Greetings 5-doves , this is #6 in the Fan or Follower series, enjoy reading !!!



Fan or Follower- In Powered!

Romans 8:9-14

April 2, 2017

#6 of series

(Credit to Kyle Idleman, not a fan, chapter 6)

What is the most important feature on your cell phone?

It's not the texting feature.

It's not the Internet feature.

It's not even the phoning feature or the FaceTime feature.

The most important feature on your cellphone is that little battery

icon. Why is it so important? It indicates how much power is left

in your phone's rechargeable battery. Not only is there a color

indicator in the battery to show you how much is left but there is

also the numerical percentage displayed next to the battery.

I don't know about your particular phone, but when my phone's

battery gets to 20% the green color turns to the warning red

color. I also get a warning display on the screen with the option

to ignore it or charge it!

If I am in the middle of some text or call or Internet search I

push the ignore feature.

Has anyone here ever let your battery go completely to 0%?

The closest I have ever gotten to 0 was 2%. I am one who when

it gets to 40% I am plugging it into a power source.

No matter what kind of cell phone you have you also received a

very important apparatus with your phone. It is not the SIM

card. It is not the ear buds. The most important apparatus each

cell phone comes with is the charger! Without a charger your

cellphone is useless, no matter if it is the latest greatest model.

Without the charger you cannot access the source of power that

enables you to use the phone.

 

As we continue the journey of discovering if we are a fan or

follower of Jesus; we ask the question:

"Are you self-empowered or spirit in-powered?"

A fan will try to follow Jesus without connecting to the power

source of life. They will eventually get so frustrated by their

failures that they will hit 0%. They ignored the warning and tried

to make it on their own. They didn't plug in and access the

power supply available to them. Self-help, independent-minded

folks struggle with this the most. Self-empowered will not make

it in the long run of life. Trying to be God has a tendency to wear

a person down to the warning red zone. If they don't plug in and

get "in-powered" they will leave tired and frustrated.

Fans trying to follow Jesus without being plugged into the power

supply of the Holy Spirit become overwhelmed by the daily

demands of life. They seem to be following Jesus but something

in life goes wrong and they don't have the power to overcome it.

Instead of plugging in when the warning storm of life hits them,

they get discouraged and ignore His presence and power.

Jesus DTR'ed the relationship in a new way the day he left them

for the last time. He had been raised from the dead and was

getting ready to ascend to heaven. Here's what he said to them

right before he left:

"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on

you; and you will be my witnesses..." Acts 1:8

How overwhelming that must have been to the disciples. This

was a new experience for the disciples. They were use to Jesus

being right there, visible to them. Now he was leaving them.

How would they be able to be his witnesses without him around?

They had earlier realized they couldn't remain faithful on their

own. They had denied him, or in fear hid behind locked doors.

When Jesus had given them the warning that he would be leaving

them he assured them it would be "better" for them.


 

"But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going

away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to

you; but if I go, I will send him to you."

 

John 16:7

Did you catch that? Jesus would leave the disciples...that was

better for them than if he were to stay. How? Because Jesus was

going to send to them the Holy Spirit. It's better! Why?

In the Old Testament we read how God was

"with" the people.

In the New Testament we see a new relationship with Jesus. God

is not "with" us. God is

"in" us. God "in" us is better than God

"with" us.

That subtle prepositional change from "with" to "in" is amazing.

The Spirit of Jesus is within us wherever, whenever or whatever

we face in life.

He is in-powered in us.

Peter and John, two of Jesus' in-powered followers, were being

the witnesses Jesus told them they would be when they received

the power of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 4 we find them being

brought before the religious leaders for questioning. The leaders

knew they were not educated, theologically trained teachers with

the proper credentials. They asked Peter and John,

"By what

power or what name did you do this?"

Acts 4:7

Peter and John had plugged into the source of power for their life

as a follower. They realized that if they were not connected to

the Holy Spirit they were useless. It was by the power of the

Holy Spirit that these unschooled, ordinary men, were able to

share the good news of Jesus. They not only talked about Jesus,

but lived it in such a way they were able to change their world

around them.

The Apostle Paul illustrated how powerful it is to be in-powered by

the Holy Spirit when he wrote:

"The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in

you."

