Pastor Steven speaks to inmates at NASH Correctional Institution, sharing how God is bigger than whatever battle we’re facing.
it’s very difficult to see your freedom
when all you see that is in front of you
reminds you of your past it’s very
difficult to see a reason to rejoice I
mean let’s be honest some of y’all today
the last thing you felt like saying was
I’ve seen you move a mountain and I
believe I’ll see you do it again because
quite honestly some of the mountains
you’re looking at haven’t moved in 53
years and so while somebody else has got
their hands lifted you’re like I’m glad
this is working for them and I might
rock a little bit but I can’t sing that
right now my faith is low right now
here’s the thing God sent me to tell you
you might be on your sixth lap around
the walls of Jericho and this next one
might be the one that brings the walls
down
look at me man this is what the children
of Israel had been doing for 40 years in
the wilderness circling the same path in
the wilderness for 40 years under Moses
leadership so here comes Joshua and he’s
supposed to take them into the Promised
Land and this is like when you finally
see an improvement you finally see a
possibility you finally see a little
light you finally see a little hope and
now Joshua the first instruction he
gives them is to start taking laps just
like they’ve been doing for the last 40
years and you got to think these guys
are asking each other as day after day
passes and they keep circling the same
walls the same city like man how many
more times are we going to do this and
that’s exactly where some of you are
asking God today how much longer is it
going to be like this because see if God
would tell me how many laps I had to
take I’d be good I could just set my
clock this is how long it is this is how
much it is this is what its gonna take
and then I can just settle in and I can
walk it’s no problem
I’ll walk but Joshua never told the
people how many times they would have to
walk why God doesn’t want you to trust
in your knowledge he doesn’t want you to
trust in your senses
he wants to know will you take another
lap even when you don’t know if these
walls are ever gonna fall
I wish I could tell you that this might
be your seventh march around the walls
of Jericho but I don’t know what I do
know is that every time you walk in
faith in obedience to God even if the
walls don’t fall God is working inside
of you God is working inside of you and
even the afflictions that the enemy
brings into your life are employed by
the grace and the hand of God to make
you a masterpiece of his creativity and
a design of his function so that you
literally become a weapon in the hands
of God against the darkness the
scripture doesn’t say no weapon will be
formed against you it says no weapon
formed against you will prosper it won’t
take you out it won’t keep you from your
assignment and it will not keep you from
your purpose I need you to give God a
shout of praise about that but I didn’t
even tell you the crazy part yet because
the crazy part isn’t that Jehoshaphat
focused on God the crazy part is what
the Prophet told him before he ever set
out this is a word for somebody if this
is your word you’ll receive it and
you’ll know it when I say it he says
verse 17 you will not have to fight this
battle now why would God tell them not
to fight a battle when they’re being
attacked because it’s not their battle
so listen to it again you will not have
to fight this battle say it to the
person next to you you will not have to
fight this battle
now that does not apply to you if
there’s something in your power that you
can do that God has given you to do in
obedience but if the battle is bigger
than you it’s not your battle and God
sent me here today to tell you he wants
his battle back there are some things
that you have been trying to fight in
your own strength
and figure out in your own flesh and God
says I want my battle back he says you
don’t have to fight it just stand firm
and take your position so in other words
you don’t have to fight it you just have
to face it and if you will face it God
says I will fight it I don’t know any
better news in the world than to stand
in the reality that the God of heaven
and earth is fighting my battles this
very moment to know that when the battle
is too much for me I think God likes big
battles I think God likes impossible
situations you know how I know when
Jesus walked the earth he would put the
disciples in a storm why would you send
them into the storm when you created the
weather systems maybe the only way that
we’ll ever know that he’s greater than
the storm is if he puts us in the storm
and enables us to survive in the middle
of it it’s not my battle it’s not my
battle
some of us deal with shame our whole
life we spend our whole life trying to
get rid of our shame do you not know
that you are defeat you’re fighting a
foe that has already been defeated that
your shame was already taken care of at
the cross that whatever you did
yeah there’s consequences yeah there’s
there’s change that is required but if
you are dealing with your shame you are
fighting an enemy that was already
defeated
I thank God that I don’t have to fight
my shame it’s too big for me the blood
of Jesus was enough the cross of Jesus
was enough the place where he died for
me is the place that I live from and I
just want to let you know today that if
it’s too big it’s not yours if it’s too
big for you God says you don’t even have
to fight this one now you don’t get to
run away but watch what he told him to
do he said I want you to face your enemy
and worship in the face of the attack
the devil is so confused when you praise
God and everything is going wrong
it gives him a panic attack the devil
cannot find his pill bottle fast enough
when you start praising God and you just
went through you just got the worst news
that you’ve had in three years and you
start praising God talking about God did
it God did it God did it you know what
that does that turns the enemy’s own
attempt against him because what he
tried to do to break your faith only
made it stronger so now you’re talking
about God did it and he made the devil
pay for it and everything that came
against you watch this David went up
against Goliath he didn’t have a sword
Goliath in but David had a rock you
gotta hit the devil with what you got so
what do you have have you got a praise
give it to God your praise will push
back darkness your praise will silence
the voice of the accuser your praise
will drown out condemnation your praise
will make a way in the wilderness your
praise will bring water from a rock your
praise will bind the attempt of the
enemy your praise will still the hand of
Satan your praise will bring joy to
depression your praise will speak peace
to a storm your praise will do it do you
have a praise
and when he took the rock this
freaked me out when he took the rock and
it hit Goliath in the head have you
heard this Bible story knocked him down
the next thing he did was to go and take
his sword because he was going to need
it later all 200 of y’all missed that the
attack that you are facing today is
going to give you the weapon that you
need for tomorrow
Goliath can’t kill you
so whoever this message is for God said
you got to face it you can’t fight this
on your own in all of the ways that we
manipulate our lives and all of the ways
that we manipulate our situations and
then we come to this point like
Jehoshaphat where we realize there’s
nothing I can do about this one this one
is too big for me
and God says really that might be a sign
that the battle is not yours hey thank
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