Colossians 1:11

There are times when our strength just seems to fade away. It comes after work, play, and sometimes sickness. We need renewing of that strength, and many times can find it in a nights rest, or maybe just a few minutes rest.

We are all really in need of spiritual strength. This is something we cannot get just by an overnight rest, sleep. It is what we find in God. True Spiritual strength comes only from God. He created all things. He is the strength that we need.

In our own strength, when it comes to walking with the Lord, we will come up short. The prophet Zechariah wrote, “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6b).

We will look at the three words mentioned in our text, and the result of walking with God in His strength. Those words are; 1) Strengthened, 2) All might, 3) Glorious power, and 4) the results of walking in His power “longsuffering, patience, and joy.

I. IN A WORLD WHERE THERE IS MUCH WRONG DOCTRINE, ATTACKS ON CHRIST, AND THE CHURCH WE NEED GOD’S STRENGTH.

A. The world is against all that is godly and righteous, and seeks to get even Christians to except and approve all that is not godly or right.

1. Errant doctrine is not godly or right
2. Any doctrine that points away from the one true God is basically godless and even demonic.

“But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.” (1 Cor. 10:20-21).

B. We cannot stand in our own strength; if we try we will fail and fail hard.
C. There must be a source of power and strength which is above us, beyond anything we could ever imagine, and which will not only sustain us but embolden and empower us.

D. We need the strength of God and by faith in Christ Jesus we are the recipients of His power.
1. The Greek word for the word strength here is “dunamoo” which means ‘enable’, and from it comes the word “dynamite” and we here are the receivers of this strength.
2. We are not able until we are enabled by the power of God.

II. THERE IS NO POWER GREATER THAN THE ALMIGHTY POWER OF OUR HEAVENLY FATHER.

A. From our Father comes the “strengthened with ‘all might” mentioned next in our verse.
1. This word too is similar, in Greek, as the former one, but is different in that it comes from the source of ‘All might’, that word is ‘dunamis’, and means; “force; specifically miraculous power : – ability, abundance, meaning, might, miracle, power, strength, violence, mighty work.” (From Strongs of e-Sword; editing deleted parenthesis).
2. We can think about dynamite as a very powerful source for working and accomplishing good things, and it can be used for things not so good.
3. The power of God is nothing but good.

B. For people of our day the word nuclear would be more fitting to describe the power of God.

1. Now the people of the Bible days did not have dynamite, but these words is where our word for dynamite came from.
2. They used the word describing a great source of power; greater than anything else they could imagine.

C. Our God and Father of this awesome power desires for us to walk in His strength and power.

III. COMING FROM GOD THIS ‘MIGHT’ COMES IN GLORIOUS POWER, AND BRINGS GLORY TO THE GIVER.

A. If we walk in our own power God will not be glorified.
B. This “glorious power” is the action part of the power we are looking at.

1. It is, in fact, the power that is glorious and will bring glory to God in and through the works we do in His power.
2. God’s power is glorious and He receives glory by that power at work in you and me.

C. The Greek word for this is ‘kratos’; “According to the might of his glory (kata to kratos tēs doxēs autou). Kratos is old word for perfect strength (cf. krateō, kratilos). In N.T. it is applied only to God. Here his might is accompanied by glory (Shekinah).” From Robertson’s Word Pictures @ e-Sword.

D. If we desire to walk in His glory and every Christian does, the knowledge or our own personal weakness, and of God’s power will motivate us to walk with Him.

IV. THE RESULTS OF WALKING/LIVING IN THE GLORIOUS POWER OF GOD OUR FATHER AND SAVIOR.

A. There will be an attitude of “patience”.
1. Here the word means “constancy – long enduring patience”.
2. It is a cheerful patience.
B. There will be an attitude of “longsuffering”, another form of patience.
1. Longanimity, forbearance, fortitude – tolerating and putting up with others insolence, and such.
2. That does not mean you do not try to correct them.

C. There will be a heart of joy – a cheerfulness, and calm delight, which cannot be taken from you.

1. It is certain that Jesus wanted His followers to have a life of joy. Abundant joy is ours in Him. Here are a few of Jesus’s words on joy,

“These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” John 15:11 (KJV);

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.” John 16:20-22 (KJV);

“ Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” John 16:24 (KJV);

“And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.” John 17:13 (KJV).

2. Notice in these verses that Jesus wants His joy to “Remain” in us; that our joy might be full; that there will be times of sorrow, but that the sorrow will be “turned into joy”; that there is a joy that “no man taketh from you”; we can ask in prayer, “and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full”; and last we see that that we might have His “joy fulfilled in themselves [us]”.

Remaining joy;
Sustaining joy;
Securing joy;
Fulfilling joy.

D. This ‘longsuffering’, ‘patience’, and ‘joy’ is impossible to have in our own strength.

1. It is possible only by trusting in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross of Calvary, His death, burial and resurrection.
2. Once you have called on His name for salvation you will desire to walk with Him and this is when you will we walking in His glorious power.
3. This is when you will be able to stand against false teaching, false teachers, and be able to confront the culture in which we live.

SUMMARY –

I. WE MUST BE RECIPIENTS OF THE POWER OF GOD – WE ARE NEEDY OF IT.
II. IT IS ONLY BY THE ALMIGHTY POWER OF GOD THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO LIVE AND EXPERIENCE VICTORY.
III. WE WILL WALK AND LIVE IN THE GLORIOUS POWER OF GOD, AND BY DOING SO WILL GLORIFY OUR GOD AND SAVIOR.
IV. THE RESULTS OF WALKING IN HIS GLORIOUS POWER WILL BE ENDURING PATIENCE, PUTTING UP WITH OTHERS, AND JOY WHICH IS FULL AND ABUNDANT.

From September 24, 2006