Be the first to attack the enemy

So Joshua and all the people of war with him came against them suddenly by the waters of Merom, and they attacked them.

Joshua 11:7  

In this story, Joshua and the people of war did not warn their enemies before attacking them. There are lessons from this that we as believers in Jesus Christ can apply to our lives when it concerns spiritual warfare:

1. Don’t wait for the enemy to attack

When Joshua heard that all the kings of the surrounding cities had gathered together to fight against Israel, they did not wait for their enemies to attack. Instead, he and the people of war attacked their enemies suddenly.

Likewise we do not have to sit and wait for satan to attack us. Remember that we are in a spiritual war therefore we must stay alert and watch out, for our great enemy, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).

2. Be the first to attack

We don’t have to wait for the devil to attack, in fact from this story we can be the first to attack. The way we can attack the enemy is through God’s Word. The Word is called the sword of the Spirit because it is an offensive weapon that we can use to tear down anything that comes against us (Ephesians 6:17).

3. Don’t go into the battle alone

Joshua did not go into the battle alone, he took the people of war with him. When the enemy comes in against your life, health, children, finances, career, business, ministry etc. please know that you cannot defeat him on your own. You will need the power of the Holy Spirit to destroy every plan of the enemy:

When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.

Isaiah 59:19

The Holy Spirit may also lead you to intercessors who can help to pray you through the problem (James 5:16). I remember when I was going through my most intense spiritual warfare, the Holy Spirit led me to a Church sister who faithfully prayed with me from 5-8am every day for about a period of 6 months which gave me the spiritual strength I needed to stay sane. God knows exactly want you need and when you rely on Him He will lead you to victory through Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Prayer

Dear Lord, I thank You that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds. Help me to use the sword of the Spirit to pull down every stronghold affecting my mind, my health, my finances, my marriage, my children, business, ministry and career in Jesus name, amen. 

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God bless,

Blessing

 

 

The Lord will fight for you

So the Lord routed them before Israel, killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them along the road that goes to Beth Horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah.

Joshua 10:10 (NKJV)

When the five neighbouring kings heard how Joshua had taken Ai and had destroyed it, as well as what he had done to Jericho and its king, and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, they were very afraid. Therefore the five kings of the Amorites gathered together and went up with all their armies to make war with Gibeon.

The men of Gibeon sent to Joshua and pleaded with him to come quickly and help them. So Joshua and all the men of war went with him. The Lord assured Joshua “Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; not a man of them shall stand before you.” Joshua and his army marched all night to Gibeon, so it was a complete surprise when he attacked them.

The Lord caused those armies to be very confused when Israel attacked. So Israel defeated them and won a great victory. While they were chasing the enemy, the Lord caused large hailstones to fall from the sky. Many of the enemy were killed by these large hailstones. More men were killed by the hailstones than by the swords of the soldiers of Israel.

On that day the Lord gave Israel the victory against the Amorites. Joshua stood before all the Israelites and said to the Lord: “Sun, stop over Gibeon. Moon, stand still over the Valley of Aijalon.” So the sun did not move, and the moon stopped until the people defeated their enemies.

The Lord heeded to the voice of Joshua to make the sun and the moon stand still because He was committed to fight for them.

When you accept Jesus Christ into your heart, and are committed to Him, He will be committed to you and no matter the spiritual armies that come against you, The Lord is committed to fight for you.

Remember that as long as you are alive, you will have those who will gather together to fight against you. However whenever you face a battle that seems too hot for you alone to handle, just give it to The Lord because He is committed to fight for you. He declares in His Word that whoever will gather against you shall fall for your sake:

Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.

Isaiah 54:15

He also goes on to say that no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper. The weapons will be formed however they will not succeed. Also every tongue that speaks against you, you have the authority to condemn:

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.

Isaiah 54:17

No matter the battle that you may be going through today, be encouraged because The Lord will fight for you.

Prayer

Dear Lord, I thank You that You are The Lord of Host who is committed to fight for me. I hand over every battle in my life and ask that You fight for me just as You fought for Joshua and his army in Jesus name.

