Sunday's Message (His Support - “I will make you strong.”)

Even though life can seem threatening and overwhelming, Isaiah 40:10 reminds us that we don’t need to be afraid: Don’t be afraid. I am with you. Don’t tremble with fear. I am your God. I will make you strong, as I protect you with my arm and give you victories. During five worship services, we’ll consider how God can calm our fears and anxieties. We’ll consider the following:

• October 4 - His Presence (“I am with you.”)
• October 11 - His Relationship (“I am your God.”)
• October 18 - His Support (“I will make you strong.”)
• October 25 - His Care (“I will protect you.”)
• November 1 - His Power (“I will...give you victory.”)

On Sunday, October 18, we discussed how God calms our fears through his support us. Below is the text and a video presentation of the sermon. 

You can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).  You can hear a podcast of the service at the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel or the Sligo Presbyterian Spotify Page.

Now, in case you’re wondering, that’s Julie Adams. And if she hadn’t died in 2019, at the age of 92, she would have been 100 yesterday. Now aren’t you glad you came this morning? Of course, I recognize that right now, most of y’all are asking yourselves, “Who the heck is Julie Adams?”, right? Well, according to Wikipedia, the fountain of all knowledge, “Julie Adams (born Betty May Adams) was an American actress, billed as Julia Adams in her early career, primarily known for her numerous television guest roles.” You see, during her career, she starred in a number of movies, including Bend of the River with James Stewart, The Lawless Breed with Rock Hudson, and everybody’s favorite, Tickle Me with Elvis Presley. “Thank you very much.” She also had an extensive television career including roles as Mary Simpson on The Andy Griffith Show, as Paula Denning on the soap opera Capitol, and Eve Simpson on Murder, She Wrote. Now this is Julie Adams, but this information really has nothing to do with why I brought her up this morning. There’s one more part I didn’t mention.

You see, as our brother Jim Mason knows, her greatest role was as Kay Lawrence, in the Creature from the Black Lagoon, a movie I remember watching with my dad on Creature Feature. Of course, since this was horror from the 50's, it’s really not all that scary today. And the plot was pretty straight-forward: the creature threatens a group of scientists, including a twenty-something young lady who looked good in a bathing suit. And because they’re much weaker than the threat, they end up being afraid, until they band together and kill the monster. Now that’s the story in a nutshell. Of course, that’s also the story of Frankenstein and King Kong and The Amazing Colossal Man. In 1950s horror, relative weakness always led to fear.

And I’ll tell you, in my opinion, there’s a reason this kind of story sort of resonates with us. You see, even though we’re probably never going to have to face any honest-to-goodness, card-carrying monsters, the idea that, somewhere down the line, we’re going to be threatened by something far stronger than us, man, that’s scary, isn’t it? And it really doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about a person, you know like a boss or a teacher, or a situation, like maybe a diagnosis or termination, I’ll tell you, when we feel weak, when we feel powerless, when we feel hopeless, for most of us, that’s when the fear starts to grow. And that’s really bad, at least for us. But what’s even worse is that the more frightened we become, the weaker we end up feeling. You see, I think there’s a very real relationship between weakness and fear.

And how God might help us face that fear, well, that’s what we’re going to talk about this morning. I mean, remember, we’ve been focused on this verse from Isaiah:

Don’t be afraid. I am with you.
Don’t tremble with fear.
    I am your God.
I will make you strong,
as I protect you with my arm
    and give you victories. [Isaiah 41:10, CEV]

And using it as a guide, over the last two weeks, we’ve talked about how God’s presence, “I am with you” [Isaiah 41:10b, CEV] and his relationship with us, “I am your God” [Isaiah 41:10d, CEV], we’ve been talking about how those things can help us face our fears. And this morning, we’re going to focus on the promise, “I will make you strong.” [Isaiah 41:10e, CEV] In other words, for the next fifteen minutes or so, we’re going to discuss, first, how God can help us face our fears by supporting us and then second, how we can experience his support by claiming his strength.

