Skip to content You're not meant to fight alone • How Do We Overcome Part 1 • Rev Paul Jeyachandran Sep 21 · 28 min ...more
You're not meant to fight alone • How Do We Overcome Part 1 • Rev Paul Jeyachandran
September 21, 2025 · 28 min
In this message from Romans 15:30–33, Rev Paul Jeyachandran shares how believers can stand firm and overcome through prayer, unity, and the power of God. Be encouraged to press on in faith and finish the race well.—📌 Subscribe for weekly discipleship messages grounded in Scripture🎧 Listen to Making Intentional Disciples with Rev Paul Jeyachandran on Spotify, YouTube, & Pray.com🎓 Get FREE discipleship training and resources at IDMC College🌐 Discover more at idmcmovement.com
Series IDMC Movement September 21, 2025 · 28 min · IDMC Movement
In this message from Romans 15:30–33, Rev Paul Jeyachandran shares how believers can stand firm and overcome through prayer, unity, and the power of God. Be encouraged to press on in faith and finish the race well.—📌 Subscribe for weekly discipleship messages grounded in Scripture🎧 Listen to Making Intentional Disciples with Rev Paul Jeyachandran on Spotify, YouTube, & Pray.com🎓 Get FREE discipleship training and resources at IDMC College🌐 Discover more at idmcmovement.com ...more Show the full description Show less In this message from Romans 15:30–33, Rev Paul Jeyachandran shares how believers can stand firm and overcome through prayer, unity, and the power of God. Be encouraged to press on in faith and finish the race well.—📌 Subscribe for weekly discipleship messages grounded in Scripture🎧 Listen to Making Intentional Disciples with Rev Paul Jeyachandran on Spotify, YouTube, & Pray.com🎓 Get FREE discipleship training and resources at IDMC College🌐 Discover more at idmcmovement.com
Series IDMC Movement
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Rev. Paul Jeyachandran leads the Intentional Disciple Making Church (IDMC) Movement, which is all about calling churches back to its disciplemaking roots. Visit us at idmcmovement.com
316K followers
0:00 At IDMC Movement, we believe that the heart of the church lies in intentional disciple making. We are calling churches globally to return to their disciple making roots, to intentionally walk this journey of0:12 faith transforming hearts and lives. Let's walk this journey together and discover what it truly means to live out Christ's great commission and build a legacy of faith that impacts families,0:24 communities, and nations. This is The Call, a journey of intentional discipleship. Today, we're going to talk about how do we overcome.0:36 I want to take you to a passage of scripture in Romans chapter 15 from verse 30 all the way to verse 33. I'm going to talk about 1 thing, 1 key thing that Paul highlights0:48 here in order for him to walk in victory and to overcome the challenges that he faces. Apostle Paul highlights his own need, a personal challenge. And look at1:00 how many times he uses the personal pronouns I, my, me. And let's read it together so we can get the gist of what he's asking. I appeal to you, brothers, by our1:12 Lord Jesus Christ, and by the love of the Spirit to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf. That I may be delivered1:24 from the unbelievers in Judea. That my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God's will, I may come to you with joy and be refreshed1:36 in your company. May the God of peace be with you all. Amen. Now, this is how he ends with a request for prayer. I want you to listen1:48 to me carefully. There are times in life you and I go through challenging circumstances. Now, what is a circumstance? Circumstance is 2 words: circum and stance. In other
2:00 words, there's a circle around where you stand. And that circle is containing you. It's restricting you. It's limiting you. It is a it is a resistance for you to progress from where you are
2:12 to where you need to be in God. But how do you overcome the resistance? Now, this case, it is not just the resistance of a circumstance, it is the resistance from the
2:23 enemies. It is the human will at play here. Not only that, there is also a reluctance that happens in the hearts of the people who need to receive the ministry of Paul.
