Ask somebody how they are doing, and they will often mention circumstances. Circumstances are blamed when things don't go right.

But, really, there is no good excuse for failure or for lack of progress. We need to stop being "under the circumstances" and get "over the circumstances". That doesn't mean the circumstances will immediately change. Before you can change your condition, you have to change your position.

Benaiah did a hard thing (lion) in a hard place (pit) at a hard time (snow). He didn't complain about the conditions, or call for a rematch. He just did what had to be done. Circumstances are made to be overcome.

It is a hard thing to win your community. Your community is the people around you - friends, family, co-workers, people you like.

You must win these people. You must get them involved.

Some withdraw from church fellowship with the excuse, "There's nobody my age; there's nobody like me, nobody I can relate to," Then go out and get some people your age, people like you, whom you can relate to. It's your duty and privilege to create that atmosphere around you. My kids used to complain, "There's no youth group." We told them, "Then go make one." They did! Before long we had a dozen of their friends coming to church and getting saved. Sometimes you just have to make your own circumstances.

It is a hard place to minister. This Lowcountry is heavily oppressed by Satanic, demonic power. This is a particular stronghold of the devil. He has had control here for too long. But we cannot use this as an excuse to fail - we cannot blame our lack of growth or results on the devil. He can only do what we allow him to do.

You think this is a hard place. Wait till you get caught in a pit with a lion! This is a sink or swim situation. When I came to Charleston, I was warned that it was a hard place. The history of Charleston is heavily shadowed with witchcraft and superstition. We have one of the highest percentages of homosexuals in the nation. There is also a party spirit here. People waste their lives on frivolity and entertainment. Most are just looking to have a good time - even in church. People are more interested in excitement than spiritual growth. And it takes both to build a balanced Christian life.

Covering all of this, and possibly the most dangerous of all is a religious spirit. A religious spirit will stand against a true move of God every time - all in the name of religion. Religion sounds righteous; it sounds good. But at it's heart, it is against God. It was the religious crowd that killed Jesus. It was the religious crowd that stood against Bible translators who put the Word in the common language of the people. It was the religious crowd, the clergy of Charleston, who put John Wesley in jail for preaching Jesus.

I have prayed harder and seen less results in Charleston than any place I have ever ministered. Satan has had a stronghold on this city for a long time. But it is coming to an end. We shall not be moved. We will not be defeated. Jesus is the victor.

Do you know why Satan hates us so much? Because we took the job he lost. He was the praise leader in heaven. But because sin was found in his heart, he was thrown out. Because he was self-centered instead of God centered, he fell. That's why he hates it when we praise God, and that's why he will fight with all he has to stop us from praising God.

We need to shake our fist in his face and praise God anyway, regardless of what he throws at us. We must cry out with Job:

It is a hard time. Satan is alive and well. He is raging today. His deceptions have taken hold. People are flocking to his false religions in droves, while the church is fighting for survival. Hearts are frozen. The fire of the Holy Ghost is burning against the ice-cold religion of the world.

Benaiah could have laid down his weapon and said, "What's the use! I can't win. There's just too much against me. This is hopeless!" But Benaiah stayed in the battle. He would not give up.

Illus. A man was walking through a cemetery at night when he fell into an open grave. He jumped and clawed at the walls and tried everything he could to get out of the hole. He didn't see the old drunk crouched in the darkness at the other end of the grave. The drunk finally spoke up, "There's no way to get out of here. I've tried all night." Upon hearing the voice from the other end of the grave, the man got out.

A grave is just a rut with the ends closed up. You can get out if you have a good enough reason.

My point is this - You can do better! You can be better! You can rise above where you are right now. It's not that there is something wrong with where you are. It's just that you were saved from the same old same old. You were saved from sin. You were saved from circumstances.

People say, "I'm doing pretty good under the circumstances." Well, get out from under those circumstances. You have been delivered from those circumstances. God can provide wherever you are and whatever your circumstances. God provided manna in the wilderness. God provided victory to David, in spite of his circumstances. God provided salvation through the circumstances of the curcifixion.

The Apostle Paul could have easily found excuses to give up or fail. Everything seemed to be working against him. Circumstances were just not good for preaching the gospel and building the church. But Paul did not give in to circumstances.

You don't have to stay under circumstances. You don't have to stay on welfare. You don't have to remain feeling defeated, useless, frustrated. You don't have to stay in a dead end job. You don't have to stay pushed down and oppressed. You don't have to stay depressed. You don't have to watch the devil steal your spouse and children. And you don't have to feel defeated if things don't work out the way you hoped. God has a higher plan.

Sometimes you will find yourself disappointed and disillusioned. Sometimes you may feel at the end of your rope. That's when you need to stay in the fight. God is not finished yet. You can be victorious no matter what the outcome. God is still in your corner.

The message is that you can rise above your circumstances. You may not win in every circumstance; yuou may not come out on top. But you can still rise above it. God loves you just the way you are, but he loves you too much to leave you that way. The Christian life is a continual moving forward.

An interesting story in found in Acts, chapter 3.

Did you ever think what it cost this man to be healed? His whole life changed. He suddenly had to find a skill and make a living. Everything changed in an instant. Sometimes wellness can be as much a handicap as sickness. It depends on what you do with it. Some people like to hang on to their limitations, their weakness, their demons.

Salvation is a new start. Spiritual growth is a continual move forward. You must not stay where you are. I want to see you rise up above where you are.

God took Abraham as he was and changed him. He changed his name, his character, and his position in life. He went from being a sheep herder in Chaldees to being a rich land owner, influential manager of his estate, and the founder of a new nation.

Jesus took Peter from being an impetuous fisherman to being a church leader, an ambassador to dignitaries, and a powerful world changer.

God changed Paul from a wild-eyed persecutor of the church to being its greatest proponent.

I challenge you today to get on top of the circimstances. Take charge. Give God full freedom to work in your life.