Our Abiding Sources of Strength

Our Abiding Sources of Strength OUR ABIDING SOURCES OF STRENGTH
By Jesse P. Sewell

Introduction
Emerson, somewhere in his writing, expresses a peti-tion in these words: “Nerve us with incessant affirm-ation.” When our enthusiasms have become sick and weak; when our dreams have become dim and drab; when we have been all but completely drained of hope: it is neither argument nor logic we need—when we stand face to face with our human limitations, weakness, mistakes, short-comings, failures and sins we are conscious of the need of power superior to our own. When we stand on the very edge of utter despair and destruction; or of victory and joy, what our souls need is a constant, steady, confident affirmation of our abiding sources of strength.

Here is the First One: The Abiding Father
1.Psalms 90:1-2.
1. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. 2. Before the moun-tains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

2. Psalms 102:25-28. 25. "Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. 26. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: 27. But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. 28. The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee."

3. 1 Timothy 1:17. Now unto the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever." The Holy Scriptures begin, “In the beginning God.” They close, “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, Amen.” They nowhere argue God—they con-tinuously affirm him, the everlasting one,—the abiding Father. As we stand in the midst of prosperity or adversity, gain or loss, joy or sorrow, encouragement or temptation, victory or defeat, and look for something on which we may lay hold that can give to us strength to stand and to fight, that can bring to us a song of victory and not a dirge of defeat:

God Is the Answer
1. Deuteronomy 33:26 to Deuteronomy 29:26. There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky. 27. The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them. 28. Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew. 20. Happy art thou, 0 Israel: who is like unto thee, a people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee: and thou shalt tread upon their high places.

2. Psalms 46:1-3; Psalms 46:7.
1. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3. Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. 7. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah."

3. Psalms 121:1 to Psalms 3:1. "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence comet.h my help. 2. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. 3. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keep- eth thee will not slumber."

4. 2 Timothy 1:12. "For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."

5. 1 Peter 1:3 to 1 Peter 5:3. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abun-dant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 4. To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for youc 5. Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." In the eternal Father, we have an abiding source of: Strength, power, love, mercy, grace, help, security, pleasure, jov and victory.
We may lay hold (here) and hold on to the end— and there will be no end! He is “the same yesterday, today and forever,” (Hcb. 13:8). With h’m is, “no variableness, neither shadow that is cast by turning” (James 1:17). If we would know victory and contentment we must have our lives anchored by a living faith to this abiding source of strength, the eternal Cod— the everlasting Father, the One in whom we live and move and have our being, who is never far from any of us.

Two---Here is the Second One: The Eternal Son
1. Hebrews 1:8 to Hebrews 12:8. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O Cod, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of right-eousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. 9. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated -niquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows: 10. And, thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: 11. They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment: 12. And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. Here we have: An eternal throne; a sceptre of righteousness; an eternal king; unchanging throughout the generations. When we face what seems utter defeat, wreck and ruin, the soul finds shelter, light and victory in Jesus Christ. He is abiding, ever present;—in himself—in his word—and in his deeds. He is unchanging in a changing world. He is untouched by raging human conflicts or by time—he is the Way, the Truth and the Life for each succeeding generation to the end of time.

Jesus—John 15:5. I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Paul—Galatians 2:20. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Php_4:13; Php_4:19. 13. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. 19. My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Peter—2 Peter 1:3-4. 3. According as his divine powr' er hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Paul again: Ephesians 2:4-7. 4. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5. Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved). 6. And hath raised us up together, and made us sit to-gether in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7. That in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

Colossians 3:3 to Colossians 4:3. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him m glory.

Hebrews 7:23-26. 23. And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death. 24. But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. 25. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

Here we have: God, rich in mercy and love; sinners, dead in sin, quickened with Christ, saved by grace, raised up and sitting in heavenly places with Christ; living and bearing fruit in him; escaping the corruption of lust, and partaking of the divine nature through his power; receiving all needs and the strength to do all things through him; given all things that pertain to life and godliness by him, lives hid in Christ, saved to the uttermost by him the eternal, unchanging high priest, exhibited in ages to come as demonstrations of his grace, to appear with him in glory—what more does man need? The one who stands in this abiding source of strength, the one who counsels with Jesus, and walks with him, is safe and secure in life, in death, and even in the end of time, and the crash of worlds.

Ill. And Here is the Third: The Eternal Spirit
The same “Spirit of God” that “moved upon the face of the waters,” in the.process of the organization of the earth, the heavens and the sea. The same Spirit that filled Jesus without measure. The same Spirit promised by him to the apostles, and which came on Pentecost to make the material he had prepared into a living church, and to inspire the disciples that they might preach the gospel. The same Spirit that inspired the writing of the Bible.

1. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17. 16. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 17. If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

2. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. 19. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20. For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

3. Ephesians 3:14-17. 14. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15. Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. 16. That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17. That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.

