Have you ever felt powerless?
A few years ago I was traveling down I-205 southbound in my Subaru Forester, thinking all was right in the world. I began to hear a strange clapping noise coming from my vehicle. Thinking I ran over some plastic or something like that I continued along my way, committed to checking it our when I stopped in Tigard. As I was going over the Abernathy bridge between Oregon City and West Linn, I suddenly noticed my RPMs drop on my tachometer. I hit the gas but there was nothing. My car began to slow and I was in the fast lane. I had no accelerative control of my vehicle, so all I could do was put on my hazards, put the car in neutral, and coast. Fortunately, I was able to take the first West Linn exit, and coast to the intersection to a green light. I turned right, then right again into a gas station parking lot where I used the last bit of my car’s momentum to pull into a parking spot. To make the long story short, I was unaware that I had lost oil. A lot of oil. Because of this my engine seized up into a solid hunk of metal. The engine was no good.
Does this sound a bit like a metaphor for life? Sometimes I feel like I’m traveling without power. Do you? I want to be a good, kind person, but sometimes to my shame I’m indifferent. I want to love well, create good things, and connect with people, but sometimes I have so little to offer.
Jesus was aware of our natural, selfish and weak-natured modus operandi and met that challenge with a promise.
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” - John 14:16-17
You see, we don’t have to struggle through life in our own strength, because we have a Helper. The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not just a principle in a book, another way of saying try hard, or a long lost fable. The Holy Spirit is real, and available to us today. Now.
After my engine seized, I had a choice to make. The choice was expensive, and required the help of generous friends and family. Through their help, I was able to purchase a new engine. And that’s the very thing us believers need. A new engine.
When Jesus was resurrected, and before He went to heaven, He offered another promise to His disciples:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." - Acts 1:8
In order to be effective in their witness for Him, they needed Holy Spirit power. In order for them to not give up, or become indifferent, they needed Holy Spirit power. In order for the disciples to represent Christ well in their communities, in their country, and the world, they needed Holy Spirit power.
For you and for me, the need is the same. We are incapable of becoming authentic witnesses of Christ without Holy Spirit power. We are unable to obey and live for Him, unless we are willing to receive Holy Spirit power. Consider now, another picture and promise written by Ellen White:
"Those who consecrate body, soul, and spirit to God, will constantly receive a new endowment of physical, mental, and spiritual power. The inexhaustible supplies of heaven are at their command. Christ gives them the breath of His own Spirit, the life of His own life. The Holy Spirit puts forth His highest energies to work in heart and mind. The grace of God enlarges and multiplies their faculties, and every perfection of the divine nature comes to their assistance in the work of saving souls. Through co-operation with Christ, they are made complete in Him, and in their human weakness they are enabled to do the deeds of Omnipotence." ~ Ellen G. White- Gospel Workers p. 112
I want that kind of power in my life. Power which glorifies God, and makes me an effective agent of His grace. How about you?
A few years ago I was traveling down I-205 southbound in my Subaru Forester, thinking all was right in the world. I began to hear a strange clapping noise coming from my vehicle. Thinking I ran over some plastic or something like that I continued along my way, committed to checking it our when I stopped in Tigard. As I was going over the Abernathy bridge between Oregon City and West Linn, I suddenly noticed my RPMs drop on my tachometer. I hit the gas but there was nothing. My car began to slow and I was in the fast lane. I had no accelerative control of my vehicle, so all I could do was put on my hazards, put the car in neutral, and coast. Fortunately, I was able to take the first West Linn exit, and coast to the intersection to a green light. I turned right, then right again into a gas station parking lot where I used the last bit of my car’s momentum to pull into a parking spot. To make the long story short, I was unaware that I had lost oil. A lot of oil. Because of this my engine seized up into a solid hunk of metal. The engine was no good.
Does this sound a bit like a metaphor for life? Sometimes I feel like I’m traveling without power. Do you? I want to be a good, kind person, but sometimes to my shame I’m indifferent. I want to love well, create good things, and connect with people, but sometimes I have so little to offer.
Jesus was aware of our natural, selfish and weak-natured modus operandi and met that challenge with a promise.
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” - John 14:16-17
You see, we don’t have to struggle through life in our own strength, because we have a Helper. The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not just a principle in a book, another way of saying try hard, or a long lost fable. The Holy Spirit is real, and available to us today. Now.
After my engine seized, I had a choice to make. The choice was expensive, and required the help of generous friends and family. Through their help, I was able to purchase a new engine. And that’s the very thing us believers need. A new engine.
When Jesus was resurrected, and before He went to heaven, He offered another promise to His disciples:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." - Acts 1:8
In order to be effective in their witness for Him, they needed Holy Spirit power. In order for them to not give up, or become indifferent, they needed Holy Spirit power. In order for the disciples to represent Christ well in their communities, in their country, and the world, they needed Holy Spirit power.
For you and for me, the need is the same. We are incapable of becoming authentic witnesses of Christ without Holy Spirit power. We are unable to obey and live for Him, unless we are willing to receive Holy Spirit power. Consider now, another picture and promise written by Ellen White:
"Those who consecrate body, soul, and spirit to God, will constantly receive a new endowment of physical, mental, and spiritual power. The inexhaustible supplies of heaven are at their command. Christ gives them the breath of His own Spirit, the life of His own life. The Holy Spirit puts forth His highest energies to work in heart and mind. The grace of God enlarges and multiplies their faculties, and every perfection of the divine nature comes to their assistance in the work of saving souls. Through co-operation with Christ, they are made complete in Him, and in their human weakness they are enabled to do the deeds of Omnipotence." ~ Ellen G. White- Gospel Workers p. 112
I want that kind of power in my life. Power which glorifies God, and makes me an effective agent of His grace. How about you?
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