Finding Strength in the Lord

Be still and know that I'm God.

Amen.

If you would turn to two Timothy, chapter two.

And y'all put up with me when I diverge from what the bulletin says.

We're going to do that tonight.

I know some of you are excited about Daniel.

I am too.

We're studying that and I'm looking forward to continuing that series.

This has been on my heart this week and so something's on my heart.

I'd just like to share it.

We'll be brief tonight.

I mean that actually didn't just say it, I actually mean it.

I'm just blessed to pastor a church of members who will work as hard as you guys have worked this week.

And it's amazing to me the number of people, and not again, somewhat expect of staff to work hard and do those things.

But we've had staff who've worked night and day almost this week as well.

But many of you who have real jobs, staff don't have no, they have real jobs who put in 40, 60 hours a week and yet spent all day yesterday and then out this week, some of you again at the national night, out on Tuesday night, all anticipation of this fall fest.

We do like it back there.

I think everybody, that was the consensus.

I do like that we have more visibility out front.

But that was so much easier.

It was easier on everyone and it was sure nice to have that nice grass to walk on, wasn't it?

And wasn't as dusty.

And so I believe we not, I believe we'll continue to have it back there and make life easier for everyone.

A lot of work, a lot of effort.

And again, I believe the Bible teaches very clearly that we are to work and God gives the increase.

And we've seen this over the years.

And when God has allowed our church to grow, it really has been that we haven't changed anything.

God just blessed and we grew.

And I think that same thing applies now.

We haven't changed anything in ten years, but God continues to bless us.

And so to see the amount of families that have been saved here in the last few weeks, I'm talking about adults again.

We've had three or four adults saved in the last two weeks and God's just good.

And so I'm reminded of the work that we are in.

Two Timothy, two one thou therefore my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

I just want to remind you that in the title of this, if anybody cares, is finding strength in the Lord or finding strength in him.

Where do you get your strength?

I mentioned it this morning.

That's what was on my heart.

But where do you get your strength?

It's important where your strength comes from when you are serving the Lord.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, I do pray tonight that again the message would be very clear and we'd be reminded of where our strength needs to come from.

And Lord, we need to be dependent upon you.

Again, we thank you, love you in Jesus name, amen.

Grace.

I'm not going to go into a detail, definitions and things of grace, but I do want to remind you that grace is God's unmerited favor, even unto enablement.

That the grace of God is there at the time of salvation.

And it's by grace that we're saved.

But grace is also there to enable us as christians to live the christian life.

The grace of God that's given to us is the inner working by way of the Holy Spirit to strengthen us.

And that strength comes from goddess.

That strength comes from God.

It is the grace of God that enables us to witness.

And I know Brother Stone's preaching on Wednesday night and I want to encourage you again to be here on Wednesday night.

I mentioned Wednesday night at the end of the service that everybody has their own personalities, everybody has their own way of doing things.

And all we're doing on Wednesday night is showing you the nuts and bolts of how to win somebody to Jesus.

And then Brother Stone's just challenging to be bold about it.

To be bold about it doesn't mean you have to do it exactly the way he is doing it or the way he's showing you.

But again, learning the nuts and bolts of how to lead somebody to Jesus and then being bold, bolder.

Bolder than me.

I'm timid when it comes to knocking the door.

I am so timid.

And I get the butterflies every time I do new moving bags still.

And I knock the door every time and so.

But it's the grace of God that enables us to witness.

It's the grace of God that enables us to witness to our neighbor or witness to a co worker or witness to a family member.

It's the grace of God that enables us, empowers us to do those things.

It's the grace of God that encourages us to be an encouragement to others.

We're supposed to be encouraging others.

And the only way we do that is by God's grace, enabling us to do that.

It's the grace of God that enables us to love the unlovely.

It's the grace of God that enables us to love our enemies.

Jesus said, love your enemies.

Isn't that amazing?

We can't do that on our own.

No one can love their enemies and do that naturally.

Right?

So it's the grace of God that enables us to do those things, to love them.

Love.

It's the grace of God that enables us to have peace.

It's the grace of God that enables us to experience joy.

It's the grace of God that enables us to experience long suffering in adversity.