2:35 Now, let me give you a background. Paul is on his journey towards Jerusalem, and he's writing to a church in Rome. He has he have not met them face to face, but he's
2:46 urgently appealing to them, begging them, pleading them to partner with him in prayer. For what? For 2 things. Because there are 2 things that Paul needed to overcome.
2:58 Let me highlight the 2 things. Resistance of the enemies. Secondly, the reluctance of the saints. He says that I may be delivered. Look at that verse in verse 31. He says that
3:10 I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea. In other words, they are going to put hindrances in his ministry. They're going to attack him. There's going to be persecution. He has been
3:21 forewarned in the book of Acts through the prophets of God. But now he says that I may be delivered. Help me to overcome the resistance of the enemy. Secondly, he also
3:33 says that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to saints. In other words, there is a reluctance. He has gone around Asia Minor, told the whole church in Europe and Asia Minor
3:45 that the church in Jerusalem is under persecution and they are poor. They needed finances. They need monetary help. And so the church in Macedonia, the church in Asia Minor and
3:57 Europe have given generously. Now Paul is bringing all this collection, and he's going to come to Jerusalem to distribute the funds. But what if they do not want to receive? And what if they
4:09 end up turning against Paul for going around the whole world and talking about their poverty? Think about this. That's why Paul here says, I have 2 prayer requests. 1,
4:21 the restraint of the enemy. And secondly, it is the receptivity of saints. In other words, I want my enemies restrained, and I
4:33 want my friends to receive my ministry. That's all he's praying for. And here in this passage, he actually gives us an insight into how we overcome challenges we face
4:45 in life. And the 1 key thing is how do we overcome? The key is we overcome by striving together in prayer. That is
4:56 Paul's recipe. That is Paul's secret to overcome. Look at this. He says, Strive together with me. Look at verse 30. Look at the way the verse begins. I
5:08 appeal to you, brothers. And then he goes on to say, Strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf. I believe with all my heart that
5:19 Paul is a man who strives in prayer. Striving in prayer. And Paul is a man, he's able to notice when someone else is striving in prayer.
5:32 Remember the time when he was writing the letter to church in Colossae? The Colossian church chapter 4, he writes about their pastor in verse 12. He says, Epaphras, who is 1 of you, a
5:43 servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayer. It is that same word striving together, striving in prayer.
5:55 Here he uses that same word struggling in prayer. In other words, there's wrestling, there's a spiritual warfare, there is an engagement of a spiritual warfare. And he says that are striving together in
6:07 prayer. Why? Why does a pastor pray for his congregation like that? 2 things that you may stand mature. The whole reason why we are engaged in this so that you will
6:19 stand mature. Do you know what limits you from maturing? The stubbornness of your will not to submit to God, not to choose to obey His Word. And that is what he's wrestling here. He's engaged in a
6:31 warfare because the wills of people are involved. And he says that you may stand mature and fully assured in the will of God. Hallelujah. So Paul is a man who strives in prayer, and
6:43 he recognizes striving in prayer in others. Now, Paul is saying here, strive together with me in your prayers. Now he's inviting
6:54 the whole church to partner together with him, to strive together, to wrestle together, to labor together, intentionally, intently in prayer.
7:07 So how do we strive together in prayer? Let me give you a couple of things. 1, contrasting striving together with prayer with the prayer of faith. You and I are
7:18 taught how to pray in faith. In fact, what is prayer without faith? You know, the Bible says in Matthew chapter 6, When you pray, you go and close your room and pray in
7:30 secret. Why? So that the Father will see. What does the Father see? See, the Bible says here the Father sees rather than the Father hears. The Bible actually explains it's not your
7:42 words, the multitude of your words that will guarantee that you're being heard. When you pray, God looks for faith in your heart. In fact, in 1 John five:four, the Bible says, It is
7:54 the victory that has overcome the world. Our faith. Faith is the 1 that helps you to overcome the world. Hallelujah. Faith in what? Faith in God. Faith in His unchanging
8:06 character. Faith in His unwavering promise to you. So when you believe in Him and trust Him and hold on to Him in spite of the challenges, in spite of the circumstance that you're in, the Bible
8:18 says that's faith. God sees that faith. So I want to talk about the faith, the prayer of faith. Let me take you to Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 1. Here the Bible says, Now faith is the
8:30 assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. There are 2 words I want to highlight as we study. 1 is the word assurance. It's
8:41 the Greek word, hypostasis. Now this hypostasis matters for us to understand. The reason because the Bible says faith is the assurance of things you're
8:53 hoping for. Now if you're waiting on the Lord for, to overcome a challenge, and if someone comes to you and says, Do you believe that God is able to do this? You would say, Yes, I
9:05 believe. But if they keep asking more questions, more of your fears and doubts and insecurities will come out. The reason is because even though we have a belief
9:17 that God is able and God will do it, we still don't have the full assurance that what I'm praying for and trusting God and believing in what He has promised, He will do it. How do we get to that
9:29 place of full assurance? See, I love this word, hupostasis. When you study the Bible, you look for where else is that word used in the New Testament. And this New Testament word is very unique. It's
9:41 unique to the book of Hebrews. And it's used in another passage of scripture in Hebrews, in Hebrews chapter 3 and verse 14. And the word assurance comes here in this form. Look at this. It
9:52 says, If we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end. That's in the NASB translation. If we hold fast to the assurance from the beginning to the
10:04 end. In other words, assurance doesn't come immediately. You don't get to a full assurance immediately. There is a process in which that full assurance comes to us. The Bible says there's a
10:16 beginning of assurance and then there's a maturing of that assurance. No wonder the Bible says in Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 2 that Jesus is the author and
10:27 completer, the perfecter, the finisher of our faith. He has started to write that assurance in your heart, but you haven't been lingering for in His presence to for Him to do the
10:39 complete work. Faith is the assurance. I'm fully assured. I'm convicted that God is able to do what He has promised to do. You know, the book of James chapter 5, the
10:51 Bible talks about Elijah, that Elijah had a nature like ours and he prayed fervently for 2 things. The first time he prayed, he prayed fervently that it would not rain.
11:03 The second time, the Bible says, he prayed fervently for rain. But you know, when you read that passage in first Kings chapter 18, you understand that he didn't have the full assurance that it's going to
11:14 rain. He prayed for 7 times, the Bible says. You know, even though he said to King Ahab, I hear the abundance of rain. I hear the sound of abundance of rain. Yet he went to
11:26 pray. And when he was praying, he asked his servant to go and look for rain. And the Bible says for 6 times, the servant comes back and says, There's no sign of any rain. And then on the seventh
11:37 time, the servant comes back and says, There is a cloud the size of a man's fist. And that's all he needed. He says, Now I'm assured. He goes, he tells the servant to go and tell
11:49 Ahab, Don't be stopped by the rain. Get back to your palace. I want you to think about this. His assurance came as a process. The same thing happens in the life of
12:01 Abraham. The Bible says God promised him that he will be a father of many nations. But in Romans chapter 4, verses 17 to verse 21, the Bible highlights that in hope, against hope, he
12:13 had to believe and trust God. He did not consider his own body at that time. He did not consider the deadness of Sarah's womb, the Bible says. You know why? Because Sarah
12:25 had gone through menopause and Abraham was a man on pause. Nothing can be done. Physically, there's no way they can give birth to a child.
