The Bible holds up a God who is stronger than your personality, who is stronger than your

past track record of timidity, who is stronger than your perceived identity as a nobody who

could ever accomplish anything with courage for God.

So how does God's strength help us in our weakness?

John Piper holds out the assuring strength of God for our encouragement from Isaiah 41-13

in this episode of Light and Truth.

This sermon was originally preached at Bethlehem Baptist Church on June 20, 1993.

I bring this series on courage to a close now with the text that has more often than any

other text in the Bible relieved my fears, namely Isaiah 41-10.

July 27, 1971, Noel and I were boarding 7-07 to fly from New York and to the airport to Munich,

Germany.

We believe that God had called us and opened the way for us to go study at the University

of Munich and had in recent days done a very significant work in my life during seminary.

I had just graduated, I was 25 years old, and transformation had been worked so that I love

the church, which I didn't in 1968.

I thought you were supposed to, and I tried, but during the three years of my experience

at Lake Avenue Congregational Church and at Fuller Seminary, I did come to love the church

and I believe that I was being called to study for the church.

In fact, just to put some meat on those bones, I brought along my journal from 1971, this

volume 6, July 12, 1971, my desire is to throw myself into the church and to be employed

by the Lord to do what he would in this day through me.

I am not alienated from her, I am in love with her.

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