Proverbs 3:5-6New International Version (NIV)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Forward Thinkers, we can’t afford to lean on our own understanding this season because our trust in the Lord will be tested on every hand. Forward Thinkers, we must stand in faith through every situation and continue to believe the Lord will make a way somehow. I wonder if there are any Forward Thinkers with a praise report of the Lord making a way for you when you were faced with a difficult situation and today you can shout, ‘Yes, He did.’
Forward Thinkers, life is often compared to a rollercoaster ride; full of ups, downs, and sudden turns. There used to be a ride at AstroWorld called the Texas Cyclone. It was a large rollercoaster modeled after the Coney Island Cyclone in New York. Both roller coasters were large wooden structures, yes I did say wood structures, with many violent turns and sometimes you would even end up upside down during the ride. Forward Thinkers, the most amazing thing about the Texas Cyclone now that I think about it was the fact that the only security we had on the ride was a medal bar going across the front of our laps. Yet, we would stand in line for hours to get on this ride because we believed as long as we stayed under the bar, we would be alright.
Forward Thinkers, this season, Believers must trust God without fear and stay under His protective bar. B A R
Biblical Truths: Forward Thinkers, we must stay under biblical truths if we expect to make it through the obstacles and trials we will face in this dark and cruel world. Believers can’t lean on their own understanding or entertain the tricks and deceptions of the enemy. We must root ourselves in biblical truths.
A sure way of being defeated this season is saying, ‘I know what the bible says but I’ll do this my way.’
Biblical Truth #1) Trust in God for strength and wisdom to deal with the obstacles and continue to believe the Lord will make a way somehow.
“Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation” Isaiah 12:2.
Forward Thinkers, many people will spend a lot of time trying to think and maneuver their way around obstacles in their own strength. There are certain obstacles that are so big our futile attempts to deal with them in our own strength renders us powerless. We must depend on God for the strength and wisdom to overcome.
Biblical Truth #2) Know that nothing is too hard for God.
“I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” Jeremiah 32:27.
Forward Thinkers, when faced with an enormous obstacle, it’s easy to fall into the error of believing that the obstacle may be bigger than God. Yet we know that’s not true in our hearts; however, our actions of unbelief and doubt reveal otherwise. We must stand firm in the faith that God is who He says He is, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Forward Thinkers, nothing is too difficult for our God to help us overcome.
Biblical Truth #3) Recognize that God uses obstacles for His purposes.
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” Genesis 50:20.
Forward Thinkers, obstacles not only remind us of our weakness in and of ourselves, but they also are a reminder that God is in control. The Lord is never caught off guard by our problems or situations. He uniquely prepares and chooses us for the journey of dealing with our obstacles. In the process of working through and around them, we grow up in the faith and our testimony encourages others to press forward in the assurance that the Lord will make a way somehow.
Anointed Teaching: Forward Thinkers, we must stay under anointed teaching because the enemy desires to catch us sleeping. Faith comes by hearing the word of God and the bible also adds, how can they hear without a called-sent preacher? Anointed teaching is not defined by claps, applauses, or emotional outburst but by its ability to transform lives for the better. You can’t sit under anointed teaching and remain the same. Anointed teachers don’t teach their opinions but flow under the rhema word of God. Anointed teachers just say what God said and the results line up with God’s desires for our lives. Anointed teaching breaks the yokes and cancels the curses. Anointed teaching builds your confidence that the Lord will make a way somehow.
Relevant Testimonies: Relevant testimonies are produced when we stay under anointed teaching based on biblical truths. Forward Thinkers, when we declare the Lord will make a way somehow, there should be relevant testimonies backing up that statement. David testified the Lord made a way when the bear and lion came and his testimony gave him confidence the Lord would make a way somehow against the giant. Your testimony may be the key that unlocks someone’s personal prison.
Forward Thinkers, let’s end this series by looking at the relevant testimony of Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Forward Thinkers, no matter what we’re facing because of God’s grace, we can stand trusting in the fact the Lord will make a way somehow.
1) Paul Saved By Grace Because The Lord Made A Way
There should be testimonies of changed lives and through our testimonies others should know that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever more.
2) Paul Overcame Being Unfairly Thrown In Jail Because The Lord Made A Way
There should be testimonies of people overcoming unfair situations and circumstances and those testimonies should cause revival to breakout in the midst of national chaos and unjust treatment of certain people in America.
3) Paul Was Shipwrecked In A Storm But Made It To Shore Because The Lord Made A Way
There should be relevant testimonies of storm survivors and a massive group of people declaring in spite of all I’ve been through I made it. We never know how our story of making it through a shipwreck and a storm can encourage someone else to keep going.
4) Paul Bitten By Poisonous Snake But Didn’t Die Because The Lord Made A Way Somehow
There definitely should be relevant testimonies of believers still standing while others were watching for them to fail. Forward Thinkers, your story of defeating something that killed someone else is your platform to witness the reality that the Lord can make a way somehow.
Pastor E. A. Deckard is the Senior Pastor/ Founder of the Green House International Church located, in both Houston, Texas, and the Woodlands, Texas. Pastor Deckard is also the Co-Founder of the No More Bloodshed Movement. To contact Pastor Deckard for speaking engagements contact him at pr.ghic@ gmail.com, follow him on Facebook, Instagram and Periscope @ Pastor E A Deckard or the church website www.ghic.net.