Partnering In The Face of Opposition | Sean Braithwaite

If we've never met before, my name is Sean. I'm one of the pastors on the team here. It's so good to see you guys. What a great day. And honestly, it's been a great week for our church. We're just coming off a revival weeks. If you were in the room for any of those, you came to a revival week. Just put your hand in the air, come on. Yeah, let's go. If you missed it, you can catch it online. There were so many great messages and a lot of great stuff. And you know what? Today, we're continuing on in our series called Divine Partnership. The idea that the Holy Spirit wants to partner with us, that our life is so much more than just trying to make as much money as possible or get as much power as possible, or just trying to do the best that we can. But to say, God, you have an assignment for me and I want to partner with you. So last week, Pastor Josh started the series and we're continuing on today. And Pastor Josh sends his greetings from Jacksonville. So he was down in Jacksonville for his brother's Dave's church plant launch, right? I think he was playing guitar for the worship team today. So he wasn't taking a weekend off at the beach. He was still playing and ministering down there. And it's just so cool to be part of a church that we get to plant churches, right?

Isn't that awesome? Give it up for that one more time. So good. And this week, we are going to be talking about continuing in this series. Again, when Pastor Josh started last week. So he started with this idea that the disciples kind of have a "now what" moment. So they were following Jesus. Jesus goes to the cross. He dies. He resurrects. And then after a period of the time, Jesus ascends. And he says, all right, I'm going to go. And you guys, it's your turn. Take this message everywhere throughout the world. And can you imagine the disciples looking around in life? They're like us. And Pastor Josh started with the idea last week that we don't need the best strategy. We don't need the best ideas. We don't need just our own power and our own strength. We need to wait on God for the power of the Holy Spirit to then partner with him to do what he wants to do in the world, right? So he covered that last week. And if you think about the story too, the Holy Spirit gets poured out on the church. It's born. Thousands of people start to follow Jesus.

And then next chapter two, we see the church just coming together and they have everything in common. They're taking care of the poor. They're meeting up. They're praying. They're having worship services. It's awesome. Chapter three of the book of Acts, Pastor Mel covered, actually on Monday, that was a powerful message, talking about the story of Peter and John at the gate called "Beautiful," right? And they saw a lame beggar. There's a man who hadn't been able to walk. He was asking for money and they prayed for him. And Jesus heals that man. And that became a key miracle. Because so many people knew who that man was. They were passing. It was a public space. And they start to preach the gospel to the crowd. And we're going to pick up here in Acts chapter four and pick up the story. And it takes a little bit of a turn. Because everything seems like it's going great. The church's birth. The Holy Spirit's poured out. There's this awesome miracle that's done. And then Acts chapter four is a, I feel like, a why God moment. Why is this happening?

Everything was going great. Why are we now running into this opposition? Everyone say opposition. Opposition. And maybe you've had some of these in your own life. Have you ever had a moment in your life where you're like, man, everything's going great. Everything's going so well. The Steelers are winning. The Pirates are winning. The Penguins are winning. And then you realize it's not 2008 anymore. And they are all losing. And it's sad. Anyway, but if you're at the moment where you're like, man, everything's going great. I feel like nothing could go wrong. And you maybe get outside of your body. And you're like, I got my family here. Or my friends are here. I don't know. Just it's a great-- everything's going well. It's Thanksgiving dinner. But the uncle wasn't making the crazy comments yet. And it's like, this is perfect. And then as soon as you think that, everything goes wrong. Something happens to then have it turned. I had one of these moments. So last year, I got married to my lovely wife, Lauren. And we got married.

And the marriage went great. The wedding went great, as far as I know. And we went down to Florida for a honeymoon. We were staying at a great place right by the beach, eating great food, some of the best sushi I had. And I was thinking to myself, I'm like, this is the best. Like life, could it get any better? This is-- nothing can go wrong. And then at the middle of the trip, all of a sudden, I start to see a rash start to form on my arm of little-- like, almost looks like bruises. Or I don't even know. There's just little bumps on my arm. It starts to spread to other parts of my body. And I show my new wife. And she audibly gasps, which is not a good thing on the honeymoon. And I'm like, oh, my goodness. And honestly, for a couple of seconds, freaking out. Because I'm like, I'm not allergic to anything. Like, I never sat at the non-peanut butter table, you know, And I'm like, what is happening? I'm like, I thought to myself, am I allergic to my wife? Like, no, like what's going on? This is going so great. This can bring with everything what's happening. And then, you know, with a quick search online later, we figured out it's not an allergic reaction. It's actually a sun rash. Because get this, my Irish pale white skin,

