June 19, 2009

• What we must know when trying times come by Pastor Emmanuel Eyim-Danquah

  Pastor Danquah is visiting Living Word Chapel. The link will give you driving directions.  He is always a blessing – he is an anointed teacher and many signs and wonders follow as he ministers at our church.  God moves very powerfully during the services.  If you get a chance come at 7:00 tonight (6/19/09) and tomorrow night, and then Sunday for the morning services. 

  To contact Pastor Danquah you can reach him at this address:

  Pastor Emmanuel Eyim-Danquah
  Christian Restoration Ministries International
  19255 NE 3rd Avenue
  Miami, Florida 33169

  *************

  YOUR MIRACLE IS AT THE OTHER END OF YOUR TRIAL

  Luke 8:22-25 Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out. But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!”  Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”

  Your trial is one phase toward your miracle.  Your trial has a beginning and at the end of your trial is your miracle.  Hard times strengthen us in our spirit.  Trials are used by God to cause us to draw closer to Him so He can show us His Glory.  Satan is the one who makes the trials, but God uses them.  Trials help us to go to the other side. 

  Notice Jesus AND the disciples were all in the same boat.  If the Lord is in your boat you can rest and sleep in the middle of the problem.  The Lord who created the seas is with you, so why worry?  Jesus goes to sleep, and SUDDENLY a storm arises. 

  God (Jesus) never told the disciples about the storm or that there wouldn’t be a storm.  When God gives you a promise it doesn’t mean there won’t be a trial in the middle.  And He doesn’t always tell us every step and trial we will face to get to the promise.

  The Israelites saw many miracles in Egypt, and then they were freed to go to the Promised Land, a journey that could take about 10 days.  But God knew that if they were immediately put in the Promised Land they would not be in a condition to fight the giants there and their faith could be destroyed, so God took them on a wilderness journey so that they could learn lessons before they entered the Promised Land.  They needed to be made ready to face those giants. 

  When we go through trials God wants us to learn lessons before we enter the Promised Land.  If He immediately answered all our prayers the second we prayed them it is quite possible we would decide we didn’t need to come to church and we could easily become backslidden.  Sometimes we pray and the circumstances in our life do not seem to change – but God is using those circumstances and our life to build us.

  Paul told us that 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

  God will use obstacles as a stepping stone for you to jump to the next level in Him.  The obstacles are not permanent.

  2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,

  The obstacles are temporary, but they help us to see that the hand of God is strong in our life. 

  Jesus is in our boat – and SUDDENLY a storm. 

  Pastor Danquah told us:  If it doesn’t break you, it will make you. 

  There is a light at the end of the tunnel coming toward you.  You are close to the end of your trial.  Don’t give up now – you will reach the end of your trial and then see your miracle.

  Pastor Danquah shared that last year he was diagnosed with prostrate cancer and at the time did not have a good insurance policy and when he was told that his insurance would not cover this, he was faced with $40,000 hospital bill – which the hospital wanted $20,000 upfront which he did not have, and then the radiation was $90,000.  He did not know what to do, and was in pain.  He kept praying and casting out this situation, believing he would live and not die, for the whole year, and finally in Oct-Nov. he found out that there was a special administrative insurance that he could use that would reduce the charges he would have to pay to only 10% of the total mentioned above.  He was able to have surgery and is now cancer free and strong as he was before the trial came. 

  God has a miracle at the end of your trial, and when your trial ends there will be a crown of miracles.  God will take you to the other side of your finances, your job search, your marriage problems, whatever your situation is. 

  Sometimes though, in the midst of our trials it seems as if God is sleeping on us.  God will at times intentionally seem to be asleep in our lives for God is testing what our attitude will be in the midst of the storm. Jesus rebuked the disciples for not having faith in the midst of the storm. They did not apply the faith that Jesus taught them.

  When we feel God is not responding to us it could be that He is testing our faith and our attitude in the midst of the storm. Some people, when the trials get tough, stop going to church.  When hard times come the best place for you to be is in the House of the Lord.

  The devil places trials on us to try and drive us away from God or to get us to believe that God is not there or is asleep.  The devil orchestrates our trials, and instead of falling into the trap of the devil we need to run to the One who will fight for you.  Don’t turn to things of the world, turn to God.  God will bring us out and His anointing will give us more strength to deal with the situation.  Run to God.  He will receive you.  He will not push you to the devil, but will draw you to Himself. 

  Psalm 121:1-2  I will lift up my eyes to the hills—from whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

  If it seems that God is sleeping during your circumstance, know that God is watching your attitude.  Don’t stop paying your tithes, don’t stop giving offerings, don’t stop believing for your miracle.  Let your confidence be in God, not in emotions. Emotions lie.  Do the right thing and see what God will do. Our actions can delay our miracles.  If we are in the middle of a test, the test will not stop until we pass the test.  We can still be in school 20 years if we do not pass the test.  Our Holy God wants to give us help in our time of trouble, but we need to press into Him to gain it.

  Luke 8:23 But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.

  The boat was filling with water and they were in jeopardy.

  Are you in jeopardy today?  Remember Jesus is in your boat.  The miracle of Jesus is coming.

