All of us have experienced a life that is less than perfect. When it comes to not giving the enemy a seat at your table, we have to start by wrapping our minds around this difficult truth: “Life is hard, yet Jesus invites us to follow Him anyway.”
I. What are your habits of faith when “life” closes in on you?
A. Let me give you two great Biblical examples…
Mark 10:17-27 MSG
17 As He went out into the street, a man came running up, greeted Him with great reverence, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to get eternal life?” 18-19 Jesus said, “Why are you calling Me good? No one is good, only God. You know the commandments: Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t cheat, honor your father and mother.” 20 He said, “Teacher, I have—from my youth—kept them all!” 21 Jesus looked him hard in the eye—and loved him! He said, “There’s one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth. And come follow me.” 22 The man’s face clouded over. This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go. 23-25 Looking at His disciples, Jesus said, “Do you have any idea how difficult it is for people who ‘have it all’ to enter God’s kingdom?” The disciples couldn’t believe what they were hearing, but Jesus kept on: “You can’t imagine how difficult. I’d say it’s easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for the rich to get into God’s kingdom.” 26 That got their attention. “Then who has any chance at all?” they asked. 27 Jesus was blunt: “No chance at all if you think you can pull it off by yourself. Every chance in the world if you let God do it.”
1. When life turns
2. Never forget that Jesus invites us to follow
3. Within the invitation is the foundational truth for winning the
I Samuel 30:1-8 NKJV
1 Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, 2 and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way. 3 So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. 5 And David’s two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. 6 Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. 7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring the ephod here to me.” And Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?”
4. Before I seat an enemy of my faith at the table, I look to my
The only one who can win the battle of your mind is you!
II. Your faith is designed to inflate during difficult times…
A. A great Biblical example of this:
I Samuel 24:1-22 MSG
1-4 When Saul came back after dealing with the Philistines, he was told, “David is now in the wilderness of En Gedi.” Saul took three companies—the best he could find in all Israel—and set out in search of David and his men in the region of Wild Goat Rocks. He came to some sheep pens along the road. There was a cave there and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were huddled far back in the same cave. David’s men whispered to him, “Can you believe it? This is the day God was talking about when he said, ‘I’ll put your enemy in your hands. You can do whatever you want with him.’” Quiet as a cat, David crept up and cut off a piece of Saul’s royal robe. 5-7 Immediately, he felt guilty. He said to his men, “God forbid that I should have done this to my master, God’s anointed, that I should so much as raise a finger against him. He’s God’s anointed!” David held his men in check with these words and wouldn’t let them pounce on Saul. Saul got up, left the cave, and went on down the road. 8-13 Then David stood at the mouth of the cave and called to Saul, “My master! My king!” Saul looked back. David fell to his knees and bowed in reverence. He called out, “Why do you listen to those who say ‘David is out to get you’? This very day with your very own eyes you have seen that just now in the cave God put you in my hands. My men wanted me to kill you, but I wouldn’t do it. I told them that I won’t lift a finger against my master—he’s God’s anointed. Oh, my father, look at this, look at this piece that I cut from your robe. I could have cut you—killed you!—but I didn’t. Look at the evidence! I’m not against you. I’m no rebel. I haven’t sinned against you, and yet you’re hunting me down to kill me. Let’s decide which of us is in the right. God may avenge me, but it is in his hands, not mine. An old proverb says, ‘Evil deeds come from evil people.’ So be assured that my hand won’t touch you. 14-15 “What does the king of Israel think he’s doing? Who do you think you’re chasing? A dead dog? A flea? God is our judge. He’ll decide who is right. Oh, that he would look down right now, decide right now—and set me free of you!” 16-21 When David had finished saying all this, Saul said, “Can this be the voice of my son David?” and he wept in loud sobs. “You’re the one in the right, not me,” he continued. “You’ve heaped good on me; I’ve dumped evil on you. And now you’ve done it again—treated me generously. God put me in your hands and you didn’t kill me. Why? When a man meets his enemy, does he send him down the road with a blessing? May God give you a bonus of blessings for what you’ve done for me today! I know now beyond doubt that you will rule as king. The kingdom of Israel is already in your grasp! Now promise me under God that you will not kill off my family or wipe my name off the books.” 22 David promised Saul. Then Saul went home and David and his men went up to their wilderness refuge.
B. When an uninvited
C. In times of intense trouble go
Habakkuk 3:17-18 GNT
17 Even though the fig trees have no fruit and no grapes grow on the vines, even though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no grain, even though the sheep all die and the cattle stalls are empty, 18 I will still be joyful and glad, because the Lord God is my savior.
H*uge faith is marked by the “Even though…I will mindset.”*
D. Faith is marked by
E. Even though bad things happen, I will not let my
III. “Even though, I will faith” changes the temperature and trajectory of your life…
A. Again, the enemy begins with a seat, but make no mistake, as a
John 10:1-10 MSG
1 Jesus said, “I am telling you the truth: the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The man who goes in through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him; the sheep hear his voice as he calls his own sheep by name, and he leads them out. 4 When he has brought them out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice. 5 They will not follow someone else; instead, they will run away from such a person, because they do not know his voice.” 6 Jesus told them this parable, but they did not understand what He meant. 7 So Jesus said again, “I am telling you the truth: I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All others who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate. Those who come in by Me will be saved; they will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only in order to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come in order that you might have life—life in all its fullness.
B. The invitation in John 10 is this,
1. Jesus is offering to
2. All of us are shepherded whether we
3. Your shepherd might not be Jesus, but
4. If it’s not Jesus, what
II Peter 2:17-19 TPT
17These people are dried-up riverbeds, waterless clouds pushed along by stormy winds—the deepest darkness of gloom has been prepared for them. 18They spout off with their grandiose, impressive nonsense. Consumed with the lusts of the flesh, they lure back into sin those who recently escaped from their error. 19They promise others freedom, yet they themselves are slaves to corruption, for people are slaves to whatever overcomes them.
C. One thing is for sure: If you are your own
Peace, victory, and freedom don’t come from sitting around wishing we didn’t have any problems or pain – no the reality is that we all will be led through the valley of shadow of death in some way, shape, or form…
D. Your faith will
Psalm 55:16-18 TPT
16But as for me, I will call upon the Lord to save me, and I know He will! 17Every evening I will explain my need to Him. Every morning I will move my soul toward Him. Every waking hour I will worship only Him, and He will hear and respond to my cry. 18Though many wish to fight and the tide of battle turns against me, by Your power I will be safe and secure; peace will be my portion.