We are going to begin working through this passage, which is your January Bible Memory Assignment, part of the Verses for Youth Rally, what our theme is for the coming year. And as Brother Kyle mentioned, he and I will be going back and forth, alternating each week, teaching or opening and make announcements, whatever it is. Brother Kyle's going to continue, I believe, his 2 Peter 1 series of lessons. I'm gonna start here in Ephesians 6 and we'll see once either of us finishes those if we join forces or just continue doing something different. But good to be in church this morning, good to be in the Bible this morning. Let's read verse number 10. I feel like I need to pray one more time before we start the lesson. I'll read verse number 10 and then we'll pray and then get into the lesson this morning. The outline is on the back of your bulletin. I would encourage you to follow along. I doubt we'll get to all of those references, maybe not even all of the points, but we'll do our best this morning and see what the Lord has for us. Ephesians chapter six, verse number 10 says, finally, my brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Finally, my brother, be strong in the Lord and the power of his might. Let's pray. God, thank you for your word and its power and its truth and for our opportunity to study it together this morning, to read it together this morning. We need your spirit. to illuminate the truth of your word. We need your spirit to convict our hearts. God, we need your spirit to guide us into the truth. I pray that we would hear it. I pray that we would do it. I pray that you would bless our time together and make it profitable and help us to learn and help us, God, to love you and help us to have a desire, Lord, to please you and to serve you. the remainder of our time together at church today. May Christ be magnified and we pray in his name, amen. Point number one from Ephesians chapter six is our topic this morning is the command to be strong. The command to be strong. The verse says, be strong in the Lord. And it's not a suggestion. It's not an option. It is an expectation on the part of God for your life, your Christian life, that it be characterized by strength. There is far too much weak Christianity in our world, in our society, in our churches. You don't need to be a weak Christian. God said he wanted you to be a strong Christian. It's a directive. It's a commandment. Look at Colossians, I'm sorry, 1 Corinthians chapter 16. Look at 1 Corinthians. Chapter 16, this command, be strong, it is repeated at least 36 times in the Bible. We don't have time for all of those verses this morning, but look at 1 Corinthians 16 and verse number 13. The Bible says, watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. Listen, the world, the flesh, and the devil are against you this morning. You understand that. You have an enemy. And they are gonna do everything they can to knock you down and to knock you out and to destroy your testimony and to steal your joy and to neutralize your influence for the cause of Jesus Christ. And you are gonna have to develop some strength in your character. You're gonna have to develop some You're gonna have to develop some strength in your mentality. You're gonna have to develop some strength in your heart and in your mind. You're gonna have to be strong, God said. In Romans 4.20, he wants your faith to be strong. In Luke 2.40, he wants your spirit to be strong. to be strong. In 2nd Timothy 2.1, we'll look at in a minute, he wants you to be strong in his grace. You need to be strong in your beliefs. You need to be strong in your witness. You need to be strong in your stand for what's right. It is necessary if you're gonna follow the Lord. It's necessary if you're gonna obey God's word. It is necessary if you're gonna have an influence for Jesus Christ. You're gonna have to do what God commanded and be strong. So here's my question this morning to you. Here's my question this morning to me. Are you? Am I? Is this a characteristic of my life? And I'm talking, guys, about how many push-ups you can do. I can beat you. Maybe. With practice. Except for Cameron. OK? And we're not talking about physical strength. But it is similar in that it's something, or Caden, sorry Caden. It is something that has to be developed. It's something you've gotta work on. It's something that you build over time, but it's something that takes intentionality. You have to do it on purpose. Nobody gets strong by sitting on the couch and eating chips. Right? The second law of thermodynamics. Right? Entropy, everything tends toward disorder. Your muscles, if not used, will atrophy. And your Christian life is no different. Are you strong? Would someone else say that you are a strong Christian? A strong Christian, be strong. What does it mean to be strong? Here's some definitions from Webster's 1828 Dictionary. Just a sample of those. Having power to exert force, vigorous. Strong. Having power to bear or endure. firm and solid. So strong means having the power to do something. Strong means having the power to endure something. And I think both of those aspects are important. Strong is not just about what you're able to take. Strong is not just about being able to stand up