In this sermon, Hesed Ojieh addresses the reality that defeat—whether financial, relational, or personal—is inevitable, brutal, and often dismantling. He argues that merely “thinking positively” is insufficient; instead, believers must cultivate a spirit that can withstand and break through any loss. Drawing on Proverbs 24:16‑18, he frames defeat as a recurring part of a righteous person’s life, emphasizing that the key is not to avoid defeat but to prepare for it. Ojieh outlines a three‑phase preparation model: (1) before defeat, by anticipating potential failures, journaling “100 ways you could be defeated,” and fortifying skills, finances, and spiritual practices; (2) during defeat, by maintaining a prayerful, resilient mindset, treating defeat like weather that must be weathered rather than prevented; and (3) after defeat, by having a recovery system that includes spiritual renewal, skill upgrades, and financial rebuilding. He stresses that preparation must be proactive—being ten years ahead in assets, skills, and spiritual discipline—so that when loss strikes, a “spirit that overcomes defeat” can be activated. The sermon blends biblical references, vivid metaphors (defeat as weather), and concrete actionable steps, urging listeners to adopt a holistic, Spirit‑led strategy to turn every setback into a platform for comeback.
Chapters
Spirit that overcomes defeat. I was speaking to a young man today and my spirit became heavy after he began to share with me series of defeats in his life. And I said something to him that I want to share with you, that defeat You cannot just overcome defeat mentally. You cannot. Defeat is brutal. Failure is critical, radical. Losses are dismantling. There is a spirit that overcomes defeat. Overcome the defeat that is brutal, failure that is radical, losses that entangle men, dismantles families, finances. There's a spirit that overcomes it. Now, how do you overcome in life when you have given everything to the marriage? Everything you have, you give it in the marriage and it still failed. How do you overcome the defeat of losing a loved one? Devastating. I prayed for people that words cannot tell them, cannot heal them. Defeat is brutal. I know a young man who invested a lot of money in this business, sold his house, sold everything, had the principle right, everything was right. But one wrong move, that business, the money was all completely gone. My people, my family, my friends— people never come back from this kind of defeats. They never come back to the level they were mentally, financially. They never come back because it's crippling. It's crippling. I know. I know, but I'm going to help you now. I'm going to show you something. And I don't blame them. I don't blame them for not able to come back to the level of their expression, the level of their zeal, the level of their work. Such losses, the tenacity, the courage they put, the determination, the mission, the mindset to make it work. Still, there was defeat. What do you do? I said, Oji, I'm going to attempt to unlock a vault. I'm going to attempt to lock a vote, the spirit to break through any defeat. Doesn't matter what it is, I'm going to attempt to break the vote to unlock inside of you a spirit that can carry you no matter what happens to you. Now listen, but before, before I do that, I, I want you to listen to me. I want you to listen to me I want you to follow my words, follow my tone, my tonation, my physiology, the movement of my body. I want you to follow my language because words are spirit, words are transporters, are vehicles, are transportations in the realms of the spirit. So I will attempt to reveal to you the strategies that has— that I've seen that bring people back. From their losses. In Proverbs 24:16 and 18, it says a righteous man will fall 7 times and arise again. So that means in life you will, you will be defeated. In life you will fail. But I want you to hear me, that there's a mindset of losing and then coming back to win. It's not just mental, it's a complex mixture of mental factor that is beyond skills. People who lose, they have great skills. Their mind is made up they will win, but they still lose. But I want you to know that you can protect yourself from defeat. Did you know that even though in the journey of life there's defeat, you can prepare, preserve yourself, fortify yourself so that whatever defeat comes on your path, you are still good, you're still going, you're still pursuing, you're still achieving. But let me show you, defeat does not mean because you were— defeat does not mean you are bad or you are good. Defeat is simply a human experience. A lot of people say, why did I go through this? Why did I go through? Why did this happen to me? Folks, family, it is part of life. Welcome defeat as part of the journey of life. Don't blame yourself. Don't feel bad. See, defeat is like the weather. The weather. You know it will rain. You know this is winter. It doesn't matter how much you hate the season. The season is part of the cycle of life. So you don't waste your time trying to prevent the weather, the summer, the winter, the rain, the storm. Don't waste your time trying to preserve it. What you need to do is to prepare for it. Equip yourself to weather the storm. So defeat is like that. You cannot stop people from fighting you. You cannot stop people from disappointing you. But this is what you can do. You can prepare so that no matter what happens, you are still on track. I want you to remember this, that it's better to prepare for defeat. Prepare for it. I want you