Live This Day #3 - With Strength (Mike Chilcoat)

Mike Chilcoat continues the message series entitled "Live This Day" looking at the book of 1 Thessalonians. Jesus gives us strength to endure until the eternal victory is our in Christ.

Message Transcript - https://www.orchardhillchurch.com/blog-post/2024/9/23/live-this-day-3-with-strength

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Transcript

Good morning, Orchard Hill. I am Mike Chilcoat or Chilly. I’m thrilled to be with you this morning. I thought I'd open our time in prayer. Lord Jesus, thank you for this opportunity to come here and worship you and to leave here knowing you better than when we walked in. Lord, thank you for your scriptures and for your loving and hopeful truth that we get to study this morning. In your name I pray. Amen.

So, we are continuing with our series entitled Live This Day. Since we know and are confident and are committed to Jesus coming again, this fact changes or transforms the expectations for believers. For those who are in Christ and believe that Jesus is who He says He is, it changes our expectations. So, the idea is that we need to live this day today. We need to live right now, each and every day in light of that day. Live this day in light of that day. The day of the return of Jesus. The second coming of Christ. That with that victory and hope in the future that it will change and transform our day-to-day lives. That we can live with hope and purpose and confidence found in him. We can live in preparation, hope, and urgency in the freedom that comes and was bought by Christ on the cross. That sets us free to live life to the fullest. Life abundantly.

In order to live in this way, to experience this true freedom that I speak about, this peace in Jesus, we need to utilize the full arsenal of tools that the Lord graciously and lovingly gave us. He didn't just leave us on our own and say, hey, good luck. Hope it works out for you. The Lord equipped us and blessed us with these gifts and tools. And the one that I want to talk about this morning that the Lord provides for us includes this God's gift of strength. It's where we're going to focus today. We're going to unpack God's gift of strength, his unstoppable force, and his ultimate strength that comes from him, that God gives and equips to all of us as His followers.

First and Second Thessalonians is where we've been looking during this series. I'm going to be diving into a little bit in chapter two and into chapter three. These were letters written by the Apostle Paul to a group that Paul had, in fact shared the gospel with. Paul had been an integral part of sharing the hope found in Jesus with these Thessalonians, and he had led them into a relationship with Jesus.

The church in Thessalonica had been established by Paul and some other friends of Paul's. And it was filled with this group of young believers, immature believers. They were infants in their faith. It got a little crazy, it got a little wild, and there was a lot of opposition that sprung up. And all of a sudden, Paul was driven out only a couple of months after starting this church.

So, these believers had not had a lot of time to grow and mature and sink their roots deep in Christ. So again, this church in Thessalonica, which is in its infancy, was taking a lot of heat in opposition. And the folks that were in the church, the Thessalonians that had compiled and made up this church, a lot of them had come to an understanding of worshiping the living God and had left false gods and idols.  

So, there was a kind of a crazy past. You had this church just a couple of months in, a young church, an immature church, a sincere church, but a young church. And Paul's concerned because he is driven away. Are they going to walk away from their faith or are they going to back this? In the early part of chapter two, Paul begins to encourage them in great detail and with practical examples of how he had purposely related to them with the intention of teaching them ways to mature spiritually. He said I had left you with these things to focus on, and the foundation to build on so that you could grow your roots deep in Jesus, that you could mature spiritually, and that you could weather the storms when they come inevitably into your life.

Paul emphasizes authentic, loving relationships with other believers. The way that all of us are designed. It's in our DNA to relate to one another. As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. We're created and designed to be in these personal relationships with one another to help shape and develop our faith in Jesus.

And see, Paul understands all too well that discouragement can arise during suffering. If you're suffering, or you know someone who's had long standing suffering or pain or hardship, well that can get you down. It can not only lead to depression, but lead to ultimate discouragement, where you feel like, is this ever going to end? God, are you there? And Paul knew this firsthand. This was nothing foreign to Paul. Paul suffered a great deal as you read through the epistles and the story of Paul. And if you read through the Book of Acts, certainly you see opposition, oppression, pain, and challenges that Paul dealt with at every turn. So, he knows this personally. Paul understands this.

