A Leader Cannot Do Everything

Now Joshua was old, advanced in years. And the Lord said to him: “You are old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land yet to be possessed.

Joshua 13:1

Joshua had fought many battles and captured much of the land that God had promised the Children of Israel, however he was not able to do everything. Even when he was old and advanced in years, there was still much land for him to possess. This teaches us a number of important lessons about leadership:

1. A leader cannot do everything

When God gives you a vision, it may be for you to begin and for generations to come to continue. For example when God called Abraham and promised to give him the Promised Land, he began the journey however it was his children 430 years later who finally captured the land. Your job as a leader is to begin whatever assignment that God has given you and then to put systems in place to ensure that it can carry on in your absence.

2. An effective leader will appoint other leaders to carry on their legacy

Because Jesus Christ knew that His time on earth was short, as soon as He began His public ministry He appointed 12 disciples who would carry on His legacy in His absence. Moses knew that he was not going to enter into the Promised Land therefore He asked God to choose a successor. As a leader you must ask God for wisdom about who to appoint to carry on the assignment that God has given you in your absence.

3. An effective leader must learn to delegate

Leadership can be draining both emotionally and physically which is why it’s so important that as a leader you know how to delegate to other people and not to micro-manage everything because you will wear yourself out. That is why the advice of Jethro, Moses’ father in-law is still so relevant today:

So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people: rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. So they judged the people at all times; the hard cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves.

Exodus 18:24-26

Prayer

Dear Father, I recognise that I cannot do everything therefore please help me to learn how to delegate and appoint other people to help me with the work You have called me to do in Jesus name.

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After war, there is rest

So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord had said to Moses; and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. Then the land rested from war

Joshua 11:23

We have seen from the past few months that Joshua and the Children of Israel did not enter into the Promised Land by sitting around and folding their arms. They had to fight in order to dispossess the land of the former inhabitants whom God had said they should drive out. However after he took the whole land and gave it as an inheritance to Israel, the land rested from war. This teaches us a number of important lessons about our own Christian journey:

1. We will have to fight in order to possess our possessions

The story of Joshua shows us that we must fight in order to possess all the possessions that God has already given us through His Word. We have to fight for our family, health, finances, ministry, businesses, career etc. We are freely given the gift of salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, however in order for us to be able to enjoy all that Jesus Christ died to give us, including eternal life, we have to fight the good fight of faith:

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

1 Timothy 6:12

2. After the war, however there is rest

Joshua and the Children of Israel did not fight forever. Once they took the whole land, the land rested from war. You see, when you obey God, there is a place in Him where you no longer have to fight because when your enemies come against you, God will make them to scatter in seven different ways:

The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.

Deuteronomy 28:7

3. We should strive to enter into the rest of The Lord

The land rested from war because Joshua obeyed God. Let us therefore strive to walk in obedience to the Word of God so that we too can enter into the rest of The Lord:

Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

Hebrews 4:11 (NIV)

Prayer

Dear Father, I know Your Word says there is a time for war and a time for peace. Please give me strength to fight in the time of war so that I can enter into Your rest in Jesus name.

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Leaders must be prepared for challenges

So they went out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude, with very many horses and chariots. And when all these kings had met together, they came and camped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.

Joshua 11:4-5

As a leader the more successes you have the more challenges will come your way. When Joshua and the Children of Israel followed the instructions that God had given them and defeated Jericho, Ai and the five kings that came against them, it did not prevent them from further opposition. Instead, all the surrounding nations decided to come together to fight against them. This teaches us a number of important lessons about leadership:

1. The more successful you become as a leader the more challenges you can expect to face

We can see from the example of Joshua that the more Israel conquered under his leadership the more enemies were gathered against them. In your own life the more successful you are in the assignment that God has given you, the more opposition and challenges you will face. This is however not to discourage you, it is designed to build up your resilience and leadership muscle.

2. A leader must not fear challenges

When the armies came against Joshua the first thing The Lord said to Joshua was “Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow about this time I will deliver all of them slain before Israel”. So the challenges will come, the oppositions will come but The Lord is telling you not to be afraid because He will help you to overcome all the challenges.

