What the Enemy Wants to Steal

What is #1 thing the enemy wants to steal from you???

Your confidence! He wants your confidence as He knows you need it to fulfill God's plan for your life! He wants to prevent you from fulfilling your assignment! The devil is trying to get into your head because of the advantage he knows that you have. Just like an athlete who needs confidence to win a believer needs to build a relationship with God to have faith in His great work. We can't live this life with joy, health and strength without God. It is impossible.

God only asks ONE thing of you and that is to BELIEVE what He says is true. And when you really believe something there is evidence. The evidence of our belief is rest. The evidence of our belief is trust. The evidence of our belief is assurance and confidence. The evidence of our belief is joy.

Worry, stress and carrying the care is evidence that you're in unbelief. The Bible tells us to labor into that rest but without confidence in the word how do you do that? If Jesus has delivered you 2,000 years ago and you have no confidence in that HOW are you going to enter into the rest? You need confidence to enter into the rest and it is in the place of rest that you'll receive your manifestation.

Hebrews 4:1-3 says..."Let us therefore fear lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For onto us was the gospel preached but the word preached did not profit them. For we which have believed do enter into the rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest although the works were finished from the foundation of the world."

REST is the place we have to be in these last days so that God can bless us. You're going to have people looking at you and wondering why you're not stressed out and worried. And you can tell them that you have found the secret place of the most high... this place of rest.

When you hear the word you must have confidence in it. Many people go to church & hear the word preached but have no confidence in it. And verse 2 tells us that there will no profit for that person. Why? Because they haven't renewed their mind. You gotta walk into church as a "believer" having confidence in what God says is true for YOU!

Verse 3 says that we that believe enter into the rest. We who are not full of care, full of worry, full of stress enter into the rest. We who trust & rely on God enter into the rest. When people look at us they just can't figure us out. While our circumstances would dictate we be all stressed out and worried we are not.. we are at rest! What they don't know is that we are getting ready to get results and we can't afford to be stressed! We've got to stay here, because it's at the place of REST that I get what I need. So I choose to trust God!

This kind of REST doesn't mean to lie down on your sofa & not move! It means to you do what you have to do each day without worrying about anything because you have confidence in what Jesus has already done!

Have you ever been in a hopeless situation & felt like giving up? If so, you are in good company. The apostle Paul faced a situation in Acts 27:14-25. that seemed very hopeless. He is in the middle of a huge hurricane. He clearly demonstrates that this place of REST is the place of MANIFESTATION! And confidence is your strength!

Acts 27:14-22 "But not long after there rose against it a tempestuous wind called Euroclydon. And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, and running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat; which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sails and so we're driven. And we being exceedingly tossed the tempest the next day lightened the ship; and the third day we cast out with our own hands and the tackling of the ship. And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared and no small tempest lay on us ALL HOPE THAT WE SHOULD BE SAVED WAS THEN TAKEN AWAY." (they're in a hopeless situation).

Check out what happens in the next verse! In Acts 27:21 "But after long abstinence Paul

stood forth in the midst of them (in a hopeless situation) & said Sirs, ye should have hearkened onto me and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of GOOD CHEER." What? Are you serious? You know that's what the men on the ship were thinking! How can we be of good cheer when we're in the middle of this huge hurricane? It's the same reaction a lot of people would have today when they're told what the WORD says about their situation!

In Acts 27:22-24 Paul goes on to tell them ..."for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am & whose I serve saying, Fear not, Paul; this must be brought before Caesar and lo God hath given thee all them that sail with thee."

The greatest fear Satan wants to put on us is to be afraid that what was promised won't come to pass. This happens in the Christian life everyday because of fear. We're afraid because there is no evidence that can be seen that God's promise will come to pass. God is telling us not to tolerate fear because it will contaminate our faith. There is destiny on YOUR life my friend. When God has something for you to do there is nothing that can stop you from fulfilling His assignment for your life!

Verse 25 says "wherefore sirs, be of good cheer; for I believe God that it shall be even as God told me." Did you hear what Paul said? He said he was of good cheer in the midst of his storm! Why? Because he BELIEVED GOD! So if you will believe God you will be walking around in good cheer! He wasn't worried & stressed out! He didn't sink into depression and worry! He knew what God said would come to pass! Shout out right now..."I believe God because what He promised me will surely come to pass!"

The place of rest is the place of manifestation and confidence is your strength! Be a living billboard in your belief in what God has promised and light it up with your cheer and trust. No more stress! No more worry! Believe God's promise and be of good cheer!

Practical ways to develop confidence and get back to that place of rest:

1) Renewing your mind ...Most important thing you can do as a Christian! It's an exchange of your ideas thoughts, ideas and opinions for God's. For everything you deal with in life you must ask "what does the word have to say about this?" You allow the word to change the way you believe. This is why it's necessary for you to renew your mind because under this New Covenant of Grace you have to believe in order to receive. Renewing the mind is not a one time event, it's an everyday, lifetime process. With every problem, with every new situation you're having to ask yourself..."what does the word say about this?" If you don't do this the world will have more influence in your life as it will be your final authority. We go to the high thought which is established by the world & the world says if a whole lot of people says a thing is right then it's right. And therein lies the problem. The more you renew your mind & let it have authority over the way you think the more confidence you'll have in that word. So, when you find yourself lacking confidence and are getting into worry and stress renew your mind with what God says.

2) Confessing the word

You will believe your own words before you will believe anyone else's.

3) Meditating the word. Meditating means to mutter it out of your mouth over and over again.

Worrying is s negative form of meditating. It is meditating on the wrong thing. Joshua 1:8 says When you meditate on the word of God you will make your way prosperous.

4) Prayer

There is something about praying to God & being in His presence that builds confidence on the inside of you. The Bible says when you pray in tongues you build yourself up spirit, soul & body.

5) Hearing the word of God.

Did you know that you renew your youth just by hearing the word of God? When you are hearing the word of God you are not in worry. Worry, stress & anxiety will age you prematurely. God did not design our bodies to handle it. We are designed for HIM to carry it! Faith comes by hearing the word of God!

6) Believing in God's love for you.

The more you believe God loves you the more confidence you're going to be in what He has to say to you. When you spend time meditating on the love God has for you the problem is reduced.

God loves ME and this is why that door is going to open!

Love,

Sherry