Prevailing Prayer

You can't build a prevailing church unless you raise a church that knows how to prevail

in prayer.

You can't build a prevailing church, as in a church that has the ability to overcome

situations without raising a church that contends in prevailing prayer, as in the kind of prayer

that helps you break through things.

So that's what we said three weeks ago.

And by the way, Matthew 16, 19 says that, I will build my church and the gates of hell

shall not prevail against it.

So know that you have an active enemy called the devil who also likes to prevail.

So prevailing is not a Christian word.

Prevailing is just a word that anybody can take and use.

And so Satan or the devil, hell, loves prevailing too.

And so how do we define prevailing so that we know what we're talking about?

To contend, to engage in battle, to overcome, to not be beaten, to grapple or wrestle and

win.

This is what we mean by prevailing.

And God wants to build a prevailing church here on earth.

He doesn't want churches that don't know how to battle.

He doesn't want a church that does not know how to wrestle and grapple and win, jockey

for position and win.

He does not want churches to be overcome, but wants churches that know how to overcome.

He wants churches that have a desire to contend, have this gleeful anticipation of a fight,

which is so alien to our way of thinking.

But that's the kind of church he wants to build.

But to build a prevailing church, you must have a people that understand prevailing prayer,

as in the kind of prayer that contends, the kind of prayer that engages in battle, the

kind of prayer that overcomes, the kind of prayer that does not get beaten, and the kind

of prayer that wrestles and jockeys for position.

And over the next, hopefully, a couple of months, we'll be going over this, but today

we just start.

And so Satan also likes prevailing.

Satan also likes prevailing.

And our lives have had so many situations where we saw the enemy prevail, where things

broke in our lives, where things were beaten in our lives, where things were trampled down

in our lives.

And so there are two methods that the devil uses to prevail.

The first one is he tries to ravage.

He tries to ravage.

He tries to ravage.

And then the second one is he tries to corrode.

And both are different in that ravaging is an outright onslaught that has, that cannot

be mistaken.

It just is wave after wave of attack till a person crumbles because of just absolute

hopelessness and weariness.

And corrosion is a slow acid drip where it just keeps gnawing at you till, in the end,

it's hollowed out from inside.

And you see both these methods in the Bible.

So if you go to Judges chapter 6 verses 3 to 6, Judges 6, 3 to 6, you'll see that happening

Judges 6:3–6

there.

Judges chapter 6, verse 3 to 6, Judges 6, 3 to 6, and I'm reading.

Judges 6:3–6

It says here, whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and

other Eastern people invaded the country.

They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living

thing for Israel, neither sheep, nor cattle, nor donkeys.

They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts.

It was impossible to count the men and their camels.

They invaded the land to ravage it.

Midians so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.

This is when wave after wave just comes against you.

Just when you, this is what happened to Job.

Job heard some bad news and while he's still trying to figure out that bad news, here comes

more bad news and then more and then more.

Where the intent is, can I bring you down to your knees because you can't handle the

onslaughts I'm bringing.

So that's one way that the enemy prevails.

The other way is corrosion, where it's eating away, nibbling away at the root and the fruit

where nothing is ever whole.

There's always a pain here or a pain there or something breaking down here and something

breaking down there.

It's nothing big but a group of little things happening.

And that's from Song of Songs 2.15 where it says that little foxes are gnawing away at

your vineyard where Satan has his ability to send little things that keep eating away

the root of your vineyard.

And so it doesn't matter that you have a really good vineyard, that you're nurturing it well,

that you're watering it well, that the climate is good, that everything you're doing is good.

The stock is good.

But you still can't see the kind of fruit you want to see because there are these little

foxes that keep coming and eating away.

Our lives fall into one of these two categories when it comes to the enemy attack.

And Satan is really someone who does this for a living because it says in Ephesians

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6 that Satan comes with fiery arrows that are continuously being shot, that he

comes to steal, kill and destroy.

This is an active, active enemy.

It is scary that the church is losing sight of its enemy, the devil, that we attribute

things to psychosomatic conditions and rarely attribute anything to the devil.

But he's a really active enemy.

If there was no devil, there would be no need of a savior because it was someone who took

us captive that Jesus needed to come and free us from, which is why it says in 1st John

4 that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came down to the earth in flesh to destroy the

works of the devil.

It is one of the reasons he came down to the earth.

It's one of the reasons he hung on a cross.

Colossians 2 says that he made a public spectacle of the devil and caused him to dismount from

where he sat and is now paraded as a prisoner in Christ's triumphant procession, meaning

when a returning army general used to come into a city after victory, behind him would

be slaves in tow.

They would be paraded as part of his victorious procession.

