Faith Strong

I remember at a very young age looking forward to being married and having children.  I was fully convinced that God was going to provide me with a wife and family someday.  During high school my heart was open to having a girlfriend . . . but there never seemed to be anyone.  When I went to Bible College I was pretty sure that’s where I would meet this girl . . . but she did not show up there either.  After graduating from college I moved to Atlanta, Illinois population 1,600 and I thought, “where in the world am I going to meet a girl now?”  I’ll be honest, I was pretty discouraged.  I doubted that God was going to be able to live up to the desire that he had put in my heart.  Three months after I graduated college on August 9th I met my wife Marianne.  For many years I had faith that God was going to fulfill the promise of providing me with a beautiful godly wife . . . and he did!  Every day, for almost 17 years now, I’ve been able to see the purpose God had for us being together.

Too many of us are quick to lose our faith in God’s plans for our lives.  It’s impossible at times to see how God is going to accomplish His purpose in our lives.  And that’s exactly how God plans it!  He uses insurmountable human circumstances that require us to have strong faith.  What does it mean to have a strong faith?

READ:  Romans 4:13-25

Faith strong is being FULLY CONVINCED that God is able to do what He PROMISES!  Abraham was a man who was strong in his faith.  By faith, Abraham left his home country to go to a land he did not know.  By faith, Abraham believed that God was going to make a great nation from His offspring and give him a land.  By faith, Abraham believed his very own son would be his heir even though he had no children and was 99 years old.  By faith, Abraham offered his son Isaac as an offering out of obedience to God (Genesis 12:1-25:11; Hebrews 11:8-12, 17-19).  In spite of these insurmountable circumstances, Abraham’s faith was not on his own strength or abilities, it was in GOD! What is it that causes us to either have weak faith or strong faith?

Our faith WEAKENS when we focus on our human LIMITATIONS and CIRCUMSTANCES (Rom. 4:19-20a) – When I was a freshman in high school I sang a solo at a vocal competition.  I made it through one song, but half way through my second song I forgot the lyrics and stopped singing.  I left the room embarrassed and in tears.  I never sang a solo again.  I’ve never allowed God to use this ability in my life because I am scared of my own inability.  In spite of Abraham’s physical body being “as good as dead” and Sarah’s womb being “barren”, he believed that he would be the father of many nations because of Him who “gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist”!  Weak faith is the result of NOT trusting or forgetting that God is able to do anything He wants in our life.  Weak faith makes us feel defeated and hopeless because we are wrongly focused on our inadequacy and weakness.

Our faith grows STRONGER when we focus on the ABILITY and PROMISES of God (Rom. 4:20b-21) – The most intimidating aspect of God calling me into ministry was knowing that I would be required to do a lot of public speaking.  This was a major fear for me to say the least.  And yet, every time, from sharing a devotion with elementary school children when I was 16, until today, God has always reminded me, “David, it’s not your strength, it’s my strength”.  Focusing on God’s ability and strength helped me overcome my fear.  Abraham’s faith grew as he “gave glory to God” and was “convinced that God was able to do what He had promised”.  Strong faith is the result of trusting that God is able to do things that we consider impossible.  Strong faith gives us confidence to be obedient to God when we feel incapable and weak.

CONCLUSION
Romans 4:24 says, “righteousness . . . is counted to us who believe in (God) who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord.”  Just as Abraham was considered righteous by God as a result of his strong faith, we too are considered righteous as a result of our strong faith in God who raised Jesus from the dead.  Do you have a strong faith that God raised Jesus from the dead so that you can be counted righteous?

Weakness Strong

Weakness is NOT a good thing, right?  No one wants to be recognized for being weak.  Being recognized for weakness would be like winning a trophy for placing last in a race.  Being recognized for weakness would be like having a weight lifting competition to see who was the biggest weakling.  Being recognized for weakness would be like having a National Honor Society for those with a GPA under 1.  “Congratulations, you are a loser, you didn’t do it, your lack of hard work paid off!”  Recognizing weakness does not happen.  Weakness is not something to be celebrated, it is laughed at and ridiculed.  Weakness is not something to be proud of, it is embarrassing and hidden.  Thinking of weakness as a good thing just doesn’t make a lot of sense.  Why?

