Inner strength- by Roger Roark
Ephesians 3:14-21 and Acts 7:54-60
.
Ephes. 3:14-21 (nlt )
When I think of the wisdom and scope of God’s plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, [15] the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. [16] I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. [17] And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. [18] And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. [19] May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
[20] Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. [21] May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages. Amen.
. While reading this text, think of inner strength.
1. Where does it come from.
2. Why do we need it
3.How do we get it
4. When do we get it.
The secret of inner strength is in that it comes from God.
.Ephesians 3:16 says, ---
That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
The New Living Translation says, --Ephes. 3:16
I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit.
From His glorious resources. These resources are unlimited.
Let’s just think about this for a moment. His resources of inner strength are unlimited.
Through the workings of The Holy Spirit, we have unlimited potential.
From childhood, we are fascinated by outward strength.
When I was a child, I was impressed with the outward strength of my dad.
He worked outside all of his life, and was very strong physically.
When we were in grammar school, we feared the 9 year old bully.
Then when we becme teenagers, we were impressed by the kids who had fast cars. These cars were a symbol of strength.
Then when we got out of school, and got jobs, we were impressed with power in positions. We were impressed by our bosses.
But at some point in our lives, we realize that we need inner strength.
. Why and when do we need inner strength?
(A) To stand up for our faith
In the early church, the disciples would take up food and distribut it out to the poor and the widows.
Then there was a problem. The Greek speaking people were complaing that the Hebrew speaking widows were getting more food.
So the apostles called a meeting , and chose 7 men to distribute the food.
Among them was a man named Stephen.
The Bible tells us that Stephen was a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit.
To be full of the Holy Spirit, we must empty self.
(B) The Bible tells us that he was a man full of grace and power. ( power of the indwelling Holy Spirit )
Stephen , being full of the Holy Spirits power, did spectacular things.
Read Acts 7:54-60 (nlt)
The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen’s accusation, and they shook their fists in rage. [55] But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily upward into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand. [56] And he told them, "Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand!"
[57] Then they put their hands over their ears, and drowning out his voice with their shouts, they rushed at him. [58] They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. The official witnesses took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul.
[59] And as they stoned him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." [60] And he fell to his knees, shouting, "Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!" And with that, he died.
Some of the men started an argument with Stephen, but they were not able to stand against Stephens wisdom and spirit.
Some of them brought charges against him, saying that he was speaking against the temple and the laws of Moses. They had him arrested, and brought him before the council for trial.
They bribed some to wittness against him, and had them lie.
They asked him if he had done such things, and as he was on trial, the Bible tells us that his face became as radiant as an angels , a glow. I believe that the Spirit of God was on him.
He began to preach to them , and they became angry.
Some people today, don’t like to be preached to. We live in a world where some don’t want to hear the truth. Jesus said " I am the way, the truth , and the Life.
The Jewish leaders were angry at Sstephen’s accusatin, and they shook their fist in rage.But Steven, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily upaward into heaven and saw the Glory of God.
Inner strength comes from the Holy Spirit.
Haven’t we all wondered what we would do if we were told we would be put to death, if we bowed down to our King Jesus?
This would take courage and discipline.
We may never be called on to give our life for our belief in Jesus, but we are called on daily to live like Him.
This too, takes courage and discipline.
Giving a kind word to a classmate who isn’t very popular.
Listening to a co worker as they tell you their problelms.
This may mean helping someone down the street who is lonely.
May God increase in each of us the gift of His Holy might.
(B) WE NEED INNER STRENGTH FOR SPIRITUAL WARFARE.
Wouldn’t it be nice to be like superman, and have a cape, and be ablel to fight against evil, and the devil and his demons.
To be able to put that suit on and go out and do battle with the devil?
We can have that suit,, It is called the armor of God.
Ephes. 6:13-18
Use every piece of God’s armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will still be standing firm. [14] Stand your ground, putting on the sturdy belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. [15] For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News, so that you will be fully prepared. [16] In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. [17] Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. [18] Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere.
We must be prepared, because we are up against more than we can handle, if we try to take on the devil and his demons on our own.
Jesus told Peter to be careful, because the devil desired to sift him like wheat.
The message puts it this way, ---- Take all the help lllyou can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it is all over but the shouting, you’re still on your feet.
God’s word is a powerful weapon.
(C) WE NEED INNER STRENGTH TO STRIVE FOR PERFECTION
Philip. 3:12-14
I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. [13] No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, [14] I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.
( illustration ) A preacher in a small church was making a point, and he said " the Bible tells us that all have sinned and fell short of God’s glory. No one is perfect."
" Can someone tell me of a perfect man?
A man in the congregation stood up and said, "preacher, you must have never met my wife’s first husband.
Where do we get this inner strength?
We get this inner strength from,
1. indwelling Holy Spirit
2. Total commitment to Christ
3. Much prayer
4. Daily Bible reading
WE should strive to be perfect, not that we will ever be , but we should live a life trying to be perfect.
We should set goals, both short term and long term.
The christian perfection has three components.
1. First, we should aim for perfect love
A scribe once asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was.
Jesus told him to love the Lord your God with all you heart, soul land mind and to love your neighbor as yourself.
That should be our goal for life, to love everybody. Even the people who don’t love us.
Remember that Christian love doesn’t mean to like somebody, It means to want what is best for another person
Christian love for others in not like the love we have for our spouse, or our children.
Christian love is that love that we have for a sinner .
The kind of love that tries to help them get out of bondage.
The prostitue,, the rapist,, the drug addict, the ones who spread rumors on us.
Our Christian love should be to introduce them to Jesus Christ, because He is the one who can get them out of bondage.
(illustration ) When General William Booth, founder of the Salvation army, died, many glowing tributes were offfered concerning him at a huge memorial service.
Perhaps the finest came from an ex- prostitute who sat beside Queen Mary. This former woman of the streets said of Booth, " He cared for the like of us "
That is the love of Christ.
THE SECOND COMPONENT OF CHRISTIAN PERFECTION IS BECOMING PERFECT IN USEFULNESS.
Remember the one talent that Jesus talked the most about?
He was not condemned for anything he did wrong, Jesus was bothered because of what he should have done that he did not do. Instead of using that one talent, he buried it.
We should ask ourselves, "what is my best ability? Is the kingdom of God benefiting from my ability?
THE THIRD COMPONENT OF CHRISTIAN PERFECTION IS TO BE PERFECT IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL HOLINESS.
J.I. Parker said " we are not at all points as bad as we could be, but at no point are we as good as we could be.
In personal holiness, we should strive to refrain from the following.
lying, stealing , cheating ,envy , lust, jealousy, bitterness, foul language,etc.
To live a life with heaven in view, we should strive for perfection.
When Jesus saves us, it is not just from something, it is for something.
We should not be content with what we have done in the past, but move on to the future.
We should live our lives in holiness, as if Jesus would come tomorrow, but serve Him as though he won’t come for 100 years.
There are several tips on how to do this.
1. The first tip is to rid ourselves of destructive attitudes, such as I can’t or that’s too hard.
2. The second tip is to train ove time to stick to the schedule we can handle.
To spend a reasonable amount of time with God each day, in prayer and bible study.
3. The third tip is to be prepared, To expect there to be bad days, as well as good days.
Forget the bad days, and put them behind us, looking ahead for better days.
Forget the past, don’t drag that extra baggage arouond in our race.
The most important race we will ever run, is the one that ends in resurrection life.
The apostle Paul said, I want to gain Christ and be found in him.
Do you want to be found in Him?
