WEBVTT 00:04.620 --> 00:13.554 [SPEAKER_00]: In today's first fifteen, we're continuing our series of taking hold of God's promises by looking at his promise of strength. 00:14.956 --> 00:18.261 [SPEAKER_00]: Every day I wake up, I'm reminded of my weakness. 00:19.408 --> 00:29.370 [SPEAKER_00]: No human has ever lived a perfect day, but the goodness of this promise lies in that God promises His strength when we are weak. 00:30.471 --> 00:37.252 [SPEAKER_00]: In His grace, you and I can live with the real, meaningful and powerful strength of our God. 00:38.492 --> 00:40.753 [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the first fifteen podcast. 01:03.078 --> 01:03.199 [UNKNOWN]: you 01:09.912 --> 01:14.773 [SPEAKER_00]: Our Scripture for today comes from Isaiah, forty-one, verse ten. 01:15.914 --> 01:20.495 [SPEAKER_00]: Scripture says, fear not for I am with you. 01:21.375 --> 01:24.476 [SPEAKER_00]: Be not dismayed for I am your God. 01:25.316 --> 01:26.516 [SPEAKER_00]: I will strengthen you. 01:27.316 --> 01:28.157 [SPEAKER_00]: I will help you. 01:29.077 --> 01:32.018 [SPEAKER_00]: I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 01:35.927 --> 01:46.998 [SPEAKER_00]: Creator God in His infinite wisdom and love chose to create mankind, knowing full well that we would choose our ways over His. 01:48.780 --> 01:53.485 [SPEAKER_00]: We're made with a terrible capacity to live out of our own strength. 01:55.090 --> 02:01.472 [SPEAKER_00]: As a result, we see in both the Scripture and our own lives in credible failures. 02:02.572 --> 02:07.594 [SPEAKER_00]: Examples of our collective weakness played out before our very eyes. 02:09.155 --> 02:12.416 [SPEAKER_00]: We see it in the declining morality of society. 02:13.596 --> 02:19.478 [SPEAKER_00]: We see it in the very lives of those around us that just can't seem to get it together. 02:21.307 --> 02:26.055 [SPEAKER_00]: weakness seems to be threaded into the very fabric of our world. 02:27.398 --> 02:31.504 [SPEAKER_00]: The world is plagued by the weakness of those who inhabit it. 02:34.062 --> 02:40.124 [SPEAKER_00]: But the Bible also contains incredible stories of the victories of God's people. 02:41.325 --> 02:43.206 [SPEAKER_00]: The list goes on and on. 02:43.966 --> 02:57.331 [SPEAKER_00]: Moses and the Egyptians, David and Goliath, Samson and the Philistines, and the early church spreading the gospel across the world despite insurmountable odds. 02:58.983 --> 03:02.166 [SPEAKER_00]: and all along with all the stories of victory. 03:02.907 --> 03:06.630 [SPEAKER_00]: Scripture also contains many stories of failure. 03:07.992 --> 03:09.793 [SPEAKER_00]: So what made the difference? 03:11.155 --> 03:16.380 [SPEAKER_00]: What separates the stories of success from the stories of failure? 03:18.101 --> 03:23.687 [SPEAKER_00]: The difference is found in the people of God allowing God to be their strength. 03:25.155 --> 03:31.377 [SPEAKER_00]: Success in Scripture came solely when God was made strong in man's weakness. 03:33.557 --> 03:46.001 [SPEAKER_00]: Psalm one o three verses thirteen and fourteen says, as a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him. 03:47.001 --> 03:51.663 [SPEAKER_00]: For he knows our frame, he remembers that we are dust. 03:54.646 --> 03:55.809 [SPEAKER_00]: God created us. 03:56.831 --> 03:58.355 [SPEAKER_00]: He knows our weakness. 03:59.458 --> 04:03.027 [SPEAKER_00]: He knows that apart from him, we can do nothing. 04:04.657 --> 04:10.561 [SPEAKER_00]: But the beauty of the Gospel is that as believers, we are no longer apart from Him. 04:12.022 --> 04:19.767 [SPEAKER_00]: Through the death of Jesus, we are now one with Christ, wrapped up in His story of redemption. 04:21.207 --> 04:26.411 [SPEAKER_00]: We have been saved from having to do life on our own, in our own strength. 04:28.282 --> 04:32.746 [SPEAKER_00]: Your heavenly Father says to you today, in Isaiah, forty-one ten. 04:33.787 --> 04:36.409 [SPEAKER_00]: Fear not, for I am with you. 04:37.530 --> 04:40.813 [SPEAKER_00]: Be not dismayed for I am your God. 04:41.874 --> 04:43.276 [SPEAKER_00]: I will strengthen you. 04:44.096 --> 04:45.237 [SPEAKER_00]: I will help you. 04:46.338 --> 04:49.741 [SPEAKER_00]: I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 04:53.516 --> 04:59.324 [SPEAKER_00]: Your God is the same God of David, Samson, Paul, and John. 05:00.365 --> 05:06.934 [SPEAKER_00]: The success that they had was the direct result of their choosing God's strength over their own. 05:08.690 --> 05:15.093 [SPEAKER_00]: Paul wrote in second Corinthians twelve nine, but he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you. 05:15.913 --> 05:18.874 [SPEAKER_00]: For my power is made perfect in weakness. 