DIVINE VICTORY OVER PROLONGED ISSUES

Divine victory over prolonged issues. And we take our test from Luke chapter 13, verse 10 to 17. I read from the New Living Translation, and it says:

One Sabbath day, as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for 18 years and was unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, "Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness." Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised God!

But the leader in charge of the synagogue was ignorant that Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath day. "There are six days of the week for walking," he said to the crowd. "Come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath."

But the Lord replied, "You hypocrites! Each of you walk on the Sabbath day, don't you untie your ox or your donkey from its stall on the Sabbath and lead it out for water? Verse 16: This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in bondage by Satan for 18 years. Is it right that she be released even on the Sabbath?" This shamed his enemies, but all the people rejoiced at the wonderful things he did.

Three lessons. Three lessons. And I'd like you to please follow very closely. The first lesson is on faith, F-A-I-T-H, and how it affects people in the journey of life. In Ecclesiastes chapter 9, verse 2-3, from the Living Bible, it says: "The same Providence confronts everyone, whether good or bad, religious or irreligious, profane or godly. It seems so unfair that one faith comes to all." In the New Living Translation, verse three says: "It seems so wrong that everyone under the sun suffers the same fate."

What is faith? Faith refers to inevitable events of life. Faith refers to certain things that will happen in the journey of life, and some of them cannot be prevented or avoided. Faith refers to certain events, certain circumstances of life that are sometimes unavoidable or beyond human control, things that people cannot prevent or avoid completely, completely in life. So, every day, every week, every month, or year, certain events are definitely going to happen because of faith. And some of these events would still happen despite the preventive or precautionary measures or efforts that people may have put in place to avoid them.

Now, faith also refers to things that people would do to you in your life, what people would do to you in your journey of life. In Luke 24:7, Luke 24:4:7, King James version, it says: "The Son of Man must..." I'd like you to take note of that. It is, you know, even for Jesus, it was inevitable. Even for Jesus, it was inevitable. "The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and the third day rise again."

Then, even Israel, as a nation, we are going to go through this experience of faith. In Genesis chapter 15, verses 13-15, the Lord was speaking to Abraham. And please take note that in the context under which God spoke, there was no sin. So God wasn't judging Israel, but this was what was going to happen in the days ahead. So the Lord came to Abraham and said, in contemporary English version, it says: "Then the Lord said, 'Abraham, you will live to an old age and die in peace. But I solemnly promise that your descendants will live as foreigners in a land that doesn't belong to them. They will be forced into slavery and abused for 400 years.'"

What people would do to you in life is part of faith. For 400 years, "but I will terribly punish a nation that enslaves them, and they will leave with many possessions." Take note of this, that there is a positive side of faith, and there is a negative side of faith. In the year 2025, life will be favorable for you and your household. Sometimes the events and circumstances of faith will be favorable or pleasant, be favorable or pleasant. On the other hand, they could sometimes be unfavorable or unpleasant.

Now, the positive side of faith is what people often refer to as good luck. Some aspect of it. So when it plays out, some people use the term "good luck" to try and describe what is happening. In Ecclesiastes chapter 9:1, Living Bible, Ecclesiastes chapter 9:11, Living Bible, it says: "But it's all by chance, by happening to be at the right place at the right time."

Also, there is a negative side of faith. And the negative side of faith is what people will also describe as bad luck when it begins to play out. Interestingly, the scripture also makes reference to that word. In Ecclesiastes chapter 9:1, contemporary English version, it says: "Here is something else I've learned: The fastest runners and the greatest heroes don't always win races and battles. Wisdom, intelligence, and skill don't always make you healthy, rich, or popular. We each have our share of bad luck." Is there in contemporary English version? So you're reading this from the scriptures, and it's revealing to you one of the mysteries of life.

In John chapter two, you see an example of a man that was a victim of the events of fear. In verse three, easy to read version, it says: "Then the Lord said to Satan, 'Have you noticed my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him. He's a good, faithful man. He respects God and refuses to do evil.'" He's still faithful, even though you asked me to let you destroy without reason everything he had.

