09/07/2020
Year of delivery
Sunday Sermon
Part2
Be still, the battle is not yours.
When some people first receive Christ as their Lord and saviour (Born-again), they usually say that their lives were perfectly fine before they were born again but now things aren’t going so well. They need to understand that in the early days of their acquaintance with the gospel things will happen but all is well, they must also understand that it is good that they are going through some trails, this is to show that they are now sharing with the Lord in His sufferings.
Another thing that people need to comprehend is the secrete of giving, there is no scripture that I know that says that the disciples of Jesus forced people to give or pay tithe but they instead taught about it and people matured on their own, they also prayed for those who were matured in giving and paying tithe. Apostle Paul says in the book of Philippians 4:16-18 that they have sent him aid when he was in need more than once but not that he desired those gifts even though he needed it, he has learnt the secrete to live in plenty and to live in need (Philippians 4:12) and this is the secrete of born again people, to be in need but not in desire!
The moment you are ‘in desire’ you are prompting the devil to manufacture a ‘look-alike’ (an illusion of what seems to be real but isn’t) the devil will not bring you beer if you don’t drink alcohol or ci******es if you do not smoke, he brings you something that you are in need of or desire but beware because it may ‘look like’ it is real but it is just an illusion. When you are in need of a man he will bring you a man that looks like a husband but really isn’t and when you need a woman he will send you a woman that looks like a wife so let us not be ignorant to the devils’ schemes or oblivious to the secrete of being in need but not in desire. Paul says his desire is that more is accredited into their accounts regardless of whether some have given or not, so all we need to say when we are in need is that ‘the Lord will supply all my needs according to the riches in His glory (Philippians 4:19).
2 Chronicles 20:15
“15 He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.”
The battle is not yours so you don’t have to confront the devil, just tell the devil that the battle is not yours but it is the Lord’s. We cannot take any battle upon ourselves so let us not place ourselves in a ring to contend with the devil because we are not prepared to do so as the battle is not ours but the Lords’. The number of problems you are facing does not matter, do not be discouraged because the battle is the Lords. Lift up your head, walk like nothing is wrong and do not listen to what anyone says.
The problem with us is we are too mindful of peoples’ opinions; we are busy fighting battles that aren’t ours. From now onwards let us refrain from fighting battles which are not ours. Angel Michael took his position and said to the devil ‘the Lord rebuke you’, so take your position, stand firm and see the deliverance power of the Lord upon your life.
Zachariah 3:1-2
“Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. 2 The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?”
Joshua is standing next to the angel of the Lord with satan, I am trying to show you that if you wrong a man of God they are not alone, the angel of the Lord is always by their side and the moment you speak against them then you are unconsciously working in favour of satan (satan using you unaware). In previous sermons I have always taught that when an ‘angel of God’ appears it is actually God appearing to you using a form of an angel because no one can see the Lord and live (Exodus 33:20) so it was actually the Lord that was standing before Joshua and the devil was there ready to accuse the High Priest and the Lord said ‘the Lord rebuke you satan’, in other words the Lord was telling satan to stop what he was doing. Speaking through the angel is the Lord Himself but he doesn’t say ‘I rebuke you satan’ instead He says ‘the Lord rebuke you’ because the devil does not recognize the Lord inside the angel and the devil cannot fight the angel because angels never take the battle upon themselves as the battle is not theirs.
There are things that we desire that are not for us, the Lord does not make manifest those desires because they are not good for us to have. It is good when we are content with what we have, it is not that the Lord is not answering your prayers and it is not the devil hindering you from receiving that which you desire but you are okay with what you have at the moment, so peace be with you. Everything that you are going through is because the Lord allowed it to happen to you so be still the battle is not yours to fight, it is the Lords’. Whenever you go through something just say ‘the Lord rebukes you satan’, leave it in the hands of the Lord and the Lord will supply your needs according to the riches in His glory.
Verse 3-6
“3 Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. 4 The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.” 5 Then I said, “Put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by.”
He told the people that were there that Joshua is dressed in filthy clothes and that they should take off those filthy clothes worn by Joshua, when the clothes were taken off the Lord said to Joshua ‘see, I have taken away your sins” He did not instruct the people that were there to take off Joshua’s sins nor did He tell them about Joshua’s sins being taken away, His only instruction was for them to take of Joshua’s clothes, so whatever you know about your pastor is none of your business know that the Lord has already cleansed him and he is forgiven.
David did one of the worst sins one can ever do but when he prayed the Lord heard his prayers and forgave him (Psalm 51), David repented but we are still held up on his sin whilst God has already forgiven him and this is the same with Thomas, people keep saying Thomas did this and that but in actuality there was nothing wrong with Thomas. Joshua’s filthy clothes represented his sins and when people were taking those clothes off as per the Lords instruction, they did not know that the Lord was cleansing Joshua but to Joshua the Lord was direct with what he was doing hence he says ‘I have taken away your sins’
The good thing about spiritual things is that Joshua was prevented from hearing the instruction of the angel to the people to take off Joshua’s filthy clothes because if he had heard he would have run away in fear of people seeing his nakedness and the same happened to the people when the Lord said to Joshua He is taking away his sins. When the filthy garment is taken off Joshua receives a fine garment which represents the anointing so the person who you have written off because you have deemed them as ‘dirty’ might be receiving the most powerful anointing therefore you will be depriving yourself of this anointing by writing them off.
Those who associate themselves with Joshua are about to find grace and favour because of their association with the High Priest, so when you acquaint yourself with the man of God know who you are acquainting yourself with for you might find peace and favour because of the manner you regard/treat him.
Zachariah 4:1-6
“Then the angel who talked with me returned and woke me up, like someone awakened from sleep. 2 He asked me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven channels to the lamps. 3 Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” 4 I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 He answered, “Do you not know what these are?” “No, my lord,” I replied. 6 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.”
Was Zachariah awake when all of this took place? No, he was asleep. All of this transpired while he was still sleeping but when he woke up, he took everything that happened literally and didn’t regard it as a dream, he took it to heart. After he awoke from his sleep he was asked what he sees, and he replied saying, I see seven channels meaning he has seven channels to hear from and seven channels to see from and there were also two olive trees, remember he said ‘I will bring people from underneath the olive trees for things to come’ but the stones represent seven eyes.
In verse 5, Zachariah knows that he is not talking to an angel but the Lord Himself because he does not address or respond to the angel as ‘I hear you angel’ but instead he says ‘my Lord’ and the angel will not start being prideful because of how Zachariah is addressing him, it knows that it was made to be seen as an angel.
Not by might, not by power but by the Spirit of the Lord. The battle is not yours so don’t fight battles that aren’t yours IN JESUS NAME…
AMEN!