that's going to surprise you, doesn't mix well with the floor of the sun, who were the thought. So what I did, I have to do, and everything was OK after that point, I just stayed inside and then filled the bathtub with SPF 100 and laid in it. And we were great. But I don't know if you've ever had one of those moments. I was more of a funny one, it wasn't too bad. But if you have a moment like that, I feel like those kind of like, what is going on? Type of moments. This is what the disciples are facing in Acts chapter 4. We're about to read it. Because again, everything's going great. And we're about to see the opposition that they now face. So let's tune into Acts 4 verses 1 to 21. We'll have this on the screen. You can read along as well. Here's what it says. It says, "The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees come up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people." Again, the guy who was at the gate called beautiful the lame beggar. He was just healed. And they use this as an opportunity, as they should, to preach that Jesus is alive. He's healing today, and they start to proclaim the gospel. It continues on and say, "They were greatly disturbed

because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. Many people heard the message, who heard the message believed. So the number of men who believed grew to about 5,000. So now that's just the men, thousands of people following Jesus in the city. The next day, the rollers, the elders, and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. Anis, the high priest, was there. So is Caiaphas, John, Alexander, other members of the high priest family. He's just name dropping right now. They were there, and they had Peter and John brought before them, and they began to question them by what power or what name do you do this? And then it says this, come on. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit. Say filled with the Holy Spirit. Said to them, rollers and elders of the people. If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who is lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this. You and all the people of Israel. It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is the stone you builders rejected, which has now become the cornerstone.

He's quoting the Psalms. He then proclaims, salvation is found in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. We can end the message right here. Have a great week, everyone. Go watch the Steelers. But then he continues on, and he says, when they saw the courage of Peter and John, they realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, and they were astonished. And they took note that these men had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin, and they conferred together. What are we going to do with these men? They asked. Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they performed a notable sign, and we can't deny it. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to no longer speak to anyone in this name. Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, which is right in God's eyes to listen to you or to him? You be the judges. As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.

After further threats, they let them go. They cannot decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened, for the man who was miraculously healed was over 40 years old. So again, we're in this moment where everything's going great, and then all of a sudden, just put yourself in the shoes of the early disciples, of the early church. Everything is awesome. The Holy Spirit's poured out. The church is growing. They have everything in common. It's awesome. It's like heaven is falling down on earth. There's this key miracle that's done. This is great. And then the leaders of the church are arrested, and they're thrown in prison for a day, and they're brought before the main officials of the land. I don't know about you, but if I was part of the early church, I'd be like, what's happening? Can you imagine that? What is going on? I think having a "Why God" type of moment. And I want to ask you, have you ever Like God, I thought I was doing everything right. I thought I was taking all the right steps and I'm trying to, you know, I was at revival week and I was praying and I was fasting

and everything was going good and I was getting some new revelation and I was feeling on fire. And then, you know, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and then Thursday morning hits. And I feel right back at it. Have you ever been there before? Or maybe you're like, man, I'm just trying to take steps in my faith. I feel like God, I'm like, I'm trying to go to the church. I'm trying to get in a group. I'm trying to serve. I'm trying to take these steps. But it's hard and Sean, I feel opposition. I feel like, am I doing something wrong? Is God mad at me? Does he, is he trying to punish me? And I don't know about you but I've been in those seasons before where I feel the opposition and it makes me say why? Why is this happening? Everything should be going well. And I think this picture of the earlier church, it gives us a roadmap to see how we can overcome opposition. And I think sometimes we ask those questions because we might not realize that, you know, opposition isn't optional when we're following Jesus. Actually, he promises us

that we're gonna face opposition. Sometimes we can have this illusion that just because I follow Jesus and I go to the church and I'm taking the right steps in my faith or you fill in the blank that everything should be perfect. And listen to me, I believe God blesses and he protects those who partner with the Holy Spirit. But I also know, we also realize that we live in a sinful, broken world where evil still exists. And that doesn't mean that God isn't powerful enough or that he's mad at you, he's trying to punish you or anything like that. I think that's bad theology. But I think God's goal when we face opposition and we're like, what's happening God? I feel like I'm trying to take steps forward but there's things in people in my life that feels like I'm going two steps back. What's going on? I feel like God, his goal in that moment isn't to make life easier, to just pluck out the problem. His goal isn't to make our life easier but to help us live a victorious life. 'Cause I heard Pastor Jeff say once that being a Christian isn't so much about living a life, kind of coasting and like living on the beach, right? But it's actually the idea of that. We now live in a war zone.

Why is that? Because we can't see it but there's a spiritual war going on all around, that between the forces of heaven and then the forces of hell, right? That we step into that as Christians and now the devil and the evil in the world is opposing us because now we follow Jesus. And so God, I think in his infinite understanding, he looks at our situations and sometimes it's like, God, I've prayed this before, can you just like send this person to Alaska? Can you just like end this opposition I'm facing? Like I'm feeling stuck. Can you just like remove the problem, God? Like send it away. But I think God cares more about who we're becoming than just what we're experiencing. He cares more about us living a life of victory than an easy life of apathy. So that might be hard for us to take in 'cause again, it feels like it should be the other way around and I think we get a good, again a good picture of the early church here of what they were facing and how we can face similar things. And I'll just pause and say for context, the early church, this is the beginning of persecution where we just read, there's actually gonna be more as you continue to read the book of Acts, it gets worse from here actually. And I just wanna preface and say,

here in America in Pittsburgh, 2026, we don't have to worry about getting thrown in jail for preaching about Jesus. Thank you Lord. There's other parts in the world, they do have to worry about that. But at the same time, I know, I know every time when we start to follow Jesus, or we get a word from God, or we wanna partner with the Holy Spirit, there's going to be opposition that we face. So what do we do with that? What do we do with that? And the main point I wanna make today is this, when I partner with the Holy Spirit, He gives me everything I need to overcome any opposition. Because again, God isn't just trying to remove the problem, He's trying to make us into someone who is an overcomer. And so when we partner with Him and we're following Him, and we're facing opposition, He's not just leaving us out to hang dry and out on our own, but I believe as we partner with the Holy Spirit, He gives me everything I need to overcome any opposition. And so I wanna talk about three different areas of opposition that we can face, and how God gives us the tools to overcome, how He gives us the power to overcome, can we do that today, all right? Turn to your neighbor and say, you're an overcomer, you're an overcomer, come on,

so first area of opposition is this. And it's probably obvious, I was already talking about it, is the enemy, three areas of opposition, number one is the enemy. If you didn't know this, we have an enemy. We have a spiritual enemy that, this is Satan, this is what Scripture calls the accuser of the brethren. What does that mean? It means he's throwing accusations at us all the time. He's come to steal, kill, and destroy. And sometimes when we think maybe about getting opposition or maybe an attack from the enemy that can make us fearful, I'm like, oh my goodness, I've got the watch behind every dark closet. And like if I get, like you're about to be jumped on by the enemy. But I think it's less, that's not so much the case because you know, Jesus gives us covering under his blood, right? That when we start to walk with him. So the enemy, it's not like, you know, I imagine one of those old cartoons where they just try to drop an anvil, you know, on the other, like, you know, one of the other cartoon characters. Sometimes I feel like that's how we can perceive the enemy, right? Like, oh, we're just waiting for the anvil to drop on us. But it's less like that and more like the lies that the enemy opposes us with. Because scripture tells us that the devil is the father of lies. And maybe he can't do physical harm to us, but he's going to do his best. And actually, I think his favorite tactic is to put lies in our ears. This is if we can read this all throughout scripture, even at the beginning, in Genesis, at the Garden of Eden, it started in the fall of man started with a lie, a whisper, a half truth truth from the enemy. And why is that? Why lies? Well, if the enemy can get a lie in our head, then it starts to plant there and we start to think about it. How many, you know, what you think about becomes how you make decisions. It becomes how you start to make different actions. And over time, those decisions and those actions, they become your destiny. But it starts with a lie. It starts with a lie. And these lies, they can lead us into temptation and to sin. And sometimes it can feel like, okay, like, it can even be something like this. Like, did God really call you to do that? Did God really tell you to step out in faith like that? Like, no, you're not qualified for that. Oh, you can't. No, they don't want you to do that. No, that's too crazy. Like, everything you experience this path, these are what the lies kind of sound like, right? How many of you have experienced this before? Like, you know, right after revival week, you know, everything

