My wife is a big fan of electronic appliances. Although she rarely cooks, whenever she gets the urge, there are always two or three different gadgets on the counter, one to chop the onion just so, one to puree the pumpkin or the squash, another to blend, but all the nifty gadgets turn into nothing more than clunky plastic receptacles when the power goes out, which happens quite frequently in Romania. Whatever your preferred gadget might be, from a light bulb, to an air conditioner, to a coffee maker, they all need power to function properly and to perform the tasks for which they were built.
Power, and power supply is essential in every area of our life. Even the most powerful motor, in the most beautiful car becomes nothing more than an oversized lawn ornament when there is no gas in the tank, and the engine won’t turn. So what’s the point of this post? Am I just trying to extol the virtues of electricity, tip my hat to Benjamin Franklin, and reveal the fact that my wife is not what one would call a consistent cook? Far from it!
Just as our appliances won’t work without a power source, and our cars won’t run without gas, just as these things are unable to perform the tasks for which they were built and created, it is likewise true of believers who lack the power of God in their lives. Absent the power of God, we are but cars with no gas, and appliances without a power source. Absent the power of God, we cannot perform our designated tasks to the satisfaction of our maker, the One who painstakingly molded us into the vessel He desired us to become.
For far too long, a large portion of the modern day church has tiptoed around the topic of the power of God. We run the gamut from no longer believing in the power of God by way of the Holy Spirit, to being indifferent toward it as though it was neither special nor necessary for the calling into which we have been called. In our unending quest to assimilate and mimic the world, we have even gone so far as to distance and disavow ourselves of those who continue to desire the power of God in their lives, and actively seek the Holy Spirit because the godless look down upon such individuals and considers them aberrant and off kilter. To our shame we consistently choose pleasing the world rather than please God, groveling for the world’s acceptance and embrace.
Make no mistake, God is the source of power; the Holy Spirit is the conduit. Absent this power of God, absent the Holy Spirit, we are adrift in a world growing increasingly cold and evil, unable to perform the tasks we have been assigned by God himself.
So what does the power of God do? Is it just about speaking in tongues, is it just about prophesying, is it just about having discernment or wisdom, or is there even more to this power than we first envisioned.
First and foremost, the power of God convicts the world of sin. Absent the power of God, men would not be convicted of their sins, and thereby see no need for repentance and brokenness before God. It is due to our denial or marginalization of the power of God in the church today that so many are able to sit there service after service, warming a pew, but never being convicted of their sins, never being compelled to repentance, never knowing the feeling of being cut to the heart for their trespasses and crying out for forgiveness.
The second thing the power of God does is it heals. Throughout the Word we see blind eyes open, lepers being cleansed, cripples being made whole, and whether through the hands of Christ, or the hands of the Apostles, it was the same power that resided in them, and flowed through them that brought these healings and miracles about.
The third thing the power of God does is save. Yes, it is the power of God that saves through the intercession of Christ Jesus on our behalf.
Hebrews 7:25, “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for them.”
It is the power of God that animates us, that gives us boldness and courage to stand our ground and face the enemy, to be fearless in proclaiming the risen Christ, and do great exploits on His behalf.
Through the power of God by way of the Holy Spirit we are also able to discern the spirits, to know if they are of God, of the flesh or of the enemy, and act accordingly. What saddens me is that we have access to all this, we have access to the power of God, we have access to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, yet we prefer the lethargy, the weakened spiritual state in which we find ourselves, reading the exploits of those that came before us, daydreaming about what it would be like to see such miracles, such power, and such presence once more.
If we are weak, if we are powerless, if we are easily battered about by the waves and are uncertain of our foundation, it is not God we ought to blame as we do, but ourselves, for God’s hand is not short, His power is infinite, and His promises to His children are eternal.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
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Most have no desire for the power of God because they do not feel they need it. They have an income, a home, a car or two, children in school or grown with grandchildren on the way. The church they attend is the same on their parents attended; they have a pastor who makes them feel good, even though they may give only to a building fund for years instead of a mission program to save the lost.
The only way, as I interpret scripture and the way God does things is to take away from His people the things that keep them from needing His power.
Children cry when they are put in an uncomfortable condition. For the most part His children in the developed world are the same. When the things that make us soft and lazy are removed suddenly, we will have no other avenue of relief but to spend real time in His presence.
Even today Jeshuran has grown fat and lazy and rebelled against the Holy One of Israel, their Maker.
It is time to start purchasing burlap for sackcloth and get a bucket of ashes and sit it by the front door; for we are going to need it.
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