12:36 But the Bible says he was not wavering in the promises of God, but he gave glory to God. And look at verse 21. Romans chapter 4 and verse 21, it says, Fully convinced that God was able to do
12:48 what he had promised. Hallelujah. God is able to do what he has promised. How do you get to that place where you're fully convinced? The only way we can get to that place where we are fully convinced is to come to
13:00 that place to recognize, God, you are sovereign. You are are the 1 who can fulfill this. I can't. I have no control over my body. I have no control over the people's wills. I have no control
13:12 over my enemies. Indeed, it is you. And when you come to that place of full assurance, that's praying in faith. Hallelujah. The second word from that passage in Hebrews
13:24 chapter 11 and verse 1 is the word elenchos. The word evidence or the word conviction. Look at that verse. It says the conviction of things not yet seen or the evidence
13:36 of things not yet seen. It's the word ellenkos. But ellenkos, it's not just presenting evidence, but it's actually presenting a rebuttal. You know that New Testament word,
13:48 it's actually used in other places as rebuke. And it gives you an image, an imagery like this. It kind of highlights what you do in a debate.
14:00 When the opposite team presents their evidence, you give a verbal rebuttal. You give your proof, you give your conviction, you give your evidence. So what he's saying is faith
14:12 is the assurance. I'm fully assured that what God has promised he's able to do. And when the natural seems contrary, I give evidence, I give rebuttal
14:24 to all the things that are contrary to what I believe God has spoken concerning my life. You have already seen it in the spiritual realm, but it hasn't manifested in the natural realm. But when the natural realm is
14:36 contrary to what you believe God has promised you in the spiritual realm, you stand and you give your evidence, your proof, your rebuttal. Hallelujah. Isn't that wonderful? That's what
14:47 Jesus did, isn't it? When he looks at the storm around him, Jesus just says, Peace, be still. And there was peace. Why? Because Jesus speaks, he
14:59 rebuttals, he gives a rebuke, he rebuked the storm, the Bible says. Hallelujah. Now I remember in my own life, God had to take me on a journey to come to a place of being fully
15:10 assured in the promises of God, in the provision of God for my life. I've said to you, I was in Singapore. I was 21 and a half when I came to Singapore as a young
15:22 man to study in a Bible college. Now my parents had given me hundred dollars as pocket money. The school fees had been paid, but now I only had hundred dollars. 20 dollars was used to
15:34 buy an MRT card. And on the first weekend I was there, a friend invited me to go to his church and I went to this church for the first time. And there, during the offering collection, they
15:46 put a number on the screen and they said, This is what we are praying for for our building fund. And the last 2 digit, it was like some million and the last 2 digit was 80. And the Holy Spirit spoke to me
15:57 that 80 is in your pocket. You got to give it. You got to empty it. Now this is I'm in God's presence and the spirit of God is urging me to empty my pocket. I took 10 dollars out and I
16:09 gave it and I said, Lord, that's already more than a tithe. I've got to survive in this in this unknown city. And by the grace of God was the conviction was so strong that I
16:21 had to run to the front and empty the rest of the 70 dollars in the offering bag and came back weeping back to my seat. The Bible does say, give
16:33 cheerfully. But I wasn't giving cheerfully. I was weeping. Later on, I was encouraged that the Bible does say you can sow in tears and you will reap with joy. The reality was there was all these
16:45 insecurities, these fears of the unknown. But what God was doing is he was bringing me to that place to come to a place where I can trust him with my life. We would say that, Lord, I trust you.
16:57 But when the push comes to shove and the rubber meets the road, this is the path where you empty yourself and give yourself to Him. And the Lord clearly spoke to my heart, From here on, I will be your
17:08 sponsor. You know, little things I needed when I was in Singapore in the Bible College. I had no money to buy a phone card, even to call
17:20 my family back home in Chennai, India, and to tell them that I'm doing okay. And 1 day I was just, walking towards the canteen. You know, in in the Bible college, they provide
17:32 you free Milo. And as a poor, broke student, Milo is my food for breakfast, lunch, dinner. Now this is the reality. I was walking into that
17:43 canteen, and in that place, I saw a woman, just doing her study, just studying something, writing something in her journal. And the Spirit of God quickened my heart and said, Go talk to her.
17:55 So I walked down and spoke to her concerning, what the Lord had laid in my heart. She started to cry, and I ministered to her in prayer, and then I left. And she said, Oh, you have blessed me so much. The
18:07 thing that was in my heart as a burden, it's now removed by the grace of God. I want to bless you with something. She looked through her purse, there was no money. And she said, Would you come with me to the ATM so I can
18:19 bless you? I said, No, freely receive, freely give. And she said, No, no, no, no. I need to give you something. So she quickly looked around, and then finally she pulled out something and gave it to me. And I held it in
18:29 my hand. It was a 50 dollar phone card. The Lord provides. That's how He builds your faith slowly but surely. I shared with you earlier that I met my wife in
18:40 Singapore. And when I met my wife in Singapore, the Lord gave us a whirlwind romance. In 16 days, we decided a year later we're going to get married. But I needed to come to Australia to ask
18:52 her hand in marriage from her father. So I I wanted to apply for a visit visa to come to Australia. Now I'm in Singapore on a student visa
19:05 with an Indian passport. And when I applied, I'm applying to come to Australia for just a 10 day visit. Now, a few days, when I went back to collect the
19:16 passport, they gave me a rejection letter. And towards the end of my passport, I saw they had put a seal passport seen and rejected. Now, 1 of the things that I
19:28 believe firmly in my heart is that the Lord was knitting our hearts together, that he is showing us there is a future and a destiny for us in this country of Australia, that it begins with our marriage, but will also
19:40 flow in our ministry, that we will serve the Lord in this country. But this passport seen and rejected will become a hindrance for us. Because once it is
19:51 rejected, you can never overturn that. So receiving that news of rejection, I walked out of the Australian Embassy in Singapore and walked across to the botanical
20:03 garden. And I was puzzled. I couldn't believe that there was a rejection. So I was walking around that on that botanical garden, praying and asking what the Lord had for me. But the Lord said very clearly in my heart,
20:15 Paul, I want you to go back and apply again. So I went back, took the queue number, I went to that counter. It was the same lady who gave me the passport and the rejection letter. So she asked me again, What
20:27 are you doing here? So I said, I'm going to submit my passport 1 more time to get a visitor visa to Australia. And she said this very lovingly, dollars 54. Save it. It's going to be
20:39 rejected again. But I insisted that she collect my money and get it. But the reality was she was wanting to help me, so she was pushing it back and I was pushing it in. An
20:51 Australian man was watching this whole thing from behind her, and he walked towards me and said, What is the commotion? What do you need? And so I explained my predicament. And he's, By the grace of God, I'm
21:03 cutting the long story short. In 2 days, that visa rejection was overturned, and I was given an opportunity to visit Australia for the first time and ask for her father's permission. I thank God for this.
21:15 In other words, it is God who does this, but we got to come to the place where we are fully assured in what God has for us. Hallelujah. So sometimes when you're fully assured, you have
21:27 gone through your experiences of life where you've seen the faithfulness of God, you can come to a place where you say, Lord, I'm fully assured that what you have promised, you're able to do in my life.
21:39 You know, Jesus, when he was standing at the Lazarus tomb, the Bible says Jesus prayed a very short prayer before he he raised Lazarus back from the dead. What
21:51 did he pray? He just said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. And the only reason why I'm praying this is so that the people around me can hear it, isn't it? And he says, I knew that you always
22:02 hear me. Jesus was fully assured that Father always hears his prayer and answers his prayer and exceeds his prayer. But the Bible also says about Jesus in Hebrews chapter 5
22:14 and verse 7. It says, In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries. The word there is vehement cries. And
22:26 with tears to him who was able to save him from death. And he was heard because of his reverence. I want you to listen to me. There is a place where you are fully
22:38 assured, but then there are situations in life where you're overwhelmed that you need to pray, come before God and strive in prayer, where you pour out your soul before God. There is an intense
22:50 energy. There is an intensity. It's almost like a bulldog holding on to something and says, God, until you do it, I'm going to stay in this posture and I need you to deliver me. And the
23:02 Bible says it is accompanied with loud cries and it's with tears. How many of you realize that tears play a major role in our prayers? And the Bible
23:13 records the tears. The Bible says God bottles those tears. It comes into his presence. Hallelujah. There was a king in Isaiah chapter 38 and in the first 5 verses you read about
23:24 Hezekiah. Hezekiah, the Bible says, was about to die and Isaiah had come and given him that news that get ready, you're going to die. The Bible says he prayed and he cried before God and God stopped
23:36 Isaiah in the tracks. He had not even left the palace. God turned him around and said to him, go back, talk to Hezekiah and said, I have heard your prayers. I've seen your tears. And 15 more years
23:48 is added to your life. Hagar in wilderness was crying out for her child. God saw her tears. God was moved with compassion. Mary and Martha was crying and they were weeping before
24:00 Jesus at Lazarus' tomb. And the Bible says, the shortest verse in the New Testament, Jesus wept. Why? Because you are so moved with compassion. Your peers play a major
24:12 role. And here the Bible says he was striving. In some sense, Jesus was agonizing in prayer. In the Garden of Gethsemane, you know that he agonized in prayer until drops of sweat
24:23 became drops of blood. There is a need in life sometimes that we need to come to a place where we are striving in prayer. Now my wife and I, after we got married,
24:35 2 years later, she was expecting our first son, David. And, she was heavily pregnant, but I was going to India on a mission trip. And she really wanted to be with me, so she
24:47 accompanied me to the mission trip and also to visit my family and be with my family. And, while we were there, I think the with all the intense
24:59 ministry engagements and all that, there was a lot of strain put on her and me. And we were traveling back to Sydney, and we had 1 night stopover in
25:11 Singapore. And we had 1 night, but that 1 night ended up 11 nights. The reason is because on the night when the day we arrived, we were resting in the
25:22 hotel and her water bag broke. She was 35 weeks pregnant and she needed to be hospitalized. So we brought her to KK Hospital. And there, when the doctors
25:34 examined her, they said, We wouldn't know what the complications would be. We don't have a history with you. So all we have to do is we're going to put an injection on her thighs, and we're going to delay the birth of
25:45 the baby by 48 hours, hopefully. And, then they asked me to come to the office, and there they gave me a document to read and to sign. As I was reading this document, I
25:57 realized that this document said that it can cost up to 100000 because of complications and anything. And at that time, I'm not worth 100000. And we had not taken any travel
26:09 insurance. All I could do was, Lord, I'm all yours. And I signed this and I gave that back to them. And I didn't go and see my wife after that. I just walked into an empty corridor
26:21 in that hospital. And, and in that place, I just knelt down and broke down and cried, and wept and wept and wept before God. And I said, Lord, we need your
26:32 help. And I can I don't know how many hours I prayed, but I was as I was weeping and crying before God, suddenly there was a flood of peace that came upon me? At IDMC Movement, we
26:44 believe in the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations, bringing the hope and truth of Jesus Christ to the world. Through our global outreach, we have the incredible
26:55 opportunity to share the gospel in homes across the globe and journey with people toward authentic discipleship. Throughout scripture, we see how the early church came
27:07 together, giving generously to ensure the ministry of the gospel could continue. Today, you have the opportunity to partner with us in the same mission. Your financial support
27:19 is more than just a contribution. It's a way to join God's work, bringing the light of Christ to places where your presence may never reach, but where you're giving can. As Paul reminds us in
27:31 Philippians chapter 4 and verse 17, not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. By partnering with us at IDMC Movement, you are investing in lives
27:43 being transformed, families being restored, and communities being renewed through the power of the gospel. To give simply visit us online or scan the QR code on screen.
27:56 Thank you for your generous gift and for partnering with IDMC movement in spreading Christ messages across the globe into every heart and home among the nations.
28:10 Thank you for joining us today. We hope that this message was an inspiration to you and help you in your journey of discipleship. Join us next time on The Call, a journey of
28:22 intentional discipleship.
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