taking my text this evening out of Ephesians chapter 6, but I have just a little bit of reading I need to do before I get there, and I'm going to start reading over in 2 Timothy 3, verse number 1, just to kind of prep you as to how the Lord's been prepping me for this week, all right? But here's what he says in 2 Timothy 3, 1, this know also that in the last days perilous times shall Now, listen, he goes on to say, for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. Now God began to speak to my heart, brother Tom, and this revival to me is a little different than any other revival because I believe more than I believed two years ago, or three years ago, or even ten years ago. I believe the coming of Jesus is closer now than it's ever been. Amen? But if you look up that word perilous, you're going to find that it means dangerous, dangerous times have come and all you gotta do is look in Washington and look at these bills they got out there. And it's dangerous. The times are dangerous, but I like what he says. Paul writes in Romans 13, 11, and that knowing the time, that it's high time that we awake. Who's we? the Christian people. Amen. It's time we take a stand for the Lord and let the world know whose side we're on. Amen. I don't know about you, but I'm glad I'm on the Lord's side. Amen. I'm glad what he said. There in Romans 8.31, He said, If God be for us, who shall be against us? Amen? It's important that we understand that. And then He says this. He gives us a warning in 1 Corinthians 10, verse 12. He says, Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed, lest he fall. So God was speaking to me, Josh, and He says, I'm going to preach this week on B. B. I thought, okay, B. So I get my Strong's Concordance out. Do you have any idea how many times B is used in the Word of God? Go ahead, Pastor. A lot. 1,942 times in the Old Testament, 1,541 times in the New Testament. Are you guys ready? That's about 3,500 verses. But He gave me some things, and this is what I want to get to. Tonight I'm going to preach on, be strong. Be strong. I feel like God has sent me here tonight with a message for those who might be weak. And I kind of thought it was odd, but I didn't think it was odd, because I know God works everything together. See, God's already been ahead of me. And I realized that, and I thought it was odd. Tom tonight in prayer request said, Are you spiritually weak? And I knew where I was going. And that almost made me want to just stand up and shout right there. Be strong. Be strong. Let's talk about this tonight. Look at verse 10 with me if you would. We'll go to the Lord in prayer and then Lord willing, we're going to preach a little bit. But notice what he says here. Tenth verse, Ephesians chapter 6. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Would you bow your heads with us for a word of prayer? Dear Lord, as we come to You in prayer tonight, Father, we want to thank You for the privilege and the honor, Lord, that You've given us to be assembled together here tonight. Father, we thank You for that beautiful singing, Lord. We thank You for the Spirit in which it was sung in. And Lord, we thank You, Father, for ministering to our heart through the music, Lord. We thank You for the testimonies tonight, Lord. Lord, we're reminded all the time what You say in Your Word, that if Jesus would be lifted up, Lord, that You would draw all men nigh unto You. And Father, tonight, we thank You, Lord, for that drawing tonight that we heard through and by praises unto You. And Father, for the reading of Your Word tonight, God, we thank You and we appreciate You, Lord. Just for giving us Your Word, dear Lord, that we can read, and Lord, that we can grow in You, Father. And tonight, God, as it comes time now to preach another message, Lord, You know Your preacher, boy. And Lord, You know I know I can't do a thing on my own. Father, I pray for that anointing tonight, God. I pray that You touch my mind, You touch my lips, Lord. You allow me, Lord, to speak the very words that You would have me to be spoken tonight, Lord. And God, that You would go to the hearts of each and every one that's here. Lord, that You open our hearts' doors. that You'll help us tonight, dear Lord, to receive the Word. Lord, that the Word would minister unto us, Lord. And God, that it would help us, Father. It would help us to get closer to You. Use us for Your glory. In the precious name of Jesus, we pray and we ask these things. And amen. Now, I want you to notice, this is Paul. He's writing to the church of Ephesus. For those of you who study the Word, you know that right after this, he tells us to put on the whole armor of God, that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. All right? But I want you to notice what he says right here in this verse. Be strong. the Lord. Can I encourage you tonight that in these times that we're living in, these dangerous times, can I tell you, you