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Welcome to the IPC Hope Temple Podcast, where hope lives, faith grows, and lives are transformed. We're so glad you've joined us today. Get ready to be inspired, encouraged, and strengthened in your walk with God as we dive into the uncompromising word of truth.

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Ladies and gentlemen, without much ado, let's invite the ministry of Reverend Peter Melome.

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Hallelujah. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, we bless you, we give you praise. We thank you for another beautiful time in your presence.

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We thank you that we can come before your word. We pray that, Lord, you will prepare our hearts, give us humble hearts that will receive your word and let your word work mightily in us. Lord, I lift myself also before you. I pray that you fill me with your spirit. And let your anointing come upon me. And let me speak your word in season unto your people. We give you praise, Father, in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. And so we are still in our month of rest. And we are teaching about rest. And like Pastor said, it shouldn't just be a teaching, it should be something we actually experience. We come to the place where we come to the rest of God or we experience the rest of God in our lives and in whatever we are doing. Amen. Today we are looking at rest from your adversaries. Rest from your adversaries. Our anchor scripture as usual, Matthew 11, 28, which says, Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. This is an invitation unto the uh to the an invitation of the Lord for us to come to him. It says, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. And then the verse 29 says, Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. And so you find out that God is inviting us to come and then tread our burdens and our yoke for his burden and his yoke, so we will find rest. Rest from your adversary. There's something the Bible calls the evil day. The evil day. And look, as long as you are part of humanity, a day will come where you experience an evil day. It is the day when the adversary rises against you. It is called the evil day. Ephesians chapter 6, verse 10. Ephesians 6, 10 to uh 13. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore, because of that, take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day. Underline the word evil day, the evil day, and that's it, in the evil day. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, forces of wickedness in the heavenlies. It says, Because of that, take unto you the whole armor of God that you will be able to stand in the evil day. These principalities, wicked spirits, devils that we deal with from time to time, they cause they try to cause havoc in our lives and bring us to a day of evil. You see, good, but he says, You can still stand in the evil day. There's a way to stand in the evil day when the enemy comes against you. The evil day is that day when it looks like all hell is broken loose over you. That day, or in that season of life, when it looks like all hell is broken over you, it is indeed the day of adversity. When it looks like you've just entered into a strange battle. That's the evil day. When the storms of life hit hard against you, it may be a sudden health challenge. So then someone is living quietly, happily, minding his business, and all of a sudden he feels some pain somewhere in his body. An unusual pain. Suddenly, and so quickly he tries to go to the hospital. Okay, so he gets to the hospital, scan, scan, scan, check, check, check. Cancer. Evil day has come. There may be a businessman. Everything is going well, business is doing well. All of a sudden, things just take a downhill. Finances begin to go down. Business partners begin to withdraw their support. And your whole business that you've worked for and told for all these years, all of a sudden, begins to go down. That's an evil day. There is a married couple enjoying life. All seems to be well. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, there's a storm in the marriage, and the marriage is at the verge of collapse. An evil day has come. I don't know about you, I don't know where you are. But maybe where you are, maybe as you are sitting here, there is probably a time, a day of evil that you are experiencing. A strange battle that you are fighting that you can't even tell anybody about. Yeah, of course, people come to church, they smile, they greet everybody smile, but you have no idea the battle they are fighting or they are engaged in, even as they are, even though they are smiling with everybody else. And so evil days come suddenly, sometimes upon us without any announcement. And you are just there, then suddenly things, everything just changes. When everything you've toiled and labored for is beginning to crumble before you. When it looks like your marriage is just about to hit the rocks, when it looks like you are facing an enemy or a situation which is beyond your strength or ability to handle. You are pulling all sorts of strings, but nothing is working for you. That's an evil day. You have come, you are facing an adversary. In 2 Samuel chapter 22, verse 5, verses 5 and 6. David says, When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about, the snares of death prevented me. When the times are evil, I mean you you just don't know which way to turn. But in the midst of the evil, God can still give you rest. Oh, you didn't hear me. In that evil day, God can still give you rest. In the day of adversity, God can still give you rest. Amen. And so I want us to read a scripture. The main scripture for the day is a long read. Okay. 2nd Chronicles chapter 20. We'll be reading from the verse 1 down to the 23rd verse. 2nd Samuel. 2nd Chronicles, sorry, chapter 20. Let's read this in the ESV, okay? Yeah, it's easier, it's a long one. ESV. After this, the Moabites and the Ammonites, and with them, some of the Munites, all these I tight, it Moabites, Ammonites, Muites came against Jehoshaphat for battle. When all the ites rise up against you, some some men came and told Jehoshaphat, a great multitude is coming against you from Edo. Hey, from beyond the sea, and behold, they are in Hazazon Tamar. That is Engedi. Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek and set his face to seek the Lord. And sometimes when you hear certain news, you become afraid. There are some news when you hear, you become afraid. Have you seen somebody before the person is all happy, and then a phone call comes through, and the person receives hello, and the person, then you see that the person begins to shake. Have you seen someone like that before? The person suddenly becomes begins to shake, and then you can see that everything is gone wrong suddenly. Yes, that's the news Jehoshaphat got. And then fear came upon him. But what did he do? He set his face to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord from all the cities of Judah. They came to seek the Lord. And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord before the new court and said, Oh Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham, your friend? Let's go on. And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence or famine, we will stand before this house and before you. For your name is in this house, and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save. And now, behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seah, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy, behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. Oh our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you. Meanwhile, all Judah stood before the Lord with their little ones, their wives, and their children, and the spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Beniah, the son of Jeel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaf in the midst of the assembly. And he said, Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat, thus says the Lord to you, do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great hoard, for the battle is not yours but God's. Ah, we thank God for the men of the spirit, the men unto whom the spirit of the Lord can come on some suddenly, and they'll begin to give us the word of the Lord. Tomorrow, go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Zeus. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf. Oh Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid, do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you. Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshipping the Lord. And the Levites of the Kohatites and the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a loud voice. And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Peqah. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established. Believe his prophets, and you will succeed. And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire. And as they went before the army and said, Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever. And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambushment against the men of Amnon, Moab, and Mount Seah, who had come against Judah. So they were routed. The next verse, please. For the men of Amnon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seah, devoting them to destruction. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seah, they all helped to destroy one another. When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the hordes and behold, there were dead bodies lying on the ground. None had escaped. Hallelujah. I think we can close. I can just take an offering and then we close. Oh, isn't God wonderful? All right. So this is a beautiful story. Jehoshaphat and the men of Judah were there one day when they received news that these Moabites and all these Munites and all these ites are coming against them to fight them and to destroy them. From the look of things, they were much more. The enemies were much more than God's people. And then God's people said, We cannot do anything about these people that are coming against us. We have no strength. We cannot do anything. We cannot help ourselves. It's like we are set up for distraction. You see, but they did something, which is what I want us to look at. I pray time allows me for to be able to go through all. When the battle is set, when the adversary comes against you, when it looks like there is no hope at all for you, what do you do in such times? The first thing they did was that they fasted and they prayed. They fasted and they prayed. The verse 3. Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord and proclaim a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord from all cities of Judah. They came to seek the Lord. They fasted and they prayed. You see, in a time of adversity, fast and pray. Call upon the Lord. Wait on the Lord. And so he says, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, come. It's God's passionate invitation that you should come. Come, let's talk about the adversary. Come, come and tell me what is happening. Come, come and tell me about the trouble. Don't keep it to yourself, don't fight alone, because on your own you cannot. So he says, Come with that yoke of burden. Come and talk to me. You see, one thing about God is that He it's not that He doesn't know about your problem, He knows. It's not that He doesn't know about what you are going through, He knows. But you see, in His sovereign power, He has given you a will that He Himself, by His sovereignty, cannot violate. He's giving you a will that He cannot violate. You see, and so you must exercise your will to call on Him. That is why, even though He knows the problem you are going through, He still wants you to come and call onto Him. Come, come, come, don't, don't, don't fight this battle on your own. Pray, fast, make time, pray, fast. That is why prayer is important. Fasting is important. That is why, as Pastor declared that this month is a month of rest, he also declared a fast. And so you should want to fast and pray. It's key and is important in winning any battle of life. Because when you pray and you call on God, you are inviting God into your situation. And another thing about spirits, they are very legal. Spirits are very legal. And don't