I hope today you're having a great day. I hope that you're enjoying the gift of life that God has given to the absolute full because that was His intention when He gave the gift to you when you were born. He wishes only good for you and has plans of amazing things should you choose to follow Him and His ways. Today I need to speak about something and I don't mean it to in any way make you feel sad or add heaviness to your day - that said I must obey my God when He speaks. I truly hope and pray that you do have a great day full of happiness, joy and peace... but there are many out there today that will not. This is not a message for those whose lives right now have peace and joy - it is a cry for those who do not and are near the edge. I found out this morning that my sisters ex-boyfriend took his life in the past few days. He was around 30 years old and left behind a 12 year old son as well as a 1 year old daughter. His life was one of sadness, pain, loss and grief. He was an amazing guy who like me loved skateboarding and almost became pro in his late teens. He ran a landscaping business and knew how to work hard. Yet, He suffered with depression, loneliness and pain which ultimately led to his death.
He battled alcohol and drug addictions which took their toll on his physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health as well as inflicting great pain on all who loved him and knew him. Why do I write this? Because I too held the cold blade of suicide once. I went to the very edge of oblivion - the point of no return. I too heard the voices that said "end it all... it's time to just lie down and die... you're not worth anything and if you kill yourself the pain will stop...". I'm heretoday to tell you that the voices are lies. They come from a liar and the father of lies. I'm here to raise the sword against death and depression and to name it among my people as an oppressor and a thief. The greatest lie the Devil can ever tell is that if you take your life - the pain will stop. The thing is this, he knows its not a lie that's easy to pull off and he has to set up a lot of things to get it to happen. I'm here today to tell you how his game works. First he brings pain into your life. Maybe it will be theft, maybe it will be rape, maybe it will be betrayal, maybe sickness, maybe rejection. Trust me when I say he has a toolbox full of instruments he knows how to use very, very well. Next he adds to that pain with more pain. His plan is to pile on as much pain and suffering as possible while whispering to you in the silence that you're worthless, you're nothing and you'll never be anything. He does this to erode your beliefs and to try to make you believe the lies he tells.
Then... when he knows you're at your weakest... when he knows its the most strategic time... when everything is in place... he tells the greatest lie ever... "Go on, end it all... you know its the answer...the pain is too much... just end it all". I'm here to tell you today that the devil is a liar. He lied to me too and he nearly pulled it off. I heard him that day say to me "pull hard left on the steering wheel and drive your car off this bridge and it all ends..." But something that day stopped me. I don't care if you don't believe me but I know that day there were someone else's hands that pulled the wheel back towards the road. I know who those hands belonged to and I think you do too. What I'm here today to tell you is this. The answer to your pain is not suicide. Yes, the pain is horrible and it needs to die but the answer isn't ending your life. The answer to your pain is in a person. The answer to your pain is in an exchange. The answer to your pain is in a King - and that King's name is Jesus. That King became pain for you so that you don't have to carry it any more. I don't want to scare anyone by saying the things I'm going to say but trust me when I say I've seen first hand the power of my enemy the devil. For years and years I had visitations, voices and often woke with unexplained bruises all over my body the next morning.
I've seen how truly powerful and devastating the power of witchcraft and deception is and how well he can use it to attack and destroy us as humans. The devils war has always been with us - he hates us and has always wanted to corrupt and destroy us simply because we are the creations of Jesus - the Master to whom he rebelled against. Now here's where things get real. I've also seen the power of my King. I've seen His absolute authority, I've seen His fury towards those that wish harm against His children. I've seen His power to restore and redeem things that were shattered and utterly broken. I've seen Him heal diseases that have no cure. I've seen Him transform people to be the complete opposite of what they were. I've seen Him breathe hope and life into seemingly hopeless situations. I became a christian at the age of 8 years old but for most of my life only knew Jesus the guy that died for me, a skinny, effeminate Jewish man with long hair that paid for my sins with his death. I was always thankful for what He did but I barely knew Him at all. It wasn't until my life came to the very brink of death, when all hope had faded and I couldn't continue on any more that I finally sunk the knife into pride instead of myself. It was once pride died that My King arrived. I suffered badly for years with depression which drove me to suicide yet all it took was a single encounter with Jesus as my King to change everything.