If strength is the ability to accomplish something than weakness is the INABILITY to accomplish something.  Who wants to admit that they are UNABLE do something?  My greatest moments of frustration in life are when I am unable to do something simple like . . . get a zip lock bag closed, get the automatic van door shut, or not burn something in the microwave.  Weakness tends to produce frustration, anger, disappointment, shame, and fear in our lives.  Without a source of strength outside of ourselves we will likely spend a lifetime trying to hide or eliminate our weaknesses.  This will be an exhausting effort because no one is infinitely strong.  So, is weakness all that bad?  Is there an area of life where weakness is a good thing?

READ:  2 Corinthians 12:5b-10

Our WEAKNESSES are opportunities for God to display His STRENGTH!   1 Corinthians 1:25 says, “the weakness of God is stronger than men.”  God at His weakest is stronger than man at his strongest. No matter how strong we are or think we might be, we are still weak in comparison to God.  We must not allow the strengths that we do have to get in the way of recognizing our weakness and desperate need for God’s strength in our lives.  Why is it important to recognize our weakness before God?

Weakness keeps us from being CONCEITED and BOASTFUL (2 Cor. 12:5b, 7-9) – There was a story in the news recently about a high school girls basketball player from Wisconsin who fell, slid on the wood floor, and was impaled in the stomach by a large “splinter”.  Ouch!  Even a small splinter or a thorn stuck in our skin is painful and if it is not removed becomes a constant irritation.  Paul had an abundance of reasons to be proud (1 Cor. 11:5-6, 17-30) and so he was given a, “thorn in the flesh” in order to “keep him from becoming conceited”.  Paul’s thorn in the flesh was a humbling reminder that it was not his strength, but God’s that allowed him to accomplish the apostolic task that he had been assigned (2 Cor. 10:13-18).  Recognizing our weakness prevents us from becoming “conceited” or “boastful”.  We must be careful not to arrogantly promote ourselves with our own strength but in the weakness of humility fulfill the assignment given to us by God.  Our weakness keeps us from being deceived into thinking that we accomplish anything with our own strength.

Weakness allows the PERFECT POWER of GOD to rest upon us (2 Cor. 12:9-10) – One of the most important and powerful prayers we can pray to God is, “Lord, I can’t do this, I am weak and I need your strength.”  We are too weak to resist temptation.  We are too weak to unconditionally love our friends and family.  We are too weak to be joyful when life is hard.  At the moment we recognize our weakness and inability, God promises that His “grace” and “perfect power” are available through Jesus Christ.  1 Corinthians 1:27 says, “God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.”  God isn’t looking for strong powerful people to accomplish His will, He is looking for those who recognize their weakness so He can put HIS power and strength on display in our lives!  When we are weak, that is when God is strong.

CONCLUSION
Romans 5:6 says, “while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”  Before we even recognized the weakness of sin in our lives that separated us from God, Christ died on the cross in order to accomplish what we would never be able to accomplish with our own strength.  Have you found the strength of forgiveness knowing that Jesus Christ died on the cross for you?

Love Strong

What is important to us is pretty obvious.  Anyone who knows me well knows that the St Louis Cardinals are important to me.  I am constantly keeping up with the team online (even in the offseason), I enjoy talking with other Cardinal fans about the team, I wear Cardinal paraphernalia, I watch games frequently on television, I go to Busch Stadium to watch games, every once in a while I’ll even try to convince someone else to become a Cardinal fan.  The St Louis Cardinals occupy a lot of my thinking, my interest, my conversations, my time, and my money.  There are not too many areas of my life that the St Louis Cardinals don’t occupy.

It’s pretty simple, whatever occupies our life is what is important to us.  There are an abundance of things that can be important to us.  For some, a specific relationship is important.  For some, money and possessions are important.  For some, video games are important.  These things might be important to us but a question we need to consider is . . . What is the MOST IMPORTANT thing in our lives?

