THE GOD WE FOLLOW IS A BARRIER BREAKER , A STRONGHOLD DESTROYER AND A WAY MAKER
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OUTLINE
1. THE LORD GOES BEFORE US AND BREAKS DOWN THE BARRIERS
2. THE HAND OF GOD DOES FOR US WHAT NO MAN CAN DO
3. THE HOLY SPIRIT DESTROYS THE STRONGHOLDS OF THE ENEMY
4. THE LORD MAKES A WAY FOR US EVEN WHERE THERE IS NO WAY
5. THE LORD IS A REFUGE FOR US WHEN WE FACE THE RUTHLESS ATTACKS OF THE ENEMY
6. THE LORD IS FILLED WITH COMPASSION TOWARDS US IN OUR TIME OF AFFLICTION
7. THE LORD KEEPS AN OPEN DOOR FOR US WHICH NO MAN CAN SHUT
THE MESSAGE
THE GOD WE FOLLOW IS A BARRIER BREAKER , A STRONGHOLD DESTROYER AND A WAY MAKER
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1. THE LORD GOES BEFORE US AND BREAKS DOWN THE BARRIERS
The Lord goes before us and breaks the barriers and opens a way for us. We must follow the Lord and not try to go ahead of Him in our impatience . Otherwise we will be faced with insurmountable obstacles. When the Lord goes before us , He will make the crooked places straight and break barriers which are strong like gates of bronze and bars of iron . Whenever we face barriers too strong for us to break , we must allow the Lord to destroy them for us and open a way for us to progress.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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MICAH 2:13
One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their king will pass through before them, the LORD at their head."
ISAIAH 45:1-3
"Thus says the LORD to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held— To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut:
’ I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron.
I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel.
2. THE HAND OF GOD DOES FOR US WHAT NO MAN CAN DO
The Lord wants to make us into a sharp threshing instrument to thresh mountains and crush them . When we face challenges which looms like a mountain before us , we must not despair but instead we must allow the Lord to make us into a sharp threshing instrument and crush these mountains. The Lord will meet our need even in desperate situations when it appears as though no hope or human help is available. He can satisfy the thirst of His people in all places whether it is a barren height or valley or desert or parched ground. He can cause deserts to blossom with trees. This will be a work of God and everyone will know that it not a human accomplishment . Therefore we have hope even in humanly impossible situations because the hand of the Lord will do for us what no man can do.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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ISAIAH 41:14-20
Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you," declares the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
"See, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff.
You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up, and a gale will blow them away. But you will rejoice in the LORD and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
"The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the LORD will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs.
I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set pines in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together,
so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
3. THE HOLY SPIRIT DESTROYS THE STRONGHOLDS OF THE ENEMY
The Lord will break the yoke of the enemy by the anointing of the Holy Spirit. When we face challenges that cannot be overcome by human might or power , we must rely on the power of the Holy Spirit . By the power of the Spirit of God , the mountains will become level ground. When the enemy comes like a flood , the Spirit of God will lift a standard against him. The Holy Spirit will destroy the strongholds of the enemy by coming like a hail storm and a destructive wind and a driving wind and a flooding downpour. The wicked may boast that they are safe under the refuge of lies and false hood. But the Holy Spirit will destroy the refuge of lies and sweep away all the strongholds of the enemy.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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ISAIAH 10:27
And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.
ZECHARAH 4:6-7
So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ’Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.
"What are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ’God bless it! God bless it!’ "
ISAIAH 59:19
So shall they fear The name of the LORD from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.
ISAIAH 28: 2 , 14-18
See, the Lord has one who is powerful and strong. Like a hailstorm and a destructive wind, like a driving rain and a flooding downpour, he will throw it forcefully to the ground.
Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem.
You boast, "We have entered into a covenant with death, with the grave we have made an agreement. When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by, it cannot touch us, for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place."
So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.
I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place.
Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the grave will not stand.When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by, you will be beaten down by it.
4. THE LORD MAKES A WAY FOR US EVEN WHERE THERE IS NO WAY
The Lord has created us and formed us and redeemed us and called us by name and we belong to Him , but still we may have to go through trials and testings in our life . However the Lord will be with us and protect us when we go through such experiences. Whenever we face a testing and come out victoriously we have a testimony in our life . Without a test we cannot have a testimony. The Lord will make a way for us even where there was no way before .We may be the first person to walk in the path that the Lord has opened for us . No one may have ever passed that way before. He will do a new thing in our lives . Therefore we can trust in Him to open a way for us in a supernatural way so that we will proclaim the praise and the goodness of the Lord in our lives.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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ISAIAH 43:1-2 , 16-21
But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
This is what the LORD says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters,
who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen,
the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.
5. THE LORD IS A REFUGE FOR US WHEN WE FACE THE RUTHLESS ATTACKS OF THE ENEMY
The Lord is a refuge for us when the fierce attacks of the ruthless rise like a storm driving against a wall . He is a refuge for us in our time of distress , a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. He silences the roar of the violent and the aggressors . The Lord becomes exactly what we need in our life at any given time . When we need shelter from the storm , He becomes our shelter . When we need a shade because of the sweltering heat, He becomes our shade . The Lord comes to us at the point of our need and reveals Himself as our solution.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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ISAIAH 25:4-5
You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall
and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled.
6. THE LORD IS FILLED WITH COMPASSION TOWARDS US IN OUR TIME OF AFFLICTION
The Lord is filled with compassion towards us when we face affliction in our lives. People may despise our affliction and make light of it and look on us with contempt because of our struggles. They may disdain us and feel a revulsion towards us. They may hide their face from us to avoid getting involved in helping us in our difficulties. But the Lord does not despise our sufferings nor does He find us repulsive to Him nor does He hide His face from us. Instead the Lord is filled with great love and compassion towards us and listens to our cry for help and delivers us.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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PSALM 22:24
For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.
7. THE LORD KEEPS AN OPEN DOOR FOR US WHICH NO MAN CAN SHUT
The Lord keeps an open door for us which no man can shut . When we are faithful to Him and keep His word even though we have a just a little strength , He will protect us from the hour of trial which will engulf the whole world. The Lord will make the wicked to bow before us and acknowledge that we are loved by God. We must hold on to what we have received from the Lord , so that no one can take away our crown.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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REVELATION 3:7-11
"To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.
I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.
Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.
I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
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