WORLD ON FIRE GLOBAL MINISTRIES
You’re in the right spot for your weekly encouragement—designed to uplift and inspire you on your daily walk with Christ. Be sure to check back each week for fresh messages!
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'Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” Moreover David said, “The Lord , who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!” I Samuel 17:36-37 NKJV
David had informed Saul that he had killed lions and bears while safeguarding his father's sheep. David had acquired the necessary skills to fight Goliath because God had already placed him in adverse situations, training him for his greater purpose in life. God had trained him to fight for those helpless sheep who couldn't defend themselves. Just as he was about to fight Goliath, he realized that it wasn't any different than the adversity he had faced previously. It was only on a larger scale and a larger stage. But when you boil it all down, it's all the same thing, fighting to protect sheep!
The same training and equipping exists in each and every one of us. If we are living according to God's perfect plan, He is providing us with life experiences that will prepare us for the ministry He intends for us to work in. This applies to our career choices as well.
Due to your life experience, you are equipped to handle any task related to your God-given purpose.
God will never place you in a situation that will destroy you or force you to sin.
”For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.“Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV
”No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.“ I Corinthians 10:13 NKJV
You may choose to run away, but ultimately, God's plans will succeed.
”Many plans are in a man’s mind, But it is the Lord’s purpose for him that will stand (be carried out).“Proverbs 19:21 AMP
Considering his omnipresence, where can one possibly flee?
”Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.“Psalms 139:7-8 NKJV
If you feel the need to return to school at the age of 50, then GO FOR IT!!
If you need to move to a new city where you don't have any friends or family, then GO FOR IT!!
If you feel called to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with over 300,000 people, then GO FOR IT!!
If you are called to be a nurse to the sick, then GO FOR IT!!
If you are called to teach those whom the world has given up on and the enemy has stacked all odds against, then GO FOR IT!!
If you are called to counsel those who have been abused by the enemy and need the healing power of Jesus Christ, then GO FOR IT!!
GO FOR IT ALL IN JESUS NAME!!!
"I have come to set the World on fire, and I wish it were already burning".
Luke 12:49 NLT
Just as a flower, in its early stages or during its off-season, begins as a bud on a vine lacking beauty, color, and splendor, so too are many seasons of our lives. There are moments when darkness surrounds us, despair settles in, and the outlook appears bleak.
Yet with the right watering—the application of God’s Word through Scripture and prayer—and by surrounding yourself with people who possess a positive mind and a Holy Spirit-led heart, that thing which appears to be lifeless, the very thing you’ve begun to lose hope in, can spring forth with new life.
If you trust God and trust His design and His plans, which are never meant to harm you but to prosper you, then feed your soul with the Bread of Life. Ask God to water you with His Holy Spirit, and watch as He gives the increase. Every dark season in your life will begin to produce growth, and in His perfect timing…
The bud will bloom.
I pray these words have been a blessing and an encouragement to you.
Pastor “JL” Alston
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour".
1 Peter 5:8 NKJV
⚠️ THE ENEMY ROARS… BUT DON’T LISTEN TO THE NOISE ⚠️
The enemy has never needed your worship first—he only needs your attention.
If he can distract you, he can delay you.
If he can discourage you, he can weaken you. If he can fill your ears with fear, doubt, temptation, and lies, he can attempt to pull you away from the plans God has for your life.
Notice that when Satan came to Jesus in the wilderness, he attacked Him in moments of vulnerability. Yet Christ never negotiated with the enemy—He answered with the Word of God.
Church, stop listening to the roar and start listening to God’s voice.
📖 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” — 1 Peter 5:8
📖 “Away with you, Satan! For it is written…” — Matthew 4:10
Stay alert.Stay anchored.Stay obedient.Stay focused on the assignment.
The roar is loud, but God’s purpose is greater.
Pastor “JL” Alston
The Evidence of the Holy Spirit Is Self-Control
“If your spirit is submitted to God, your flesh must follow.”
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KEY TRUTH
Many believers desire the power of God, the gifts of God, and the blessings of God, yet neglect one of the clearest manifestations of God’s Spirit at work within them:
Self-Control.
The Holy Spirit does not merely make us emotional during worship; He empowers us to deny the flesh, resist temptation, discipline our desires, and obey God even when it is difficult.
The Christian life is not about being controlled by feelings, cravings, impulses, lusts, anger, appetites, or emotions.
It is about bringing the body into submission to Christ.
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① THE DISCIPLINED BELIEVER
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NKJV)
“But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”
What Paul Is Teaching
Paul compares the Christian life to an athlete preparing for competition.
An athlete cannot eat whatever he wants, train whenever he feels like it, or live without discipline and still expect victory.
Likewise:
✅ Prayer requires discipline.
✅ Bible study requires discipline.
✅ Fasting requires discipline.
✅ Purity requires discipline.
✅ Obedience requires discipline.
A believer who is led by the Spirit learns to tell the flesh:
“No.”
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② THE WAR WITHIN
Romans 7:14-20 (NKJV)
“For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.”
What Paul Is Teaching
Every believer experiences a battle between:
🔥 The Spirit
VS
⚔️ The Flesh
The flesh desires comfort.
The Spirit desires holiness.
The flesh desires immediate gratification.
The Spirit desires eternal reward.
The flesh says:
“Do what feels good.”
The Spirit says:
“Do what pleases God.”
Victory comes when we stop feeding the flesh and begin feeding the Spirit.
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③ THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV)
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
Important Truth
Notice that self-control is listed as a fruit of the Spirit.
The more we walk with God:
✔ We become less controlled by emotions.
✔ Less controlled by anger.
✔ Less controlled by lust.
✔ Less controlled by appetites.
✔ Less controlled by fear.
And more controlled by God’s Spirit.
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SIGNS YOUR BODY IS UNDER SUBJECTION
✅ You obey God even when you don’t feel like it.
✅ You can say “no” to temptation.
✅ Your emotions no longer control your decisions.
✅ You choose holiness over comfort.
✅ You choose obedience over convenience.
✅ You trust God’s Word more than your feelings.
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APPLICATION
Ask yourself:
What area of my life is still controlling me?Am I feeding my flesh or feeding my spirit?Have my emotions become my master?Does my life reflect the fruit of self-control?
God has not called us to be ruled by the flesh.
He has called us to walk in the Spirit.
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FOCUS VERSE
Galatians 5:16 (NKJV)
“Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
Pastor “JL” Alston