Dependence of God’s Strength
Last week we finished up our Series on Grace is greater!
Grace – the undeserved mercy and kindness of God – is greater than our than our
Brokenness
Guilt
Wounds
Despair
And our Weakness
That was pastor Kevin’s message last week. God’s grace is greater than your weakness – That was a new concept for some of you. You’ve been taught to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, to grow a backbone, that toughness and strength is success. You may have been asking since last week’s message, are they telling me it’s okay to be weak?
YES, and even greater, (pause) God meets you there.
Yes. In your weakness.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 reminds us
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (Did you hear that?) Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Can that be right? I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
This seems BACKWARDS, crazy even!
You are right! It certainly would be WITHOUT JESUS!
LET’S PRAY
What are we discovering here in 2 Corinthians?
That NOT ONLY is His grace greater than and sufficient for my weakness, but we can also depend on His STRENTH. Count on HIM TO STRENGTHEN you.
I’m not talking about the kind of strength it would require for me to lift this weight (this is more my speed – right here)
I might surprise you though – I remember when Michael was remodeling our upstairs bathroom, he was removing an old iron bathtub and needed my help. As I faced this ridiculously heavy mammoth bathtub – I asked myself doesn’t he have any friends he can call. As I recall, I asked this question out loud! He said you’ve got this babe – he had broken it into pieces but it was still solid dead weight. I apparently didn’t have a very good attitude or the willingness he desired as we partnered on this task and at some point in the process he said to me, now get this, “Come on. Man up and pick up the tub”. Well, his plan worked! I was completely undone that he had the audacity to tell me to man up and I picked up that tub and moved it with strength only pure aggravation could bring. My dear husband still laughs about this moment, and I can still feel fire in my belly when I remember it. See this is a different kind of strength and maybe not strength at all. The true strength came when I overcame my urge to clobber him with a piece of bathtub.
Think about it…
Have you ever been PLACED SOMEWHERE or GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY you knew was way beyond your capacity? You wondered WHY ME? ARE THEY SURE?
I have, and in God’s goodness and sovereignty, He has allowed it many times and continues to do so in my life.
Over and over again, I have had to face my weaknesses.
Here’s one example:
Here are some pictures of me when I was between 22 and 24 years old. I was beginning my career as a Long-Term Care Administrator. As you can see, I tried to cut my hair in multiple styles. See, I thought this effort would help me look older and look the part. But let me assure you that respect is not earned and people are not fooled by a bad haircut!!!
See I was given the opportunity to lead folks that had years more experience, some more than 2-3x my age, the pressures of this industry were intense, the responsibility huge. I had great passion, but this was all way bigger than me.
I was weak – very weak. I did NOT have what it takes in that situation. I KNEW it.
Folks, that first real job of my career could have gone very badly for me.
But I learned something really important as I looked my weakness in the eye.
Pastor Kevin said last week that the beauty of our weakness is that it reminds us to get out of the way.
The Lord began to develop in me the truth that His grace was sufficient and that in my weakness, His strength was made perfect.
In fact, it could ONLY be made perfect in my weaknesses. As strange as that sounds.
Through this I began to resonate with David and though no one had physically tried to kill me as David faced, there were days that I physically and emotionally thought it may just be the end of me.
Anyone know what I’m talking about?
Weak to the point of desperation.
Because the Lord allowed this battle – I drew closer to Him, trusted him, cried out to Him and learned that the song of David in Psalm 18 was one I could proclaim as well.
David wrote this song as a song of Praise and Deliverance, after the Lord saved him from the hands of many enemies and from the hands of a very jealous King Saul, who was trying desperately to kill David – the one who would take his place as king. This Psalm is almost verbatim to 2 Samuel 22.
It begins:
This is Psalm 18 starting in verse 1.
1 I love you, LORD, my strength.
2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield[b] and the horn[c] of my salvation, my stronghold.
David uses strong military language here to describe who the Lord is to Him. He used 5 military symbols
(And remember, David is describing God, not himself. God is, in essence, what David is not.)