But even more powerfully, in the passage that we're going to look at today, Paul highlights how God can help people in the trenches to endure hardship as they cling to hope through the encouragement of others. He doesn't promise it'll be fully removed. He doesn't promise we'll never deal with it. But he does promise that God can be with us in the trenches. True discipleship is what he's talking about here. Discipleship, life on life relationships, encouraging them, and tutoring them to know Jesus in a real way. True discipleship and godly fellowship are a major theme throughout this passage. In fact, we could stop. We could do several sermons. We could do a whole series on the discipleship relationship that you see here in First Thessalonians. We're going to touch on it today, but we're not really going to camp there. Instead, we're going to kind of home in and sort of zoom in on strength. God's ultimate strength that he desires to give to us in times of great struggle and adversity.

So, the adversity that I speak of at this church in Thessalonica, in this passage, is experiencing it may be a surprise to the Thessalonians. Maybe the oppression and the pushback may have been a shocking revelation to the Thessalonians. But, you know, it wasn't a shock to God. It was not a surprise to him. And Paul understands that. This game changing realization here is when we recognize that real strength comes from God.

The world tells you in social media, and culture will bombard you with you can lift yourself up by your bootstrap. Teal strength is found inside of you, and you can get through anything. You can endure any hardship. There are real issues going on in this room with me and with you. Real problems, real pain that I feel overwhelmed by and consumed by. And it feels like I keep getting knocked down by a wave over and over and over, crashing me to the ground. And to say that I can just pick it up, do it on my own, I don't need anybody else or anything else, and I've got it all right here, bitterness will develop out of that. And that's a lie to the game changing realization. 

Here is when we recognize that real strength comes from outside of us. It comes from God. He's the source of that real strength. This becomes even more powerful and life changing. And this is tough. This is the deep end of the pool. This is easier said than done. But the real game changing moment happens is when we recognize that affliction, opposition, and the suffering that we endure on this side of heaven can be leveraged and used by God to renovate our heart and transform us from the inside out.

But even when we go through pain and hardships and difficulty, as God allows us to do that because He could stop it at any point, he's capable of all and he's unstoppable, but there are moments where he allows it, to leverage it, to have us cling to him and find strength in him, trust him, and say, this hurts, but you're with me in the midst of it. That's when things really change. Understanding this can change not only our perspective, which is huge, but it can also change our hearts, our minds, and our effectiveness in God's kingdom work.

When you've been through the wars a little bit, when you've been through some battles and you've struggled and you've doubted, I'm not saying that doesn't happen. And you and you've said, God, are you there? Do you care about me? But you've come on the other end and said, God, I'm going to trust your ultimate strength and your ultimate purpose that you see in full what I see in part. When you do that, it's not only going to have an impact on your heart and those around you, but also a major impact on your family and your friends and those that are watching you and observing how you are going to handle this. It changes our effectiveness in God's kingdom work.

But instead, if you're like me, we try to avoid pain. We do everything we can to avoid pain. And some of that's just wisdom. We don't seek out pain, right? But we're so scared of it sometimes that we want to skirt pain altogether. We want to mask it and ignore it. That's even more dangerous sometimes when we're like, I'm just going to pretend it's not there. Even when the warning signs are obvious, even when the warning signs are maybe right in our face, we'll think, you know, what's better to do is just sort of plug my ears, close my eyes, pretend it's not there, and go about my day. The warning signs can be right in our face.

If you don't know, I have three daughters. Three lovely daughters. They're wonderful. They're some of my best friends. They're great. The reason that I'm boasting about them and lifting them up is I'm about to make fun of them. So, you know, I got permission to do this, but they're the best. And they're so good at so many things. And they're far more skilled than I am at many things. But one thing that they're not very strong on, that I would say is not their strong suit, is when it comes to automotive repair and maintenance. That is not the girl's strong suit.

So, my middle daughter, Kirsten, just finished up at Pitt a couple of months ago and now she's working a job. Her job is up on Mount Washington, and she lives in Shadyside. All of our kids, you know, they're children of a minister. So, it's not like they're driving around in new Bentley’s or anything. So, all their cars are 15 years old, and they all have a couple of hundred thousand miles on them. And so obviously when issues happen, it's not that uncommon. I've tried to tell them some of the basics, and it feels like they're sort of scrolling, yeah, that sounds great, Dad. So, they're not listening to anything. And typically, this stuff falls on Dad.

