Built to Last

There is a leadership principle that goes like this, “Begin With The End in Mind.” This means – what do you want the end result to be? When it's all said and done – what do you want it to look like? Some of you may feel beat down as you are reading this. You may be bound with fear, full of worry, full of questions, the weight of the world on your shoulders - because you have a very real enemy that is working against you - satan.

But I've got good news for you! God is on your side. He is the bondage-breaker. He is the miracle-worker, the anointed one, the healer, provider, way-maker, mountain-mover, the One Who's name is above every other name!

1 Peter 4:12 reads, “Think it not strange when you face a fiery trial as though some strange thing has happened to you." The Bible tells us that when we face a storm, and we will face storms, that we are not to quit, but we are to buckle down.

Here is a great motto for life: Put God FIRST. In every area of your life - put God FIRST.

• F - Financial trials - put God first.
  • Proverbs 3:9-10, "Honor the Lord your God by giving Him the first part of all your income; and He will fill your barns to overflowing."
  • Deuteronomy 14:23 teaches us that the purpose of the tithe is to teach you to put God first in your life.
• I - Impossible situations - put God first.
• R - Relationship trials - put God first.
• S - Self-imposed trials - put God first
  • If what you are going through is a result of your own bad choices, bad decisions, or bad actions, then put God first in your decision making process.
• T - Trouble - put God first.
  • Psalm 50:15 - "Call upon me in your day of trouble and I WILL deliver you and you will honor me."
  • Proverbs 3:5, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding."

If you are worrying, you are not trusting. Worry is the warning light that your are not trusting God. It is the opposite of faith. You cannot be in two places at the same time. You will either be in worry, or you will be in faith. You will be either with God or with the devil because faith is from God, but worry is from the devil. Here is the conflict: your MIND is telling you one thing while your FAITH is telling you something different. Your mind/body are in the present, but your faith/spirit are in the future. Your spirit already knows something about your future that your mind simply does not know yet.

1 Cor. 2:9-10, "Eye has not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the hearts of men, the things which God has prepared for them that love Him. BUT GOD has revealed them unto us by His Spirit."

Your spirit has already stepped into the future! So let me share with you some scriptures to get you through whatever it is your going through.

• Psalm 150:6, “Let everything that has breath Praise the Lord.”
  • You may say, “I don't feel like praising God right now.” The psalmist did not say you had to feel like it. He just said that if you had breath praise the Lord.
• Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."
• Exodus 14:13-14, "And Moses said unto the people, Fear not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace."

Let's break this last one down a little more.

FEAR NOT

It's hard NOT to be afraid when the enemy is breathing down your neck. It's hard NOT to be afraid when the doctors give you a bad report, when bills are due, or your marriage is falling apart. The first thing satan does when a problem arises is he tries to get you in fear. He knows that fear stops the hand of God because the moment fear moves in, faith moves out. So Moses told the people to FEAR NOT.

STAND STILL

I have often said – as long there is a button to push, a lever to pull, a knob to turn or a switch to flip or a bell to ring ...God will let you EXHAUST all your effort... until you are ready to give it to Him. The battle is the Lord's. Stand in faith. Stand on the promises of God.

HOLD YOUR PEACE

In other words, don't talk. The reason they were not allowed to talk is because, if they had, the would have talked about how impossible the situation was. We need to learn to keep our mouths shut if we can't talk positive. The Bible is very clear concerning the power of our words...

Proverbs 18:21, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof."

Proverbs 6:2, "Thou are snared with the words of thy mouth and you are taken with the words of your mouth."

GO FORWARD

Forward is always God's direction for your life. Someone once said - the only time God let's you back up is to get a running start." Here is one last scripture that will help you move forward.

Matthew 11:12, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force."

You need to get a fighting spirit. I've often said that the only thing the devil understands is violence. Nowhere in the Bible are we ever told to argue with the devil. We are only told to REBUKE the devil. To resist him. To bind him or cast him out. If you are tired of the devil stealing from you, get a fighting spirit and say enough is enough! Jesus did not suffer all that He suffered, endure all that He endured, just so you and I could suffer along just barely getting by.

Here is where I think we have missed it. We miss it in how we view the cross. It is a before and after picture. Before the cross we had gloom, doom, despair and agony on me. We have the before part down. It's the after picture that we need to grasp. Jesus wants us to see the cross as a declaration. On the cross, Jesus delared, "It is finished." A flag has been planted - it is a symbol of VICTORY.