 I just want to share with you just a few things, a few examples from my life, some things that I learned and some things that we can apply for our lives. Many times I've seen in our Christian life, in people that come here to church, that they go through these phases when things are good, we're in church worshiping God, we're upfront, things are bad, we are nowhere to be found. Is it true like that happens, you know? You know when somebody's up front, God is good to them. You know when somebody's in the back like, bro, you're going through a hard time, you don't even need to be prophetic. Just speak it over the light. They're like, you're Jesus speaking through. I'm like, yeah, sure. You know, so it's one of those things that when things are good, they're in church, they're worshiping God, but the moment things are bad, their faith begins to crumble down onto these circumstances and they begin to question God. If God is real, if God is whom, he says he is. And that's basically our Christian life today. It is very sad that as Christians, we can easily be given into circumstance. We can easily begin to murmur, we begin to cry, begin to lament because our circumstances do not line up to what we believe. Everybody has a situation. You have to understand, not that you are somewhat different, you're more anointed, you're more gifted or things like that. Everybody in this place has a situation. The question is, how do you handle yours? Ask your neighbor, how do you handle yours? Turn to your other neighbor and ask him, how do you handle yours? How do you handle yours? When we look in the Bible of the great biblical characters, the great pillars of faith, we can, like David, Samson, Jeff, Dad, all the prophets that we see in the Bible, we can see one thing that's clear in our lives, that the way in the manner God executes his plans in people's lives, it differs. For many, when God calls him to be a prophet, he takes him through certain circumstances. And many times when God calls a certain person to raise up a son or raise up a child, he takes him through that circumstance. Many, if God called you to be a businessman, to be a great vocalist, whatever God has called you to be, he will take you through a different route than he will take your neighbor. The way in the manner God will work in your life will differ from others. And as these things will happen, God will begin to arrange events. There will be certain circumstances that will happen in your life until his purpose is revealed in your lives. And we want to let you know one thing and one thing that I want you to understand that for you tonight is that there's something that is far more important than your circumstance. It is your divine destiny. You have to understand that whatever you're going through is not as important as what God says about your life. Who God says that you are, what you can do and what God said that you can have. That is the dream that God has placed within each and one of us deep down inside of our hearts. God has given you that dream, that picture of your future who God has called you to be, to either to raise up the greatest children, either there's to be a basketball player, is it to be a figure in your community that will influence others. It's maybe just somebody who will take care of the poor, but God has given you that dream and it lies deep inside of your heart and is between you and God. And we have to understand one thing and one thing that as we are going with this journey to our throne, it's not gonna be a bed of roses. The journey to our throne is not a bed of roses. We are bound to encounter snakes, scorpions, thorns. We're bound to experience gain and loss. We're bound to experience hardship, joy, pain, external and internal troubles. But in all that we have to understand that God is in control. He holds your life and in His hands and He knows exactly what you're going through. He is aware and if God is aware of what is going in your life, you will make it through, amen. Many people do not understand. They think the moment the unpleasant situation comes, it is something that devil has designed just to destroy their life. But as a Christian you have to understand one thing that are unpleasant situations. They are part of the events that will continue to unfold until God's master plan, God's divine destiny is unfolding in your life. We've seen many characters, great biblical characters in the Bible. You've seen many troubles and the hardships that they went through. And one thing you have to understand that God used those troubles to bring in closer to their destiny. Until they had to pass through that trouble, they will not be ready to receive the promotion, that greatness that was about to come to their lives. As Christians, we have to understand and as we said in the beginning that Jesus is on our side. If God is for you, who can be against you and that is nobody. When you have that clear through your mind, you will confidently say like David has said that I have tried God and have found Him to be very reliable, very genuine, very real, authentic, incontestable, well-grounded and well-founded. When you get through your mind, not just a confession, but you'll believe that you will pass through any