forget God Himself is a spirit. God is a spirit. John chapter 4, verse 24. You yourself, you are a spirit. The forces we are dealing with, they are spirit beings. You see, good, and so you must legally call on God and get God to come legally into your affair. And so when they were faced with the situation they were faced with, they prayed, they declared a fast and they prayed. David said in in 2 Samuel chapter 22, from verse 4 to 8, I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised. So shall I be saved from my enemies. When the waves of death compass me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid, the sorrows of hell compassed me about, the snares of death prevented me. He said, In my distress I call upon the Lord and cried to my God, and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears. Then the earth shook and trembled. The mountains of heaven moved and shook because he was angry. You see, the earth did not shake and tremble until a man called God to come into his situation, and you you've not seen the anger of the Lord in dealing with the enemies of his people. He said, God became angry. Who are those rising against my people? Look at verse 17 from 17, the same 2 Samuel 22, 17, 17 to 20. He sent from above because I called him. He said, I called him. You see, because I called him. Then this is what God did. He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. In other words, he kept me from drowning, he delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me, for they were too strong for me. They prevented me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my stay. He brought me forth also into a large place. He delivered me because he delights in me. The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands, and he recompensed me. He said, I call upon the Lord. Learn how to call upon the Lord. Learn how to talk to God. That's why he says, Come, come unto me. All leader labor. Come, come, I will give you rest. I'll help you fight this battle. I'll help you win the battle. That's why he says, Call upon me. Call. Prayer is key. That is why the Christian who doesn't pray. I don't know. You can't be a Christian who doesn't pray. Prayer is key. Prayer is important. Prayer is inviting God into your situation. That is why, if you're a businessman, early in the morning, wake up, pray. One hour, 30 minutes, pray concerning your business before you go out there. Because you don't know what you are going to meet or who you are meeting out there. A day of evil can suddenly break upon you. But call upon the Lord. Oh, yes. Concerning anything you do, make prayer a habit. They prayed, they fasted. Make time to fast. You see, fast. There are Christians who just don't fast. As for me, this fasting thing, nah nah nah nah, me and fasting, we are not friends. No, you don't have to be friends. It's as a Christian, you don't fast at all. Hey. No, fast. Have personal times of fasting. And the church, when the church says we are fasting, join to fast. Join to fast. Learn how to fast. As a Christian, I remember the case of Jonah against Nineveh, right? The Bible says when the judgment was declared, even the animals they fasted. Yeah. They fasted and they prayed. Learn to fast and pray. This morning, who? Golden. Yeah, golden. I saw some scripture on your status. And I was glad when I saw it. Isaiah 43 22, NLT. Isaiah 43 22. He says, But but dear family Jacob, you refuse to ask for my help. You have grown tired of me, oh Israel. He said, You refuse to ask for my now. You don't pray. You refuse to pray. You are tired of me. You don't pray. When I saw, I said, Wow, I like the scripture. I said, I'll read it. You have grown tired, you refuse to ask for my help. The reason why you are praying is so you can get the help of God. There is no it is not necessary for you to keep trying to do this thing on your own. Get God in it. Hallelujah. Number two, they acknowledged God's mighty power. They acknowledged God's mighty power. From the that's back to 2 Chronicles chapter 20, verses 5 and 6. And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord before the new court and said, Oh Lord God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. He acknowledged God's power and might. He didn't come to God telling God how powerful the enemy is. He didn't come to God telling God how powerful all those things are. He acknowledged God's power and might. When you face an adversary and you come before God, begin to acknowledge God's power and might. God's power to save. That is what that is that which is more important. You know the saying? They say a lot of Christians they come to God and they tell God how big their problem is. Instead of telling their problem how big their God is. Oh, yes. They rather tell God how big their problem is and their challenges and their adversaries. Instead of telling the adversary how big their God is, they acknowledge God's power. You know, and this actually tells us about worship, the importance of worship. When he came before God, he worshiped. He worshiped by referring to how great and awesome and mighty God is. Also, be a worshiper, be a worshiper in the presence of the Lord, in the midst of all the confusion and all the trouble and the adversary. Still worship, acknowledge God's greatness. And that's what they did. Often when we come to church and we are worshiping, or even praise, will come there later. And we are praising. You see, somebody just standing aloof. Everybody else is worshiping in the glory and praising and shouting and dancing. Somebody's just standing there. These people, they don't know what I'm facing, they don't know the problem I'm going through. If they knew, so you see, you see uh Auntie Sheila dancing over here. You think she doesn't have any problems? Yeah, they worshiped, they worshiped the next one, they held up God's promises to him, they held up God's promises to God. They said, God, this is what you said about us. God, you said by his stripes I have been healed. And yet, look at this affliction in my body. You said, My God shall supply all of my needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. This is what you said in your word. They held up God's