Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins.

When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility He plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls! Hebrews 12:1-3 The Message*

God cares for you infinitely more than you realize. Even if you have become melancholy to the point where you are numb, there is still fight on your insides that God put in you! The way you offset discouragement is to get your eyes on Jesus and receive encouragement and strength from what the Word declares—that will “shoot adrenaline into your soul.” Mind-renewal is not automatic. We have to deliberately feed our faith and starve our doubts.

The sower sows the word . . . the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. Mark 4:14, 18-20

It’s absolutely imperative that you fend off the worries and cares and hold up your shield long enough to realize the full potential on your life. So, instead of breakdown, you will have breakthrough! As you root out the cares of this world and let the Word take hold in your heart and germinate, you’ll reap the fruit of effectiveness—thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. God is able to keep you from stumbling and make you stand! (Jude 24).

You can trust Him!
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2011 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. *Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them . . . and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia. . . Acts 16:9-12

Paul had wanted to go to Asia, but the Holy Spirit told him no and sent him to Macedonia instead. Amazing things came from not following a good idea but going with God’s idea. The effective Philippian church began from this missionary journey.

THE TURNING POINT. “A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul” (Acts 16:14). This entrepreneurial woman was the first person to get saved in Europe. Western civilization would be forever changed by her decision.

ANNOYANCES ON THE WAY. Sometimes in the middle of the breakthrough, attack happens. Following the wonderful salvation of Lydia and her entire household, a demon-possessed slave girl started harassing Paul while he was on his way to a prayer meeting. He cast the demon out of her, which angered her masters because her fortune-telling had made them so much money. As a result, Paul and his companions got beaten and thrown in jail.

THE JAILER. While Paul and Silas were singing praises to God, all the prison doors opened and the chains were unfastened. The jailer assumed everyone had fled and was about to kill himself. Paul, instead of holding this guy in contempt, started to minister to him. “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” (Acts 16:28). God’s presence was so strong that this hard-boiled jailer asked how to be saved. Paul responded with one of the most thunderous sentences throughout the centuries:

Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household. Acts 16:31

CONTINUED IMPACT. Like Paul, God wants to use you to be a shock absorber in a troubled world and tell all types of people not to bring harm to themselves. There is a world crying out like the Macedonian man in Paul’s dream. We must be sensitive to the moment we’re in and overcome the invisible barrier of fear to reach our generation. We owe our lives to what this Philippian church did. They funded a furtherance of the gospel in city after city. Just as the hinge point of western civilization is seen in the fruit of Paul’s obedience, so God wants us to be the turning point for our time and see hundreds of millions of people come to Jesus.

Press on.
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2010 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

Thus says the Lord to you, “Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.” 2 Chronicles 20:15b

Are we ever going to learn that last line? How often do we try to take the battle back into our own hands! Our God is a warrior and has a plan for this whole universe. He knows more about the future than we do about the past, and He is worthy of our trust.

When Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, learned that his enemy was about to attack him on three fronts, he sought God. Instead of dwelling on all the problems, he deliberately focused on how big and great God is: “O Lord, the God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You” (2 Chronicles 20:6).

Then Jehoshaphat did something unprecedented in military history: He put praise-and-worshipers on the front line of battle.

He appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever.” Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. 2 Chronicles 20:21b-22 NKJV*

While they were worshiping God, the enemy was defeated! God is telling us something about the power of seeking Him: Your flesh may loathe praising God when you are going through a struggle, but that is right where you’ll find the solution.

As Jehoshaphat sought God, he declared, “We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on You” (2 Chronicles 20:12b). So gaze at God and only glance at your problems. Rededicate yourself to reading the Word, where you’ll see the faithfulness of God through the ages. Pull up breakthrough moments in your past and write them down.

“Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you” (2 Chronicles 20:17b). You can face tomorrow with confidence because the forever-faithful God is with you!

Give it to God,
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2009 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. * New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. Acts 3:19

The difference between conviction and condemnation is that conviction moves you forward and condemnation gets you stuck and moving backward. While the devil condemns, God will convict us for our own good—to get us prepared for the next steps. “He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Hebrews 12:10b-11). Before we can reach nations and reach hearts, we need to deal with our own hearts before the Lord.

Sow with a view to righteousness, reap in accordance with kindness; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord until He comes to rain righteousness on you. Hosea 10:12

Breaking up the fallow ground means that we are willing to change. Live in an attitude of preparation—get ready for what’s about to happen. God is getting ready to rain righteousness, create breakthrough, bring equipment and provision, open up new doors, and place broken people in your life that you will be able to help.

Conviction reveals God is about ready to do something of an increased level in you. You have the anointing and capacity to change people’s lives by a more exponential level than you can imagine. Let this inspire you to receive correction for the next step. “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).

Let’s prepare!
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2009 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. Isaiah 59:19b KJV

We have a battle to win in this life. The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but there is authority and victory through Jesus (John 10:10). One of the devil’s strategies is to bring down our morale, but God has a strategy to help us win on multiple battle fronts. Observing Jesus’ response to the devil will prepare us to win against the enemy’s attacks.

While Jesus was fasting in the wilderness, the devil came to Him and said, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread” (Matthew 4:3). Jesus, full of the Word, responded, “It is written, man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Just as Jesus responded to the enemy with “it is written,” so our standard must be the Word of God. When the attacks come in like a flood and we are feeling overwhelmed, what are we going to do? Speak the Word!

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? In all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. Romans 8:28, 31, 37

Those lies that are coming at you need an answer. If you aren’t familiar with the Scriptures and promises of God, start getting into the Word. If you’re not a good reader, get the Bible on your iPod. The life-changing nature of the Word of God is more precious than anything else.

Don’t let the devil shut your mouth. Don’t back down in the face of adversity. In the midst of a protracted battle, when several things come at you in a day, take the Word of God and boldly declare who He is, what you have because of Him, and what your rights are as a believer. God is the master of breakthrough!

Keep speaking God’s Word!

Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2009 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB). Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. *The definition of standard is a “point of reference against which individuals are compared and evaluated.”* “standard.” The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. 04 May. 2009.

We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful. James 5:11

When we observe the outcome of Job’s life, we see his endurance and we see the faithfulness of God: “The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased all that Job had twofold” (Job 42:10).

Longsuffering is the King James word for “endurance,” and it’s a good description of what we need when we’re being long-bothered (Galatians 5:22). Longsuffering doesn’t mean that we have to crawl through life in defeat, but as we encounter the inevitable challenges of life we are to consider the value of endurance and be confident that the outcome of the Lord’s dealings will be breakthrough! Look at these words about Jesus:

When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him [Jesus] until an opportune time. Luke 4:13

Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him. Matthew 4:11

These verses show that every temptation and trial the devil throws at you has a beginning, middle, and end. If you don’t understand this when you march into a battle you’ll cave in, thinking you’ve been defeated. Don’t quit! God knows how to take bad situations and turn them around. “Then Job answered the Lord and said, ‘I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted’” (Job 42:1-2).

If you’re in the middle of a battle, don’t grow weary and become lethargic and vegetate on TV and ice cream. Strengthen yourself in the Lord (1 Samuel 30:6). Sometimes this is easier than other times, but God has called us to flat out do it. The world needs Christians who will stand up, have some backbone, and press on! Good things are ahead.

Persevere,

Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2009 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.