READ:  Mark 12:28-34

LOVING God is the most IMPORTANT way we can use the STRENGTH of our lives!  Strength is the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual ability to accomplish something.  Although we have little strength compared to God, the most important way we can use the strength we do have is to, “love the Lord (our) God with . . . all our strength”.  Loving God is having a strong desire to relate with Him and be with Him.  Loving and relating with God is to be the top priority in our lives. 1 John 4:19 says, “we love because He first loved us.”  Our strength to love comes from the fact that we have been loved by God.  How are we to love God?

Loving God is something we do with ALL of our strength (Mk. 12:30) – All means all and that’s all that all means.  To give our all means to give 100% and not hold anything back.  A good athlete leaves it all out on the court.  A good student gives all of their attention to a teacher.  Anyone who wants to be a part of the Kingdom of God gives all of their life’s strength to loving the Lord.  Loving God with “all” our strength means that there is no amount of our life’s strength left for anything other than loving God.  Yes and no.  Yes, we use all of our strength to love God.  No, it doesn’t mean we don’t do anything else in life.  Instead now, whatever we do, anything and everything we do in life, no matter what it is, we do as an expression of our love for God.  

Loving God is more than RELIGIOUS RITUAL, it is a RELATIONSHIP (Mk. 12:33) – Loving God through religious ritual is compartmentalizing our relationship with Him into a measurable list of do’s and don’ts.  The scribe who asked Jesus this profound question about the most important commandment agreed that loving God was “much more” important than any ritualistic “burnt offering” or “sacrifice” he could offer to God.  In contrast, we love God through relationship in a few specific ways 1) 1 John 4:21 says, “whoever loves God must also love His brother.”  2) 1 John 5:3 says, “this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.  And His commandments are not burdensome.”  Obedience and loving others are God’s love language.  If we can do these two things we will fulfill all the commandments of the law (Romans 13:8-10).

CONCLUSION
We make the mistake of thinking that loving the Lord with all of our strength is like going to the gym, putting as much weight on the bar as is possible for us to lift, and maxing out all of our spiritual muscle at one powerful moment.  When in reality, loving the Lord with all of our strength means, putting down the heavy weight and using our spiritual muscle to obediently lift the “weight of life” in everything that we do each and every day with our thoughts, words, and actions.  Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, “come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Loving the Lord with all our strength is not as exhausting as we make it out to be.  It means coming to Christ and letting Him do all the lifting for you!  How much of your life’s strength are you using to love God?

Be Loved Strong

One of the most basic human needs is our need to BE LOVED.  I can remember a few childish incidents during recess in elementary school when I tested whether I was loved or not.  I recall a few times sitting on the ground, with my legs crossed, and my head down (acting sad or upset) “inviting” someone to come and ask me what was wrong or if I was okay.  With my heart and my posture I was seeking someone who cared about me.  Sounds kind of psycho doesn’t it!?!  We all pursue attention one way or another, but what we are really seeking is to find out who or if anyone loves us.  Some of us behave badly, others pursue accomplishment, but what we are all doing a lot of the time is “inviting” someone, anyone to want us, to accept us, to love us!

In order to be mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually strong we need to KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are loved.  Sadly, many of us look to fulfill our need to be loved in others, a friend, a boyfriend, a girlfriend, etc. when in reality there is only one person who can fulfill the deep need we have to be loved.  If being loved is so important to be strong, where do we gain the greatest confidence that we are loved?

READ:  Ephesians 3:14-21

In order to BE strong, we need a strong COMPREHENSION of how immeasurably much CHRIST loves us!  If there is one characteristic that defines God it is love.  In the Old Testament the primary word used to describe God’s love is hesed. 26 times in Psalm 136 it says that God’s, “steadfast love endures forever”.  In the New Testament the word used to describe God’s love is agape.  1 John 4:8 and 16 say precisely that, “God IS love”.  These words communicate that love is who God is.  Love is His character.  Love is His nature.  God can do nothing other than love.  So, if this is who God is what is it?  God’s love is His unconditional acceptance and His faithful commitment to us.  God’s love is not conditional, it’s not based on our performance, it is always available.  How strong is Christ’s love?

