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"A BUNCH OF CORINTHIANS"

Biblical Deliverance Ministries

1 Corinthians 1 verse 1

Paul called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus.

Called by the will of God to be . . .

    The sovereign Almighty Creator has made the world and everything in it. All have a purpose and a mission from the flowers in the field, to the mountains and forests. Each has its place and purpose.

    Mankind has been made with a mind to think but so often we don’t imagine ourselves as a part of God’s creation. Sometimes we think that we are above all that and that our destiny is in our own hands. No one has the right to choose or call us or to demand any thing of us.

    But does Balaam’s ass insist to God that he will not speak to the prophet.

    Do the ravens complain of bringing food to Elijah and not eating it themselves?

    Do the cedars of Lebanon resist being cut down to build a temple for the Lord in Jerusalem, or the donkey ‘never ridden’ when he is taken to Jesus for that grand entrance into Jerusalem.

    Do we complain when we are asked to do some service and it conflicts with our schedule, desires or comfort.

    God the Almighty has chosen/called us to be . . . (what?) To use the gifts and abilities that we have been given for (what?)

    Scripture says that He (God) has made some vessels for noble use, some for ignoble use. Some for salvation and some for destruction.

    Should we glory in the fact that we are saved? What are we saved for?

    We are saved to bring glory to God in many ways. In living, in service, in praising Him.

    The will of God means that His will is sovereign. Although we may wonder why we are this or that, we cannot question God’s will/choice or overall plan. God created and it was good. He maintains His creation perfectly and in harmony.

    We might look at a Mongoloid child and question God’s creative ability. Do we question His care and concern? Do we question His wisdom? Is everything He creates good? Many a time God’s love and beauty is clearly seen in the loving trust of a Mongoloid child. It is difficult for others who watch to bear and for the parents who care for them but God sees how every situation will develop and work together for His great glory.

    We are not all called to be apostles as Paul was but we are called to be saints (set apart for His use.)

    God fits us with the temperament, giftings and opportunities to fill our part. He will not let us fall behind in any spiritual gift that we need to fill our part in His overall plan. If I need the gift of tongues or prophecy to complete His plan for my life, you can be sure that God will give it to me. If I need the gift of helps to pour tea at church, wash dishes and feel fulfilled in doing so, then the gift of healing will not help with this.

    The overall picture is what God sees and His individual picture for each of us is different, to fit into the whole to bring glory to His name.

    A man is converted and becomes a preacher; Billy Graham leads many into the kingdom. A lady is blind but loves the Lord; Fanny Crosby’s hymns are a blessing to thousands. The mother of a large family is left destitute by her husband but brings up her family, John and Charles Wesley, to change the face of England. A man is cast in prison, tortured for fourteen years; Richard Wurmbrand is a tower of strength and an inspiration to the "suffering" Rumanian church.

    Does God know what He’s doing? Has He a plan? Does He choose people? Is His will more important than ours is?

    What a privilege to be chosen by God and to submit our will to His. To obey when he chooses us with pleasure and pride.

1 Corinthians 2 verse 9

It is written. No eye has seen nor ear heard neither has the heart thought of what God has prepared for those who love Him.

The unimaginable future

    The creation by our Almighty God that we see around about us, the minute detail that we observe with fascination, the mountaintop vistas that bring forth gasps of admiration, the glory of the stars and space on which we gaze in wonder. The command, a word, and the expression of God created all. What power! What wisdom! What expression! All of this for the habitation of mankind, the highest of His creation with whom God had hoped to have fellowship.

    We chose ourselves as the ones whose will it was and still is most important to satisfy, rather than that of the loving God who created us. Thus the fellowship between us was broken to be renewed only at the cost of the life of Jesus Christ His son and then only to those who would accept His sacrifice for us. Paradise was lost and all that remains are the physical benefits of His creation, which in love He maintains in the hope they will convince all men of His love, faithfulness and provision.

    So many stop right there and do not renew the fellowship that God offers. They only enjoy His creation for here and now.

    God tells us that these are only a vestige of the glories that He has prepared for those who do come to Him and renew that wonderful fellowship. He is to live with them in heaven His own abode, the magnificence of which we can’t imagine. Nothing yet seen on earth can prepare us for its glories. Nothing that we could imagine if we spent a lifetime trying to imagine ultimate beauty, peace, joy and intimate fellowship would come anywhere near what those who love Him will one day experience. It is more than their hearts could hope or wish for and it will happen. It is as certain as the promise of God seen in the constancy of the rising of the sun and the certainty that season follows season.

