The Whole Armor of God - Being Strong

"Finally Brethren, Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might."... easier said than done. Application, Application, Application; To be strong in the Lord requires yielding to the Holy Spirit, and to experience the victory over sin, the flesh and the powers of darkness. There is a basic principle to winning the battle set before us; be determined in our heart to be strong in the Lord; knowing that the Spirit of God is living in us; and "Greater is He who is in me, than he who is in the world". Then, (this is where the rubber meets the road), I must apply that principle to my daily life. Much the same as the things I shared on Sunday; assured, confident and persuaded; with each application, comes confirmation, and with each confirmation comes strenth. However, when I fail to apply this basic principle, I give victory to the flesh, which consequently weakens my ability to be strong in the Lord. Paul goes on to explain, in Eph. 6:12, that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood; but against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness and spiritual wickedness; thus we need to, "Take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand", (Eph. 6:13). To be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, requires a daily walk in the Spirit of God; denying the flesh and feeding the Spirit. Doing this, allows me to be sensitive to the spiritual battle that is around me; to be able to discern the enemy, and to see his attacks; and most importantly, to know, or better yet, to be persuaded that "Greater is He who is in me, than he who is the world". A really great example of this principle is the story of David and Goliath, found in 1 Samuel 17. The Philistines had come out against the armies of Israel; they were on one mountain and Israel on the other, with a valley between them. Out of the camp of the Philistines came this giant named Goliath; who for forty days, morning and night, would stand in the valley and taunt Israel. He would challenge them day and night to send someone out and fight him; basically calling them cowards and putting God down; and the armies of Israel were afraid. Then along comes David; a scrawny shepherd boy; sent by his father to check on his three older brothers, who were there on the battle field. And as he stood talking to his brothers, low and behold, Goliath comes out into the valley and starts spewing his rant. Can you just picture this for a moment; here is David, who standing there talking to his brothers, hears this voice bellowing out rants below, against his people and the Living God; and it says, "and David heard them". This I believe was a moment of conviction in David's heart; as he saw his fellow countrymen coward away from this giant, he realized that the battle belonged to the Lord; and he also knew that God was able to deliver this Philistine giant into his hands. He declares in verse 26, "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the Living God?"; and you know the rest of the story; but what made David so confident and able to be so strong in the Lord? First off, he had a relationship with that Living God, and he knew that his God was a really big and mighty God. After spending hours and hours, days upon days, nights upon nights in fellowship with God while he watched his fathers sheep; he was assured of how powerful God was. Secondly, he had experience in the mighty power of God to help him win previous victories. When Saul tries to tell David that he was not fit to go against this giant; David replies, "Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he has defiled the armies of the Living God", verse 36. David was confident that God would deliver, "The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He shall deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine", verse 37. Then Saul arms David with his armor, but David refused it, saying, "I cannot go with these, for I have not proved them", verse 39. Now David would show how he was persuaded that God would deliver him; by choosing his shepherd staff and a rock; he was knowing that the battle belonged to the Lord. As he came out to the giant, Goliath said, "Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves?"; and David answered him, "Thou comest to me with a spear, and with a shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defiled. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee, and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; and all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's and He will give you into our hands", verse 45-47. There is a determined position that we must take; 'To be strong in the Lord; having done all to stand'; "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; and having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.", (2 Cor. 10: 5 & 6). "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.", (Zech. 4:6) BE STRONG....(part 2)