As believers in Jesus Christ we must learn to rejoice in opposition because faith triumphs in trials:

And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Romans 5:3-4

3. A leader must be prepared for challenges

To be prepared is to “stand ready” to meet the challenge. Therefore a leader must remember that just because God has told you to do something doesn’t mean it will run smoothly. You must be prepared for any challenges and opposition that comes, it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.

Being prepared as a leader means that you have strategies and contingency plans in place in case something does not go the way you planned it to go.

Prayer

Dear Lord, please help me to be prepared to meet any challenge and opposition that I may encounter as I follow the leading of Your Spirit in Jesus name.

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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.

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How do you ask God for advice?

 The men of Israel wanted to know if these men were telling the truth. So they tasted the bread—but they did not ask the Lord what they should do.

Joshua 9:14 (ERV)

Last week, we looked at what lessons we can learn from leaders who asked God for advice before they took a decision. The question today is, how do we ask God for advice?

In the Old Testament, The Holy Spirit was not yet poured out upon people therefore leaders could not go directly to God, instead they had to ask Prophets and Priests to ask God on their behalf for advice on what they should do.

We thank God that we have a High Priest, our Lord Jesus through Whom we can now come boldly to the throne room of God, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16).

Believers in Jesus Christ have been given the precious gift of The Holy Spirit, Who knows the mind of God. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, who guides us into all truth and tells us about the future (John 16:13). If you haven’t yet received Him, please give your life to Jesus and ask Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit.

How do you ask God for advice?

1. Ask

We must simply go to God The Father as little children and ask Him whatever is in our heart. I personally find it helpful to write down the questions on paper. Jesus said whatever we ask in His name, He will do, that The Father may be glorified in the Son. If we ask anything in His name He assures us that He will do it (John 14:13-14). The Bible says if you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking (James 1:5);

2. Seek

To seek is to search for or to desire something. Don’t give up, keep on searching to obtain the answer. We are told to seek The Lord while He may be found; call on him while He is near (Isaiah 55:6);

3. Knock

To knock is to beat a door to gain admittance. Jesus encouraged us that we should always pray and not give up. We must be like the persistent widow who kept going to the judge to get justice for her from her adversaries. For a while he did nothing however he eventually avenged her because he was tired of her persistence. In this parable Jesus was showing that although God’s people call to Him night and day, He will always give us what is right. He will not be slow to answer us, He will help His people quickly (Luke 18:1-8);

4. Wait

After all the asking, seeking, and knocking in prayer, we must wait for the answer. This is where most of us get impatient however in waiting God may be trying to develop in us patience which is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Remember that God’s timing is not our timing. With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day (2 Peter 3:8). Waiting on The Lord is good for us because it renews our strength:

But those who wait on the Lord

Shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint

(Isaiah 40:31)

5. Act

Once you have asked and waited on The Lord for advice, and He gives you the direction to take, do whatever He tells you to do. At the marriage in Cana Mary told the servants that they must do whatever Jesus tells them (John 2:5).

Prayer

Dear Father, I thank You that You are always ready to hear me when I call upon You. I now ask You to give me wisdom and advice in the following areas…………….. Help me to be patient in waiting upon You for the answer. Please give me courage so that I will do whatever You tell me to do in Jesus name, amen.

Next week, we will look at the different ways in which God may give us advice.

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Happy Easter

Happy Easter! We thank God that Jesus Christ is no longer dead, He is risen and because He lives we can live also.

God bless,

Blessing

What lessons can we learn from leaders who asked God for advice?

The men of Israel wanted to know if these men were telling the truth. So they tasted the bread—but they did not ask the Lord what they should do.

Joshua 9:14 (ERV)

Last week, we learned that Joshua failed as a leader to ask God for advice before making agreement with the Hivites because he judged based on appearance alone.

Throughout the Bible there are leaders who sought advice from God before they decided to act and we will see what lessons we can learn from some of them.

King David

When the Amalekites invaded Ziklag, the camp where David and his men stayed and burned it; and took the women and children captive, David comforted himself in The Lord and asked The Lord whether he should pursue after this troop. God answered him and said he should pursue for he will surely overtake them and recover all (1 Samuel 30:8).