A rock – an immovable foundation that cannot be shaken
A fortress – a place of safety where the enemy can’t follow
A shield – a barrier between us and harm
A horn of salvation – (the horn of an animal is a source of strength and successful combat) because God has the power and strength to save
And finally
A stronghold – a place high above our enemies
This imagery became real to me as I trusted him to walk in the daily battle with me and I saw his power and hand.
Is He all of those things to you? Even in this moment?
Are you willing to see it? His great strength working in your weakness?
3 I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies. 4 The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. (are any of you overwhelmed this morning?) 5 The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.
Are you lifting the cries of your heart to the one who will hear you and strengthen you?
The Lord hears David and He is helped.
Reminds me of Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ who STRENGTHENS me.
We see in verse 20:
20 The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
Oh Angela, this is where this ends for me, I can’t pray this part of Davids prayer. I want to but I have not remained righteous in His sight.
This is our reminder that to cry out for His strength is an INVITATION. An invitation to salvation and all He has for us.
This is not a stopping point but an opportunity for a new beginning In Him.
If you know Davids story it was not the picture of purity.
In fact we do think of David and his heroics…but we know him just as much for his great weaknesses.
but He returned to God knowing HE was weak, and the Lord was His strength and salvation.
We can be blameless in Him in His strength.
He goes on to tell us in vs 30-33
30 As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. 31 For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? 32 It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. 33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights.
This depicts a man who by human standards was a warrior – but David knew that the Lord was the only one that could save him, strengthen him, and keep him.
He doesn’t promise to remove all our obstacles; He can deliver us or see us through it.
See He strengthens us during the battle and hardship. If we trust Him, He allows us to grow in true knowledge of who He is. This knowledge is fertile soil for our faith to grow.
So, what keeps us from drawing on this power and strength? Why do we remain in utter weakness or struggle trying to muster up our own strength?
Why do we forget our ROCK?
Let’s consider 2 possibilities.
There are those of you in the room that would testify that without relying on God’s strength – there would be no way you would be here today. He has seen you through and strengthened you in times of
Loss
Heart break
Betrayal
Sickness
Exhaustion
And Brokenness
He has been the lifter of my head, my refuge, my light in the darkness – the reason I have had the strength to continue.
There are also those of you in the room who are fresh in your faith, and you are leaning in, saying “tell me more”!
You will dive into His word – searching to make these prayers your own. You want to know Him, and you will trust Him to be your strength and song – you will desire Him and find Him.
Trust Him dear one – He is available. Cry out.
And there are those here that would say, I have asked him into my heart. I know He is the way to heaven – I believe. But it stops there.
See there are those of us that miss out on His strength because we leave His blessing on the table. We invite him to save us, but we forget there is life in him – we live on the crumbs and not the feast of His goodness. See He doesn’t leave us on our own, He sent us His spirit, and through Him He strengthens us and gives us life until we make it home.
Will you cry out for more of Him this morning?
Would you dive into His word and make these prayers your own?
The second thing that I think keeps us in our weakness is that we forget who we are asking, we let busyness interfere, we grow numb to His power, and might that is available to us.
The same power that raised Jesus to the dead is alive in us as believers.
Let me quote someone we love: “Are you listening?”
I want to invite you to reflect on the power and goodness of the God that we have the privilege to cry out to – the God who not only saves us but is intimately involved in our lives. YOUR LIFE.
The one who sees and strengthens you, who left His holy spirit as our helper to fill us with his might for His glory.
I hope that, beginning today you will see your weaknesses, your brokenness differently.
As His opportunity to show Himself strong in your life. To come through for you when you don’t expect Him to.
You know Him, don’t you?
Fire in His eyes
Healing in His veins
Everywhere His glory on display…
You are invited to stand, sit, kneel, these alters are open – but I invite you to reflect on WHO we are trusting as we cry out for strength, and rely on His power and might. Let’s worship our awesome God together.
BAND – PHIL WICKHAMS – AWESOME GOD. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFOe4c08dHc
Please continue to pray as we worship
Just like David as He ran for His life, He cried out and found His strength in the God who saw Him. The one who reigns. He is available to you this morning. Please come – there are folks available to pray with you. You are welcome here (altars).