He took from me what didn't belong. He laid hold of it and removed it with His passion, His love and His strong arm of authority. He didn't just take away my depression - He annihilated it. He utterly destroyed it before my very eyes and made a point of showing me that years of torment and suffering all died in the space of seconds before the presence of His power. When He did what He did He opened my eyes to who He truly is - not just a man that lived an died for me - but the King of all Kings. The Lord of all Lords. The roaring Lion of Judah against who none would dare or can oppose. He showed me just a glimpse of His true authority as my King and it was terrifyingly powerful. I still have shivers even at the thought of who He truly is - yet in all His awesome earth shaking power He fights for me. He showed me the power of His love and His unmatched authority to make anything that stands between His children and His love fade into ash and disappear into the winds of His breath. What I'm here today to say is is... The answer to your pain is not death. The answer to your pain is transformation. I am everything that I am todaybecause of my King. I found the answer and the thing I was looking for all along. I found it in the power and the authority of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ - the only one who has the power to transform a wretch like me into a child of the King.
He alone has the power to take from you the pain and suffering in your life and transform you too into what He says you truly are. Trust me when I say you really have no idea what and who you really are until you seek the King and His mercy. He took a slave and an addict like me and turned me into a soldier for His Kingdom. Now I don't fight for my survival, I fight for the freedom of others who suffer like I did. I'm not here today to tell you how to be free - only Jesus is and can show you the way. I can tell you it's not the latest book in the stores, it's not a movie that's going to do it, it's not a series of affirmations or chants, it's not you giving more money, serving more or working harder. The answer to your freedom is you giving up and letting Jesus the King reign. It's you saying "I'm done Jesus, I can't and won't do things my way any more... I give you my life... take it and use it... I need you Jesus...". I know for sure that there is someone out there that needs this, that's on the brink like I was, that's hanging from the edge from your last few fingers... This is for you. Hand over the keys to those doors you've kept locked for so long and let the war drums begin. Give Him permission and He will fight for you.
Trust me when I say this... I've seen how these fights go down and no matter what it is that faces my King in the ring - it all ends very, VERY quickly. Give Him FULL access to your heart and your life and watch and see the true power of His love for you. If this is you right now and God is speaking to you from this while you're alone please read Psalm 18. This is how God feels about your pain and how He feels about you. You matter greatly to Him and you're worth more than the pain and the lies. I pray thattoday God intervenes and reveals Himself to you like He did to me as the King of all Kings full of power and authority and willing and able to save all who call on His Name. There is always hope. God loves you.
He battled alcohol and drug addictions which took their toll on his physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health as well as inflicting great pain on all who loved him and knew him. Why do I write this? Because I too held the cold blade of suicide once. I went to the very edge of oblivion - the point of no return. I too heard the voices that said "end it all... it's time to just lie down and die... you're not worth anything and if you kill yourself the pain will stop...". I'm heretoday to tell you that the voices are lies. They come from a liar and the father of lies. I'm here to raise the sword against death and depression and to name it among my people as an oppressor and a thief. The greatest lie the Devil can ever tell is that if you take your life - the pain will stop. The thing is this, he knows its not a lie that's easy to pull off and he has to set up a lot of things to get it to happen. I'm here today to tell you how his game works. First he brings pain into your life. Maybe it will be theft, maybe it will be rape, maybe it will be betrayal, maybe sickness, maybe rejection. Trust me when I say he has a toolbox full of instruments he knows how to use very, very well. Next he adds to that pain with more pain. His plan is to pile on as much pain and suffering as possible while whispering to you in the silence that you're worthless, you're nothing and you'll never be anything. He does this to erode your beliefs and to try to make you believe the lies he tells.