That is the true condition of the devil, but more and more churches are becoming unaware

of it and may you never come to that place where you're not aware of the fact that you

have an active, alive enemy who's more powerful than you, were it not for Christ.

So these are the two methods he uses to ravage or to undo or to prevail over us and one of

the ways we prevail over him is through prayer.

Here's the strange thing.

The devil does not know how to stop, handle, negate prayer.

He does not know what to do with it.

Right from when this guy called Seth, who was one of Adam's son in Genesis 5, right

from when Seth was born, man has been seeking God and the devil does not know how to stop

it.

Through guilt, he tries to make man hide.

He was able to cause Adam and Eve to hide.

It's one of the ways the enemy removes prayer.

He causes enough guilt, enough shame, enough hopelessness to force you to hide.

As long as you're not hiding, he cannot stop prayer.

Yeah.

Any questions?

Any questions?

Okay.

So here are some ways that we can begin to get to know the devil.

So here's the first one.

The second one.

The third one.

The fourth one.

The fifth one.

The sixth one.

The seventh one.

The seventh one.

So here's the way that we can begin this whole idea of prevailing prayer.

When things begin to overwhelm you, here are some conditions for prevailing prayer.

This is not the content of prevailing prayer.

We'll talk about the content of prevailing prayer later.

But these are the conditions for prevailing prayer.

As in, if you begin to think like this, prevailing prayer becomes easier when situations get

overwhelming.

I'm not just talking about your life.

that you are praying for, lives that you are praying for. How do we contend? How do

we prevail? How do we engage in battle? Because this is the kind of church that

God is looking for and a prevailing church must be a church that engages in

prevailing prayer. So the first thing is guys, if you want to be someone, either

an individual or if you want to be a church that knows how to contend, engage,

overcome, battle and win in prayer, the first thing you need to do is rebuke

untruth, rebuke untruth. Titus 1.13, rebuke untruth, rebuke untruth. Titus 1.13,

let me read it and then I'll explain it.

Titus 1 verse 13, it says that this testimony is true, therefore rebuke them

Titus 1:13

sharply so that they will be sound in the faith and if you read the previous

verses it tells you how there was a need to refute those that do not speak the

truth. I'm taking the verse out of context but the first thing you need to

know if you want to be a person who knows how to prevail in prayer is that

you've got to rebuke untruth. You've got to rebuke untruth in your mind, you've got

to rebuke untruth in circumstances. What do I mean by that? So let's assume you

are going through a situation and the lie that has been spoken to you is that

you will not recover, that God is not interested, that he's going to bring you

through, he's not going to bring you through this, that there is a reason he's

doing this, that God is trying to teach you a lesson by breaking your leg, that

the doctors prognosis will be right, that your circumstances will not change, that

God has meant for you to suffer. When you hear these untruths it's not enough to

say no no no not really not really no no no you got to rebuke it. To rebuke it is

to come against. Jesus rebuked the wind and the wave. You know what happens when

you rebuke? You put a new value on that which was wrong. To rebuke is to say

this cannot be, this is not the truth, stop. That's the idea of rebuke. There has

to be an active rebuking of that which is a lie. So even amongst us when I hear

stuff that you are saying that is not true I'll gently say something that's

contradictory to what you're saying because I don't want to hurt you but if

I had a chance and you were not the type that hurts I'd say it really bluntly as

some do to me.

Got to rebuke deception and untruth. You can't let it take hold of a church take

hold of a person because once once a person has untruth established in their

heart or their head there is no question of anything being built on that

foundation guys. How can you build God who is the truth he said I am the way

the truth and the life. How can you build God's principles who said he is the

truth how can you build it on a foundation that you strongly believe but

is false. You can't

rebuke untruth.

Any questions on that before we go on?

Doesn't matter who is bringing it to you.

What if it is not received if it's not received then you just have to go back

and after after a while and try again. You just have to keep going back and

trying again. That's how God does with us right. He tells us something we don't

listen he comes back again and says it again. That's the only thing he won't

take away your free will there's nothing God will do with your will he won't take

it away so you have the choice but man untruth needs to be rebuked gently

gently because it says in the first Timothy that if you speak and correct

someone gently it might so be that they will escape the snares of the devil and

will come to their senses but it very clearly says do not be quarrelsome but

be gentle therefore truth can rebuke can be gentle man. Rebuke doesn't have to be

at the top of your voice.

