From Strength To Strength
August 9, 2020

Psalm 84:5-6 (NIV)
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs … .

Psalm 84:7 (NIV)
They go from strength to strength, till each person appears before God in Zion.

Places Of Strength-Building

• Scripture

Psalm 119:28 (NIV)
… strengthen me according to your word.

• Companionship of others who walk with God

1 Samuel 23:16 (NIV)
Jonathan went to David … and helped him find strength in God.

2 Timothy 1:16-17 (NIV)
May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains.

On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me.

• The testimonies of others

Psalm 78:4-7 (NIV)
… we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power and the wonders he has done.

He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.

Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.

Psalm 78:9-11 (NIV)
The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned back on the day of battle; they did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by his law.

They forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them.

• Sabbath (rest)

Isaiah 30:15 (NIV)
This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.”

• Divine infusions

Daniel 10:18-19 (NIV)
Again the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength. “Do not be afraid, you who are highly esteemed,” he said. “Peace! Be strong now; be strong.”

When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Speak, my Lord, since you have given me strength.”

Luke 22:43 (NIV)
An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.

2 Timothy 4:17 (NIV)
But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed … .

Colossians 1:9, 11 (NIV)
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you.

We continually ask God to fill you … being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might … .

• Grace

Hebrews 13:8-9 (NIV)
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings.

It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so.

Six Places of Strength-Building

• The Word
• Companionship
• Testimonies of others
• Sabbath (rest)
• Divine infusions
• Grace