You Can’t Hold Me Down, Anymore!
Psalm 107:1-9 MSG.
1-3. Oh, thank God, He’s so good! His love never runs out.
All of you set free by God, tell the world! (He wants you to proclaim it)
Tell how he freed you from oppression,
Then rounded you up from all over the place,
from the four winds, from the seven seas.
4-9. Some of you wandered for years in the desert, looking but not finding a good place to live,
Half-starved and parched with thirst,
staggering and stumbling, on the brink of exhaustion.
Then, in your desperate condition, you called out to God.
He got you out in the nick of time;
He put your feet on a wonderful road
that took you straight to a good place to live.
So thank God for his marvelous love,
for his miracle mercy to the children he loves."
Who here this morning, can relate to what this scripture is talking about,
Its like that song, Its my desire,
"if you could have seen from where He brought me from, to where I am today, then you would know the reason why, I love Him so! Praise God!!
Not that any of us have arrived, but thank God for all He has done, and continues to do for us each and everyday!
Still it seems as though, no matter how many times the Lord rescues us from the hands of the accuser,
No matter how many times, He shows us that we can trust Him implicitly, no matter what happens.
For some reason, some of Gods people have trouble remembering that today, we aren’t fighting for victory,
Today, because of what Jesus did for us, when He conquered sin and death,
and everything else imaginable on the cross, we are fighting from victory.
Psalms 107:1-2 NKJ. Says it this way,
1. Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
2. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,
The bible doesn’t say let them wish it were so, the word says Let the redeemed of the LORD say so!
Let them sing like a canary!
Something supernatural happens when we declare something out loud.
And the thing of it is, you don’t even have to say it to anyone else;
Your not necessarily saying it for anyone else’s benefit anyway,
Now, there faith would be encouraged, if they hear you make a declaration and it came to pass,
But almost always, the one who is going to be encouraged and lifted up, is you!
Praise God!
You need to declare the good things of God, over your life on a daily basis!
If you don’t, who will?
The accuser isn’t going to do it for you, instead, He is going to look for every opportunity to discourage you,
1st peter 5:8 NKJ.
8. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
Msg. says it like this;
Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping.
You have to make it a priority, to wake up every morning, declaring the blessings of God over your life,
Things like;
*you’re the head and not the tail
*Gods promises to me, are yes and amen
*God is going to show me favor today
*today I’m going to be amazed, by Gods goodness to me in my life!
*today is a brand new day and its going to be a good day!
and remember to thank Him for doing them, as though He’s already bringing those things to pass in your life
When you do that, you are prophesying your future.
And you know what?, both God and the accuser hear you, when you do that.
The Lord says, okay child of God, I’m going to do those things for you, because I Love it, when you ask Me, to Bless you!
Matt. 7:7 NKJ
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you
Luke 11:9 says the exact same thing
I think the Lord, is trying to tell us something here, like He really means it or something, How about you?
But when the accuser hears you say those things, when you wake up in the morning,
he says, i may as well be going on my way, its going to be a waste of my time sticking round here today, and he hates that,
because he knows, its going to be another awesome, Jesus filled day of possibilities!
Praise the Lord God Almighty!!
When you say what the Lord has and is going to do for you everyday,
When you declare that you are redeemed by the blood of the lamb and have His favor and blessings on your life,
you are pushing the door wide open, for God to do amazing, incredible, things in your life.
And at the same time, slamming it shut on the accuser!
Does your body always feel like doing that?
I think, we all know the answer to that one, don’t we.
The afflictions on your body will do one of two things;
*it will make moan and groan about your condition and want to cry
*or it will make you want to cry out to God, for Him to meet your need and give you, your miracle your seeking Him for!
Psalm 81:10 NKJ.
10. I am the LORD your God,
Who brought you out of the land of Egypt;
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
You can’t let your body and how it feels, dictate what comes out of your mouth!
If you do, it will try to trump what the word has promised you, every time!
TBS. I’m not moved by what I feel or see, Why?, because I’ve got the Victor living in me!
That’s what the woman with the issue if blood finally did.
TBS. in Luke 8:43-48 NKJ
43. Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any,
44. came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.
45. And Jesus said, Who touched Me?
When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, Who touched Me?
46. But Jesus said, Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power (or virtue) going out from Me.
47. Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.
48. And He said to her, Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.
She had to make a declaration!
You see, she had finally gotten sick and tired of being sick and tired.
She had sought help from everywhere and anywhere, for 12 yrs. she had spent everything she had to no avail,
She had been sick for so long, her body and the accuser had told her, for far to long,
(and there’s someone here this morning, he’s been doing the same thing to you, for far to long)
You may as well give up, he told her repeatedly,
honey there’s no hope for you, there’s no point in you getting out of bed today,
save your strength, your gonna need it for when I come back later, when you’re feeling better.