and I as a Christian tonight, we need to be strong in the Lord. Amen. We know tonight what he wrote over in Philippians 4.13. He writes this, he says, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Amen. We have to know tonight, it's not you and I that are left here to fight this battle alone. but rather greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. We have to learn as a Christian tonight to fully trust in God. Amen. If we're not careful, a lot of times we think, well, I've been on the way for so long, I know how to do this. Everything's gonna be alright. Did you catch the warning I read to you in 1 Corinthians 10? Let any man that think he's standing take heed. lest he falls. You know why I'm here tonight? I'm here by, through and by, thanks be to God, the grace of God, amen? That's why I'm here tonight. And I came to encourage you. And I came to ask you, will whatever you're fighting with, whatever you're struggling with, whatever it is that's making you weak, will you turn it over to Jesus? and allow Him to fight the battle for you. Now, I got some questions for you. How many people in here, I'm going to meddle for a moment. I'm really not meddling, but it sounds good, doesn't it? But I am going to ask, if you don't want to raise your hand, don't. How many of you in here has ever tried the diet? Oh, that hits almost all. Some of you haven't. Well, bless your heart. But you think about this. What's hard about a diet? You get hungry. Now listen, the health people will tell you you're not dieting, you're changing your lifestyle. That's what they'll tell you. You're changing your habits, you're changing the way you eat. But I tell you, when they tell me I gotta eat lettuce as opposed to cake, that's a diet. It's a diet. You are disciplining yourself to not eat the things that you like to eat, right? How many of you has exercised? Now, don't go to that verse in the Bible where it says that bodily exercise profiteth little. That's what everybody goes to, right? But how many of you have dieted and exercised at the same time? What usually happens when you do that? You usually see some results, you lose some weight, right? But how many of you has ever lifted weights? Everybody, I won't say body built, but you just tried to gain some muscles. Now, what do you know about weightlifting? What do you have to do to gain muscle? Repetitions. You just got to keep going at it. You just got to keep going back. I mean, I remember the first time, at one time in my life, I was able to bench press 385 pounds. I'd probably be lucky to get the 85 pound up today, because it's been that long. But listen, one thing I remember, I didn't start at 385. I started at about 100, somewhere in there. And you just keep building up, and you just keep doing 10, doing 10, reps of 10, and keep adding a little bit of weight to it. And before long, you begin to get strength. And listen, I want you to know that that the Lord above has given you and I something that if we'll get some repetitions in, if we'll get in the Word of God, glory be to God, He can strengthen us to help us in our times that become very dangerous in our lives. Now you think about this. There's another thing you need if you're going to build muscle by weightlifting. You need a proper diet. You need the right foods going into your body. You need proteins going in so you can build muscle. You know what? I thank God what He promised me and what He told me in St. John 6.35. He said this, He said, I am the bread of life. He that eateth of me shall never hunger, and he that believeth in me shall never thirst. Can I encourage you tonight, friend? If you're not in the book like you have been in the past, if you're not in the book like you should be, can I encourage you? Get back in the Word of God. Can I tell you that you're going to find help in your time of trouble in the Word of God. Glory be to God. We know this tonight. The Bible teaches you and I that we walk by faith, not by sight. But we also know, He tells us in Romans 10, that faith cometh by Hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Now, if you want to, if you'll turn your Bibles with me back to the book of Judges, chapter number 16. While you're turning there, I'd just like to share another verse with you. Jesus, God told Him in Deuteronomy 31.6, He said, Be strong and of a good courage. Fear not, nor be afraid of them. For the Lord thy God, He it is that doth go with thee. He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. If you will put your faith in God, if you will put your trust in God, He will strengthen you in the battle. But I want to talk to you for a moment about a man by the name of Samson. Everybody heard of Samson before? Boy, I tell you what, Samson was a man that he had great strength. Great strength. God gave him great strength. But in Judges chapter 16, something began to happen in Samson's life. And I'm afraid it's happening in a lot of Christians' life today. He began to, if you would, play with the devil. There was a lady there by the name of Delilah. Excuse me, I don't know why I'm having trouble speaking. Maybe that's why you gave me some water. There was a lady there, a woman there by the name of Delilah that he loved and she Just to bring you up to speed in case you don't know, the Philistines had been in control of the Israelites. But God had raised them up a man. a mighty man, and Samson was his name. And I want you to realize that this Delilah that Samson fell in love with, the Philistines came into her and promised her 1,100 pieces of silver if she would find out. And this was the question that she was to ask Samson, wherein? does thy great strength lieth. Could I ask you that tonight? Wherein does your great strength lieth? Now I'm telling you, if you ask enough people, and not just church-going people, but you If you just go out and ask people where in your great strength lieth, you're going to get all kinds of answers. There's men and women out there today that think they have created and built themselves into some great big thing and that everybody ought to bow down to them. But friend, can I tell you, they've done nothing without God allowing them to do that. And at any time, God could just take all that away. There's a lot of people tonight, they'll say my strength is in my brain. Lord knows that's not me. Others will say my strength is in my looks. Lord knows that's not me. Others will say my strength is in all that I possess. Well, that's not me either. But I'll tell you who I am. My strength is in the Lord. My help cometh from the Lord. I know in whom I believe. How about you tonight? Do you know in whom you have believed? Now, Samson, Delilah asking this question, tell me wherein thy great strength lieth? And can I tell you, Samson made the first mistake. He answered her. He didn't tell her the truth, but he said, if I was to be bound with greenwiths, I wouldn't be able to break those. So what did she do? She had him bound with greenwiths, and then she said, Arise, Samson, the Philistines be upon you, and you know what happened? He arose, he broke them with, and he slew those men. Now you would have thought that would have been a sign to Samson, wouldn't you? He was in love. What did they say? Love is blind. Now, I know a little bit about love. I fell in love. And my beautiful wife's still with me tonight, and I appreciate her being with me here tonight. And I know a little bit about being in love, and you do do some stupid things. Not that I ever did. But you can. You could. She said, how can you tell me you love me and you didn't tell me the truth? Tell me we're in that great strength life. And he says, for the second time, well, if I was to be bound with new ropes, I'd lose my strength. So what'd she do? She had him bound with new ropes. Hello, Samson. Arise, Samson, the Philistines be upon thee. He arose, he broke the ropes, and you know, he defeated. Well, it troubled her, and she was troubling him. She asked him again, you tell me where your great strength lies. And this time, boys, he got close, did he not? He said, if my hair was to be weaved into seven locks in a web, I'll lose my strength. Well, guess what she did? She weaved his hair. She said, Arise, Samson, the Philistines be upon you. And he did. He arose, and glory be to God. He was able to defeat the enemy. Now that's three times, folks. What's the old saying? Three strikes and what? Samson. Now listen, I'm talking about Samson, but can I tell you? Some of you, the enemy might be messing with you the same way. Some of you, the enemy might be knocking at your door. It might not be for the same reason as Samson, but can I tell you, friend tonight, will you please just save yourself some trouble and will you just quit listening to what the enemy's got to say? Because I tell you, the enemy, he's a liar. And the father of it. And listen, we're not each other's enemy. The devil is our enemy. Amen? And he ain't never going to tell you the truth because the truth's not in him. So don't listen to him. But Delilah pressed Samson again. And finally, guess what Samson did? He poured it all out to her. He said, there's never been a razor to touch my head. So, guess what she did? He laid his head on her lap and that night she called and they came and they shaved his head. And I want you to look at verse 20 with me. It's sad. Look at verse 20 with me. after they shaved his head. Just in case you're not there, Judges 16 verse 20. It says, and she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep and said, I will go out as at other times before and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him. Isn't that not sad? But listen, can I tell you the enemy, the enemy is out to kill, steal, and destroy. Can I tell you tonight, you and I have to stand in the strength of the Lord. He has to be our high tower. He has to be our rock, our foundation. He has to be the one that we are building our house upon, but glory be to God to Him. As I was reading this and God was speaking to me, and I was saddened when I got to that verse. But then I got two verses down. And I began to get a little shouty in me. And here's what he said, the 22nd verse. Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven. Glory be to God. I'm here tonight to tell you I don't know where you've been. I don't know where you're heading. But I'm telling you the Lord wants to remind you he is your strength, he is your help, he is your deliverer, he is the one and the only one that's able to help you in your time of trouble. Just as his hair began to grow again, glory be to God, something great was about to happen and I know that I started this message by telling you the dangerous times that we're in. But Robert's already told you tonight, look up! Our redemption draweth nigh. One day soon that trumpet is going to sound. One day soon the dead in Christ is going to rise first. Then those which remain Shall be caught up, glory be to God. That's found in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. But think about this. His hair began to grow. Aren't you glad tonight that God is simply one prayer away? One prayer away. Doesn't matter where you've been. He is one prayer away. Have you ever made a mistake? All of us have, I'm sure. I know this much, the Bible says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But aren't you glad that God is just a prayer away? He's just waiting for you and I to make a move. I believe He wants to give us a revival. I believe He wants to strengthen us. I believe He wants to save our lost loved ones. I believe He wants to see His Spirit poured out upon His children. But friend, listen, it starts right here with us. Can I say this tonight? We can't help anybody who chose not to come and who chooses not to listen. to the message. But you know what? God can't help you. God can't help me. God can strengthen me, Josh. God can help me to get back out into the battle. Hey, one of my favorite passages of Scripture ever is found over in Galatians 6, and it simply says this, Be not weary in well-doing, for in due season what ye promise ye shall reap if ye faint not. Friend, can I encourage you tonight? I don't know where you're at in the battle. I don't know where you're at in the journey, but don't give up. Don't quit. Just keep seeking God. Just keep getting in on your knees and asking the Lord to deliver you. And He can do that for you. And He will do it for you. I want you to look at this with me if you'll go down to the 28th verse. Remember I told you God's just a prayer away. Samson said a prayer. in the 28th verse, and I want you to listen to his prayer. It says, and Samson called unto the Lord and said, oh Lord God, remember me. Have you ever had to ask Him, Lord, remember me? Lord, remember me. Do you remember when Jesus had went to the garden of Gethsemane to pray? Right before they were going to capture Him. Right before they were going to take Him up to Calvary and crucify Him on the old rugged cross. And do you remember as He went into the garden and prayed? And He prayed the prayer that said, Father, if it be Thy will, Let this cup pass from me, but nevertheless not my will, but Thy will be done. You remember that? And He came out, and what were the disciples doing? They were sleeping. And you know, if you read there, you're going to find that it says, the Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Listen, I'm speaking to you tonight, if you haven't, we're in a warfare. Do you realize we're in a spiritual warfare? We've got to be led by the Spirit of God, amen? We've got to follow after the Spirit of God. But we're in a warfare, so a lot of times we've got to say, Lord, well, as John prayed, he must increase and I must decrease. Amen. Hey, I don't know about you, but I want people to see more of him than what they ever see of me. Amen. I'm reminded of a story. I didn't know I was going there, but the Lord just brought it to my memory. I'm reminded of the story of this little boy. He went to Sunday school, and he got saved, and he came back home. And as he got back home, he just went into his room. He had a mirror in the room, and he was just standing there looking in the mirror. And his dad came in. He said, son, what are you doing? He said, oh, I'm just looking in the mirror. He said, son, he said, why are you looking in the mirror? He said, daddy, he said, how tall do you think Jesus was? Dad said, I don't know, son. He said, I have no idea. He said, maybe six feet. That little boy looked back in that mirror and he just said, wow. His dad said, son, what are you wowing? He said, I asked Jesus into my heart today, and if He's six feet tall, He ought to be sticking out all over the place. Amen? Listen, can I tell you, we need people to see Jesus living in you and I. Amen? We need to be a light to this lost and dying world. We need to realize the battle's not ours, it's His. Amen? And whatever we're fighting again tonight, We've got to be willing to say, Lord, I'm going to give it to You. I think one of the greatest invitations ever given is found in the book of Matthew 11, 28. Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and what did He say? I shall give you rest. Amen. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest for your weary souls. I'm going to close tonight with a story that I love. It's found in 1 Samuel 30. There's a young man there by the name of David. Everybody knows David, right? Right? OK. You still with me, right? All right. And David and his men had been down fighting the battle, and when they got back to the camp and they was at a place, I just love to say the name of this place, Ziklag. I don't know why I like that, but I like saying that, Ziklag. I just be driving every now and then, Ziklag. But you think about it, I know I'm weird, but that's okay. I got a brother that says it this way. He said, I might be a nut, but at least I'm screwed on the right bolt. Amen? That's Jesus. And you think about this, but they just came back. The enemy had came, had taken the wife, had taken the children, had burned the camp. And when they got back, now listen, David and the men had been in a battle. They didn't go on a fishing trip. They had been fighting. had been in a big battle and they got back and all this happened and the Bible said that they wept where they couldn't even weep anymore. And the men were talking about stoning David. And one of my favorite verses there says, but David encouraged himself in the Lord. And David, and I could preach that, because I like that. Amen, I have preached that. It's a good message. But you think about this. I want you to go on down just a little bit. David inquired unto God if he should go pursue after the enemy. And he did. God said, yep, go get him. And get it all back. And glory be to God, God gave it all back to him. But I need you to understand, there were 600 men that left out of camp that day to go after the enemy. And they came down to the brook of Besor. And the Bible says there was 200 of them that were so weak. So weak. Now, I believe everybody in the house has been praying for revival. I like to believe that. I believe everybody in the house has been looking for revival. But I want to speak to you. Maybe you're in that number. Maybe you're in that 200 number. They were on the journey, they were still with the squad, everything was still okay, but glory be to God, they were just weak. They couldn't cross over the brook. So what did David do? He took the 400 men that could. And they went after the enemy. Glory be to God. And God had prepared somebody to tell them where they were even. That's how good God is. And you know the story. You know that they got down and they conquered. They got all the women, all the children. They got everything back. They got the spoil. And glory be to God, when they got back across the brook, they gave her the spoil. And they even shared it with the 200 that were so weak, they couldn't cross over. Friend, can I tell you tonight, the Lord is your strength. He is your help. He is your refuge tonight. He is the one that wants to help you. What you need to do is give it to Him. Quit fighting it on your own. You're not going to win the battle on your own. You'll not win it on your own. But if you give it to Jesus, He'll give you victory. You give it to Jesus, He'll get you through things. I don't know if you've ever wove with something to where you began to lose sleep, you began to lose joy, you began to lose a lot of things, and then finally it just dawned on you, what are you going to do? How about give it to Jesus? And then you give it to Jesus and you realize the burden is lifted, the load gets a little lighter, and glory be to God, next thing you know, You're ready to go again. I'm asking you tonight, if you're here in the house, a Christian, you've been on the journey, and you've been battling, and you're a little weary, you're a little tired, you're a little beat down, could I ask you tonight, could I encourage you tonight, Won't you give it to Jesus? Won't you give it to Him? If you're here tonight not saved, there may be somebody like that in the house tonight. You don't know the Lord. You don't know what I'm talking about when I'm preaching about the Lord as your strength. The Lord can help you. He's your refuge. He's your very present help in the time of trouble. But can I tell you, He wants to be your Savior, your Redeemer. He died on Calvary for you. And the Bible said, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. All you've got to do tonight is ask Jesus to forgive you. Simple prayer. It ain't a long prayer. Simple prayer. And He'll do that. Listen, I want to encourage you tonight. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.