Watch
ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. 1 Corinthians
16:13 KJV
Edward Garbett (1817–1887)who was an
honorary canon of Winchester, England, was a religious figure and writer of the
19th century. Here's what he wrote on this verse:
The requirements of the Christian warfare
The associations of war and battle breathe in every word of this
exhortation.
It touches the heart as the spirit-stirring address of a
trusted leader touches the hearts of his comrades at some great emergency of
the conflict.
As the foe gathers in the distance, half hidden behind the
brow of the hill or beneath the shadow of the forest, and it remains doubtful
for the moment at what quarter the storm will break, his warning voice calls to
vigilance--“Watch ye.”
As the tide of war rolls its threatening masses onwards, and
the advancing column of the enemy, grim and ominous as a thundercloud,
threatens to overwhelm the slender line of defenders, the leader’s clear voice
is heard in the momentary hush of suspense, exhorting them to steadiness and
constancy--“Stand fast.”
As the opposing lines break in the shock of battle
confusedly, like the meeting of two angry tides, and warrior contends hand to
hand with warrior, the familiar voice still sounds amid the tumult, “Quit
you like men.”
As beneath the fury of the assault the line of the patriot
host shakes and wavers, and the crisis calls for a courage prepared to die, but
never to yield, I picture to myself the figure of the dauntless leader as he
lifts his banner aloft and shouts, “Be strong.”
(Canon Edward Garbett.)
"Watch ye!"
Every Christian believer, and indeed
every person on this planet is engaged in a spiritual conflict. The Christian
believer however is aware of this conflict, and is warned and encouraged and
advised about it.
In the single verse above we are
exhorted to "Watch ye!" or to be on guard. As noted in Batman
Begins...you have to learn to mind your
surroundings! Things may not always be what they seem to be, and we are
cautioned to be vigilant! Peter said Be
sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a
roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith,
knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the
world. 1 Peter 5:8-9 NKJV
Paul says, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the
Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and
supplication for all the saints; Ephesians 6:18 NKJV
Watch
therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that
if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he
would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man
cometh. Matthew 24:42-44 KJV
Watch
therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man
cometh. Matthew 25:13 KJV
And
he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter,
What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not
into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Matthew
26:40-41 KJV
Watch
ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or
at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he
find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch. Mark 13:35-37
KJV
But
ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a
thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are
not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others;
but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they
that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be
sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the
hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain
salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or
sleep, we should live together with him. 1 Thessalonians 5:4-10 KJV
But
the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto
prayer. 1 Peter 4:7 KJV
Remember
therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If
therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt
not know what hour I will come upon thee.
Revelation 3:3 KJV
"Stand fast!"
As believer we are required to "Stand
fast!" We do not cut and run when the going gets tough! "Stand
Fast!" We face the enemy head on, and stand toe to toe, for there are
many depending on us ! Of the enemy the Bible says Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same
sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 1 Peter 5:9
NKJV
That's what we do! We resist! Sometimes it seems so easy to
give up, to surrender, to lay down and die. Many have tragically done so! They
have stumbled, slowed down and dropped out of all activity to do with Christ
and His church! But the Bible says Nay, in
all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Romans 8:37 KJV
No,
despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who
loved us. Romans 8:37 NLTse
Submit
yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:7 KJV
Finally,
my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the
whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the
devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against
spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour
of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all,
to stand. Ephesians 6:10-13 KJV
But
we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord,
because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you
by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been
taught, whether by word, or our epistle. 2 Thessalonians 2:13-15 KJV
For
now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 3:8 KJV
Only
let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I
come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand
fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the
gospel; Philippians 1:27 KJV
Stand
fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not
entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Galatians 5:1 KJV
When bondage looks like liberty and
liberty in Christ looks like bondage, we have become willingly blind and its
difficult to see where we are going when we keep our eyes closed.
"Quit you like men!"
We're more than defense! We're the
offense! "Quit you like men!" When our country declares war, regardless of how we feel about it, we are
also at war. We're treated as the enemy and we fight back as the enemy! Be it
know to Christian believers, all and sundry, everywhere! The kingdom of heaven
has declared war against evil everywhere, and every believer is automatically
enlisted, engaged and enmeshed in this war under the leadership of the
Commander in Chief! Therefore "Quit you like men!"
When Jesus
came to the earth He stepped right down unto enemy territory and bested the
enemy! He then proceeded further and stepped down into Death and Hades, and
ripped authority away from them! He stormed the gates of hell and prevailed!
The enemy
will try to install gates in your life! Gates allow the entry of evil into a
stronghold. Gates are fixed but they open or close to receive and let go,
allowing passage. Jesus said the gates of hell shall not prevail against the
church built on The Rock! Jesus said
He will build His church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it. The church was not called to be on the defense but on the offensive! We're
not called to hold the fort but to storm the gates of hell! We are not
fighting a defensive warfare and struggling to hold on desperately to what we
can get! No! We are engaged in a frontal assault on the gates of hell, and we
have God's own promise and assurance that those gates cannot stand against us!
So when the conflict is raging around us, in the middle of all the noise and
confusion "Quit you like men!"
"Quit you like men!" in your marriages! Husbands, love your
wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; Ephesians 5:25 KJV
Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them
according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel,
and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not
hindered. 1 Peter 3:7 KJV
"Quit you like men!"as fathers with your children And, ye fathers,
provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4
KJV
"Be Strong!"
Over and over again we are exhorted
and encouraged to be strong! Finally, my
brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Ephesians
6:10 NKJV
You are not standing in your
strength alone for ...the LORD is the strength of
your life! Psalm 27:1 "Be Strong!"
The
joy of the LORD is your strength! Nehemiah 8:10 "Be
Strong!"
Be
strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy
God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be
strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land
which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause
them to inherit it. Deuteronomy 31:6-7 KJV
Be
strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an
inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Only be
thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to
all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the
right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate
therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is
written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt
have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage;
be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee
whithersoever thou goest. Joshua 1:6-9 KJV
And
David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear
not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will
not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the
service of the house of the LORD. 1
Chronicles 28:20 KJV
Strengthen
ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a
fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance,
even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the
blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall
the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the
wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched
ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the
habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of
holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring
men, though fools, shall not err therein. Isaiah 35:3-8 KJV
'''the
people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. Daniel
11:32 KJV "Be Strong!"
It is vital and of eternal
consequence that we know God! How can we know God! Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it
sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet
hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and
how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? John 14:8-9 KJV
Thomas
saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the
way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh
unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father
also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. John 14:5-7 KJV
To know Christ is to know the
Father! To know the Father is to know God! To know God is to be strong and do
exploits! Believe Him! Believe on Him! Be strong in Him!
Again I say Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be
strong.
You
therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2
Timothy 2:1 NKJV
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