storm. You'll go through any circumstances and whatever the devil will throw at you, you will always come out stronger because that belief that God is on your side and God does not lose any battles, amen. Any opportunity that you have, any circumstance that you're going through is an opportunity for you to glorify God in that situation. It is an opportunity for you to say in front of all men, in front of your peers, to be able to say that God is good, God is on my side and I'll come through, amen. We all fight common battles in life, which are just camouflage differently. We have to understand one thing, that Satan is a common enemy and he is the author of different afflictions. Many pillars in the Bible, the great biblical characters, their journeys consisted of setbacks, comebacks of gain and loss, but in all these, with God, they were a majority. With God, they always overcame. With God, they always ended up on the top and not on the bottom. When you know that God is for you, there's nothing that can destroy you, but those things that come against you will only make you stronger. And I like that many times, Prophet Josh, he always says that, that when the devil finds out that the more hard things he throws at you, the stronger you will become, he will stop giving you hard times. When he knows that you are victorious in God, that you know that every challenge and every circumstance that you come against, when you know that you're with God, he will stop giving you hard times because that will only make you stronger. Ask any champion, ask any hero of faith and they'll tell you one thing, that you are with God, our majority, that Jesus Christ is on your side and he does not lose his battles. Amen. Trouble and hardships, they can stop a man who's not with God, but for a man who walks in faith, trouble and hardships will only drive you closer to God, will make you stronger and at the end, you will come out victorious. Amen. One thing you have to understand, if you are called by God, if you are a child of God, if you are a believer, if you are a Christian, your trouble will only make you stronger. One thing you have to have in your mind, the moment with me, one thing I have to tell you from experience, I learned in staying at the ministry, your prophet, TB Joshua, is that my mind was so focused that the moment the trouble comes, I'm like, I know there's a better level that's coming. I knew that the moment the hard things came, something that I faced that I could not overcome by myself, I knew there was a promotion coming, I just have to overcome. And if you are called by God, if you are a child of God, you have to understand your unpleasant situation will only and only make you stronger. Amen. This will lead us to the message called the count the stars. You guys have seen it. I just want to read the scripture real fast. Genesis 15, Genesis 15 verses one to six, we're just gonna read it. If you have your Bible, this turn with me there. This scripture will encourage you. So Genesis 15 verses one says, after these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision saying, do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield, you exceedingly great reward. But Abram said, Lord God, well, what will you give me? Seeing I go childless and the hero of my house is a laser of Damascus. Then Abram said, look, you have given me no offsprings. Indeed, one born in my house is my hero or something like that. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him saying, the one shall not be your hair, but one who will come from your own body shall be your hair. Then he brought him, mark these words. Then he brought him outside and said, now looks towards heaven and count the stars if you're able to number them. And he said to him, so shall your descendants be. And he believed in the Lord and it was accounted for him as righteousness. There are many times in the Bible, God comes to people and asks them to do just unordinary things. It just comes, you know, God's about to speak to you, you know, it's not going to be easy. Hey, go do this, you know, it's a piece of cake. Always God comes to people in the Bible, he asks them to do some things they're just impossible to do. It's just unreal. Comes to Noah and says, hey, build an ark, I'm going to flood the earth, kill the people, just collect all the animals. It's like, God, it never rained. I don't know what you're talking about. What is rain, you know? It's God comes and asks that. God comes to Gideon and he says there's a vast army which some people say was 135,000 people. And he says, you know, you have too many soldiers. You only have 22,000 or however, like that's too many. It went down to 300, you're like, now you can go fight the battle. It's like one per 450 people. It's like, God, I don't know, man, these guys drink with their hands from the river. I don't trust them. How are we going to win this battle, you know? But God comes to Gideon and he says that I have already given you victory with these 300 people. Begins to ask him something that is just unordinary. Comes to Joshua and says, go shout at these concrete walls because they're going to fall down. It's like, God, I know you're up there. We're down here. These things don't happen