENCE

• Persistence is the character of not knowing how to give up. It is the quality of having a fighting spirit. It is pressing hard until one breaks through. Persistence does not deny the existence of obstacles. It just does not see the obstacles as limitations but platforms for acceleration and elevation. Persistence is a characteristic of faith.

• A persistent person is dogged and tenacious. Flowing water demonstrates this every time. When it runs into a barrier, it doesn’t go back. Instead, it looks for a way through, around or over the barrier—no matter how long it will take it to make it to the other side of the barrier. It also does not put into consideration the strength or mightiness of the barrier.

• Persistence, which also means to keep-on-keeping-on, in the life of a Christian enables him to keep on in the place of prayer; in the place of studying and engaging the Word until we become what God says of us in His Word; in resisting the adversary until our victory is established (Luke 18:1-8, And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bears long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? 2 Tim 2:15, Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.; 1 Tim 4:15-16, Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.; 1 Peter 5:9, Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.)

• Persistence goes together with faith and a booster to prayer that must be answered

• Persistent people don’t give up because things didn’t go according to plan, they keep pressing on until God’s plan, vision and will for their lives are established (Philippians 3:13-14, Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.)

• Persistence will secure the desired answer in any engagement. A man that is persistent will get the results others couldn’t get because he won’t give up when others are giving up. He is the one that will do what others will not do, may be because they feel they are above such requirements, and get to where they will never get to in life.

• Your adversary will not release you from that adversity if you strike only once or twice. You must keep striking the blows until he is completely down and out.

1. PLANNING

• Planning is crucial in every warfare or business that must be successful (Luke 14:31, WNT; Or what king, marching to encounter another king in war, does not first sit down and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand men to meet the one who is advancing against him with twenty thousand? Proverbs 24:3-6, TLB; Any enterprise is built by wise planning, becomes strong through common sense, and profits wonderfully by keeping abreast of the facts. A wise man is mightier than a strong man. Wisdom is mightier than strength. Don’t go to war without wise guidance; there is safety in many counselors).

• In planning, you discover the resources available to you for defeating your adversary.

• It helps you to identify the strategies that will or will not work

• Planning, in line with God, is an expression of divine wisdom. Wisdom is defined as “the productive and systematic application of acquired knowledge”. Planning, therefore, carefully studies available options for carrying out a given task thereby plotting a bound-to-be-successful course of action.

• In planning, you know what your strengths and weaknesses are. It is here you identify who your allies are

• When you combine planning with prayer and persistence, you have a winning formula against any adversity.

1. CONFRONTATION

• A confrontation is aggressively engaging an antagonizing opponent. That’s to say the one doing the confrontation may not have been aggressive initially.

• It is you saying ENOUGH IS ENOUGH to a pattern of aggression, oppression or persecution against you.

• It is you challenging your challengers; turning the tables against your adversary. It requires you daring to make progress in the face or midst of adversity

• David had to confront or challenge Goliath to win the war for Israel (1 Samuel 17:45)

• In a confrontation, you match force for force; power for power; words for words (Matthew 11:12, ISV; From the days of John the Baptist until the present, the kingdom from heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people have been attacking it; KJV, And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force).

• As a Christian, you must be prepared for confrontation always if you sincerely desire to fulfill your glorious destiny in Christ. Christianity is confrontational not timid; offensive not defensive.

• The land God has set before you and me cannot be fully possessed without full scale confrontation. To take possession of what is rightly yours, you will need to provoke or contend with the adversary and end his resistance against your advancement (Deu. 2:24, ISV; Get ready and set out for the Wadi Arnon. Look! I've given into your control Sihon king of Heshbon, the Amorite, along with his land. Prepare to take possession by provoking him to war. KJV, Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle). Yes, the promise is there. It is yours. The prophecies have gone forth and in those prophecies, you won and are crowned king. The land is before you. It’s already yours. But those things are not speaking in your life yet. Nobody is seeing the proofs. Why? Because you haven’t possessed them yet. To possess them, you need to fight. To fight, you must prepare for a confrontation.

• An effective confrontation requires the following

• Faith. The entire Christian life is a life of faith. We are saved by grace through faith. We walk by faith. We live by faith. We fight the good fight of faith. We overcome by faith. It is a faith-life. We must put our confidence or trust in the God who cannot be defeated as we confront our situations or the adversary. God is the One backing us up in this fight and He has never lost any battle or war. He never loses. You won’t be defeated because God is with you (Is. 43:2).

