I'm not going there and you can't make me!
I can remember saying that as a child, when I would get coerced into trying something, or doing something that I didn't want to.
Wether it be trying some kind of food my parents thought I should, like my dad for example, he always wanted me to eat beets and the hard boiled eggs that are purple from being mixed in, with the beets.
yuk, not happening ever, although I did try one a while back and it was not bad.
Or if you wanted to do big kid stuff and the big kids became annoyed and would think of some impossible feat you would have to do,
Like climb to highest beam in the barn and jump off, if you wanted to be in their club and then finally get to the point where they would threaten to beat you up, if you didn't.
You know how mean brothers and older kids can be, I believe now a days it's called bullying, I believe back in the day, it was also called bullying.
It was like they thought they had you cornered and you tried to keep of the tough guy act and boldly spoke the words, I'm not going there and you can't make me!
And they would say, oh ya, who's gonna stop us, you and who else? And I would say me and Mom!!!!
And then take off running as fast as possible, to wherever mom was, to the safety zone, to where you could stick out your tongue, thumb your nose at them and provoke your attackers and there wasn't anything they could do about it.
We sure had a lot of faith in Mom and we weren't afraid to use it either, we knew that the love that she had for us, was much greater than the brothers or the bully's that pursued us!
That whole scenario, is not to far off from our spiritual walk in the world and the relationship we have with The Lord!
Like a child, we don't always know what's best for us, but God always knows and the Love He has for us, is always greater than the circumstances of life!
Even though most of the time in our lives things run smoothly and they go great for us, there are occasionally going to be obstacles that try to bring us down,
You see, they come in a lot of different shapes and sizes, the devil is always trying to figure out a new angle,
You see, he doesn’t care what it takes to bring you down, just as long as you come down, so he can keep you there.
Sometimes he thinks he has us cornered, he always uses yesterday against us, to lay a trap for us today, but he always forgets about what lies ahead tomorrow!
Because unlike God, he doesn’t know what your future holds, he only has the now and the past to torment us with.
He’s been doing it that way, you know his usual tactics, condemning people, bringing up the past and scaring people for well lets say, ever since he thought he was Gods equal and got ejected from heaven.
Not everyone nowadays though, is used to his tactics, some people don’t realize he’s the one that’s doing it to them, they think God is somehow trying to teach them a lesson.
God does not need to throw you under the bus, to teach you a lesson
all the long the devil, is the one doing things, but somehow when things start to go wrong, God always gets the blame no matter what it is.
and the devil is like Houdini, he always vanishes from the scene after the damage has been done,
and A Loving God, is always there to pick up the pieces and help us put it all back together again!
TBS. in James 1:16-17 NKJ
16. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
17. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
If what’s going on in your life, isn't good and perfect, let me tell you it ain’t from God.
Unlike the devils only objective is to punish you,
God’s not out to punish you, Jesus was punished once and for all for you, on the cross,
God wants to protect you,
He loves you!! His yoke is easy, His burden is light.
If Jesus is the Lord of your life and your Savior, God doesn’t see your mistakes, Jesus Blood sacrifice on the cross already covered them all!
He sees you as righteous, because Jesus is righteous. And you have what Jesus has, so when He sees you, He doesn’t see your mistakes (praise God)!!
Just because the accuser wants you to think, your always going to have problems, doesn’t mean you have to believe him or go there!
Sometimes you have to have the faith of a child and just say to the devil, I'm not going there and you can't make me!
And then, say the name of Jesus and His Grace will be sufficient, no matter how great the temptation.
Isaiah 43:1-4 MSG.
1-4. But now, God's Message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob,
the One who got you started, Israel:
"Don't be afraid, I've redeemed you.
I've called your name. You're mine.
When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you.
When you're in rough waters, you will not go down.
When you're between a rock and a hard place, it won't be a dead end—
Because I am God, your personal God,
The Holy of Israel, your Savior.
I paid a huge price for you:
all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in!
That's how much you mean to me!
That's how much I love you!
I'd sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you.
WOW!, think about that, When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we become the adopted sons and daughters of the Great God Almighty Himself,
He’s talking about us church, He's talking about you!
That passage of scripture is talking about you,
I'd sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you.
That’s how much God loves us this morning, that He would be willing to do that just for you, what an amazing God we serve!!
With a love like that, coming from the father above, you’d think nothing would ever be able to get to God’s Children.
Some of the things that get thrown your way are petty and trivial, while others sometimes, seem to much to bare.
All of the problems are nothing but a distraction to take your focus off the promise of the love of God,
And none of them, are able to withstand the love of God.
TBS. (the bible says) the Love of God cast out all fear!
TBS. Here is what you should do on a daily basis.
Eph. 6:11-13 NKJ
11. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Put on the whole armor of God, because your not going to be able to get it done without Him.
Try as you may to do it on your own, sooner or later you come to the realization, it just can’t be done!
And the sooner the better, if your ever going to want to live in the peace that passes all understanding, for any length of time.
He’s the one, who’s going to give you the victory each and every time (praise God) and help make you a conqueror over your situation.
He's the One, who is going to back up the words, I'm not going there and you can't make me, when you say them! Amen?