In the journey of life, people encounter sometimes the positive side of faith, and sometimes the negative side of faith. And this woman that our Lord Jesus Christ saw in the synagogue on that day in Luke chapter 13, she had experienced the negative side of it. In the same way, many have experienced different dimensions: some devastating losses, some major setbacks, some repeated disappointments, some overwhelming burdens, some severe or prolonged illness, some financial challenges. Some have been battling with delay in having children, delay in getting married, and for some, unbearable offenses in marriage. And then there is another group of people, just like that same woman in Luke 13. Now, these are people with issues that the issues they have also affect other areas of their life.

So that brings us to lesson number two. And that lesson number two is talking about cases that attract the mercy of God. There are cases that attract the mercy of God, and that is the center of God's message to you on this blessed day. In Psalm 102:13, Psalm 102:13, good news translation, it says: "You will rise, and today God is rising on your behalf. You will rise and take pity on Zion. The time has come. The time has come. The time has come to have mercy on her." Her is someone's name in this meeting. How is the name of someone following this service? He said, "Why?" He said, "This is the right time. This is the right time. This is the right time." And, uh, one of you would observe about this time next year that God intentionally waited for this time when things would have played out. You would now observe that God did not do certain things intentionally because he was waiting for the right and the best time to make it happen for you. And by the faithfulness of God, you are going to experience it. That loved one will experience it.

Now, in Luke chapter 13, verses 10 to 11, Luke 13:10 to 11. Now, watch carefully what happened there. The Bible says, "As Jesus was teaching in the synagogue, he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for 18 years and was unable to stand up straight." Now, take note that while he was teaching in the synagogue, that is, many people were seated, but he, he saw a particular person. The mercy. Listen to this. The mercy of God withdraws the attention and intervention of God's instruments of visitation to you. That is what mercy does. The longer that issue drags, the more it becomes a candidate for the move of God's mercy. The longer you keep on praying and fasting and praying over the same heart desire, the more it moves into the realm of cases that the mercy of God would someday visit. He said, "Jesus saw him there and knew he had been sick for a very long time." This, I'm quoting the scriptures now. So when the Bible, even the Holy Spirit, begins to describe your situation that this woman has waited for a very long time, that this man has been in this for a very, a very long time, even the Holy Spirit is describing it in such a dimension, you know that something is going to happen soon. Said, "Do you want to be well?" Jesus singled him out because of the prolonged nature of the affliction. So one of the things that often activates the mercy of God are cases of prolonged challenges, cases of delayed blessings in the lives of people. And, uh, to, to confirm that beyond every reasonable doubt, you will see another instance in the scripture. But I mentioned earlier, the case of the woman. Luke 13:16 said, in verse 16, New Living Translation, said, "This dear woman, a daughter of Zion, has been held in bondage by Satan for 18 years. Isn't it right that she should be released?" Now, take note of this. You would observe in Luke chapter 13 that Jesus did not ask, "How long has she been in this situation?" Or he mentioned it here. He said, "This woman has been in bondage for 18 years." So that means he was aware, either by revelation or by information. He did not need to mention 18 years, but he intentionally mentioned it because it was one of the primary reasons for her visitation. So in verse 16 there, the New Living Translation, it says: "This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, God will introduce you very soon. Any area of life where they still have doubts about where you stand with God, God will clear it very soon." He said, "This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in bondage by Satan for 18 years. Isn't it right that she be released?" So Jesus made emphasis on how long the woman had been going through her ailment. How long?

And the third and final example is in Mark chapter 5, Mark chapter 5, verses 25-31. Now, in some other instances, it may not be from the perspective of duration of time. For some of you, what is drawing God's attention to your case is the number of unsuccessful attempts. So it could be within a year, but so many attempts have been made. It could be within two, three years, but so many attempts have been made, and for now, the desired result has not been achieved. Now, you will see very clearly in verse 25 and 26 what was very distinct about this woman, and similar to the other cases in Luke 13 and John chapter five, was that she had been in this thing for too long a time, for too long a time. And one of the things that happens are observations in prayer and intercession is that sometimes when people have prayed too long about the same issue, even when the issue is still there, and sometimes getting more complicated, they get, they begin to get discouraged to pray about that thing anymore. And that is why it's so important that we please continue to intercede for our loved ones, because we could call one, two, three people out, and those who know them so well, I asked, "What would you wish that God would do for this man? For this woman?" And it will surprise you that what three, four, five people who know them very well will ask God to do for them, they are no longer praying about that thing, not because they don't desire, but because they have become weary, discouragement has set in, and possibly, like Sarah in Genesis chapter 16, they have come to a point where they are beginning to think that maybe, maybe it may no longer happen.