God did. Like, that didn't really happen for you. Maybe for other people, but not for you. These are the lies of the enemy that he opposes us with them and tries to stop us from walking with God, from partnering with his spirit. So what do we do? What do we do with these lies? Well, first of all, we need to know the word. We need to know what God says about us. We need to stand on what Jesus says and put down any lie of the enemy, right? And also, Paul gives us some tools in Ephesians chapter 6, verses 11 to 13. Here's what he says. He says, "Put on the full armor of God." Everyone say armor. "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." Paul saying the devil is out to get you. He's out to throw those lies, those accusations toward your way. He's trying to scheme against you. And he says this, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, he may be able to stand your ground. And after you've done everything to stand." Isn't that powerful? He's saying, "Listen, the devil has schemes against you. Be on guard and put on the armor of God." And I love that reminder. He gives us who our real enemy is. It's not people of other beliefs. It's not people of other politics. It's not leaders that we can get so mad and try to put blame on. It's not people of other religions. It's not of flesh and blood. But the real enemy, the real enemy, the one that we should be pointing toward the blame of all the destruction and sin and chaos of the world is the devil. And sometimes we can get loose side of that and we can even not remember who the enemy is, but we have to remember who the enemy is and how we deal with him. And how do we deal with the attacks of the enemy? Well, we pawn the armor of God. This is to say, listen, first it takes a step of humility to say, "God, what I have just in and of myself, it's not enough. I need your armor. I need your protection. Lord, I submit myself to you. I can't just handle it in my own ways, in my own brain, in my own willpower. That's not going to be enough. God, I surrender to you and I need your armor. I need your protection. What does this look like? This looks like I think every day, every day, maybe try this for the next seven days, put on the full armor of God. We don't have time to break it all down. Right now, you can find it Ephesians chapter 6, Ephesians chapter 6. And this is what you It starts with the belt of truth. The belt of truth, God, I put on the belt of truth that your truth will hold everything in my life together.

That I put on the breastplate of righteousness, Lord, that it's not based on my performance, but Jesus, your righteousness is what covers me. That I put on the gospel shoes of peace. No matter where I go, I'm taking the life and the love and the peace of Jesus with me, and I'm walking in faith. And then I take up the shield of faith to put out the firing arrows of the enemy, to cast down any fear, doubt, discouragement, anything like that. And I have faith, and I trust you over what I feel. I put on the helmet of salvation, guard my mind and my thoughts. Can you clarity of thoughts, protect them, Father? Let my identity rest in what you have done for me, Jesus. And then my favor one, to pick up the sword of the spirit. This is the word of God. It's just to say, God, help me to know your word. You don't have to be a Bible scholar. You don't have to have been studying the Bible for 30 years. But to say, Lord, give me some verses. Remind me of some verses when temptation comes, or the lies come my way, or the accusation that the enemy comes, that I would pull that out, and I would fight back against what the enemy is trying to do in my life. That's how we stand up against the enemy. Isn't that good? And the best part is, listen, you don't have to go to the Bible college for it. You don't have to earn your way into this.

You can just pray that every day. Lord, I put on the armor of God. And I remind myself of your truth. And then you have some verses that you go to battle with the enemy against. As soon as those lies come your way. And this is what it looks like, I think, to do spiritual warfare. And I love, again, Paul uses the analogy of a soldier, of what 2,000 years ago, how a soldier would put on his armor, how he would suit up. We have to realize every day we're going into a battle. And it's a battle already won by Jesus. Come on, somebody. That he's already won the day. And his death and his burial and resurrection, he's already won. But we have to enforce that victory. Because there is still a devil. There's still evil. The world has not yet been restored. Jesus is coming back. And until then, we are the ones to enforce the victory of Christ in our lives. And that takes us, pulling on that armor, getting that word and going forward. Another verse I love is Revelation 12, 11. It says this. It says they overcame him, talking about the enemy, by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony. What does this mean?