to opposition. God wants you strong because he also wants you to be able to accomplish something, to do something, to not just withstand in the evil day, but exert some force on this world. Strong means well-fortified, able to sustain attacks, not easily subdued or taken, like a city. Strong means having great means or resources. Now, come on, that's true of all of us this morning. We have great means, we have great resources. We're gonna study it in the following points. We have the Holy Spirit of God. We have the capacity for strength. We have the ability to be strong. Opportunity to have a strong Christian life and a strong Christian testimony, but do we avail ourselves of it? Having great means or resources, sound or robust as a strong constitution. Strong means powerful, forcible, cogent, adapted to make a deep or effectual impression on the mind or imagination. Strong means ardent, eager, zealous, earnestly engaged. Does any of that describe our approach to the Christian life? It's commanded. But point number two this morning, the sources of our strength. The sources of our strength. Ephesians 6.10 said, be strong, but I'm glad that's not all it said. God did not say in Ephesians 6, 10, finally, my brethren, be strong, period. There is a qualifier and I'm thankful for it. What does the verse say? Ephesians 6, 10, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. And that's a blessing because if this was all contingent on me, my strength can wax and wane. My strength vacillates. My strength is up and down. Listen, my strength is very limited. But this isn't all dependent on me. The Bible says, be strong in the Lord. And that's different altogether. God's strength is not vacillating. He's the same yesterday and today forever. God's strength is not limited. He is the almighty God. And so when I'm commanded to be strong, where God gives me this commandment, He also supplies everything I need to follow the directive that He's given. Where God commands, He always supplies. Look at Colossians chapter one. Turn to Colossians one and verse number 11. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. If it's up to us, it's just a huge question mark. But if this is what God's talking about, and it is, be strong in the Lord, then all of us could do that. When I ask the question, do you have a strong Christian life? There's a couple considerations, yes or no, like examine where you are right now and think about your walk with God and your Bible reading and your prayer life and your witnessing and your standards and your decisions and your direction and all those things. Is it strong? And you come up with a yes or a no or a maybe or whatever, but you're also probably thinking, well, is that even possible? Can I even be? A strong Christian, like, that's for Kyle. That's for James. That's for the Bible school students. That's for the missionaries. That's for the preachers. That's for like super spiritual people. No, it's for you. This isn't a special commandment for a special group of. Save people. It's for everybody. Be strong, because everybody has the Lord, and that's where the strength comes from. Colossians chapter 1 and verse number 11 says, strengthen with all might. There is nothing God has told you to do that he hasn't given you the power to do. Strengthened with all might according to his glorious power according to his glorious Power, it's not just this power. It's glorious Strengthened with all might according to his glorious power unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness Again, God's strength, it's infinite. God's power, it's perfect. God's strength, it's always exercised in accordance with His holiness. These references here, Genesis 18, 14 asks the question, is anything too hard for the Lord? Jeremiah 32, 17 answers the question. There is nothing too hard for Thee. And the basis for that determination is the fact that He has created the heaven and the earth. If God spoke the world into existence, what is it that He can't do? Absolutely nothing. What situation is it that He can't provide you the grace and the strength that you need? There isn't one. What promise has He made that He's not going to be able to keep? There isn't one. What task has he given you that he can't enable you to perform? There isn't one. He created the world. He can do anything he wants to and anything that's consistent with his character. Ephesians 3.20, he is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us by Christ Jesus. All right, so commandment, be strong. but a provision in the Lord and in the power of His might. Come with me to Deuteronomy 31, not only God's power, the sources of our strength, A, God's power, B, God's presence, God's presence. From Deuteronomy 31, verse number six, Deuteronomy 31, And verse number six, the Bible says, Deuteronomy 31, verse six, be strong and of a good courage. Fear not, nor be afraid of them. And again, that's not a period, it's a colon. There's more here. God is going to give some reasoning. Why is it, how is it that I can be strong and not be afraid? Because there's some scary stuff that they're facing. and your life is that way, and my life is that way. You're gonna face some things that would cause you to be legitimately afraid. But