She had gotten up every morning for years, no doubt listening to the same worn out record, over and over and over!
Until one morning, she got up and went into town and that day Praise God, she heard a different story of possibilities, about a man named Jesus!
Mark 6:54-56 MSG.
54. And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, 55. ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was.
56. Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well.
The news of Jesus miracles, had no doubt traveled far and wide, people were being healed, lives were being changed!
That day when she heard about Jesus, she had heard the news she had been waiting on, for 12 long years,
Hope sprang up and began to fill her with possibilities, her attitude and whole demeanor began to change!
No one was supposed to associate with her, she was an outcast because of her condition.
She couldn’t make a declaration to anyone else, so she began to declare to herself!
Romans 10:14-18 MSG.
14-17. But how can people call for help if they don’t know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven’t heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it? That’s why Scripture exclaims,
A sight to take your breath away!
Grand processions of people
telling all the good things of God!
But not everybody is ready for this, ready to see and hear and act. Isaiah asked what we all ask at one time or another: "Does anyone care, God? Is anyone listening and believing a word of it?" The point is: Before you trust, you have to listen. But unless Christ’s Word is preached, there’s nothing to listen to.
She began to say to herself over and over, if I can just touch the hem of His garment, I too, can be made whole!
Her faith began to grow with each step she took as she made her way, to find this man named Jesus!
She knew, that she knew, that she knew, if she could just touch the hem of His garment,
her life would forever be changed the moment she did!
She was right, she was made whole the very moment, she reached out in faith and touched the hem of his garment.
Did you know, He still is passing by today, and wants to do the same for you!
You’ve heard it said before, and I believe that’s why God said it, so we would be reminded of it, as often as needed,
God is not a respecter of persons, what He has done for others, He will also do for you! (rpt.)
What kind of declarations are you making in your life today?
How easy are you making it for God to work in your life today?
Are you opening the door for Him to work in your life every morning or are you continually tying Gods hands?
TBS. in Psalm 81:10 NKJ.
10. I am the LORD your God,
Who brought you out of the land of Egypt;
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
Do you have your mouth open wide today? Proclaiming Gods promises over your life.
Its one thing to be able to believe what God can do for others, but what do you believe He can do for you!
I’m sure the women with the issue of blood, had heard of many others who had been healed of their condition by Jesus,
We know she did, a little bird didn’t just fall out of the sky and tell her.
Just like a lot of people hear of others being healed, it didn’t do her any good until she started to believe it could happen to her!
She started to say to herself and encourage herself, until she was ready to proclaim,
(and there is a song that says it pretty well by Sharon Daughterty)
"you cant hold me down, you cant hold me down, you cant hold me down, cause I’m standing my ground, I will not be denied, for God is on my side, you cant hold me down ANYMORE!"
And what did Jesus say to her?
He said, Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.
Her faith made her whole,
We all have been giving a measure of faith just like she had be given,
12 years of negative things in her life, had almost stifled it completely,
But then she heard of what Jesus was capable of and it gave her a glimmer of hope.
And with that glimmer, she began to speak of the possibilities,
The words she spoke were like fertilizer to her faith, like miracle grow is to a flower,
And her faith began to grow, from a tiny seed, to a healthy plant, to finally a beautiful blossom!
What kind of fertilizer are you spreading on your faith today?
Are you expecting God to fill you and increase you beyond measure and that your possibilities are large?
Church, we need to realize that we are the ones who set the parameters, of what God can do in our lives!
If we think we cant all the time, then we probably never will!!
Negative thinking closes us off and shuts the door, to what God wants to do in our lives.
Jesus said, According to your faith, it will be done unto you.
He might as well have said,
*If you’ve got a cup, Ill fill you with a cup level of blessing.
*If you’ve got a bucket, Ill fill you with a bucket level of blessing.
*If you have a truck, He wants you to know, your truck runneth over!
He has more than enough to fill whatever level of blessing you ask Him for!!
Why ask Him for a thimble full, when He is willing to give you a water tower full.
If God be your partner, make your plans large!
Make them so large, that there only possible for Him to bring to fruition!!
Open up your world to Jesus filled possibilities today! Praise God!!
Believe Him, for supernatural opportunities to start happening in your life?
Stop putting up with what the accuser has been doing for far to long!
Put the three Es to work in your life!
Expect, Expect, Expect!!
Expect favor, expect peace, expect joy!
And you’ll be singing a new song to the accuser,
You can’t hold me down, Anymore!
God will deliver the results and you wont be disappointed, you will only be amazed!
Do you believe it this morning, then be like the women who received her miracle and reach out and grab a hold of it!
Praise God, Lets pray!!
