https://youtu.be/kDt1TD-rPfs




Encouraged in the Lord-Revival week January 3-9



This next season requires spiritual maturity and steadfastness. I will not be moved. God gave me the following Scripture in the late summer of 2019 for the darkness that was coming in 2020



Isaiah 60:1-2 Arise (from your prostrate and depressed position), shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. 2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the Lord will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you.



“Are You a Fair-Weather Warrior?”- Title



“And David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.” 1 Samuel 30:6 KJV



2019 was a rough year. I read these words from Scripture and I can relate of having everyone you have loved and taken care of turn on you. I wanted to quit.  Ps Matt was attacked, I was attacked, my kids were attacked. We were publicly shamed. The enemy tried to destroy our whole church. This is not new things to us, we have people attack us all the time, but this was a large scale- well orchestrated attack of the enemy and it was probably one of the most hurtful times of my life. Some of you do not realize what this church is to Ps matt and I, it is not just a “church”, it’s not our job or even our ministry, it is our child. We have loved, cared for and sacrificed for her and it was almost destroyed in 2019.



The Holy Spirit spoke a word to me in that season that I have held onto: “Crystal, the enemy doesn’t have to completely destroy you. He just has to do enough to render you ineffective”. And He gave me through another lady one of my life verses (it is an obscure verse that the Lord spoke to me the first year of my salvation)



Proverbs 24:10 “if you faint in the days of adversity, your strength is small”



A fair-weather warrior faints in the day of adversity. God uses adversity to refine us. Give yourself over to the process. David encouraged himself in the Lord



“Encourage” is from the Hebrew châzaq: to be or grow firm or strong, strengthen, to strengthen, prevail, harden, be strong, become strong, be courageous (put courage in), be firm, grow firm, be resolute, be sore



The opposite of encourage is to be discouraged. Discouragement is a tool of the enemy and only leads into more destruction. In this life, you will have to consistently fight against becoming discouraged. How do we fight discouragement?



The first thing David did to put courage in himself was to inquire of the Lord: v. 8



Humility- David did not press on in his own strength and knowledge. He didn’t retaliate out of vengeance. He didn’t quit. He humbled himself to seek God. Pride will cause the Lord to resist you. Before you do ANYTHING, you should inquire of the Lord. And I don’t mean just the big things, but the small. Before you move and before you apply for a job, and even before you plan a vacation. Inquire of the Lord EX: I remember when we wanted to go to Disneyland a few years ago with a group of people and as I prayed about it, I kept hearing, ”do not go”. We canceled. Two days before we were scheduled to go, I had a derm appt. and the dr. wanted to remove a mole



What’s your attitude toward prayer to God?  Do you hope He hears? David knew God heard him and he believed the Word of the Lord “you shall recover all”:



Psalm 116:1 I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice and my supplications.



I know God hears my prayers. I don’t just hope that He hears me, I know He hears me. And because I know He hears me, I know He will answer. EX: I was in a prayer meeting and a lady asked for a prayer requests and another lady in the group who knew me very well said, “Get Crystal to pray for you. God always answers her prayers.” I laughed. But that was her perception of me.