God Has Not Brought You This Far Just To Leave You | A Blessed Morning Prayer

I have found Jesus to be the one who was always there when I needed him. When my back was against the wall, when the enemy attacked me, when he targeted my family, my finances, my health, I can testify that the Lord has been a stronghold. He has been faithful. And you may be listening right now. You may be facing a tough situation of your own. But let me tell you that it may be painful for a time. It might be unpleasant for a while. But look back over your life and count how many times has God come through for you. How many times has the Lord saved you and delivered you time and time again? Think about where you've been and where you are now. How many different challenges has he brought you through? How many times has he been a friend when you've needed him? A father when you've needed him? How many times has the Lord been a doctor when you've needed him? Or a provider when you've been lacking? Saints, trust in the Lord. God always wins. God is always good. God is always faithful. And he certainly always comes in the nick of time. Now, as faithful as God is, us as people can sometimes be so quick to forget just how blessed we are once we're out of that tough situation. Too often, once we're delivered, once we're healed, once the Lord has made the impossible possible, oh how soon we forget. How quickly we forget the goodness of the Lord and begin seeking the next blessing, the next miracle, or the next breakthrough. How soon we forget that God has done the miraculous and supernatural for us before and he can still do it today. How soon we also forget all of the occasions, the instances, the encounters where things just fell into place at the right time. That's the goodness of Jesus Christ. For me, I can say that I'm still standing because I have known him as the great I am. He is the God who provides for me, Jehovah Jireh. He is the God who protects me as the lion of the tribe of Judah. In fact, he is the God who forgave and still forgives. He forgives despite our mistakes, despite the occasions where we've even pushed him away. Saints, I get excited when I look back at the hand of Jesus Christ over my life. He was the God who moved mountains when I needed him to. He gave me a job when I needed him to. He didn't allow that illness to kill me. He kept my family together when things were falling apart. Indeed, I can say the Lord is faithful. So consider carefully what God has done. Count your blessings and do not forget all he has done throughout your life. The fact you're not where you used to be is reason enough to praise him. Some of you should look back at where you've come from and recognize that Jesus had a part to play. So count the blessings that God has given you, deserving or undeserved. How many times has he come through or made a way? You can't tell me that you would struggle to find a reason to be thankful. You can't tell me that you would struggle to find a reason to be grateful and acknowledge that even though you may not be where you want to be, God has still been good to you. Have an attitude, a perspective that says, even though I'm not exactly where I want to be, I thank God I'm not where I used to be. That's the kind of attitude that invites God's favor to continue to abound over your life. It might not be the dream house that you live in, but there is peace. There is provision. There is protection when you lay your head down at night. So have an attitude of thanksgiving. Bless the name of the Lord in the morning and bless his name in the evening. Bless his name when it's all going well and continue to bless his name even when things don't go your way. Like David said, I will bless the Lord at all times. And Job said, though he slay me, yet I will praise him. And Daniel said, let the name of God be blessed forever and ever. We need this same attitude. Bless the Lord always. As I read the Bible, there are so many people who come to mind that I'd like to ask about their personal testimonies. Of course, it's a wonderful thing to read the accounts of what others heard and saw and were told concerning how God changed lives. But there's absolutely nothing like hearing it from the horse's mouth, so to speak. No one but God and the individual know the most intimate and intricate details of a person's journey. No one but God and the individual know the pain or the anguish that they've endured. It's been said that what's from the heart touches the heart. So if someone were to ask you, who is Jesus Christ to you, how would you respond? If someone were to ask you the question, what has your God done for you, how would you respond? If you were to ask someone like Lazarus to tell you who Jesus Christ is to him, I imagine that he would say something like, Jesus Christ is the giver of life. He can speak life into a dead situation. He can speak life and resurrect a dead body. Or how about if we asked the unnamed woman in the Bible who was known because of her issue? I imagine that she would begin her testimony by saying, he healed me. One day I touched the hem of his garment and he healed me. Jesus Christ is my healer. He made me whole. Someone like the Apostle Paul would in all likelihood talk about how great the love of Christ is. So great that even a man who was once so filled with hate for Christians, a man who used to hunt and persecute Christians, that man could be forgiven, could be loved, and given the opportunity to turn his life around. I'm sure Ruth would testify about how wonderful God's favor is. I'm sure Brother Job would speak of God's amazing power and his ability to restore. He'd say that God can restore all that the enemy has stolen. He can restore even when all hope is lost. And so once again, I want to ask you the question, who is Jesus Christ to you? How would you respond? Saints, on a personal level, Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. He's my protector. He's protected me from attacks that I never even saw coming. He has been so gracious to protect