Lesson learned: Even in the midst of loss, distress and confusion, leaders must learn to comfort ourselves in The Lord and ask for His advice.

King Jehoshaphat

When King Jehoshaphat was told that a large army was coming against him he became afraid and he decided to ask The Lord what to do. He announced a time of fasting for everyone in Judah. All the people came from out of all the towns of Judah to ask for The Lord’s help. In his public prayer King Jehoshaphat reminded God that they didn’t have the strength to stop the large army that was coming against them. He admitted that they did not know what to do and they were looking to Him for help.

The Lord then spoke through a Prophet and reminded the King that the battle is not his battle, it is The Lord’s. The next day as King Jehoshaphat led the people in praise and worship The Lord set ambushments against their enemies and they turned on themselves and killed each other (2 Chronicles 20:1-29).

Lesson learned: When we are afraid we must admit our utter weakness and ask The Lord for help.

King Solomon

When God appeared to Solomon in a dream and told him to ask whatever he wanted, Solomon asked The Lord to give him wisdom and knowledge so that he can lead the people in the right way for he recognised that no one can rule the great nation of Israel without God’s help. In response, God told him that because he did not ask for long life and riches for himself or the death of his enemies, but instead asked for wisdom and knowledge so that he can make the right decisions, God gave him wisdom and knowledge, but He also gave him wealth, riches, and honour (2 Chronicles 1: 1-13).

Lesson learned: As leaders we must have the right attitude of continually asking God for wisdom and knowledge and He will give us also the other by-products of wisdom which is wealth, riches and honour.

King Hezekiah

When King Hezekiah heard that the king of Assyria sent his officials with a large army in Jerusalem and that they were blaspheming the God of Israel, he told the people to remain silent and not to say anything to them. He put on mourning clothes and went to the house of God and then he sent some officials to see the Prophet Isaiah to seek God’s advice as to what to do. Isaiah gave them a word from the Lord that they should not be afraid because He will send a spirit against the king of Assyria. He will get a report warning him about a danger, so he will return to his own country. And God said He will cut him down with a sword in his own country and this is exactly what happened (2 Kings 19:1-7).

Lesson learned: As leaders, whenever we hear a bad report doubting either our God or our integrity, we too must remain silent and take our compliant to the Lord and He will answer on our behalf.

Jesus Christ

The night before His crucifixion, Jesus Christ was praying on the Mount of Olives in agony, asking The Father that if He was willing, He should not make Him drink from the cup of suffering. Nevertheless, He said God’s will should be done and not His will. An Angel from heaven then came and strengthened him (Luke 22:42-43).

Lesson learned: Like Jesus, when we are facing a difficult situation that we would rather not face, we too should tell the Lord that not our will, but let His will be done in our lives.

Prayer

Dear Father, I ask that You give me the wisdom to do Your will and understanding to lead Your people in Jesus name, amen.

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Do you ask The Lord for advice?

The men of Israel wanted to know if these men were telling the truth. So they tasted the bread—but they did not ask the Lord what they should do.

Joshua 9:14

After the defeat of Ai, the surrounding cities became understandably very fearful. One such group were people from the city of Gibeon. When they heard about the way Joshua had defeated Jericho and Ai they decided to try to trick the Israelites. This was their plan: They gathered together old wineskins that were cracked and broken. They put these old wineskins on the backs of their animals. They put old pieces of cloth on their animals to look as if they had travelled from far away. The men put old sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. They found some old bread that was dry and mouldy. Then they went to the camp of the Israelites.

The men went to Joshua and told him that they had travelled from a faraway country and they wanted to make a peace agreement with them. The men of Israel were hesitant and said they could not make a peace agreement with them until they knew where they came from.

When Joshua asked where they came from, the men answered that they came from a faraway country and they came because they heard of the great power of the Lord their God.

They said that their journey was so long that the bread which was fresh when they left had now become dry and old and their wineskins which were new and filled with wine were now cracked and old. They showed them their clothes and sandals. They showed that the long journey had almost destroyed the things they were wearing.

