Stand firm and remember Paul’s words in Philippians 4:7 - Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
[00:00:00] We're the spray friends together on our knees, Let us pray friends together on our knees And I fall on my knees with my face to the rise in sun, Oh Lord, we're here to see on the knees
[00:00:27] Welcome to the Bible Speaks with Elgin Carelock. The Bible Speaks is a weekly ministry of harvest international. Our prayer is that the Bible Speaks will encourage you in your study of God's Word
[00:00:38] You will be able to contact Elgin at the address given at the end of this broadcast, and now here's Elgin Brothers and sisters, I welcome you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit To another edition of Words of Inspiration
[00:00:56] And today, our discussion is titled, It's not you, life is hard, our spiritual text comes from Psalm 34 verse 19 Which reads, Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord, the learneth him out of the mall
[00:01:22] The Bible defines a fliction as a state of pain, suffering, distress or hardship that can rise from various sources, including physical ailments, emotional struggles, persecution and divine discipline As we see in Joe chapter 2 verse 7, reading from the new international version
[00:01:46] So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Joe with painful source from the souls of his feet to the crown of his head As believers, we occupy two realms, the natural and the spiritual
[00:02:05] But natural involves all of the things on planet earth, from our emotions and feelings to the people we deal with and observe on a daily basis In a natural, we are subject to the rules of man, which include prejudices, injustice, discrimination
[00:02:25] And other facets that can run contrary to the will of God Ephesians chapter 2 verses 1 through 2, reading from the new international version, reads, As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sentence, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world
[00:02:51] The spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient When we are disobedient, it causes a separation between us and God, which allows our flesh and the enemy to put us in positions we would otherwise resist
[00:03:14] A more accurate scripture in terms of the things we deal with would be 2 Corinthians 4 Verse 4, again reading from the new international version, it reads,
[00:03:28] The God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel, that displays the glory of Christ, Who is the image of God? There are those who are used by Satan and are totally unaware.
[00:03:49] They are given promotions and are terrible bosses of a God's people, or they are people who are privileged financially and mistreated others who are not in their same class. The spiritual represents our relationship with God, being redeemed by Jesus and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
[00:04:11] The spiritual is also where we do battle with our thoughts, flesh and the enemy. Ephesians 6, verse 12, reading from the new international version reads, For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the power of this dark world,
[00:04:34] And against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly realms. The phrase spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms, highlights the reality of spiritual warfare and the organized opposition believe us face from divine entities led by Satan.
[00:04:54] These forces operate in the spiritual realm but have significant influence on the physical world. What makes this life hard is our sin nature. We move in and out of righteousness and pay a price each time, sometimes from Satan and other times from the chastisement of God.
[00:05:17] The point of this discussion is to let you know that it doesn't always have to be hard. Second Corinthians 10 verses 3 through 4, reading from the new international version reads, For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.
[00:05:37] The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We have several weapons that allow us to endure this life, but it takes focus, consistency, prayers, fasting and a right relationship with God through Jesus.
[00:06:00] And the Holy Spirit, here are a few. The whole armor of God found in Ephesians 6 verses 10 through 18, angels who look after you, found in Psalm 91 verses 11 through 12, and finally the peace of God found in Philippians 4 verse 7. We have to remember that the battle is not ours.
[00:06:33] In fact, second Chronicles 20 verse 15 reads, and he said, In the darken ye all july, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehosefat, thus saved the Lord unto you, be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude. For the battle is not yours, but God's.
[00:06:58] This is our comfort because God never loses, but we have to let him fight for us. Oh, what needless pain we bear, because we get in the way and not let God do what he promised.
[00:07:14] Brothers and sisters, this life gets hard when we live by sight and not by faith. When we allow circumstances to determine how much we trust God, it is that lack of trust that causes anxiety, stress and hardship.
[00:07:32] Left unattended, it can lead to sin which brings in a whole new set of problems. Stand firm and remember Paul's words in Philippian 4 verse 7, be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God,
[00:07:55] and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. I thank you for spending time with me on today, and I look forward to our discussion on tomorrow, until then, God bless.
[00:08:14] I've arrived from this program is cared for by listeners who care. Your prayers and financial investment in this ministry helps to keep the good news on the air. We look forward to hearing from you and invite you to write us at harvest international, post office box 66690 O'CalaFlorida 34488.
[00:08:44] Again, that's harvest international post office box 66690 O'CalaFlorida 344878.