So you see very clearly that this woman's case also was a prolonged issue. And in our own case, we could get more details of what this same thing had caused in other realms of her life. So the mercy of God was a factor in her story. God evidently decided to show her mercy, just as he has come to show you today. God decided to solve her problem, and mercy was a factor. Why? Without mercy, it is not 100% guaranteed that she would have received a supernatural healing after touching the garment of Jesus. We are students in the school of God's power. We can tell you very clearly that any other person could have taken the same step of faith she took. A miracle could have happened, but it's not 100% guaranteed. So, in addition to her step of faith, the second major factor that made that thing happen was the mercy of God. The mercy of God. The mercy of God. The mercy of God. A time will come when someone here, people will add "Mercy" to your names because of your life experience and the way God ended that experience, in the name of Jesus. So when God decides to show mercy, many things, things will happen. Many, many things will happen. So today, this is the second major, second major lesson I want each and everyone to take home and hold on to. So to announce to you, Psalm 102, verse 13, that it is time for God to show you mercy. It is time for the Lord to remember you. It is time for the Lord to turn that persistent prayer, that prayer for your daughter, that prayer for your son, that prayer for your loved one. God, within the next one year, will give you a big testimony concerning it, in the name of Jesus Christ.

And then also, we must. The third lesson. The third lesson is why you must consistently give thanks to God in your journey of life. That's the third and final lesson. Why you must consistently, consistently give thanks to God in your journey of life. We have seen today that the events of faith affect people in the journey of life. So be thankful to God for protecting you from the negative events of life. You could see Daniel in the lion's den. 99% of cases like that, it's confirmed the person would die. But surprisingly, by God's mercy and intervention, Daniel's life was saved. The three Hebrew friends, Meshach, Shadrach, Abednego, were thrown into the furnace of fire. Guaranteed, anyone thrown into such would die instantly. But in their own instance, it was different. So what God has promised in Isaiah 43:2, Isaiah 43:2, Living Bible, he said: "When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown." Is that person listening to God's word? He said, "When you walk through the fire of oppression, the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up. The flames will not consume you." We see God proving himself faithful with this promise. Many of you have gone through exactly what is being mentioned here. What happened in 2020 may never happen again. What happened in 2021 may never happen in that scope, exactly that same dimension again. But when it came, you were supposed to be one of the victims. But by the mercy of God, your life was preserved.

In Psalm 112, we are closing up. Psalm 112, verses 4 to 7, Living Bible, it says: "When darkness overtakes him, light will come bursting in. Light will come bursting in. Starting from today, December 1st, the light of God's glory is bursting into every area of your life. God is lighting up every area of your life. And any area that has gone dark, the Lord is lighting it up, in the name of Jesus." Your health is restored, in the name of Jesus. Says he's kind. Please see. He's kind and merciful, and all goes well for the generous man who conducts his business fairly. Verse six says: "Such a man will not be overthrown by evil circumstances. God's constant care of him will make a deep impression on all who see it. He does not fear bad news. He does not fear bad news. He does not fear bad news, nor live in dread of what may happen, for he is settled in his mind that Jehovah will take care of him."

So please, every day of your life, every week, every month, every year of your life, be grateful to God. Be grateful to God. Express your gratitude. Express it. Don't just be grateful in your heart. Express your gratitude. And number two, do it on time. Do it on time. There are phases of gratitude. Someone could do something so much or touch your life so well, and you want to pay them back in a very special way. Good. But that may not happen immediately. May not happen in a year. May not happen in two years' time. So always start with a thank you message. Always start with a thank you message. Later on, as God gives you the opportunity, you can now do what exactly you had wished for. So gratitude must be expressed, and it must also be expressed on time. On time. And one of the ways you would show that you deeply appreciate something is the duration of your expression of gratitude.