When we face adversity, when those detours come into our lives.

And you know this.

I know.

But it's the grace of God that enables us to overcome and have victory through adversity.

In Hebrews, chapter twelve, verse 28, the Bible says, wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear.

The grace of God that enables us to serve him acceptably.

As I said this morning, we need to be careful of our motivation.

No doubt.

When Jesus walked by there at the pool of Bethsaida and he saw this helpless man, it was the grace of God and the mercy of God that he asked him the question, would thou be made whole?

There was multiple people there, and yet he only asked one.

God had grace on that one.

Think about it.

Why didn't he call so many others?

Why didn't he just.

He could have healed all of them.

Aren't you glad he had mercy on you?

Aren't you glad he had grace on you?

God's grace is amazing, but it does need to be applied in every area of our life, not just at salvation, but this grace of God.

It's the grace of God that enables us to serve him and do so acceptably, with reverence and godly fear.

I'm afraid too many times.

We serve in our own flesh.

And when you serve in the flesh, when you're just serving out of your own energy, that energy becomes depleted very quickly.

There is no doubt all of us experienced that.

I have many, many times.

And I find myself, when I am depleted and I get discouraged, I go, uh oh.

I've been relying on myself.

I've been relying on my own energy.

How's my daily walk doing?

How's my time with the Lord doing?

Am I getting my battery, you know, charged?

It's good for your preacher, by the way, to go to some conferences now and again and get preached to.

I enjoy that.

I need that.

I want to get preached to as well.

By the way, I preach to myself every time I put a message together.

Like this one.

This one's for me tonight.

And you guys are just listening in.

Grace to serve.

Grace to serve.

Again.

We're to be servants.

We are called to be servants.

Jesus said, I came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.

And again, being a servant requires sacrifice.

It requires setting aside personal interest at the expense of others, doing for others, being there for others, helping people.

Again, most of the time, when you think about it, when you are helping someone, most of the time, it's at times when it's not convenient for you.

How's that?

That always happens that way, doesn't it?

It's like, oh, yeah, you need my.

Oh, you know, okay.

I mean, I wanted to, you know, go check the chickens or something, but I'll come help you.

It's always at an inconvenient time.

But again, helping others and serving others is nothing.

It's not an act of scheduling, but an act of calling that God has called us to help others, to serve others.

And many times, if we're not careful, serving others and doing so religiously, doing so consistently can lead to discouragement because people will let you down.

As I said this morning, again, I know I'm repeating myself a little bit, but, man, your motivation better not be people to serve and work in a class or to serve and work yesterday or whatever it is.

Motivation better not be people.

It better be the Lord I love.

The Lord, I love what he's done for me.

I love him for who he is, and therefore I serve him.

And in serving him, I do so by serving others.

By doing for others.

Again, you do such a great job of this, our church does.

Consistently.

Over the years, we have been servants of others and doing for others.

Two Timothy two one again says, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

Be strong in the grace.

It's his grace that enables us to be effective, to be effective and joyful in service.

It's one thing to serve.

It's another thing to do so effectively and joyfully.

Right.

I will use the kids as an example.

Again.

I'm sorry.

I'll use the young people as an example.

Again.

It's one thing to tell your child, go do something.

To do so effectively and joyfully.

There's another one to tell them to go do it.

And they go, you know, rolling their eyes.

Roll your eyes at me.

Anyway.

Right?

Again, doing so out of obligation or doing so out of love and affection, not only for God, but for that person whom you're serving.

Again, so many have been wounded in the battle.

Can I remind you, you were in a battle when you got saved.

You entered the battle.

When you entered serving service, you entered a battle.

And the devil do anything he can to discourage you on the field of life.

The devil will do anything.

He will have people let you down.

He will have people hurt you.

Have you ever felt overworked and underpaid?

I'm talking about in the secular world.

But have you ever felt that way when it comes to serving Christ, we must be careful.

Because at that point, when you feel that way, when you feel like you've been taking advantage of maybe or you've been hurt by someone, maybe me.

If you're not careful, you become a casualty of the war, and you allow discouragement, and you allow others to take you out because you had their eyes on them.

