Breakthrough Amidst Great Challenge! | Colossians 4:2

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Elyria Church of the Nazarene

Sunday, July 25,2021 

Breakthrough Amidst Great Challenge!

(OPTIONAL)   A Word…

Colossians 4:2

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. (NIV)

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;  (NASB)

Give a lot of time and effort to prayer. Always be watchful and thankful. (NIVR)


James 5:16

16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (NIV)

Psalm 91:1-2

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.  (KJV) 

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.[a]
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” (NIV)

Satan tries to limit our praying because he knows how our praying will limit him!

“Don’t let what you see make you forget what 

I said.

Breakthrough Amidst Great Challenge!

Conditions for Breakthrough…

Joshua 3:1-5  1Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. 2 After three days the officers went throughout the camp, 3 giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. 4 Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits[about 1000 yards] between you and the ark; do not go near it.” 5 Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”

Joshua 3:1 1Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over.

  • And Joshua rose early in the morning; (KJV)

  1. Respond Immediately!

  • Spontaneous reaction…

  • Unthinking response…

Joshua 3:1-2 …Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. 2 After three days the officers went throughout the camp,

  1. Respond Courageously!

  • They had 3 days to look at the Jordan…

  • It took a courageous response for the people of Israel to move forward!

Joshua 3:14-16a  14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. 15 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing.

  • God Can Make It Happen…
    “When Goliath came against the Israelites, the soldiers all thought, ‘He's so big we can never kill him.’ David looked at the same giant and thought, ‘He's so big I can't miss.’"  (Victor)

Joshua 3:2-3  2 After three days the officers went throughout the camp, 3 giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it.

Joshua 3:4a  4a Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before.

  1. Recognize the Presence of God!  

  • Recognize, acknowledge, respect…

  • Hosting His Presence…

Joshua 3:13  13 And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.”

Joshua 3:17  17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.

  1. Recognize God is at Work!

  • When we are “all in” – “consecrated” - doors open for “amazing things” of God’s handiwork to unfold!

  • They encountered God’s supernatural intervention!

  • “Never measure God’s unlimited power by our limited expectations or experiences.”

Romans 8:31  31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?