And you know, that business about God being strong, man, that’s the reason we can trust that God can support us when we’re afraid. It’s like the first verse of that old hymn, Just a Closer Walk With Thee:

I am weak but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee. [Anonymous]

But I’ll tell you, we don’t have to look to a song to find that it’s true. I mean, just listen to what the prophet Isaiah had to say:

The Lord gives strength
    to those who are weary.
Even young people get tired
,    then stumble and fall.
But those who trust the Lord
    will find new strength.
They will be strong like eagles
    soaring upward on wings;
they will walk and run
    without getting tired. [Isaiah 40:29-31, CEV]

And according to the Apostle Paul,

Finally, let the mighty strength of the Lord make you strong. Put on all the armor that God gives, so you can defend yourself against the devil’s tricks. We are not fighting against humans. We are fighting against forces and authorities and against rulers of darkness and powers in the spiritual world. So put on all the armor that God gives. Then when that evil day comes, you will be able to defend yourself. And when the battle is over, you will still be standing firm. [Ephesians 6:10-13, CEV]

You see, when we’re afraid, God can support us, because God is strong. And I’ll tell you, I think we can see this strength all around us, if we choose to look.

For example, as we’ve just seen, we can certainly find it described in the Bible. I mean, just consider all those stories from the Old Testament that show God’s creative power over his universe and his loving care for his people. And in the New Testament, man, we’ve got Jesus stilling storms and walking on water. We’ve got him healing the sick and casting out demons. And over and over again, we’ve got him teaching and preaching with authority, something even his enemies recognized. No wonder, the Evangelist John wrote this near the end of his gospel:

Jesus worked many other miracles for his disciples, and not all of them are written in this book. But these are written so that you will put your faith in Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. If you have faith in him, you will have true life. [John 20:30-31, CEV]

First, we can see God’s strength in the Bible.

But I’ll tell you, I think we can also see it in the world around us. I mean, give me a break, how can we not be impressed when we’re confronted with the power of the wind and waves. And how can we not be dazzled when we see the beauty of the sun setting and the seasons changing. And how can we not be in awe when we consider the vastness of the universe and the complexity of the human body. I’ll tell you, I think King David was spot on when he described God in this way:

Your power is great, and your glory is seen everywhere in heaven and on earth. You are king of the entire world, and you rule with strength and power. You make people rich and powerful and famous. [1 Chronicles 29:11-12, CEV]

You see, second, we can see God’s strength in his world.

But even that’s not all, because if we’re honest with ourselves, I think we can see God’s strength in our own lives. Now let me be clear, I’m not saying that God miraculously purges everything bad from his people. Good night nurse, if you read the Bible, that certainly wasn’t the case for the children of Israel nor the followers of Christ. And let’s be honest with ourselves, we all know that bad things can happen to good people. Still, in spite of it all, God is always with us, supporting and strengthening us through all the fear and frustrations and all the problems and pain. It’s like what Paul wrote to the Romans:

We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him. They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose, and he has always known who his chosen ones would be. He had decided to let them become like his own Son, so his Son would be the first of many children. [Romans 8:28-29, CEV]

You see, along with the Bible and his world, third, we can see God’s strength within ourselves; therefore, I believe we have every reason to trust that God is strong enough to help us face our fears by supporting us.

And I’ll tell you, I think we can experience this support by claiming God’s strength, in other words, by claiming the authority we can find in the Bible and see in his world and by claiming the power we can feel within our own lives. You see, God isn’t just up there, out there, somewhere. Instead, man, he’s up close and personal, something that I believe the Psalmist understood when he wrote this:

I praise you, Lord,
    for answering my prayers.
You are my strong shield,
    and I trust you completely.
You have helped me,
and I will celebrate
    and thank you in song.

You give strength
    to your people, Lord,
and you save and protect
    your chosen ones.
Come save us and bless us.
Be our shepherd and always
    carry us in your arms. [Psalm 28:6-9, CEV]

And you know, I think it was something the Apostle Paul also understood. I mean, just listen to what he wrote to the Corinthians.

