BUILDING STRENGTH IN THE STRUGGLE

Ephesians 6 :1020
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put
on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against
the devils schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and
blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the
powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of
God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to
stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
BUILDING STRENGTH IN THE STRUGGLE

2 Timothy 2: 1 3-5 (NIV)

1 You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ
Jesus.
3 Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
4 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs,
but rather tries to please his commanding officer. 5 Similarly,
anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the
victors crown except by competing according to the rules.
BUILDING STRENGTH IN THE STRUGGLE

Hebrews 12
7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his
children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?
8 If you are not disciplinedand everyone undergoes
disciplinethen you are not legitimate, not true sons and
daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers
who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much
more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live
BUILDING STRENGTH IN THE STRUGGLE

Hebrews 12
10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but
God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in
his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but
painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of
righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13
Make level paths for your feet,[b] so that the lame may not be
disabled, but rather healed.
TAKE UP YOUR CROSS DAILY

Luke 9
22 And he said, The Son of Man must suffer many things and
be rejected by the elders,the chief priests and the teachers of
the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to
life.
23 Then he said to them all: Whoever wants to be my disciple
must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow
me.
TAKE UP YOUR CROSS DAILY
Isaiah 53 (NIV)
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and aicted.
TAKE UP YOUR CROSS DAILY

But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
TAKE UP YOUR CROSS DAILY
He was oppressed and aicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut o from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
TAKE UP YOUR CROSS DAILY

He was assigned a grave with the wicked,

and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lords will to crush him and cause him to suer,
and though the Lord makes his life an oering for sin,
he will see his ospring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
TAKE UP YOUR CROSS DAILY

After he has suered, he will see the light of life and be satised;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered wit hthe
transgressors. For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
TAKE UP YOUR CROSS DAILY

Luke 9
23 Then he said to them all: Whoever wants to be my disciple
must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow
me.
WE ARE CALLED TO CARRY DAILY:
the finished work of what Jesus has done for us.
our personal death to sin and sameness.
the radical representation of righteousness that we are
our willingness to witness about Jesus love.
the redemptive power of Christ's blood and God's resurrection
power
the responsibility of prayer and intercession for our city
THE KEY TO CARRYING ONES CROSS

Hebrews 12 (NIV)
2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its
shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3
Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so
that you will not grow weary and lose heart
THE KEY TO CARRYING ONES CROSS

Hebrews 11: 6b (NIV)

because anyone who comes to him must believe that he
exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.