Christ’s love for us is the FOUNDATION of our strength (Eph. 3:17) – One of the purposes of tree roots is to support the weight of the visible part of a tree above ground.  It is not uncommon for the roots of a tree to go as deep down under the ground as a tree grows above ground.  A strong, stable tree requires strong roots growing deep underground.   Paul prays that our lives would be, “rooted and grounded in love”.  Strength in life exists when the roots of Christ’s love penetrate deep into the “inner being” of our “heart”.  Without deep roots of Christ’s love our lives are vulnerable to topple over at the slightest challenge or difficulty.  It is only when we are convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are unconditionally accepted by God and that He is faithfully committed to us that we have a strong foundation.

Christ’s love for us is far GREATER than we know (Eph. 3:18-19) – A skyscraper . . . big.  The Grand Canyon . . . huge.  The earth . . . humongous.  The universe . . . gigantic.  Encountering or pondering anything of immense size produces awe and wonder.  Words come up short in describing immense things, which is definitely the case in trying to describe Christ’s love.  Paul says that the “breadth”, “length”, “height”, and “depth” of Christ’s love “surpasses” anything we are able to comprehend.   Christ’s love is ginormous!  Christ’s love is largmongous!  There is no word or combination of words that can adequately describe the size of Christ’s love.  Our greatest strength in life comes from knowing that we are loved by God.

CONCLUSION

According to verses 20-21 God is, “able (strong) to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power (strength) at work within us”.  With Christ’s love as the foundation, God is able to accomplish anything and everything He wants to accomplish in our lives.  Things beyond even what our minds can conceive.  With being loved comes unimaginable power and strength for God to work in and through our lives.  How strong is the strength of God’s love that is at work within you?

God Strong

The greatest theological questions of all time is . . . Can God create a rock that He cannot lift?  My answer to this very deep and important question is NO.  An answer can be found in Isaiah 26:4 which says, “trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock”.  What do we learn about God from this verse?  1) God Himself is a “rock”, 2) God is an “everlasting” or ETERNAL “rock” and therefore was not created.  3) God can not and did not create Himself, He is an uncreated infinite rock, He is the biggest thing in all existence, therefore, He is incapable of making something greater than Himself and it is an impossibility for Him to create something He cannot lift or influence or move!  Some like to refer to this characteristic of God as being the unmoved mover.  God is the only thing that has no cause and He is big enough to be the cause of everything.  To be THAT big, God must be pretty strong!

STRENGTH = The MENTAL, EMOTIONAL, PHYSICAL, OR SPIRITUAL ability to accomplish something.  We need strength in all aspects of our lives.  We need mental strength when we make decisions.  We need emotional strength when we relate with others.  We need physical strength when we do work. We need spiritual strength for morality and salvation.  Human strength is limited.  And yet, we fiercely depend on our own mental, emotional, physical, or spiritual abilities to accomplish anything.  In life we need strength that goes far beyond our own abilities and efforts.  Where can we find strength beyond ourselves?

READ:  Psalm 18:1-2, 31-42

God is infinitely STRONG and the SOURCE of STRENGTH we need for all the circumstances we face in life!  Throughout the Bible God is characterized as STRONG.  Psalm 93:1 says, “(the Lord) has put on strength as his belt”.  God is infinitely strong.  There is nothing in all existence that is stronger or more able to accomplish something than God.  There is nothing that God is incapable of doing or inadequate to accomplish.  LifeStrong = DEPENDING on GOD for all the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual strength we need in life!  How do we depend on God for a strong life?  Be realizing that . . .

God is PERMANENTLY and IMMOVABLY strong (Psalm 18:31) – When we were in Haiti, there was a mission team digging a trench to lay a drain pipe underground.  While digging the trench, they hit a rock, and it turned out that the rock they hit was the size of a minivan.  It was NOT going to move.  There is no greater “rock” besides God!  There is nothing more immovable in all existence than God.  God is not someone that we manipulate or attempt to conform to us.  We have no choice but to manipulate our lives and conform to Him.  He is bigger, greater, and ultimately stronger than anything in existence.  This is immensely terrifying to those who oppose Him, but immensely comforting to those who love Him and look to Him as a source of strength.