The men of Israel wanted to know if these men were telling the truth. So they tasted the bread—but they did not ask the Lord what they should do. Joshua agreed to make peace with them. He agreed to let them live and the leaders of Israel agreed with this promise of Joshua.

Three days later however, the Israelites learned that these men lived very near their camp. So the Israelites went to the place where they lived. On the third day the Israelites came to the cities of Gibeon, but the army of Israel did not try to fight against those cities. They had made a peace agreement with them. They had made a promise to them before the Lord, the God of Israel.

You see these men were the Hivites, and before the Israelites entered the Promised Land, God had warned them not to make an agreement with any of the nations that He will drive out before them, but they were to destroy them completely and not to show them mercy—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (Deuteronomy 7:1-2).

This agreement that Joshua made solely based on the way things looked teaches us another important lesson about leadership; leaders must ask God for advice.

Isaiah prophesied concerning the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, that He will not judge with what His eyes can see or with what His ears have heard (Isaiah 11:3). As His followers and leaders in whatever assignment God has given us, The Lord expects us to ask for His advice and direction. He promises in His Word to direct the steps of a good man (Psalm 37:23).

Next week, we will look at leaders who asked the Lord for advice and how we too can seek God’s advice.

Prayer

Dear Father, Like Jesus, please help me not to judge people by the way things look or with what my ears have heard, but help me to always seek Your advice before I take any decision in my family, ministry, business, career, finances and every area of my life in Jesus name, amen.

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Leaders don’t lead alone, they surround themselves with other leaders

Early the next morning Joshua gathered the men together. Then Joshua and the leaders of Israel led the men to Ai

Joshua 8:10 (ERV)

When it was time to conquer the city of Ai, Joshua did not lead the men alone, instead he and the leaders of Israel led the men to Ai. This teaches another important lesson about leadership; leaders don’t lead alone, they surround themselves with other leaders.

When Joshua’s predecessor, the great Prophet Moses assumed the mantle of leadership, he did not understand the principles of leadership; he thought he could lead the people alone.

So he would sit from morning until night judging the people. When Jethro, Moses’ father in-law visited him and saw this, he was shocked and asked Moses why he was the only one judging the people.

Jethro counselled Moses to be wise and to choose men to lead with him who are able, who respect God, men who will not change their decisions for money.

He advised Moses to find such men and make them rulers over the people. He explained that there should be rulers over 1000 people, 100 people, 50 people, and even over ten people. Moses was to let these rulers judge the people.

If there was a very important case, then they could come to Moses and let him decide what to do. But they could decide the other cases themselves. In this way these men will share his work with him, and it will be easier for him to lead the people. If he did it this way then he would be able to do his job without tiring himself out.

Moses was a humble leader, so he listened to the counsel of Jethro. He chose good men from among the Israelites and he made them leaders over the people (Exodus 18).

Jesus Christ Who is our example, did not do all that the Father sent Him to do alone. When He was on earth, He chose 12 ordinary men to be His disciples. He invested His time in them and trained them so that they could carry on and do even greater works than He did (John 14:12). As believers in Jesus we are His body through which He still saves, heals, and delivers humanity (1 Corinthians 12:27, Mark 16:15-18).

We learn from both Jesus Christ and Joshua that as leaders, we should always be on the lookout for other leaders to surround ourselves with, whom we can train to share the mantle of leadership with, as well as to equip to lead when we are no longer around.

Prayer

Dear Father, please help me to surround myself with men and women who are able, who fear God, men and women of truth, who hate covetousness so that they can share the mantle of leadership with me. Please help me to invest in such people and train them so that they can carry on with the work You have entrusted in my hands in Jesus name, amen.

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Leaders rule by example rather than command

I will lead the men with me; we will march toward the city. The men in the city will come out to fight against us. We will turn and run away from them as we did before.

Joshua 8:5 (ERV)

When Joshua, the leader of the Children of Israel was giving the battle strategy of how they were to capture Ai, he told them that he will lead the men and they will march toward the city. In other words, Joshua did not just give the orders, he actively get involved in the battle.

This teaches us another important lesson about leadership; leaders must rule by example rather than command.

The Bible is filled with stories of men and women who lead people, not by staying in the background but by actively getting involved.

