You know, in preparing for this persecution that’s coming, what are we doing with the opportunities we have to stand on the Word of God?  What are we doing?  Are we wasting those opportunities?  Are we wasting the opportunities to share the gospel?  Are we wasting opportunities to love our brothers and sisters?  Somewhere, our faith and obedience must become more habitual; it has to become more prominent in our lives.  Abraham was strong in faith, being fully persuaded that what God had promised, He was able to perform; amen?  Faith calls things that are not as though they were.  Faith can say to this mountain, “Be thou cast into the sea,” and it will obey.  Is there anything too hard for the Lord?  Preparing for persecution.  Have we compromised over the last years?  Are we jealous to be able to make that stand and not in any way become double minded?  Let’s remind ourselves, “The double minded man is unstable in all of his ways, and let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord,” the Scripture says.  Amen?

“Well, I haven’t been proven.”  Saul, the great champion, is in his tent, knees knocking together; the army of Israel is hiding themselves, pulled back.  Goliath is standing in the battle field mocking God, and David said, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that would come out here and mock our God?”  Amen?  We might think that what we’ve been proven in is not that big of a deal, but I want you to know whatever we have that’s fully consecrated to God, that we’ve been proven in, God is able to take and use it for His glory.  “What’s that in your hand?”  “It’s just an old staff.”  “Throw it down before Pharaoh,” and it turns into a serpent that swallows up the serpents of Egypt’s magicians.  The world can conjure up a lot of things, trying to imitate God; but their snakes are going down.  So, David takes that sling, those five smooth stones.  Some may ask, “Well if he was in faith, why did he have five stones?  Did he think he was going to miss?”  No, Goliath had four brothers.  The Anakims, the giants, were in that area, that land.  He wasn’t the only one; it was a family.  And faith doesn’t run from the devil, David ran at Goliath; amen?  When we resist the enemy, he flees from us.  How have you been doing lately?  Have you got the devil on the run?  The Lord’s so good and He’s wanting us to be proven.  He’s wanting to prove His faithfulness to us; there’s nothing too hard for the Lord.  That little stone and that slingshot is sufficient against everything, the best the world has.

If you’re facing temptations and trials, there’s a fourth man in the furnace with you, praise God!  God will not allow you to be tempted past that that you’re able to stand, and with every temptation He makes a way of escape, hallelujah!

Father, we thank You for Your love and Your mercy.  We ask that You would continue to reveal Yourself to us and show Yourself mighty.  Help us to be faithful, help us to stand, increase our faith, Lord.  We want to glorify Your name.  I don’t want to disappoint You, Lord; I don’t want to fail You.  It’s grace—it’s nothing in us—it’s grace that we stand.  Give us more grace, and having, then, done all, we will continue to stand, and we will resist the devil, and he will flee from us.  Father, thank You for that in the mighty name of Jesus, amen.