    Yes it will happen and it will happen for all that put their trust in Him and who wait for His coming.

1Corinthians 3 verse 17

If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him; for the temple of God is holy.

Warnings to Spiritual Builders

    Each believer is a ‘spiritual builder’ using our gifts and ministries to play our part in the ‘body’ of Christ as directed and enabled by Christ the ‘head’.

    We not only build ourselves up spiritually, recognising that we are God’s ‘temple’ and allowing nothing to defile it; but as mentioned earlier in verses 12 we should be careful to build into our own lives only those things that will win God’s approval. Some items may look good but when the testing day comes, will they burn as wood hay or stubble? Were deeds done for self-glorification or for material gain or were they done in true and humble service, in worshipful devotion.

    Like Paul, Apollos and Peter we are also building into the temple (lives) of others. Maybe a Sunday-School pupil, or some young person we mentor. Are we building with solid value? Is the lesson ill prepared and lacks substance? Is what we teach accurate and does it tie in with the teaching of the whole of scripture? Verse 17 gives the warning that if we build into that temple by teaching, attitude and example values and understanding that will not stand God’s scrutiny on ‘The Day’ God will hold us responsible. This is a grave warning to all of us as to our responsibility with regard to the way we conduct our lives, the decisions we make and the precepts that we teach. We should be aware that every believer, even very small ones, are the ‘temple’ of God and that we build into them only what is good.

1 Corinthians 4 verse 2

The prime requisite of stewards is fidelity.

Faithfulness in Stewards

        Faithfulness is becoming a thing of the past for many in our communities today, with our ‘speeded-up’ society where marriage breakdown is rife, if people consider marriage at all. Relationships are increasingly short-term. In industry redundancy seems to be the ready answer to a cash-flow problem or a change in company direction. Many employers no longer seem to have any moral obligations to their employees. By the same token long term employees are a thing of the past. People quickly leave a job for a few more dollars, a change of environment or new job opportunities. They feel under no obligation to their employers.

    This attitude spills over into the church. People want no commitments and responsibilities and will hop from church to church, looking for that fleeting ‘what-ever-it-is.’ Maybe even their attitude toward God is that they can take Him or leave Him. After all, can God really expect me to put myself out and stay in a place of difficulty?

    God has appointed us as stewards of the gifts and abilities that he has given us. He has given us responsibilities. He requires us to be faithful where He has placed us until He places us elsewhere. As in the parable of the talents, where the stewards were accountable; so will we be also. Paul tells us in verse 4 that we are accountable to the Lord. We don’t have to justify ourselves to any other person. He is the Lord and we have the honour of being His stewards. Like the marathon runner, we are in it for the long haul. How I admire those early missionaries who in faith went out as young men and women, trusting God for their needs and protection, to live and die among the people that they served.

     It is required of a servant that they be faithful.

1 Corinthians 5 verses 7-8

Purge out the old yeast…You are in fact unleavened.

The Trouble with Leaven

    What a picture these verses portray for us, they are taken right out of the Passover. During this time the house was searched for leaven and any found was removed, so that all in the home was pure and not tainted in any way. Leaven was a symbol for unholiness.

    Believers are likened to pure unleavened bread, with no taint of sin.

    The Passover lamb ‘Christ’ is sacrificed to cover our faults and we are made pure. We can enjoy the ‘feast’ of the Christian life and the fellowship of Christ and of our fellow believers.

    It is a shame in the very sense of the word to entertain deliberate, sometimes gross and open sin in our lives, while professing to be under the blood of Christ. Sin openly displayed or secretly accepted is like leaven and spreads like cancer through the life and through the church. Drastic surgery is called for and it must be condemned and rooted out.

    Note that in verse 5 Paul’s concern is firstly for the larger group, the body of Christ but even this judgement is for the wayward person’s good that his spirit may be saved.

How God must value what is pure in life and worship.

1 Corinthians 6 verse 17

He who joins himself to the Lord becomes spiritually one with Him.