here, you know? It's like God begins to ask people to do the impossible because God knows that he is for you. No one is against you, amen? And God comes to Abraham at the time he was Abraham and he says to him that you have descended as the stars are in the sky. And to me, I'm like, I literally, I tried to picture Abraham, it's like, he said Abraham gets done talking with God and Sarah's like, so what's going on there? So God told me we're going to have many children as stars are in the sky, huh? And at that time, Sarah probably called him Abby and was like, what's going on, Abby? What are you doing here at night? Stepping out of your time. What are you doing? I'm like, I'm counting the stars. How far did you get? I'm like, just less count when you were you walked out. I'm just imagining how Sarah would talk with Abraham because if you're your husband, you gotta be like, bro, just come down, you know? Have you seen the great dipper, you know? He's like, woman, please. And Sarah was always there to remind them that, yo, you better tell your God that we're kind of old. We have no children and I'm barren, you know? So after you're done counting the stars, you come back to the tent and we'll, we'll continue doing what we were doing. And that, that was, that was the real conversation between Abraham and Sarah at that time. It is, for me, we have to understand that our daily, our battle and our daily walk with the Lord is with our senses. When we walk with God on a daily, daily lifestyle, our battle is with our senses, with our minds. Every day we will face circumstance, they'll begin to violate, they'll begin to disturb, they'll begin to challenge your mind, what you believe. Every day you'll be faced with certain things like that where God says that you, you are healed, but deep down inside you are feeling pain and God says you need to walk in that healing because it's been already provided on the cross for you. That violates our conscious, it violates our mind. When you can provide, you can meet, ends meet with finances, you're going through a hard time and God says that I am provider, that you will not lack. And it's, how do you comprehend that God? I do not have enough and you're saying that I shall not lack that you are my provider. How does that make sense? When God says that with me you can do everything that nothing shall overcome in your life and you begin to struggle with certain things that begin to bind you, these are the things that begin to violate our conscience and our mind. One thing you have to let you know that if Satan knows that giving you hard time will separate you from the love of God, he will continue to give you hard time. If Satan knows that he can temper with your relationship with God by giving you a sickness or pain, he will continue to inflict you until you are separated from God. We cannot be led by circumstances. Jesus Christ could have called down angels to rescue him from being on the cross. Jesus Christ could have come down from the cross unheard. But Jesus knew that the embarrassment, the shame and the pain was just for a moment. He was willing to come and to go through a temper pain to create an eternity of gain. If Jesus would have come down from the cross unheard, there would be no basis for our gathering here today. Today we're celebrating because focus was not broken. We're standing here today because Jesus kept his vision, his mission in the forefront of his mind that I am who God says I am, I can do what God says I can do and I have what God says I have. In the midst of tribulation, the hardship and the pain Jesus overcame by keeping the mission, the vision and the forefront of his mind that I am what God says I am and I can do what God said I can do. It in this world of distractions, it is easy to lose focus and to get off track. For your faith life, for your Christian life to be consistent, it needs to be based on something far more stable than your feelings. For your Christian life to be solid, it needs to be based on something more than your feelings. What you feel, how you've been treated and what your circumstances look like. It needs to be on the word of God. Your life depends on knowing the word of God. Tell your neighbor my life, say to your neighbor, my life depends on knowing God's word. It is, I keep revealing this story in my mind how God begins to talk to Abraham and he says that I will make you a blessing. I'll give you descendants. There'll be stars in the sky and you'll be blessed. But deep down inside Abraham knew that look, I am of old age. My wife is barren and we have no children. What do you mean by that? Begin to question God's word. God, is it really true what you begin to say? But when Abraham's life, his doubt led him closer to God. His doubt, he began to trust in God, begin to sit down and begin to count the star because he knew God whom he says he is. He can do what he says he can do. If God said he's on my side, he will not lose a battle. Amen? We're in a generation without faith and without hope. We're in a duration where they need to see and they need to feel before they believe. And it is in the people that until you show them that look, this happens, they will not believe you for if you give them a million