It means that we are covered in the blood of Jesus, that nothing can touch us because we have the blood. We overcome because of first what Jesus has done for us. And then I think there's a part of this, too, the word of their testimony. Did you know that your testimony, your story of what Jesus has done for you? It carries power. And it's not only like we don't only just encourage that because we want to spread the message to other people that don't know, absolutely. But it's also a weapon against the darkness. It's also a weapon against the enemy. You can give the devil a heart attack by sharing your story with someone. And you're like, Sean, I'm no Johannes. I'm no, you know what I mean? Like I'm not that type of evangelist. Like, I don't have that type of story. But listen, God has done something in your life. And there's someone in your life who needs to hear that. And sometimes we can get so caught up in what I'm facing, the opposition I'm going through in the lies, the devil is trying to speak to me, that we can get so caught up with me, me, me, me, me, where sometimes the tactic of the enemy is to be so self-focused. But when we remember that we overcome by the power of our testimony, it becomes less about us and more about what this other person needs to hear.

And more about my unsaved friend, my unsaved family member, the cashier at 7-Eleven, the shared Jesus with them, that is spiritual warfare right there, that we overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. And so first area of opposition is the enemy, is the enemy. Second area is this, other people, other people. In Acts 4, we see this is the main area of opposition, that the religious leaders are opposing the disciples, the work of God that they are called to do. And again, thankfully, we are living in a place in the time, we don't really have to worry about that. But how many of you know, when you start to follow Jesus, there's going to be people in your life that oppose you? It could be family that they don't understand, they don't get it. They're looking at you like, what do you mean? You're going to church and you're walking with Jesus, you're praying, what friends that might criticize you for not partying and doing the things that you used to do, co-workers who hold very different beliefs and are vocal about them. Whether we do, there can be people that oppose the work of God that He's doing in and through our lives. And it can be like, God's like, why? Why are these some of these people, they're some of the closest people to me, why God, why does this happen? And it's because, first of all, we remember who the real enemy is, it's not them, it's the devil, but then we remember too that actually the Christian message,

the message of Jesus, is the most offensive message out there. I've heard this said once that the message of Jesus, even the image of the cross, is the most offensive image, not because of the world standards of offensive, but it's offensive because it directly confronts the sin in our lives and the evil in the world. So when people start to see you take steps for Jesus, something in them, like if they're not followers, like they feel confronted and they may feel defensive, they may feel like they're opposing you, but that's, that's not really, I don't think really their heart, it's again, they're blinded because they don't know who Jesus is. They have a shroud over them, of the enemy is using them to try to oppose you, right? And our job, well, how do we respond to them? And I wish I could tell you, get a Bible and hit them over the head, right? I'm sure you will, you probably think, Sean, can you tell me to do that for, you know, X, Y, Z in my life, right? But that is not what Jesus called us to do. What did he tell us to do? To pray for them, to love them, to serve them even when it hurts, to believe God as I continue the walk in faith, I'm not going to let their opposition hold me back. But rather, I'm going to turn it around and I'm going to start praying for their salvation. I'm going to pray that God does a work in their life. I'm going to love them. I'm going to encourage them even when they are actively discouraging me. I'm going to serve them and show them the love of Jesus. Listen, this is all easier said than done. I get that. I get that. But as we partner with the Holy Spirit, I believe He gives us power and everything we need to be able to do that, to change our perspective on those that might be opposing what God is doing in our lives. So number one, it's the enemy. Number two, it's others. And number three, myself, myself, sometimes the strongest opposition that you can face is yourself. The lies that you believe, the excuses you make, the story you tell yourself, the way we can disqualify ourselves from what God has called us to do. And I find it interesting, in Acts 4, 13, here's what the Pharisees thought of Peter and John. They said this. They said, "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished." And they took note that these men had been with Jesus. I love that Peter and John did not disqualify themselves. I love that these fishermen, that they had no educational training, they had no resources, they had no elite family name, they had nothing extraordinary about them. They could have let all these different things disqualify them from what God has called them to do. And I love what it says here that they took note that they had been with Jesus.