me from people who were determined to see my downfall. And so what's your testimony? What has the Lord done for you? A lot of times to do this, we need to look back. We need to take a look back to where we came from and compare it to where we are now. We need to look back and see where God has really brought us from. That's where the true testimony lies. When Jesus delivered and set a demon-possessed man free, here's what the Bible says in Luke 8, verses 38 and 39. Now, the man from whom the demons had departed begged him that he might be with him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, return to your own house and tell what great things God has done for you. And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him. Now, why did Jesus encourage the man to go and tell of all the great things God had done for him? Well, it's because his testimony would encourage others. His testimony would uplift others. And so people of God, you should give your testimony. Give it at every opportunity, not so that you can boast, but so that you can glorify Jesus Christ. Your testimony, it will help someone else's faith. Your testimony will encourage someone who's going through their own challenges. Your testimony, it will strengthen someone's belief that God can and God will come through for them. And above all saints, the main thing that your testimony should do is it should bring glory to Jesus Christ. God sees the heart. He knows your heart. So in all that you do, ask yourself, am I seeking to be seen or am I truly seeking the Lord? So now as we prepare to approach the throne of God, let us have our focus set on being humble and having a pure heart, having a clean heart that does not do things to be seen, but to honor God and give him glory, to be closer to him, to have an intimate relationship with him. We must remember that at all times, we truly have an audience of one. Lord Jesus, Master, we ask for your help. Help us to have clean hearts. Help us to have pure hearts. Help us to seek your mercy instead of seeking after personal glory. Lord Jesus, help us to seek after your approval instead of the approval of others. I pray that you would give us hearts that desire to only be seen and heard by you, Lord. Remove from within us a selfish and prideful heart that wants to be seen and heard by others. Ephesians 2 verses 8 through 10 says, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Lord Jesus, I pray in agreement with everyone who's listening that you are our Master and our Savior. You are the Alpha and Omega, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Lord Jesus, we say that you are great and mighty. You are our Deliverer, our Redeemer and the soon coming King. Lord Jesus, we praise you for being the Good Shepherd. We praise you for being a bridge over troubled waters. You are a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Lord, I thank you right now for all that you've done. I thank you, Lord Jesus, because I'm not where I used to be. I thank you, Lord, because by your grace I'm no longer living in sin, but I have the strength to fight for righteousness. I thank you for bringing me out of the darkness and into the light. Thank you, God, for your amazing grace. It's your grace and mercy that gave me sight when I was blind. Lord Jesus, give me the boldness to declare my testimony to everyone who'll listen. Give me the courage and the boldness to declare all that you've done for me to everyone who'll listen. May you receive all the glory from my life. My achievements, they're because of you. My talents, all I have is because of you. And so, Father, I praise your name because you're holy and you're righteous. There aren't enough words to express my thanks, my gratitude for all you've done for me. Second Timothy 1 verses 8 and 9 say, Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. I will not be ashamed to testify about your goodness, Lord Jesus. I will not be ashamed to speak of all the great things you have done in my life. Not only did you deliver me from the clutches of death, not only did you save me from eternal damnation, but Lord Jesus, you have called me to live a consecrated life, a life set apart from the world. And so, I will forever testify of your saving grace. Your word in Romans 1 verse 16 says, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. I declare that I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I will declare all that the Lord has done for me for the rest of my days. God, I stand in faith today covered by the power that's in the almighty name of Jesus Christ. I stand today concealed and wrapped by the blood of Jesus, which is miraculous and able to defeat all evil. I stand shielded and protected by the Holy Ghost. You, Lord Jesus, are the lion of the tribe of Judah. And I pray that you would defeat every demon from hell that is sent by the enemy to try and attack me. I pray that you disarm every unclean spirit that seeks to creep into my house or into my life. I pray that you destroy every generational curse, every negative word spoken against me in the mighty name of Jesus. God, I pray that your presence would always surround me. And Lord, I thank you for all the goodness that you offer. I'll continually place my trust in you, God. Help me not to lean on my own understanding, because you are an all-knowing God. So my trust, it's in you. Lord Jesus, I bless your name. And I thank you. I thank you for your wonderful love. I thank you for your kindness. And I thank you for your protection. It's in the mighty and precious name of Jesus Christ that I pray this prayer. Amen. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged him that he might be with him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, return to your own house and tell what great things God has done for you. And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him. Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel, according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. For the Jew first, and also for the Greek.