From Oppression to Restoration.

A giant is something that's bigger than you.

Because its bigger than you, it's imposed over you and it can challenge you.

Sometimes we fear giants because of their size, the imposing on them there is always something bigger than you wherever you go.

Moving from oppression to a place of restoration.

Oppression comes in different forms, it means you are put in a Conner by a power or something that's greater than you.

The first instinct of facing oppression is to run away from it.  Sometimes you have to face the oppression.

You have to back back at oppression, you have to respond to this fear.

Oppression is a place of captivity, its a place of no choice. But there is a way out, the power of the holy spirit will provide a way out.

Oppression takes faith out of you and puts fear, it takes courage and puts anxiety. Oppression takes something out of you and replaces it with another thing.

Isaiah 35:1-10

The wilderness will turn into a stream of rivers, the God we serve is able to break the back bone of oppression, your weak points will be made strong to accomplish the will of God in thus life

Ecclesiastes 7:7

When oppression comes in, a man can become mad.

When you are oppressed, you use reason, why are there Christians today who are part of exploitation, its because they use reason when faced with oppression. Be content in the Lord.

You shall not be ignorant of what God has for you.

Powerlessness causes depression, it causes you to dine with the enemy, with hope that he will help you out of it.

The word of God is a powerful too that will take us from oppression to restoration.

We are oppressed because we don't know what is in the Bible, how much time do we spend in oppression with no knowledge of what is in the word of the Lord?

Oppression will make you loose your alertness.

In order to move to restoration, you need knowledge of the word of the Lord.

 

May God Himself, bring you to a place of restoration in your life. 

Isaiah 36  Isaiah 37  Isaiah 38

Confronting Giants of life

Even in the old times, the children of Israel had obstacles along the way.

The place of enlargement in between now and then, there is a lot of work to do. There is a journey for your to move until you arrive at the promised land.

The challenge is that we sit down and do nothing.

There is always a journey for you to cover, keep being occupied, keep moving until you reach the destination God intends you to be.

David after being anointed to be king went back to looking after sheep. 1 Samuel 17:3 every one feared Goliath.

David realised that the killing of the lions, bears was not by his power, and because of his testimony, when he saw that Goliath had terrorised the army of Israel, his spirit was steered up, where others had seen death, he saw victory.

You might be waiting for that door to open, for that opportunity to arise, things might not be moving the way you would want them to move, but the word of the Lord is true, God doesn't change, his word is life. When God says stretch out, Stretch out. 

Keep your trust in the Lord  

Remember before you got that job, how much you fasted for it, how much you prayed for it. Now the job looks like nothing, but if you remember how God levelled that mountain for you, He will surely level the mountain ahead for you.

Its possible to forget the things the Lord has done for you and you start the take the things he has given you for granted, but take them seriously, and those testimonies will build your faith.

David had the testimony of confronting the Lions and Bears while looking after sheep, that  steered up his faith in the Lord.

Keep your morale high
Some times we miss opportunities because we think that we are not of the status of the opportunity, for example you leave a good managerial job just because it appears high.

Desire big things. Think about how big you can achieve, how much more you can achieve, keep your vision large.

Keep your morale high, don't say your too young, or too old. Joshua 14:10 He didn't think of his inability, he instead asked for a land for him to take, because he was still strong.

Speak to your situation. 
Speak the work of the Lord in your situation, it will obey, speak to luck, God has taken the place of abundance, you will not luck.

The word of God will work for you. Every time it spoken, it works for you.

Do not fear, do not give up. 
Hold on to the promise of the Lord, the giants you see today, are not real, step out to that thing that you are and you will be shocked how much you will prosper, how much you will win.

Fear not, fear not, for you will not be ashamed, neither will you be confounded, you will not be put to shame, stretch out, you will not be put to shame.

The Lord will walk with you, He will change your life,trust God, go for something bigger, risk, the Lord likes people who risk, who believe in Him. He will not fail them.

Go out and overcome, there is nothing that will fail you, absolutely nothing will fail you.

Stretch out

Confronting Giants

Psalm 42:1-11

This Psalm talks about  the war that happens within when you confront your giants. With the enemy questioning where your God is and if He is real.
The giants around us in our different aspects of life can be so many, in ministry, in the marketplace even in our homes.

How do you conquer these giants?

