Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong, and do it. 1 Chronicles 28:10
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In part 1 of this Bible study, we examined the instructions God gave Joshua for leading and governing His chosen people, Israel. In that exchange, He let Joshua know being strong and courageous wasn’t just a suggestion; it was a command (Joshua 1:5-9, 18). This command applies to us as much as it did to Joshua. Until Jesus returns and throws the devil into the bottomless pit for a thousand years (Revelation 20:1-3), people on earth must contend with him and all his demons - just like Joshua and the people of God thousands of years ago. This is how we get strong, stay strong, and prove our love for Jesus
(John 14:15). Unfortunately, most Christians who say they love the Lord really don’t, because even though they’re saved and on their way to heaven, they aren’t spiritually strong - not according to what the Word of God says on the subject. So, if you say you love Jesus, prove it! Know what His commandments are and keep those commandments to the best of your ability. Period.
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Since it is God commanding us to be strong, we need to know from His Word how He defines spiritual strength. It doesn’t matter what we think spiritual strength may be. It only matters what God thinks, because it will be His definition that becomes the criteria for our judgement someday in heaven (Romans 14:10/2Corinthians 5:10). According to Nehemiah 8:10, the joy of the Lord is our strength, so that’s a scriptural definition we can start with, but that’s not all the Bible says about spiritual strength. Back in 1984, as I was jogging and thinking about these things in the Philippines, God spoke to me and said, “I’ll give you another definition for spiritual strength”. As I was jogging and listening, He said, “Strength can also be defined as Consistency of your Actions. I had never heard that before, so when I got home, I wrote that statement down and began to study the Bible to see if it lined up with Scripture. Sure enough, it did! I found that from Genesis to Revelation, people who were strong and served God with distinction had at least one common denominator. They were consistent with their service to the Lord. They were different people living in different times under different circumstances, and they all made plenty of mistakes. King David is one shining example of this. Even though he is called a man “after God’s own heart”, he was guilty of murdering one of his most trusted soldiers to try and cover up his adultery with the man’s wife (Acts 13:22/2Samuel 12:7). I love the Bible because it isn’t shy about revealing our mistakes, sins and shortcomings! Even though great people of God failed Him many times along the way, they never quit. When they got knocked down, they didn’t just lay there. They got up and carried on with the Lord. They all did what Paul told the Philippians to do.
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Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14.
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Did he practice what he preached? Yes, he did! Listen to how he addresses the Corinthians in another of his pastoral letters.
Open your hearts to us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have cheated no one.
2 Corinthians 7:2
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Wasn’t Paul the one guilty of wreaking havoc on the early church, as recorded in the book of Acts? Yes, he was, but as he grew spiritually, he learned how to be consistent with his actions before the Lord! Before he was saved, then called Saul, he did do his best to tear up the church in any way he could. But after his born-again experience on the road to Damascus, he learned what we all need to remember. When a person is born-again, old things are passed away, and all things become new (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). That same reality applies for the rest of a Christian’s life (Philippians 3:15-16) as much as it does to the new birth experience. The only One who lived sin-free from start to finish was Jesus. Everyone else had issues that required God’s patience, mercy, forgiveness and much more. When we confess our sins, God is faithful to forgive us, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Period. Move on!
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When it comes to how most Christians live day by day, the only thing they’re consistent with in their spiritual relationship with the Lord is their inconsistency! That’s a major reason why so many believers are beat down and defeated in life. Their love for the Lord isn’t enough. They need to rise to a level of spiritual strength that prevails consistently against all attacks of the enemy. Remember what God told Joshua:
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This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Joshua 1:8
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When God tells Joshua (and us today) to meditate in the Word of God day and night, He’s talking about the need for consistency of action. Let’s face it. Every born-again believer reads the Bible, even if it's infrequent and haphazard. But that lack of discipline spells disaster when the devil comes knocking with some unexpected attack or tragedy. Spending time meditating in God’s word consistently prepares a person for whatever the devil brings to bear against him, no matter what, when or where. God said to do these things day and night – not once a week, every so often, occasionally, at Easter or whenever we feel like it. Every day. Every night. No exceptions. No excuses. This is consistency. This is the key to success and prosperity, as God promised to Joshua, and to us today.
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When the Lord gave me this definition for spiritual strength, I asked Him what “actions” I needed to consistently undertake to get strong and stay strong. He gave me a list of seven things to do consistently, which He called priorities of life. Consistency and the seven priorities of life. He also told me they’re listed in descending order of importance. They’re all important of course, but in relation to one another, one is more important than two, which is more important than three, which is more important than four, and on down to number seven. Here is His list:
1. Worship. 2. Praise. 3. Prayer. 4. Confession. 5. Meditation. 6. Study & Reading. 7. Sharing.
If we wish to become spiritually strong and stay that way, we need to attend to these seven priorities of life daily. Being faithful to doing this list consistently produces a level of strength the devil has no answer for. But it isn’t easy. If it was easy, everybody in Christ would be doing it, but they don’t because it requires a higher level of personal discipline to accomplish. Most Christians aren’t disciplined enough to reach the place consistency with these priorities will bring them to. Too bad. Too sad.
In part 3 of this Bible Study, we’ll take a closer look at these seven priorities of life and see how they relate to one another in their descending order of importance. For an exhaustive study on this all-important subject, I recommend getting the first book I ever wrote: BE STRONG! STAY STRONG! Order hard copies through our website www.mkmi.org, or if you prefer, on EBOOK format through Amazon (Kindle), Barnes & Noble (Nook), iTunes (iBook) or KOBO.
Never forget this truth: Consistency of our Actions is a choice. Every day, we make the choices that make us strong for God or weak against the devil. It's all and always up to us!
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This is Who We Are. This is What We Do.
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Through time spent in the Philippines, Rev. Keyes learned how to survive and how to thrive in that hostile and dangerous environment. He also learned seven spiritual priorities which he called “priorities of life” which, when practiced consistently, would produce a level of personal spiritual strength that ensured longevity and lasting success in ministry. God’s perfect will is for every believer to be triumphant and victorious in life, walking and living as the stronger man or woman that He declared and ordained us to be in Jesus. In Be Strong! Stay Strong!, Rev. Keyes gives the seven spiritual priorities and the importance of practicing them consistently – bringing any believer to the place of superior strength and victory over any attack of the enemy in these last days.
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Order your copy of Be Strong! Stay Strong! today. Go online at www.mkmi.org to order, or call our Tucson office to place your order directly.
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