dollars. And I was at the ministry, I profited Joshua and I was, there's many times in the prayer line where they come and they pray for the sick and they'll be like people with cancers, open wounds, just like some disgusting things. And I remember one instant where a soccer player from Cameroon, very famous soccer player from that country of Cameroon came and he had like a broken bone and he like literally, he couldn't walk, he had to limp. And profited Joshua at the end of the prayer line he was like, you are healed. And I'm like, woo-hoo, this guy's just still limping. I'm like, you bro, I'll help you out. So I kind of like helping him and profited Joshua, you are healed. I'm like, bro, you're healed. It's like it hurts. I'm like, I know, just keep walking. So it was, to me, I did not understand it because profited Joshua, you are healed. This guy walks away and I'm like, get a taxi, bro, don't walk home. It's gonna hurt. And a month later, this guy comes back to church running like crazy. I'm like, I can't believe he's the same guy. And he's like, now I'm going back to play professional soccer from my country, Cameroon. I'm healed, God is good. And to me, I was like, man, I'm in your spot. I don't know how you made it. But deep down inside, he said, I'm healed because it's the only hope that he had in God's word that if God is on my side, he does not lose a battle. And that person came back fully restored his career back to normal and God received the glory. This is the one to let you know that we are in a duration without faith and hope. But base your faith according to God's word, which changes not. And Matthew says that heaven and earth will pass away, but God's word will forever stay the same. Don't base your faith on your feelings that one day are up, the other day is down. But base it on God's word, which changes not. Amen. If you see in the Bible that it's funny that how Abraham, how God brings Abraham, says, and he brought him outside. Abraham was always in the tent and God's telling him to step out of your tent and begin to look at the sky. And that tent, it represents your comfort zone. That tent represents your circumstances that you're always surrounded by your daily lifestyle. And God says to begin to step out of that comfort zone and begin to step into faith. God says that many of you, we live in the four foot ceiling of our lives where sky is our limit. We think that because my parents were divorced, that's where I am. And you put yourself in this tent that you're surrounded by, but God says to Abraham, step out of your tent. And verse five here says he brings him outside. When some people begin, you see generation curses in your life, people are always being broke. God says, step out of your tent. Begin to count the stars. See, some people are always, always in pain, always being sick, constant accident, constant divorce, always mothers leaving with the children without husband. God says to you tonight, step out of your tent and begin to dream big. Begin to count the stars. God told Abraham, step out of your comfort zone and step into faith. Because faith is a transformative power of the universe. It is that power of change. A power of change from what you are to what you want to become. It's a power of change from sickness into health. A change from a faithless generation to a faithful generation. A change from yoke into deliverance. A change from bondage into freedom. God was Abraham's coach. God asked Abraham to do what has not yet been done. You have to understand that if our life, if we are to walk this Christian life as a Christian, Jesus Christ will be your coach. And Jesus Christ will ask you to stand upon God's word in all circumstances. What God was asking Abraham, he said to begin to see what has not yet been seen. Begin to say what nobody has ever said in your family. Begin to walk unto the bridge that seems not to be there. What God was asking Abraham when he said, count the stars. He asked him, Abraham, begin to describe the taste of honey while you're swallowing tears. God, he was asking Abraham, begin to number the stars when you do not have anything in your mind. Begin to quote God's word when in your circumstances, you have darkness. When Jesus Christ is your coach, you'll be asked to stand upon God's word in all circumstances. The purpose of life is to glorify God in good times and bad times alike. God will, when Jesus Christ is your coach, you'll begin to ask you that whatever you're feeling on today, you may be feel good, you may be feel bad, but he'll ask you, begin to say what's not been said. Begin to proclaim God's promises in your life. If you're sick in your body, begin to proclaim that by his stripes, I am healed. If your marriage is falling apart, then you begin to proclaim that me and my house will serve the Lord, not just people apart, that God will restore your marriage, that God will set your kids free, that God will bring them back. Begin to say what has not yet been said in your life and you'll see it come to pass. Amen. We overcome by keeping our vision, our mission in the forefronts of our mind. We have to understand that mind management is a first priority for an overcomer. Mind management is a first priority for a believer. We have