So rebuke untruth second one. Overcome veeriness overcome veeriness because when

things begin to happen where you're getting slammed again and again

overcome veeriness how surprisingly through revelation and we'll explain

that overcome veeriness through revelation. What do we mean by that go to

John chapter 4 John chapter 4 verse 6 John chapter 4 guys we so mollycoddle

John 4 · chapter mention John 4:6 John 4 · chapter mention

those that speak things that you know are false but we just sympathize and it

just helps them dig a deeper hole because we give them a extra spade to

dig that hole if you have nothing truthful to say just don't say it but do

not sympathize because it gives the person a spade to dig a deeper grave.

John chapter 4 verse 6

John 4:6

Jacob's well was there and Jesus tired as he was from the journey sat down by

the well it was about the sixth hour so here Jesus is walked like crazy done a

lot he's tired and he sees Jacob's well there and he comes and sits down because

he's tired he's weary and he would think that now that he's sat down he's weary

he should be left alone but then go to verse 31 you know the story but let's go

to verse 31 and then he starts saying meanwhile his disciples urged him rabbi

eat something but he said to them I have food to eat that you know nothing about

then his disciples said to each other could someone have brought him food then

in verse 34 he says my food said Jesus is to do the will of him who sent me and

to finish his work do you not say four months more and then he goes on to talk

about the harvest but here's the point I want to make from those scriptures

whenever you get weary while it's a good idea when you're weary to rest one of

the things that takes weariness away is to dive back into finding out father I

am so tired by this onslaught after onslaught after onslaught could you

reveal to me truths out of your word that will build me up right now because

it is always a revelation of the truth that takes away weariness there that

weighed upon the Lord for water she will renew their strength how is there how

what are you waiting on the Lord for more oxygen there's plenty of it around

more food that ain't gonna come from heaven the days of man are over so what

are you waiting on him for what is the idea of waiting there the idea of

waiting is to crane your neck forward waiting in anticipation oh God I will

wait on you even though others say that God is does not care even though I'm

overwhelmed I wait on you and as I wait on who you are and what you will show me

with regard to the situation after situation I'm going through I will renew

my strength and I will rise up like what like the eagle I will mount with wings

of an eagle this is such a cool answer to weariness but Jesus is sitting there

this woman from the village comes and she pours him water and he begins to

speak he says you have no idea of the water you that I can give and then he

begins to tell her that the father is looking for worshipers what is he doing

with a woman who has that five husbands who's an adulteress who has a bad

reputation who's coming in the middle of the afternoon to draw water because she

doesn't even want to associate with other women who come to draw water what's

he doing with her explaining worship theology out of him is pouring

revelation after revelation that the father is looking for worshipers who

will worship him in spirit and truth that I am he that you should be looking

for she begins to engage him and she says but the Jews worship there and we

Samaritans worship here and then he talks about other things and as he does

she gets full man and he says I've got food and drink that you don't even know

of in situations as you begin to wait on God and waiting is not some kind of

that's not waiting that's resigned acceptance of your condition with God

thrown in waiting is this father this is my situation I've taken blow after blow

after blow after blow if I can catch a glimpse of what you want to show of the

truth of who you are something will happen inside of God and my

veeringness will begin to disappear this is what happened to Hagar she's she's

lying by the side of the road she wants to stay at a distance from Ishmael

because Ishmael is dying and then she has just one revelation that I am the

God be the lie Rohan be Lara Hoi something where he I am the God who sees

and she sees that and God turns up gives water to him Ishmael and restores her

back and says go back to your mistress Sarah and I will take care of this boy

and I will make him a nation

I think vision is the medium revelation is the object is the subject yeah

revelation is a subject as in God revealing a truth and it when when God

says I want to reveal a truth what he usually means is I want to reveal to you

something about myself that's what he means because everything consists in God

all truths are consistent consistent God is gravity real well God discovered it

is laughter real God discovered it is peace real you can't touch it but God

discovered it is creation real God discovered it is love real God is the

creation happen through words yes so all truths are basically God saying let me

show you something about myself or let me show you something I have done in the

past and I will do again let me show you how I will do it for you and it takes

away veeriness it takes away veeriness whether you're a mom who has a little

baby or you're a mom who has four kids and a dog or you're a single person who

doesn't know what to do with time or you're a person with disease and

sickness or you're a person who has financial situations or a family that is

broken it does not matter revelation has a way you will look in the Bible and you