Listen to the Message

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What does every new leader need to know?

What does a new leader who has been commissioned by God to become the leader of a new nation need to know after the death of its great leader?

No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. (Joshua 1:5 NKJV)

Joshua was commissioned by God to take over the leadership of Israel after the death of Moses, Israel’s first great leader. To understand the impact that Moses had made, please take a look at how the Bible describes him:

“Israel never had another prophet like Moses: The Lord knew Moses face to face. The Lord sent Moses to do powerful miracles in the land of Egypt. Pharaoh, all his officers, and all the people in Egypt saw those miracles. No other prophet ever did as many powerful and amazing things as Moses did for the Israelites to see. (Deuteronomy 34:10-12 ERV)

The Lord knew that Joshua had every reason to be intimidated by his new position as a leader following the death of Moses, therefore the Lord gave him an assurance which He is still giving leaders today who have assumed new positions of leadership, whether at Church, in business, in your career, or at home etc.

The Lord wants all new leaders to know the following:

1. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life.

The Lord knew that men would try to rise up against Joshua as the new leader, to stop him from doing what God has called him to do, therefore He reassured him that no man will be able to stand against him.

Every new leader also needs to know that, when God calls you, there will be the naysayers also known as ‘Sanballat’ and ‘Tobiah’ (Nehemiah 2:19) – who will try to stop you, however just remember that the same God who has called and commissioned you will not allow any man to stop you from what He has called you to do:

The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? (Psalm 118:6)

2. As God was with Moses, so He will be with you.

As we can see from the above scripture, Moses was so intimate with God that the Lord knew him face to face. The Lord used him to perform many powerful miracles in Egypt, and the Lord used him to deliver the children of Israel from their slavery in Egypt. That same God also reassured Joshua that He will be with him just like He was with Moses. He did not want Joshua to be intimidated or to think that he had to do the same things that Moses did.

That same God is telling you and I that He will also be with us. Whether He has called you to lead in a ministry, at work, in your business, youth group, in your home etc. that same God who was with Moses is telling you that He will be with you.

Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6)

3. God will not leave you.

The Lord told Joshua that He will not leave him and He is assuring you of this same fact that He will not leave you. Even though God may not be physically here on earth for you to see Him, Jesus told us when He rose again that He was going to be with the Father, but He will not leave us comfortless. He said that He will send His Holy Spirit to be with us and to comfort us:

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. (John 14:16-18)

4. God will not forsake you.

God told Joshua that He will not forsake or fail him. To forsake or to fail is to neglect or let someone down. As human beings we sometimes let each other down when we are not able to do what the other person expect of us, however God told Joshua that unlike human beings who fail and forsake you, He will do what He promised He will do.

Likewise, God is telling each of us that He will not forsake or fail us. What He said He will do, He will do:

“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19)

So, what does every new leader need to know?

1. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life.
2. As God was with Moses, so He will be with you.
3. God will not leave you.
4. God will not forsake you.

You can also listen to this message on YouTube here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKaoYOpNkuw

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God bless,

Blessing

You are God’s special people

In today’s Scripture God want you to know that you are His special people.

“Today the Lord your God commands you to obey all these laws and rules. Be careful to follow them with all your heart and soul. Today you have said that the Lord is your God. You have promised to live the way he wants. You promised to follow his teachings and to obey his laws and commands. You said you would do everything he tells you to do.

And today the Lord has accepted you to be his own people. He has promised you this. The Lord also said that you must obey all his commands. The Lord will make you greater than all the nations he made. He will give you praise, fame, and honor. And you will be his own special people, as he promised.”

Deuteronomy 26:16-19 (ERV)

 In this Scripture, Moses the man of God, tells the people of Israel that if they do everything The Lord requires of them then the Lord will make them His special people. As believers in Jesus Christ, the Lord is saying the same thing to us today. If we will believe in God by accepting Jesus Christ His Son as our Lord and Saviour, The Lord will also accept us as His own people and we will be God’s special people. Let’s take a closer look at this scripture.

What does The Lord require from us for us to be His own special people?

