Prayer and Bible Band

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Background Reading:  

2 Thessalonians 2:15; Galatians 5:1; Ephesians 6:10-24; 1 Corinthians15:58;
Philippians 4:1

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Devotional Reading:

Exodus 14:5-31

 

​Central Verse

“Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit ye like men, be strong.”
1 Corinthians 16:13, KJV

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“Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. “
1 Corinthians 16:13, NLT

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Key Terms

 

Corruption—Dishonest or illegal behavior, especially by influential people

Restoration—A bringing back to a former position or condition.

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Introduction

God has made Himself available to every believer when they accept His Word and
follow it. He gives power to the weak, who can become strong through Him. He tells the
believer to put on the whole armor of God so that he will be able to stand in the face of
the daily attacks of the devil, who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. The believers know
that when they accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they set themselves as
targets for their enemies. They are aware of the time that they are living in. It is a time
when men are lovers of themselves more than they love God. Men are covetous,

boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, traitors, heady,
high-minded lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.

Believers know that they are living in the last days and that the society they are a part of
is filled with corruption. They are aware that the different systems of the world are filled
with corrupt men and women, but they must make decisions to continue to stand for
right and righteousness. They must stand firm in the faith, knowing that men will believe
a lie and be damned instead of accepting the truth of God’s Word. Believers know that
righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people (Proverbs 14:34).

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Discussion

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The Word of the Lord tells the believers to prepare themselves for the devil’s attacks by
dressing properly. They must put on the entire armor of the Lord, fully equipped from
their head to their toes. They must have on the armor of God that will guard and protect
them from the firey, evil darts of the enemies of their souls. The people of God cannot
afford to agree with the policies and procedures of this world—the policies and
procedures the world implements are born from a place of corruption. The motives and
reasons for many of the standards are birthed from lies and manipulations.

The cunning and craftiness of ungodly men who are controlling governments,
corporations, financial institutions, and educational systems are all designed to cause
the believers to cave in and fall. There is nothing new under the sun. The believers must
remain faithful to God and Holy principles by seeking God’s will in everything they do.
He must seek the counsel of God in all his ways, for when ungodly men are in power,
the people mourn and suffer, but when the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice
(Proverbs 29:2).

The righteous must remember that the power they received from fasting and praying, as
Queen Esther and the people did in the face of being deStroyed, still works. Pastors
must call the people back together and fall on their faces, fasting and praying unto God.
With God, the righteous become as bold as lions. Lions are not afraid of any other
animal in the jungle.

God said, “Call unto Me, and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things,
which you have not known.” (Jeremiah 33:3). After God’s beople had been in Egypt for
over four hundred years and had been put under hard taskmasters, they constantly
cried out and prayed to God until He heard them. God sent Moses to them to be a
deliverer for them. Pharaoh had gotten corrupt and greedy and did not want to allow
them to leave Egypt, for he wanted them to stay and remain enslaved people so he
could continue to receive free money for their labor.

 

When a person is bound by sin and sinful habits, the devil does not want them to be free in Jesus Christ. He does not want them to know that there is freedom in Christ Jesus. He strips them of their dignity, causing them to become bound by addictions of many different types that take them to the brink of despair. Satan loves to put people in a state of helplessness and cause them to lose their hope in God, in the church, and this corrupt society around them. He will not allow them to see the positive people who fell but got back up and are yet standing.

When the children of Israel had gotten to the Red Sea, which was in front them, with
mountains on each side of them and Pharoah’s army with their chariots behind them,
they felt trapped and became afraid. Life often seems to bring the believers to a similar
place, but they must do as Moses said: Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.
Stand still and watch God deliver you. Stop complaining, fix your thoughts on
deliverance, knowing that God will pick you up if you fall.

God’s power is yet the same today as it was at the Red Sea when He allowed
Pharaoh’s army to get drowned in the sea that awful day. Paul told the believers that
when they had done all to stand, pull strength from God and keep standing, remembering that God is the strength of their lives.

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​Conclusion

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There are times when believers cannot go forward or backward. They must make
themselves content. They must stand still and watch God work through the uncertainty
of uncertain times. They can find comfort in knowing that God’s Word is being fulfilled in
their lives. As they stand still, they can know that the wisdom of the Word that has
survived generation after generation and endured will yet lead them down paths of
righteousness.

During his time of standing still amid corruption all around him, the believer can make
this a time of supernatural happenings. Let God give him supernatural rest, let God
flood his mind with peace and peaceful thoughts, let it be a time of restoration of joy, be
still, and stand on the promises of God.

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​Questions​​

1. How does the believer prepare for a corrupt society? 

2. What is expected to happen during this time?

3. How can the believer involve God during this time?

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​Essential Thought​

God wants to fight battles for you and let you declare His goodness.​

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