Friday, March 22, 2013
Motorless Automobile
For
Sale: 2012 Jaguar. Fully loaded. 0 miles.
Beautiful leather interior.
Engine not included. Electrical
system works well, but the battery must be replaced regularly. Only $50,000.
How
eager would you be to respond to such an ad?
Who is interested in a car that does not have the power to transport
them? What is the purpose of a car if it
cannot be driven?
Similar
questions may be asked concerning ones faith.
What is the purpose of faith if it has no power? The Bible predicted that a time would come
that people would call themselves Christians but would deny the power that was
demonstrated in the first century church. (2 Timothy 3:1-5) Has that time come? You decide.
There
are several components of Christianity that are regularly associated with power
in the Bible, namely:
·
The
name of Jesus - it is the "name above every name" and the name spoken
over those who were baptized in the book of Acts.
·
Divine
Healing - Jesus promised that believers would pray for the sick and they would
recover.
·
The
Holy Spirit - Jesus promised his disciples that they would receive power after
the Holy Ghost was come upon them; this happened first in Acts chapter two and
later in Acts 8, 9, 10 and 19.
Jesus
established a church of power. He
intended for people to have life-changing experiences as Christians impacted
their world. You can read about it in the book of Acts. Church services were
dynamic, miracles were prevalent, people were receiving the Holy Spirit, and
Jesus name was highly exalted. Early
Christians were so empowered that they became a world force in spite of severe
persecution.
If
I were the devil I would do my best to talk Christians out of their power. I would not be all that concerned if they
called themselves Christians or attended church, as long as they dumbed things
down as far as the power is concerned. I
would con them into believing that miracles no longer happen. I would encourage them to be baptized, but not to worry about doing it in Jesus
name. I would tell them that people no
long receive the Holy Spirit or speak with "other tongues". I would convince them that Christianity
should be simply a matter of saying they believe without expecting
life-altering encounters with God. In short I would get them to include
everything but the engine. That way they
could sit in their driveway listening to the radio or flipping their lights on
and off, but they could never really go anywhere.
I don't know about you, but I need that Apostolic book-of-Acts kind of power. I need an engine in my automobile.
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