I HAVE THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION!

Have you ever been to an action hero movie such as Star Wars or Superman?  The commonality of those two movies, and all movies of that genre, is the hero has an extraordinary power.  For instance, Luke Skywalker’s ability emanated from “the force” that was with him. And Superman was a “strange visitor from another planet who came to earth with power and ability far beyond that of mortal men.”  The hero always wins the battles and, of course, at the end of the movie always rides off into the sunset with the beautiful heroin.  And the moral of the story…good prevails over evil!

So the question is…how many of you have left the theater thinking, “Wow!  I wish I had that power and ability.  I wish I were an action hero!”  But then rational thinking kicks in and you admit to yourself, “oh, well…that was only a movie; it was a Hollywood creation and not reality!”  If you have experienced that thought process, I am here to enlighten you to a reality that involves a “power” much greater than that which Luke Skywalker of Superman experienced.  And the Good News is…that power is available to anyone who chooses to accept it.

The power I am talking about is also a supernatural power, but not a Hollywood creation.  Have you ever heard of Moses?  He parted the Red Sea with his staff so the Israelites could walk across on dry land and escape the Egyptian army that was in pursuit.  And what about David?  How could this boy of about fourteen years of age wrestle with and defeat lions and bears with his bare hands, not to mention killing the Philistine giant, Goliath, with a stone?  And what about Peter, the same disciple who denied Jesus three times; the disciple who was absent at the crucifixion because he was in hiding and fearful for his own life.  Well, this same fearful Peter, after being empowered by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, spoke so boldly to a crowd of non-believers and saved three thousand that very day. (Acts 2)  These examples are only three of literally hundreds found in the Holy Bible that demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit and his transforming power.

No doubt Jesus died to pay the penalty for the sins of mankind.  That is God’s Gift of Grace to us.  But does that mean all of mankind is now saved?  It is imperative that you do not misunderstand the truth of this scriptural fact.  God provided the necessary sacrifice on our behalf because of his unconditional, unending, unfailing love for us.  However, that act from Him requires an act of faith from us, and that, My Friends, is our acceptance of his gift. Romans 3:22-25 explains this most clearly: “We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins.  For we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done.  For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard.  Yet now God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty.  He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins.  For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy His anger against us.  We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us.” (underlining is mine.) 

In other words, when we admit our own insufficiency and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are immediately grafted into God’s family because of our new identity in Christ. And this new identity is possible only because of His Gift of Grace to us. We did nothing to earn it and we certainly didn’t deserve it. But that new identity promises us forgiveness of sin, eternal life, and makes us eligible for all the blessings in the spiritual realm and all of the blessings and promises throughout the Bible.

That is awesome news, Right?  However, the day after we accept God’s Gift of Grace, we awaken and discover we are still living in this fallen world.  Even though we have made a decision to turn our will and our life over to the care of God, our circumstances have not changed.  If we had financial, marital, legal, or employment problems, we still have them.  If we had a health issue, an emotional issue or an integrity issue, we still are faced with that “mountain”.  But what has changed is how we are going to deal with these matters.  Instead of being over-whelmed and totally perplexed by these issues, we now have a new source of power, wisdom and strength to guide and comfort us as we roll up our sleeves and dig in.  We now have the answer to everyone’s question…how do I let go and let God?

Knowledge of the Holy Spirit, what he is AND what he is not, is of utmost importance to successfully living the “Christian life” we called to live.  It is also the reason so many Christians fall short of that calling. (More on that later.)  But being a Christ-follower is a process, a growth process to be exact, that requires becoming more Christ-like as we pursue this new path.  2Corinthians 5:17 tells us that when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, a transformation occurs: “Anyone who is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old is gone, the new has come.”  The “old” refers to shedding our sin nature, or as our culture describes it…our human nature.  The “new” refers to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who empowers us to live the life we are called to live.

This paragraph is the key to our success.  The Holy Spirit provides a new way for us to face life’s trials and tribulations. Instead of trying to rely on our self- sufficiency or worldly wisdom to tackle these problems, we now call on the Holy Spirit to empower us with courage, strength, wisdom, patience, perseverance, whatever it is we need, to be victorious in our effort. Notice the Holy Spirit does not fix our problems for us, but rather empowers us to be successful in a way that brings honor and glory to God.  This is an integral part of our growth process.  And the more we rely on the Holy Spirit for wisdom and guidance, the more Christ-like we become.  Galatians 5: 17-18 spells this out most clearly: “The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants.  And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires.  These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict.  But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer slaves to your sin nature.”  And Ephesians 2;10 talks about the transformation process that is taking place in us: “For we are (becoming) God’s masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”   (And the moral of this story is: we do not rely on our own effort to solve the problem. Instead we  rely on our supernatural power  (the indwelling Holy Spirit)  to empower us to face and overcome life’s issues.  Hummm…isn’t that reminiscent of the action hero movie?)

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are spotless in God’s sight. And that distinction is not a result of our behavior or our actions, but because of our new identity.  Now we are in Christ, and that is the determining factor.  All of us will continue to stumble during the process of becoming more Christ-like, but as long as we get up and keep trudging down that path God has illuminated for us, in His eyes we are Saints!

As I mentioned earlier, I believe that lack of awareness of the Holy Spirit (who he is and what he does and does not do) is the reason so many Christians struggle with living the life we are called to live in this fallen world.  No doubt that calling is a challenge today, and no doubt we need all the help we can get to carry our God’s plan. But I make that statement based on my years to teaching the book “Classic Christianity” by Bob George.  Over the years I have discovered that even life-long Christians do not understand the power they have as Christians, and based on the “light-bulb” moments that occur throughout the classes, being exposed to empowering by the Holy Spirit is new information for most.

Therefore, if you are a member of a church that dwells on the “gospel of grace” and teaches about the power of the Holy Spirit and your new identity in Christ (THAT YOU ARE: forgiven, acceptable, worthy, grafted into God’s family, heir to all the promises in the Bible  as well as “all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly realm” (Ephesians 1: 3) and unconditionally loved (as opposed to being on “spiritual probation”, a term used by Pastor Ron Tucker last weekend at Grace Church St. Louis, and a term I have consequently borrowed), take time to thank God for that blessing.  This knowledge is absolutely indispensable when pursuing the abundant life Jesus promised all Christ-followers . (Ref. John 10:10)

I would like to close with this statement.  Because of your identity in Christ, you are not only guaranteed eternal life with God, Jesus and all other Christ followers but you can begin experiencing God’s Kingdom on Earth right here, right now.  Because you have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, you are already guaranteed victory over this fallen world. 1John 4:4 tells us, “The Spirit that is in me (the Holy Spirit) is greater than the spirit of this world.” (satan)  If you would like even more encouragement, open the Bible to Ephesians and read 1:3-14, realizing that you are heir to every promise stated therein because you are in Christ!  In other words, if you are in Christ, you’re in!

So my question to you is…are you living the abundant life Jesus promised?  Why or why not?

Please feel free to respond to this posting, and please feel free to share this message with your social media friends.

May God bless your process of growth,

Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)