Times of Refreshing Part 6 (Strength) 26/05/2024

Times of Refreshing Part 6 (Strength) R - rest ✅ E - elevation ✅ F - freedom ✅ R - restoration ✅ E - establishment ✅ S - strength ✅ H - humility  Text: ”Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.“ Acts 3:19-21 NKJV Introduction  In our days people are vulnerable to many things  Everyone wants to be able to stand in this world and claim a right to live and survive in this perilous time  Recession came and left the economical crisis in the world   COVID-19 came and left even worse damage in our world God has been giving His children strength to fight and stand firm against all odds We have seen many people, institutions and companies failing during these tragic events  Corporate world always recruit the strongest people to keep afloat in their business  After work interviews, successful candidates are referred to as strong  If there was a second best they are referred to as strong contenders Everyone want to display some type of strength to command their existence in the world People go as far as queuing at the dark conners to get power and strength  Desire to have power and be strong is a good thing, how you get power is the question we need to ask ourselves to ensure that we are in line with God’s Word.  God Strengthens Us Isaiah 40:29-31 NKJV Isaiah 41:10 NKJV The devil always want to keep us in fear  Results of fear is submission to the rule of darkness or excessive imposition of fear to others in order to protect your space God promises to strengthen, help and uphold us with his hand. What does the Hand of the Lord represent? Exodus 3:19-20 NKJV Here the bible says that Egyptian king will not release you not even through the mighty hand. That is discouraging, but wait a minute it doesn’t end there… He said I will stretch My Hand. ✋🏾  The Hand of God is too powerful that even the Israelites who were in bondage for centuries, had to be let go from the hand of the Pharaoh  All we need to be strong is the hand of the Lord II Corinthians 4:7-9 NKJV The best excellence of power is from God People who get their powers from the darkness are vulnerable to evil and defeat Their victory is short lived Children of God are exposed to many afflictions but they overcome all of them  We Are In A Battle  Why do we need to be strong?  Ephesians 6:10-13 NKJV Whether we want or not, we are in a battle with the spiritual forces  Imagine if South Africa had no defense force?  Some of the enemies are staying away from attacking because they know what is at stake if they attack  If we are not armoured, the devil sees it and attack and bully us  Inner Man Strength: Ephesians 3:16-17 NKJV Ephesians 3:17 GNT The Joy of The Lord Nehemiah 8:10 NKJV Being joyful brings strength  When the devil thinks you’re finished, stand strong in joy and worship from your heart King Jehoshaphat defeated the enemies through joyful praise  Stop singing sad songs and melancholy songs  Closure: Jesus Strong Foundation  Matthew 7:24-25 NKJV Our survival is guaranteed when we build on Jesus Christ the Rock of Refuge  Isaiah 54:17 NKJV We can never stop the weapons production, it’s what the enemy does but they will not prosper  Zechariah 4:6 NKJV Let’s the spirit of the Lord come over us and strengthen us to win in Jesus Name