Category: Strength for Today

Deuteronomy 20:1
“When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.”

Every person will at some point in their life take on a project that is bigger than they seemingly can handle. It doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have taken on this project, because God will God can give us these projects so that we will rely on Him more. If we never take on projects that are bigger than us, pride will fill our hearts because we will think that every victory is of our own making.

When Israel was about ready to enter into the Promised Land, they were taking on a project that was bigger than they. There is no doubt that they looked at some of the cities and armies they were to face and understood that they could not do it alone. They needed God’s help if they were going to successfully complete this overwhelming task. God gives some great advice to Israel that you should follow when facing overwhelming projects.

First, the victorious Christian life is going to be a battle. You must come to grips with this thought because you will never enjoy serving the LORD if you expect everything to be easy. One problem we face today is that many people are sitting on the sidelines because they want everything to be easy. Friend, you are going to have to settle in your heart that you will face battles throughout the Christian life.

Second, don’t become friends with your obstacles. God told Israel that they would face their enemies. As long as you are at peace with the obstacles, you will never conquer them. You must look at everything that is standing in your way to completing your project as an enemy that must be conquered. Throw the peace treaty away and start conquering. This will give you the determination needed to conquer it.

Third, don’t be afraid of the overwhelming projects. God told Israel, “…be not afraid of them…” Don’t avoid the obstacles that seem too big. Many people never conquer the overwhelming projects because they avoid them. You need to face the overwhelming projects as a challenge. You have no reason to be afraid of it if you are following the LORD’s will.

Fourth, get the LORD on your side. The whole reason Israel didn’t need to fear was because the LORD was by their side. What will give you the courage to successfully face the overwhelming projects is knowing the LORD is with you. You need to be sure to commit the project to the LORD. Before you ever take on these projects, you need to spend time with the LORD and ask Him for help to complete the project. Never take on any project without asking the LORD to help you to do it the way He wants you to do it. Ask the LORD to help you. Ask Him for wisdom every step of the way. When you know the LORD is on your side, you will never shy away from any part of an overwhelming project.

If you are going to fulfill God’s will in your life, there are going to be times when you are going to face overwhelming projects. Let me encourage you not to quit, but face it with confidence. Always remember that the LORD will never give you a project that He will not give you the wherewithal to complete.

Deuteronomy 6:18
“And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers,”

The desire of every Christian should be to be blessed. There is something about hearing the blessings of God upon someone’s life that motivates Christians to do whatever it takes to also be blessed of God. But, just being blessed should not be enough, we should also want to stay blessed.

God gave Israel several commands in Deuteronomy 6. He then tells them that they are to do these things so that “it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers,” God didn’t just want them to be blessed, but He wanted them to stay blessed. There were five clear things God wanted from His people for His blessings to be upon them.

First, they were to fear God in verse 2. The fear of God is the foundation that keeps the Christian in tune with God. When you fear God it will keep your focus upon Him. I have always found that when a person fears God they will not have their eyes upon man. The fear of God not only causes you to respect what God could do to you if you disobey Him, but it also enables you to do what He commands you to do with His power.

Second, in the same verse it says they were to obey God. A fear of God will motivate you to obey Him. Certainly, we should obey God out of love, but obeying God because you love Him follows an obedience out of fear. When you obey God because you fear Him, you then realize how much He loves you which results in a desire to obey Him because you love Him.

Third, they were to hear God in verse 3. You cannot get God’s blessings on your life if you don’t take time to hear God through the Scriptures, prayer and preaching. Your spiritual ears must be in tune to the voice of God if you want it to go well with you. So, you obeyed God once, if you want to keep those blessings then you must continue to listen to His voice.

Fourth, they were to love God in verse 5. What is interesting about the love we are to have for God is that we are to love Him to our ability. Each time we are commanded to love God, we are commanded to love Him “with all” that we have. God doesn’t want you to love Him to the degree that others love Him, but He wants you to love Him with all that you have. Whatever ability you have to love God, love Him to that ability. If you are healthy and strong, love Him with all your strength. If you are sick and weak, love Him with the strength you have. When you love God with what you have, that will keep God’s blessings on your life.

