Turning Dead Situations Around!

It’s a fact … sometime, somewhere, somehow, you’ll face challenges arising from rejection, heartache, vicious opposition, lies, failure, betrayal or desertion. How you handle it is critical. An emotional response inevitably casts more fuel on the fire …

Be still and know God will never desert you nor leave you without support! Learn to oppose your opposition before it opposes you by creating circumstances through your obedience to the Word of God that your adversary (the devil) can’t handle instead of allowing him to create situations around and against you that you can’t handle.
Take the initiative in Jesus’ Name, don’t wait for something to happen before you position yourself in strength. You can do whatever God has said you can do, you can go where God said you can go, you can have what God said you can have and you can be everything God said you can be despite who or what says otherwise.
Be strong, be bold, for the Lord your God is with you.

Obedience is better than Sacrifice!
If God tells you to go to Sydney then you must go. If that means you have to take a plane, you get on a plane, if you can’t take a plane then get on a train, if you can’t take a train then drive, if you can’t drive then take a bus, if you can’t take a bus then rent a car, if you can’t rent a car then get a motor bike, if you can’t get a motor bike, get a ten speed pushbike, if you can’t get a bike start to run towards Sydney, if you can’t walk, crawl towards Sydney, if you can’t crawl then at least fall in the direction of Sydney: Show God you’re willing to do something in faith and obedience. Until you do your part God cannot do His!

You must learn to take the initiative to activate your faith in obedience, believing the circumstances you’re facing will yield and defer to your faith that’s being activated through your obedience in the Kingdom of God.1

Jesus taught that in order to stand when you are under fire personally you must first recognise the Kingdom of God and its Power and Authority through the Word, then customise yourself for right standing within it, and you’ll be energised by the Kingdom to publish your confession of faith; seeding your circumstances for inevitable change.2

The Word of God is for you, never against you.3 God is your answer, He is your solution, believe it and act on it, knowing that the attacks you’ll face are based on your assignment and anointing, and that the contending in your life is over your blessings in order to distract and shipwreck your faith and relationship with God.
Jesus said, “I am the one who raises the dead and gives them life again. Anyone who believes in me, even though he dies like anyone else, shall live again.” Two things are emphasised here: I am the resurrection and the life. (2) He that believeth on me though he be dead yet shall he live. Jesus is not only the One to resurrect dead situations, He is the one who adds life to them.

Have you ever had a simple project turn into a major catastrophe where the situation got out of control and became clouded and confused, especially when others became involved? At times like this if you don’t ask yourself “What would I be doing now if this wasn’t happening?” and so refocus on your goal, purpose, assignment or destiny, you’ll lose the momentum to go on and finish. Hey, no problem is ever as big as it first appears and besides, all problems must bow to the Christ in you for He is Lord of All! Christ’s progressive vision for your life is what creates the momentum to drive your dreams into reality. Go for it, you’ll make it in Christ!

Jesus always maintained an accurate focus under pressure. When He was told by some Pharisees, “Don’t go into that town, Herod has threatened to kill you there” Jesus responded with, “Tell the fox, I’m not appointed to die there!”4 Jesus knew His assignment in life and He stayed focused on it! He died on Golgotha’s Hill!

Learn to look past your setbacks to where you are going, don’t worry or become bogged down in the problems of the threats. What is it you’re to accomplish?
Get on with it! It doesn’t matter what other people’s opinions of you are … so long as you know God’s assignment for your life … and hold on to it dearly in your heart.5

Understand this, NOT EVERYBODY WILL LIKE YOU!! Not everybody will believe in you, nor will everybody want to know you … An absolute must for every Born Again believer is to be delivered or released from depending on other people’s thoughts opinions and statements about them. The fact is some people will never think about you or ever care about you, and grasping this will strengthen you for the rest of your life.
Jesus is the resurrection and the life! God is more than enough and has more than enough. He’ll always be more than enough in spite of what circumstances of life come against you. Never forget when you’re in the presence of trouble Jesus has promised to lead you, instruct you, increase you, protect you, heal you, then release His Grace through you to bless others around you. God is developing the various stages of your life, so be encouraged, you’ve go what it takes!

The World hates Christians with wisdom, with money and with power. The World spirit doesn’t mind Christians who simply occupy a space but it immediately opposes those who walk in Christ’s Grace and Faith. For instance Hebrews 10:25 does not say … do not forsake the gathering together, it states … “do not forsake the assembling together.” Christians must assemble themselves, every one of them uniquely fit for the Kingdom of God, supplying their strength, substance and resource to the whole. What a vast difference this is compared to those who merely gather together withholding what is desperately needed for the good of the whole.

Focus in on what God’s told you to do. When God asks you to do something … stop intimating “Why me?” and begin to say “Why not me? Yes Lord I’m available, I’m suited, clean and able for the Master’s use”. And never forget that if God has asked you to do something, He had to jump over six billion others to say to you “You’re the one that can do this!” When God says “I want you to share with your neighbour”, you’re the one, you can do it! God’s looking for obedient people. He’s looking for you!

Everybody is on the road of Doing Something even if it is nothing. “What are you doing?” “Nothing!” “What are you thinking about?”, “Nothing!” Hey! Wake up, you need hope in your heart, a blueprint of your expectations, begin to see yourself moving ahead, push past the obstacles, the limitations. If God ever gave you a dream He did not intend it to die. The devil can’t kill a God dream … they go unaccomplished through half-hearted commitment and lack of preparation. The Bible states… “Whatever is born of God overcometh this world” and if God gave birth to your dream, then it will overcome.

Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God remake you so that your whole attitude of mind is changed. Thus you will prove in practice that the will of God is good, acceptable to Him and perfect.”6

What’s He saying? Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its mould! Pressures all around, the clamouring of family, work and friends trying to squeeze you into their certain way, fashion or design. Listen – You’ve got to be you, no matter what anybody else says! You must be the you that God created you to be.

Anything that the world can do to you is outside of you trying to get in, and anything God can do for you is in your Born Again Spirit endeavouring to get out. The only way Satan can gain access to you is through the elements of words and the only way God can be released is through the element of words. Whether you like it or not, the way that you speak will create the road that you walk on into your destiny.

Never allow broken focus. Don’t allow family, friends or neighbours to change your focus. Jesus asked, “Who are those that are my family but those that do the will of God.” Listen; if the people around you are not doing the will of God then they’re not in the will of God for you. Friends are people you let influence your life, therefore they need to be in the will of God for your life. Seeds of greatness live in you – God didn’t create you to be a nobody – God created you to be a somebody! Stop complaining about your world, change it! And if you can’t change it at least shake it as you go by – let it know you were here! Do something with what you’ve got!! If you respect God, He’ll move you in the right direction!

Turning Dead Situations Around!

Refocus your attention to God. Take your eyes off people and put them on God.
When the Apostle Paul recounted his Damascus Road experience with Agrippa he noted that Jesus said to him…”delivering thee from the people.”7
You need to be delivered from what others think about you, even the well meaning ones and be more concerned with how God thinks towards you.
Major on what you have, not on what you don’t have. Major on what you’ve gained not on what you’ve lost, rejoice over who is with you rather than who has left you.
You can’t be a mountain (problem) mover and a mountain (problem) builder at the same time! Stop expecting things to change overnight but expect things to change in time. Circumstances aren’t permanent, fixed, stable or dependable. Circumstances aren’t eternal but are subject to change and they do change. Circumstances are not an indication of your lifestyle expectancy so don’t give in to them. Stand on God’s immovable, unchangeable Word and you’ll see Godly changes coming into place.

Determine what is worth fighting for.

Determine what you want to fight for and never fight out of pride… you’ll fall. But fight because it’s God’s and it’s right! Don’t waste your time, energy or resources fighting for the wrong things. Before you fight you must understand why you’re in the battle, if you expect to overcome and win it.

Maintain Your Expectations to Win and be happy about it while you’re waiting for it! “…The joy of the Lord is your strength.”8
When David picked up the stone to put into his sling, he hadn’t specifically gone to the valley of Elah to defeat Goliath. He was there to bring his brothers their lunch and bring news of their welfare back to his father, but when he arrived there he heard this giant cursing God. Upon which he asked “Why isn’t anybody doing anything about this?”

There wasn’t one man capable of standing up against Goliath in the entire army. Did you ever wonder why? Because King Saul himself wasn’t a giant killer, so he couldn’t train giant killers, and the reason David could stand against Goliath was because he hadn’t been trained by Saul.

Whoever trains you matters in life!!

David at the brook selected stones and put them into his pouch and these actions were all of David.
Then he faced Goliath. These actions too were all David.
When he picked a stone out of his pouch and put it into his sling – all David.
When he began to swing the stone – all David.
But the moment the rock left the sling it became ALL GOD. Listen! You’ve got to do your part in order for God to do his part!!

Saul of Tarsus could not write the New Testament, he had to become the Apostle Paul. Abram could not become the Father of many Nations, he had to become Abraham. Sarai could not become a child bearer until she became Sarah.
WHO DO YOU NEED TO BECOME BEFORE GOD CAN USE YOU IN THE WAY HE WANTS? Allow God to shift you, to move you, to change you.

All you need to do in the midst of challenge is to say, YES TO GOD. I believe you God, no matter what else anybody says, I believe you God to turn these dead situations around. I’m going to see it by changing my focus and fighting the good fight of faith and I’m going to do it by being surrounded by the right people and I’m going to do it by maintaining a high joy level.
Blessed are they who overcome.

Let’s Pray:
Father you never change and you never lose, teach us how to maintain our focus, faith, right company and joy in Jesus’ Name! Deliver us from the thoughts and opinions of others than entrap and steal from us our God given potential in Jesus’ Name, releasing us into the reality of the Overcomer, not by might nor by power but by the Spirit says the Lord. Amen.
Pastor Paul Stead

1. 2 Cor 4:18 2. Mk 11:23 3. 2 Tim 3:16. 4. Lk 13:32,33 5. Heb 12:2 6. Rms 12:2 (J.B.Phillips) 7. Acts 26:17 8. Neh 8:10