S6 Episode 76: Part 3: How was Paul able to praise God, despite everything?

0:00Praise the name of the living God, hallelujah, welcome to victory podcast, it's a great honor and a blessing to be alive today and I pray that God will speak to your heart and encourage you to activate the spirit of praise in you and you can keep advancing forward in the spirit of praise no matter what the enemy throws at you. Paul did it and by the grace of God we can also do it. Amen, let's pray. Father, thank you that you speak to us today. Your will come forth with power and authority to change, to transform, to mold and to bring us into the revelation of all the wonderful things that you are able to do. We bless and praise your name. Thank you, Jesus. Amen. We've looked at four reasons why Paul, despite all the things that he went through, he could still stay in the spirit of prayer, in the spirit of praise and thanksgiving.

1:03Why could he do that? We've looked at four, four, four, eight, the fourth point was that we have a choice to make. It's just like the choice between life and death. God said, I've given you with a choice, choose life according to the tronomy 30 verse 19 and it's the same thing. It is a choice we make to praise God. It's a choice we make to be thankful in the midst of challenges, in the midst of difficulties. Why? Because we know he is good, he's plants, his purposes are awesome. He is for us and not against us and we can receive all the wonderful things he has in store for us to make the decision. Don't let your emotions control you. Don't let the circumstances around control you make the decision to praise the Lord. Hallelujah. Today we go to point number five, the fifth reason why Paul could stay in the atmosphere of praise. Second Corinthians chapter four, the verse 18 tells us why we look

2:06not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. We've made this point before, but we are repeating it for emphasis specific to Paul, that he called work in praise because he determined in his heart to look at the unseen. Hallelujah. And when you may not see with your physical eyes, I know I don't, but God is in you. And the one who is in you is greater than the one who is outside. So if I make it my mind to focus on the fact that he lives in me, the greater one is in me according to first, or first John chapter four verse four, then I can stay in praise irrespective of what I see. I can keep worshiping. I can keep honoring lifting God irrespective of what I see. Why? Because what is within me is greater than what

3:10is outside me. And that is what we may call the internal pressure exceeds the external pressure. When you are inwardly full of God, when he is the strength within you, when he is the source of your motivation, the source of your inspiration on a daily basis. Hallelujah. Then the strength within is greater than what is going on outside. So if in inner spiritual peace, comprising of your faith, your praise, the truth of God, the promises of God that you believe, if they are they are great in you and those truth are in sets and pressure. I mean in a good sense in you. Then the outside pressure, which is the problems, the challenges that confront us, won't collapse you. They won't crush you. And praise bills in ten hours spiritual power in

4:18ten hours spiritual strength. Hallelujah. The more you focus on praising the law from within, the more inwardly you are strengthening, you are activated, you are quickened, you are refreshed by the spirit of God. Hallelujah. So focus on the unseen, not the scene, just like we read, that is the point. I must say, focus on the unseen, not the scene, but did not deny. They out to what reality. He didn't say, hey, I was imbiting. He didn't say, hey, I didn't suffer pain. No, he went through it all, but his focus was what was within. That is why if we look at scripture, we come across the promises like he knows the thoughts that he has for you. They are thought of good and not of evil to bring you to unexpected that is training you. If your miracle have not shown up today, God have not taken the holy day. He is at work

5:20in you. The more you focus on him and the more you trust in his grace, the more you be strengthening to get up each day to advance forward. Hallelujah. So it's not about denying the physical reality. It's about keeping the focus on the spiritual truth and that activates and shrankens us to stay in praise or refused to let what was happening outwardly to dominate his thinking. He prays shift focus to God's promises, God's faithfulness, God's power and all the wonderful things that we can think about God. And that is it. Make a decision what is going to dominate your thinking as you go through the season of your life. It's my prayer that you will be intentional in believing that God have a purpose for your life. And no matter what others are saying or

6:24circumstances are pointing at you, you are going to walk in faith in total trust and experience that promises of God come to pass. Assume focus on the unseen and not the same. His trait is within you. Amen.