God is a PERSONAL source of strength (Psalm 18:1-2, 32-42) – A weight lifter uses a spotter to able to lift more weight than they are physically capable of.  If a weight lifter does not use a spotter they will be crushed under the weight of what they are trying to lift.  God is like a spotter in life who offers us His strength to be able to “lift” the things of life that we are unable to lift by ourselves.  King David writes Psalm 18, “when the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul”.  David declares in verse 39 that, “(God) equipped me with strength for the battle.”  In a battle for David’s physical life against his enemies, God was his source of “strength”, his “rock”, his “fortress”, and His “deliverer”.  David depended on God’s strength and he was victorious. Whatever circumstances we are facing, God is more than able to be a personal source of strength.  If we depend on Him, He will give us strength beyond our own abilities or efforts.

CONCLUSION
David says to God in Psalm 18:35, “You have given me the shield of your salvation”.  God’s greatest display of strength is offering us salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.  A strong life begins by building our lives on the solid rock of Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:24-27).  Is your life built on the something eternally strong?  

Be a Faithful Servant

Shark Tank is one of my favorite TV shows.  On Shark Tank four rich investors give money to entrepreneurs trying to grow and expand their business.  It’s obvious that the Sharks are interested in one thing . . . an increased return on the money they are willing to invest.  If a Shark is going to invest, they want to see past success in earning money and a plan to expand and earn more money in the future.  God is the Creator of a global business called “The Kingdom”.  God is in the eternally important business of ruling and reigning in the heart of every human being in the world.  God’s Kingdom business is not yet ruling and reigning in every heart, so therefore, He is working His plan to expand.  What’s His plan?

READ:  Matthew 25:14-30

God is in the business of Kingdom building and He has a plan to expand His Kingdom . . . God entrusts RESOURCES to HIS PEOPLE in order to expand His Kingdom!  God’s plan to expand His Kingdom is you and I!  While God is “away”, He has left US to manage His effort to increase the number of those whose hearts are being ruled and reigned by Him.  We are each individually to use our unique combination of resources and abilities to expand His Kingdom.

How do we fit into God’s plan to expand His Kingdom?

God gives us a PERSONALIZED amount of resources according to our ABILITIES (Mt. 25:14-15) – In this parable, three individuals are given “talents” (“property”/resources) according to their “ability”.  In the New Testament a talent was the largest measurement of money equivalent to about 20 years wages.  The modern equivalent of one talent would be $600,000.  Therefore, each individual had abundant resources entrusted to them.  Some more than others, but no doubt sufficient to accomplish the task.  1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 11 says, “there are a variety of gifts . . . to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good . . . All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.”  We can question God’s plan to expand His Kingdom all we want, but one thing is for sure, He will give all of us exactly what we need to accomplish the task He has given to us.  There is no room for comparison with others, no wishing we had more, no wishing we had less, there is only one thing to do with what we have been given . . .

We must be FAITHFUL to INCREASE God’s Kingdom using the resources given to us (Mt. 25:19-30) – When the master of the three servants came to settle accounts he respond in two different ways.  To those who increased upon what they had been given he said, “well done, good and faithful servant.”  To the one who did nothing with what he was given he said, “you wicked and slothful servant . . . cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness.  In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  God wants to see a return on what He has invested in us.  His expectation of us is pretty simple, we must use what has been given to us to increase the number of hearts being ruled and reigned by Him.  We are to use the unique mix of our time, money, personality, skills, and interests combined with our spiritual gift(s) to faithfully expand God’s Kingdom.  Expanding God’s Kingdom is not just for church leaders.  Whether we are a school teacher, a doctor, or a fast food service professional we are to be doing something to expand God’s Kingdom.  No one’s combination of resources and abilities is just like ours.  When God settles accounts with us, He will not compare us with anyone else, He will judge us based only on what He has given to us.  If we aren’t using our resources and abilities to expand God’s Kingdom, a good question to ourselves is whether we are a part of God’s Kingdom ourselves.