will find time and time and time and time again what did David do when he was

very tired running like a refugee he would go and sit start singing to God he

would see something about God halfway through the psalm the psalm would change

you'll see the first ten verses of the psalm lamenting his condition saying oh

woe is me could you pour some hot oil on the guy who destroyed me and then pour

some on his children too and that'll be the first few verses and by the next few

verses it'll be oh forgive oh God show your mercy just as you've shown me

mercy and the whole thing changes what was causing that change a sudden mood

swing no got sight of something third overcome diversion when we are under

onslaught purpose goes out of the window a overcome diversion from purpose

overcome diversion from purpose through resolve and persistence resolve and

persistence one of the things that happens when the onslaughts from the

enemy regardless of whether he uses people or does it directly or

circumstances when it gets overwhelming as you lose you're diverted from your

purpose and yet one of the ways that you overcome diversion from purpose is to

resolve and persistence and you see this in Nehemiah and I'm Nehemiah chapter 6

Nehemiah 6:1–4

verse 1 to 4 you'll see just turn to Nehemiah 6 1 to 4 Nehemiah 6 1 to 4

Nehemiah 6

where is Nehemiah

yeah if if I can be distracted from my purpose if I can be diverted from my

purpose because of different things are happening in my life then a man who

loses or a woman who loses a reason for life is just like a person who never

met Christ Christ brings to you a reason for life and when that is taken away

what do you have man what did Jesus say what did God say in Hosea 4 verse 6 a

Hosea 4:6

people without vision perish take away purpose and the decline that begins and

I'm not talking about purpose as in goals and targets and I want to be this

and I want to be that but something inside you that begins to bring hope

every day that you wake up thinking today is the day when I will know a

little more I'll add a little more to what I know let this be your condition

that regardless of who's died last night or who will die today or what may

collapse last night or what may collapse today every morning you get up with this

understanding that today is a new day his mercies as in his compassion filled

attitude towards you is new that today there is reason to wake up with

tremendous hope

Nehemiah chapter 6 verses 1 to 4 says there when the word came to son

Nehemiah 6:1–4

Bala Tobiah Geshim the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the

wall and not a gap was left in it though up to that time I had not set the doors

in the gates son ballot and Gasham sent me this message come let us meet

together in one of the villages on the plane of Ono but they were steaming to

harm me so I sent messengers to them with this reply I'm carrying on a great

project and cannot go down why should the world stop while I leave it and go

down to you four times they sent me the same message and each time I gave them

the same answer then the fifth time son ballot sent his aid to me with the same

message and in his hand was an unsealed letter and it goes on the point being

this guys decide the things that you are non-negotiable in your life decide that

which is non-negotiable and do not move away from them you know for the last

twenty seven or twenty eight years and I've been doing what I do on Sundays

for the last twenty seven or twenty eight years it does not matter who dies

even when it was my dad does not matter what happens there are certain things in

my life that are non-negotiable and nothing stops for it is that cruel no

it's not cruel it's just this is how it's going to be these are non-negotiables

and for each one it may differ but do not be diverted from your purpose

for me if I can walk and someone doesn't have to carry me then meeting together as

a body assembling of the Saints is non-negotiable all my life for me

standing up here and giving every ounce of everything I have during worship is

non-negotiable God has never gotten a bad deal from me during worship and since

the day I was born again there has not been a single worship session in all the

28 years that I've been a believer that he has received anything less than the

best I can give during worship it is non-negotiable he deserves nothing less

I have given nothing less and it is by the grace of God yes but there is a

resolve inside it's non-negotiable just giving you two examples

since acts 20 has begun I would rather mess up change what I'm doing look a

little foolish and uneducated and ignorant than follow what I have

prepared if I know that this is God then it is non-negotiable it will happen it

cannot be anything else even if it costs

there should be a ferocity with non-negotiables ferocity

when you're growing up they call it stubbornness when you grow up a little

more it's resilience by the time you're my age it is non-negotiable yes it is

impossible to maintain non-negotiables if you aren't in love with somebody and

that is a reason why it's a non-negotiable because you don't have the

willpower to do it you're doing it solely because there is someone who is

far more important than you for whom you're doing it and it is not possible

to break it if that isn't the motive then at some point you will be broken

has to be for someone else that you love more than yourself

so decide that through resolve and persistence you will overcome diversion

from purpose fourth one overcome discouragement and fear overcome

discouragement and fear overcome discouragement and fear through overcome

discouragement and fear through remembering truth two ways one

remembering what he has done remembering what he has done

remembering what he has done and two depending on errands and hers depending

on Aaron and Rene sorry Aaron and hers

so discouragement and fear is so regularly used by the devil so regularly

used by the devil the number of people in this church who go to discouragement

and fear is the same as the number of people in any other church because this

is the common common weapon used by the devil to break us discourage

discourage discourage nothing that is not the reason why we are so used by

discourage discourage nothing's working out it's been a while bleak bleak bleak

fear

it's fascinating how someone who can be really strong in the Lord is still

afraid of doctors it can easily happen I know people are really strong in the

Lord who when they go to doctors start feeling afraid it's not because they

have less word in them it's just because anyone with a white coat yeah it kind of