So, one day, Kirsten, a couple of weeks ago, this is all in one day, she works up on Mount Washington, she finishes up work, and she's about to leave. Meanwhile, push pause on that for a second. I have had one of those days maybe you've had. I've been traveling all week. I've been all around the state traveling. And this particular day I had to get up really early, and I'm just driving the whole state. I'm calling my wife Kimmy, and I am just fried. I am beat. I can't wait to get home. I am so sorry if I'm a zombie tonight. I'm just really tired. It's been one of those weeks. I get off the phone with her, I get home, and I'm assuming I'm going to go get something to eat or whatever.

We get in the car, and we get a call from Kirsten. And it's after she had gotten off work up on Mount Washington. She gets in her car, her 2009 Honda CRV with 227,000 miles. She gets in her car, she starts it up, and she's driving down the hill to Liberty Bridge. She says, this may be for those of you who've tried to help navigate car issues with your kids, you can relate to this, but she'll say the car is acting funny. I'm like, I need more than that. Elaborate a little more. It just doesn't feel right. It feels odd, you know? And I'm like, what? More. Give me more. What is happening? It just doesn't have the power. And it's tough to drive, you know? And I'm like, I'm trying to figure it out. Maybe you have elderly family or friends that you've tried to help over the phone with a computer issue. This is sort of what this is like.

I'm like, tell me exactly what's happening. So, I'm like, babe, are there lights on the dashboard? And she's like, yeah, there's a light on here, and it's got an exclamation point in parentheses. And I'm like, well, that's your tire pressure light. Pull over. She's like, no, I don't think that's it. I'm like, it's right there. It's definitely it. And she's like, oh, I don't know. And I'm like, where are you right now? She's like, I'm on Liberty Bridge in rush hour. I'm like, babe, I think you're tire's flat. And she's like, no, no. And at this point, I have it on speaker, and my wife, Kimmy, is sitting next to me and you can hear people honking. The wonderful people of Pittsburgh are honking at her out of the goodness of her heart. But Kirsten is not reading it that way. And she's like stopping the conversation. They're going, hey, pal, what's your problem? Hey, these people are so rude during rush hour. 

Kimmy is like, first, I think those people are trying to help you because I think you are driving on the rim of your car and your tire is flat, and she's like, oh, well, I'm not so sure. And then all of a sudden, we listen carefully, and you can hear the bump, bump, bump of the car. We're like, yes, you're driving on your rim right now. I'm like, pull over as soon as you can and get that taking care of. So, why we're on the phone. I'm like, stay on the phone with me. I want to make sure you're safe. Get over when you can. No problem. Well, when she could get over, it was all the way down Boulevard of the Allies, all the way into Oakland. I'm like, babe, you have officially smoked that rim. That thing is done forever. The tire has been left all over the Boulevard of the Allies.

She pulls over, her boyfriend goes and puts the donut on her car. I have to go down and meet her at a tire shop. We meet at a tire shop. When we get to the tire shop, it’s closed. Nothing's working out well. So, I'm like, babe, you're going to leave your keys. I had to give her my wife's car so she could get to work the next day. So, I go home with my wife. We jump back in my car, and I'm back to telling her, I'm like, I don't know what it is. I am so tired. I'm like, I might go to bed here soon. I'm dying. So, I open the garage door, and I'm pulling the car into the garage. I'm about to shut the car off, and our youngest daughter, Kendall, Face Times, calls my wife. She answers it, and Kendall goes, we've got a problem.  

And I'm like, no, I don't want any more problems. She's sitting in her gorgeous 2010 Buick Lacrosse. It's beige on beige, what every young girl wants, bought from a 92-year-old man. Super cool Buick. And she's like, the key won't move at all. The key won't move. This thing's broken. I'm like, is there any power at all? She's like, well, no. I'm like, your battery's dead. She's like, we drove it this morning. It can't be dead. I'm like, did you push any lights on or leave any interior lights on? She's like, no. I mean, I did put my hazards on when I parallel parked earlier this morning. I'm like, did you leave it on?

She's like, yeah. I'm like, that was it. You killed your battery. You left the hazards on. Where are you parallel parking with your hazards, you know? It's like you got somebody air traffic controlling you into this spot. So, I'm like, Kimmy, get out of the car right now. Save yourself. Go inside, watch some mindless reality TV, let me go take care of this. So, I let my wife escape and I'm like, I'm driving out.