Three times I begged the Lord to make this suffering go away. But he replied, “My gift of undeserved grace is all you need. My power is strongest when you are weak.” So if Christ keeps giving me his power, I will gladly brag about how weak I am. Yes, I am glad to be weak or insulted or mistreated or to have troubles and sufferings, if it is for Christ. Because when I am weak, I am strong. [2 Corinthians 12:8-10, CEV]

You see, not only is God strong, he can make us strong.

And I think that’s something we can experience right here and now the minute we decide to do three things. You see, first, we can decide to humble ourselves. In other words, we can decide to reject the pride and the arrogance that’s become socially acceptable and politically correct in our modern world. And we can decide to see ourselves as we truly are: as finite creatures who are loved by an infinite God  and as temporal beings who are loved by our eternal Lord. Quoting another old hymn,

Have Thine own way, Lord,
Have Thine own way;
Thou art the Potter,
I am the clay. [Adelaide Addison Pollard]

As Peter wrote in his first letter,

Be humble in the presence of God’s mighty power, and he will honor you when the time comes. God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him. [1 Peter 5:6-7, CEV]

If we want to experience the supportive power of God, first, we can decide to humble ourselves.

And second, I think we can also decide to trust God. Now I know I’ve said this before, but it’s worth saying again: trusting, believing, having faith is different than knowing. You see, faith is like stepping into a room that’s pitch black, trusting that there’s a floor on the other side of the door. And I’ll tell you, what trust does, man, it’s amazing. You see, trust enables us to learn from a past we’d prefer to deny and to move forward when we’d rather step back and to stand up and speak out for Jesus Christ even though there are plenty of folks who want us to shut up and sit down. As a matter of fact, when we decide to trust in the strength and the power and the authority of God, I think we just might be able to say the same kind of thing Paul wrote to the Philippians:

I am not complaining about having too little. I have learned to be satisfied with whatever I have. I know what it is to be poor or to have plenty, and I have lived under all kinds of conditions. I know what it means to be full or to be hungry, to have too much or too little. Christ gives me the strength to face anything. [Philippians 4:11-13, CEV]

I’ll tell you, to experience divine power, along with humbling ourselves, second, I think we can decide to trust God.

And third, we can surely decide to work together. In other words, instead of living as a bunch of lone wolf Christians, we can come together with our brothers and sisters. And as a body, a community, a church, we can share in that Holy Spirit that’s constantly drawing us together. And then we can roll up our shelves and get to work, accomplishing things together we’d never be able to do on our own and feeling a sense of unity and solidarity that we may never have felt before, because, when you get right down to it, whether you’re talking about a family or a community or a congregation, the whole is greater than the parts, and we’re just plain stronger when we have one another, something I think the writer of Ecclesiastes must have understood when he said this:

You are better having a friend than to be all alone, because then you will get more enjoyment out of what you earn. If you fall, your friend can help you up. But if you fall without having a friend nearby, you are really in trouble. [Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, CEV]

After humbling ourselves and trusting God, third, we can decide to work together, if we’re serious about experiencing the supportive strength of God.

Now, as was the case in every horror movie from the 1950s, the Creature from the Black Lagoon died at the end. You see, even though he seemed so strong through most of the film, the gill man also had a weakness that he shared with every single teenage boy, and her name was Julie Adams in a swimsuit. And in the end, that weakness enabled those weak men to destroy the threat that seemed so strong. Of course, that’s what happened in the movie. But in our world, generally those things that scare us so much, well, when compared to who we are, they don’t seem to have any weaknesses at all. And so we continue to be afraid. And the more we fear, the weaker we feel.

But you know, this doesn’t have to be the case. You see, as Isaiah reminds us, we don’t have to be afraid, because God can make us strong. And this is a strength which we can see in the Bible and in his world and in our lives. And we can claim and experience this strength when we decide to humble ourselves and to trust God and to work together. I’ll tell you, when we feel weak and scared, God can help us face our fears by supporting us.