you can be strong, you can have courage, why? For the Lord thy God. He it is that doth go with thee. He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Look at verse number 23, same chapter. And he gave Joshua, the son of Nun, a charge and said, Be strong and of a good courage, for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I swear unto them, and I will be with thee. Remember what strength is? It's the ability to exert force, and it's also the ability to withstand. Now think about the children of Israel. They are going into the promised land. They are supposed to make conquest and take possession of the land God had promised to their fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. But guess what? It's full of enemies. It's full of other nations, strong nations, chariots of iron, giants. And they're not just gonna say, oh, God said it's yours, here. Right? It's gonna be a fight. It's gonna be a battle. Going to be a struggle. These enemy nations are gonna try to oppress and afflict the people of God. And God said, listen, I want you to go in there. I want you to invade them. But be strong. Have courage. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid, giants. Don't be afraid, chariots of iron. We look like grasshoppers. Don't be afraid. They outnumber us. Logically speaking, there is every reason to be afraid. But there's one other factor that enters into the equation. I'm with you. It's not you against them. It's me with you. And God in one makes a majority. Somebody said one time, so God's presence was the basis for their strength. God was with them. The enemy couldn't do anything to them that God didn't allow to happen. He had promised, I'm gonna give you the victory, okay? So Joshua, go in, verse number 23, bring them into the land, which I swear to them, the enemy's going to try to take you out, knock you down, destroy your nation, your home, your life. But I'm with you. Now go in. Win victories. Take cities. Establish a nation. I'm with you. God's presence. And it's the same promise that you and I have. Now we're not supposed to go take conquests. We're not supposed to go fight physical battles. But we have an enemy. And there's something God wants us to do. And there are promises for us to claim. And what did he say? I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. That's Hebrews 13, five. And verse number six says, so that I may boldly say, the Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid. What can man do unto me? Listen, those of you that go to school tomorrow, when you go to school, God is with you. You can be strong. When you go to work tomorrow, you can go to work and you can be a strong Christian, have a strong witness, and a strong testimony, if you will depend on the Lord being with you, and he is. In Matthew 28, Jesus said, go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Great Commission, right? The gospel to the whole world. Guess what? The whole world doesn't want the gospel. There are a lot of countries that don't want missionaries. There are a lot of governments that are oppressive to Christianity. How am I going to go there? Well, Jesus said in Matthew 28, 18, all power is given unto me. In heaven or earth, go ye therefore. And then what did he say? And lo, I am with you always. So what's the source of my strength? It's God's power, Matthew 28, 18. It's God's presence, Matthew 28, 20. And listen, that is something that all of us have equal access to. We'll have different personalities, we'll have different backgrounds, right? There are a lot of differences, but there are some things that we all have the same. And God's power and God's presence is one of them, okay? So the command to be strong, the sources of strength, not only God's power, not only God's presence, God's wisdom. Man, I like this one. Come to Proverbs chapter eight. Proverbs chapter number eight. God's wisdom. Here's the great thing about God's wisdom. Here's what God said. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God. that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, it shall be given him. Look at this, look at this connection. Proverbs 8, verse 14. This is wisdom personified, this is wisdom speaking. Counsel is mind and sound wisdom. I am understanding, I have strength. Wisdom said, I have strength. Look at Proverbs 10, 29. Proverbs 10 verse 29, the way of the Lord is strength to the upright. What is wisdom? It's following God's direction. Wisdom is using what you know to do what is right. Wisdom is making right choices about the path that you take. The Bible says the way of the Lord is strength. to the upright. Proverbs 14, 26 says, and the fear of the Lord is strong confidence. Proverbs 24, verse five. Proverbs 24, verse five, look at this. Proverbs 24, five, a wise man is strong. A wise man is strong. Yea, a man of knowledge increaseth. Strength brother Kyle teach on the virtues in second Peter chapter 1 what God wants you to add to your faith He wants you to add knowledge. He wants you to know this book He wants you to to read it and to study it and to memorize it and to believe it but but to Understand to the gain and knowledge of what it says and why is that so important because it'll give you a foundation for building wisdom and those things will Increase your strength. Did you see that? a man of knowledge increaseth strength. Look at Ecclesiastes chapter seven, Ecclesiastes seven and verse number 19. Ecclesiastes seven and verse number 19, the Bible says, wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than 10 mighty men which are in the city. All right, so where is this strength that God commanded I have, where is it going to come from? Well, if you'll apply your heart to gaining wisdom, you'll find that strength is there, okay? Come to 2 Timothy chapter two, next point, 2 Timothy chapter two. Sources of strength, God's power, God's presence, God's wisdom, and God's grace. Point number D, God's grace. Point letter D? 2 Timothy chapter 2, point D. 