Romans 8:37-39 NKJ
37. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
38. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
39. nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
There is nothing, no matter what may come your way that is stronger than the Love of God!!
There is great comfort in those words, “the Love of God”
David was comforted many times by the love of God and his love for God.
David was a great man of God, a great warrior for the Lord, a great king that had many victories for Israel.
A man after God’s own heart, that’s what all of us should strive for in our relationship with God. Amen!
You know something, as long as we pursue a relationship with God through Jesus His Son, we have something in common with David, we're men and women after Gods own heart!
David wasn't the only one, was he perfect, not even close. But still there were many amazing moments David had with the presence of God in his life. ( more common ground )
With all of the great things that happened in his life, there were still times when the things of the world got to him. ( more common ground )
Let me tell you, “All men fall, great men and women get back up when they fall and keep pressing towards the prize.”
Many times David shook the dust off of himself, repented, got back up and kept on going
He knew that there was nothing to fear with God on your side and nothing that couldn’t be accomplished with the presence of God in your life.
That’s why we love to read the book of Psalms, of which many David wrote,
Ps. 91:1-16 MSG.
You who sit down in the High God's presence, spend the night in Shaddai's shadow,
(now this is speaking directly to all those who put their trust in God)
Say this: "God, you're my refuge.
I trust in you and I'm safe!"
That's right—he rescues you from hidden traps, shields you from deadly hazards.
His huge outstretched arms protect you—
(in the NKJV it reads; He covers you with His feathers and keep you under His wings)
under them you're perfectly safe;
his arms fend off all harm.
(no matter what comes against you in your daily life, when you rest on God’s ability and not your own, He will keep you from everything seen and even unseen,
His arms fend off all harm.)
Fear nothing—not wild wolves in the night, not flying arrows in the day,
Not disease that prowls through the darkness, not disaster that erupts at high noon.
(when God does something, He does it right doesn’t He. He doesn't need a do over, He got it right the first time!
When He says all things, He means all things.
Whatever your needs might be, or ever will be, He has it covered with His wings of Protection)
Even though others succumb all around, drop like flies right and left,
no harm will even graze you.
You'll stand untouched, watch it all from a distance, watch the wicked turn into corpses. Yes, because God's your refuge,
the High God your very own home,
(notice here, how David is talking about the presence of God as being an actual place that you inhabit, you live there with God, He is your refuge, your very own home.
*Its not just a Sunday morning experience,
*its not just a salvation experience,
*its not just a repentance experience where you feel Gods Love and Forgiveness for a short time and then it leaves!
*it’s a way of life experience!
And when you live there 24/7, you can expect extraordinary things to happen!)
Evil can't get close to you, harm can't get through the door.
(even though it does try on a continual non-stop basis, God won't let it!)
He ordered his angels to guard you wherever you go. If you stumble, they'll catch you; their job is to keep you from falling.
You'll walk unharmed among lions and snakes, and kick young lions and serpents from the path.
(notice, He has His angels guarding you wherever you go, not just one, but however many it takes to get the job done, that’s their job protecting you , keeping you safe.)
He’s always a God of more than enough!
You see, a lot of times we think of finances when we hear that,
Let me tell you, God is always a God of more than enough, in every single aspect of your life
When we say God is good all the time, it doesn’t even begin to describe how good God is to those who love Him.)
14-16. "If you'll hold on to me for dear life," says God, "I'll get you out of any trouble. I'll give you the best of care
if you'll only get to know and trust me.
Call me and I'll answer, be at your side in bad times; I'll rescue you, then throw you a party. I'll give you a long life,
give you a long drink of salvation!"
We don’t have to wait for the sweet by and by, we can experience the goodness of God, there is plenty of Him to go around in our lives, in the sweet now and now!
God wants us to know we can enjoy the abundant life that He has promised to us.
We don’t have to be weighed down by stuff, you know the stress and pressures of this life.
He has been taking care of His own and has been doing a great job of it, since creation and promises to always do so.
Psalm 119:90 NKJV
90. Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You established the earth, and it abides.
Deut. 33:26 NKJ
26 “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, Who rides the heavens to help you, And in His excellency on the clouds.
Ps. 125:1-3 MSG.
Those who trust in God
are like Zion Mountain:
Nothing can move it, a rock-solid mountain you can always depend on.
Mountains encircle Jerusalem,
and God encircles his people—
always has and always will.
I’ll close with this,
A farmer walked around his farm to take stock of his losses after a fire had destroyed it.
When he came to the chicken coop, he noticed the charred carcass of a mother hen.
He used his foot to turn the carcass over and to his surprise, live chicks ran out from under it!
There was nothing that was going to bring harm to her babies. The mother hen had died protecting her chicks from the fire.
That’s how Jesus is with us, when you put your faith and trust in Him and His abilities, there is nothing He is going to let happen to you.
Like the mother hen, He willing laid down His life to make a way for all mankind.
Aren’t you glad you know Him today?,
and if you don’t know him, why not take this opportunity to take Jesus into your heart and make Him the Lord and Saviour of your life.
He’s ready to step in and be your protector, your healer, your deliverer, your everything in every situation.
He sits at the right hand of God this morning with all the resources of heaven at His disposal to help you. (Praise God)
Lets pray,
