What Kind of Power Are You Seeking?

What Kind of Power Are You Seeking?

 

Good Morning Friends,

 

Power comes in many different forms and we are not well trained to really handle power well. It can be a bit confusing. A crazy person can have power. Someone who has absolutely no interest on a topic and a person with a passionate interest on the other both generate a degree of power. There is the power of a person who has and uses the control of a legitimate position, there is coercive power, and the power of superior skill or knowledge. There is informational power and the power of rewards. Then there is a connectional power that builds coalitions. They all are power but the most valuable is relational power that connects words and thoughts and deeds and conveys a sense of personal acceptance because of the integrity and belief of a leader that stands for something transformational. What Kind of Power Are You Seeking?

 

Scripture: Then she said, ‘The Philistines are upon you, Samson!’ When he awoke from his sleep, he thought, ‘I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free.’ But he did not know that the Lord had left him.

 

Judges 16:20 (NRSV)

 

⁵I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.

 

John 15:5 (NRSV)

 

¹¹May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully ¹²giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you
to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.

 

Colossians 1:11-12 (NRSV)

 

O give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever; ⁴ who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever;

 

Psalms 136:3-4 (NRSV)

 

¹⁰Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

 

2 Corinthians 12:10 (NRSV)

 

Message: Is it difficult to find the real thing? Yes, if you are looking for love in all the wrong places… if you are combining all sorts of spiritual beliefs in search of a Universal Power you may end up being ineffective. The foundation of a person’s life are beliefs and these beliefs shape values, and these values drive actions. So our beliefs will eventually become our behavior. Jesus summed it up by saying clearly that we cannot expect to do anything without God. That goes for love and power and just about anything of value. Indeed we need to know Jesus to know real power…real peace. That is why it is so important to know Jesus intimately. Without the genuine article we are lost. You see we are to have confidence that God is the source, the conduit and the controller of all divine power. There is no other way. There is no substitute for the abiding love of Christ. There are no short cuts when it comes to spiritual power. One has to deal thoroughly with ones sins. One has to give up the things we possess that possess us.
One has to let God defend us instead of us continually defending ourselves. One has to really learn to love others and give God all the glory. Absence of spiritual clout is one of the signs of a heart that has shifted from God. But if you are like Sampson you may not recognize it right away. If you refuse to obey God or if you are using a counterfeit approach for something holy, the positive effect you have had may be turned off or worse turned against those you are trying to help. If the focus is on the external aspects of our faith when the real deal is a matter of the heart one can be blindsided. Some of this is made clearer when one understands the nature of life saving power is connected to God in a relational way through Jesus.
But friends, honestly it is easy to share these thoughts, but very hard to put them into practice. The key is to believe we will blossom in a wonderful way if we turn our power seeking over to a seeking of God. You see our purpose is to glorify God and it is here we find Spiritual Power. So spend more time on seeking a personal relationship with Jesus. If you are seeking some other kind of power, know that it is a cheap substitute. For knowledge without strength is useless. Strength without knowledge is aimless. Only knowledge connected with the affirming strength of Jesus will bring us the success we seek.

 

Pray we turn our weakness over to God. Pray we receive the grace filled power of the Holy Spirit. Pray we experience the supernatural power of prayer. Pray we realize that we are powerless without God. Pray we grow stronger in prayer. Pray our prayers glorify God. Pray God lay his hand on each one of us bringing each of us a more powerful and fuller life. Pray we meditate on scripture each day. Pray we have the strength to endure what we cannot change. Pray we have truth and love. Pray we have brains and brawn. Pray we have perspective and power. Pray our power and thanksgiving is rooted and grounded in the revelation of who God is in our lives. Pray we are connected to Jesus. Pray we are more effective in our evangelism.

 

Blessings,

 

John Lawson