I am asked to speak to you especially in how to get through difficult situations, how to keep your faith and your focus, as God has led me personally through very deep waters in my life, through severe sickness through opposition. And er facing situations, that's not that easy. True, God has not promised us that everything would be easy. But God has promised us that we will come out the other side yard, like those Hebrew men, with a fourth man walking through the fire with us. But now how to get there, it's not it's very easy to preach it, it's not so easy to live it. And so I would like to talk to you today about your calling, and your destiny, and how Satan about it. Because that way, we will actually understand in many different ways, what's happening to us. And that's the foundation of it all. Once we understand what's happening to us, then we can actually manage to do to do to pray against it, or how to handle it. And I like to take you there with me. Now, my name is Susie Totten, a voice in the city. And I'm talking to you today. First of all, out of Jeremiah chapter 29. And verse 13. And 11, is a way to say, I know that very well. And yet, that's the foundation that my friends, if we understand that the calling of God, and the plants of God in our life, in the midst of what ever is happening is for our good, and that it's actually there for the answer of prayer and for a future and a hope. Because the first thing Satan would want to bring to you is that God's plans for you is not good. And God allow these things. And why are you going through all of this? And that's the plan of the enemy to take your eyes away from a good God, and the plans of future and hope for you. And God said, actually, right there in the Scripture, she said four times, I will answer I will help you if we seek Him with all our hearts. And I believe I'm speaking to people who seek God with all their hearts. So that's not the point. So let's go then on to learn from a man who taught me more about a position, and how to hold on and how to see that through than anybody else in the Bible. It's actually Apostle Paul. And I want to take you to destiny, because you need to understand that if you got from God, a calling a destiny, or something you need to do for the Lord. All hell will oppose it. Why? Because if you fulfill that destiny, you will bring such damage to the kingdom of Satan, and you will be such a testimony for the kingdom of God. And that's exactly the good and the future plans God has for you. Now let's first of all, look at poor be called as a chosen vessel, he was called by God, and even in that calling, they were suffering. Now here we see that actually in Acts chapter nine, and verse 15, but the Lord said to him, go for me, and for he is a chosen vessel of mine, to bear my name before the Gentiles, kings and children of Israel. For four, I will show him how many things he must suffer for my namesake. Everything we do, and everything we go through is for the sake of God. And that is the foundation of it all. Now, you know, today, even if you go to Israel, and you go to a pottery, and you ask the potter, show me your chosen vessel, he would actually go to the back, bring out his choice vessel, and at the bottom actually would be his signature. And that is as it were his trademark. And God has put his trademark on Paul, and God has put his trademark the blood of Jesus on you, and the call of God on you. I mean, so when we see the now we see Paul getting a destiny, and it's go quickly with me as it will actually two Acts chapter 23. And we need to understand that our opposition that really tried to stop us it's not necessarily the enemy is not necessarily people. It's not even circumstances. It's not even a virus or no virus or anything like that. Let's understand what happens and I'm going to use the language Forgive me for for comparing it to a cannon, how Satan is using different cannons in different situations to get us out of the call of God or to get us out of that destiny. So Alright, let's quickly go quickly with me to accept the 23 and verse 12. Now we see that God is speaking to Paul. And Paul is now going through a very difficult situation. And in verse 11, it says, but the following Night The Lord stood by him and said, Be of good cheer Paul, for as you have testified for me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome. Wow. So here we see the destiny of God for Paul. Rome is the goal. Rome is the destiny. That's where you are going, Paul. And so we see this incredible task that God gave him. Now imagine, if Paul preached the gospel of Jesus Christ in Rome, what a stronghold of the enemy and false teaching and false gods would fall because of the gospel of Jesus Christ, of course, sadness to oppose it. And your calling is as important as pause. And where God has put you is as important for God trusted you to bring that light into those darkness and into that situation, and you are facing what Paul is facing. Now the first thing let me use the language of a cannon, please, if you allow me, although it sounds militant, let me use that, please. Just for clarification, clarification sake. And the first cannon that Satan use and is normally so successful, that it gets so many people out of the call of God is first of all, your own people. And this we see right here, we see. And, and, and when it was day, the very next verse, verse 12, some of the Jews banded together and bound himself under an oath saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul, or people just just a minute here. This is this is 40 men, under the Jewish orthodox law, who understand the importance of an oath. And it's not just like you and me saying, oh, Lord, we will pray every morning at five o'clock, and that lasts for three weeks, and then we oversleep. And we forget about it again, or no, no, we must understand