So, I drive back down to Oakland. I pull in. She lives right off Boulevard of the Alleys run and Dawson. If you know Oakland, you park on both sides, it might be both ways for traffic, but every car has to go in and out, wait for the other car to go. Her car is right there. Parallel parked. You can't get even on the sidewalk. So, I have to pull my car up and stop traffic. And as quickly as you can, I'm trying to jump the car. Everyone's middle fingers are up. Everybody's giving me these great signals. I'm trying to send them down alleys. I'm so sorry. What do you want me to do? I have daughters. You know, I don't know what I'm trying to tell them.

This girl named Brooklyn comes who is helping me. She's from the Bronx. Grew up in Staten Island. Her name was Brooklyn. I'm kidding about the other part, but her name was Brooklyn. This angel is here helping me direct traffic. We jumped the car and I'm like, babe, Kendall, we have got to go get a new battery right now.

Advanced Auto Parts on the Southside is going to close in like 20 minutes. We got to go. So, we get the car started, and we get over there. I pull into Advanced Auto Parts on the Southside at night. If you ever been there at night, it's a pretty, pretty, crazy place. There's a lot going on. I pull up and I'm like, this is awesome, babe. We're going to make it. 10 minutes. Advanced Auto Parts, they put the battery in for you. It's perfect. I walk in, I'm like here you go. Yeah, that's on me. Buying a new battery. And the guy goes, I'm here by myself, so I can't put the battery in. And I'm like, I'm thinking about, can I work behind the counter? I'd be happy to do it. If you could just go out there, please save me from this misery. And he's like, I'm sorry.

So, I didn't bring my tools because we were scrambling. I left the tools in the other car. I'm like, what are we going to do? And I don't ever do this, and I certainly don't recommend this. But this is the truth of what happened. I walk outside and there is a strange kind of drifter character leaning against a tree in the dark. And I don't know if he overheard, but he says, you know, I don't work for Advanced Auto Parts, but I can put that battery in for you. And normally stranger danger, I would say thanks, but no thanks and run. In this case, I'm like, you're hired. Perfect, strange guy in the dark by a tree. You have to be qualified. He has tools with him. He just walks around waiting for someone. So, he's putting the battery on, I’m like, Kendall, stay behind me here. I’m watching this guy. He does a good job. I'm like, thanks a lot, hand him some cash, and he goes away.

So, I called both of the girls on my drive home. And I’m like girls, love you both. I was happy to help. But the dashboard lights. When there's lights on the dash, that's like Paul Revere warning you of impending danger. You have to take it seriously when there are dashboard lights. And they heard me, and they laughed. I think hopefully going forward, they'll do a better job.

But even when the warning lights are lit up right in front of us, we can easily slip into avoiding the problem or ignoring it. And in this case, the girls thought, oh, maybe it'll just go away, maybe it'll take care of itself. But no, these warning lights are there on purpose for us that is giving us those moments to stop and reflect and say, I need to take this seriously. I need to lean into this. Sometimes this reaction, maybe it's something really serious that's happened in your life. Maybe it's more serious from some past trauma or some past pain. Maybe it's our default mode of preservation to ignore it.

We just do everything we can to avoid pain, challenges, and hardships. We think that if we are experiencing painful difficulties in our lives, maybe we must be outside of God's will. God, why are these painful things happening? Why is this opposition happening? If it is maybe I'm not in your will, or maybe you've forgotten me. Or maybe you've left me. I've thought those things. Maybe you have too. 

And again, we don't want to wish for pain. We don't want to want and welcome in pain, right? We don't want it to happen. And we don't want it to be a part of our lives. We don't go out of our way to make things painful on purpose. But understand that if we choose to follow Jesus, and he makes this promise over and over and over, he certainly does in First Thessalonians 2 that we're going to read in a second. It's not a question of if, it's a question of when. Suffering and pain and difficulties will be a part of it. But now we have a foundation to stand on in Jesus. And now we have an unstoppable, loving, personal savior who's there in the midst of it, with us holding our hands, showing us those warning lights on our dashboard and saying, let me take care of this with you.

John 16:33 says this. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” In this world you will have trouble. We can't skirt this. It's unavoidable. There will be moments of pain and hardship and the Lord leverages it and uses it to change and transform us and renovate our hearts from the inside out.

