The Power of Presence| Focus: God's Power to Sustain

Intro:

Church, there are seasons in our lives when we need more than a boost of motivation. We don’t need a slogan. We don’t need advice. We don’t need someone to tell us, “Just stay positive.

We need sustaining power.

And if we’re honest this morning, some days we don’t need power to “conquer.” But power to keep moving forward. The Bible calls it: God’s sustaining grace

Isaiah 40:29 says: “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.”

Come with me today, let us explore how God sustains His people not only through inner strength, but through the living connection of the Spirit and the Body of Jesus Christ in 1 Corinthians 12.

God’s Sustaining Power Is Not Always Loud It Is Faithful (4 minutes)

We often think of God’s power as something dramatic: breakthroughs, big moments.

But one of the greatest works of God’s power is the quiet miracle of endurance:

Strength to get through another day

Comfort in the middle of uncertainty

Hope that doesn’t disappear

The Bible promises: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” - Psalm 46:1

very present help.

Sustaining power is not just that God is powerful. It’s that God is present.

Present in the Monday morning reality. He’s present in the long evening. Present in the tired body and the heavy heart.

And God sustains in a particular way in the New Testament: through the Holy Spirit and through the body of believers.

God Sustains Us Through a Body, Not Through Isolation (5 min)

1 Corinthians 12 is written to a church struggling with division, comparison, and competition.

Some were acting like:

“My gift makes me important.”

“Your gift is less spiritual.”

“I don’t need you.”

“You don’t belong.”

But Paul’s teaching is not just about spiritual gifts. It’s about how God’s power keeps the church alive.

He says: “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” - 1 Corinthians 12:7

Sustaining power begins right there. This is what It means:

God gives grace to each for the benefit of all.

God sustains the whole body through shared spiritual life.

In other words, salvation is not meant to become isolation. God does not save you to leave you alone. But He saves you into a living family into a Body.

And the Body becomes one of God’s greatest sustaining gifts.

God’s Sustaining Power Is Often Revealed Through Weakness (5 min)

This is one of the most countercultural truths in the Bible:

God does not only sustain us by increasing our strength. Sometimes He sustains us by meeting us in our weakness.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” - 2 Corinthians 12:9

We don’t usually think weakness is spiritual. We think weakness is failure.

But Scripture says weakness can become the very place where God’s sustaining power shines.

Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is not “push through.” Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is say:

“I need help.”

“I’m tired.” and “I can’t do this alone.”

And then allow the body to be the body.

Because that is not a breakdown of faith. that is a return to God’s design.

“He gives power to the faint.” - Isaiah 40:29

Truth: God’s sustaining power is not for the strong only. It is for the weary, discouraged, and worn down.

God Sustains Through Interdependence (4 minutes)

The Church Carries Burdens Together

A sustained life is a shared life

“Bear one another’s burdens” - Galatians 6:2

Key Line: “Sometimes God’s sustaining power looks like someone showing up.”

What This Means for BUMC

We are called to be:

a place where no one grieves alone

a community where burdens are shared

a church where weakness is honored

a body where the Spirit’s gifts strengthen everyone

Repeatable Line: “God sustains us and He uses us to sustain each other.”

Sustained by Christ, Connected to Christ (2–3 min)

Jesus gives us the deepest picture of sustaining power:

“Abide in me… apart from me you can do nothing.” - John 15:4–5

“Abide” means remain, stay connected, dwell.

Sustaining power is not a one-time spiritual boost. It is a daily connection to source Christ.

And Christ sustains us by His Spirit. and the Spirit sustains us through His body. and the body sustains us by love.

That’s God’s design.

Closing (2 minutes): Sustaining Grace for Today

So Church, here is the good news:

God’s power is not only for your best days. God’s power is for your hardest days.

Our God sustains:

The weary

The grieving

The anxious

The lonely

The uncertain heart

He sustains by His Spirit. He sustains through His people. He sustains by grace.

And you don’t have to carry it alone.

Jesus says:

“Come to me, all who weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”- Matthew 11:28

May God give you sustaining power, not just for the future, but for this week

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the blessed Holy Spirit. Amen.

Talk about:

7-Day Devotional: God’s Power to Sustain

Theme Verse: “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he… I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” - Isaiah 46:4