what it was like for these people, it is truly he die, or we die, he dies, or we commit suicide, because they understand that if they would break that law, they would bring a curse upon them, and their homes and their families. So that's the seriousness of this cannon that Satan is using to stop the destiny of porn. And many of you that might watch me even as pastors and leaders might be exactly at the spot at the moment, you might have a team member or a church member, or somebody in your community, or somebody in your immediate circle of leadership that is opposing you. First of all, it's of course, coming to humility, to see, could it be that God is trying to tell you something. But if you are sure that you have heard from God, and you stand in humility of God, and you stand in worship and impurity before the Lord, and none of us are perfect, of course not. But if you walk with a light, you have to the best of what you know, before the Holy Spirit and before God, then I would say, then it's time to stand up for your call, and stand up for your vision. And so balls first came from his own people. That's kind of number one. And I would say that this is so successful, that so many people get out of the ministry out of the call of God, out of that difficulty, because of the opinion of those close to them. Now, you know, you and I could just agree with this, if it's somebody from out there, you don't even know you think, doesn't matter what they think, who cares what they think. But if it is your own husband, or your wife, or your family, or your brothers and your sisters, wow, that hurts. And that's a different story. And for Paul here, it was those that he trust and that he believed with, and that maybe he even tried before, who knows. And that's the first thing we see here. And now we see that it's not a small matter, and people will die. Now, Paul did not die because God revealed the plan, which means that 40 men died. It meant that 40 men committed suicide, it meant that 40 might have been fathers might have been grandfather's we don't know. It's 40 lives and families that's affected by an oath. And that's how serious this cannon is. And that's how serious it also might be for you, or for me when things go wrong. And you really struggle. And there's great difficulty, especially in your own immediate circle to you to keep focus now. Let's see. And when Paul stood that test, and he did not go into compromise, but he kept focused, and this is the key. How did you keep focus is that people asking me many times, I think the main thing is for me to remember what I was called for. The main thing is for me to Understand what it is the purpose is of God. And I hold to that and I pray it and I worship it, even if I feel nothing, even if it feels to me heaven is like brass, I keep going. The next thing we see here is in Acts chapter 24 and verse 25. And we see that now. We see polls before Felix and Paul actually could have been free. And now now as he reasoned about righteousness, self control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered go away for now, when I have a convenient time, I will go for you. Paul is now in prison. Paul is taken captive he is. And people, please the presence of pause days, those dungeons didn't look like the presence today. It is it the sewer was going through their prison cells. It was it was stuffy It was horrible. Some of them if you read a search history, you see that some of them were chained onto the walls. And, and so that is the price Polish taking. And now it's in front of Felix, if Paul has just given him a little bit of a bribe, a little bit of money, just a little bit, just, you know, let me get out there. I'm called to be at the churches. And now I'm sitting in nevermind, glitches, glitches give him something. And then, and then licious compromise a little bit. It's okay so that I can do the call of God because this was the man who raised the debt. And who was the one that God used to start the churches. Let's not forget that. And now he's in prison, but go never compromised. And that is the next cannon Satan will use. He will try for you to compromise your goal, your situation for money for need for acceptance for revelation for, for making things work, especially for money. How many ministers have I seen in my life who compromise for the sake of money, or the sake of acceptance of the sake of, of the reputation being seen as being good here, listen to what Paul did. He continued preaching straight about righteousness, self control the judgment to come, Paul never change this message. And that is what Satan would want to bring to you to change your message. I remember one time I was actually in a certain nation, and we were doing our big outreaches. And while we didn't have the money for it, and a very rich businessman came to me and he said to me, I like your preaching. He says you are just too fiery and speak too much about the Holy Spirit. And he says if you would change that a little bit intemperate down, and not speak as much about the Holy Spirit. And he says, Then Then I will pay all your evangelistic outreaches. And you know what we really needed that money desperately. We were absolutely at the time of praying for every cent just to do the work of God. And I stood up and I say thank you so much for your kind offer. But the anointing cannot be bought with money. Neither can I say that can be bought with money. And you know, it turned away he was furious. He never gave us another cent and God faded. Oh, don't ask me how he did. And that's the wonderful thing you need to understand that canon number one is your own people can number two is compromise canon number three, if Satan can get you to compromise, he will use circumstances. And especially now in COVID-19 time and in this difficult pandemic time where things are just seeming to drag out in