Stand Strong

This is the third message in a three-part series by Pastor Steve. The first message in this series, ‘Stand Up’, encouraged us to stand up and embrace the fulness of the identity that the Father God has for us. The second message, ‘Stand Out’, focused on how we can live boldly and courageously in the Kingdom of God. This third message is about how to be strong, steadfast and unwavering.

There are wars going on around us in the world that we can see, but there are also spiritual wars and battles that we don’t see. Ephesians 6:12 reminds us that we don’t fight against people but against spiritual beings and principalities. The enemy tries to stay invisible and divert our attention so that we blame people for issues instead of recognising him at work. We need to ask the Lord to shine His light and help us to see what is really going on. To stand strong means that we are careful how we live and aware of what is going on around us (Ephesians 5:15-16).

There are 4 areas for us to press into:

1.       Spiritual intelligence.

We need to have Kingdom knowledge and know how the Kingdom of God works. Hosea 4:6 says, ‘my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.’ If we don’t have spiritual intelligence then we will try fighting things the wrong way. Growing in spiritual intelligence will help us know how to pray and overcome situations.

2.       Spiritual protection.

Staying in the shelter and protection of the Most Hight (Psalm 91:1) requires us to be active. We must shut doors to the enemy, not allowing any sin or negligence into our lives. We must walk in the light with our thoughts, words and actions. Spiritual protection comes from being trustworthy and living with integrity, just like Daniel did.

3.       Spiritual authority.

Authority comes from staying close to Jesus and being sanctified. We must repent of any sinful areas in our life where we have given the enemy access. Once we master that area of our life, we will have spiritual authority over it (Genesis 4:7), for example, anger, lying or lust.

4.       Spiritual flourishing.

If we do the things above it will lead to spiritual flourishing and we will be spiritually covered in our families, marriages and lives (Proverbs 4:18).

The strength of our altar- our meeting place with God- determines how strongly we can push back against the enemy. We may need to demolish some false altars in our lives, such as jealousy or materialism. Those of us who are parents need to make sure that we haven’t opened doors or made wrong altars in our lives. Today, let there be no more fellowship with things that don’t honour God for the sake of generations to come in our families.

Practically, here are 4 things we can do to stand stronger:

1) The priest and purity.

Being consecrated- set apart for God- is critical. Do not allow the enemy to creep into your words, mind or actions. Lay hands on yourself and pray for no hold of the enemy over you. Live with self-control. Don’t fellowship with things you shouldn’t be. Don’t go for comfort in places you shouldn’t. As you get free it will manifest over every area in your life. Daniel 6:4 shows us how Daniel’s life of purity and integrity led to favour and flourishing.

2) Give yourself to the Word of God.

If your heart is cold to this, it can get hot again. Choose to read through the Psalms out loud until the Holy Spirit wakes you up. Have a Bible reading plan. Meditate on Scripture day and night. Delight in the law of the Lord and then you will prosper (Psalm 1:1-3).

‍ ‍3) A life of prayer.

‍ ‍Devote yourself to prayer (Colossians 4:2-3). Embrace a life of prayer and reset yourself.

‍ ‍4) Be in community.

This is essential for the days ahead, for accountability and encouragement. Acts 2:42-46 shows us the value of Christian community for growth and flourishing.

The Lord wants to restore Kingdom godliness so that we can stand strong and take nations in Jesus’ name.

-           Taken from Pastor Steve’s message.

Next Steps:

-           Repent of any false altars in your life.

-           Rebuild a strong daily altar with the Lord- set a time, place, and have a plan.

-           Catch up with the message here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJyHcnjpMPw