How to Gain Strength in Your Spirit to Stand Above Temptation
Words by Apostle Arome Osayi. Can be found on YouTube under the same title.
TEXTS:
Proverbs 24:10; Daniel 7:25; Galatians 6:9; Psalm 119:11; Luke 21:31, 32
“If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.”
Proverbs 24:10 (kjv)
The cause of fainting in the face of adversity is little strength. This means that you cannot truly assess your strength until a moment of adversity comes to test you.
The strength of a preacher is not determined on the pulpit of exploits, rather it is determined by his ability to survive adversity.
Prophet Elijah was instrumental to the birthing of a significant national revival, but after the revival he received a threat that put pressure on him. This adversity tested the measure of strength he had.
One evidence that proves that you are being nurtured in the Spirit is the way you react in times of adversity.
If you lose the virtue of sincerity, you will be in the dungeon before you know it.
“And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High…”
Daniel 7:25 (kjv)
We note that one of the tactics that the devil employs against believers is an attempt to wear us out.
The devil is satisfied when a minister begins to gain confidence in a certain method of operation (and the minister doesn’t take time to spiritually refresh himself).
At such times, the devil orchestrates a temptation to bring such a minister down. The outcome of this is then the true measure of the minister’s strength and not all the exploits he carried out.
This does not happen in a moment, it happens over time. And at the point the minister is worn out, the devil comes with a temptation and whatever the outcome, the minister’s strength is thereby defined.
And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
Galatians 6:9 (kjv)
The challenge then is to have a system that keeps us from fainting. The things that make for spiritual strength.
The devil’s agenda is to design conditions to ensure that the believer’s end point is a place of weariness.
How do you prepare for the season of adversity (the window of time that the devil brings adversity)?
Before the devil comes with a temptation, he would attempt to enter into his target’s routine.
He does so with the intention of making the believer confident in a certain routine that renders him weak when the time comes for the face-off with temptation. He will weaken the things that bring you strength.
Therefore, you will need grace to keep on praying.
The devil infiltrates the believer’s routine to make sure that he gains mastery in the things that strengthen the flesh, while opposing the things that strengthen the spirit.
The Bible gives us recommendations to help us survive the season of adversity:
HIDE THE WORD OF GOD IN YOUR HEART
- “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” (Psalm 119:11) – A man that is able to survive intense temptation does so because he has strength which he received from the word.
- It is not the word that you preached that will save you in the day of adversity, but the one that is hidden in your heart.
If you lose the virtue of sincerity, you will be in the dungeon before you know it.
When you are sincere with yourself and you realize the level of strength you have, you will not need adversity to reveal it – you will prepare yourself adequately before that time.
When you sense a season of adversity at hand – in preparation, you will have to engage in fasting and prayer. You must do so until the strength comes. The strength will come with conviction and a proclamation from God (a word).
The word that is hidden in the heart is hidden for the day of adversity.
The words that God gives you about your calling (about the yoke of your calling): those words are the words of covenant He gives you which become your strength against anything that comes to oppose your calling.
Your attacks will be around your call.
Most preachers preach and fail to realize when there is an increase in their scope. And when they fail to realize this they don’t prepare themselves for the new conflicts that come with the increase in their spiritual level.
These words (that you’ve hidden in your heart) are the specific words that God speaks to you about your calling. You begin to understand the spiritual exercises you need to put in place to bear the yoke that you have taken up. This is the key to sustaining the anointing that God releases on you.
It is easy to realize the grace at work in your life. You will know because when you begin to minister in that capacity, there is a manifestation – it could be prayer (your weapon is prayer; when you pray the atmosphere changes).
At that point, if you remain faithful in that office, God usually increases your capacity. For example, God could grant you utterance beyond your normal capability, however, such increases usually come at a price.
Note that there will be resistance to this increase because the devil is against your spiritual progress.
So, it is also necessary for you to study the ammunition that the devil uses against you, because it gives you an insight to the level of threat you present to the devil.
You need to be a good student!
Take record of the kind of things that come your way. Every hit you take is an indication of the level of threat you are to the kingdom of darkness.
When God tells you to prepare, there is a season He has in mind. He knows it and you can be sure that the devil is also waiting for that season to obstruct God’s agenda.
Therefore, when you sense that the season is coming, it is important and necessary for you to seek reinforcement so that you can birth the realities that God has in mind.
HAVE INTERCESSORS AROUND YOU TO PRAY FOR YOU
“And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”
Luke 22:31, 32 (kjv)
It is either you hide words in your heart so that you can endure the season of temptation, or, you can have people that pray for you.
When you are praying to God for strength for a season, don’t stop until God speaks. It is that word that will be your defence any time you are accosted by the enemy.
It is likely that Peter was unaware that Jesus was praying for him. Nevertheless, Jesus prayed for him and the Saviour got to a point that He had assurance that His prayer had prevailed.
Therefore, there are two ways that you can survive the test that will come:
- Hiding the word of God in your heart (being faithful to the instructions that God gives you about your call). They come easy because you have put yourself in a position of being faithful to these guidelines. You are meticulous about it.
- Having intercessors around you.
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