GOD : OUR ONLY ANCHOR OF HOPE IN THESE CHALLENGING TIMES
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OUTLINE
1. BUILDER
2. HEALER
3. PROVIDER
4. PROTECTOR
5. DELIVERER
6. DESTROYER
7. PLANNER
THE MESSAGE
GOD : OUR ONLY ANCHOR OF HOPE IN THESE CHALLENGING TIMES
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1. BUILDER
The Lord is building His church and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. When we belong to the church of Jesus Christ , our lives will be built up by the Lord. He will be a wall of fire around us. He will watch over us . The glory of the latter house will be greater than the former and the Lord will grant us peace. He will help us rebuild the broken areas of our lives and turn our wilderness into a garden of Eden.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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MATTHEW 16:18-19
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
ZECHARIAH 2:5
And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,’ declares the LORD, ’and I will be its glory within.’
ISAIAH 27:3
I, the LORD, watch over it; I water it continually. I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it.
HAGGAI 2:9
’The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the LORD Almighty. ’And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the LORD Almighty."
ACTS 9:31
Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.
ISAIAH 51:3
The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.
ISAIAH 61:4
They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.
2. HEALER
The Lord is our healer. He will bless our food and water and take away sickness from us. The promises for healing is even greater for us who live under the New Covenant because Jesus took our infirmities and carried our sicknesses and we are healed by His stripes. We must receive the Lord as our Healer and experience His healing in our lives.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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EXODUS 23:25
Worship the LORD your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you,
EXODUS 15:26
He said, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you."
MATTHEW 8:16-17
When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.
This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: "He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases."
3. PROVIDER
The Lord is our provider and we must rely on Him to meet all our needs. When we fear the Lord and seek Him He will meet our needs. The Lord can meet our needs in a supernatural way. The widow who fed Elijah with her last meal was supernaturally provided for by the Lord. We must be faithful in giving to God even in difficult times and He will be faithful to provide for our needs .
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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PSALM 132:15-18
I will bless her with abundant provisions; her poor will I satisfy with food.
I will clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints will ever sing for joy.
"Here I will make a horn grow for David and set up a lamp for my anointed one.
I will clothe his enemies with shame, but the crown on his head will be resplendent."
PSALM 34:8-10
Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing.
The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
1 KINGS 17:7-16
Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
Then the word of the LORD came to him:
"Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food."
So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?"
As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread."
"As surely as the LORD your God lives," she replied, "I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die."
Elijah said to her, "Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son.
For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ’The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.’ "
She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.
For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.
2 KINGS 4:1-7
The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves."
Elisha replied to her, "How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?" "Your servant has nothing there at all," she said, "except a little oil."
Elisha said, "Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few.
Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side."
She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring.
When all the jars were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another one." But he replied, "There is not a jar left." Then the oil stopped flowing.
She went and told the man of God, and he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left."
DEUTERONOMY 8:2-4
Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.
He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.
MATTHEW 14:13-21
When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns.
When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food."
Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat."
"We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered.
"Bring them here to me," he said.
And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.
2 CORINTHIANS 9:6-7
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
4. PROTECTOR
The Lord is our protector . In the midst of world filled with danger we must rely on the divine protection provided by the Lord .He will command His angels to watch over us continuously. We must stay close to God and always remain under His shadow of protection.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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PSALM 121:1-8
I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD watches over you— the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
PSALM 91:1-16
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."
Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
If you make the Most High your dwelling— even the LORD, who is my refuge-
then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
"Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."
5. DELIVERER
The Lord is our deliverer. He is with us like a mighty warrior and will cause our enemies to fail. No weapon formed against us will prosper. The Lord will be with us .He will never leave us nor forsake us. When we commit our cause to Him , He will perform wonders and miracles for us.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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JEREMIAH 20:11
But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten.
ISAIAH 54:17
no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me," declares the LORD.
HEBREWS 13:5-6
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
So we say with confidence,"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
JOB 5:16
"But if it were I, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him.
He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.
He bestows rain on the earth; he sends water upon the countryside.
The lowly he sets on high, and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
He thwarts the plans of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success.
He catches the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are swept away.
Darkness comes upon them in the daytime; at noon they grope as in the night.
He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth; he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.
So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.
ISAIAH 66:13-14
As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem."
When you see this, your heart will rejoice and you will flourish like grass; the hand of the LORD will be made known to his servants, but his fury will be shown to his foes.
6. DESTROYER
The Lord is the destroyer of the barriers and obstacles that stand in our way. He will go before us and break open a way for us. He will level the mountains before us. We must rely on the Lord to give us a breakthrough when we face tough barriers that block our 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."
ZECHARIAH 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 45:1-3
"This is what the LORD says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
I will go before you and will level the mountains ; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.
I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
EXODUS 33:14
The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."
7. PLANNER
The Lord is our planner who designs our life according to His will and purpose. When we commit our lives to His purpose ,the Lord will fulfill His plan for our lives. All the attacks of satan or evil men cannot thwart the plan of God . We must not fear or lose heart when we face opposition but remain steadfast in our confidence that no one can prevent the plan and the purpose of God for our lives.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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JOB 42:2
"I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.
ISAIAH 14:24, 27
The LORD Almighty has sworn, "Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand.
For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?
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