Thursday, February 5, 2015

The Power of God

Mark this:  There will be terrible times in the last days.  People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God --having a form of godliness but denying its power.  Have nothing to do with them (2 Tim. 3).
 
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts. 1).
 
Recently, our small Bible study group listened to a tape by Joyce Meyers, entitled "The Wonderful Holy Spirit."  In the talk, Joyce mentioned that she had gone to church for years and years and, even though she was taught doctrine about the Holy Spirit, and knew intellectually Who the Holy Spirit is, no one ever told her that she could have "power" through the Holy Spirit.  Even though she defined that "power" as "the ability to live the Christian life," at the end of the tape, several people in the group reacted negatively -- they really did not want "power." 
 
It is unfortunate that we automatically connect the word "power" with "authority" or "control over others," when the power of Jesus Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit has nothing to do at all with that kind of power.  Until we know for ourselves our own powerlessness to live the Christian life, we will not want or appreciate the power of the Holy Spirit.  So many of us believe we can "imitate Christ" when we have no power in ourselves to even know what God wants of us.
 
What we are given through the Spirit is the "power" or "ability" to love as God loves, to see things from His point of view; we are given His character as we yield to the operation of the Spirit within us.  In fact, not only are we not given "power" over others; we in fact are given the "power" to yield to others.  We are given the "power" to be transformed into the image of Jesus, the Image of God. 
 
Once we understand this kind of power, we run to ask for the power of the Holy Spirit to do in us what we cannot do for ourselves.  We want Jesus Christ to be LORD of our lives, to allow Him to direct us in all our ways, through the Holy Spirit.  Someone long ago told me of a doctor who "does not get up and walk around the corner without first praying about it."  I thank God for that doctor, who was the first one to pray over me for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.  What happened after that prayer was life-changing, not because of anything I did for myself, but for what God did for me through his prayer!
 
Unfortunately, in most of our churches, we do not hear about the power of the Holy Spirit to change lives -- in fact, we tend to be afraid of this "power," just as my friends were afraid of it.  However, in parts of the world where Christianity is not "business as usual," the power of the Holy Spirit is still being manifest today, just as it was in the Acts of the Apostles.
 
Yesterday, someone handed me a book by Afshin Javid, a devoted Iranian Muslim who found himself in a squalid jail cell in Kuala Lumpur.  He and some friends escaped from Iran with forged passports, heading to America and Canada, where they could "tell others about the true religion of Islam."   However, they wound up on a flight to Kuala Lumpur, where they had to wait to be smuggled to the next phase of their journey.  Eventually they were jailed on the charge of illegal migration. 
 
After many months in prison, realizing that in Malaysia there were no 'human rights' and their lives mattered to no one, they figured they would eventually die in that cell.  Javid devoted all his time to studying and teaching the Koran and praying to Allah.  However, one evening, when the others were asleep, a strange spirit approached him.  Previously, Javid had contacted the "Jinn," an alternate spirit world to curse his enemies or to help him in other ways, much as Voodoo works in some areas.  Now, the Jinn was present, but only to kill him -- and he knew it:  In the same manner that I had called the Jinn to hurt others, so also were they attacking me.  Feeling himself being choked to death and gasping for air, Javid called out "God, Help me!"
 
Immediately, he heard a voice in his head, clearly and distinctly:  "Bring the name of Jesus," it said.  As a Muslim, this made no sense to him, but as he was about to die, he grabbed the only rope being offered.  "Jesus, if you are true, show me yourself!" he cried.  Before the sentence was finished, the spirit was gone.  Now, confusion set in --- Why would Jesus help a Muslim? Javid asked himself over and over.
 
I will not give away the "rest of the story," as Paul Harvey used to say, but the book, called As Easy As Drinking Water, is an amazing story of the power of God to reach someone even in the worst cell on earth.  The rest of the book reads exactly like the Acts of the Apostles.  It is available at www.WinePressbooks.com or at 1-877-421-7323.  The back of the book also has an e-mail address for Javid:  www.afshinjavid.com.  Needless to say, I did not put the book down until I had finished it.  I would encourage everyone to read this book, if only to resurrect our belief in the "power" of God to work today just as He worked in the early church. 
 
The only Power I want is the Power, or the ability, to tell others that Jesus is alive and among us even today, just as He was in the 40 days before the Ascension.  His Presence with us today is The Holy Spirit -- and it is just as powerful today as it was 2000 years ago.

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