promises to him in the verse 7 to 11. Did you not our God drive out the inhabitants of the land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham, your friend, and they have lived in it and have built it for you in it, have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you. For your name is in this house, and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and you will save. That is your promise. That if we call unto you, you will hear us and you will save us. When our enemies come against us, you have said in your word that when we call unto you, you will hear us and you will save us. Therefore, Lord, we are putting your word back unto you. Did you not say one shall put to flight a thousand, two shall put to flight ten thousand? They were quoting God's promises concerning them back to God. Because you see, to win any battle in the spirit, you need the word of the Lord. It is written. That's what you know you need. It is written. Once you know what is written, you will not be shaken. Because you can go before God with what is written. And I told you, spirits are legal. God's legal document, it is his word, and so they held up God's word before him. Learn how to hold up God's word before him in prayer concerning anything you are facing. My time is almost up. Number four, I'll go through it quickly. They humbled themselves before the Lord by acknowledging their powerlessness and declared their trust in God. They acknowledge their powerlessness and declared their trust in God. Verse 12 Oh our God, will not will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. We don't know what to do, Lord. I don't know how what to do about this situation, but my eyes are on you. I trust you. I trust you. That's why I called upon you in the first place. That's why I came. I trust you, Lord. I don't know how to go about it, but I trust you, Lord. I don't know how the money will come, but I trust you, Lord. I don't know how this sickness will leave my body, but I trust you, Lord. I don't know how this marriage will be fixed, but I trust you. I trust you, I trust you. I trust you. Our eyes are upon you. He says, Looking unto Jesus, the altar and finisher, look unto him who endured such affliction, such wickedness, contrary afflictions of men. Look unto him. Our eyes are upon you. And then when they did these four things, then God's instruction came. You see, then God gave them, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavily, and I will I will give you rest. Take unto me, unto you my yoke, my burden. So God now began to give them his burden, his yoke. That is his strategy, his plan, his will. God began to show them what to do. Alright, so three things God told them to do, and then we'll come back quickly. The first thing, when God spoke, he said, Be not afraid, be not afraid. In other words, be bold, be strong. Verse 14, verses 14 and 15. And the spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Beniah, the son of Jeel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaf, in the midst of the assembly. And he said, Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat, that says the Lord to you, do not be afraid, do not be dismayed at this great hordes. For the battle is not yours, but it is the Lord's. Do not be afraid. In other words, be strong, be of good cheer, be courageous, don't be afraid, don't shake, don't be afraid. In the midst of adversary, God is saying to you, Don't be afraid, don't be afraid of the doctor's report, don't be afraid of what you see in the senses. We walk by faith, we don't walk by sight, we don't walk by what we are seeing, we walk by faith. So don't be afraid. And I came to tell somebody this morning, I don't know what you are going through, but don't be afraid. Sometimes it ministers fear, it wants to minister fear. But God says, Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. In other words, be bold, be strong, don't be afraid. He says, Fear not, Isaiah 41:10, fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, I am your God, I will strengthen you. Yeah, I will help you, yeah. I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that were incensed against you shall be ashamed and confounded. They shall be as nothing, and they that strife with thee shall perish. Don't be afraid. Tell your neighbor, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. No, don't be afraid. The next thing God told them, go up against them. Go up against them. Don't just sit down. He said, Go up against them. Don't just sit down. Go up against them. Don't just sit down and weep and cry. Go up against them. Do something about the situation. Don't just sit down. Don't give up. Don't chicken out. He said, go up against them. Now look at it. The verse 16. Tomorrow, go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Zeus. Now God is beginning to even tell them where they will come from, the direction they will come from. As you pray and you wait on the Lord and you talk to the Lord, God will begin to give you strategies. God will begin to show you which way the enemy will turn next. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jerusalem. God showed them where they will find the enemy. You will not need to fight in this battle. Notice, you will not need because I want to give you rest. You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf. Oh, Judah and Jerusalem, do not be afraid, do not be dismayed. Tomorrow, go out against them, and the Lord will be with you. That is the key. Go out against them, the Lord will be with you. Rise up, take your things, take your tools, go back to work. God is with you. Go back to that business that looks like it's dying. God is with you. Oh yes, God is with you. Go out against them. And God gave them, God even showed them which way to take, which direction to go. That's why you need to call God. He will show you the way to go. He will show you that He will give you the strategies you need. God is a master strategist. Oh, yes, He will go out against them. Don't don't run back. Face the situation. Don't go back. David, when David stood in the valley before Goliath, the Bible says, after Goliath said all that he had to say, David said, I come against you