frightens you so the point is it's not that we don't know scripture but the

devil has used discouragement and fear to bring us to a place where we get

scared and so there's two ways we overcome it one through remembering what

God has done in the past why that because the Bible talks about it David

would make statements like this these things I remember as I pour out my soul

so even as he's crying and pouring out his soul he's thinking of all the good

things God has done in Psalm 42 verse 4 he does that in Psalm 53 he says I put

Psalms 42:4

my trust in God whose word I trust I put my trust in God whose word I trust I put

my trust that's what he says in Psalm 56 verse 3 where he begins to remember

Psalms 56:3

what God has done in the past and it doesn't mean that God will do it the

same way this time but he knows God did it before and the last situation was

really bad and he delivered me we don't recount what God has done one of the

ways you recount what God has done is by speaking it so the less you speak about

it the more it becomes a memory and becomes a hazy memory speak often of it

in Malachi it says that there was a book that God opened and you know what the

name of the book was it was called the book of remembrance and what would he

write down in it he would write down the names of people who were talking about

him and the things he had done

and then the other way is to be dependent on errands and herds and what

does that mean Moses at one point had to lift up his hands and hold them up for a

while when a battle was going on and his arms became tired it says so in Exodus

17 and so Aaron this guy called Aaron and this guy called her poor guy what a

name to live with her and so Aaron and her came and stood on both sides and

held up his arms and so sometimes when I'm discouraged and I'm afraid I need

people to come and say hey Jacob let me buy your burger that that only fills

your stomach but and that's comfort food but especially a baconator but fear

and discouragement need people to come alongside and say things that will build

you up not not give you platitudes like oh don't worry God will come through

really tell me something new give me something a little more solid than God

is still in control because that I could get out of a Hallmark card give me

something solid and that's when errands and herds come into play next one

I love this one this is so simple that it bothers me that we don't think like

this know that you have a good father who won't give you a serpent when you

ask for fish

Luke 11 11

hey when you go pray why is it that you think that he is going to give you a

serpent a good father will not give you a serpent it says will a good father

when you go and ask him for fish give you a serpent will he give you a

scorpion when you ask for egg will you give you stone when you ask for bread

well you have a good good father so Jacob when you pray

even when it's taking long to happen know without a shadow of a doubt that

your good father will not give you a serpent when you are asking for fish if

it's taking a little longer maybe it's a fish that's bigger than you ask for but

it ain't going to be a serpent it's going to come the simple assurance that

the simple assurance that children know

I didn't know you're not supposed to disappoint a kid when you tell a kid

something you better deliver yeah or else they have these memories that

transform them into elephants but I didn't know this so I promised a kid the

moon and then then deliver and Eric called me and said hey Jacob if you tell

a kid something because he's got four of them he had four of them then now he's

got five so he said you got to deliver and this kid was waiting man this kid

was waiting and so what I've decided is not to make any promises to kids because

the thing is with kids you but Lorian at least with kids when you make you tell

them you'll play a game with them and you play it once they want to play it

14 times man with grown-ups you only need to play it once pardon

moving on yeah why did I open this

yeah

yeah I thought you were going to take a shot at me but I'm glad that you quoted

a verse instead so you're on my so the next one this is a stay within the hedge

stay within the hedge within which God wants to bless within which God wants

to bless it's in Job one was ten ish I think here's the thing guys God loves

putting a hedge around you a head is like a protective fence around you stay

within it stay within it God puts a hedge around you stay within it it's

strange thing is it's not with job that he started it he did it in the

beginning of creation where he took Adam and Eve put them in a garden and said

within these confines of Eden stay everything within this area is yours the

serpent was on the outside he wasn't on the inside and God loves putting a hedge

around you he did that for job so much so that the devil had to come and say if

it were not for this hedge that you put around him and that won't be taken away

in our case because Jesus Christ has already defeated the devil job won't be

repeated in your case where God does not take away your protective covering

your is possession you the apple of his eye your he loves putting a hedge around

you and once he puts a hedge around you likes blessing you within that boundary

but you and I have the ability to step out of the edge through habits through

bondages through sin through broken relationships stay within the hedge

that God loves blessing you with him he's been doing it since Eden and if you

step out repent and return on the freshly slain blood pathway that Jesus

created fresh freshly slain blood pathway Jesus's blood isn't dried old

blood it it is freshly slain thousands and thousands come to the Lord every

day because his blood is alive and calls out for mercy so anytime I break the

head and I'm out of it repent and come back don't stay out I used to do this

ages ago when I first started preaching that it's never that God removes his

hand it is always that I can step from under his covering it's never that God

says okay I'm gonna let you go I'm gonna abandon you that does not happen this is