You had your eyes on your teacher.

You had your eyes on me and not the Lord.

And that's why it's so important that the Lord is the motivation and not a person.

It doesn't matter whether it's me here preaching or brother Stone here preaching, or brother Wiggins, who I still miss terribly.

We talk every week, but I miss him.

It doesn't matter.

We must serve.

We must serve others.

And our motivation should be the Lord.

Again, in this service, we're going to face adversity.

And grace is what enables us to overcome adversity in our life.

Again, we cover this and understand this, but we're reminding ourselves that there is an enemy.

The devil is our enemy.

And, boy, brother Stone did a great job of that Wednesday night describing the devil.

And it's been a while since I've heard that.

And some of you who weren't here Wednesday might go back and listen to that message.

You just really gave us a good overview of what the devil.

The devil's our enemy.

The world's our enemy.

The world's our enemy.

That world system out there, again, is lust of the eye, pride of life, the enemy.

And again, we know that.

I love that little cartoon I seen years ago.

It says, I have met the enemy, and the enemy is me.

And again, most of the time, it is us.

And so again, two, Timothy, two three.

Paul reminds Timothy, thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

The longer you serve in the battle, the more challenges you face in the battle.

The longer you realize that you are not on a playground.

You're not on a playground.

This is real stuff, isn't it?

This is stuff we call it, you know, in a secular sense, you call it adulting, right?

Once you kind of get out of the house and you start your own family and whatever, and you start adulting, it's a little difficult.

It's not a playground.

But the Christian, the spiritual life is, in a sense, is the same way.

It is not a playground.

It's a battlefield.

Well, preacher, you said this morning the greatest decision you'll ever make is to accept Christ as your savior.

Absolutely.

It's the greatest decision because all those other people out there, they're facing the same battle, but without Jesus.

I'm facing that battle with Jesus.

I'll take that any day.

I'm thankful for that grace that I have experienced in my own life in the time of my need.

But I do understand as the longer the battle goes on, the more adversity we face.

Many times, again, with our motivation kind of getting off Kelter, we did be reminded many, many times that serving the Lord is not necessarily the easiest path in life.

Sitting at home watching tv would be.

I guess I don't.

But in a sense, again, my yoke is easy.

My burdens light has to do with in his yoke.

In other words, whatever God has intended for me to be, whatever God has intended for my life to be, whatever plan God has in my life, I'm better off in that plan.

Because in that plan, the yoke is easy.

And though some people may from the outside look it in, go, well, a missionary, that's a hard job, but for the missionary, that's an easy job because he's in the yoke that God intended for him to be.

I was reading about this yoke again, and somebody, one of the commentators said, yeah, the yoke of Jesus is a yoke like anyone else, but it's got velvet lining, it's got padded lining, you know, it's got leather seats.

It's still a yoke, but it's easier to be in the direct will of God than it is to be out.

Our goal, again, needs to be reviewed, and the why needs to be reviewed.

Why did I do what I do?

Why do I serve?

Why do I teach?

Why do I come out and visitation?

Why do I do these things?

Why do I sing in the choir?

Whatever it is that you're involved in?

Again, I don't want to leave out witnessing to our neighbor or witnessing to a co worker.

Why did I help a family member?

Well, to please the Lord and he will give you grace in the time of suffering.

God is not attracted to our strength, but to our weakness.

Again, you know the verse two, corinthians twelve, verse nine says, and Paul said, and he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.

Without the Lord, we can do nothing.

I need God's help.

And God wants us to recognize that.

He wants us to recognize our dependence upon him.

And when you are facing adversity, it is good to go to the Lord and say, Lord, I need your help.

When you're facing times in which you are discouraged, it's good to go to the Lord and say, Lord, I need your help.

He wants us to do that, and he will provide the grace we need, that enablement.

If you'll go to God with that loneliness or that difficulty or all those things that are a part of life, if you'll go to God with it, you won't become a casualty in the battle.

I think about some members of our church who've become casualties in the battle.

I miss them.

But as long as the grace of God is working in your heart, your future's bright.

Amen.

As long as you're depending upon him.

And then it goes on to say again, he reminds Timothy again to that grace that is needed.

