Spiritual Strengths

 
Our Spiritual Strength
 
A.      A Christian has strengths not connected with our muscles, our health, our money, or our abilities
B.       It is a strength that is found in the inner man – a spiritual strength
 
1.        We all know what it means to be strong – to be able to carry heavy things, lift weights, able to
handle physical attacks
2.        The question is how to be strong spiritually
3.        Not found naturally in ourselves (Gal 6:1) – only found spiritually, only when spiritual, not
physically strong
 
C.       It is a Strength to do what?
 
1.     To Speak up in the midst of opposition, and against all obstacles! Witnessing, and even finding the
strength to say, “I forgive you!”
2.        To Support burdens (Gal 6:2) – carry other people’s problems, along with our own
3.        To Stay faithful – against the flow, against popularity
4.        To Stay free from sin’s power and guilt – who wants to get free from a sin only to become enslaved
again, and again, and again?
5.        To Sing and praise God when everything is falling apart! Amen!

 
    How does someone get such strength?
 
A.      Spiritual Strength Comes By Faith – there is strength in just trusting the Lord Jesus – it is not hard to
access (Rom 5:1-3)
 
1.        It is a strength for my soul (Psalm 138:3) – the inner man (Eph 3:16) when it is overwhelmed, and
crushed by life!
2.        How much power is available to the Christian?
 
a.        Tapping into the power of the resurrection (Philp 3:10)
b.       All the power that you need (Col 1:11; Matt 28:18,19; Philp 4:13)
 
3.        God HIMSELF is our strength (Psalm 46:1; 73:26) – that’s strong!
4.        Trusting means…
 
a.        WAITING on God (Psalm 27:14; Isa 40:31) – impatience is a weakness – and just believing that
what God promises, He will do
b.       Looking forward to God doing the best – having courage (Psalm 31:24)
c.        Depending on God more than self or your mate (Prov 31:10,25) – humility, softness, not anger,
or stubbornness
 
5.        It is available only when we are weak (2Cor 12:9) – infirm means “frail”
6.        It is not a strength for just lying around, but for taking a stand for the Lord in this evil world (2Tim
4:16,17)
7.        How often do you live just by faith? “The just shall live by faith!” Trusting, obeying, just the Lord!
 
B.       Spiritual Strength Comes By Fellowship (Acts 18:23; Gal 6:1,2)
 
1.        We need God, AND we need each other – we need our church meetings!
2.        Church, when it really is the church, is not some sterile safe haven for the sinless, but rather, a
hospital for the hurting, a lighthouse for the lost, a sanctuary for broken, wondering, wandering souls, a
 connected community of faith, common ordinary people, willing to share each other’s pains, willing to
carry each other’s burdens, willing to represent the love of Christ to a helpless world.
3.        Just being together as a group of followers of Jesus Christ gives us all spiritual strengths that we will
NOT have when we are alone.
4.        Too many Christians are weak and giving up because they do NOT put a priority on getting together
with other Christians, and humbling themselves under preaching and putting others before self!
 
a.        Galatians 6:2 There is power in Christianity unity “Bear ye one another's burdens.” We are
stronger when we stand together than we are when we try to stand as individuals.  It gives us
confidence and a sense of power when we know that we aren’t alone, when we know that we’ve
got other people, maybe more faithful people in our corner, praying for us, and encouraging us.
b.       1Cor 1:23-25 There is power in just hearing the word of God preached - not debated, or derided
or denied, but believed!
c.        Don’t believe the devil’s lie that you only need to dabble in Church – that may be JUST the
reason why you keep falling into secret sins, and have fights, and spiritual defeats in your life and
home!
 
