By Strength Shall No Man Prevail

Before we go into this message, I want you to pray like this:

“Every enemy of my increase, scatter by fire, in the name of Jesus.”

Beloved, because the Lord is already touching you as you read this message, whatever says you will not improve, whatever says you will not go up, whatever says you will not have divine acceleration, whatever says you will not be enlarged, must die by fire, in the name of Jesus.

The Bible says,

“I will bring honey out of the rock. I will bring oil out of the stone.”

We know that a stone cannot produce oil, neither can honey come out of a rock. Those are impossible things. What the Bible is saying is that no matter how hash the economy is, no matter how terrible the situation is, the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is able to squeeze out your breakthrough for you. This is why you should raise your voice and repeat that prayer: “Every enemy of my increase, what are you waiting for? Die, in the name of Jesus.”

I Samuel 2:9: “He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.”

Our message is entitled, “By strength shall no man prevail.” Let us also look at two supporting scriptures:

Ecclesiastes 9:11: “I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither bread yet to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understandings, nor yet favour to the men of skill, but time and chance happeneth to them all.”

David said to Goliath in I Samuel 17:47: “And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you unto our hands.

What was David telling Goliath? He was telling him that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the strong and that by strength shall no man prevail.

The above scriptures tell us certain things.

Promotion does not necessarily go to those that are worthy. They tell us that a lot of people can reap what they did not sow. They tell us that advancement does not necessarily go to those that work the hardest. It is not that we should not work hard. They tell us that natural gifts by themselves are not enough to handle the battles of life. Natural abilities or talents are not enough for a successful life. They are telling us that skill and intelligence do not necessarily give progress; the swiftest and the strongest do not necessarily give progress. The battle is not for the strong and by strength shall no man prevail. There are wise people who are hungry. There are intelligent people who go unprepared. In many contests, the best candidates do not necessarily win. Being smart or talented is not the guarantee that you will succeed. People say heaven helps those who help themselves. Heaven helps those who agree with Jesus that they cannot help themselves and they want Jesus to help them.

Pharaoh had a very large army and was very comfortable. He had reasoned that with the kind of army he had, pursuing the people of Israel, who had no weapons, would be very easy for him. But he got to the Red Sea to find out that the battle was not for the strong and the race not for the swift and that by strength should no man prevail.

Goliath was a very strong foe. He cursed the people of God for 40 days. He was a formidable foe but there were certain things he did not understand until he landed in hell fire. Gideon’s army started with 32,000. Eventually God pruned them down to 300. Why? The battle is not for the strong, the race is not for the swift, and by strength shall no man prevail.

If they say, “Get on your mark and go,” and you jump forward and begin to run, it does not mean that you will win. Moses was 40 years old when he tried to help God by using physical strength to kill an Egyptian. He learnt the hard way that he could not do anything in his power. He had to go to a training school for 40 years. He learnt there that by strength should no man prevail. When the same Moses came back with the rod of God in his hand, there was nothing in that rod. God just wanted to use it to disgrace the enemy; he took over the whole land of Egypt from Pharaoh.

Close your eyes and say:

¨I hold the rod of God in my hands. I smash the head of every oppressor, in Jesus’ name.”