7 Days Of Preparing For Great Exploits预览

Day 4: Display God's Strength

"Greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world" (1 John 4:4).

Stephen Curtis Chapman wrote a song that says:

"His strength is perfect when our strength is gone.

He’ll carry us when we can’t carry on

Raised in His power, the weak become strong

His strength is perfect, His strength is perfect."

When you talk about having strength, you are generally referring to being physically or mentally strong. However, there is a strength that reaches beyond human capability — beyond what your body or mind could produce. That is the strength that Jesus promises to all believers.

When you know God, you will be made strong because "as He is, so are we in the world."

John gives us a greater confidence by declaring that the One inside us is greater than the one who is in this present and evil world. This implies that, because of the power of the Son of God living inside of us, this strength and power is greater than our enemy’s power and strength. 

Therefore, we have the capacity to display His brightness and brilliance in this treasure that is in earthen vessels, that the excellency of power may be of God and not of us.

When we are put on display, it is not us, but His glory that is being revealed. 

Peter defined this 'display of strength' in this way:

"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you: 

Instead, be very glad-for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world" (1 Peter 4:12-13).

Peter knew this gut-wrenching feeling even as he was writing the passage above. 

He knew what it felt like to be "put on display" by the Savior—the same Jesus who responded to Peter’s "Lord, is it I?" with the horrifying words, "Peter, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times."

Nevertheless, it was this same Peter who displayed the strength of Almighty God when he said in Acts chapter 3, "These men are not drunk with wine, seeing it is only 9 o’clock in the morning. But this is that which was spoken by the Prophet Joel" ... and 3,000 people believed and were baptized.

It is in our weakness that Jesus' strength is revealed. Got power? Then let Jesus, the Source of all power, be lifted up. He must increase, but we must decrease.