Build It: Part 5
Build It || Part 5, Day 3
Matthew 16:13-19 NKJV
When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Luke 19:13 KJV
And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.
Ezra 4:1-6 NKJV
”Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the Lord God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers’ houses, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have sacrificed to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.” But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel said to them, “You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God; but we alone will build to the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.” Then the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building, and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. In the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.“
The second strategy the enemy tries to keep you from building is to discourage you.
Church, the Bible commands us 90 times to have courage, or to be of good courage. One of the most important times for the children of Israel was crossing over into the promised land. They had a new leader, and they were about to go into a new land. In the first nine verses of the book of Joshua, God tells Joshua three different times to be very courageous. This lets me know that having courage, or being courageous, is a key to walking in our God-given destiny.
I believe the devil knows that about our destinies. I believe he knows that about our lives and our walk with Jesus. Therefore, he would do anything he can to try and bring discouragement into our lives. He will highlight and magnify every disappointment we have ever faced. He will echo and repeat every word of negativity that’s ever been spoken in our lives. He will cause us to see small opposition as being mountains.
His goal is to try and get you so discouraged that you refuse to obey the word of the Lord in faith. His goal is to try to get you so discouraged that you approach any and everything with a critical mindset. His goal is to break you down to a place where you see yourselves as grasshoppers.
1 Chronicles 28:20, “Be strong and courageous and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God is with you.”
1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
Deuteronomy 31:6, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Psalm 27:1, “The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?”
1 Corinthians 16:13, “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.”
Romans 10:11, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”
Psalms 23:1-6 NKJV
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.
Church, I want you to be encouraged in this fact. If the devil is trying to come against you with discouragement, you must be doing something right! Shake off the discouragement, and know that our God is with us, and He will never leave us nor forsake us.
Let’s pray together…