Fifth, they were to serve God in verse 13. This is the frosting on the cake. This is what seals God’s blessings on your life. Take the other four areas and go out and serve God. When you combine all of these things together, it will bring God’s blessings on your life, and continuing them will keep His blessings on your life. It truly is simple, but it is a choice you must make every day of your life.

2 Corinthian 9:2
“For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal hath provoked very many.”

The Corinthian church is sadly known as one of the most worldly churches in the Scriptures. What is interesting is that when this church laid aside its worldliness, it picked up an attitude of ministering. Paul said that this church became known as a church that ministered to the saints. In fact, the verse above says they became forward about it. In other words, they were eager and zealous to help others. This attitude spread to the point that others churches were provoked to do the same thing.

Someone once asked me what size churches help me the most. My answer surprised them because I told them that smaller churches did more to meet my needs as an evangelist than larger ones. When I look back at the churches that were forward about helping me and meeting my needs, it has always been the smaller churches. I don’t know why, but I can tell you their attitude toward ministering to my needs greatly helped the meeting because I felt that they wanted me there.

Many churches could create a good spirit if their members acquired a zealous attitude to minister to the needs of others. If church members were zealous to meet each others needs then all the fighting for position would stop. A church ought to be so desirous to meet the needs of others that it would provoke other churches to want to do the same.

Lets transfer that thought to the marriage relationship. Imagine if each spouse became zealous toward meeting the needs of the other. One of the bigger problems that causes marital disputes is that one spouse, or both, don’t feel that their spouse is meeting their needs. What if each spouse set their desires aside and became zealous to meet the other’s needs? This would solve many marital problems. If each spouse were forward about meeting the other’s needs, it would also provoke the children to take on the same mindset.

Moreover, this mindset would bring peace to every home. Could you imagine how much stress you could remove from your life if your children stopped squabbling over their wants? Many mothers are frazzled because they daily deal with children fighting over their wants. This attitude in the home would remove that unnecessary stress.

There are two things you must understand about this attitude. First, this attitude must become a mindset. If this is going to become your mindset then you must take on a servant’s attitude. You must lay aside the attitude that says, “What about me?” and take on the attitude, “May I help you please?” It all has to be about serving. You need to constantly look at how you can help the needs of others. When you hear them give the simplest requests, do your best to meet them. Make the needs of others the master command in your life.

Second, the benefit of acquiring this attitude is that it is contagious. You will find that when you start serving others, it will provoke others to do the same. Always remember that the way to motivate others to serve is to become a servant yourself. It is contagious, and it will strengthen every relationship and bring peace to every place.

2 Corinthians 4:6
“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

“Hide it under a bushel? NO! I’m gonna let it shine.” These are the words from the popular song, This Little Light of Mine. We oftentimes sing this song without stopping to think about what we are saying. We are to let our light shine brightly in a dark world. God commands us to do so in the verse above. But, how do we let our light shine brightly in a dark world? God shows us five things we must do to accomplish this.

First, realize the importance of the ministry. Paul said in verse 1, “Therefore seeing we have this ministry…” This ministry that we have is the only hope for many people. This ministry we have is what keeps many souls from going to Hell. Your light will never shine brightly in this dark world if you don’t realize the importance of the ministry. It is this ministry that allows us to give the Gospel to a lost soul. It is this ministry that helps the hurting soul. It is this ministry that brings comfort to the hurting. It is this ministry that gives hope to the one sin has destroyed. Your light will be dim until you realize the importance of serving the LORD.

Second, don’t quit! He continues in the same verse by saying, “…as we have received mercy, we faint not;” How is your light going to shine if you quit? I certainly understand the difficulty of the ministry, but that doesn’t mean you should quit. If you are going to let your light shine brightly, you are going to have to determine not to quit when the times get difficult. Quitting must never be an option.