  Psalm 30:5b Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

  If you are going through a trial know your miracle is coming.  No matter what your trial is, sickness, joblessness, finances, depression, etc.  Keep holding onto what God promises.  the storm may come, but it will end.

  Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil;  for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 

  We may feel like we are in the valley of the shadow of death, but He is with us. Don’t fear evil.  Keep pressing in, doing what God wants you to do.  Keep saying, Lord, one day I will get through this storm, through these trying times.

  WHAT WE MUST KNOW WHEN TRYING TIMES COME.

  1. REMEMBER HIS PROMISES

  God told the disciples they were going to the other side, and God’s promises are not going to disappear when the storm comes up.  Don’t worry when God sleeps on you.  The promises of God will come to pass.  God is in control.  Don’t look at your circumstances with your emotions.  Stay with the promises of God.  God is faithful. Philippians 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;  When you are facing a trial, remember God’s promises and what God has assured you, knowing it will come to pass.  Jesus told the disciples they would go to the other side, they panicked and forgot His promise.

  2. REMBER HIS PRESENCE

  Jesus was IN THE BOAT.  His physical presence was with the disciples.  He seemed asleep, but His presence was there.  God will never leave us or forsake us. We want to feel His presence in the midst of our storm, but whether we feel His presence or not, He is with us.  Trust in the Word of the Lord and His promises, not your feelings.  Feelings can lie to us.  God tells us He will never leave us or forsake us, and HE does not lie. 

  When we are first saved God gives us a greater sense of His tangible presence, but when we mature in the Lord, He wants us to believe He is there whether we feel his tangible presence or not.

  No matter our circumstances, He is with us.  His plan is not canceled, and He is with us.

  Pastor Danquah reminded us of the three Israelite children in Daniel who refused to bow to the idol, and the king was going to throw them into the burning furnace – a furnace heated seven times hotter than normal.  It was so hot that the soldiers who threw them in burnt up in the flames.  Yet they came through the fire – they walked by faith and not by sight.  There might be a trial in your life, but trust in the Lord.  Trust in God, do  not look at the physical.  The children told the king that even if God would not deliver them, they still would not bow to the idol. 

  If your house is foreclosed, your house is foreclosed, but that doesn’t mean that God can’t provide you with a better house.  Do not worry about the economy of man, know that God will provide.  Don’t lose your confidence in God. 

  Those Israelite children were in the fire with God and they came out untouched by the fire. 

  Psalm 55:22 Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. 

  There are people today, who because of financial circumstances, are committing suicide. They placed their confidence in money, not in the Lord.  We may have hardship, but remember that God is with us, and keeps His promises.  God’s people will prosper.

  Genesis 26:12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him.

  God wants us to prosper so that when people see us, they know God. When we are in the fire, the presence of God is with us.  The presence of God is in our Spirit and we will not die in the valley of the shadow of death.

  With Pastor Danquah’s cancer, he was given information from the doctors about the options for treatment and the fact that those options could kill him.  But God’s presence was with him (and us) in trials, and he did not focus on what the doctor’s said, just what he knew was the Truth of God.

  Just know that you will see a miracle.  The presence of God is with you and God can change your circumstances. Wipe away your tears and put on laughter. 

  Isaiah 61:3 To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”

  Psalm 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

  Trust in God and He will bring your miracle to pass.

  3. THE POWER OF GOD

  God’s power is still present.  When God was convincing Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, he put the Egyptians in darkness, and the Israelites had light. 

  God makes a distinction between you and the world.  When we have a trial in our circumstances, say in our finances, God will give us favor.  Favor is the willingness to use ability, power, and influence to help you.  God will cause people you don’t know to bless you.  God will give you favor.  God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt.  He caused the Red Sea to part to permit them to pass over, but then used the same Red Sea to bring destruction to the Egyptians. 

  We may get to the point in our lives where we don’t know what to do, and it is right at that point that God delivers you.

  Daniel was placed in a situation where he was told he could not pray to God.  Daniel’s problem was he had favor with the king and those around him wanted to destroy him.  The king was forced to send Daniel into the lion’s den – the lions were hungry, but Daniel was not touched by the lions.  The king said to Daniel that Daniel’s God would protect Daniel. Daniel 6:16 So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.”

  Daniel slept in that den with the lions – Pastor Danquah thinks he probably slept on their backs. The Power of God is at work in your life, and sickness can’t kill you.  The anointing will help you to deal with whatever the devil tries to throw at you.

  The next day the King came and asked if Daniel was ok.  Daniel replied:  Daniel 6:21-22 Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.”

  The king had the evil administrators thrown to the lions.  Daniel 6:24 And the king gave the command, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions—them, their children, and their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the den.

  They were eaten BEFORE they even got to the bottom of the den. 

  The power of God is with you in your trial.  God knows you.

  When the disciples woke up Jesus, Jesus didn’t pray or do anything spectacular, He just said, “Peace, be still.” 

  In the midst of our trials we need to realize we have the presence of God in our spirit and in our mind.  Our mind is the center where the devil tries to play with us and influence us.  Hold onto the truths of God and know that at the end of your trial you will receive a miracle. 

  We then said a prayer to remind us to trust in God, that God will help us in our circumstances, and that our miracle is coming.

  Praying this teaching blesses you as it did those who attended last night. 

  Heather

  • 8:31 am
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