Volume 25, Issue 4
WisconsinChristianNews.com
Page 13
Do You Have the Power?
By Dallas Henry August 2024
keep a clear and uninterrupted connec- tion open to God. We who are redeemed know that our power comes from — and through — God Himself. In our text, Paul encourages the Church in Corinth to have godly wisdom and to share the truth of the cross of Christ. Paul explains that those who are saved recognize the cross as a symbol of the
that human battery … That “I can do it” battery is far too small. When you need real power, when you need spiritual intervention, you had best be connected to the Power Source that created the universe… in all its majesty. You had best be connected to God Almighty, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. You had best be connected to the King
pioneer …and perfecter… of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:1). We are to lay aside sin and every weight that clings closely to us. If you yield to Jesus; if you let Him be Lord of your life, He will lead you to lay aside those things that needlessly fill up your life, that separate you from a tight connection. Things that the writer of Hebrews states are not necessarily a sin but are a weight holding you back in the race of life. A weight that is clinging to you, pulling you away from having a tight connection — a direct connection — with God. Sin, and weights that cling to you, will corrode and loosen your cables. They will separate you from a solid connection. Beloved, free yourself of such things. Free yourself of those things that are hin- dering you. Be sure all the cables are connected. And along with the hot wire, there is also a ground cable. Beloved, be both connected with Christ and grounded in Christ — yet also be grounded in love with one another. Ground yourself, first to the Cross of Christ, then plunge into what the world calls the “foolishness” of loving your neighbor as yourself and of loving those who hate you. Plunge yourself into the foolishness of believing without seeing. Plunge yourself into the foolishness of praying for those who use you and per- secute you. When you’re in need of power, you need to go to the Rock of your Salvation and His name is JESUS! Beloved, hear me on this: Jesus is Ever-ready. They crucified Jesus on the cross, they buried Him in a borrowed tomb, they tried to drain Him of His eternal power. But early on Sunday morning, He rose with all power in His nail scarred hands. Are you connected directly and grounded securely in his life-giving power? You should be and you can be. Abide in the vine and allow the DNA of God to flow through your very being. And if you do, the fruit of the Spirit will perme- ate your life and His spiritual peac, and His unending joy will fill you to overflow- ing. Let the Spirit conform you. Let the Spirit of God transform you. Beloved, if you do, you have this promise: that Jesus, the King of kings and the Lord of lords will take you and transform you from Glory … to Glory. (2 Corinthians 3:18). Amen.
“For the message of the cross is fool- ishness to those that are perishing; but to us who are being saved… it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18). Does anyone Remember… the Ener- gizer bunny commercials? You know, the one where the little bunny appears beating a drum, and the announcer says, “ It’s still going!” And on the bunny goes, across the desert, over mountains, and down the lonely highways. Nothing seems to stop the energizer bunny. Now, the point of the commercial of course, is not the bunny, it is the battery. It is imperative to have good batteries. Why? Because weak batteries cause prob- lems. Cars with weak batteries have problems starting. Once the motor turns over the car will usually keep running, but it takes a good battery to get the car started. Particularly in cold weather, a weak bat- tery just will not do. CD players and DVD players with weak batteries will drag. Flashlights will go dim. Cordless phones and cell phones with weak batteries will be full of static and will eventually quit. Why? Because the battery is the power source. Yet even a good battery is only half the solution. Every time he would turn on the ignition he would get that dreaded clicking sound. So naturally he thought that the battery was dead. Without checking with any- one, he sent his son to purchase a new battery. When his son returned, they put the battery in, turned the key, yet there it was … that dreaded clicking sound. Finally, he called a mechanic who took one look at the cable ends and analyzed the problem. He said “Sir, you have a good batter but your cables are bad.” That day he learned a very good lesson about his car; You must always make sure that you have a good connection to the battery. Beloved, we too, as “Redeemed” Chris- tians, must make sure that we have a good connection to our power source, and that source our Scripture declares, is the Cross. In our text from Corinthians, the Cross is the power of Christ. It also represents the power of God for every believer to live and walk in the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25). And like the car battery, we must have a clear and solid contact in order to keep that power flowing. We must be in harmony with the will of God. We must be in harmony to fully ben- efit from the spiritual power that is avail- able to all who call themselves followers of the Christ. It is of little or no value to have the power of Almighty God at our disposal, yet let our connection be rusty and cor- roded. As we are all aware (slow) corrosion causes a very poor connection. There are far too many people that go through life hearing the dreaded “clicking” sound. There is power under the hood but the power cannot get through. Every time they switch, there is no power, but all they hear is click -- click -- click … that dreaded clicking sound. We, as followers of the Christ, must
power of God. But to those outside of the faith, the church to be involved, seems like foolish- ness. What is this “foolishness” of which Paul speaks? Perhaps it is the command of Forgive- ness and Grace to love your enemies and to pray for those who hurt you. Perhaps it is the knowledge and the conviction that what you hope for will be- come evident, through faith. Perhaps it is your assurance that you are blessed when the world reviles you, when the world persecutes you, and ut- ters all manner of evil against you falsely. Hear God’s Word again for us this day: “For the message of the cross …is fool- ishness …to those who are perishing; … but unto us …who are being saved …it is …the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18). When Paul speaks of the cross as the power source, He is referring to what the cross symbolizes. And that symbolism encompasses the sacrifice of Jesus Him- self — His blood shed on Calvary, His death, His burial, His resurrection. The crucifixion of Christ transformed the cross from a symbol of shame and embarrassment to a symbol of the Mighty Power of God. When Paul preached about Christ and His crucifixion, for the Jews it was a stumbling block. (1 Corinthians 1:23). For the Greeks it was foolishness. (1 Corinthians 1:23). But to those who are called, both Jew and Greek, Christ is redemption. Christ is the answer. He is the Way,the Truth and the Life. He is the chief cornerstone. The reality of the Cross…is our power source — it is our spiritual energizer that just keeps us going, going, and going. There are many who are hooked up to the wrong source; they are trying to use a six-volt battery to empower a twelve- volt understanding. Far too many are depending on their own skills, on their own power to get them through life. But when troubles come, and they will; when hard aches befall; and they will,
of Glory. So, what type of connection is re- quired? I am going to take you back a few years. There are two types of electrical current — Alternating Current (A/C) and Direct Current (D/C). Some folks who call themselves follow- ers of Jesus are A/C in nature. They suf- fer from being hooked up to an alternating current. They attend church when it is conven- ient, on an alternating basis. They pray on an alternating, irregular basis. They give to Gods work on alternating occa- sions. The A/C followers come to church when they feel like it, whatever that means. They pray when it is convenient, and give when they feel like it. Most A/C believers are motivated by how they feel. They are not in charge of their life — their feelings are. They do everything in response to their feelings. Then there are those who are hooked up to the D/C, the direct current. God is looking for disciplined disciples who allow the direct current of God to flow consis- tently in their lives. God is seeking men and women who abide in the vine. (John 15:4-11).Those who will “press on toward the mark.” (Philippians 3:14). Those that are yearn- ing to be mature in the faith. Disciples — those who are disciplined and want to finish this race of life and to finish it well. So, you ask, what can hinder us from
having a tight connection with God? “Let us also lay aside every weight …and the sin that clings so closely, … and let us run …with perse- verance … the race that is set before us, …looking to Jesus the
Made with FlippingBook Converter PDF to HTML5