Everyone needs an enemy. Everyone needs an adversary. Everyone needs a giant.
Everyone who was called by God had to have enemies. Joseph had pride, an enemy within himself. His parents and brothers, Potiphar's wife. Moses had to defeat Pharoah.

Giants are necessary because they define us. If there was no Goliath, we would not know anything about David. If there no cross, we would not know about Jesus Christ. Face and confront your giant because that is what will define you. If you do not face your giant, you will be defined by nothing.

Understand that it all starts with you shining your light bright - by being the salt and light.
Matthew 5:14-16

There is always a danger when our light shines the brightest. We tend to hide our light so that our enemies do not see us. When we shine our light, we attract good people and enemies too. Your giant is revealed when you shine your light brightest. Don't be a secret agent. Be a public agent.
Preach the gospel, move in influence and tell of the goodness of the Lord.
Giants are not attracted to little things. Goliath called David little. Giants do not seek out people who are hiding.

Victorious living means you have defeated your enemies and giants. Once you defeat an enemy, you move to another level. What keeps us from moving to other levels is failure to confront our giants.

Proverbs 16:10
Isaiah 26:3
When you face your giant, you have to keep your mind on the Lord.

Psalm 18:28-30
Psalm 91:7-8
You cannot confront the devil with your imagination or cleverness but only by the Word of God. Speak the Word of God!

Ways of confronting and conquering giants.

1. Love your enemies.
Your physical enemies, those who say evil about you and do bad things to you, love them! They will see the goodness of the Lord to you and know that truly you are a child of God. They will be drawn to God that is why you should do it the Jesus way!
Matthew 5:44-45

You must love your giant before you defeat them. Get close to them and minister love and salvation to them.
In Acts 9, Ananias had to face Saul the giant who had been persecuting the church for him to receive salvation.

2. Confront principalities and powers not flesh and blood.
We conquer when we avoid personalizing the giants. They are not flesh and blood even when they appear so.
2 Thessalonians 3:14-15
We fail to defeat giants today because we react in flesh and blood.

3. Know that vengeance is for the Lord.

Giants manifest through the people around us. Don't seek compensation against your giants and enemies, only compensate them for the harm they have caused.
Do not try to help the Lord in vengeance.
If we seek vengeance on our own, the world will become handicapped.
Do not fight back.

Philippians 2:13

Leviticus 19:18
Proverbs 25:21-22
Deuteronomy 32:35
Exodus 21:23-25
Matthew 5:38-39

4. Giants are crucibles and furnaces for our destiny.

God always turns your enemies into crucibles.
Joseph comforted his brothers who had oppressed him. they were the furnace that God sent to refine him. to get him to his destiny. him defeating the giant was good for him, his family, their children and the entire world.

Proverbs 17:3 

Genesis 50:19-21

5. Let the wheat and weeds grow together.

Evil will always surround us. Our focus should not be on illuminating it but on advancing righteousness.
Jesus teaches us the parable of the weeds in Matthew 13 to allow righteousness and evil to grow together. We should not eliminate anyone from the kingdom but advance the kingdom at all costs, allowing evil to be seen for what it is. In the end, we shall know what is wheat and what the weeds are. When you fight your giants, don't eliminate them from the Kingdom, they too must be saved.

6. Learn to push back.

There is a place for physically pushing back as long as we focus on principalities and powers not flesh and blood. When you do that, you will stand! As long as you are standing on the truth of the Word of God.
Nehemiah 13:19-21

7. Know that the battle belongs to the Lord.

All our focus should be on God. We should not be afraid because the Lord is sovereign and in control. Do not try to win the battle on your own.
Focus on eternity - that is the greatest victory of all!

Confronting Giants

1 Samuel 17:1-10.

Goliath used to make threats while his armies were drawing closer, probably Israel's army was retreating.

Jesse told David to deliver something to eat to his brothers. 

The king would offer gifts to whoever would fight and win Goliath.

David stopped looking at the huge tall Philistine and noticed that he was not circumcised.

1 Samuel 17:29

Let no man's heart fail. After 40 days, Soul gets a man who was brave enough to confront Goliath.

Proverbs 19:15

"And this uncircumcised Philistine will he like one of them." - Speak to that challenge and tell it those words.

For the Lord who has delivered you out of all your challenges, He will deliver you out of that challenge too.

And Saul said,  "Go, let the Lord be with you"

Sometimes when you when desperate, you use unconventional things.

We shall not confront the enemy the way we've always done and think we shall win, we have to use in conventional means.

This one morning, the scenario has changed, the picture has changed.

David approaches Goliath in the name of the Lord, the God of the armies of Israel.

When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled...

The children of Israel came and destroyed the camp of the Philistines. 

Godly Parenting

 What is Godly Parenting?

When you look at your children, don't look at them considering the nucleus family alone, you are raising a giant, nations.
You are raising up giants when you look after children, you are not raising up dwarfs,your children need to build spiritual muscles, not being tossed up and down by other religions.

What do children symbolize?
Proverbs 22:6

Children represent the future of our livelihood.
David perused and recovered all the children and wives that were stolen by the Philistines.

When God gives you children, then your future is bright.
As parents you are supposed to prepare the children, nature then, instruct them and command them into the statutes of the Lord.

Godly parenting means grooming a child so that the child can achieve there true purpose for life, this means that you are partnering with God to raise the Child spiritually, morally, mentally and physically.

Train the Child in the way he should go, and not the way you should go.

Proverbs 29:15
Don't live the child to the guidance of his own will, otherwise, they will by default choose wrong.

Isaiah 28:10

Have the wisdom of handling children, build them up in love.

Children are not the same, even when they have come form the same parents, so train them in love and be patient with them.

Train the Child knowing that much depends on you.
There are three things that can change one's destiny:
 - The Grace of God.
 - Nature, Paul struggles with nature in Romans 7:24
 - The training provided to the person

Parents are not to abdicate there responsibility to there family, to there children, train your child in a way they should grow.

As people partnering with God, look at your child as a page for you to write good things...

Godly parenting

Psalms 127:3

Blessed r you when your quiver (bag) is full....

Genesis 1:26

God expected Adam and Eve to bring up children in there likeness, and the likeness of God is embedded in Adam and Eve, so the likeness of God would be embedded in the children.

God is looking ahead in time in terms of Generations for your family.

In Genesis 6, God is grieved by the population of the Earth, God is not just interested in numbers, but also interested in the quality of the population.

God wants to:
-Live and reveal himself on the Earth.
-To manifest His character and authority on the Earth.

This could be manifested on the Earth through Godly parenting.

Genesis 5:1 Summary of Adam's life

Godly parenting is not just about getting a child and providing for them, it involves naturing, instructing, directing, love, etc.

God wants to affect nations, wants a holy seed, wants to manifest His glory on Earth through mankind.

God wants man to partner with Him in order to affect nations.

Genesis 18:16

Whatever the plan of God is, children are not far from it.

He chooses Abraham because he will direct, command his children after him.

The work of parents on the Earth is to bring up spiritual giants in their children.

Man is not only a physical body but is also a spirit.

Man is accountable to God, our children must be accountable, must be responsible.

Isaiah 58:12

Parents r supposed to raise up foundations for generations.

Godly parenting means pointing your children to God...

May God give you the grace to produce children who will fear Him...

God's design for the family

Whatever family you live in, God has a design for it.

God's design for the family is built around worshiping Him. Your main purpose in this life is to worship the Lord and glorify his name.

Deuteronomy 6:4-7

It can be challenging to be a Christian in a place sounded by non believers.

Paul wrote the roles of every family member, the Husband, Wife and Children.

Worshiping together as a family encourages peace.

If you worship together as a family, that sin is dealt with.

Worshiping together encourages the right doctrine.

When you don't worship as a family:

Genesis 4:7

2 Samuel 12:10

When you don't worship, you give the devil an opportunity to cause you to sin.

When you sin, you give the devil the legal right over your life.

2 Samuel 15:1-6

If you don't worship with your children, you will never know them, you won't know who to help. You won't know the one to correct and help.

Its not too late to start praying, worshiping God together, you can start worshiping him together. 

Sex

Psalm 100:3

Serve the Lord with gladness.

Restore the things that God wants you to have.

Let all the gifts that ever manifested in you to come.

Whatever mountain, valley, challenge you are going through, it has an expiry date.

After every storm, the sun will smile.

Sex: Meaning got from the complete Christian dictionary for office, home and personal use.

Leviticus 18:22  ~ Abomination.
Genesis 1:26-38 ~ Be fruitful and multiply.

Sex causes multiplication...

Sex is a very strong instinct, its the second strongest to fear.

You can't have sex where there is fear, but without fear, the sexual instinct overcomes.

Sex was instituted in the beginning for the purpose of procreation.

Sex is relevant and allowed according to God's design, when God brings man and woman together.

Once u get involved in a sexual relationship with anyone other than your married wife or husband, its sin. You are commanded to flee all resemblance of sin.

1 Corinthians 7:1-5
Once u get married, you r duty bound to provide sex to each other.

A marriage without sexual inter course is not fulfilled, there is no union. 

If the bed is not okay, the marriage isn't. 

The danger if sexual denial is that it will cause the partner to look else where for satisfaction.

A body denies sex for a long time, might preach to itself not to ever have sex, and when a man's body gets to this place, he becomes importance.

Total denial can lead to enemies. 

Sexual denial also causes breach of the vow.

As you continue to live in a relationship out of your marriage, you end up having children outside your marriage.

To the in married, a sexual relationship is illegal, immoral and sin.

Sex outside marriage causes defilement of our bodies,  transfer of demonic spirits.

Sex outside marriage causes guilt, the guilt that you carry is a heavy burden.

Once sex is done out of marriage, there is loss of blessings from God. You loose the package God prepared for marriage.

Please flee from sexual sin.

Don't be so careless and stupid. Don't give yourself to conditions that will give the devil opportunity to tempt you.  

FamilyLife

Genesis 2-18.; Gen.1:28
Prov.18:22 In a marriage God gives favour to the family
Ps.133:1-2 It is in family that you see people walking together
God has bestowed certain blessings exclusive to the family setting.
we see, Authority, Dominion, Favour, Companionship, and all this causes us to be fruitful
Matt.1-20; God chose to have Jesus Christ come through a family.
Your destiny might be wrapped up in the extended family thus causing us bareness.
We need to open up to the extended family and thus break free from bareness.
Laban lived with his uncle and they were blessed.
Jesus brings us to the family of God when He makes us joint heirs. Romans 8-17
When we are in God's family, Jesus is our brother, and with him we cant be barren.
If you don't have any other form of family then you should know we are placed in God's family- Psalms 68-1
How many people have we welcomed in our family?
It is amazing that the people you place in your family are the ones who help you achieve greater.
Ask God to place you in a family where you will bless them and they will be your blessing.
The prodigal son even after rebelling against his father, repented and returned to family. a place of reconciliation, peace making, protection, support, companionship, unconditional love, total freedom, acceptance etc.
Think about;

1. Joseph in Potiphar's house- Gen.39
2. David in Saul's house,
3. Ruth in Naomi's house
4. Moses in Pharaoh's house

These people prospered in these families, because they found favour, and they had dominion and the blessing was two-way.
If you want to go to the next level, be faithful and allow God to use you in the place where He has placed you.

How God desires a family

How should the family be managed?
  God created man and told him to multiply.
  God created man and woman, man not with man and woman not with woman.

  Genesis 1:28 The family is thw only isntitution that was blessed to multiply.
  Genesis 2:19-24 God desires that we marray, that we have families, that we multiply.

   Collosians 3:18 Wives were instructed to submit to there husbands.
   1 Corinthians 11:3 We should not have power struggle in the home.
Husbands are instructed to love there wives as Christ loved the church.

  Ephisians 5:28-29, love your wife as your own body, don't be harsh to your wives. Your wife is your body

Association brings assimilation which in yirn brings importation. You will always appear like the people you associate with.
Choose a friend that will help you in life, that will not break you, the people in your life either make or break you.

Love is a must, but relationship is a choice.

#FamilyLife

We are family and there are levels of family.
Breaking bareness in Gods family (The Church)

Some fundamental questions that we may relate with personally,

• What is my role in this family of God as far as breaking bareness is concerned

• How am I contributing to breaking bareness or otherwise promoting it.

• How possible is it to be a peacemaker in times of bareness, to give out love in times of bareness?

Somehow you hear some murmuring (bareness) in the church exists.

Sometimes bareness might confuse us, we might see things (bareness) as if they are all ok.

We shouldn't give up and settle for less but press on for fruitfulness 

Sometimes the bareness comes because we are fighting the wrong battles

What bothered Rachael was Leah's' productivity because she took her eyes off God

Sometimes we have taken our eyes from God and focused on others things which seem to be productive. But this was not the case with Hannah when Penninah was productive unlike her, she continued fixing her eyes on God. and she was rewarded.

Scriptural Ref. Gen.30:1-3;