CONCLUSION
God is as passionate about ruling and reigning in peoples’ lives as Sharks are about money.  He is desperately wanting His rule and reign in the lives of people to expand.  His plan to accomplish this?  We, His good and faithful servants!  As a faithful servant, we are to use our resources and abilities to encourage others to repent of their sin and believe in Jesus Christ. Are you a good and faithful servant? 

Be Watching

A wedding is a special and exciting moment.  A wedding is a moment that many anticipate and look forward to.  A wedding is one of the most treasured of human experiences.  A wedding beautifully unites two individuals together into one.  According to God’s original design in Genesis 2:24, “a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”  Throughout the Bible, one of the most frequently used images to show God’s relationship with His people is marriage (Eph. 5:25-33; Rev. 21:1-4).  God has “proposed” to the world by giving Jesus Christ and whoever says “yes” by believing in Him is betrothed to be His wife (yes, even guys).  Our “wedding” with Christ is not something we want to miss out on.

READ:  Matthew 25:1-13

Entering the Kingdom of God requires WATCHING for the return of Christ!  A traditional Jewish marriage was initiated by parents of a groom and bride who made an agreement that their children would marry.  The groom’s father would pay a dowry (“bride-price”) to the bride’s father and the couple became betrothed.  During the betrothal period the groom would prepare a home for him and his new bride to live in.  When the home was built, at an unexpected time, the groom would lead a procession to the bride’s home and back to his home for a marriage celebration joined by family and friends.  Jesus uses a groom’s unexpected appearance at the end of a betrothal period to help us understand the importance of watching and being ready for His return.

What do we need to do as we watch for the return of Christ?

We are watching if our lives are LIT with the FLAME of JESUS CHRIST (Mt. 25:1, 7) – Imagine if the “ticket” that was required to go an athletic event or a concert was a flame?  What if the event was at an unknown date in the immanent future?  What would it require to keep our flame burning?  We would have to be 100% committed to waiting for the event from the moment we bought our ticket.  The event would have to be our life!  If we were not 100% committed, it wouldn’t take long before our flame would go out.  If our flame went out, it would mean we were never really committed to the event in the first place.  In John 8:12 Jesus said, “I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  Jesus Christ, the light of life, is our “ticket” to eternal life.  We commit ourselves to Christ by repenting of our sin and believing in Him.  If we do, when Jesus returns at an unknown date in the immanent future, His light will be burning in our lives.  When Jesus returns for His bride (the church), we cannot borrow from someone else’s light.  At that moment, it will be too late to go purchase more oil.  The only time we have to be ready and watching with the light of Christ burning in our lives is right NOW!

We are watching if the flame of Jesus Christ is burning with the OIL of the HOLY SPIRIT (Mt. 25:3, 8-9) – A flame burning with wood or cloth or a wick can only burn so long.  On the other hand, a flame burning with replenished oil can burn indefinitely.  The five foolish virgins had “no oil” so their flame went out while the five wise virgins “took flasks of oil with their lamps” so their flame remained lit.  The oil that keeps the flame of Jesus Christ burning in our lives is the Holy Spirit.  Ephesians 1:13 says, “when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit (cf Romans 5:5, 14:17).”  The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is the divine fuel that guarantees our belief in Jesus Christ is real.  Without the oil of the Holy Spirit in our lives our flame is artificial and will eventually burn out.

CONCLUSION
Scripture is clear, Jesus Christ IS coming again for His bride the Church.  God has communicated His undying love and has proposed to the whole world through Jesus Christ and wants us all to say “YES”!  We have either said yes and are betrothed to Christ with our lamp burning brightly waiting for Him to return or we have said no to Jesus and our light is burned out and when He returns He will say, “I do not know you.” Have you said “YES” to Jesus’ proposal?  Now is the time to be ready and watching!