More Strength: Come Close, Keep Going, Let God In

May 17, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Boldness Before the Throne

Jesus didn’t wait for perfect people to approach Him. He ate with tax collectors, touched lepers, and welcomed children. When the woman with bleeding pushed through the crowd, He called her "daughter." At the cross, He tore the temple curtain - God’s presence now open to all. The same power that raised Christ lives in you. [32:59]

Access to God isn’t earned through performance but purchased through Jesus’ blood. Romans 8:15 says we’re adopted children, not fearful slaves. The airline worker canceled Seth’s fines; Christ cancels our eternal debt.

You approach God like a child runs to a good father, not a criminal slinking before a judge. What temporary fixes have you used instead of Christ’s complete access? Write down three areas where you’ve relied on duct-tape solutions rather than Jesus’ finished work. Where do you need to trade shame for sonship today?

“Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.”
(Ephesians 3:12, NLT)

Prayer: Confess one specific barrier you’ve placed between yourself and God’s presence.
Challenge: Write “ACCESS” on your palm. Each time you see it, whisper “Abba, I belong here.”

Day 2: The Bell Around Our Weakness

Aussie the cat wore a bell to warn prey - his greatest strength became his limitation. The disciples hid behind locked doors until Pentecost. We often jingle warnings of our inadequacies: “Don’t look too close.” But Jesus enters locked rooms and says “Peace.” His power shines through cracked jars. [45:25]

Real strength isn’t self-protection but surrendered vulnerability. The Holy Spirit doesn’t need perfect vessels, just available ones. Like Paul’s thorn kept him dependent, our weaknesses become Christ’s display cases.

What bell do you wear to warn others away from your flaws? Social media perfection? Busyness as armor? Take 5 minutes today to sit silently before God - no performance, no excuses. What broken area might God want to fill with His strength if you stopped hiding it?

“I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.”
(Ephesians 3:16, NLT)

Prayer: Ask God to transform one specific weakness into a testimony this week.
Challenge: Text a trusted friend: “My current struggle is ______. Pray for Christ’s strength?”

Day 3: Home Improvement

Christ doesn’t just visit - He moves in. The Ephesian church knew doctrine but needed heart-level surrender. Like blocking pets from certain rooms, we often restrict God to Sunday mornings or crisis moments. But He wants full renovation rights, not just a guest bedroom. [01:05:48]

Making Christ at home requires dismantling hidden idols. The Greek word “katoikēsai” means permanent dwelling. He’s not content with weekend visits - He wants to rearrange furniture, tear down walls, and host others through you.

What “room” in your life remains off-limits to God? Finances? Relationships? Secret habits? Walk through your home today, praying over each room as a metaphor for that area. Which space needs His renovation most urgently?

“Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him.”
(Ephesians 3:17a, NLT)

Prayer: Invite Jesus into one specific “room” you’ve kept locked this year.
Challenge: Rearrange one physical item in your home as a symbol of surrendering that area to Christ.

Day 4: Unlimited Reservoir

The Ugandan clinic saw 48,000 patients because God’s resources outpace human limits. Elijah faced 450 prophets after drought, Elisha filled empty jars during famine. Our fatigue often comes from drawing from personal wells instead of Christ’s underground river. [56:29]

God’s “glorious unlimited resources” include wisdom for overwhelmed parents, patience for caregivers, creativity for stuck artists. The Spirit’s power flows through surrendered cracks - like living water through Moses’ struck rock.

Where are you trying to manufacture manna instead of receiving daily bread? List three current drains on your energy. Next to each, write “His strength” and circle it. Which burden can you place in His hands before sundown today?

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.”
(Ephesians 3:20, NLT)

Prayer: Thank God for one past situation where He exceeded your expectations.
Challenge: Set a 3:20pm alarm labeled “INFINITELY MORE” - pause to request one impossible-seeming need.

Day 5: Surrendered Duct Tape

The duct-taped umbrella failed because temporary fixes can’t withstand storms. Israel patched old garments while awaiting Messiah’s new cloth. We often repair brokenness with self-help tape when Jesus offers complete replacement. His surrender on the cross demands ours. [52:44]

True strength comes through yieldedness. Samson’s hair symbolized surrendered power; when cut, he became ordinary. The widow’s oil flowed only as jars were provided. God’s might works through empty hands.