Then... when he knows you're at your weakest... when he knows its the most strategic time... when everything is in place... he tells the greatest lie ever... "Go on, end it all... you know its the answer...the pain is too much... just end it all". I'm here to tell you today that the devil is a liar. He lied to me too and he nearly pulled it off. I heard him that day say to me "pull hard left on the steering wheel and drive your car off this bridge and it all ends..." But something that day stopped me. I don't care if you don't believe me but I know that day there were someone else's hands that pulled the wheel back towards the road. I know who those hands belonged to and I think you do too. What I'm here today to tell you is this. The answer to your pain is not suicide. Yes, the pain is horrible and it needs to die but the answer isn't ending your life. The answer to your pain is in a person. The answer to your pain is in an exchange. The answer to your pain is in a King - and that King's name is Jesus. That King became pain for you so that you don't have to carry it any more. I don't want to scare anyone by saying the things I'm going to say but trust me when I say I've seen first hand the power of my enemy the devil. For years and years I had visitations, voices and often woke with unexplained bruises all over my body the next morning.
I've seen how truly powerful and devastating the power of witchcraft and deception is and how well he can use it to attack and destroy us as humans. The devils war has always been with us - he hates us and has always wanted to corrupt and destroy us simply because we are the creations of Jesus - the Master to whom he rebelled against. Now here's where things get real. I've also seen the power of my King. I've seen His absolute authority, I've seen His fury towards those that wish harm against His children. I've seen His power to restore and redeem things that were shattered and utterly broken. I've seen Him heal diseases that have no cure. I've seen Him transform people to be the complete opposite of what they were. I've seen Him breathe hope and life into seemingly hopeless situations. I became a christian at the age of 8 years old but for most of my life only knew Jesus the guy that died for me, a skinny, effeminate Jewish man with long hair that paid for my sins with his death. I was always thankful for what He did but I barely knew Him at all. It wasn't until my life came to the very brink of death, when all hope had faded and I couldn't continue on any more that I finally sunk the knife into pride instead of myself. It was once pride died that My King arrived. I suffered badly for years with depression which drove me to suicide yet all it took was a single encounter with Jesus as my King to change everything.
He took from me what didn't belong. He laid hold of it and removed it with His passion, His love and His strong arm of authority. He didn't just take away my depression - He annihilated it. He utterly destroyed it before my very eyes and made a point of showing me that years of torment and suffering all died in the space of seconds before the presence of His power. When He did what He did He opened my eyes to who He truly is - not just a man that lived an died for me - but the King of all Kings. The Lord of all Lords. The roaring Lion of Judah against who none would dare or can oppose. He showed me just a glimpse of His true authority as my King and it was terrifyingly powerful. I still have shivers even at the thought of who He truly is - yet in all His awesome earth shaking power He fights for me. He showed me the power of His love and His unmatched authority to make anything that stands between His children and His love fade into ash and disappear into the winds of His breath. What I'm here today to say is is... The answer to your pain is not death. The answer to your pain is transformation. I am everything that I am todaybecause of my King. I found the answer and the thing I was looking for all along. I found it in the power and the authority of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ - the only one who has the power to transform a wretch like me into a child of the King.
He alone has the power to take from you the pain and suffering in your life and transform you too into what He says you truly are. Trust me when I say you really have no idea what and who you really are until you seek the King and His mercy. He took a slave and an addict like me and turned me into a soldier for His Kingdom. Now I don't fight for my survival, I fight for the freedom of others who suffer like I did. I'm not here today to tell you how to be free - only Jesus is and can show you the way. I can tell you it's not the latest book in the stores, it's not a movie that's going to do it, it's not a series of affirmations or chants, it's not you giving more money, serving more or working harder. The answer to your freedom is you giving up and letting Jesus the King reign. It's you saying "I'm done Jesus, I can't and won't do things my way any more... I give you my life... take it and use it... I need you Jesus...". I know for sure that there is someone out there that needs this, that's on the brink like I was, that's hanging from the edge from your last few fingers... This is for you. Hand over the keys to those doors you've kept locked for so long and let the war drums begin. Give Him permission and He will fight for you.
Trust me when I say this... I've seen how these fights go down and no matter what it is that faces my King in the ring - it all ends very, VERY quickly. Give Him FULL access to your heart and your life and watch and see the true power of His love for you. If this is you right now and God is speaking to you from this while you're alone please read Psalm 18. This is how God feels about your pain and how He feels about you. You matter greatly to Him and you're worth more than the pain and the lies. I pray thattoday God intervenes and reveals Himself to you like He did to me as the King of all Kings full of power and authority and willing and able to save all who call on His Name. There is always hope. God loves you.