05:20.095 --> 05:28.819 [SPEAKER_00]: Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 05:31.560 --> 05:38.704 [SPEAKER_00]: Paul chose to boast of his weakness because he knew of the steadfast strength of God in his own life. 05:40.025 --> 05:44.368 [SPEAKER_00]: He knew that his success was solely by the strength of God. 05:46.294 --> 05:49.895 [SPEAKER_00]: Your Heavenly Father promises His strength to you today. 05:51.275 --> 05:54.655 [SPEAKER_00]: Just as He worked to help Paul spread the gospel. 05:55.656 --> 06:04.317 [SPEAKER_00]: Just as He helped David slay the giant Goliath, He desires to help you today in whatever lies ahead. 06:06.057 --> 06:14.279 [SPEAKER_00]: It knowledge your weakness, but at the same time, hold fast to the knowledge of the incredible strength of your Heavenly Father. 06:16.342 --> 06:18.445 [SPEAKER_00]: Deuteronomy thirty one success. 06:19.306 --> 06:22.451 [SPEAKER_00]: He will not leave you or forsake you. 06:24.053 --> 06:27.118 [SPEAKER_00]: The strength of God is always with you. 06:28.340 --> 06:32.125 [SPEAKER_00]: All you have to do is choose his ways over your own. 06:33.842 --> 06:38.347 [SPEAKER_00]: live in light of the revelation of your own weakness and God's strength. 06:39.289 --> 06:46.497 [SPEAKER_00]: And you will experience the power of the creator of the universe working directly in your own life. 06:48.533 --> 06:50.093 [SPEAKER_00]: Where do you need God's strength? 06:51.314 --> 06:55.275 [SPEAKER_00]: What area of your life seems to be plagued by weakness? 06:57.055 --> 07:05.218 [SPEAKER_00]: Ask God to work in your life and experience the fruit of co-laboring with your Heavenly Father today. 07:35.113 --> 07:38.736 [SPEAKER_00]: As we begin, reflect on your own weakness. 07:40.197 --> 07:44.639 [SPEAKER_00]: What situations in your life seem to be without the strength of God? 07:44.659 --> 07:49.663 [SPEAKER_00]: Psalm one of three verses thirteen and fourteen says, 07:50.792 --> 07:57.895 [SPEAKER_00]: As a father shows compassion to his children, till the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. 07:58.795 --> 08:03.617 [SPEAKER_00]: For he knows our frame, he remembers that we are dust. 08:44.849 --> 08:50.631 [SPEAKER_00]: And next, meditate on God's desire to be strong in your weakness. 08:52.106 --> 08:59.069 [SPEAKER_00]: Think about stories of people in the Bible who did incredible things solely by the strength of God. 09:00.930 --> 09:09.413 [SPEAKER_00]: Second Corinthians chapter twelve verse nine says, but he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you. 09:10.413 --> 09:13.635 [SPEAKER_00]: For my power is made perfect in weakness. 09:15.028 --> 09:23.450 [SPEAKER_00]: Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10:04.821 --> 10:09.645 [SPEAKER_00]: And last, ask God to be strong in your weakness today. 10:11.089 --> 10:17.131 [SPEAKER_00]: Ask the Spirit to guide you and work in any and every situation you find yourself in. 10:18.551 --> 10:27.314 [SPEAKER_00]: Ask him to guide your words, actions, mindset, and emotions that you might live entirely in his strength. 10:29.174 --> 10:34.796 [SPEAKER_00]: Isaiah forty-one verse ten says, fear not for I am with you. 10:36.056 --> 10:39.037 [SPEAKER_00]: Be not dismayed for I am your God. 10:40.551 --> 10:41.793 [SPEAKER_00]: I will strengthen you. 10:42.895 --> 10:43.897 [SPEAKER_00]: I will help you. 10:45.039 --> 10:48.304 [SPEAKER_00]: I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 11:31.058 --> 11:37.340 [SPEAKER_00]: How incredible is the heart of God that He would choose to share with us His own strength. 11:38.900 --> 11:46.023 [SPEAKER_00]: Your God cares for you so deeply that He desires to work closely and effectively in your life. 11:47.423 --> 11:56.786 [SPEAKER_00]: The very strength that formed the mountains parted the seas and sustained every living thing is available to you today. 11:58.388 --> 12:01.752 [SPEAKER_00]: Rest in God's promise that He is not distant. 12:03.014 --> 12:06.799 [SPEAKER_00]: You have a strong God who loves you and is for you. 12:08.401 --> 12:15.610 [SPEAKER_00]: Live today experiencing the peace and power of God's strength, make strong in your weakness. 12:32.685 --> 12:35.167 [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks so much for listening to today's podcast. 12:35.747 --> 12:37.669 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm Josh Miller with First Fifteen. 12:38.629 --> 12:43.173 [SPEAKER_00]: We'd love to hear how First Fifteen is making an impact in your life. 12:43.933 --> 12:51.599 [SPEAKER_00]: You can let us know by leaving a rating or a review or by sending us an email at podcast at First Fifteen.org. 12:52.940 --> 12:57.707 [SPEAKER_00]: and if you haven't already make sure to follow the podcast so you won't miss an episode. 12:58.648 --> 13:03.194 [SPEAKER_00]: Have a wonderful rest of your day today and may God bless you as you see Kim.