another truth here's the untrue the untrue this oh God has abandoned me not

true oh God has taken this my protection away not true oh God has let go of my

hand not true these are the untruths we need to rebuke God does not take away

his hand you and I can step out of it and if we step out of it there's an easy

way of turning to him and coming back to any questions on that before we go on to

the content of prayer any questions anything you want to add

yep

partly because someone sent it to me on whatsapp from Australia but no there's

no reason for the order yeah yep yep

yeah

reach out reach out ask ask someone you think you can depend on ask someone you

trust or ask someone you don't know if you can depend on and don't know well

but you trust has the ability to help go and ask yeah and let's assume this body

was really messed up and broken and not nice you can still go and ask we do that

in the world we take on doctors who we don't know ask our problem with asking

is sometimes that we are all peers so it's difficult otherwise I think you

should just ask and never start a conversation with I think you may be

busy but just forget that just ask

any other questions okay

we won't probably finish the content of prayers and what does prevailing prayer

look like we'll just start one or two and then stop and continue another time

if someone can remind me when I'm back that hey you didn't finish it since no

one wants to remind me I guess I'll go right through it for the next one hour

could someone remind me oh my lord there are volunteers okay the content what does

prevailing prayer look like one it's a kind of prayer that guys this is not the

way we pray it is not the way we as a church pray it's not the way that we as

individuals pray so the first one is we inflict loss inflict loss upon Satan we

inflict loss upon Satan we provoke hostilities we provoke hostilities we

smite the lion and the bear that's from first Samuel 15 or 17 this is this is

part of what prevailing prayer looks like where you inflict loss upon the

enemy when was the last time you inflicted loss upon the devil where the

devil touched you and you came back in prayer in such a strong way that in

inflicted loss upon the enemy and you saw it you saw damage done to the

satanic kingdom you saw it this was common practice in the Old Testament and

surprisingly in the New Testament too yet it is such an alien concept to us we

presume that things are happening but there's no evidence to show that loss

has been inflicted in the Bible there was always evidence that showed that my

god this prayer inflicted loss upon the enemy that when was the last time you

provoked hostilities where we as a church provoked hostilities saying alrighty you

want to fight Gisela you want to fight come when was the last time we did that

don't do it to Gisela but take on Kamal

drive his car over you yeah no so provoking hostilities and then the third

one was smiting the lion and the bear so let's look at those three then maybe

we'll take one more and stop you so if you go to first Exodus 79 Exodus 79

depending I mean there's one version which actually uses the word provoke

hostilities hostilities Exodus 79 Exodus 79 it says that starting at verse 8 the

Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites and Dreyfidim Moses said to

Joshua choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites and another

version it says choose some men and go provoke a fight with the Amalekites

tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand and

then the victory is won so there is this idea where God sometimes would say to if

