Strengths a Christian Has Where It Really Matters
Galatians 6:1,2
DATE: 18 Nov, 2007 AM
PLACE: BBC Ballincollig
I. Introduction (Galatians 5:16,17)
A. We are going through a series of studies on Walking in the Spirit, instead of walking, living in the flesh – living according to our old habits and ways
B. The Christian leads a double life – one that is Physical, and is Spiritual
1. The two lives are against each other – they go in exactly opposite directions
2. I am focusing on the Christian’s OTHER Life– the Spiritual life that we have! That part of our life that makes our physical, and emotional burdens a whole lot easier to bear! That part of our life that has been empowered by the presence of God!
C. We have looked at having…
1. A Spiritual Mindset – thinking about things from God’s viewpoint (God looks on the heart, not the appearance)
2. A Spiritual Fight – not with flesh and blood, not with your kids, or your mate, not with your boss or co-workers, not even with yourself, but with spiritual wickedness and demons, and the4 devil himself! What a fight!
3. A Spiritual Rest - There is a spiritual rest that can make up for and overwhelm any physical unrest – it is Christ’s rest
4. A Spiritual Reason for Everything We Do – Just for Jesus!
D. This morning I want to look at Our Spiritual Strength
II. Background (Ephesians 3:16)
A. A Christian has strengths not connected with our muscles, our health, our money, or our abilities
B. It is a strength that is found in the inner man – a spiritual strength
1. We all know what it means to be strong – to be able to carry heavy things, lift weights, able to handle physical attacks
2. The question is how to be strong spiritually
3. Not found naturally in ourselves (Gal 6:1) – only found spiritually, only when spiritual, not physically strong
C. It is a Strength to do what?
1. To Speak up in the midst of opposition, and against all obstacles! Witnessing, and even finding the strength to say, “I forgive you!”
2. To Support burdens (Gal 6:2) – carry other people’s problems, along with our own
3. To Stay faithful – against the flow, against popularity
4. To Stay free from sin’s power and guilt – who wants to get free from a sin only to become enslaved again, and again, and again?
5. To Sing and praise God when everything is falling apart! Amen!
6. More on these things next week when I talk about Moving and Removing Mountains
D. How does someone get such strength?
III. Message – The Christian’s Spiritual Strength
A. Spiritual Strength Comes By Faith – there is strength in just trusting the Lord Jesus – it is not hard to access (Rom 5:1-3)
1. It is a strength for my soul (Psalm 138:3) – the inner man (Eph 3:16) when it is overwhelmed, and crushed by life!
2. How much power is available to the Christian?
a. Tapping into the power of the resurrection (Philp 3:10)
b. All the power that you need (Col 1:11; Matt 28:18,19; Philp 4:13)
3. God HIMSELF is our strength (Psalm 46:1; 73:26) – that’s strong!
4. Trusting means…
a. WAITING on God (Psalm 27:14; Isa 40:31) – impatience is a weakness – and just believing that what God promises, He will do
b. Looking forward to God doing the best – having courage (Psalm 31:24)
c. Depending on God more than self or your mate (Prov 31:10,25) – humility, softness, not anger, or stubbornness
5. It is available only when we are weak (2Cor 12:9) – infirm means “frail”
6. It is not a strength for just lying around, but for taking a stand for the Lord in this evil world (2Tim 4:16,17)
7. How often do you live just by faith? “The just shall live by faith!” Trusting, obeying, just the Lord!
8. ILLUSTRATION:
a. A little boy was playing with his trucks in his backyard, moving rocks and stones to create a road. He came across a large rock that was blocking the path. Using his toy bulldozer, he tried to push the rock out of the way. It didn’t budge. He rammed the bulldozer and the dump truck into the rock at the same time. Nothing happened.
b. Still using his imagination, he pretended to be a helicopter. He hovered over the rock and dropped his arms down to scoop up the rock with his hands. But the rock was too large and it still wouldn’t move.
c. The boy suspended his creativity for a minute and just got about the business of getting the large rock out of his way. He bent down next to the rock and shoved, and shoved, and shoved with all of his might. Still it was no use. The rock remained in place.
d. The little boy sat next to the rock and began to cry. No matter what he did, he couldn’t move that rock out of his way. The boy’s father came to his side and asked him what was wrong.
e. “I can’t move that rock out of my way,” the boy sobbed.
f. “Have you tried everything you can think of to move it?” the father asked.
g. “Yes, I’ve tried everything,” the son answered, “I’m not strong enough.”
h. “You haven’t tried everything,” the father replied.
i. “Yes I have,” the son cried.
j. The father looked at his son and said, “You haven’t used all of your power because you haven’t asked me for help.” And with that, the father reached down, picked up the large, immovable rock, and tossed it aside, out of his son’s way.
k. How many times have you tried to trudge through your life, stubbornly determined to make it on your own? How many times have you overlooked the opportunity to tap into the uncommon power that God provides for us through His Spirit and His people?