(Romans 8:11NLT)

When you become a Christian you receive the "charger" to

connect to the power needed to be a follower of Jesus.

That charger is the Holy Spirit. He connects us to the power of

God. We are in-powered by the Holy Spirit to live out our journey

of faith as a follower of Jesus.

So it is not a question of whether or not we have access to this

power of the Holy Spirit; the question is, have you accessed it?

Have you plugged into your source of power?

Fans are people who have received the apparatus of the Holy

Spirit but they are not using him to plug in to charge their lives in

Christ.

Maybe the reason is that to plug into the power of the Holy Spirit

means we cannot ignore our weakness. We have to be honest

with ourselves and God that our own strength is 20% or less.

The red warning light is on and we are ignoring or trying to

rationalize it by how busy we are in life.

At the beginning of the year I started to go to a gym for the first

time in my life. Due to the insurance plan change I was given

free access to the gym. I chose to use it about 3 times a week.

Like any gym there are various sections. The aerobic treadmills,

elliptical machines and stationary bikes are in one section.

Another section has machines to work various sets of muscles.

Then there is the free weights section...one I walk thru but never

stay.

I have noticed that the guys who hang out in the free weights

area of the gym are the ones with the big guns...triceps. I have

also noticed that none of them own a shirt with sleeves! They

have the guns and they want you to see them.

I also learned that all gym folks have guns...triceps. Just some of

us have not exercised or plugged them into developing or

strengthening. We have shirts with sleeves!

 

Spiritually we are to recognize that we are weak on our own. By

acknowledging our weaknesses we are acknowledging Christ's

strength. Here is how the Apostle Paul put it to the struggling

Christians in the church at Corinth:

"I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so

that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for

Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses...For when I am

weak, then I am strong."

(II Corinthians 12:9-10)

We are to understand that being in-powered by the Holy Spirit

means not ignoring our weakness but rather plug into the power

of Christ's spirit in us.

I do know that if I did venture into the free weights area of the

gym I could bench 315lbs!!! Some of you have looks of doubt

and laughter on your face. I would simply ask a couple of the big

guns to help me lift the weight that I couldn't lift on my own.

Paul did write:

"I can do all things through Christ who

strengthens me."

 

hilippians 4:13

A follower walks through life not expecting to lift the burdens on

their own. They plug into the power of the Holy Spirit. Inpowered

they can follow Jesus wherever He calls them to be his

witness...whenever...wherever...whatever!

One of the first things I do in the morning, after starting the

coffee pot, is to plug my cellphone into the charger and the

charger into the wall. I want my phone to have plenty of power.

As a follower of Jesus we are to be in-powered daily. We cannot

expect to function by faith as a follower if we only plug in once a

week for a couple of hours. Daily we are to plug into our source

of power...the Holy Spirit through scripture, prayer, listening. In

all we do, wherever we are, we are to be plugged into our source

of power in living the faith life of a follower.



 

This doesn't happen by you trying harder on your own. It comes

through times of exercising your spirit to be still and sense his

leading and guiding as your Counselor. Don't try to walk alone in

the life of a follower. That is as foolish as not taking the charger

apparatus when you get your new phone

Plug in to the source of your power in your daily journey in

life...wherever, whatever and whenever.

We are not called to journey on our own.

Bishop Camara, a 20th century Brazilian Bishop understood this

when he said,

"To walk alone is possible, but the good walker knows that the

great trip is life and it requires companions."

We could paraphrase the bishop's words for our cause this

morning and say,

"To walk alone is possible as a fan of Jesus, but the follower of

Jesus knows that the great faith journey is life and it requires

being in-powered by the Holy Spirit."

Fans are self-powered. They will eventually get burned out from

trying to live the Christian life out of their own power.

If you try to depend on your own source of strength to follow

Jesus, you will get drained and no longer be able to finish the

journey of faith.

Followers are in-powered! They understand this journey of faith

was never meant to be taken alone. Followers have been given

the power of Christ's spirit. It is the better way of life to have His

spirit in us!

Fan or follower?

Who is your source of power?

Are you self-empowered or Holy Spirit in-powered?

By the power of the Holy Spirit in-powered in your daily life what

will you be able to do as His witness?


have a blessed day,   Gary
yfc77jesus@aol.com