• Knowledge and understanding of what you carry; who and what you represent; who you are and the tools at your disposal. You carry the entire Godhead (God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit) inside of you. You represent God and His Kingdom. You are an heir of the Kingdom and a joint-heir with Christ. Faith, among others, is a vital tool for confronting your adversity and the adversary. You are so important and special that God sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesus, to die in your place. If He could sacrifice or offer up His Son for you, what do you think will be too difficult for God to do for you? (Ro 8:31-32, What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?). According to Galatians 4:28, you are a child of prophecy/promise but prophecies/promises don’t fulfill themselves. There must be someone to step out and create an atmosphere/condition for their fulfillment (1 Timothy 1:18-19, WNT; This is the charge which I entrust to you, my son Timothy, in accordance with the inspired instructions concerning you which were given me long ago, that being equipped with them as your armour you may be continually fighting the good fight, holding fast to faith and a clear conscience, which some have cast aside and have made shipwreck of their faith. KJV, This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck). Faith is vital in creating that atmosphere/condition.

• Prayer. Jabez had to confront his adversity in prayers before he could experience a change of story. Remember, right from birth Jabez was never given an opportunity to succeed in life. His mother named him “Pain”! God requires us to confront our affliction in the place of prayers if we must break through to our glorious destiny in Christ (1 Ch. 4:9-10; 2 Ch. 7:13-14, EXB; [If I] stop the sky [shut the heavens] from sending rain. [if I] command the locusts to destroy [devour] the land. [if I] send sicknesses [plague; pestilence] to my people. Then if my people, who are called by my name [belong to me], will humble themselves, if they will pray and seek me [my face] and stop their evil ways, I will hear them from heaven. I will forgive their sin, and I will heal [restore] their land; KJV, If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land; James 5:13). Afflictions may overtake us but if we can only remember to turn from trying to move ahead in our own strength and ask God to step in, God will give us the grace to overtake the afflictions (Hebrews 4:16).

• Preparation/Planning. In the words of Bishop David O. Oyedepo, planning is winning just as breathing is living. Purpose without planning is dead. Planning gives value to every of our engagements. If we must therefore succeed in our confrontational engagements against the adversary and the adversities troubling us, we must prayerfully plan our approaches. In the place of prayerful planning, that’s where we determine whether we are going to overtake our adversities with just prayer and fasting; or with praise, or any other spiritual weapon of warfare available to us. Planning is preparing to win. Planning is living on purpose. Jotham became mighty, not because of some excellent skills that he had but because he prepared his way before the LORD (2 Ch. 27:6).

• A lifestyle of sacrifice. To go up in life, most times, you will have to give up something. A Christian that must overcome the challenges of this life every time is a Christian that is ever-willing to sacrifice something: his money; his comfort; his property; his humanly acquired dignity and honour, position or status, etc. You are not ready to go up until you are willing to give up something. The life of the Christian begins with sacrifice, continues with sacrifice and ends with sacrifice. Some of the most terrible adversities in Bible times were turned around by the engagement of sacrifice. David did it in 2 Samuel 24:16-25. God gave the ultimate sacrifice to redeem Mankind from the hands of the wicked one (John 3:16). Jesus made it clear that except you are ready to be sacrificial, you cannot follow him (Matthew 19:28-29; Mark 10:29-30). Paul said he counted everything as dung or as loss (Philippians 3:8). It is the same Paul who proclaimed, “we are more than conquerors”. He also said, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.” (2 Cor. 4:8-10) Sacrifice completes or perfects our worship unto God. It proclaims who our loyalty lies with and who we put our trust in. Sacrifice takes the fight from us and places it right at the feet of God, the Mighty Man of War; the One who is the Lord of Hosts. A sacrifice must cost you something if it must mean something to God to the point of defeating your adversary. It must be of a great value or importance to you—value here must not be monetary. (2 Samuel 24:24-25; 2 Kings 3:26) Your sacrifice must be valuable and strong enough that it speaks for you in the Presence of God even without you saying anything before God.

• Boldness. This is confidence. It is the backbone of the victor or conqueror. To be bold is to be unafraid. David, though not a trained warrior in the real sense of the word, wasn’t afraid of the size of Goliath—a man who has been fighting since his boyhood days; a man whose size and voice caused the entire army of Israel to hide in fear. David dared to confront him. Where did the boldness come from? What did he swallow or what was he standing on? He stood on his confidence in the Lord; he stood on the authority of the name of the Lord. He recounted the testimonies and faithfulness of God in his life. He confronted or challenged Goliath and got away with it. Few moments after the confrontation, a dead and headless Goliath shared the testimony of how a small boy defeated him with a stone and a catapult. (1 Samuel 17) Your boldness is required when you meet with God in the place of prayer (Hebrews 4:16). And your boldness is always borne out of your righteous standing with God (Proverbs 28:1). But your righteousness is a function of your being in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). So, if you are not yet in Him, this is the best time to do so—today! Come to Him and He promises to give you rest from all your battles; from all your struggles; from all that troubles you, etc. (Matthew 11:28-30).