Deborah the Prophetess

Deborah the Prophetess and Judge over Israel encouraged Barak, the captain of the army to go and fight against their oppressors. However Barak refused to go unless Deborah went along with him and so she did and God gave them the victory (Judges 4).

King Jehoshaphat

King Jehoshaphat led Judah into the enemy camp by being the first to bow his head with his face to the ground and then all of Judah and Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord. As a result of the praise and worship they offered to the Lord, the Lord set ambushments against their enemies and they were destroyed (2 Chronicles 20:18-22).

Gideon

Gideon was another leader who led by example. Once God told him to arise and go to the camp of the Midianites, he divided the three hundred men into three groups.  He gave each man a trumpet and an empty jar with a burning torch inside it. Then Gideon told the men, “Watch me and do what I do. Follow me to the edge of the enemy camp. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly what I do”. The Lord gave Gideon and his men the victory (Judges 7:16-25).

Jesus Christ

Jesus taught His disciples that whoever desires to be great must serve (Luke 22:26), and He demonstrated this by serving His disciples at the last supper (Matthew 26:26-29). Jesus showed His disciples how to be humble by washing their feet and encourages us as His disciples to do likewise (John 13:14).

These few examples show that it is important as leaders to rule by example rather than by command. A problem with commanding those you serve is that we do not remember very well something that we are told. To be an effective leader therefore we must strive to not only teach but to lead by example as Joshua did by getting involved in the heat of the battle.

When a leader is supposed to get involved but decides to stay on the side lines, it can lead to trouble. David, was a skilled warrior who did much exploits, however there was a time when he decided to stay at home instead of getting involved in the battle. A great sin of adultery and murder was committed as a result.

Prayer

Dear Lord, please help me to be like Your Son Jesus Christ. He showed us how to be humble by stooping down and washing His disciples’ feet. Please help me to lead by example rather than command in Jesus name, amen.

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Once sin is removed from our lives, God will give us the victory

Then you shall rise from the ambush and seize the city, for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hand.

Joshua 8:7 (ERV)

It was only after Joshua, the leader, dealt with sin in the camp, that God told him not to be afraid, but to take all of the people of war with him and go up to Ai because He had already given into his hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land.

In today’s Scripture, Joshua was giving the men of war the battle strategy that God had given him. The strategy was quite simple; some men were to hide behind the city, then Joshua and his men will approach the city and then Joshua and his men would run away as they were being chased by the men of Ai. Once they had come away from the city, the men who were hiding behind were to rise from the ambush and capture the city. Joshua assured them they will have the victory because the Lord has already delivered the city into their hand.

This story teaches us several important lessons about how sin affects our lives:

1. Sin separates us from God and gives the enemy the upper hand over believers

Isaiah declares that it is our sins that have separated us from God and our sins has hidden God’s face from us so that He will not hear (Isaiah 59:1-2).

Sin also gives the enemy, who is Satan, an upper hand over believers. We can see through the story of Joshua, the High Priest, that Satan was able to stand at his right hand to resists him because he was clothed with filthy garment which represents sin (Zechariah 3:1-5).

Sin also causes sickness and brings grief into the life of the believer. When Jesus was on earth, often times before healing people He would first forgive their sins, and after healing them, He would tell them to go and sin no more, so that a worse thing will not come on them (Matthew 9:2-5, Mark 2:5, Luke 5:20-24, John 5:14, John 8:11).

2. Once sin is removed from our lives, God will give us the victory

There is only one consequence of sin, which is death:

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:23

Under Joshua’s leadership, Achan and his whole family had to pay for the consequence of their sin, which was death. Joshua could not bear their sins for them.

Thank God for Jesus that He came to earth to deal with the problem of sin. He came as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

Under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, the sinner can come to Jesus, repent of our sins and have all of our sins washed in His own blood so that we can be made righteous before God. Jesus came to destroy the works of the enemy so that Satan can no longer have the upper hand over us:

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:57

Prayer

Dear Father, I come to You now in the name of Jesus and by the Blood of Jesus. Please help me to overcome every secret sin in my life through the power of Your Holy Spirit so that I can have the victory through Jesus Christ my Lord.

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