he in the book of Acts in Acts 18 and 19 particularly and in other places that

listen I want you to engage a fight I want you to start a fight because I want

to do some damage but he can't say to us because to begin with we don't like

fighting forget provoking a fight I'm done with fighting with invisible beings

I mean if you are not someone who knows the Bible even me talking like this will

freak you out

and then the first one is inflict loss upon Satan where there is damage and

loss done to the devil I mean there's a pastor down in California and he writes

about the story where he went up to his church one day and brought all the

newspapers with him from the day before and he started reading our news article

after news article and it was depressing the news of all the things that were

happening in their town and people started like good Christians saying end

of the world the world is going to the dogs and all this is the devil and oh

God come quickly oh let's get raptured and all the stuff so they're lamenting

the condition of their town at one point he asked us he said you know the reason

this is happening is because we as a people as a people of God do nothing

about it and so starting that night they would gather in a barn on the far

end of the city and they began to pray every night a few people would just

gather in that barn open field and then then there's this wilderness at the edge

edge of the city and they would gather one day went by 365 days went by one and

a half years went by and they would not let up man and then one night about a

year and a half later while they're praying there is this loud blood curdling

shriek at the end of where the woods are and there's nobody there but they can

hear this blood curdling shriek and something fleeing and that day the town

began to change and today if you go through that town which was like a

place that people would not even buy land it's a land that is doing well older

couples go there to retire because it's that peaceful

inflict loss there was a situation at acts 29 which some of you may remember

where someone in this church brought us a prayer request on a Sunday morning

and said that a friend of his had gone and eaten from a temple in India and it

eaten from a temple in India and now he was a he was he was a Christian eaten

from a temple in India and because of some demonic possession literally

started writing around like a snake trying to climb up the wall like a snake

and that morning this man gets a call from the boy's mother saying can you

please pray and as we began to pray that morning this boy began to get set free

12,000 kilometers away inflict loss inflict loss where where things I mean

the story that I just told you is not so much as a loss as a deliverance I'm

talking about pay the devil paying a price for doing harm I remember Graham

cook going up to the City Council that was denying him an application to set up

place that would help the poor and the downcast and he kept going back with the

application saying I'd like to do it right here is everything you need and

they kept rejecting it kept rejecting and then he goes in one day to the City

Council somewhere in the UK and he says to them I have brought you everything

you need and I've brought the documents I've done everything you've asked me to

I've done it three four five times and now I want you to know that you have no

reason to deny me permission and I want you to know this if this is denied every

embezzlement in this room every adulterous relationship every form of

corruption practiced by anyone in this room will be exposed over the next week

by my God so either go ahead and grant this document and release it to me or

know what's gonna happen he got permission within minutes but how do you

get to a point where you are so sure of praying like this you see how poor we

are in that how poor we are in that we don't know how to some of the things

that are happening in India based on the letter that was read and some of the

other things are happening are causing actual loss and damage I remember

showing you bullets being fired at this guy who runs this conference some of

the stories are untellable guys because it it'll it is it is on one hand scary

on the other hand will freak you out

God wants to make us a church like this might the lion and the bear is another

thing that David would practice David said in first Samuel 17 that listen

Saul Saul is trying to put his armor on David and David says now Saul I don't

want your armor why David because I've learned how to use just stick and stone

because when I would be in the field and there would be a lion or a bear that

would come towards me and try to take one of the sheep I would smite it and if

it didn't release the sheep I would go grab its jaws pull it open pull out the

sheep and smite it so hard that it would learn a lesson when was the last time

you prayed and if you pray this make sure that you don't pray it out of

presumption but prayed out of absolute faith that Satan if you do this again I

will cause the smiting of God to fall upon you but the thing is you've got to

make sure that you can follow through and you know how to follow through I

remember once a guy in front of me who was driving slow and I honked and he

gave me the finger and I started following him thinking he was a small

guy and then he stopped and he got out of the car and I rolled up my windows

because I thought to myself oops this is not one of the this is not a fight I

want to go through I rolled up the window and I said it's okay it's okay and

I went off on the side if we begin to take this on you got to know that you

can see through otherwise out of the car will come a guy who's twice your size

so I'm not saying let's go and do this I'm saying look at what awaits us and

look at where we are I was thinking of all the stories I could tell of these

three and one day I will I just wanted to write it down accurately and then

read it out so that it's not piecemeal because I don't want to exaggerate one

of the things that you've got to be careful of whenever you talk about any

victory over the devil is that you do not exaggerate because he's a liar a

thief and a murderer and so when you tell stories of what God has done and

when you tell stories of how the devil was defeated it is very easy to add a

little here and there and that's exactly what he's looking for because if in your

testimony of what you have done you can add lies then it plays straight into the

hand of the one you're trying to defeat this is why when I was driving I was

thinking of different stories and thought father I've got to make sure every one of

them is exactly what I saw and not presumption that this could have

happened or this may have happened no we don't realize sometimes that when we

tell a story the moment you add exaggeration to it it thrills the crowd

but it impoverishes the work of the spirit in the crowd

there can be no presumption in your stories and then I believe God did this

no if you didn't see it then you can only say I'm praying that God would have

done that I don't know for sure

so we look at this and then let's touch on one and then stop let me see which one

we should take

look at this scriptury and then we'll stop with that Isaiah 62 Isaiah 62

Isaiah 62

guys I don't know you probably heard of this word push prayers right you've

heard of it push is basically prevail until something happens basically the

idea that hey there are times when prevailing prayer is a kind of prayer

where you keep pushing you keep pushing you give God no rest you give God no

rest but what do you mean give God no rest if you read Isaiah 62 was six

onwards Isaiah 62 verse 6 what it says there and we stop at this I've got six

Isaiah 62:6

others yes six of us Isaiah 62 verse 6 to 8 5 others I have posted watchmen on

Isaiah 62:6–8

your walls or Jerusalem they will never be silent day or night you who call on

the Lord give yourselves no rest and give him no rest till he establishes

Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth imagine what God is saying God

