Last night sitting, while waiting to start the mentorship classes, that we usually have with the leaders of Growing In Faith Global Church.

Now as we opened to Psalm 82, I heard one word from the LORD “SUCCUMB” and mostly when He wants to teach or to address an issue He uses terms or a single term to me.

Then I searched in the dictionary and found these three meanings.

1. Failure to resist pressure
2. Failure to resist temptation
3. Failure to resist some other negative forces

These were the most interesting words spoken in a season.
When it comes to everyone in ministry, and those who are not in ministry inclusive, there is a certain pressure that every one faces, that leads them to temptations, because of other negative forces from the enemy, and if you are not sensitive enough to sense and it and cut if off so fast within your urges or around you, you can easily get trapped, and then the makes an opposite of what you were created to be.

1. Pressure
   There is a certain level of pressure that goes beyond certain human extremities.

When Abraham was given a word of prophecy, that he was going to be the father of many nations, having waited after a such long period of time, having not yet the words of prophecy fulfilled, he received pressure from his wife Sarah, she said since the LORD has shut my womb and I cannot give you a child, go into my maid servant and have children for me through her, at this moment Abraham was in His old age and he needed his own seed to be the heir of all that he possessed.

He then said to God, you have blessed me with so much but you have not given me a child of my own to be the heir of everything you’ve blessed me with.

Abraham accepted what his wife said to him, because he reasoned with it and sense that it was making sense enough since she can’t give me a child, and am getting older and older. He went in and slept with his wife’s maid servant. See Genesis 16

He thought the pressure was solved and was going to end, but there was not peace in his house, and the child was not the child of God’s promise.

You see it is very easy to vow to God that I can never do this or that, when you are not at a high level of fire 🔥. We can only know how true you are to your words when you overcome the failure to resist pressure.

Abraham fell into a temptation, because of a certain other negative forces in his urges.

Note, the enemy will always hide behind your urges to control you and abuse your life, through the constant pressure that you receive daily.

How many females have had their lives abused, their future destroyed because of the failure to resist pressure, from their family, relatives or parents? Of cause many, some forced themselves into wrong marriages and relationships, some killed themselves, some got pregnancies from different men who vowed to marry them, yet left them with children, without help, all because they couldn’t handle or resist pressure.

Alot more are in prostitution, because of the failure to resist pressure of life, some are being abused sexually by those who keep them, who feed them, who provide the necessities or the needs, and because they see no one to help them, they fail to resist the pressure that comes with the needs.

Young men, youths, teenagers, adults have a certain pressure that has led them to compromise their destiny because they failed to overcome or resist, the pressure that comes with a satisfaction of a need.

Many ministers because of the pressure and the constant fire, that produced the pressure to see their church grow, I mean it is not bad to have a desire to see their church grow, but if it is led by pressure, then that is a problem because you may compromise in order to grow your church.

The pressure of finances led men to fraud, the pressure to be accepted, the pressure of rejection, the pressure of disappointment, the pressure to fit in, the pressure to see changes, name it, so much pressure that men have failed to resist.

The pressure to feed your family, to clothe them and yourself, to educate them, the pressure to give them a good life and security, the pressure to pay bills etc.

The enemy used all these to succumb people’s live to himself,
But we must always know that life is more than food and body more than clothes, and that if God provide for the birds and cloth the glasses he will also provide for us, we need to always seek his kingdom above our needs and wants, we should be bound to fears, needs nor wants but to God’s vision and purposes.

All the deceptions, the divorces, the separations, fornications, the adultery, the addictions, the hatred etc are all governed by a certain pressure and the failure to resist made them to those things.

2. The failure to resist temptations
   One day David in the woke up and his soldiers went to war but he remained home, then, he started walking on top of the roof, then saw a woman bathing, the wife of Uriah, he then asked who is she, and they explained to him, who she was.

He then called for her, she came, David slept with her and she conceived of a child, but then his men were to come and Uriah was a faithful and a very loyal servant and friend of king David, but Kings David secretly betrayed the trust, he slept with his friend’s wife because he failed to resist the temptation.

