Strengthen or Remove
The sermon emphasizes the importance of relying on God's divine power to overcome our faults and weaknesses, rather than relying on our own efforts.
Mary Wilder Tileston emphasizes that true victory over evil comes from developing and fortifying the good within us, rather than solely focusing on fighting evil directly. She highlights the importance of seeking God's guidance and allowing Him to work in us to overcome faults, rather than relying solely on our own efforts. Tileston encourages quiet listening to God's voice, as He can lead us to address our faults in unexpected ways, ultimately strengthening us in areas we may not have realized were connected to the root of our struggles.
Text
According as His divine power 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.
--2 PETER 1:3
WE often try in vain to cut up our errors by the roots, to fight evil hand to hand on its own ground, where it has us at a disadvantage, whereas our most sure way to victory is by developing and fortifying the good that is in us. We have but a certain measure of strength and activity; as much of this as is added to the good is taken from the evil.
--MADAME SWETCHINE
I think you will find that it is not by making resolutions in a difficulty that you will conquer a fault--tackling it, I mean,--but much more by opening a window to Almighty God, and letting Him speak to you. As long as we are young we set so much importance on our own efforts, whereas often, if we will just do nothing but listen quietly to what God has to say to us, we shall find that He sets us thinking and mending our faults by a quiet way which looks as though it had nothing to do with it; and then, when we come to about where our fault used to be, we find it gone, imperceptibly as it were, by our having been strengthened in another direction which lay, though we did not know it, at the real root of the matter.
--HENRIETTA KERR
Sermon Outline
- The Power of God's Divine Power
- The Futility of Fighting Evil Directly
- The Sure Way to Victory
- Developing and fortifying the good that is in us
- Adding strength and activity to the good takes from the evil
Key Quotes
“We have but a certain measure of strength and activity; as much of this as is added to the good is taken from the evil.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
“As long as we are young we set so much importance on our own efforts, whereas often, if we will just do nothing but listen quietly to what God has to say to us, we shall find that He sets us thinking and mending our faults by a quiet way which looks as though it had nothing to do with it;” — Mary Wilder Tileston
Application Points
- We should rely on God's divine power to overcome our faults and weaknesses, rather than relying on our own efforts.
- Listening to God and letting Him speak to us can help us overcome our faults and become stronger in the good.
- Developing and fortifying the good that is in us can take away from the evil that is in us.