the beginning everybody was excited. And yeah, and we do zoom meetings and we pray and we and then suddenly that that that fire, that zeal seems to go away and pass the see that their own church members is not attending the zoom meetings as much and it looked like everything is falling apart. Let me have the word from the Lord for you. Listen to what happened with Paul in Acts chapter 25. And again, we see actually, from verse 11, for I am an offender or have committed I am not an offender I have committed anything deserving of this death to do and I do not object to dying but if there is nothing in these things of which these men accused me No one can deliver me to them. I appealed to Caesar why to Caesar Paul could have been out of that circumstances you must understand now Paul sat in that prison for two years. We are worried about some months in that we are in lockdown and and it's extremely difficult than I have the greatest sympathy and it's people are at a place of even sometimes hopelessness but for sit in that dungeon for two years now Don't tell me that's the time he actually just wrote those those letters. Paul didn't know that his letters and that his story was will one day be your my teaching ball left through it he only know about That day and tomorrow, he has to he only know that he's around and he's changed. And he's not at the schooling, and it's not doing what he should do and circumstances become the next cannon Satan is using against you. But Paul knew that the calling of God was Caesar, and that God has not changed his calling. And I say to you, that God has not changed his calling. And if you can allow circumstances to get you out of the corner, how do I stay with it to say, go back, read your scriptures, read the promises God has given to you start praying the word, start coming back before God in fasting and prayer and worship and say, This is what you have said, I don't understand. I don't see it. It makes no sense to me, but you cannot change and you cannot lie. So that's the situation we have. Now we go to the next one quickly. And we see frustration, Paul was an absolute frustration. And then God came and he gave him a revelation, frustration will get you out of the coal, I remember how one man of God said, he said, You know what, he says, I didn't mind working for God, but the delaying of the fulfillment of the promise. That's what really got me on the mission field. And I fully understand that. And so let's quickly go to God give Paul revelation in Acts, chapter 27, verse 10. And we see, Paul is now seeing, and he is why the prison doors open. And Paul is taken out of prison, and now he's on the ship. I'm on my way to Rome, and everything looked great and marvelous. And that promotion, was actually God giving him a revelation that that ship is going to sink. Whoa, what promotion is that? Is that really holding on? Is it really worth it. And now he sees that, and he comes. And Paul says in verse 10, that that ship is out for disaster. So from the prison, and all that difficulty onto a ship that is set for disaster by noon, that the promise of God cannot fail. And I want to encourage you today that no matter what cannon, Satan is throwing at you, the promise that God gave you for your life is what you need to pray, is what you need to force is what you need to hold before God is what you need to speak out. It's what that is the only thing that will keep direction for you in the sea of life, with your ship holding direction, that red rudder is actually what you hold is that original promise. And the original calling God gave you now let me move on quickly because of time. And so Paul is now on the ship. And it's an uncomfortable place. It's a shipwreck, it's a storm. It's fear, death. It looks like everything is lost. But Paul knew that God will keep his promise. And so I want to take you. And I need to hurry how Paul is holding on because God has said Caesar and Caesar it will be. And so now we come to the final one that actually in in Acts chapter 27, verse 24. And that's the last scripture I want to use. saying, Do not be afraid, Paul, you must be brought before Caesar. And indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you. Now this was after a time of struggle and fasting and hunger and storm and shipwreck and I don't think it was nice and easy. And you might be right at that place at the moment where you are fasting at this time. But you see no breakthrough, and you don't see the change, and you don't see what God is doing. And it just looks like all cloudy and difficult and a storm. And it seems like your ship is sinking. And especially if you are a law, a leader and a pastor. And it seems to you that that original place that God has given to you is just not having space anymore. Hear the Word of the Lord. God hasn't changed his plan. And just as much as God hasn't changed his plan with Paul Paul gave him God gave him all those unsaved people that was on that ship, and he landed on Malta. And Satan says if I can get your own people to kill you, and I can't get you to compromise, and I can't get you through frustration, and I can't get you through circumstances and I can't get you by sinking the ship. I will get you and I will kill you. And uncle the let me say to you, How many times should you have been dead? How many times you How many of you are still alive by the grace of God because God has a plan and a destiny and forgotten to Malta and a snake but him and God put that man of God through all of that. For a revival in Mata. Maybe you are going through through all of this for the plan and the harvest that God has ahead of you. Almighty God has not forgotten what He has promised you. Get out your promises. start calling the Word of God. start learning to pray the word and you will see that God hasn't changed his mind. We'll see you in the next session.