He then commanded Uriah to go and have some time home, but Uriah refused to enjoy home whiles his friend’s are at work, then David was again tempted to cause Uriah get drunk with so much beer, so he may go home sleep with his wife, but the man slept on the gate, he didn’t go home.

David heard that he didn’t go, he was tempted to have Uriah killed, he then send a letter to the leader of the team to put Uriah in front so he could get killed, and that happened, he got killed, because of the pressure and temptation that David failed to resist he killed, then he was tempted to marry the wife of Uriah, but he could overcome the consequences that came with what He did, although he fasted, the consequences were to be faced, the child died. 2 Samuel 11

How many people are trapped into the temptation to have sex before marriage, to commit adultery, the temptation to become rich through rituals because of the burden that they failed to overcome, the temptation to be famous etc. The failure to resist temptations have succumbed people’s lives to Satan and his demons today.

He have heard of father’s sleeping with their female children because they failed to overcome or resist their temptation, we’ve heard leaders sleeping with their servant, and some with their church members because of the failure to resist the temptation, this happens almost in many places and organization, defending the wicked because of the temptations to receive money, showing partiality because of the temptations.

3. The failure to resist some other negative forces
   Many people like prophet Balaam who was influenced by Barak to curse the children of Israel, because of other negative forces.
   Numbers 22, 23 and Chapter 24

We have seen leaders cursing people and those under them because of some negative forces or influences.

Many have committed suicide and murder because of some negative forces, many are bound to addictions because of some negative forces.

Some are in rituals, they sacrificed their families because of the pressure and temptation that came from negative forces or influences.

The addictions we see daily are based on the negative forces, some want to be accepted, loved, considered and have found themselves doing wrong foolish things because of other negative forces.

Some slept with their children, some with their mothers because of the other negative forces, some are into lesbianism, some sleeps with their fellow men because of the failure to resist other negative forces, some serving spirits and demons because of the failure to resist other negative forces, some sold their lives, children, some were captured in their own craftiness by the evil one and failed to resist other negative forces etc.

There is a lot I could say, but these are the three things that the devil uses to yield men to himself and he knows when to come in, and trap men to yield them to Himself.

Men have resisted in words only but they have failed into temptations, am talking about both the believers and the none believers.
Read 1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Note: all this was done or written for our examples.
There are a lot that were tempted but they overcame, like Joseph the son of Jacob, Jesus Christ and many more even in the now generation.

What are you going through? What pressure are you on?

What temptation are you going through?

What are some negative forces that you think are taking advantage of situations or circumstances.

Do you feel like there are controlling powers against your life?

ACTIVATION

Ask God to give your grace, strength and courage to resist;

1. The failure to resist Pressure
2. To resist Temptations
3. To resist some other negative forces

Yield yourself to God, submit your life and your members to God.

Resist the evil one that hides behinds the pressure, needs and your urges.

Rebuke any spirit that takes advantage of challenges, situations and influences you undergo in your life.

Ask God to deliver you from the Evil one.

Ask Him to give you the spirit of love, power and sound mind, I mean ask God to give the power to resist and over power the evil one and his works.

Ask Him to give you the mind of Christ, the renewed mind.

Ask Him to create a right and steadfast spirit within you.

If you are a victim of any other above examples, ask God to forgive, to show you grace and mercy, to wash on His blood and to restore your life and destiny.
Ask for His protect and guidance.

Pray for the spiritual senses to be activated in your life.
Ask God to uphold you by His right hand in all circumstances.

Our reading: Judges 6:11-27
It is very easy to interact and to identify yourself your weaknesses and wrong identities that people and the enemy gives you, than to interact and identity your true self with your strength and your true identity in Christ Jesus.

Many people are trapped in a verge of interacting and idenfying themselves with their weaknesses than to identify themselves with their strength and identity.

When I was a child till the age of 15 years I had a weakness of stammering, slow in speech and had the fear of unknown gripping so deep to my soul.

I would see creature and demons, that led me to not eat a chicken, fish or anything with the head because I thought it will bite with or eat me when it enters through my body.
I was antisocial, quiet, short-tempered, sorrow and had a strong low Self-esteem.