What “duct tape solution” have you applied this week? People-pleasing? Retail therapy? Binge-watching? Physically tear a piece of tape while praying: “Jesus, I exchange this temporary fix for Your eternal solution.” What brokenness needs His radical repair instead of your quick patch?

“We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.”
(Romans 5:1-2a, NLT)

Prayer: Name one area where you’ll stop striving and start abiding this weekend.
Challenge: Carry a strip of duct tape in your pocket. Each time you touch it, surrender a control issue to Christ.

Sermon Summary

We worship a God whose mighty power lives within us and who promises to do more than we can ask or imagine. Because of Christ, we stand with bold access into God’s presence; we do not have to grovel or hide when we fail, because the cross already paid for our access, forgiveness, and sonship. True strength flows from the Holy Spirit living in our inner being, not from outward striving or temporary fixes. The spirit steadies us when our body weakens and our emotions swing, giving an immovable center that sustains us through storms and seasons of doubt. Real spiritual life happens when Christ moves from merely residing in us to making a home in our hearts; that deeper surrender gives him full dominion to reorder habits, choices, and hidden places. We trade duct tape answers for the exchange won on the cross: shame for sonship, distance for closeness, fear for boldness. Prayer and coming close matter practically and spiritually; falling to our knees and opening our inner life invites the Spirit to empower every part of us. We refuse the bargain of occasional access or crisis-only faith and instead invite God into daily patterns—our finances, relationships, secret struggles, and hopes—so his presence shapes our character and strengthens our walk. When we trust and surrender, we receive more strength: strength to come near, strength to keep going, strength to let God in. That strength does not depend on our performance but on God’s glorious, unlimited resources poured into us by the Spirit. As a loving Father who proved his love on the cross, God waits not to punish but to welcome, heal, and restore. We respond by coming forward in trust, by practicing honest prayer, and by allowing the Spirit to live fully at home in our hearts so the power God promised becomes our daily reality.

Key Takeaways

1. We have bold access to God We approach God as adopted children, not fearful servants. Access through Christ changes how we pray and live because forgiveness and belonging remove shame’s barrier. This access invites honest conversation with God that transforms choices more reliably than self-effort. [47:05]
2. Inner strength comes from the Spirit Endurance and stability arise from the Spirit dwelling in our inner being, not from external hustle or appearances. When our body and emotions fail, the Spirit holds the center and empowers steady faith. Prayer activates that inner power, moving us from depletion to resilience in real life. [56:11]
3. Invite Christ to make a home Christ can live in us without ruling us, but full spiritual flourishing requires inviting him to dwell and reign. Surrendering habitual control and secret places allows God to reshape desires and decisions from the inside out. True transformation trades temporary fixes for lasting heart renewal and daily strength. [64:58]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[32:22] - Opening Prayer and Power of the Name
[35:16] - Community and Church Identity
[40:31] - Key Verse Ephesians 3:20 Read Aloud
[47:05] - Point 1: Strength to Come Close
[56:11] - Point 2: Strength to Keep Going
[64:58] - Point 3: Strength to Let God In
[70:04] - Invitation and Response
[75:52] - Next Steps and Baptism Invite

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Ephesians 3:12 (NLT)
"Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence."

Ephesians 3:14-17 (NLT)
"When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him."

Ephesians 3:20 (NLT)
"Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think."

Romans 8:15-16 (NLT)
"So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, 'Abba, Father.' For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children."

Observation Questions

According to Ephesians 3:12, what enables believers to approach God boldly?
What contrast does Romans 8:15-16 make between fear and our identity in God?
In Ephesians 3:16, what is the source of the "inner strength" Paul describes, and how is it accessed?
What temporary solutions were compared to "duct tape fixes" in contrast to the cross’s permanent exchange? [52:20]

Interpretation Questions

Why might someone still feel hesitant to approach God boldly (Ephesians 3:12) even after receiving forgiveness? How does shame or failure affect this?
How does the metaphor of adoption in Romans 8:15-16 redefine our understanding of prayer and daily reliance on God?
What does it mean for Christ to "make his home" in our hearts (Ephesians 3:17), and how does this differ from merely residing there?
Why does relying on "outer strength" (e.g., appearances, achievements) often lead to depletion, while inner strength from the Spirit sustains us? [59:17]

Application Questions

What "duct tape solutions" (like self-reliance or hiding shame) have you used recently instead of trusting God’s forgiveness and access? How can you replace one of those with surrender this week? [52:20]
Identify a situation where fear or shame keeps you from approaching God boldly. What truth from Ephesians 3:12 or Romans 8:15-16 could you speak over that area?
What daily habit or "hidden place" (e.g., finances, relationships, private struggles) do you need to invite Christ into more fully, and what practical step will you take to do so? [01:09:32]
When emotions or circumstances feel unstable, how can you intentionally retreat to the "inner strength" of the Spirit (Ephesians 3:16) instead of outward fixes?
What would it look like this week to pray with the confidence that God’s "glorious, unlimited resources" (Ephesians 3:16) are available to you in a specific challenge?

Sermon Clips

36s

#StrengthFromWithin

“Real strength doesn't just come when you hustle harder, push through, pull yourself up by your bootstraps. These are all great things, a necessary fact of adulting. Right? But when you've reached the end of that, if you don't have strength from within, you are empty. You are depleted. You have nothing else left. And so how do we find strength to keep going? We find that strength through the holy spirit who gives us inner strength.”

45s

#ForgivenessAtTheCross

“In fact, it ripped by the end of the service, you know? Like, that's not a real solution. You can't go to the beach with that. But on the cross, Jesus gave you a real solution. Instead of us exchanging real solution for temporary ones, take the exchange of Jesus instead. At the cross, he exchanged all your sins, all your shame, all your failures for forgiveness. He exchanged shame for sonship or daughtership, if that's a word, you're now in.”

34s

#NoMoreSundayAccess

“So we've just been reading that Jesus has that through Jesus, God has given you access to the strength. But have you given him access to you? Full access. A lot of the access that we give is, Sunday access. It's like that NFL, one day. Yeah. You pay, like, $5.99 or something and you get your game one day. After that, you gotta wait till the next Sunday.”

39s

#LetGodLiveInYou

“Some of you have given God emergency or crisis access. God, you can have control because things are out of control. So I'm going I'm gonna give you access today. And Lord, please take control. Lord, please help me. And then things are he he he delivers, and then you forget, and he no longer has access. God doesn't just want access so he can control and manipulate you though. He wants access because he loves you and he wants to strengthen you and he wants to live at home inside of you.”

52s

#ComeHomeToGod

“He wants to make his home. He wants to be he wants you and him to be comfortable living together. I hope you take a chance and let God in. If you've never let God in, I know some of you like to keep him at a distance. Maybe you've been hurt. Maybe you're just not ready yet. God's your father and he's saying, my child, I am ready. Please come home. Please let me in.”

51s

#TrustGodWithEverything

“As you realize that God is approachable, he wants you to come close. And as you realize that he is your strength to get through, to thrive in every day. You can begin to trust him. That word trust is a word is a surrender word. You can begin to trust him with his solutions over yours. You can begin to trust him enough to let him in every area of your life. To let him into your incognito browser history. To let him into your dating life, to let him into your marriage, into your finances, into your work life, to let him into your emotions.”

40s

#SurrenderToHisPresence

“This is where our strength gets stuck when God's given us access, but we have not yet given him access. We want the power of God without surrendering to the presence of God. We want freedom without repentance. We want peace without surrender. Oh, won't you please let God in?”

39s

#ComeCloseNotHide

“You have access. You are seen. You are heard. You are loved. God will give you more strength to come close instead of disappearing when you know you've failed. Come close. We see that happen at church often. People disappear. Hey, man. There's some shame involved or something. Like we already said, we're not perfect. Come and sit to some other people that have failed this week, and then let and then let Jesus restore you in his strength.”

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More Strength: Come Close, Keep Going, Let God In

Devotional

Day 1: Boldness Before the Throne

Day 2: The Bell Around Our Weakness

Day 3: Home Improvement

Day 4: Unlimited Reservoir

Day 5: Surrendered Duct Tape

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

More Strength: Come Close, Keep Going, Let God In

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