is saying listen I have decreed some things you know what I want to do but

now I want you to get up and stand like watchmen on the wall and do not give me

rest not do you take a rest till this comes through he's literally saying

come and press into me and press into what I've already decreed he's not

because it's not like God what are we asking what is God asking us to do God

is saying hey don't give me any rest I said something now wait till I do it but

don't you back off you keep persisting after me saying you said so you said so

you said so you said so don't let go of me I'm inviting you to do that when he

invites you to do that it's perfectly okay to do that when he does not invite

you to do that it is harassment it is lack of faith it is being a child that

is not convinced of the father's goodness it's tugging at the father's

shirt till it's out of his belt loop but when he invites you to do that then my

god don't let go yes Diana you'll have to hear the invitation here he

specifically says I have set watchmen on your walls do not give me rest just

persist because I have decreed it that Jerusalem shall be a city on its own so

keep pushing keep persisting keep persisting do not let off in the process

what God wants to do is not get all stirred up to do anything no in the

process he wants you to be stirred up and you to build the kind of muscle that

will allow you to take what he wants you to take that's the difference guys and

when he invites you to do that my god don't back off don't be like that woman

in the song of songs who heard a knock on her door and she's lying in a bed and

she says but I'm in my nice comfy warm socks and my PJs are on I can hear you

knock but I don't feel like getting up and then her lover leaves and now she

goes to open the door and she can't find him and so she goes running through the

city looking for him gets beaten up by a few people my god you could have done

it without getting beaten up

prevail through prayer that gives God no rest because you know he has decreed it

he has decreed it it has to happen guys there are times when I know I mean you

can ask my mom this because she sees it most of these prevailing these kind of

prayers no one else will see this is the kind of prayer that Jesus engaged in in

in in Mark and Luke when he had to go up on a mountain and pray through the night

to find 12 he knew that the gospel would spread through the earth he knew

that he had his father's ear he knew that his father was delighted in him and

yet he spends an entire night praying because he knows that on this choice

will depend so much and he also knew that one of them would betray him and he

also knew that all ten would flee and one would remain nobody sees this kind

of prayer where you will pace up and down through the night no one knows

about it and you know the outcome but you know that my god I can get this done

because God has said it will happen it must happen so stay up and stay through

half an hour one hour prayer that you can never imagine praying for one hour

you keep going at it in tongues in English with understanding without

understanding you keep at it because you know God has decreed it so I will

give you no rest I will call on you I will not harass you but I will say that

there is no other name that is above your name that you are high and lifted

up that this thing shall come to pass that you are the undefeated one and you

keep at it you begin to tell yourself you tell the enemy you tell the world

and you tell God God this is who you are this is what you said this is what will

happen and I am not leaving it's called persistent prayer I remember teaching

this in the course of faith and whenever I talk about faith stories I talk about

Kony the circle drawer this this Hebrew boy who once decided that he will not

move till the rains come because it's been years it's been a drought and he

wants a rain so he steps out into the middle of the village square draws a

circle around himself and he says oh God I am not leaving the circle till the

rains come and there were many good Christians in that village and they

said presumptuous little fella he thinks he can draw a circle and make God do

things for him but Kony knew something that God is the sender of rain that God

is not the sender of drought that God likes blessing his people and so he

decides he's not moving and the older people and the pastors begin to say

fellows twisting God's arm all the usual stuff we say when we don't have the

courage to trust him he stood there guess what happened after a while drops

of rain and everybody started shouting saying Kony Kony come in come in the

showers have started and Kony said this ain't enough we've had one and a half

years of drought these are small mercy showers this is not what I asked for

this will not help the ground get moist again I'm not leaving till the rains

really come down and so he stays in that circle few minutes later it starts

pouring torrents that rip up the earth and they say Kony Kony come in because

look at how profuse the rain is and he says no this kind of rain ain't God

because God's rain ain't violent this is tearing up the ground this won't be

good for the crops then a few minutes later it begins to rain like good rain

that doesn't tear up the ground but wets the soil and now Kony they say Kony

Kony come in he says no I'm beginning to enjoy this rain let me stand here a

little while more and I'll come in once I'm wet and now he begins to enjoy what

has happened this kind of prayer is prevailing prayer that has the ability

to give God no rest it takes a certain substance inside us to be able to stand

like this without coming up with foolish excuses eh he is sovereign but my God he

is a sovereign God who is not nebulous he says when was the last time I spoke to

in riddles Isaiah don't I say things plainly when have I been hazy and

nebulous whenever I have to say some things I say to you is plain so why

don't you begin to stand up and give me no rest there are four or five other

categories so we'll talk about them later yeah be encouraged church we're

going somewhere with this if you heard me during the time of worship I said

there's a thin filament that separates us from breaking into the next kairos

of this church as in the next fluid time frame that God has constructed for us

and it's coming they've been talking about building the church now we're

talking about prevailing church how to prevail how to become a strong strong

people who God can use both as a gateway and as gatekeepers we talked about this

two three weeks ago so let's just rise and sing these two songs and then we'll

go home why sing it now because I don't know this song has something that will

perhaps drive the message home think about this go home listen to it

understand where we are heading if you are