Mark chapter 3, verse 20, how to love the Lord.

So my theme this morning is the strength shift, the strength shift, moving from human weakness to divine power, moving from human weakness to divine power.

Ladies and gentlemen, the ball is in your court. The ball is in your court. And so we know what our February initiative is, walking in obedience, and the scripture for the month is Jeremiah 7, verse 23: “But this is what I command them, saying, Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people, and you shall walk entirely in the way which I commanded you, so that it may be well with you.”

You want it to be well with your soul, so we walk in obedience. Be blessed and worship with us, please. Thank you.

The prayer this morning—to move forward?

Pastor has been teaching us for the last three weeks. He’s been teaching us about loving the Lord and how to love Him. And so as we’re moving forward, it’s coming to the conclusion of this teaching.

And so what have we gleaned? What have we gained from what he has taught us?

He’s been coming from Mark chapter 12, verse 30: “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind,” and today we’re going to conclude with strength.

He came from Deuteronomy, chapter 4, verse 9, when the Lord was telling Israel, “Hear, O Israel. Hear, O Foundation Church. Hear, O people.” Hear us this morning. Those of you on this morning, the Lord is saying to hear Him, that you should love Him with all your heart, your soul, your mind, and your strength, and it is a commandment. It is a command. It’s not a suggestion, a recommendation, but it is a command.

We heard that all week long, and we need to take the Word of God and whatever we’ve gleaned from Pastor, bind it behind our ears, so that we will constantly be reminded, not just for ourselves, but for our family.

A pastor talked about a soul shift and a mind shift, and today we’re going to be talking about a strength shift.

So we’re moving forward. We heard about loving the Lord with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind. Now we’re talking about loving Him with all our strength.

Father, thank You for this time together. Thank You that Your Word is already anointed. We bless You, we praise You, in Jesus’ name, with thanksgiving.

So one of my favorite scriptures in Psalms—there are a lot of them in Psalms—but Psalm 27 is one of my favorites. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

So when the wicked come, I don’t need to be afraid. When the government is not sure where we should go, I’m not going to be afraid. When my health is compromised, I will not be afraid. When my finances look chaotic, I will not be afraid. When my children do whatever they want to do, causing me heartache, I’m not going to be afraid.

You taught them the Word of God. You showed them the Word of God. You lived the Word of God before your children, your grandchildren, your nieces, and your nephews.

So God is the strength of your life. He’s the strength of our existence. He’s the strength of our being. He’s the strength of our actions. He’s the strength of our resources. He is the source of our strength.

And so it may seem paradoxical that God is saying, “Love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” But this is where the paradox comes in. Whose strength are we going to lean on?

Not my strength. That’s how I’m supposed to love Him, with all my strength. But where am I going to get that strength from? From the Lord. Hallelujah.

That’s why the Psalm says, “The Lord is”—right now, an action word—right where you’re sitting today, right where you’re standing, if you’re driving in your car. He is. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” I’m not going to fear anybody, because He is the strength of my life.

And the word “strength” in the Hebrew speaks about muchness. It means “very.” Strength in the Hebrew means “much.”

So our natural strength is not going to make it happen. We say, “I’m going to try to do better. I’m going to try harder. I’m going to try to get up and come to 6 a.m. prayer. I’m going to try to come to church and be with God’s people.” But in your own strength, that bed feels good. That cover feels good. It’s going to be raining this morning. It’s going to be a little cold. The snow is coming. You try, but when you try in your own strength, you don’t get up, you don’t get dressed, you don’t get out of the house, you don’t drive the car, and you don’t come to church, because you’re trying.

But the Lord said He is the strength of our life, our very existence. So it talks about His power, His authority. And the name of the Lord is a strong tower. When we call on Him, we are safe.

And because you’re standing in His strength, when you wait upon Him, the Bible says in Isaiah 40, verse 31, that He will renew your strength.

Now listen. We’re clothed in human flesh. We go to work every day. Some of us come home and cook and clean. Some of us have to do laundry. Some of us go to the supermarket. Some of us pick up the children from school. Some of us take our loved ones to the doctors. Some of us go and get the medications. We have a lot to do.

And then we have to come home and live. We have to come home and function. I am not sitting here telling you it’s easy. It’s not easy for me. And then what happens when the day winds down, and you finally get a minute to put up your feet? Do you get an opportunity to sit back, to relax, and to recuperate before it starts again the next day?

The next day, the alarm is going off. You have to get out to work. You have to get the kids up. You watch Neidomic with the children, and what I used to do with the children. I’m so glad I don’t have to do that now, but the whole routine starts again.

How do you replenish that strength? Where do you get the strength from to make it? Reverend Stanley, where do you get the strength from? Sister Mary, where do you get the strength from? Brother Darrell, where do you get the strength from?

He’s telling us to love Him with all of our hearts. Okay, I’ve done that, Lord. With all of my soul, I’ve done that. With all of my mind, I’ve done that. The pastor explained it, but now how do I flesh this out? How does this become a reality?

We’re tired. Some of us are tired. We’re doing the same thing over and over again.

But after all of that shift, tell yourself, “I’m now going to shift in strength. I’m going to shift in strength.” We need a strength shift to move forward in the name of Jesus.

You cannot live this supernatural life within your own natural strength. Some of you have people you have to take care of in your house. You become depleted, and if you are depleted, how can you be a caregiver?

How can you help your daughter? How can you work with your children? They come home with homework, and sometimes you don’t even understand the math. You don’t even understand the homework. How can you help your child if you’re depleted?

But the Lord is. Tell yourself this morning, “The Lord is the strength of my life.” Tell yourself that this whole week. He is the strength of my life. Supernatural strength, divine strength, Holy Ghost strength. So shift from your human strength to the strength of the living God. Shift this morning from what you think it should be and how you think it should happen, and lean on the strength of the living God.

Because when you lean on the strength of the living God, then you can love Him with all your heart. You can love Him with all your soul. You can love Him with all your mind, because that strength is supernatural and comes from the living God.

God is not calling on us to try harder. He’s calling us to shift sources. He’s not saying, “Try harder.” He’s saying, “Shift sources.” Who’s your source? You? No. Shift from the natural to the supernatural.

When you shift into His strength, it will not become a burden to get up for prayer. It will not become a burden to find the Word of God and to fall in love with the Word of God. It will not become a burden to love people. It will not become a burden to do the daily chores that you have to do. You’re not dead. You’re still in the land of the living.

Hear me today. If you hear nothing else today, He is the strength of your life.

So of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. The devil may have some plans, but because you’re leaning on the living God, He’s going to hold you up. When the doctor mentions cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, or something happening in your head, what do you do when the report comes in? The Lord is the strength of my life.

So we’re going to move forward. I want you to write in the chat, “The Lord is”—uppercase IS—“The Lord is the strength of my life.” Write that He is your strength today.

Father, thank You for this time together. Thank You for Your Word. Thank You, God, that we are encouraged moving forward. We’re moving forward in strength. We’re moving forward in power. We’re moving forward in Your anointing in the name of Jesus, because You are, right now, currently, the strength of my life. My existence, my being—you’re my source, my very source, my muchness is coming from You. And I bless You, God. Bless Your people today. We have heard Your Word, and we move forward with thanksgiving. In Jesus’ name, amen.