The Importance of the Body

    Sin against one's own body is serious. It is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

    When we sin against our own body we may think that since no other person is affected, it does not matter all that much. After all both are agreeing to sin, unlike murder or theft where another innocent party is hurt.

    Our bodies are as important to God as our spirits. Christ died to save not only our spirits but our bodies also and they will be raised in a new but similar form.

    Just as food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, these are important to each other. They are separate but were created for one another and cannot do without the other. If either has nothing to do with the other, both will waste. So it is with the Lord and our bodies. We are His. He has redeemed us. He expresses Himself through us but we must dedicate our bodies to Him and not to lust and other selfish uses.

    Without our bodies God’s expression in the world would be limited to His written word and His creation in the world of nature. A great part of His witness would be missing. The church, the body of Christ is made up of the bodies of individuals, those who have accepted the lordship of Christ and it is through this body that He loves to express Himself.

    When the church is taken out of the world, a great and effective part of His witness to the world, His hands, feet, His tears, His smile and understandable human voice will have been removed.

    The body is important and must be dedicated to the Lord, as a bride is dedicated to her husband. The body must not be prostituted on things that the worldly nature lusts after. Verse 20 tells us that you were bought and paid for.

 1 Corinthians 7 verses 10-11

The Lord commands that the wife must not leave her husband…and a husband must not divorce his wife.

Till Death Do Us Part

    I can’t help but see in this command of the Lord a picture of our relationship with Himself, often likened to a marriage in scripture. It tells us something of His values and what He counts as precious.

    The Lord loves us as His bride and bestows all His gifts and His own name and character upon us. His love does not fade, neither is there anything that draws His attention from us. His love is focused. He calls for us to love Him in like manner.

    We however are drawn away so often by any number of distractions. The intensity of our love and attention waxes and wanes and sometimes we alienate ourselves from Him. But does He divorce us? No! Just as Hosea pursued his wife and brought her back, so the Lord strives with us and seeks to restore us when we go astray.

    When we are saved, we are saved for all time. However just as in a human relationship both parties are grieved in a split-up, so the Lord is grieved when our love for Him turns cold.

    However, as in the story of the shepherd who found and brought home his lost lamb to the fold, there is rejoicing when we make up again with our beloved bridegroom.

 1 Corinthians 7 verse 35b

I mention this to promote proper behaviour and undisturbed devotion to the Lord.

Giving what is Right

    In all of our dealings with other people and especially with our fellow Christians we should do what is right and proper. How many times have we heard of Christians in partnerships that have ended in a bitter break-down, where one party has been swindled the other, or a Christian who looks out a Christian tradesman with the hope getting a cheap job, simply because he is a fellow Christian.

    Let us always do what is fair, right and proper.

Give yourselves completely to the Lord’s service without reservation. Christ did not reserve one drop of blood when He died for us. He paid the price of sin in full. Our sin is completely atoned for. He gave Himself completely and without reservation in obedience to the will of God.

    God has placed us in diverse situations and ways of life. Some keep homes. Some help the sick, care for the aged, or build houses, yet every believer has a part to play in the scheme of God’s will. Some are to preach, some to help in other ways as we are gifted.

    Our attitude should be to do all as unto the Lord; that others may give glory to God, when they observe our right and proper behaviour and see that our stand for God and right, is the motivating factor in our lives.

Let us give ourselves to the Lord’s service completely and without reserve.

1 Corinthians 8 verse 6

There is one God the Father from whom all things come and who is our goal.

One God and one Lord Jesus Christ

    This is our faith base. The understanding of these facts colours our whole way of life and gives us our freedom in Christ. There is no confusion as to who holds power, to whom we owe allegiance, what our goal in life is and what binds us. All things come from God the Father, as James says ‘All good things come from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness neither shadow of turning.’ All comes to us from the Father through Christ and for the Christian God is the only one to whom we offer worship, sacrifice and offerings.

    Idols are nothing. So far as the Christian is concerned, they have no power and offerings made to them are invalid. The Christian gives back to our true giver, the only God.

    The sole power that an idol has is the power that a deluded person gives to it. Then it will hold sway over that person and Satan will use it to keep him or her in subjection.

    God is our goal; we have life through our Lord Jesus. Everything we are and have comes from Him.

 1 Corinthians 9 verse 24b

So run your race that you may win it.