1. Obey all His laws and rules – do everything The Lord has told us to do in His Word – The Holy Bible. Just like Jesus, we should surrender our will to the Father and do all that He has commanded us to do “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38)
2. Be careful to follow them with all your heart and soul – we should put our all in serving God and follow His Word with all our heart and soul “Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’” (Matthew 22:37)
3. Make The Lord your God – there are many god’s out there. Some are made of stones, metal and wood, some even worship the sun and the moon. Some worship their money, car, family etc. But The Lord who made heaven and earth, the God of Israel, wants you to make Him your Lord and God: “But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases. Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men’s hands” (Psalm 115:3-4)
4. Live in the way God wants – there are many philosophies out there of different ways to live the good life, however God wants us to walk in love (Ephesians 5:2), walk as children of light (Ephesians 5:8), and walk in in wisdom (Ephesians 5:15)
5. Follow the teachings of God – we should do what The Word says “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22)
6. Obey His laws and commands – even in the face of difficulty and persecution The Lord wants us to do what He says “But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29);
7. Do everything God tells you to do – The Lord wants us to do everything He tells us to do so that He will make us prosperous and give us good success “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8)

Once we do what The Lord require, what will The Lord do for us?

1. The Lord will accept us as His own people – to be accepted is to have the assurance that we belong to God and that no one can take us from His hand; “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.” (John 10:28-30)
2. The Lord will make you greater than all the nations He made – it has always been the will of The Father to make those who obey Him great and to give them a great name. God told Abraham, Israel’s ancestor, that if he will leave his father’s house and go to a land that He will show him; “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing” (Genesis 12:2)
3. The Lord will give you praise – God is a faithful God, and when you listen to Him, He will give you fame and praise “At that time I will bring you back, Even at the time I gather you; For I will give you fame and praise Among all the peoples of the earth, When I return your captives before your eyes,” Says the Lord” (Zephaniah 3:20)
4. The Lord will give you fame – God makes those who obey Him famous. Listen to what He told David, the man who was after God’s own heart: “And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth” (2 Samuel 7:9)
5. The Lord will give you honour – because Solomon asked wisdom from God, God gave him both riches and honour “And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days” (1 Kings 3:13)
6. You will be God’s special people – when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour we become God’s special people “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9)

Prayer of Surrender

If you would like to become God’s special people but have not yet surrendered your life to Jesus, please pray this prayer of surrender from your heart:

Lord Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God. I believe that You are the way, the truth and the life and no man comes to the Father but by You. I believe You died on the cross and You were raised from the dead.

I accept that I am a sinner and have come short of the glory of God. I now confess my sins and ask You to please forgive me for the sins of (……..please take your time and name them one by one and make a decision not to do them again).

Please wash me clean with Your precious blood that was shed for me on the Cross. Please remove me from the kingdom of darkness and bring me into Your Kingdom of Light. I want to know you Jesus, and have a loving relationship with God my Father.

Please become the Lord of my life and fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that I can live a victorious life.

From today, please gain control over my spirit, my soul, my mind, my will and my emotions. Please help me to live for You. Thank You Jesus.

Father, I now come to You in the name of Jesus. Thank You for giving Jesus Christ Your Son to die for me so that I can have a loving relationship with You. Please guide and direct my steps from this day forward in Jesus name.

Father, I know You created me for a purpose. Please show me why You have created me and what You want me to do with the rest of my life in Jesus’ name.

Next Steps

Dear Friend, if you have prayed this prayer from your heart, you have become a child of God, His own special people. Please get a Bible and start reading the Word of God, because the Word of God is Spirit and it is life. You literally become transformed as you read the Word of God. If you do not have a Bible please read it at: https://www.biblegateway.com/

Please find a Church where the pure Word of God is preached and join fellowship with other believers. This will help you to be strong and to grow in the Lord.

Dear Brother or Sister, if you have prayed this prayer, we would love to hear from you. Please send an email and we will send you a Bible and some excellent reading material to help you on this Christian journey: info@blessingcoaching.com

God bless,

Blessing

How can you become courageous?