“But,” says some one, “the Spirit dwells in Christians through the word and only so.” Why lose or obscure the fact, the great and important truth by entering into a discussion of the method—the how. What difference does the how make when the “how” is God’s part in this case? The truth is that the Spirit dwells in God’s faithful children. Their bodies constitute the temple of God—and as such are to be kept undefiled that they be not destroyed.

Paul prayed that the Ephesian Christians might be strengthened by the Spirit in the inner man. “But” what does the Spirit do for Christians that God’s word is not said to do?

Romans 8:26-27. 26. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Then the Spirit, in our hearts, is our ultimate source of power in prayer. This is one way at least in which he helps our infirmities, in a manner in which the word cannot. As Christ dwells in us by faith, so the Holy Spirit dwells in us to strengthen us, and as a source of help in our prayers. And without success in prayer no man can walk with God.

Matthew 7:7; Matthew 8:7. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

1 John 5:14-15. 14. And this is the boldness which we have toward him, that, if we ask anything according 
to his will, he heareth us. 15. And it we know that he heareth us whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions which we have asked of him.

Php_4:6-7. 6. In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.
John 4:2; John 3:2. Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and covet, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, ye have not, because ye ask. not; .3. .Ye ask. and .receive, not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may spend it in your pleasures.

IV. And Here is Our Fourth Abiding Source of Strength: The Eternal Word
Nothing is more steadily, consistently and emphat-ically affirmed throughout the Holy Scriptures than that the word of God is imperishable and that it aoides from generation to generation to give to men: light, truth, faith, salvation, life, comfort, strength, conviction, courage, devotion, cleanness and purity of life.

1. Isaiah 40:8. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever.

2. Isaiah 55:10; Isaiah 11:10. For as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11. So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

3. Mark 13:31. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

4. 1 Peter 1:23-25. 23. Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 24. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away. 25. But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. Hebrews 4:12. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

5. 2 Timothy 3:14-17. 14. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15. And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. 17. That the man of God may be per-fect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

6. Romans 1:16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

7. John 20:30-31. 30. Many other signs therefore did Jesus in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book. 31. But these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God: and that believing ye may have life in his name.

8. Acts 20:32. And now, brethren, 1 commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sancified.

9. John 12:48-50. 48. He that rejecteth me, and re- ceiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. 49. For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. 50. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

“Our little systems have their day; They have their day and cease to be.”
The flesh and the world are temporary, they cannot endure. The material is transient, a thing here today and gone tomorrow,—but “the word of God shall stand forever.” The heavens and the earth shall pass away “but God’s word shall abide.”

It is Spirit, quick, living, powerful—eternal—it cannot become old, obsolete, or useless. It abides: It meets the present need of each generation.

(a) All of the power it ever contained it retains for this generation, and all those to come.
(b) All of the comfort it ever possessed it possesses for the broken-hearted of each generation to the end.
(c) All of the truth it ever recorded it records for man of today and the last day.
(d) All of the light it ever flooded on man’s way, it shines on that way for each succeeding generation.
(e) All the life it ever brought to dying men it brings now and to the end.
(f) All of the salvation it ever brought to human souls it brings to the lost of today and every day. In each case it is all that is necessary to meet the needs of any human soul at any time, at any place and in the midst of any condition.

“Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away.”
But the word of God abides forevermore.

It is as new—as young—as vital—as powerful—as much a source of strength for man now as on the day it was given by the Holy Spirit.
When:

1.Our faith becomes thin and pale
2. Our courage becomes cold and gray
3. Our convictions become weak and limp
4. Our devotions become lazy and lax—and
5. Our hearts and lives become contaminated with sin—then it is in the word of God that we find the creative power and
redemptive persuasions necessary to. .lift us up and to restore our faith, our convictions, our courage, our devotion,
and our cleanness of heart, and life. The career of David was drawing to its close. He had called all of the people together to hear his farewell He had given to Solomon the pattern and plans of the temple of God. In super abundance the people had given willingly for the Lord’s house. He then called the multitude to prayer:

1 Chronicles 29:10-14. ‘‘Blessed be thou, 0 Lord, our Father, for ever and ever. Thine, 0 Lord, is the greatness and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, 0 Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come of thee, and thou rulest over all; and in thy hand is power and might; and in thy hand it is to make great and to give strength unto all. Now, therefore, our God, we thank thee and praise thy glorious name. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? For all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee."

This-was age and experience and understanding at prayer. David had reached the high eminence at the end of the road. From it he looked back over the winding pathway of life. He saw in the midst of all the experiences of life the one thing that had been his source - of -'strength and victory -and he fervently thanked God for' God. Will you join me in a simple but earnest petition to God?

Father:We thank thee for the eternal God, the eternal Son, the eternal Spirit and the eternal word— our abiding sources of strength and power, and we pray thee to give us the humility and the good sense to stand in them and to draw upon them in complete trust and without reservation in all of the experiences of life. In Jesus’ name and for his sake—Amen!