But do we walk under that power on a daily basis or are we Gap Christians? Seeking to fill the gaps between God moments with the world instead of closing the gaps with Jesus! We should not be looking for a part time God! Too often we can fall for the trap of trying to fit our Christianity into our lives instead of turning our lives over to Christ! A life turned over to Christ is one filled with the power of God! Here is how Jesus described it once:
I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. Luke 10: 19 (NIV)
Jesus is speaking to the 72 disciples He had commissioned to go out and preach the Good News and heal the sick. They had returned jubilant after seeing how they were able to leverage the power Christ gave them. Even the demons obeyed them when they mentioned the name of Jesus. That power is still available to us today if we would just submit as the 72 did and find ourselves doing the Master's work in obedience. Snakes and scorpions are symbolic of evil so while God will provide physical protection the object is not to actually find snakes and scorpions to walk on! The point is that we have been given power by God to carry out His will! He will not call you into His service and leave you unprepared or unprotected.
The strength of your walk is not found on Sunday mornings when you are at church. It is found Wednesday evenings when you are on your knees. While church itself can bring with it some interesting challenges, we are usually tested during the week. All hell breaks loose in our lives during the week. The medical report comes on Monday. Your kid disappears on Tuesday. You are sexually tempted at work on Wednesday. The fight with your spouse happens on Thursday. Your co-workers invite you out for "happy hour" on Friday. Let's face it beloved life happens! It happens frequently, difficultly, and quite often unfairly. When faced with the grind, we may no longer feel the goose bumps we felt on Sunday at church. We may not feel the spirit of God moving all around us. We may not feel the awesome power of the Holy Spirit within us. But it doesn't have to be that way! Because these things we find ourselves up against is essentially the enemy at work in our lives. Evil working against us. But God has given us the authority to trample over that evil!
But do we understand the power that resides within us? Our
key verses indicate that Paul was praying that the believers in
But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, "I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?" Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered. Acts 19: 15-16 (NLT)
The battles we face as Christians are real. The powers and
principalities that we war against are real. But we serve a higher power. We
serve a stronger power! But you have to walk in the relationship with God if
you intend to walk in His power. The seven sons of Sceva wanted the power but
did not cultivate the relationship. The key verses continue to put this power
in the correct perspective. Until Jesus Christ walked the earth, death always
had the last word. It was the great equalizer. No one escaped it. Then on that
wooden cross on
O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1Corinthians 15: 55-57 (NLT)
This is the victory we just celebrated on Resurrection Sunday. Easter gives us pause to shout; "Jesus is alive!" But with the grave denied and safely in our rear view mirror, the remaining question is now what? Do we leave that power in the church house and go out into the world to confront evil like the seven sons of Sceva? Why would we want that for our lives? Look at how the key verses describe the power we have! It is the same power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at the right hand of the Father in the heavenly realms! The God we serve is far above any ruler, authority, power or leader we might encounter in this life.