Then he tells Titus to grow in grace again.

That grace that gave us salvation also is the one who enables us again to live the christian life.

You ever used miracle grow?

I don't know that so much a miracle, but it will have an impact on a plant, even a tree.

It's amazing.

That stuff's like magic.

I do not have a green thumb.

And that's why around here, neither does most of our staff.

And so we rely upon other people.

We replaced all the green out that way, and we're fixing to redo the entire.

By the way, we're redoing the entire little thing in front of the gym, number one, because the state of Texas says if we can't have standing water, if we have a daycare.

Now, I've got you totally off the subject of the sermon, but we need the grace of God to deal with the state of Texas.

And also that whole island has sank into the ground, like four inches, five inches.

And so anyway.

But I don't know where I was at now.

Don't have a green thumb.

I don't.

But miracle grow is pretty amazing.

Helps things grow better, greener.

Can I tell you the grace of God's amazing?

It really is.

If you haven't been a christian very long.

Maybe you haven't really had that.

You know, that point in life where you can look back and go, I remember that.

I remember when God's grace influenced me in a major way.

I have many, many occasions I can go back to and say I'm thankful for the grace of God and if the grace of God will show up in my life in these instances, I know grace of God will show up in the future as well, relying and depending upon him.

The grace was given to us to live a godly life, that we understand that grace is not given to us to live as we choose, but is given to us to enable us to deny ungodliness and worldly lust to live.

To live for the Lord.

That's Titus, chapter two, verse eleven through twelve, that it brings us salvation, but it's also there to help us to live a godly life.

You can look that up later.

Titus 211, twelve.

We are to be a testimony of God's grace to others.

Our lives should be testimony to God's grace.

Is your life a testimony to God's grace?

John Newton, who wrote amazing grace, he said this.

He said, I am not what I might be.

I am not what I ought to be.

I am not what I wish to be.

I am not what I hope to be.

But thank God, I am not what I used to be.

And he said this, he said, I can say with Paul, by the grace of God, I am what I am.

And we all could say that tonight, it's by God's grace.

We are what we are.

I am what I am.

And God is asking you to grow in that grace.

To grow in that grace.

He says, grow in the grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The greatest way to grow in grace is to grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

The more you know the Lord, the more you know Jesus, the more you know everything about him, the more you'll grow in grace.

He is the key.

Be strong in God's grace.

Can I remind you tonight you're not alone.

I'm thankful I'm not alone.

Like my wife sometimes, my kids around, not alone.

Good church, good church, family, not alone.

But more than that, I'm not alone because God's with me.

Holy Spirit lives within me.

And that Holy Spirit is there to enable me to give me that grace and strength and time that I need it.

Sustaining grace is offered to all who will ask.

It's not just about asking.

It's really the grace of God that we ask for in our time of need.

It's what the Bible says in revelation, grace to help in time of need.

And God will never, never fail you.

And God will never, ever refuse his grace to you.

Isn't that good?

If you're experiencing tonight, I don't know what you may be experiencing.

And maybe like me, every once in a while you just kind of have to back up and go, okay, we've been doing this a long time.

I want to make sure that my motivation is still what it should be and that I'm not just running on my own energy, but running on the grace of God.

The grace of God.

Because you cannot and will not make it to the end.

I don't mean talking about salvation, but to the point of when Jesus says, well done, thou good and faithful servant, you're not going to make it to that point without the grace of God.

The grace of God.

God will.

I like this statement.

God will divine.

I didn't come up with this one.

God will divinely enable you.

Listen to that.

God will divinely enable you to serve.

Hello.

Divinely.

That means that is a miracle.

God is giving you the energy and the power you need to serve.

God will divinely give you that if you'll ask for it.

If you rely on him, God will give you that same divine enablement to go through suffering, to go through adversity.

And he'll give you that same divine enablement, that grace that you need to live a life for him.

We need to begin every morning alone with Goddesse.

Spend every morning before you go to work, before you get in your car, spend a few minutes, spend some time with the Lord.

We need to cast ourselves on him.

Why?

Because his grace is sufficient.

Our energy is not.

Our power is not.

Let's all stand.