Okay, this is getting pretty darn funny. I think this is the fifth time I've tried to write this summary. For some reason, I keep hitting the wrong buttons and deleting everything I've already written. Frustrating, for starters, but is there a lesson within the lesson here? I believe so. It tells me that the enemy definitely doesn't want this particular message to get into the hearts of God's people. It also tells me that I may have to dig even deeper to connect to the Lord and be led by the Spirit. I had a little laugh as I realized I am praying to be led by the Spirit to write a piece on being led by the Spirit. I could stop right here, I suppose, for the message is simple: to be a man of power, you must be led by the Spirit. The rest is just details.
Take a quick poll on yourself. Have you overcome great challenges? Have you recovered from great sin? Have you survived doldrums and mundane periods? Have you seen major changes in your life, including your thoughts, words, actions, things you spend money on, invest in? Have you really helped someone or been truly available to people in need? Have you succeeded in acting on your faith in God, believing in His truths, and hoping for His promises? These are but a few examples of what I was thinking is the true "Power Test". Let the Spirit shed light on other applicable questions for your individual lives. But I would propose that we all have room to grow some power in our lives. Some of us have been rightfully accused of living a powerless life! Reminds me of a scripture. I take it as a personal warning and a great encouragement to be real. It is the reference to "having a form of godliness but denying its power". I, for one, can testify that I know what it's like to be fake. Somehow, I can say the right words, look the right way, even do the right things, but can still miss the real connection with the Spirit. Only God knows who is really real. So if you are struggling to be real...get real! Do it! Seriously, just do it. Get out of the boat and take that first step.
So what is so scary about power? Two things come to mind. One is that we've seen/known/heard of so many bad examples out there. So
many abuses of it. And they just aren't received well. They leave a bad taste in our mouths. And we don't want to be "that guy". So we retreat and disengage. We let the weight of responsibility scare us off. Maybe we simply don't know how to handle our positions of power. We mentioned last week that everyone has a call to leadership. Everyone can be good examples, no matter who you are or what you do. The other thing is two fold, at least. We are scared of change. We are scared of what we might become. We are scared of what God might ask us to do. We are scared of that impact it will have on our reputations and how we might get treated in the world. One of the big discoveries in our bible study was the fact the power is given for a very specific purpose. Our fears can be relieved if we consider this. We have the connection to God; we believe Him; we trust Him; we love Him; He is our salvation; we are going to heaven. Now He left us here for some very specific reasons. He has placed us around very specific people to work with and to love. So this should give us confidence to not shy away from power. Power can be awesomely good! It was designed to be wonderful and beautiful. Unfortunately, like so many other good things, the devil has wormed his way in and perverted it. He tempts us to abuse power by feeding our ego all the time. Be strong and courageous, for power is a very humbling tool. You see, the world would have you think that if you have power, everything you touch will turn to gold. But I read about a guy that was tapped into the most powerful force in the universe, still limited in what His power could accomplish because the people refused to allow it into their lives. Ah, but just look at the amazing and wonderful things that can happen if you just allow it to enter in! You might just be able to love that enemy. You might just be able to stay in that marriage. You might just be able to kick that habit. You might just make a difference in this world. You might do exactly all that He prepared for you to do when He thought about creating you for this particular time in history. May we continue to practice the dying art of living a life, led by the Holy Spirit. It is a practice worthy of our best effort, but unpopular in a world that develops and rewards self-reliance.
