June 1, 2010, Acts 19

Key Verse:

They would say, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are YOU?”

(Acts 19:13-15)

Central Truth:

God provides power through the Holy Spirit.

PORTABLE POWER

My answer would probably go something like this: “Who am I? You’re asking me who I am? Well… uhhh, yeahhh, about that… you see, what had happened was... OK. I’m obviously not Jesus. And I’m certainly not Paul, the Pope, Mother Theresa, Billy Graham, or Andy Stanley. Not even close. To be honest, I’m not a professional. I mean, I don’t work for the Church or anything like that. I’m just a regular guy, your average Joe. I’m an amateur, an impersonator, a stunt-double.”

I guess that’s why I so often forget- It’s not so much about WHO I am, but about WHOSE I am. By myself, I am nothing more than a dirty ragamuffin. A pile of smelly, filthy rags; even on my best days. But a child of God, who’s been given the gift of the Holy Spirit, has power. And the more intentional my relationship with God is, the stronger that power becomes.

What is the Holy Spirit? Pastor Jerry once gave a message where he said God gives us “Portable Power” through the Holy Spirit. When I am weak compared to the forces battling against me, I can tap into this portable power. It’s right here with me, wherever I go. But I can’t access the power it if I keep forgetting it’s there. Similarly, I can’t go dig through my own bag of tricks, pull out some random tool, and then expect it to work the same way. A watch battery is not an adequate substitute for a V8 engine.

So during a crisis or storm, how do we fight evil in such a way that we are tapping into the “portable power” of the Holy Spirit? How do we live our lives so that we rely on Jesus, and not our own limited strength? I don’t know- I’m figuring this stuff out as I go along, one day at a time.Stumbling, running, falling, crawling, flying, digging, walking, tumbling… as best as I can figure out how. I have no easy formulas or recipes. But I am encouraged, because I know I’m not alone- I have all of you on the journey with me.

And I can at least tell you this- that every time I have gone through a storm in the past six years, I have always remembered the last point of that sermon: “Do not ignore what the crisis reveals.” Instead of making RELIEF your sole priority, look for the purpose, the point. God uses storms to reveal things. I try to answer the questions- What am I supposed to learn from this? About my relationships? About God? About myself? Somehow finding purpose makes things easier. I don’t always find an answer. But then again, I don’t stop going bass fishing just because I don’t always catch one.