B. Spiritual Strength Comes By Fellowship (Acts 18:23; Gal 6:1,2)
1. We need God, AND we need each other – we need our church meetings!
2. Church, when it really is the church, is not some sterile safe haven for the sinless, but rather, a hospital for the hurting, a lighthouse for the lost, a sanctuary for broken, wondering, wandering souls, a connected community of faith, common ordinary people, willing to share each other’s pains, willing to carry each other’s burdens, willing to represent the love of Christ to a helpless world.
3. Just being together as a group of followers of Jesus Christ gives us all spiritual strengths that we will NOT have when we are alone.
4. Too many Christians are weak and giving up because they do NOT put a priority on getting together with other Christians, and humbling themselves under preaching and putting others before self!
a. Galatians 6:2 There is power in Christianity unity “Bear ye one another's burdens.” We are stronger when we stand together than we are when we try to stand as individuals. It gives us confidence and a sense of power when we know that we aren’t alone, when we know that we’ve got other people, maybe more faithful people in our corner, praying for us, and encouraging us.
b. 1Cor 1:23-25 There is power in just hearing the word of God preached - not debated, or derided or denied, but believed!
c. Don’t believe the devil’s lie that you only need to dabble in Church – that may be JUST the reason why you keep falling into secret sins, and have fights, and spiritual defeats in your life and home!
C. Spiritual Strength Comes By Feasting (Psalm 119:28)
1. Bible feasting – digesting large quantities of this Bible
2. The Bible is the only food that satisfies the soul – all other “foods” (the TV, entertainment, friends, magazines, books are junk food (Job 23:12)
3. How is your daily Bible reading? Read your Bible! What hypocrites we are when we claim to believe a book that we do not read nor meditate on!
a. You are only spiritually strengthened according to how much of this Book you read, memorize, meditate on and study
b. Two chapters a day minimum
4. Look at the strength available from this Book (Eccl 7:19; Pr 24:5)
5. Try reading four chapters a day for a month and come back to me and tell me if your life is better and you are stronger! I dare you to try it!
D. Spiritual Strength Comes By Freedom – freedom from the dominance of sin in our lives (Job 17:9; Prov 10:29)
1. Freedom from fear – step out from the shadows and start answering this world’s questions with the truth (Acts 9:22)
2. Get a clear conscience – it will make you strong – sin ONLY weakens you (James 1:15)
3. Seek to please God (Neh 8:10) instead of pleasing self, and friends, and the devil!!!
4. Real Joy (God’s thrill in you) overcomes your physical weaknesses (Prov 17:22) – it gives you joy when your troubles should be causing you to cry
5. But you HAVE to be free from sin to experience the strength that God offers, otherwise you will be running on your own steam, and quickly fail
6. If you are not getting free from sins, you will stay defeated, weak, and broken under your burdens, when you could be strong and helping to carry other people’s problems and burdens!
7. If I were you, and I was struggling with a sin in my life, I would drop the sin for a month and see just how strong you get without that dead-weight in your life!!!
E. Spiritual Strength Comes By Fasting – the Christian’s Secret Weapon (Mark 9:28,29)
1. The opposite of what the world teaches… eat loads of protein, lots of exercise, and healthy eating
2. Jesus says, there are sometimes when you don’t eat, and just spend time instead in open, honest, dependent prayer to God
3. May take 1 day, may take a week, but your strength will come when your flesh, your stomach learns it is not your Lord – Jesus is!
F. Spiritual Strength Comes By Finishing (Psalm 71:18)
1. Just staying faithful in your Christian life
2. There is no strength given to the quitter
3. Only to those who keep running, and keep trusting, and keep praying, and keep experiencing God’s grace on a daily, monthly, yearly basis will find strength from on high!
4. Our children need to know that we have experienced God’s blessings and enablement
a. The previous generation…
1) Put men on the moon
2) Built great cities
3) Defeated two empires (Germany and Japan)
4) Developed incredible technologies
b. But they forgot God, and taught this generation they do not need God
5. So it is doomed to fail
6. Folks, let’s finish what we started by faith – let’s show the generation to come God’s strength, and that His way is best!
IV. Conclusion
A. This morning we have looked at Where we get Spiritual Strength
B. It is not connected with our muscles, our health, our money, or our abilities
C. It is a strength that is found in the inner man – a spiritual strength
D. It is a Strength to do what?
1. To Speak up in the midst of opposition, and against all obstacles!
2. To Support burdens – carry other people’s problems, along with our own
3. To Stay faithful – against the flow, against popularity
4. To Stay free from sin’s power and guilt – who wants to get free from a sin only to become enslaved again, and again, and again?
5. To Sing and praise God when everything is falling apart! Amen!
E. There is uncommon power available to us through God’s Holy Spirit. Uncommon faith is believing that we can receive strength when we are weak and that we can be instruments of that strength when those around us are in need. If you are a Christian, you are stronger than you think you are. You just need to start tapping into the spiritual strength that God wants to give you!
F. How does someone get such strength?
1. Spiritual Strength Comes By Faith
2. Spiritual Strength Comes By Fellowship
3. Spiritual Strength Comes By Feasting
4. Spiritual Strength Comes By Freedom
5. Spiritual Strength Comes By Fasting
6. Spiritual Strength Comes By Finishing
Craig Ledbetter
Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland