Hi I’m Neal Preston. My wife, Amie and I, along with our three children Bradlie, Kaden, Quince and an entourage of extended family and friends have all dedicated ourselves to helping lost, hurting and broken people find their God-given calling and make life count. We do this through creating resources that affect, effect and infect people's lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. We hope this resource you are experiencing today enables you to capture your divine purpose and experience life to the creators fullest design!

Let’s jump into today’s episode.

Cue: Sound Garden “Fell on Black Days”

When you fall on black days… you feel like you are in a prison.
Dark days of despair sneak up and steal our lives.
There is an ever present spirit of darkness that is seeking to steal a life filled with light.
Dark days lead us to the brink of despair. To the edge of death itself.
Have you ever experienced darkness to this degree?? I have.

Today is “Good Friday.” Do you know what that means in the christian world?
It’s the day Jesus Christ went to the cross. It’s the day the Passover Lamb of God was slaughtered for the sin of the world. This day looked like an absolute catastrophe. To those who followed Jesus, including his mother Mary and hundreds if not thousands of onlookers that hoped Jesus was the King of the world they had been waiting for, this day was an absolute tragedy. Their prospective king was being nailed to a cross.

This day we have come to call “Good Friday” did not look good at the moment.
This dark day was the ultimate let down.
This day was full of despair. Dysfunction and the worst darkness the world has ever seen.

This day, Satan sang a song of victory. This day, Satan and his demonic soldiers that manifested through the leaders of the church and the government, celebrated because they finally slaughtered the Son of the living God. Little did these evil workers know, Satan was about to get sucker punched by the son of God.

But let’s be clear, the sucker punch that knocked Satan out was not cheap. It came at a bloody price. The Son of God suffered greatly and endured the darkness that humanity brought on itself in order to send Satan the ultimate blow of defeat. It took a dark day of suffering for the sacrificial lamb, Jesus, the Son of God in order for darkness to be sealed in its ultimate defeat.

Let’s dig into this a little deeper and see the impact of dark days on you and I.

Have you ever fallen on black days?
Or maybe I should say, have black days ever fallen on you?
I was reminded this morning as I was writing this out of a band called SoundGarden and their song Fell on Black Days.
Prolonged periods of darkness have deep and profound effects on our lives.
Darkness that hovers and does not leave drives us to the depths of depression.
Depression if not dealt with leads to the depths of despair.
Despair when it has its way leads to a life of darkness, suicide and death.
Prolonged darkness removes all hope for a brighter future.
Hopelessness is when we lose all expectation that any good can come to our lives.

Today I am talking to you about how to be delivered from dark days and a life of depression and despair. I want to talk to you about how Jesus' dark day when He went to the cross enables you and I to live in brighter days if we accept his dark day sacrifice.

Let me talk to you about the Progression of Depression.

It starts with understanding the difference between demonic oppression and demonic possession. If we believe in God and the light then we have to realize that there is a devil in the darkness or a devil in the night. If we believe in angels of light, it would be foolish to discount the angels of darkness. The bible calls them demons.

Have you ever heard the saying, “you need to deal with your demons?”
Well you do. God created you and I to walk in the light. Light when embraced fills your soul with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self control. Angels of darkness or demons have rejected God and His light, and at this present moment they spend all their time attempting to deceive you into rejecting the light and embracing their dark ways.

That’s why it’s important to understand the difference between demonic possession and oppression. Simply stated, possession is when the demon gets in you. Yes, literally in your body. Oppression is when a demon gets on you.

I have a good buddy who says this when it comes to demonic possession and oppression.

“If it’s in me, get it out of me, if it’s on me get it off of me!” Right!! Not today Satan. Get off me!

So again, possession, it’s in you. Oppression it's on you.

I want to tell you this to ease your mind or maybe freak you out depending on where you land.
If you are a born again spirit filled follower of Jesus Christ you cannot be possessed by a demon but you absolutely can be oppressed by one. If you are not a born again spirit filled follower of Jesus who is filled by the Holy Spirit then you absolutely can be possessed by a demon and certainly like all of us oppressed by one.

