FROM THE PULPIT: Cast out your life’s hindrances

You cannot fight the enemy with a complacent spirit.

A passive attitude will not conquer and possess.

You cannot fight the enemy with negative attitudes like: I cannot face this problem, I am ruined, I cannot recover again, the doctor's report says I cannot be healed, I have no future, I am too old, or my marriage is destroyed.

Instead, claim God’s promises and chase the enemy away.

Leviticus 20:24 says, "You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey!"

Whether you have problems with your career, future, marriage, kids, health or finances, fight the enemy that comes against your ministry, church, family and friends through hard prayer.

Conquer the evil forces.

Many people blame God for their failures and miseries. Stop complaining against God, stop playing with the devil and start walking with God.

Ways to count your blessings and conquer failures are as follows.

•Obey the Lord’s commandments diligently.

Sorry, there’s no alternative, short route. It is not enough to wear a cross around your neck and hear or read His commandments. Blessings are promised for those who put the gospel into action.

You may be highly qualified, you may have a thousand medals and certificates, you may be sitting in the best country with a plum job. All this amounts to nothing without the knowledge of God and the Bible. Read Deuteronomy 4:6.

When you lack Biblical knowledge, you are bound to make mistakes, so beware. Proverbs 2:6 says, "For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding."

•Accept that disobedience brings failures.

Moses did not get to see the Promised Land because he disobeyed God by not speaking to the mountain.

What do we learn from this? Obeying God in small and big matters will bring blessings.

•Flee from idol worship.

Deuteronomy 4:23 says, "Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you."

•Do what is right and good to possess the land and your enemies will be cast down.

Deuteronomy 6:18-19 says, "And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land of which the Lord swore to your fathers, to cast out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has spoken."

You must first remove the mess before you begin to possess the land. Don't you clean your home before you occupy it? Throw away other kinds of trash to usher in God’s blessings.

Remove the following from your life:

•Unwanted Facebook or mobile phone contacts.

•Unwanted mail from strangers and illicit relationships.

•Pirated software from your computer.

•Clothes from your wardrobe that make you look cheap and unclean.

•Anger, vengeance and the inability to forgive others.

The items on this list would just hinder your progress.

The Rev. Albert Corey is pastor at Oak Ridge Assembly of God in Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: FROM THE PULPIT: Cast out your life’s hindrances