Third, live a life of transparency. In verse 2 we are commanded to renounce “…the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness…” People need to see that Christians can be trusted. I’m afraid that there are a few Christians who have hurt the reputation of many because of their dishonest dealings. Christians must be completely honest. They especially must be honest in how they live. You cannot live a double life and let your light shine brightly. The light that shines the brightest is the life that is lived honestly and with complete transparency.

Fourth, tell the Gospel to everyone. Verse 3 shows that Paul did not hide the Gospel. You don’t live a transparent life to hide it, but you live transparently to display to others the greatness of the Christian life. Everywhere you go you should be telling others about Jesus Christ. They should see the honesty by which you live life and realize that the Christian life is the answer. Friend, how can your light shine if you never tell anyone about Jesus Christ? The purpose of living a transparent life is so that your light can be brighter when you tell others the Gospel.

Fifth, keep Christ as your central focus. Paul said in verse 5, “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord…” Your light cannot shine brightly when you are focused on darkness. God is light, and your focus must be on Him. You are to be a reflection of Christ, and you cannot be that reflection when you are focused on man. Keep your life pointed to Christ so that your life reflects His light.

This world is certainly dark and the only way it is going to get better is for Christians to let their light shine brightly. How bright does your light shine? Let me encourage you to be a light to someone in darkness today.

1 Corinthians 12:11
“But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.”

It always amazes me the makeup of every church. The different personalities, backgrounds and talents that each church has is different, but these differences exist to enable that church to reach their community for Jesus Christ. This is why it is important for every church member to get involved because God has given them a gift that will help their church better reach their community.

In 1 Corinthians 12, God gives the makeup that He gave every church. In every church, there are those who are naturally gifted, those who hold church offices and those who are involved in the daily operations of the church by fulfilling their ministry. Each of these people are given a different gift to help fulfill one of these roles. Some are gifted with wisdom, others are gifted with the knowledge to show how to do something, others are gifted with the ability to discern direction better than others, etc. There are several thoughts we must learn about this area of gifts.

First, everyone has their own gift. It is important that you learn your gift and grow it. The gift God has given to you is to help your church better reach your community. Don’t expect everyone to have your gift because God has given it to you so you can help your church.

Second, don’t be jealous of another’s gift. God gave each person their own gift. Stop being jealous of another’s and start using your own gift to do what God wants you to do with it. Jealousy of another’s gift will only waste your own.

Third, don’t belittle another’s gift to lift up your own. Competing gifts won’t help build the body of Christ. You don’t have to tear down another’s gift just to show the importance of yours. Each gift is important to the work of the LORD. Don’t let the Devil sow the seed of jealousy in your heart. If you will realize the importance of your gift and use it, you won’t feel the need to tear another’s down.

Fourth, don’t be too proud to ask someone who has a gift to help you in their gifted area. It is important that you realize that someone who is gifted in an area can help you if you will humble yourself to ask them. If someone is gifted in the area of discernment and you are not, ask for their help in discerning right and wrong. If someone is gifted in the area of healing and you know someone who is hurting, ask them to come with you to help the person that life’s circumstances has hurt. Each person can help each other because each person has a gift that the other does not have.

Fifth, realize each gift is given to benefit the church. The whole purpose of God giving gifts to each person is to profit the church. The sooner we realize that we are on the same team, the quicker we will start utilizing the gifts of every individual. The purpose for which God led you to your church is so that you can use your gift to help that church.

Most churches struggle because people won’t use their gifts to help the church or they won’t ask those who are gifted to help them in that area. Every person has some gift that will benefit the church; let’s find that gift and utilize it for the sake of reaching our community for Christ.

1 Corinthians 5:11
“But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.”

Just because someone is a Christian doesn’t mean that it is fine for you to be in company with them. There are people in every walk of life who are good and bad. Just because a person is saved doesn’t mean that they are living the life they should be living. God shows us a list of people with whom we should not keep company.

