Watch Out For This Killer! He is After You, Pastor Boaz Olang

Psalm 51:10-13, “Create in me a clean heart O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not a way from Your presence; and take not Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. And I will teach transgressors your ways; and sinners will be converted unto thee.”

Living a depressed life is living a defeated life. Depression is a killer. It builds up from very tiny thoughts of hopelessness and helplessness. Satan will from time to time want you to be depressed. And when you are depressed, you lose energy, and enthusiasm for living. Life becomes very meaningless and sometimes you may feel worthless and see no purpose for living.

Perception Of Preparation, Part 3of3, Pastor Phil Sessa

1Samuel 17:45 – 46, “Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

Have you ever looked back at your life and saw that God’s divine handprint was upon the battles that you faced? As we mature in the Lord we begin to discover that God is truly the One that is winning and bringing the victory. Even though you look back and see victory in your life, did you see victory when you were in the midst of battle? I’ve heard it said that hindsight is 20/20, meaning that we seem to see so clearly when looking back but not as clearly when we are going through something, because we are in the midst of a situation. Are you able to use the situations that God has brought you through as a springboard to propel you on to future victories?

Perception Of Preparation, Part 2of3, Pastor Phil Sessa

1Samuel 17:38-40, “38 So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. 39 David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand”

My wife and I went to a marriage retreat one year where the speaker shared a story from his marriage about how he cut carrots verses how his wife cut carrots. Whenever he would see his wife cutting carrots he would correct her, and instruct her to cut the carrots his way. She would do it for a time although feeling uncomfortable doing it his way. When he left the room, she usually returned to the way that she initially was cutting the carrots.

Perception Of Preparation, Part 1of3, Pastor Phil Sessa

1Samuel 17:36-37, “36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. 37 David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee”

Growing up, I lived about fifteen minutes away from a Seeing Eye dog training center called Guiding Eyes for the Blind. Now certain dogs are being trained to one day be prepared to serve as “eyes” for a blind person. Of course the dog doesn’t know this while it is going through the training, but one day it will walk in its purpose. Have you ever experienced a season of difficult times, unknown times, unsure times, whereby you truly did not realize at the time why you were going through the situation that you found yourself in?

Give Me A Chance, Part 3of3, Evans Olang

1Samuel 17:1-58, “Then he took his staff in his hand; and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook…”

Here was a man with one cry, “give me a chance”, 1Samuel 17:32, “Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with the Philistine“. David made up his mind to please the Father. Everyone including the king did not feel David was ready for he was young, inexperienced, no training on war, but God readied him for this battle. Him and God were majority.

Give Me A Chance, Part 2of3, Evans Olang

1Samuel 17:1-58, “Then he took his staff in his hand; and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook…”

The bible is interesting in the sense that it could take time and dwell on something, fully describing it. Here is an example, 1Samuel 17:4, “And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath from Gath, whose height was six cubits and spans” through vs. 7 the bible describes nothing but how the giant was dressed for battle. The bible wants us to see something about this man. Just reading how equipped he was, I can see why the Israelites were afraid of him. This is no ordinary sizable man. I wondered why the bible wouldn’t just say he was a giant and a champion. I believe the Lord wants us to know that our enemy is not a wimp as many may think. He is prepared for you and I at any given moment. Goliath was more qualified, trained, prepared, ready, equipped, eloquent, developed, sophisticated, protected, confident, threatening and a fighter, what chance did David have? All the trained men, who have all that it takes to battle could not face the giant. I even wondered why the bible did not even take time to describe how Saul was dressed for the battle.

Give Me A Chance, Part 1of3, Evans Olang

1Samuel 17:1-58, “Then he took his staff in his hand; and chose for himself give smooth stones from the brook…”

We often run into people with hidden potentials yet to be discovered. In the entertainment industry, people continue to be discovered because of their talents. I have come across stories of people sharing their humble beginnings. Often times you hear about a struggle involving rejections, written off, words spoken that they were not good enough but later they broke through.

Motivated To Glorify Him, Evans Olang

Colossians 3:23, “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men”

Let me select a few people in the bible who knew God and acted on what they believed to have been God’s will.

The Harp VS The Javelin , Pastor Phil Sessa

1Samuel 18:10-12, “And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul’s hand. And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice. And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and was departed from Saul.”

It has been said “the pen is mightier than the sword.” However, few may know that Edward George Bulwer Lytton (1803-1873), an English novelist, wrote this for the first time in 1839. He wrote, “Beneath the rule of men entirely great, the pen is mightier than the sword.” In the natural this doesn’t make sense, but there are great spiritual truths to be learned in principal. In the days of David, King Saul’s jealousy toward David grew to a place of attempted murder.