And sometimes we need to realize that we might have things that feel like, "Oh, it's disqualifying for me." But here's the truth. Jesus is the one who qualifies us. Jesus is the one who empowers us. It's not based on how much you know, it's not based on how much you do, how many connections you have, how many resources you have. It's based on our relationship with the risen king. And walking in step with the Holy Spirit that he's given us and saying, "I'm going to step in faith. I may not have all the answers. I may not have all the training. I may not know everything but God I trust in you." Because again, I think we can disqualify ourselves and say, "That's not me. I can't do that, God. You're calling me to do this? I'm not made like that. You're calling me to lead this group or to serve in that way or plan a church or be a missionary. Like, "God, I can't do that." Or to raise my family as a man of God. I feel like I'm so far from that. Or whatever it is, we can quickly disqualify ourselves. But we have to remember first of all, again, what God's Word says about us, how the Holy Spirit empowers us. And I think there's a part of this too that sometimes we forget. I love this part of Scripture. I love this passage because of how Peter and John, they weren't alone. Just notice this real quick. It was together that they prayed for the lame beggar. Together they preached Jesus. Together they faced opposition. Together they were ridiculed. Together they faced all of these different things. And I think sometimes we can forget the power when we're thinking about the opposition we're facing. Sometimes the lie that we can believe that holds us back is that I'm the only one struggling. And no one else is that I'm the only one I'm alone in. I was you know serving up a kids zone in the cafe and doing some things on the cameras I was running around I was doing all these and I felt called a ministry on my life I was had all you know a lot of my friends were here and I was like this is awesome. This is great But then at the same time this is about 11th 12th grade 12th grade I had a struggle where I With lust and watching things. I shouldn't be watching and going to websites I shouldn't be going to and I felt so too faced and I felt such shame like you know I was one person you know on the outside and then on the inside like I was still messed up And I was struggling and I was believing the lie that I was alone in this struggle And I would pray the God. I was like God. Can you just take it from me? Can you just like whoa And I was like I believe you can but I was like God. Can you just do this and again? And again, I felt stuck and I was struggling and I know where to go and I was like God

I know you have a call on my life, but I feel like this is holding me back. What do I do? And it wasn't until I talked to a friend of mine And I was like I I felt one time talking to him and I was a trusted friend. I was like I should confess I should tell him where I'm at then I did and I took a step of faith and and I was like again I was worried I was like I feel like I'm the only one struggling and he's gonna look at me and Yell at me and kick me out of the church and You know say you horrible wretched person, whatever, but he didn't do that He's a child. I've struggled with the same thing I've been there. I face that opposition. I've been stuck in that way, too And he encouraged me he prayed for me and then he showed me some resources that that could help me He held me accountable He walked with me and I am so thankful because that is what led to my breakthrough That's what led to freedom. I was trying to do it on my own I was trying to just you know feel like I gotta lock in. I just gotta do better I just gotta do well, but but but God I think use that moment to say Sean you can't do it on your own You need other people Let me just say to you if you feel stuck today. You are not alone in your struggle You're not alone in that sin pattern. You are not alone. Maybe you just feel like you're under it Maybe you just feel like man. I don't know if I can do it You maybe just feel like you're believing the lives of the enemy Listen, you are not alone and this is why God has given us the church To be together to be around one another to encourage to how hold each other accountable lift each other up Sometimes we forget about this aspect of spiritual warfare But I believe when we start to step out in faith and partner with the Holy Spirit We don't ever do that alone God always has someone there with us. So whether today you're facing opposition from the enemy Opposition from others or opposition from yourself what you're walking through I believe today that God is going to show us that no matter what we face we can overcome any opposition because of the power of the Holy Spirit And so let's our heads. Let's close our eyes and we'll spend them sometime here in a moment praying over these different things

But I want to give an opportunity for those that have never made the decision to follow Jesus And you might be here and say Sean I I hear what you're saying I don't even know like if I have even started to take that first step and I want to give you this opportunity because When we talk about overcoming opposition, it actually starts with realizing that we are victorious in Jesus Like we were talking about earlier that we are covered in the blood of the lamb the blood of Jesus when he went to the cross He died for my sin for your sin. He died for us and took our punishment that we deserved and then he rose again three days later into new life and Today if you've never made the decision to make him the Lord and the Savior of your life I want to give you that opportunity Maybe you've been walking away for a while now and you need to recommit wherever you're at if that's you today on the count of three I want you to put your hand in the air and say Sean that is me. I am coming to Jesus today I am running to him. I'm coming back to him on the count of three one two Three if that's you put your hand in the air stretch it out. Come on. I see that I see that I see that hand Come on. I see that. Yes stretch out get another invitation ready if that's you one two three put that hand in the air That's you today. Come on stretch it out high Come on. Thank you Jesus. I see that come on. Can we pray together right now as a church family? Everyone pray along with me. Thank you. Repeat that for me. You say heavenly father Thank you for sending your son Jesus To die for me To take my punishment To take my shame and my guilt I believe that Jesus is alive and that he has a plan for me Lord I Surrender to you. I make you the Lord and Savior of my life Fill me with your spirit. I love you, Lord. In your name, everybody said amen. Amen. Give it up for those that made that decision. Come on.

(congregation applauding) And if that's you and you put your hand in the air right now, we have Corbin back here. He's on our team. We would love to meet you after service today at our salvation area. It's right out the doors over here to my right. We have bibles we want to give you, some resources. We want to be your church. We want to be your pastors and just walk alongside you as you begin to follow Jesus, but that's awesome. Let's all right now stand up together. And what I want to do right now is I want to take some time and just God's presence. And I want you to reflect, where's the opposition? Maybe in your life, maybe you're in a season. You're like, Sean, I know exactly. Maybe it's like, Sean, I don't know. I don't know yet, but I promise you this one day, there'll be a time when we face that opposition and we're going to have to remember whether the tools that God has given us to overcome. So right now, let's just take a moment. Let's put our hands in the air. Holy Spirit, we just declare right now, we can't face any opposition without you, without your power, without your work in us. So we invite you here. God, I pray speak to us now. Encourage us now.

God, as we sing out this song, I pray, Father, there would be breakthrough in the room. God, that you would show us, Father, what you want to do in and through us. You're to remind us, God, of the plan you have for us, that any opposition, Lord, it can be overcome by your power and what you do in and through us. So Lord, we surrender to you. Let's sing this out together. Thank you, Jesus. ♪ One word from you ♪ ♪ Things change on your authority ♪ ♪ Your word, it's true ♪ ♪ Things change on your authority ♪ ♪ One word, one word from you ♪ ♪ Things change on your authority ♪ ♪ Your word, it's true ♪ ♪ Things change on your authority ♪ ♪ We'll have it not prevail ♪ ♪ It's almost not be moved ♪ ♪ But spirit's not be silenced ♪ ♪ And power at His role ♪ ♪ For if my God is for me ♪ ♪ Then what have I to fear ♪ ♪ For I will not deny ♪ ♪ The glory that is in ♪ ♪ We'll have it not prevail ♪ ♪ It's troubles not be moved ♪ ♪ But spirit's not be silenced ♪ ♪ And power at His role ♪

♪ For if my God is for me ♪ ♪ Then what have I to fear ♪ ♪ Then I will not deny ♪ ♪ The glory that living will prevail ♪ ♪ For heaven will prevail ♪ ♪ It's troubles not be moved ♪ ♪ But spirit's will be silenced ♪ ♪ And power at His role ♪ ♪ But I know my God is for me ♪ ♪ So what have I to fear ♪ ♪ For nothing will deny ♪ ♪ The glory that is in ♪ ♪ We won't sing one word ♪ ♪ One word from you ♪ ♪ We change one you're inverting ♪ ♪ The glory ♪ ♪ It's true ♪ ♪ We change one you're inverting ♪ ♪ One word ♪ ♪ We change one you're inverting ♪ ♪ One word ♪ ♪ It's true ♪ ♪ We change one you're inverting ♪ - Come on, let's put our hands up right now. Let's pray together, God, we thank you. We thank you, Jesus. for the victorious life, and that you give us everything that we need to overcome in your opposition. We thank you, Jesus,

