Good morning, church!
How many of you have ever seen Star Wars? (Pause for a show of hands.) Even if you haven't, I bet you've heard one of its most famous lines: "May the Force be with you."
It's a blessing, a word of encouragement. It's a way to say, "You're not alone.
You have something greater than yourself at work in you." Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
As followers of Christ, we don't walk in a fictional "Force." We walk with the very Spirit of the Living God. Today, I want to discuss the real power available to every believer.
Not an impersonal energy, not a myth, But a real, present, personal Spirit — the Holy Spirit.
And just like they said in Star Wars, I pray that today, you will leave here hearing a new blessing:
"May the Spirit be with you."
Let's talk about what the Holy Spirit is and isn't. In Star Wars, the "Force" is an energy field that surrounds and penetrates everything. It's mystical, it's powerful, but it's impersonal.
The Holy Spirit is entirely different:
• The Holy Spirit is personal — He speaks, teaches, comforts, and guides.
• The Holy Spirit is powerful — He created the universe (Genesis 1:2).
• The Holy Spirit is God — the third Person of the Trinity.
He's not a distant concept. He's a close companion. He's not just "energy" — He is in a relationship.
And He was promised to us.
Jesus said in John 14:16–17: "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth."
God didn't say, "Good luck! Hope you figure it out!" No — He gave us His Spirit to live in us and work through us.
One of the running themes in Star Wars is that the heroes don't have strength on their own. They constantly have to rely on something greater. And isn't that true for us too?
Paul's prayer in Ephesians 3 is not that we would never face hardships. In the middle of life's battles, we would be strengthened with power through His Spirit.
• When you feel tired... the Spirit strengthens you.
• When you are afraid... the Spirit emboldens you.
• When you don't know what to say... the Spirit speaks for you.
• When you feel alone... the Spirit comforts you.
Romans 8:26 reminds us: "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness."
You don't have to muscle through life on your own. You have a Helper—a Guide.
A Source of power beyond yourself. May the Spirit be with you.
So, what does it mean to live by the Spirit, not just in theory but in everyday life? It means walking in Daily Surrender.
Galatians 5:25 says, "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." It's a daily relationship. It's waking up each morning and praying: "Holy Spirit, guide my thoughts, my words, my actions today."
It means living with Courage, Not fear. The early Christians were outnumbered, out-resourced, and often persecuted. Yet they were bold — why?
Because the Spirit filled them with courage that didn't make human sense. 2 Timothy 1:7 says: "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline."
Fear paralyzes. The Spirit empowers.
It means bearing fruit. When the
Spirit lives in you, you start to change — not by striving, but by abiding. Galatians 5:22–23: "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." It's not that we suddenly "try harder" to be patient or loving. The Spirit grows those things naturally in our hearts, like fruit on a tree.
It means a Spirit-Filled Church Changes the World. In Star Wars, the heroes couldn't defeat the Empire alone. It took a community working together, each filled with believing in something greater than themselves. The church is no different. We are not meant to operate on our own strength. We are meant to be a Spirit-filled community.
Imagine what would happen if:
• Every prayer was Spirit-led
• Every conversation was Spirit-guided
• Every decision was Spirit-empowered
• Every act of service was Spirit-fueled
We wouldn't just survive. We would thrive. We wouldn't just "get by." We would change the world.
Acts 1:8 says: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses..." The early church didn't have buildings, budgets, or programs. But they had the Holy Spirit — and through His power, they turned the world upside down.
Let's go back to the heart of Paul's prayer in Ephesians 3:16–17:
"I pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith."
Notice carefully what Paul is praying for. He isn't praying for better circumstances.
He isn't praying that life would get easier.
He isn't praying that the early Christians would "hold on a little longer" or "try harder to be good people."
No — Paul is praying for something much deeper, something far more powerful: That they would be strengthened... with power... through the Holy Spirit... in their inner being. This is not surface-level encouragement.
This is soul-level transformation.
Paul knows that if the Spirit is alive and active inside us, everything else — our actions, endurance, faith — will flow from that strength. Because actual change, steadfast endurance, true victory — it never starts outside-in. It always begins inside out.
The outer life can only be as strong as the inner life. And the inner life can only be as strong as the Spirit who fills it.