C.       Spiritual Strength Comes By Feasting (Psalm 119:28)
 
1.        Bible feasting – digesting large quantities of this Bible
2.        The Bible is the only food that satisfies the soul – all other “foods” (the TV, entertainment, friends,
magazines, books are junk food (Job 23:12)
3.        How is your daily Bible reading? Read your Bible! What hypocrites we are when we claim to
believe a book that we do not read nor meditate on!
 
a.        You are only spiritually strengthened according to how much of this Book you read, memorize,
meditate on and study
b.       Two chapters a day minimum
 
4.        Look at the strength available from this Book (Eccl 7:19; Pr 24:5)
5.        Try reading four chapters a day for a month and come back to me and tell me if your life is better
and you are stronger! I dare you to try it!
 
D.      Spiritual Strength Comes By Freedom – freedom from the dominance of sin in our lives (Job 17:9;
Prov 10:29)
 
1.        Freedom from fear – step out from the shadows and start answering this world’s questions with the
truth (Acts 9:22)
2.        Get a clear conscience – it will make you strong – sin ONLY weakens you (James 1:15)
3.        Seek to please God (Neh 8:10) instead of pleasing self, and friends, and the devil!!!
4.        Real Joy (God’s thrill in you) overcomes your physical weaknesses (Prov 17:22) – it gives you joy
when your troubles should be causing you to cry
5.        But you HAVE to be free from sin to experience the strength that God offers, otherwise you will be
running on your own steam, and quickly fail
6.        If you are not getting free from sins, you will stay defeated, weak, and broken under your burdens,
when you could be strong and helping to carry other people’s problems and burdens!
7.        If I were you, and I was struggling with a sin in my life, I would drop the sin for a month and see
just how strong you get without that dead-weight in your life!!!
 
E.       Spiritual Strength Comes By Fasting – the Christian’s Secret Weapon (Mark 9:28,29)
 
1.        The opposite of what the world teaches… eat loads of protein, lots of exercise, and healthy eating
2.        Jesus says, there are sometimes when you don’t eat, and just spend time instead in open, honest,
dependent prayer to God
3.        May take 1 day, may take a week, but your strength will come when your flesh, your stomach learns
it is not your Lord – Jesus is!
 
F.       Spiritual Strength Comes By Finishing (Psalm 71:18)
 
1.        Just staying faithful in your Christian life
2.        There is no strength given to the quitter
3.        Only to those who keep running, and keep trusting, and keep praying, and keep experiencing God’s
grace on a daily, monthly, yearly basis will find strength from on high!
4.        Our children need to know that we have experienced God’s blessings and enablement
 
a.        The previous generation…
 
1)       Put men on the moon
2)       Built great cities
3)       Defeated two empires (Germany and Japan)
4)       Developed incredible technologies
 
b.       But they forgot God, and taught this generation they do not need God
 
5.        So it is doomed to fail
6.        Folks, let’s finish what we started by faith – let’s show the generation to come God’s strength, and
that His way is best!
 
IV.    Conclusion
 
A.      This morning we have looked at Where we get Spiritual Strength
B.       It is not connected with our muscles, our health, our money, or our abilities
C.       It is a strength that is found in the inner man – a spiritual strength
D.      It is a Strength to do what?
 
1.        To Speak up in the midst of opposition, and against all obstacles!
2.        To Support burdens – carry other people’s problems, along with our own
3.        To Stay faithful – against the flow, against popularity
4.        To Stay free from sin’s power and guilt – who wants to get free from a sin only to become enslaved
again, and again, and again?
5.        To Sing and praise God when everything is falling apart! Amen!
 
E.       There is uncommon power available to us through God’s Holy Spirit.  Uncommon faith is believing that
we can receive strength when we are weak and that we can be instruments of that strength when those
around us are in need.  If you are a Christian, you are stronger than you think you are.  You just need to
start tapping into the spiritual strength that God wants to give you!
F.       How does someone get such strength?
                                                                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                                                     
                                          
1.        Spiritual Strength Comes By Faith
2.        Spiritual Strength Comes By Fellowship
3.        Spiritual Strength Comes By Feasting
4.        Spiritual Strength Comes By Freedom
5.        Spiritual Strength Comes By Fasting
6.        Spiritual Strength Comes By Finishing