These Levite officials must also say to the people, ‘Is there any man here who has lost his courage and is afraid? He should go back home. Then he will not cause the other soldiers to lose their courage too.’

Deuteronomy 20:8 (ERV)

 In this Scripture, Moses is giving instructions to the Israelite’s about how they were to eliminate people who were not qualified to go to war. The Levites officials (Priests) were to ask whether there were any men who had lost their courage and was afraid. Such men were ordered to go back home because if they didn’t they would cause the other soldiers to lose their courage too.

This teaches us several important principles:

1. When you are embarking on a new venture you do not need people who are not courageous around you;
2. You also do not need people who are fearful;
3. Lack of courage and fear is contagious therefore we must recognise these emotions in ourselves and cast them out through the power in the Blood of Jesus.

How can you become courageous?

The solution to lack of courage and fear is obedience to the Word of God:

Remember, I commanded you to be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid, because the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:9 (ERV)

1. Be strong – to be strong is to be alert, physically (on foot) or mentally (in courage), be steadfastly minded that no matter what happens in life you are going to make it;
2. Be brave – to be brave you must be like the lion that is the warrior of the animals and runs from nothing. Whatever God tells you to do take bold steps towards it and whatever adversity comes your way make a resolve to stand firm;
3. Don’t be afraid – it doesn’t mean fear will not try to grip you, but you should attack fear with the Word of God. Just like Jesus when He was tempted, use the Word of God and the spirit of fear will eventually have to bow at the name of Jesus: ‘For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind’ (2 Timothy 1:7);
4. Remember that The Lord your God is with you wherever you go – remember no matter where you are you are never alone because God is with you – Psalm 23:4 tells us that “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me”.

 So this week make a choice to be courageous, by being:

1. Strong
2. Brave
3. Not afraid and
4. Remember the Lord Your God is with you.

Support Israel’s Right to Exist Declaration

Have you signed the Declaration to Support Israel’s Right to Exist and Defend Herself and Say “No” to Nuclear War?

If not, please sign the declaration today:

http://pages.jerusalemprayerteam.org/Iran-Petition-Wrap.html?OC=MWBR0815&RefEmail=d_mensah@hotmail.com

God bless,

Blessing

Do you want everything to go well for you?

Our Scripture this week tells us what to do if we want everything to go well for us and our children:

Observe and obey all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 12:28

In this scripture Moses was telling the children of Israel before they entered the promise land, the things that they must do if they wanted things to go well for them and their children.

These words also apply to us as followers of Jesus Christ, because God doesn’t change, He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

As we are on our spiritual journey to our promise land, there are things that we must do if we want things to go well for us and our children. They are:

1. Observe the Words of God – to observe means to keep, to watch and to preserve the Word of God. This is basically telling us to take a keen interest in the Bible which is described as the Word of Life (Philippians 2:16) because when you read and confess it, it literally transforms you and brings to life areas that were previously dead. For example your faith may be weak however you can increase your faith by reading the Word of God: So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17);
2. Obey the Word of God – to obey the Word means to do what the Word of God says. We are encouraged to be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves (James 1:22);
3. Do what is good in the sight of God– goodness is one of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). If you see your brother or sister in need, you should be eager to help them out of the goodness of your heart. The story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37 shows that we ought to be good to people who are in need whether or not we know them;
4. Do what is right in the sight of God – to do what is right in the sight of God is to do what God’s Word says. The Bible says that there is a way that seems right unto a man but in the end it leads to death (Proverbs 14:12). We may do things to try to please other people however the Bible tells us not to be men pleasers (Ephesians 6:6) because it is God who will judge us and not man (Isaiah 33:22).

When you are reading and confessing the Word, and doing what is good and right in the sight of God, it may seem temporarily painful because you are not doing what your natural inclination may tell you, however if you will hold on, the Word tells us that it will go well for you and your children after you.

Just think, when you are living for God, you are heaping up blessings for you and your children. Remember, God is the faithful God, and He keeps covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations (Deuteronomy 7:9).

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