This is your race.

    Paul likens his earthly mission to a race run at the games, where every competitor faces the starting line with the prize uppermost in his mind, to win the victor’s crown. No one starts a race desiring to come last.

    All the athletes have met the qualifying standard and enter with a chance of winning. The difference between winning and losing may come down to the discipline of mind and body in preparation. This may be the only difference on the day.

    Paul knew that the Christian life is not a cruise. It is a hard run race and requires a determination to continue on until the end, turning not to the right, nor to the left. He knew that we would have to discipline our minds and bodies to do what is right and not to lazily make our way through life.

    To be effective in our role as teachers of the word, we must learn, practise and be positive in our decision to follow Christ. Just as in a race an elite athlete will stamp his authority on a race; so in the Christian life, to proclaim God’s word effectively, there must be authority.

    An athlete, who breaks the rules or cheats to gain advantage, is disqualified. Paul advises that we do everything we can to make our race an honest endeavour by self-discipline, so that whilst preaching to others we are not disqualified.

 1 Corinthians 10 verses 16-17

Is not the blessed cup…a fellowship in the blood of Christ…The many of us are one bread.

The Communion of the Cup

    The cup of communion is indeed a fellowship in the blood of Christ and the bread a fellowship in His body. No wonder it is a sacrament not to be taken lightly. It is easy to come in a distracted manner to the communion and because we come frequently we need to be careful not to take it for granted and to simply go through the motions. We must remember that it is a fellowship in the precious blood of Christ.

    True the bread and wine are but symbols, but the fellowship is real. The risen Christ is attending in Spirit. He actually died to pay the price for very specific sins of each of us in particular. Part of the fellowship is a renewed commitment of ourselves to Him. Jesus told us that if anyone were committed to Him, it may cost his own blood and that he would have to deny himself and take up his own cross to follow Him.

    The communion isn’t just some nice thing we do on Sundays, simply to remember Christ, it is something way deeper than that. It is commitment to Him and commitment to the body of Christ ‘His Church,’ of which He is the head. There is seriousness about this commitment to Christ but there is also a joy in aligning ourselves and standing with the Lord of Glory. When we stand with Christ, He shares with us every blessing and promises to be with us and enable us in every trial and temptation; finally taking His own to be with Him when He comes again.

    It is in heaven that we shall take part in this feast with greatest joy. There God’s plan of redemption is finally completed and we share in the marriage supper of the lamb where Christ the ‘bridegroom’ takes the church the ‘bride’ to be with Him forever. Then our trust in Him is rewarded in such a wonderful way.

Let a person look carefully at himself and in that spirit eat of the bread and drink from the cup.

Examine yourself and so Drink

    Self-examination is absolutely useless unless it’s honest. (A careful examination of our own hearts.) We are the ones who know our own hearts best but how often we overlook our own faults and judge others. As the bible says, "The heart is deceitful … and desperately wicked."

    There is one who knows our hearts even better than we do ourselves. A smooth outward appearance or an incomplete confession can’t fool God; He knows our thoughts that precede both the intent and the deed. He knows us through and through and all together.

    It is therefore up to us to assess our own lives honestly in His presence, confess our wrongdoing, seek His cleansing and so partake of the communion. We should do so each and every time that we come to His table, for we are remembering a very real sacrifice made on our behalf. In this spirit we should eat and drink. How the Lord will value our presence and participation when we value what is precious to Him.

Don’t abstain, but rather search our hearts and so drink. Then we will bring joy both to the Lord who invites us and to our own hearts as we participate.

I do not want to leave you in the dark, brothers, about spiritual gifts.

Regarding Spiritual Gifts

    As Christians we are all part of the body of Christ. The life of the body of Christ is God’s Holy Spirit. He runs through the whole body, energising each member and making the body function as a body, in harmony with His will.

    As in our physical bodies disease may hinder its harmonious functioning. In spiritual terms our insistence on having our own way can cause the body to malfunction.

    We have seen that in basic human terms, we are all made differently and have giftings and personalities that give us certain character traits. We do our best work when we are operating out of those areas. However what we are talking about when we refer to ‘Spiritual Gifts’ is something quite different. These are specific spiritual gifts, not hereditary personal traits and abilities. These gifts operate by the power of the Holy Spirit, not by the natural power of man. This is the life of the body of Christ.

    These gifts are given to the church, solely at the discretion of the Holy Spirit for the benefit of the church as a whole and not necessarily for the benefit of the person they are given to. He may match a gift to our personal traits, in fact He quite likely does.

    These gifts are of power, to be humbly used to build up the church and to bring glory to our Lord Jesus Christ.

    We must not confuse the bestowal of the gifts as having attained a certain degree of holiness, though in saying that they should indicate a believer yielded to the Lord. The proof of a person’s spiritual gift is that his ministry is anointed. The church is built up in its closer walk with the Lord in a way that it would not be through a purely eloquent speaker, singer or other. (i.e. People are blessed.)

    These gifts are not something to fear but rather a confirmation that God wants to bless our ministries and use us for His glory. They will bring joy and fulfilment as this passage reminds us. These gifts should be sought after as God places in our hearts a desire to minister in a certain way. His blessing of us in that ministry makes us know that He is with us in that thing.

    Some gifts such as tongues or miraculous deeds would be very obvious and would need no other confirmation that they are in operation.

    We are all part of the body of Christ and enjoy taking our place and fulfilling our particular function in it. We do not withdraw because we do not speak in tongues or prophesy. We do not envy another who is fulfilling his own but different function to our own. We all need the other and honour the other and so live for God in harmony.

 1 Corinthians 13 verse 13

There remains then, faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

The Greatest is Love

    Paul having dealt in chapter 12 with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which equip us for service here on earth shows us a more excellent way.

    The spiritual gifts are transitory; they will pass away with this world. Three things remain that pass into eternity. Faith (Our trust, belief and total reliance upon the Almighty God.) Hope (The certainty in our hearts of all that has been promised by God.) The absolute assurance that what has been promised by God is ours now, though not yet received.) Love (The giving of one's self without reserve, physically, materially or emotionally.) That kind of love is the love of heaven; it is the love of God. (Not expecting in return.) These three are grown into our lives as a result of the activity of the indwelling Holy Spirit. They are ‘spiritual fruit and not add-ons as are the gifts and become a part of us that will endure into eternity. They profit us on a personal level.

    Our spiritual gifts are effective, they will operate and they so much the more when underlying them is the love of God in us, will bless people. How much more effective. This love like any fruit needs to be nurtured and given opportunity to grow and ripen

    There is a danger that without the fruits of the Spirit strongly in evidence in our lives and love in particular, a gift of prophesy, tongues or teaching may appear as a clanging gong (just so much noise put on for show, emphasising the importance of the person.) Love does not puff up.

    How does one minister to a famine-starved African community or a homeless family in a war-torn country? Some of our spiritual gifts used inappropriately may not reach the heart. Love will.

    Our Lord Jesus while displaying many of the spiritual gifts in His earthly ministry is known mostly for His love. People responded to His miracles but they were changed by His love.

 1 Corinthians 14 verse 1

Make love your great quest; then desire spiritual gifts.

Make love your Goal

    Having previously listed and spoken of the special gifts of the Holy Spirit and having considered the fruit of the Spirit, the outworking of God’s nature through us, Paul now encourages us to make love our goal, our great quest.

    When I think of a quest, I think of determination, focus, effort, hardship, excitement, and a planned expedition.

    God wants us to make love our quest. It doesn’t just happen. We must give the Holy Spirit opportunities to let that fruit grow. We must determine to love.

    At first it may be difficult, but as we strive in our quest, God will enable us. He gives the strength but we make the effort.

    Then desire Spiritual gifts. Seek after them, long for them. To desire a Spiritual gift is to desire a good thing. It means that you have a desire to serve the Lord and to build up the church through your imput. You will seek the Lord for them.

    Seek most of all, gifts that will be understandable to people, that will encourage, comfort and instruct. How blessed the church would be to have in their midst a group of people whom the Lord had especially gifted for service. No pride, no showmanship, no one-up-manship. Just committed to serving God in love through the power granted us by the Holy Spirit. How refreshing.

1 Corinthians 14 verses 33A & 40

He is not the God of disorder but of peace…Let everything be done with propriety and in orderly fashion.

A Spirit of Love and Unity

    Our God is a God of order and perfection. All of His creation was pronounced good and as James reminds us, all of His gifts are good. "Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of Lights…" All of His creation works together and was marred only by man’s wilful disobedience, bringing with it death and decay.