The first type of person to avoid is the fornicator. This is a person who is living an immoral life. This is not a person who messes up one time, but this is a person who is commonly enjoying physical pleasures outside of the boundaries of marriage. The Scriptures make it clear that the bed is undefiled in marriage, which means a person who practices fornication is a person whose lifestyle will, in time, defile you.

The covetous is the second type of person to avoid. This is talking about someone who is eager for gain. This person is never happy with what they have. Avoid this type of person for they will hurt your enjoyment in life and your personal finances.

The idolator is the third type of person to avoid. This is not just talking about worshipping idols, but rather avoid those who place anyone or anything above God. If there are people who make a man of God their focus of service, then you are to avoid them. Idolatry is wrong even when the person you are serving is a man of God. God is the only One we should serve.

A railer is a person who constantly tears down others. God wants you to avoid this type of person. It is not our business to know all the filth about another person’s life. Be careful about spending time with those who constantly tear down other Christians. You will become a gossip if you spend time with a railer.

The drunkard is the next person who should be avoided. Alcohol is still the Devil’s juice. The Christian is to completely avoid being around those who are willing to get drunk. That means the person who is willing to have one glass of alcohol is willing to get drunk. Avoid them! Simply put, if someone orders an alcoholic drink while you are with them, let them know that you are going to leave if they choose to drink it.

The extortioner is the last person you should avoid. This person is willing to get gain by destroying others. This person is completely out for themselves. It doesn’t matter if they are extorting money or influence, you are to avoid the type of person who will do anything to gain position or money.

Friend, remember that bad company corrupts good people. You may be a good person, but if you associate with those who are bad, then their actions will eventually rub off on you. I have seen many good people corrupted because they are not willing to separate from other Christians. Let me ask you, is your company good company? Never be afraid to distance yourself from those who have adopted corrupting lifestyles. It will not only save you from heartache, but it will save your family from being influenced by their lifestyle.

Numbers 19:11
“He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.”

When a person gets saved, the one thing they still have to deal with is their flesh. Your soul may be saved, but your flesh is still corrupt. Throughout the Scriptures we are told to make no provision for the flesh and to crucify it. How you deal with your flesh will determine the degree of victory you will experience in the Christian life.

In the verse above, God showed Israel what they were to do when they touched a dead body. The dead body is truly symbolic of our flesh. When you look at how God tells Israel to deal with a dead body, you will see the resemblances of how we can gain victory over the flesh.

First, every person must choose to deal with their flesh. In this passage of Scripture, there are some who properly dealt with their flesh and there were others who ignored God’s instructions. You are going to have to purposely deal with your flesh. Ignoring your problems will not help you. Let me ask you, what is your “dead body” that you seem to struggle? We all have that one area that is our besetting sin.

Second, you must deal with your flesh quickly. If these people didn’t deal with the dead body, the corruption of the dead body would begin to spread. Whatever your dead body is, you are going to have to choose to deal with it or it will continue to corrupt you. The longer you don’t deal with your flesh, the more the corruption will spread throughout your life. Ignoring the corruption you have will not cause it to go away. You must admit you have a problem with your flesh and deal with it quickly to keep its corruption from destroying your life.

Third, you need help from another to overcome your flesh. Verse 19 says, “And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean…” You will never overcome the corruption of your flesh by spending time with a group of people who have the same problem. Putting two dead bodies together doesn’t make them come alive. Yet, so many times we think we need a support group of people who have the same problem to overcome our flesh. No! You need to spend time with someone who doesn’t struggle with your problem so that their strength can strengthen you. Don’t be so proud that you won’t go to another and ask for help. If your flesh is getting the best of you, go to someone who can help you overcome the corruption of your flesh.

Fourth, overcoming the corruption of the flesh will take time. The process of becoming clean from the dead body was a seven day process. You may get the help of another, but it will still take time to remove the corrupt habits your flesh has obtained. Don’t get discouraged along the way and give up. Keep on battling the corruption in your life and realize it will take time.

Do you want to get victory over your flesh? Then realize how corrupt it is. Identify the area where you have problems. Get the help you need and don’t give up. You can have victory over your flesh “…because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)