in the name of the Lord. And what did the Bible says David ran to meet the giant? He didn't retreat. No, he ran. He charged towards the giant, a small boy. Why? God is with him. And I want you to know God is with you. Amen. God is with you. The next thing, God said, Stand firm, hold your position. The verse 17. You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation on the Lord on your behalf. Stand firm, hold your position. Don't give up, don't vacillate in your faith. Stand firm, be firm. Be firm in the Lord. Be strong. The Bible says, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Ephesians 6. Be strong in the Lord. And in the power of his strength. Stand firm. So these things, three things God told them to do. Then notice the last two things they did, and then we'll close. They encouraged themselves with the word of the Lord. They encouraged themselves. The verse 20. And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Teqwah. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Believe in the Lord your God and you shall be established. Believe his prophets, and you will succeed. They encourage themselves with the word of the Lord. What God has said, encourage yourself with the word of the Lord. Let the word of the Lord be your encouragement in your time of affliction. Because the word of the Lord does not fail. The word is truth, it's your reality, it's your strength and it's your power. Encourage yourself with the word. Caught the word in the time of affliction. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, my inner enemies, my foes, came up against me. He said they stumbled and they fell. When they came up against me, he said, In thee will I rejoice. Encouraging himself with the word of the Lord. Learn to encourage yourself with the word of the Lord in the time of adversity. Speak the word of the Lord. Amen. But of course, if you don't know the word of the Lord, that's the problem. Amen. And then finally, they praised and thanked the Lord for the victory which was yet to come. They praised, they thanked the Lord, and they praised the Lord for the victory which was yet to come. Verse 21. And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire. They were going to battle, they wore holy attire, priestly garments. And as they went before the army and said, Give thanks to the Lord for his steadfast love endures forever. Next verse, please. And when they began, notice, and when they began to sink and praise, then the Lord set an ambush, an ambush against the men of Amnon, Moab, and Mount Seah who had come against Judah. So they were routed. He says, When they began to sing and to praise, God did not move until they started to sing and to praise the Lord. It was when they started singing and praising, then God began to move. You know why? God inhabits the praises of his people. And so when they began to sing, when they began to worship, sing and praise the Lord, hey, God said, Listen, listen to those sounds that are coming from my people. I have to move. God, when they began to sing and to praise, learn how to sing in your time of adversity. Learn how to praise in the time of adversity. When you are we are praising and we are dancing, don't say, These people, if only they knew what I'm going through, they will not be shouting all around me and just stand there quiet. No, there's a there, you see, Psalm 8. You remember when the triumphal entry when Jesus was going to Jerusalem and he was on a donkey and they put their clothes and things on the ground and they were singing his praises, and the scribes and the Pharisees came and said, Tell your disciples to shut up. Jesus said, If they shut up the rocks, will cry out. If they shut up the rocks will cry out. Then he quoted Psalm 8, you see, and told them something about praise. Verse 2, Psalm 8, verse 2. Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength. That word strength there is praise, is the word praise. You have established praise because of your foes and to steal the enemy and the avenger. And so when we praise, God ordains strength. You see, you you have established strength in our praise is strength. It says, Because of your foes and to shut the enemy and the avenger down. That is why you need to learn how to praise in your time of difficulty and in your time of adversity. They praise before they saw the hand of God. You see, we want to see God move before we praise. Faith doesn't work like that. Faith praises God even before we see a manifestation of the results. So the Bible talks about Abraham, right? When God made promise to Abraham, I've made you father of many nations. Abraham believed in hope against hope that what God has said will bring to pass. He did not stagger or waver at the promise of God in unbelief, but he was strong in faith, giving glory to God. This is uh this is Romans chapter 4, I think from verse 18 downwards. He was strong in faith, giving glory to God. When he did not yet see the child, he was giving glory to God. He was praising God even before the child came because he believed the word of the Lord to him. Learn to praise God in the midst of your adversity. And when you begin to praise God, God will rise up and ordain strength and shut the mouth of every adversity that is lifted against you. Oh, praise is the weapon that my enemies drown it. We sing it all the time. I'll praise when I'm numbered. Is that not our praise when surrounded? Because praise is the waters. My enemies drowning. Is that about as long as I'm breathing, our God there is it to pray. Oh my soul, I'll praise when I'm numbered. I'll I'll praise when I'm surrounded because praise is that weapon that my enemies drowning. Learn to praise the Lord. Oh, learn to praise the Lord, amen. And this morning we are coming to praise the Lord. Hallelujah. Is somebody ready to praise the Lord? Is somebody ready to praise the Lord? Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord. Please let's rise to our feet as we praise the Lord.

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Thanks for tuning in. We hope this message spoke to you. Be sure to subscribe, share, and stay connected with us. Until next time, God bless and take care. IPC Raising Heroes.