Power is a two step process

August 27, 2020

Pastor Ken Brown Jr

Power is a two-step process. Have you ever wished that your spiritual life had more power? Have you ever wanted to speak more boldly of the difference Christ makes in your life? Have you ever desired you were the one giving a ‘Word from the Lord’? Have you ever wished you looked more like Christ? Do you wish you were able to minister powerfully like those you see around you or like the people you read about in the Bible? I know I have. I know there have been times in my walk with the Lord when there didn’t seem to be much power. There have been times when I knew someone needed to know what Christ had done for me so they could have hope for their own situations…but I couldn’t seem to find my voice. I recall times when it seemed God was giving me a specific word for someone at a specific time…but reservation of one kind or another kept me quiet. I have many times wondered if Jesus said that I could do the things He did, why can’t I even have a ministry as powerful as some of the other Christians around me? If Jesus Himself told us, we would do even greater things than He did…and it is recorded for us in John 14:12 that He did in fact say that…what is the problem? Why all the wishes but few the mighty works of the Lord in our individual lives? Where is all the power? Power is a two-step process. Outside my house are power lines. Through those lines pulse hundreds of volts of electricity. The power company is always replenishing what is being used and there is seemingly and endless supply available, just outside my house…right there in those power lines. If I want some of that power running through my house I have to do something…I have to agree that the power company may connect their lines to my house. I have to ask for the power. When I do, they come and connect the lines that transmit their endless supply to my house and then I may use it as needed. As I use it, and those homes around me use it, the power company replenishes what has been accessed and more power is available all the time. Getting the power into my house is a two-step process. They produce and deliver…I must choose to accept and use their power in my home. Power is a two-step process Though not a perfect analogy, it is much the same in our spiritual lives. God produces the power and delivers it to us though His Holy Spirit. Acts 1:8 speaks of this very thing when it says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”. God gives us through His Holy Spirit the ability to do all the things He wants accomplished in and through our lives. The words to speak (Luke 12:12). A word from the Lord for others in times of need (John 14:26). Love for others that is beyond our own (Romans 5:5) The ability to give wise counsel and explain spiritual truths to others (1 Corinthians 2:13). It is in fact through the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives that we are being transformed and perfected in our walk with Christ. What the power of the Holy Spirit can do in and through our lives is only the first step. There is a necessary step two…our agreeance with that power being transmitted through our lives. God has the power…and He wants to give it to us. Luke 11:13 tells us that God is the good father who gives the Holy Spirit…to those who ask! We have to ask for it. Remember in the analogy I used, the power company produces and delivers…that is step one, I must choose to accept and use the power…that is step two. So asking for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit is the first part of step two the second and maybe the more important part of that step is using the power. The electricity from the power company is no good to me if it is simply produced, delivered and accepted…but I never turn on a light. It has to be used…and it is no different with the power of the Holy Spirit. Acts 5:32 states that the Power of the Holy Spirit is given by God to those who obey. In other words, God expects us to complete with our action that which He empowers us by the Holy Spirit to do. God is not wasteful nor inefficient. He gives the power where it will be used. Power is a two-step process…and we are responsible for step two! I know I risk sounding as if I am being judgmental, but that is not my heart…I hope instead you will find this to be an encouraging message. Listen…we have all failed at being obedient at times, and as a result the power of the Holy Spirit was not able to be shown in our lives in those instances…but this isn’t about that. This is about the fact that going forward if we will understand that when God prompts us to do those things He wants to accomplish using us, we can move with confidence. He only prods us to action when He has already been working behind the scene…He has been setting up the situation to accomplish His will…all He needs in that moment is our obedience and His power is shown. Obedience is our only responsibility…the results are on Him! So child of God be encouraged, God desires to show His awesome power in your life today! He has the power…He has given you His power through His Holy Spirit…That is step one. You ask for His power by asking to be filled with His Holy Spirit…and then simply obey, that is step two. So now, acting in His power through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit in your life…Go be Awesome!