The enemy and demons they gripped to my natural personality and controlled my temperaments in a wrong way.

It is impossible to defeat the enemy when you spend your time interacting with your weaknesses, more than with your strength, because the enemy uses you weaknesses to stop you, to trap you, to kill you, to rob from you.

When God was revealing my calling to do the work of Ministry, how impossible that was to my sight? Looking to how opposite I lived and saw myself, that a was a far thing to happen, as east and the west can not meet, so was I with my strength and my true identity with Christ.

Look at Gideon when the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said the Lord is with you mighty man of valor.

And the assignment he received to go and save Isreal? His response was and opposite of what and how God knew him.
Gideon he interacted more with his weakness and least identity than with how God knew him and identified him.

99.9% of how many people know themselves, is not how God knows them.

The jobs they do, the titles they carry, the names they are called, the functions and operation they carry, the places they would like to be, is always an opposite of what God created them to be.

Gideon The mighty man of valor turned into the mighty man of fear.

Peter the man who was to serve and to die for Christ sake the enemy turned him to person that denied Christ.

Paul the apostle of Christ persecuted the church when he was to defend and save the church.

John the Baptist waited for the messiah to rescue him when he carried the double portion of the spirit of Elijah.

Intercessors are going around from churches to churches looking for people to pray for them, when they were created to stand in the gaps.

People’s Destiny helpers are turned into beggers when they were created to be sponsors of the kingdom.

Joseph in the bible was created and ordained by God to interpret dreams but instead he sought for an interpretation from men and ended up in prison, however it was by interpretation that he was promoted and came out of bondage.

The enemy always make people an opposite of what they are, to stop them from functioning.

Preacher are turned into gossiper and liars when they are to preach the gospel of truth.

Wife who are to be examples and teachers of the fellow house wife how to be a praying wife or to be a woman with a purpose are turned into prostitutes.

People who are to be security men in the community are turned into thieves and armed robbers.

People ordained with authority to bless like balam are turned to sorcerer, divination, cursing and tie lives.

Watchmen are turned into slumbers they sleep night watch hours.

Antichrist, false prophets, false teacher, false apostles are in the field destroying souls when, the true ones are in bondage of disobeying and struggling with their callings and acceptance.

Manager turned to maids
Accounts turned into a bar attendant.

How has the enemy tuned you into an opposite of what God created you to be?

How has the enemy turned your loved ones and family into an opposite.

It is time to break the strongholds, the bondage, the shell and walk in the very identity of which God had called you into.

Claim your right purpose to identity, vision, calling, function etc into being.

Note this: the least are highly considered but the strong and great are least considered, you can withdraw your strength from your weaknesses, because the opposite of what you suffer daily is the strength to overcome the enemy.

ACTIVATE

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Stop interacting with your weaknesses and start to identify yourself with God’s image, likeness, dominion, authority, grace, strength and power.

Look into your weaknesses to withdraw your strength.
If you have hard times to know who you are, the easiest way is to look into your weaknesses and look for the opposite of your weaknesses.

For example, drug addictions were created to set free or liberate people from drugs and it’s addictions, so the enemy used their strength and turned it into a weakness, so they may not set free the captive.

Do you face rejection? Your weaknesses are to seek acceptance from people when you can’t accept yourself. You don’t accept what God has made, you seek for completeness and wholeness from people, and that why you are rejected, but your opposite is to love yourself the love others as you love yourself, that attracts them to love you back, because they don’t sense rejection from you.

You are created to liberate men from self rejection and the rejection of men.

Do you face depression and frustrations? Your weaknesses are you are led by emotions, you easily meditate on what is done or see with your emotions, you are too expectant from individuals and other people. You are led by expectations than purpose.

You spend to much listening to the people than to the Holy Spirit.

Your strength is to be led by purpose and by the Spirit of God.
You were created to liberty people from unworthlessness into the true values of life.

Are you dealing with a low self-esteem, your weakness is lack confidence, lack of trusting yourself and lack of reading scriptures so could learn to identify yourself with God.