In Second Corinthians 4:17 similarly, it says this. “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” There are light and momentary troubles on this side of heaven that we're going to have to navigate. But boy, we're storing up our treasures in heaven eternally where moth and rust can't destroy and thieves can't come in and steal. That we're pushing towards the eternal rather than focused on the temporary.

And here, back in First Thessalonians 2, you see Paul addressed this with this group. Remember, this is young, immature, new believers in this church. And so, Paul sends this letter of encouragement, and he says this. “But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way.” Paul knows how important it is to have one on one personal, in-person meetings. They matter. Sometimes we're relegated to just zoom on those things and that's fine. But there is such value in being with the person, and he wants to let them know you matter to me enough to make that effort. “For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.” Paul’s saying there's nothing even more important in my whole life than the fact that I got to share hope in Christ with you and you growing. It not only encourages you, it encourages me that we get to be a part of that.

It continues on in chapter three. “So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens. We sent Timothy, who is our brother and co-worker in God’s service in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith.” So, the Lord’s strength not only comes to strengthen us, but He'll use other people and utilize other people in our lives to come alongside us and be our Timothy to encourage us and spur us on in times when we're struggling.

“So that no one would be unsettled by these trials. For you know quite well that we are destined for them.”  Paul’s saying problems are going to arise, it's going to happen.  “In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know. For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter had tempted you and that our labors might have been in vain.”  Paul's nervous. Were you going to succumb to the pressure of this world or the pain that you're going through because you're young and were forced out.

“But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you.” I mean, think about that fellowship and that camaraderie there and the joy that they feel that they're standing firm in the faith. It's spurring each other on.

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith. For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord. How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.” This is a beautiful picture of encouragement and strength coming from the Lord and strength coming from the Holy Spirit and other people in our lives that are impacting us and pushing us and encouraging us.

So, how do we know that we can trust Jesus and lean into and utilize his all-powerful strength in our lives? How can we have confidence in that the way the Thessalonians do here in this passage? Jesus broke humankind's bondage to sin once and for all at the cross. Jesus has already won. Victory is his, and in turn, victory is ours.

Now, everyone here is in this in-between period. The cross freed us from the bondage of sin, paid the penalty once and for all. The second coming of Christ is coming. The return of Him. We can have confidence with our head and our heart that that is a future date. But in this in-between period right now, between the second coming and the cross, this is a period on the cross which conquered sin. And when Jesus returns in victory and Satan is eternally purged and cast away at the final judgment, because remember, every knee shall bow, every tongue will confess, that day is coming. God will forgive on the basis of what Christ has done. So, victory is ours. But in the in-between period, between these two, the battle rages on, our light and momentary troubles.

Paul is describing in this passage to the church in Thessalonica what is at stake for them. Our adversary, Satan, is going to go after us and he's going to go after us where we're weak and vulnerable. And all of our weaknesses and vulnerabilities might be unique to us, not novel to us, different for each person. There's an illustration I've given before. It's cheesy, but boy, it's a good one. A woodpecker will land on a tree, and it will peck around the tree until it finds a soft spot and it will burrow in.

It's the same in our lives. What are the moments and the places where we're susceptible to being discouraged to the point of walking away from the faith or not clinging to the strength found in Christ, and that we're bagging it, and we're saying, God, I thought you loved me? Whatever. Those are the places where we're going to be attacked.

And we need to be aware of that, conscious of that, and cling to Christ in the midst of it. We shouldn't be surprised when we face affliction, pain, and opposition. Jesus is clear that we need to pick up our cross, and one weapon that he equips us with is prayer. Paul talks about the earnestness of prayer here in this passage, this intercessory prayer that this gift we have, that I can pray to the Lord, the God of the universe who created everything all powerful. Me, as a weak, finite, insecure person, can pray to an ultimate, all powerful, loving God. And He can fill me with His strength, and he can encourage me in times of trial. And I can in turn do the same for others, that we cannot just make it turn inward and focus on ourselves, but rather face outward and say even in times of pain, I'm going to pray for others because it matters. And I have the opportunity to encourage them with the same love and strength that the Lord gives me and fills my heart with. This is powerful and impactful.

