Be Strengthened

Be Strengthened, God is With You

Ephesians 3:14–21 NLT

14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. 20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

Strong — to increase in strength, to be made strong

Being strengthened is an ongoing process, not a one-time event.

Luke 1:80 NASB95

80 And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

Luke 2:40 NASB95

40 The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

Strengthening my vocal cords for a musical.

You Are Strengthened Through:

1. A Relationship with Jesus

Genesis 1:26–27 NASB95

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

“If I am made in the image of God, would not knowing God be essential to knowing myself?”z

2. Food (The Bible, God’s Word)

Deuteronomy 8:3 NLT

3 Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

3. Exercise (Living Out Our Faith)

1 Timothy 4:8–10 NLT

8 “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” 9 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it. 10 This is why we work hard and continue to struggle, for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers.

1 Peter 1:7 NLT

7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

4. Friendship/Fellowship

Hebrews 10:24–25 NLT

24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Proverbs 27:17 NLT

17 As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.

Notice that it is iron that sharpens iron. It takes two like materials (two Christians) to be mutually beneficial (i.e., sharpen and strengthen) each other.

God Strengthens You Because:

1. He Dwells in You

Ephesians 3:17 NLT

17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him.

2. He Wants You to Understand His Love

Ephesians 3:17–19 NLT

17 Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.

3. He Wants You to Look More Like Him

Ephesians 3:19 NLT

19 Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Even though the moon appears bright in the night sky, it does not produce it’s own light.

The moon is made of rock and dust, reflecting the light of the sun.

Even though the moon appears bright, it actually poorly reflects the suns light, reflecting on 3-12% of the sun’s light.

God Will Continue to Exceed Your Expectations

Ephesians 3:20–21 NLT

20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.