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse number 1. 2 Timothy 2, 1. The Bible says, Thou therefore my son, be strong. There's one of those 36 commandments. Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Okay, so grace is a source of strength. What is grace? We define grace as unmerited favor. That is God giving us something that we don't deserve. And that's why the Bible says, by grace are ye saved through faith, that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Salvation is a matter of God's grace, meaning we don't deserve it, we can't deserve it. We can't work for it, we can't earn it, we can't be good enough to have it, God has to give it to us. He'll give it to anybody who places faith in Jesus Christ. That's that's the grace of God Okay. So what is that? I understand what the grace of God has to do with my salvation What is the grace of God have to do with me being strong? Come to Psalm 18 Psalm 18 Grace is God giving you something you don't deserve He will give you salvation By His grace, He will give you strength. And you might not deserve it, but He will give it to you. Psalm 18, verse number one. Psalm 18, verse number one. I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. Verse number 32. It is God that girdeth me This is repeated two, four, six, eight, 10, 12, about 15 times in the Psalms and the Prophets where somebody says, God is my strength. The Lord is my strength. How does this work? Verse number 39, for thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle. Thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me. So in verses one and two, verse one, the Lord my strength. Verse number two, the Lord is my strength. Verse 32, God who is my strength girdeth me. Verse 39, thou hast girded me with strength. So God is putting strength on me. God is giving me his strength. Look at Psalm 29. Psalm 29, verse number 11. Psalm 29, verse 11, here's a promise. The Lord will give strength unto His people. The Lord will bless His people with peace. We've gotta hurry, because I wanna get to point number three. Let me just mention these references to you. Ephesians 3, 16 says that we are strengthened with might by His Spirit. in the inner man. Philippians 4.13, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. 1 Peter 5.10, the God of all grace will strengthen and establish and settle you. So when we look at the Bible, and there are more, but just those four this morning, when we look at the Bible and see the provision that God has made for us to follow the command and obey the command to be strong, have a strong Christian life, it really takes away all of our excuses. Right? God's power, unlimited. God's presence, He promised it to us. God's wisdom, we have it. God's grace, he's willing to give it. And all of us have equal access to all of these things. And when we look at the commandment to be strong, we automatically think, yeah, but I am weak. But our weakness is no excuse. All of us are weak. All of us have weaknesses, but all of us can overcome those weaknesses because the strength comes from God. Hebrews 11, 34, speaking of the Royal Call of Faith, and it says that out of weakness they were made strong. In 2 Corinthians 12, 9, Paul said, your strength is made perfect in my weakness. So when we look at the command to be strong, don't look at yourself. Look at the one who has promised to give you the strength. But number three, the access. to God's strength, the access to God's strength. So I'm commanded to be strong. I don't really have what it takes in and of myself to do that. God has what I need and he promised to give it to me. His presence will always be there for me to depend on. Okay, so it's available. All of us have equal access, but how do we appropriate it? How, okay, so you are saved by grace through faith, right? God has, and the grace of God that brings salvation hath appeared to all men. If salvation is something God gives people, why isn't everybody saved? Because there is something you have to do to access the grace of God. What is that? Trust in Jesus Christ. Call on Jesus Christ. Place your faith in Jesus Christ. There is something you do to access that grace to save you, okay? What is it that I have to do to access the strength God has to make me strong? There's something I've gotta do, okay? And what we're gonna see, it's so simple. It's so basic. It's so easy. It's not something mystical. It's not something magical. It's not something special. The only way to be strong is to have a walk with God. I mean, be strong in the Lord, great. The power of His might, great. God has unlimited strength, wonderful. What do I have to do? Read your Bible. Pray. Do what God said. I mean, like, there are no wow answers. There's no mind-blowing principle here. It's all the same stuff we talk about all the time. But there's nothing to replace it. There's no alternative. Every year we're gonna give you a Bible workbook because the only way for you to be strong is to read the Bible. Every year we're gonna do something else to try to get you to have a prayer life because the only way to be strong is to pray. Right? Sorry, Tabitha. So access to God's strength, it's just walking with God. Let's look at these verses. I'll maybe give you the sub points and just list them, but I want you to look at these. Daniel 11, verse 32. Daniel 11. And verse number 32. Right in the middle of this crazy prophetic passage is this good practical principle. Daniel 11, verse 32, and such as do wickedly against the covenant. I'll give you one more second, Daniel 11, 32, and such as do wickedly against the covenant, shall he corrupt by flatteries. And this is talking about the Antichrist in the last days. But, end of the verse, the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits. So what does it take to be strong? You have to know God. How do I know God? Well, I let him speak to me. How do I let him speak to me? It's not out loud. He doesn't boom his voice down from heaven. He wrote a book, and he wants you to read it. And he'll speak to you when you do. They either know their God. How do I know God? Well, most relationships are a lot better if the communication is both ways. Right? So God's going to speak to me when I read the Bible, and I'm going to speak to him when I pray. They that know their God shall be strong. Now think about this, this is in the tribulation. This is when the Antichrist is wreaking havoc on the earth. You think it's hard to be strong now. Try then, actually don't, get saved, get raptured, don't be here. But it's gonna be harder to be strong then than it is to be strong now. But these people are strong because they know God. And if you'll get to know him, he'll give you strength. Look at 2 Chronicles 16, 9. 2 Chronicles 16, 9. Further back in the Old Testament, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, 2 Chronicles. It's right after 1 Chronicles. 2 Chronicles 16, verse number 9. Thank you for laughing, Lauren. 2 Chronicles 16, 9. For the eyes of the Lord, run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Now, come on, that's a great verse. How am I gonna get God to give me strength? My heart just has to be right. I didn't have a perfect heart with God. But did you see the first part of the verse? Before he got to that, you know what he said? The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is broken. God is looking for anyone who might give him the opportunity to give them strength. God wants to give you strength more than you want him to give you strength. God is just like, he's scanning the world to see who it is that I can strengthen, who it is that I can empower, who it is that'll take me seriously. He's looking in this youth group this morning. He's looking at our church this morning. He's scanning all of the land. He's viewing all of Florida. The Bible says his eyes are running back and forth to and fro over the whole world. Who can I give strength to? Whose heart is ready to receive it? God is very, not only able, God is very willing and able to give you the strength he commanded you to have so that you can withstand in the evil day. One more verse. The next one is Psalm 105 and verse number four, Psalm 105. Psalm 105, verse 4, the Bible says, seek the Lord and His strength. Seek the Lord and His strength. I started with a question. Are you strong? I'm gonna ask it again. Think about it. Are you strong? God said to be strong, okay? But here's my next question. Okay, so God has everything I need. I can be strong. God has provided. God has supplied. God has equipped. How do I access that strength? Well, get to know him. Have a right heart. Seek his strength. So my first question is, are you strong? But my follow-up question is, are you seeking to be strong? Do you want to? Be strong. Are you pursuing God's strength in your life? And that commandment, we gave you Psalm 1054, it's all different places. Point A, Bible. Point B, prayer. Point C, trust. Point D, joy. The command to be strong, be strong, Lord, the source of our strength, God's power, God's presence, God's wisdom, God's grace, the access to God's strength. I've just got to get to know him by reading my Bible and praying and trusting. And then, man, Nehemiah 18, the joy of the Lord is your strength. And that's just a choice that you make. Joy is a choice that you make. and it'll make you a strong Christian, okay? Let's pray together. Father, thank you for this instruction from your word. Help us to take it seriously. Lord, strengthen us. Help us to tap in to the amazing power and might that you have to do what you've left us here to do, to accomplish your purpose in us and through us and for us. God, God, please help us to have a desire, Lord, to be strong. We love you, in Jesus' name.