True Strength

Victims or Overcomes?

How many of you could use a way to be strong ?

Many people are looking for an outpouring of the manifest presence of God.

Many people are crying out for more of God’s presence.

Our heavenly Father has heard us and He is giving us His present, but He is giving us His true presence and it is not outside of us.

The title wave is not outside of us nor is this move of God.

Today is a day of being renewed and strengthened in Christ.

When the Spirit of God falls on us, we love it and it is very powerful.

This kind of thing happened to king Saul and his messengers.

When God pours out His spirit and strength we love it.

Some people spend their entire life chasing those times, churches, conferences, and meetings.

We tend to love it when God’s presence falls on us.

We tend to love it when God strengthens us.

To fulfill the purpose God has for our lives, we need to know the pathway God laid out for us to be strengthened in Him.

This pathway is strengthening yourself in the Lord/Christ.

Many kings strengthened themselves and then lost everything.

David was the only king in the bible who went through a bootcamp with God to be prepared to be a good king.

David is the master of strengthening himself in the Lord.

We are going to learn from David what it takes to strengthen ourselves in the Lord/Christ, so we can fulfill our purpose in life.

David and his upbringing and time line all the way up to the point of being alone and strengthening himself in the Lord.

age 10-13 David is rejected by his dad and brothers and then picked to be anointed by God

ages 10-15 David keeps sheep and kills a bear and lion with the hands of God.

ages 15-17 David is rejected by his brothers yet again, and then kills Goliath with the hands of God.

ages 13-25 David serves Saul with music and sword, and gets kicked out for it.

ages 25-30 David hides from Saul for his life. The people who help him are killed by Saul.

age 35 David is at the end of his rope. He has nothing left and he turns to God.

Saul dies and David gets what was stolen back and becomes king.

1 Samuel 30:6 NASB95

6 Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

David could easily have been a victim but he instead became an overcomer.

David’s approach:

David aka(A Man After God’s Heart) was in God’s presence most of his life.

Being present in God’s presence is a key factor.

Most of the Psalms of David start with a heart cry and sometimes even anger.

Then he moves on to thanks and then declaration.

Most precious to David was, don’t take Your Spirit from me or let me live in Your house all my days.

David is first honest what what he feels and sees.

He then moves being thankful for what God has done.

Sometime he even skips that step because already trusts God.

Then David moves to what he knows to be true about God and himself.

“You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living.”

“Bring my soul out of prison, So that I may give thanks to Your name; The righteous will surround me, For you will deal bountifully with me.”

How do we strengthen ourself in the Lord?

Strengthening yourself in the Lord looks like:

Be honest with what you are feeling and seeing.

Give thanks to God for what He has done.

Move to what your Spirit knows to be true about God.

Declare with boldness and confidence what you know to be true about God plan.

Make your request known to God.

Strengthening yourself in the Lord Ingredients:

Honesty - with your self and God.

Gratitude - of what God has done.

Trust - in God and who He is.

Request or Declare.

Forgiveness:

David often comes to God with humility and an open heart approach to be forgiven.

If you take each of the steps as a way to become strong you will have some success.

If you approach each of these steps as important subjects to be present with Jesus in, they are life changing.

Many kings strengthened themselves and then lost everything.

Counterfeit Strength:

Head knowledge does not bring strength.

Wisdom of men does not bring strength.

Knowing what is coming next does not bring strength.

Understanding your pain and where it comes from does not bring strength.

Blaming does not bring strength.

Getting revenge or taking out your anger does not bring strength.

Many of the kings who fell way short in the old testament were followed by a phrase, “They strengthen themselves”.

Counted their army

Counted their own ability.

We tend to go to these kind of self strengthening things first, but our Father in heaven wants to show us a way to bring real change to earth by being strengthened in Him first.

Common Views:

Strengthen yourself in the Lord is most often thought in way of declaring what is not seen yet.

Thanking God even when you don’t feel like it.

Declaring Scriptures and God’s word over your life.

Praying in tongues.....

A Millennial view:

No faking it so no faking it until you make it.

Not sure about this strengthen yourself idea except for get educated and work out.

Saying what you feel out loud.

Waiting for God to show up first

If it is real, He will strengthen you.

God wants us to merge both these views and be like David was.

Honest

Grateful

Trusting

Request or Declarative

Closing:

To defeat the plague of victimness we must learn to strengthen ourselves in Christ.

We are not selling a cheep gospel, nor are we selling a powerless defeated gospel.

The Good News is that you get to be in the presence of Jesus every moment.

The Good news is when you face impossible, you are not alone.

The Good news is when you face impossible, you are with the Who’s specialty is impossible.

The Good news is when you face impossible, you are being strengthened to defeat death and bring life.

The Good news is when you face impossible, you can ask and declare with boldness what needs to change.

Psalm 143 NASB95

A Psalm of David. 1 Hear my prayer, O Lord, Give ear to my supplications! Answer me in Your faithfulness, in Your righteousness! 2 And do not enter into judgment with Your servant, For in Your sight no man living is righteous. 3 For the enemy has persecuted my soul; He has crushed my life to the ground; He has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have long been dead. 4 Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me; My heart is appalled within me. 5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your doings; I muse on the work of Your hands. 6 I stretch out my hands to You; My soul longs for You, as a parched land. Selah. 7 Answer me quickly, O Lord, my spirit fails; Do not hide Your face from me, Or I will become like those who go down to the pit. 8 Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning; For I trust in You; Teach me the way in which I should walk; For to You I lift up my soul. 9 Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies; I take refuge in You. 10 Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground. 11 For the sake of Your name, O Lord, revive me. In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble. 12 And in Your lovingkindness, cut off my enemies And destroy all those who afflict my soul, For I am Your servant.

Activation:

Show with my own prayer what this looks like.

Be honest with what you are feeling and seeing.

Give thanks to God for what He has done.

Move to what your Spirit knows to be true about God.

Declare with boldness and confidence what you know to be true about God plan.

Make your request known to God.

Other resources:

Examples:

Psalm 56:1–4 NASB951 Be gracious to me, O God, for man has trampled upon me; Fighting all day long he oppresses me. 2 My foes have trampled upon me all day long, For they are many who fight proudly against me. 3 When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. 4 In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?

1 Samuel 23:16 NKJV16 Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God.

Nehemiah 2:18 NASB9518 I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me and also about the king’s words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let us arise and build.” So they put their hands to the good work.