for the tools that you give us, the Word of God, the power, the Holy Spirit, others here, God. So we just pray right now, Lord, I pray, for anyone here who's facing opposition from the enemy. They feel the attack of the enemy, the lies of the enemy. Lord, we pray right now, Lord, that those lies be broken in the name of Jesus. We silence every voice of the enemy, every lie from hell. Lord, we come against it now, and we say no more. And Lord, we fill our minds now with the things of God. We now, Lord, say, Lord, give us the peace that passes all understanding to guard our heart and our mind in Christ Jesus. Lord, that we hold close to your word. Lord, what you have said about us. Lord, we now, Lord, come and agreement and pray for those who oppose us, God. Lord, anyone who's facing opposition from others. Lord, I pray right now, God, Lord, that we would now pray for them, Jesus. If there's someone in your life, you feel like that's yours. Or Sean, that's me. There's people in my life that are opposing me as I follow Jesus. Come on, let's pray for them by then, God.

We pray for them, Jesus. We pray, Lord, that you would open their eyes, that they would see you, God, that they're blinded right now. But we pray now for a move of God in their life, Lord, that you would reach down and tear off the veil, and that they would see you, that their lives would be changed. God, give us the words to say. Give us, show us, Lord, what to do. Help us to love them, to encourage them to pray for them, to serve them, even when it hurts God. We pray now for their salvation, Lord. We know the enemy is not against flesh and blood. Lord, we pray for them, our friends, our family, our coworkers, Lord, we pray, Lord, that you would save and redeem them. And if you're facing today, opposition in your own life, the patterns, you can get stuck in the things that you're telling yourself, how you're disqualifying yourself. Lord, we pray right now. We break every lie from the enemy. Lord, anything that's disqualifying, Lord, we break that now in the name of Jesus. And I pray now for faith to rise in the name of Jesus. Lord, that we can do anything that you've called us to do through the power of your Holy Spirit. It's not based on us, it's not based on our might, but it's based on your spirit.

Lord, we thank you for that, Jesus. And I feel like, you know, throughout this weekend, I've been praying, and God's been laying on my heart, that there might be someone in the room, maybe it's a few people in the room, or online with us right now, that you're going through a deep season of discouragement, that you feel trapped, that you feel stuck, that you, maybe it's different areas of opposition, and you feel like, man, I feel like God, I've been trying to take steps. God's calling me to something, but I feel stuck. I don't know where to go. You're on your last leg. Like, it's the last straw you're about to, like, give up and throw in the towel. I just want to speak to you today, that the Holy Spirit has not forgotten about you. God has not forgotten about you. The image I got was that there's some of us in the room that feel like Peter, when he steps out of the boat, and he steps out on the word of faith, that Jesus calls him out, and he starts to make some steps, and then all of a sudden, he sees where he's at, and fear rushes in, and he starts to sink. I feel like there's some in the room, that you feel like you're sinking right now. And the image I got is that of Jesus pulling Peter out of the water, that today, God's going to pull you out of the water.

He's gonna pull you out of the pit of despair, of depression, of wherever you're finding yourself, where you're stuck at. So if that's you today, I won't let you know, you'll have to raise your hand, but let's just pray for those who feel stuck today, and the season of despair. God, we pray for them right now in the name of Jesus. I pray that everyone who's feeling like that sinking feeling today, that today would be a day. Lord, where they feel like they are pulled out from the water, that they're pulled out from the pit. Lord, that depression and despair would go to the wayside, that fear would go to the wayside. Lord, that the only thing remaining, Lord, would be them seeing you, Jesus. Lord, we thank you so much. And Lord, we pray right now, Lord, for not just the change of circumstance, but for a change of vision, that you would see things differently now, that you would process things differently now, that you wouldn't feel like everything's caving in, but you would see what God is, what He wants you to see, and that today, you would be pulled from that pit. In Jesus' name, we pray everybody said, amen, amen, come on, give it up for Jesus. Come on, let's end in this way. Let me just pray a blessing over you.

God, we thank you again for everything that you give us. We thank you, Lord, that you help us overcome. So we pray today, Lord, help us to walk in victory, help us to live as overcomers, help us to live above and not below. Lord, help us to remember what You've called us to do. And Jesus, we thank You that no matter what we face, We trust in you. And in your name, we pray everybody said, amen, amen. We love you guys. Have a great week. Go Steelers. And we'll see you next time. [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING]