What do you do when you find giants occupying the very land that God promised is yours? Have you ever asked yourself, "If God is with us, why do I face such violent opposition?" Are these obstacles and giants necessary? Obstacles and giants are placed on our path to teach us that we are not God. He is, and in and of yourself there is no strength to defeat these enemies. The Word of God promises that God Himself will fight for us! Victory comes when we stand against these giants in the power of the Holy Spirit for the glory and honor of God's Name!

We can be thankful no matter what circumstance we go through, and find joy no matter what we face. Most of us are trained to say to ourselves, “I can make it. I’m determined. All I need is Jesus.” In Philippians 4:13-14 Paul says, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.” There is a truth to Jesus being all we need, but sometimes God sends people to help us and meet our needs. It can be hard to say that we are in need of help. We must learn not only to be a servant, but also to receive the gift of service.

God is always ready to give us faith for a new thing but are we ready — do we desire it? So many times we hold on to the things of old — the brokenness or blessing of yesterday — but God wants to speak a new thing. To man so much is impossible, but to God all things are possible. There are four convictions that need to take place in us for this faith:

The concept of being a servant is not highly esteemed today, as we live in an age where our theology in the church at large seems to have focused on personal gain, social gain, power, influence, authority and individual greatness. The Bible says that Jesus took upon Himself the form of a servant and in doing this He teaches us that heaven's order is completely reversed from the world's order. The Word of God is performed in those whom have a servant's heart. Serving Christ and then serving others unlocks power and revelation.

Philippi, unlike other cities of that time, didn’t have temples or cultic worship of gods, but instead had a culture of hero worship. It is into this culture of masculinity, dominance, and power that God called Paul — a small frail Jewish man with bad hearing. Amongst these war heroes God started the Philippian church using a woman, a teenage slave girl, and a suicidal jailer. It isn’t by man’s strength that God works, but by grace — a supernatural empowering of willing vessels. We are saints of Christ, called to speak grace into our own lives and the lives of others.

In the book of Genesis, Abram (or Abraham) has three encounters with his nephew Lot and the city of Sodom. Each time, he engages in a different type of faith. In one encounter he engages in passive faith — turning the situation over to God and trusting Him and His goodness. On another occasion he engages in prayerful faith — interceding with the belief that prayer can move the heart and hand of God. The final type, and often most difficult to engage in, is active faith — when God calls us to take action and be a part of what He is doing.

Jesus is reaching out to those who are spiritually dead and offers them supernatural life through the power of the Holy Spirit. There is an emptiness that God has planted in the heart of man that eventually makes us miserable. God will move heaven and earth to save one soul. This life is made available through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ the Son of God! This is all about getting a new life, not about religion. God's mercy reaches out to all those who are dead in their sin.

The whole world is crying out for hope! The Holy Spirit wants to make hope more than just a theological phrase. The path of hope begins by being fully assured that we are right with God. We have an unshakable faith because our sin is covered. This path continues through tribulations, afflictions, and a deep work of patience which brings about experience. Hope is about living and bringing the life of Christ to others. It's something the Holy Spirit does in our heart.