    Even so we still marvel at what God has done and is still doing around us day by day. Each one of us has evidence in our own lives that God is at work in and around us.

    The Church is no less a part of God’s creation than anything else in the world. His spiritual gifts are diverse and perfect and as in nature all should work together in harmony and in an orderly manner. Everything is pervaded by His peace, bringing glory and honour to Him.

    Where man’s wilfulness intrudes into the Church there is turmoil. Where one strives for leadership there is dissension. Where many seek preference of their own gift there is chaos.

    Where the spirit of a person is subject to the leading of God’s Holy Spirit and seeks to allow the other the pre-eminence, there is peace and blessing.

 1 Corinthians 15 verse 10

By divine grace, however, I am what I am.

The Grace of God Working in Us

    God by His wonderful grace makes us what we are. He loves us but loving someone does nothing unless it reaches out. A young man may love a girl but she may be totally unmoved unless that love reveals itself. God reached out and showed His love to us by extending His grace toward us. Grace gives though the recipient is unworthy. We slighted and ignored God and went our own way, yet God gave. He planned our salvation and gave His own son to die to take our wrongs. He was separated from His Holy Father. That is grace, that is love. It’s not condescending to help. God’s heart was in it. He could give no more. The song "Wonderful grace that gives what I don’t deserve" says it all.

    By God’s grace He made us new creatures; by His grace he gave us a ministry and gifts with which to complete it. (It is not our own doing.)

    God’s grace extended to Paul was not without effect. Paul accepted God’s grace and allowed it to mould him. He responded to that loving grace. He was grateful for the changes that it made and the more that he yielded to God’s grace, the more he found God working through him. The more God worked through him, the more that Christ was shared with others and the more God’s grace was extended through him to the blessing of the people. This is how it works with us. We humbly use the gifts God has given us and God uses us to the blessing of others, thus extending His Kingdom.

We did not choose God, He chose us to be His very own.

1Corinthians 15 verse 58

Be steadfast, immovable, at all times abounding in the Lords service.

Steadfast and Immovable

    A faith that is steadfast and immovable is what is required to inspire others. It is a rock that is there, hardly noticed in the good times, but a strong point that is relied on in the bad times. This is the kind of faith we need to develop, one that you and others can rely on. Such a faith is not simply a belief in an idea or creed. It is firmly set in observed historical events. The death and amazing resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. God has raised the dead and raises to life all who die with their faith in His promise.

    Can we doubt the God who created all things, who sustains all things, who holds all things in His hands? Who are we to disbelieve God? If we do so, we are saying that our own beliefs and ideas are more to be trusted than the solemn promise of God, that was sealed by the voluntary, substitutionary sacrifice and death of His only Son, for our sin.

    Our labour for the Lord would be in vain, if Christ had not been raised and there was no resurrection of the believing dead. Christ’s resurrection is the only thing that gives real meaning to life and hope for the future. It gives us our motivation for service for God. Believers will happily and enthusiastically offer their time and energy in service for the joy and satisfaction our faith brings.

 1 Corinthians 16 verse 13

Be alert; stand firm in the faith; play the man; be strong.

On Guard!

    What a way to end a letter. Having given advice and the Lord’s mind on a variety of topics, Paul finally encourages the Corinthians and later readers, you and I, to continue in our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

    His words indicate that the way will not be easy and that determination and strength of character will be required to see us through. They suggest a determined and devious opposition. The Christian life is a battle but overcoming is possible, defeat is not inevitable, victory can be assured.

    "Be alert." Watchful, awake, we must guard what we believe, know the truth, not let the truth go, grasp it firmly and live in the assurance of the truth. We must let it be the central part of our lives.

    "Play the man." The life that we have chosen will demand of us all that we can give. There will be those times and circumstances when we will stand alone against great odds and our faith will be tested gravely. Though we may be knocked down we will have to stand again, maybe again and again. It’s not how we start but how we finish that counts.

    "Be strong." We will need to be strong. Besides maintaining our own faith, there will be others who depend on us. They watch through the battle and our strength and endurance may be all that they need to make it through the night.

Having said all this; Phil 4 verse 13 reminds us that we can only do these things through Christ who strengthens us.

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