to know that you need to prepare for defeat. I want you to prepare for defeat. Prepare. Don't waste your time trying to prevent defeat. I like you to prepare for defeat. Prepare before defeat comes. And I want you to also raise the bar. Prepare in defeat. When you are defeated also, number 2, prepare how to come back in the midst of your greatest defeat. There will be defeat. You cannot prevent the losses. You cannot prevent the divorces sometimes. You cannot prevent the things that you will lose, but You can prepare before it comes. You can prepare when you are in the midst of your greatest marriage storm, financial storm, lack, anything life throws at you. Be prepared. There must be a spirit, a stamina, a route, a road, a way, an outreach, an exit to come out and to break out of the defeat when you are in a defeat. And number 3, you need to prepare after the defeat. So it's important. Number one, you cannot prevent the defeat. You cannot. A righteous man falls 7 times. You will fall. Maybe it's your first, your fifth, your sixth, your third, your fourth. You will be defeated somewhere in life. It's the cycle. So don't try to prevent it. Try to prepare for the defeat. Try to prepare in the defeat and also try to prepare after the defeat. Have a route, a system, a way, revelation. If this happens, your worst scenario, you can still be on top of the storm. It doesn't matter the weather, in the storm or the storm of the weather. Prepare. But that's not where I'm going. How do you prepare for this? You prepare because there is a spirit that overcomes defeat. This is the key, is to master. Listen, a lot of people say learn from your mistake. That's not what I'm talking about. It's not learning from your mistakes, is learning your mistakes, not from. You have to Look at yourself and look at this 100 ways to defeat yourself. Find where you are weak, improve your skill set, improve your asset, improve your growth practice plan. Fine, look at yourself, troubleshoot yourself. Are you prepared for a defeat? What would you do? Get out a piece of paper, journal, write 100 ways to defeat yourself and make sure that for every 100 ways, God has given you a strategy to come out of it. That's how a lot of people— listen to me— a lot of people anticipate, they suspect, they know that something is brewing, but their fingers are tied. No, that's not what I'm talking about. Put yourself on the table. Look at yourself in the mind of your attacker, in the mind of the enemy, in the mind of opposition, in the mind of your greatest attack, and look for 100 ways to be sure that they will approach. The enemy will approach. The enemy will approach. Fortify those 100 ways. Prepare. If this happens, by God's grace, this is what God is telling me, prepare for it. Listen to me, anticipate it. Preempt it. Look at it again and again. So if this happens, am I going to crawl? Am I going to be afraid? Am I going to be ashamed? No, this is what I'm going to do. Make sure that your war book, your, your base is fortified. Don't just look at the mistakes, look at how you responded in the mistake. Don't just look at the mistake, look at how you responded after the mistake. Look at the mistake. Don't look at just what you fortified. Look at the doors that are open. The moment you begin to anticipate— see, you have to anticipate failure before growth can be inevitable. You must be prepared to be, to, to, to, to be, to be under scrutiny, under a mistake, a potential. The spirit Ask the Lord to reveal to you how prepared is your back end, how prayerful, how fortified. Listen, you must raise the bar to the standard that even your enemy can't compete. You must outwork them, outpray them. You must be prepared financially, spiritually, mentally, socially. There are realms you must be 10 years ahead in skill set. 10 years ahead in assets, 10 years ahead in, in toolset. You must be prepared. You must allow God to fortify your mind. You must prepare above the challenge, prepare beyond the challenge, prepare beyond the expectation. Make sure there are growth practice plan there. You are preparing your mind. You must prepare your mind to the level that is greater than yours. Your warfare, greater than whatever can happen to you. You must prepare. You must prepare. What are the potential mistakes? What are the potential failures? I like— a lot of people prepare for success. I prepare for failure so that when I fail, I have a game plan. I have a plan revealed by the Holy Ghost, by the Spirit. I'm prepared. Everywhere I'm prepared, I'm fortified, I'm studying, I'm improving my skills, I'm improving my hearing ability, my communication, my conversation. I'm in tune with my environment, I'm in the same language with God's word for my life. I'm prepared, I'm fortified, I'm fortified. I'm in 2026, I'm ahead of the game because I must be prepared for that which is in my hand. I don't wait, I don't wait for bad things to happen. I prepare for them. Should they kiss you? A righteous man will fall 7 times. I will fall, but when I fall, what are the skill sets? What are these? What are the things I've learned? What is it I've studied to show myself approved, that I have the capacity to wage this? What if I lose a million dollars? Will I, will I fall off the face of the earth? No, I've got skill I've got grace set, I've got grace lifestyle, I've got prayer lifestyle, I'm fortified, I'm ready to take the challenge. Let me tell you, God gives every man according to his capacity. Capacity can be improved. You can come out of every defeat, is a mindset. God bless you.
