Wasted Power AND Comfort

Christians have two sources of unlimited power and comfort, the Holy Spirit and the Bible. Wasting either or both of them is the saddest and most foolish thing we can do. It seems to me that if we waste one we also waste the other.

Acts 1:8: But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Hebrews 4:12: For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

We waste the available power because we do not know it is available. We waste it because we do not believe that it is available or we do not believe that it really can work through us.

Matthew 5:6: Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

John 6:35: And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

God has placed in Christians and in His Word power to create a hunger for God in other men and to satisfy that hunger.

Occasionally I have a taste for something and don*t know what it is. Until I know what I have a taste for it probably won*t be satisfied. People have a hunger for the Lord and don*t even know what they are hungry for. For about six months before I received Jesus, I knew I needed something but I did not know that something was Jesus. Until I received Jesus I sought a lot of substitutes that did not satisfy. We need to tell people and show people that the mysterious hunger in them can only be satisfied by Jesus.

Matthew 5:13: Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

Salt makes the foods we eat more enjoyable and increases our appetite. When the Lord has made our lives tastier, unbelievers should see that and desire what we have. Sometimes they can see what the Lord is doing in our lives and sometimes we need to tell them about it. It is good to praise the Lord in their hearing. Even if we can*t show them the differences between our before Jesus lives and our after Jesus lives, we can show them the differences between our lives and their lives.

Matthew 5:16: Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Sometimes our efforts at being salt and light are clumsy. But God puts a power in them that we are often unaware of.

About 20 years ago I asked a co-worker if she was a Christian. She said no. I asked her why not. Our conversation was cut off right there. About 10 years later I visited my former workplace and the woman asked me: Do you remember that question you asked me when you used to work here? I told her I did remember and she then told me with a big happy smile: I am a Christian now! I have no idea what part, if any, my question played in her becoming a Christian. But for her to remind me of that short conversation a decade later was a wonderful surprise.

Acts 1:8: But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

That power is in us and comes out of us even when we don*t notice. I once shared with a woman that I had had the born-again experience. A troubled look came on her face and she told me that she had not had that. It was a short conversation and I did not see it as an opportunity to share the gospel. I wish I had known at the time that troubled look was probably the work of the Holy Spirit. It might have been an opportunity to share the gospel. If I had known of the power of the Holy Spirit I might have tried to extend the conversation and share the gospel with her. I still pray for her and hope that troubled look showed a hunger in her for the Lord and that He has satisfied it.

The word power means dunamis, from which we get our word dynamite. One definition is miraculous power. Sometimes we are afraid to witness. Perhaps if we understand that God*s miraculous power operates through us when we witness we will become more courageous about it. If we feel like we have no power we might not witness as we should. If we feel like we are the source of the power we might not witness as we should. You won*t have that excuse any more. Now you have read God*s promise of that power.

The first step is the hardest. That saying is true of witnessing. When we attempt to share the gospel people get angry or they get interested. Either way, you are not the reason they are angry or interested. The power of God is the reason they get angry or interested. If they get angry they are angry with God. It is not your scripture, it is His. If they get interested it is the doing of the Holy Spirit.

If we notice God*s power changing us and our lives through others, it is easier to believe that He can also change other lives through us. It gets much easier to believe miraculous power flows through us after we have shared the gospel successfully with a few folk. It can also be helpful if you remember that the Holy Spirit spoke things to you that the one who shared the gospel with you did not say.

Philippians 2:13: For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

1 Thessalonians 2:13: For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you

John 7:38: He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Phillips Brooks:

. . . it is Christ in you that lives your life, that helps the poor, that tells the truth, that fights the battles and that wins the crown.

Let*s not waste God*s wonderful combination of power and comfort.

Care to discuss Wasted Power AND Comfort with Ron?

He'd also like to hear your prayer requests