Promised Strength

Intro

Do the question thing again, that was fun.

One thing you don’t know about me is that I really like to watch fail videos. I mean you could guess it, because who doesn’t like a good fail video?

I like to work out, so there’s I particularly like work out fail videos.

I think you can classify these into five categories. I’ll explain them in order of great to greatest.

throw up fail

pass out fail

too much weight

wrong use fail

angry fail

Sometimes people think they are stronger than they are and it causes them to fail.

Sometimes Christians think they are stronger than they are and it causes us to fail.

There’s a saying out there, even a song about it, that God won’t give you more than you can handle. You know where that saying comes from? Not the Bible!! …

We will have more than we can take so we have to lean on Jesus and acknowledge our need for Him!

Jesus tells us to cast our cares on Him.

We will have more than we can take so we have to lean on our brothers and sisters in Jesus.

It says in Galatians that we are to bear one another’s burdens.

Sometimes we feel beat up and worn down, right? …

We don’t have the strength in ourselves to handle every situation God allows to come our way. But we have strength we need available to us!

Sometim

Pray before getting into it

Lesson

Today’s promise is a conditional promise. What does conditional mean?

The condition is our humility, so we must be humble to receive this promise. We must admit that we need help.

The promise is that God will give us strength through our faith in Him.

Read

Paul is saying…

Here’s what Paul has been through before he writes this…

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 11:23–28 HCSB

Are they servants of Christ? I’m talking like a madman—I’m a better one: with far more labors, many more imprisonments, far worse beatings, near death many times. Five times I received 39 lashes from Jews. Three times I was beaten with rods by the Romans. Once I was stoned by my enemies. Three times I was shipwrecked. I have spent a night and a day in the open sea. On frequent journeys, I faced dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own people, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the open country, dangers on the sea, and dangers among false brothers; labor and hardship, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food, cold, and lacking clothing. Not to mention other things, there is the daily pressure on me: my care for all the churches.

By the way, he’s writing from prison.

The way he is able to be content, to have joy in whatever situation he’s going through, to have the strength to be ok no matter what, is because his faith is in Jesus, not in himself.

We need to understand a few things to help us make sense of this.

As Christians, our purpose, our main goal, is to glorify God with our lives.

Wherever He sends us, whatever we are doing, that’s the end game (snap when you say that).

When our faith is in Him and not ourselves, when we are looking to Him for direction and our goal is not to honor ourselves but to honor Him, He will always provide us the strength we need to honor him and to have joy in whatever we go through...

So we have to have that background as we understand this verse…

That means that Paul isn’t saying that Jesus will give you the strength to lift a car if you have faith in Him…

He is saying that when your focus is right and your faith is right, you’ll have the strength to make it through any situation.

Remember, we are more than conquerors! If God is for us, who is against us?!

There’s a scene from the movie Remember the Titans where they sing a Bible passage...

Isaiah 40:28–31 HCSB

Do you not know? Have you not heard? Yahweh is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He never grows faint or weary; there is no limit to His understanding. He gives strength to the weary and strengthens the powerless. Youths may faint and grow weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.

This isn’t an easy thing for us to do, it’s hard for people to admit they need help and let go of control. It won’t come naturally, but if check and see if God is faithful in this promise and you’ll be pleased! Do it some and you’ll be able to do it more, kind of like a weight lifter who doesn’t fail. Whatever you’re willing to trust God with, whatever situation you need strength to follow and honor him in, you’ll find him faithful to give you that strength.

But the first thing you have to put your faith in him for is your salvation. Paul says he can do all through Jesus who strengthens him. That’s the Gospel, is acknowledging that it’s Jesus who provides for us because we can’t do it ourselves…