to be convinced deeply inside, not just say it with our own mouth, but deeply convinced inside that we possess the Christ nature inside of us, that Jesus Christ lives us and Jesus Christ does not lose a battle. Jesus Christ is victorious and he said that he is for me, what is sickness that can come against me? What is that addiction that can come against me? That you have to be so confident in yourself that Jesus Christ is on your side and he never lost a battle. As Christians, there's a purpose for everything we face in life. When you become a child of God, whatever that you are going through, there is a purpose. If you are sick in your body, there's a greater reason for you not to be troubled. Ask the man at the pool of the Bethesda and he will tell you that God delayed his miracle in order to strengthen his determination and his desire for him. Are you going through a hard time? Are you going through a difficult time? There's a greater reason for you not to be troubled. As Joseph and Joseph will tell you that how sometimes God delays in answering your prayer so he can prepare you for that next level that is about to come. Are you going through disappointment? There's a greater reason for you not to be troubled. Ask Peter and he will tell you that sometimes God will allow you to go through disappointment in order to reserve you for redemption. All these heroes, the Bible, the characters, all these heroes of faith that we read about in the Bible, they made God their source. They made God their strength and became pearls of usefulness. You have to exchange your own strength for God's strength. You have to exchange because on our own strength we cannot rely. But I have to understand that our strength is as perfect weakness. Our courage is as perfect cowardice. All our sufficiency is of God. Everything that we can do today is by God's grace. Tell your neighbor, exchange your strength for God's strength. Tell your other neighbor, exchange your strength for God's strength. You may ask how, how do we do that? Is through God's word and by his spirit. When you, our strength is our feelings are our things that we can go forward or we can accomplish on our own but God's strength is the word of God. Is when you begin to dive into the word of God you begin to meditate on a day and night it will give you strength to overcome any unpleasant situation that you're going through. Your life depends on knowing the word of God. It is our standard, it is our weapon that we fight against our enemy in our daily basis, amen. And when you're sick, when you're bound, when your circumstances begin to be unpleasant grab onto the whole word of God and just begin to claim God's promises. There's so many stars in the sky and just says that there's so many promises for your life and the word of God that you begin to number them that I am an overcomer, that the spirit that raised Christ from that lives inside of me, that Jesus Christ has healed me. I can do all things through Christ just begin to number all these stars that are in the heaven that shine bright and you will see how God will give you strength to overcome your pleasant situation, amen. No matter the situation you are going through tonight, whatever you might be facing, there is a purpose when you're with God and when you're with God, you will not lose a battle. And what more shall I say? Because time does not permit me to go and to talk about Gideon, Baruch, Samson, Jeff, that Samuel and all the prophets who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice and gained what was promised to them. Who shut the mouth of lions, escaped the edge of the sword, quenched the fiery flames, whose weakness was strength to strength who became mighty in battle and who rotted the foreign armies. All these biblical characters, they made God's strength, their hope. They relied upon God with all their lives and became the heroes, the champions of faith that we read about tonight. Those who bless God in their hardship, they prove their sonship. Just like Job, when he was going through a hard time, begin to say, God blessed to be your name. When everything was good, there was children, he was the richest man, he was begin to say, God blessed to be your name. Those who prove, those who bless God in hard times and difficult times prove their sonship, that they are the child of God. We have to understand that God has not failed one person who relied on him. God has a track record of winning. And if God says that he's on your side, you have to have confidence enough that if I am with God in this situation, I will come through. When you have exhausted your mental, your emotional, every strength that you have, you can no longer rely on yourself. You simply need to trust in something, in someone who's stronger, who's smarter, who's wiser. Jesus Christ, who raises the dead, is our choice. Tell your neighbor, Jesus Christ, tell your neighbor, Jesus Christ, who raises the dead, is my choice. He rescued Paul in silence, and he will rescue you today. He healed with the woman, with the issue of blood, and he will heal you today. He delivered Daniel from the line spit, and he will deliver you today and in the future. God is on our side, and he does not lose battle, amen. When you are confident in the promises that God has given you, that if God is for you, that nothing can be against you, you can confidently say like David, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, that I will fear no evil because God is with me, and he's fighting the battle for me. When you are with God, you're no longer doing things by yourself, you're walking with him. When you're with God, you're no more lifting the load. He is there lifting the load with you. If somebody dares you, if somebody tries to fight you, he's not fighting you, he's fighting God. And God has a trackered of not losing a battle. We talked about how Satan many times brings us discouragement. It gives us pain, and I wanna tell you that that the greatest embarrassment you can give to Satan is to ignore his existence, and how do we do that? Simply when Satan wants you to cry, you begin to laugh. When Satan begins to say that you will always be divorced, that's how your family be, you'll raise children by your own, you begin to proclaim that I'll have the greatest marriage, I'll be the happiest. When Satan begins to send you pain in your body, you begin to say that through his stripes I am healed, I'm healthy, I am the way God created me. When you have luck, you begin, when Satan's saying that you will have not ends me, then you begin to say to him that my God shall supply all my needs according to his riches and to his glory. When you are facing a situation when you don't seem to have an end and the devil seems to say, you're not gonna walk out, that you begin to proclaim that I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Each time Satan begins to remind you of your weakness, begins to remind you of your past failure, begin to remind him of his future failure because the battle has already been won. Somebody say hallelujah. Tell your neighbor that the battle has been won. And just wanna go back to the counting the stars and the funny part about the interesting part about the stars is that they're always there, but we can only see them most clearly at night. During the day, they're still there, but the most evident, the most glorious time we can see the stars is when darkness begins to fill the earth. When you're completely surrounded by darkness, there you see stars the most clearly. And God knew that you're able, he said that, look in the tent you cannot see the stars. Step out of your comfort zone, step into faith and begin to number them one by one, one by one, one by one. Cause that's how many of your descendants will be. God came to Joseph and he said that, look I've given you a dream and all these things, Joseph was going through life, his father sent him to feed the sheep and he come into his brothers and he sees that, you know he's given them about to give you guys bread, you know we're gonna reunite it and Joseph's brothers begin to betray him and they tie him, they bound him and they toss him into the dry pit. At that time, Joseph was surrounded by complete darkness, separated from his family, from his brothers, from his friends, from fruit, from clothes, anything that you can think of. The only thing he had was to look up in the sky and we'd be, see the stars and be reminded that God said, I gave you a dream. And he began to number the stars. Deep down inside, Joseph began to tell himself that I am a chosen generation, I am a royal priesthood, I am a destined king, I know where I belong and it's not here. Going from the dry pits, things even got worse for Joseph and he begins to be sold into slavery by his own brothers and I mean his life is just being shattered. But he keeps holding on to the dream that God has given him. These begin to be sold into Potter's house as a slave and as things are somewhat beginning to pick up, begin to think it's like, okay, you know, it's getting a little bit better, it's better than the dry pit, I kinda like it here. But when the night comes and he looks out the window, he's always reminded of the stars and God begins to tell him, remember the dream that I gave you. And Joseph begins to tell down to himself that I am a chosen generation. I am a royal priesthood, I am a destined king, I know where I belong and it's not here. From there you think things are going good and it's gonna happen, you know, come on, they're elevating you. He gets accused, falsely accused, begins to be tossed in this prison cell away from everybody and you think that this is the part where Joseph will be given up because dreams are shattered, destiny's being ripped apart. And in that darkness, only thing that he has is look out the window and see the stars. God keeps reminding him, remember the dream that I had and I give you. And he begins to say to himself, I am a chosen generation, I am a royal priesthood, I am a destined king, this is not where I belong and it's not here. The moment the battle is beginning, putter your being getting closer to your divine destiny. If nothing in this world can separate you from the love of God, if nothing in this world can tamper with your relationship with God, then there will be nothing in this world that will stop you from crossing into the bridge to your divine destiny. Come on, if you believe that, begin to put your hands together for Jesus.