Billy Joe Daugherty - Maine Marriages Index (1890-1899)

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Be Strong in the Lord

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might Ephesians 6:10

You can be strong in the Lord. In fact, to "be strong in the Lord" is a command. It's not a suggestion, an invitation, or an option.

You can be strong academically, physically, financially, politically and yet be weak in the Lord. In Ephesians 6, Paul is talking about spiritual strengththe strength that the Lord imparts. He isn't talking about our wisdom or physical might. It is those who know the Lord who will win the battles in this hour. We are to be strong in the power and in the might of the Lord.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles (the plots, schemes, or plans) of the devil.

Ephesians 6:11, NKJV

The armor of God is the strength of the Lord. If we don't have the strength of the Lord, we will not be able to stand in this hour.

First Peter 5:8 says that we are to be sober:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.

To be sober means "to be alert, not slumbering spiritually." We are to be vigilant, which means "to be watchful and attentive."

Who is the devil going to devour? Scripture says he is going to devour the weak. Those who are strong will stand against the devil's plots and schemes. That's true in a flock of sheep. The wolf comes against the straggling, the weak and the separated sheep, not against the strong leader or a unified pack. If you have some goats, he's not going to come against the ram with horns and full strength. He will look for the weak one.

In Christ, we have the ability to be strong. We need the strength of the Lord to do what we are called to do and to stand against every plot and scheme of the enemy. God's strength will put us over the top of any hurdle or circumstance.

Areas in Which We Must Be Strong

We need revelation strength to be able to discern which pathway to take, because one of the schemes of the devil is to get a person on the wrong path. John 10:3-5 ,27 says:

...The sheep hear his voice (the voice of the Lord): and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.

And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

God's sheep will not hear the voice of a stranger. You and I will not hear the voice of a stranger, because we are God's sheep.

If a person isn't strong in this area of God's Word, he will hear all kinds of voices and will never know which one is God, which one is himself, which one is the 6:00 news, or which one is the devil. We need to be strong in hearing from the Lord.

We must be strong against sickness and disease. One of the plots and plans of the enemy is to knock people off course and sideline them through sickness and disease. First Peter 2:24 says, "...By whose stripes ye were (past tense!) healed . Matthew 8:17 says, "...Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses."

To be strong in an area is to believe and meditate upon what God says in His Word about the particular area and to put His Word above symptoms or a medical diagnosis. In other words, His Word is given first place in our lives, and it is held as the highest standard of truth! That doesn't mean we ignore a medical diagnosis. It simply means it is subject to God's Word.

We need to be strong so we aren't burdened down under the oppression of financial bondage. The devourer must be stopped from stealing the harvest from the financial seeds we have planted. To be strong in this area, you can meditate upon 3 John 2: "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth ." As a tither, you can meditate upon Malachi 3:11 that says God will rebuke the devourer (Satan) from every area of your life.

We must be strong against the enemy's attacks against the mind. If he isn't stopped, he will come with negative thoughts, imaginations, feelings, emotions, opinions and world ideas. People often get weary and oppressed, and they are under a cloud of confusion. We need to be strong to continually maintain a clear, sound mind and to have the ability to accurately discern the things that could lead to undesirable consequences. You can meditate on 2 Timothy 1.7:

I HAVE NOT BEEN GIVEN A SPIRIT OF FEAR, BUT OF POWER AND OF LOVE AND OF A SOUND MIND.

How to Tap into God's Strength

The Lord will give strength unto his people....

Psalm 29:11

God gives strength to His people, but there are some things we need to do to tap into it.

Knowing God Brings Strength

In Daniel 11:32, speaking about the end time, Daniel says there will be a group of people who will follow their wicked imaginations, but in this verse, he also gives the flip side of it. He says, "...But the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits."

One of the ways to tap into God's strength is "to know Him." When we "know Him," we will have the things we need, including strength. It goes back to Matthew 6:33: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

If we seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, all the other things we need, including strength, will be added to us. Those who know their God will be strong, and instead of being overcome, they will do great exploits.

One member of our congregation recently preached in Siberia. That took great spiritual strength. It took financial and mental ability. His family was strong enough so he could leave them. Each of these areas had to be strong for Jim King to do exploits for the Kingdom of God. He had to have something spiritually in him so he wasn't just going through the motions. He had power to deliver the Word of the Lord.

All of these areas in our lives must be strengthened with the might of God so when He has a door of opportunity open to us, we will be equipped to walk through it.

When a door opens to some people, they say, "I'd like to go. I really want to meet that need. I'd really like to do the exploits and see that work happen." We are not to be standing back with rationalizations, apologies, or excuses. We are to do exploits . They that know their God shall do exploits!

Abiding in the Word Brings Strength

John wrote to the young men, to the children and to the fathers, but he said to the young men: "...I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one" (1 John 2:14).

To the degree the Word abides in us, we will have strength. When the Word is on the inside and we are dwelling in it, meditating on it, chewing on it and feeding on it, we will be strong.

The time to get ready for sickness is not when you are sick. The time to get ready to be strong against sickness and disease is while you are in perfect health. Now is the time for you to be filled with the Word of God on healing.

The time to get strong on finances is not when the financial systems of the world collapse. Now is the time to meditate on the Word regarding God's provision of prosperity.

A few years ago, people were saying, "Major financial systems will collapse in America." It was spoken. In fact, we said it at Victory Christian Center , but who would ever have dreamed that we would have so many banks fail across our nation, or the savings and loan fiasco that has cost our country billions of dollars? Organizations we used to think were "rock solid" suddenly crumbled apart.