Think about it like this:
You can polish a car all you want — wax, buff, and shine the tires. But if the engine under the hood is broken, it's not going anywhere. In the same way, no amount of polishing our behavior or "trying harder" will get us anywhere unless the Holy Spirit strengthens us at the core of who we are. And where does that strength come from?
Paul says it comes "out of his glorious riches."
• Not out of your resources.
• Not out of your strength.
• Not out of your best efforts.
Out of His glorious riches.
Friends, we serve a God who never runs low on strength. He is not stingy with His Spirit.
He is not limited in His love.
He pours out His power freely and abundantly — and Paul is praying that you and I would be filled with it.
But why the Inner Being? Paul focuses specifically on our "inner being." I believe it's because your circumstances can change daily. Your relationships can change. Your health can change.
Your finances can change. Your reputation can change.
But the work of the Spirit in your inner being is the anchor that holds, no matter what storms rage around you.
• When your outer world falls apart, the Spirit within you holds you together.
• When your outer strength fades, the Spirit inside renews you day by day.
• When you face temptation, discouragement, and exhaustion, the Spirit whispers, "I am with you. I am in you. I will never leave you."
This is why Paul doesn't pray for outer ease — he prays for inner endurance. Because he knows that's what sustains a follower of Jesus for the long haul.
The purpose of the whole prayer is for Christ to dwell in Your heart. He says: "So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith." The word dwell here in Greek (katoikeo) doesn't just mean "visit." It means to settle down and make a home. Paul's not praying that Christ would come and visit your heart like a guest passing through.
He's praying that Christ would move in, unpack His bags, and claim your heart as His permanent home. And for Christ to settle into our hearts, the Spirit must first prepare the space. The Spirit strengthens us so that faith can take root —so that Christ can not just be someone we know about but someone who lives in us, works through us and shines out of us.
The Holy Spirit strengthens the foundation, faith builds the house, and Christ dwells within.
Let me tell you a little story. A few years ago, some close friends of mine bought an old farmhouse out in the country. It had charm. It had character. But it also had problems.
The roof leaked. The wiring was ancient. The plumbing groaned every time you turned on a faucet.
The walls were cracked and peeling. In short — it wasn't livable yet. Not if you wanted to be comfortable, anyway.
And you know what? Even though they owned that house from the moment they signed the papers, they couldn't truly live there until a lot of work was done inside. They had to tear out old wiring. They had to rip up rotten floorboards. They had to bring in fresh water lines.
They had to patch the walls and rebuild parts of the foundation. It took months of hard, messy, exhausting work before it became a real home.
That's precisely what it's like when Christ dwells in our hearts. When we first give our lives to Him, He moves in. But for Christ to feel at home in us — for Him to dwell, not just visit — the Spirit has to go to work inside.
The Spirit starts tugging up old wiring — places where fear once ran through us. He starts patching holes where sin had cracked us. He rips out the rotting boards of bitterness, resentment, and pride.
He rebuilds the foundation on grace, truth, and love. And sometimes, church, that remodeling isn't comfortable.
It's messy.
It's humbling.
It's slow.
But the end goal is a heart where Jesus feels entirely at home — not shoved into a corner guest room, not hidden behind a locked closet door,
but welcome in every room, every decision, every part of who we are.
That's why Paul prays the way he does: Not that we would just know about Christ —
But we would be strengthened by the Spirit so that Christ would fully dwell in us.
Not a visitor. Not a tourist. Lord of the house.
And so today, maybe the Holy Spirit is asking some of us:
• Are there old things in your heart that need tearing out?
• Are there broken places He's inviting you to let Him heal?
• Are you willing to let Him remodel every room — not just the ones you want to show off?
Because if you are — the Spirit is ready, willing, and more than able. And when Christ truly dwells in your heart through faith, no force in the universe is stronger than that.
So today, I leave you with a new blessing: "May the Spirit be with you."
• When you are weak — may the Spirit strengthen you.
• When you are afraid — may the Spirit embolden you.
• When you feel lost — may the Spirit guide you.
• When you are weary — may the Spirit renew you.
• When you face battles — may the Spirit fight for you.
You don't walk alone. You don't have to force your way through. The power of the Living God walks with you, lives in you, and is working through you.
So may you go, today and every day, strengthened by His glorious riches, with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