Don’t let this freak you out too much, the whole point of what we are talking about today is to help you get darkness out of you and off so you can shake the dark days and find brighter days.
Stay tuned, the solution is coming.

It’s important that you know what you are up against and how to defeat the darkness.

Possession and Oppression are like living in constant black clouds.
Oppression is a spiritual attack from the outside rather than inward possession by demonic powers. Oppression is usually caused by an attack of Satan upon your mind with fear, doubt, worry, torment, etc., that results in a heaviness of spirit–almost like a cloud that surrounds you. A believer can be oppressed, but not possessed because the Holy Spirit cannot abide in the same vessel with a demon.

What many people do when they are possessed or oppressed by dark spiritual forces is they suppress.

Oppression often is answered with suppression.

Suppression is the conscious process of pushing unwanted, anxiety-provoking thoughts, memories, emotions, fantasies and desires out of awareness. It’s like blocking yourself off from reality. That's why so many of us get stuck in substance abuse. Oppression leads to suppression. You know what suppression is. It’s that thing you do to check out from reality and forget the problems of your life.

Here’s the thing…. In our country, we have an epidemic level of depression right now.

What I’m sharing with you today is the pathway that has led so many people into depression that not many people are talking about.

Possession and Oppression lead to suppression.
When you suppress your anxiety, emotions, memories, fantasies and desires from your awareness, they don’t go away. They just sit silently in the background chipping away at your life. If not dealt with thoroughly and quickly then you move from low grade depression to full blown depression over time. That’s when you have “Fell on Black Days.”

Depression is a mental health disorder, but I also want to add, depression is also a spiritual health disorder, characterized by persistently depressed mood or loss of interest in activities, causing significant impairment in daily life.

The persistent feeling of sadness or loss of interest that characterizes major depression can lead to a range of behavioral and physical symptoms. These may include changes in sleep, appetite, energy level, concentration, daily behavior, or self-esteem. Depression can also be associated with thoughts of suicide.
The mainstay of treatment is usually medication, talk therapy, or a combination of the two. I am here to suggest that the first place we should look to for our answer to depression is to the creator, Jesus Christ, the One who has the ability to lift you from the pit of despair and depression through his Good Friday sacrifice of dying on a cross.

What I”m sharing with you isn’t a figure of speech. This is the true solution. The Good Friday event of Jesus being nailed to a cross is a historically verified, biblically backed event that shook the world and divided the ages between darkness and light.
I’m going to read an account of the event to you, it’s found in the bible in the book of Luke, chapter 23:33-56.

32 The guards led away two criminals with Jesus, to execute all three at the same time. 33 When they came to the place that is known as The Skull, the guards crucified Jesus, nailing him on the center cross between the two criminals. 34 While they were nailing Jesus to the cross, he prayed over and over, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.”
The soldiers, after they crucified him, gambled over his clothing.
35A great crowd gathered to watch what was happening. The religious leaders sneered at Jesus and mocked him, saying, “Look at this man! What kind of ‘chosen Messiah’ is this? He pretended to save others, but he can’t even save himself!”
36The soldiers joined in the mockery, offering Jesus a drink of vinegar.
37-38 Over Jesus’ head on the cross was written an inscription in Greek, Latin, and Aramaic: “This man is the king of all the Jews.” And all the soldiers laughed and scoffed at him, saying, “Hey! If you’re the king of Jews, why don’t you save yourself?”
39One of the criminals hanging on the cross next to Jesus kept ridiculing him, saying, “What kind of Messiah are you? Save yourself and save us from this death!”
40The criminal hanging on the other cross rebuked the man, saying, “Don’t you fear God? You’re about to die! 41 We deserve to be condemned. We’re just being repaid for what we’ve done. But this man—he’s done nothing wrong!”
42Then he said, “I beg of you, Jesus, show me grace and take me with you into your everlasting kingdom!”
43Jesus responded, “I promise you—this very day you will enter paradise with me.”
The Death of the Savior
44 It was now only midday, yet the whole world became dark for three hours as the light of the sun faded away. 45 And suddenly in the temple the thick veil hanging in the Holy Place was ripped in two! 46 Then Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Father, I surrender my Spirit into your hands.” And he took his last breath and died.
47 When the Roman captain overseeing the crucifixion witnessed all that took place, he was awestruck and glorified God. Acknowledging what they had done, he said, “I have no doubt; we just killed the righteous one.”
48 The crowds that had gathered to observe this spectacle went back to their homes, overcome with deep sorrow and devastated by what they had witnessed. 49 But standing off at a distance were some who truly knew Jesus, and the women who had followed him all the way from Galilee were keeping vigil.
50-51 here was also a member of the Jewish council named Joseph, from the village of Ramah, a good-hearted, honorable man who was eager for God’s kingdom to appear. He had strongly disagreed with the decision of the council to crucify Jesus. 52He came before Pilate and asked permission to take the body of Jesus for a proper burial, and Pilate granted his request. 53 So he took the body from the cross, wrapped it in a winding sheet of linen, and placed it in a new, unused tomb chiseled out of solid rock. 54I t was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was fast approaching.
55The women who had been companions of Jesus from the beginning saw all this take place and carefully contemplated how the body was laid in the tomb. 56 Afterward they returned home and prepared fragrant spices and ointments and were planning to anoint his body after the Sabbath was completed, according to the commandments of the law.

The Passion Translation® is a registered trademark of Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc. Copyright © 2020 Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc.Learn More About The Passion Translation

Many of you know what happens from here. A couple days later Jesus rises from the dead.

I want you to hear this clearly…. You can rise from the dead too.
Do you feel like you are walking in dark days?
Have you fallen on black days?

I have good news for you! Jesus fell on black days too. But He did it for you.
He fell on dark and black days so you wouldn’t have to!
By His death on the cross, he defeated death for you.

You might be second guessing this. But I’ll tell you this, don’t knock it until you have genuinely given your whole heart to trying it.

Does your life ever feel like one big catastrophe?
The cross of Jesus Chirst on that “Good Friday” looked like an absolute catastrophe for the followers of Jesus. Satan celebrated while Jesus and His followers wept.

Heaven and earth held its breath in that moment to see what would happen next.

What looked like an absolute catastrophe turned about to be the entry point to the brightest day recorded in the history of the world. The day when Jesus defeated darkness and death.

If you put the letter EU in front of a word it makes the meaning of the word into a good meaning.

The cross of Jesus Christ was a Eucatastrophe. It was a catastrophic event that ended in goodness being poured out on all of humanity.

Jesus died on that Good Friday to deliver you from possession, oppression, suppression and depression. He died to deliver you from the kingdom of darkness and transfer you to the kingdom of light.

That’s why we celebrate this “Good Friday!” Deliverance from darkness, depression and despair.

If you find yourself in the depths of darkness and despair, know this…. Easter Sunday is coming.
Can I pray for you?

Jesus, I pray for the hundreds if not thousands of people who will hear this broadcast.
I pray you would meet them right where they are. I pray for the ones listening who currently have fallen on black days. I pray that you would reveal to them that you are the answer to their darkness. If it’s in them, get it out of them, if it’s on them get it off them. Beginning this day, bring a great deliverance from depression and darkness and begin to show them brighter days. I pray they would see that brighter days come from you and through you and your work on the cross.

If that’s you and you are ready to lean into the light of Christ in the midst of black days, repeat this prayer after me. Holy Spirit, I am tired of black days. I believe you hold the answers to all of life's mysteries. Show me who you are, fill my life with your Holy Spirit and teach me to follow Your ways. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

For those of you who live in the Kern River Valley or the surrounding areas we would like to invite you to our Resurrection Sunday Easter Gathering in Wofford Heights Ca. You can go to one of our websites…. www.TheSquare.Today for details.

If you are in

If you are not in the area you can find the second part of this talk called brighter days on our Podcast or over Kern River Radio on 102.5 or 104.5 at various times on Sunday April 9th.

Know this… if you place your trust in Jesus, BRIGHTER DAYS are coming.

Follow us on social media @nealandamie
Or visit us on our website www.NealAndAmie.com