So, when I say strengthen the Lord or Paul mentions in strengthening and encouraging faith, at one point in the passage, he says, strengthening your hearts. He says that in this passage as well, is he talking about physical strength? Is that what he's focusing on, just being physically strong? No, not at all. That's not it at all. It's not the gold standard. It doesn't encapsulate what Paul's getting at. Real strength is not about our own gifts or abilities. It's not about our physical strength. In fact, that's not it at all. It's about God's strength. We are weak, but he is strong. That little Bible song is so true.

My dad was a wrestler. He was my wrestling coach. He was a fairly high caliber athlete. He lifted all the time. When he was diagnosed with ALS, in the two years I watched him deteriorate, at the end, I mean, I was picking him up. He had withered away to nothing, and I’d take him to help him in the shower and things like that. He wasn't physically strong anymore at all. He had gone from being quite physically strong to just weak. That was the strongest I had ever seen him during those moments of struggle, because he recognized he was purged from the ego and the insecurity to say, I can't do it on my own, but Lord, you can.  

You see, real strength comes from God. And as my dad and others are facing adversity, we hand our small barley loaves and fish to the Lord and say, here, do something with this. Not my strength, but through yours. Sometimes our hardships, even weaken us physically. So, this isn't a reference to physical or economic strength or our material blessing. This is often misunderstood and falsely taught. Kurt took this on a couple of weeks ago who referenced the health, wealth and prosperity gospel, may be one of the biggest lies perpetrated on the world, on mankind, on humankind.

Charles Swindoll says this. This is a great quote. “I know that some advocates of this so-called ‘health and wealth gospel’ teach that if Christians just have enough faith, they won't suffer. But Paul says suffering walks hand-in-hand with faith in Christ (Philippians 1:29). This doesn't mean God is the perpetrator of evil or the cause of sin..., or even of temptations (1 John 1:5). Human sin - both Adam's and our own - is the root cause of pain and suffering in our world (Romans 8:20-22). However, in the fallen world, where pain and suffering are an inevitable reality, God has chosen to use afflictions as tutors which teach us how to rely continually on the strength of God and His Word - a lesson that we could never have learned otherwise (Psalm 119:67, 71, 75).”

Regardless of what the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel says, strength and courage cannot happen without pain. Again, so many people are focused on eliminating pain and suffering in our lives, and that's not a bad thing. That can be a good thing, but it's not paramount. The Bible takes a very different approach, without seeking out pain, Jesus is teaching us how to endure it and allowing us to experience the suffering with him, together with him. He doesn't leave us but is with us in the midst of the pain, holding our hand, and allowing us to occur for our benefit and our sanctification.

Ten years ago, when I moved to Pittsburgh, we had a great thing going on when we were in Columbus, it was a great ministry, and our girls were about to enter high school. It was a hard moment to sit down and say, I think God is calling us to move. But we did it together. And part of the reason we went when we went, is Kimmy and I, in our prayers, concluded that I want our girls to navigate some challenges and difficulties together, while under our roof. We're going to lose this opportunity down the road. So, was it hard? Absolutely. Was it difficult? You bet. But to get to navigate and process that together was what was so vital. And that's Jesus with us, even more powerfully, that he's with us in the midst of our pain, that he's navigating it with us. He's not leaving us and saying, hey, good luck. I hope it works out for you. He's saying, I'm in it. If we lift up our abilities in comparison with the God of the universe, imagine how ridiculous and arrogant that would sound.

Recognize with humility that anything we have is a gift from him anyway. This will lead to true peace and humility. Real freedom flows from this understanding. God is all powerful and unstoppable. And Paul, and I'll close with this, he ends with this in the third chapter.  “Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.“ Jesus wants to strengthen us and point us towards hope as we battle through the difficulties of this world.

In closing here, the last two things I want to leave you thinking about. One is Jesus gives us strength to love and be loved. Jesus gives us strength to love and be loved. And secondly, Jesus gives us strength to endure until the eternal victory is ours in Christ. That is powerful. That will speak to others around you, and it will renovate your heart from the inside out.

I'm going to pray for us. Lord Jesus, thank you for this time together. Thanks for Orchard Hill Church. Thanks for the opportunity for us to lean on one another and find strength through you and one another. But Lord, ultimately, thank you for your strength, it’s unstoppable and personal, and that you care, and that we matter to you. Lord Jesus, I pray that we go and do likewise and apply this to our weeks. In Your name I pray. Amen. Thanks so much for being here.