Stepping into gates: – Take the battle axe!

1.	Introduction
Psalms 118:24: This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.

2.	Prayer point one: Thanksgiving, adoration and surrender

3.	Testimony: Foundations were shaken

4.	FIRE SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 51:20-23 (KJV)

20 Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;
21 And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider;
22 With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;
23 I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers.

FIRE SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 51:20-23 (NIV)

20 “You are my war club,
    my weapon for battle—
with you I shatter nations,
    with you I destroy kingdoms,
21 with you I shatter horse and rider,
    with you I shatter chariot and driver,
22 with you I shatter man and woman,
    with you I shatter old man and youth,
    with you I shatter young man and young woman,
23 with you I shatter shepherd and flock,
    with you I shatter farmer and oxen,
    with you I shatter governors and officials.

-	God is in need of believers who are ready to serve as His battle axes. A Christian is a soldier and should be prepared for war at all times. 
-	My prayer is that when God calls for people to be His battle axe, you will declare: “Lord, I want to become your battle axe.”
-	In Jeremiah 51:20, God said, “You are my battle axe and you are to break into pieces ten things: The nations, the kingdoms, the horse and his rider, the chariots and his rider, men and women, old and young, young men and the maid, the shepherd and his flock, the husbandman and his oxen and the captain and rulers.”
-	There are spiritual implications of those ten things God is asking you to go and break, but the bottom line is that there is a battle to fight and you are in a war. 
-	Even if you do not believe that you are in a battle or that you are fighting a battle, war has been declared against you anyway. 
-	If you like, you should fight; or if you like, do not fight; war has been declared against you. And you say “but I did not offend anybody. 
-	Why are they declaring war against me?” That is why the Bible calls them ‘the wicked’.
-	You do not have to offend them. They are just not happy with you and they want to make sure you do not fulfil your destiny.

Proverbs 4:14 – 19
14 Do not set foot on the path of the wicked
    or walk in the way of evildoers.
15 Avoid it, do not travel on it;
    turn from it and go on your way.
16 For they cannot rest until they do evil;
    they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble.
17 They eat the bread of wickedness
    and drink the wine of violence

Who is this wicked? 
John 10:10
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Why does the devil wage war? He knows his time is up.
Rev 12:12 - Therefore rejoice, you heavens
    and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
    because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
    because he knows that his time is short.”

There is a battle on, and battles are fought with weapons. God is looking for battle axes. A battle axe is a weapon of war. There are battles and there are wars. One tragedy of life is for you to be in a battle and you do not even know that you are in a battle. It is a dangerous thing indeed.
You need to become His battle axe to wage against the enemy of destiny fulfilment. However, you cannot be God’s battle axe unless you are born again and stand on the Lord’s side, be aware of a war has been declared against by the enemy and need to believe that you are a battle axe. 

Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms

2 Corinthians 10:3 – 5
3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

This will make you to be useful and usable to God and His kingdom.
Don’t be afraid when you are in war

Eze 3:8 – 9
8 But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. 9 I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.”

The Lord is in charge
Psalm 18:34 – 36
34 He trains my hands for battle;
    my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You make your saving help my shield,
    and your right hand sustains me;
    your help has made me great.
36 You provide a broad path for my feet,
    so that my ankles do not give way.

The Lord is on my side. The Lord is on your side.
Job 5:12
12 He thwarts the plans of the crafty,
    so that their hands achieve no success.

Pick up the battle axe: Walk in obedience
Joshua 1:8
Psalm 1 – 3
Deuteronomy 28:13
Joshua 1:7
Romans 12: 1- Present you bodies as a living sacrifice
Hebrew 11:1

PRAYER POINTS:

1. Powers waging war against answers to my prayers, your time is up, die, in the name of Jesus.
2. Every covenant of the wicked making decisions against me, catch fire, in the name of Jesus.
3. ⁠Every power of “promise and fail” affecting my progress, die, in the name of Jesus.
4. Every secret power in any house I have lived, working against my favour, die, in the name of Jesus.
5. Every law of satan blocking my promotion, break, in the name of Jesus.