O God, whose Spirit did brood upon the waters, and by your powers you brought forth light out of darkness, may we be led this hour by that same Spirit, to know ourselves to be your children and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

 

[Editor’s note:] In light of this Sunday being part of the Memorial Day weekend, the congregation spoke this prayer together as part of the Period of Prayer.

 

God of mercy, hear our prayer.

 

We pray for all who suffer as a result of war.

 

We pray for the injured and disabled, for the mentally distressed, and for those whose faith in you and in other people has been weakened or destroyed.

 

We pray for the homeless and refugees, for those who are hungry, and for all who have lost their livelihood and security.

 

We pray for those who mourn their dead, for those who have lost husband, wife, children, parents, siblings and especially for those who have no hope in Christ to sustain them in their grief.

 

We pray for leaders who send young men and women to war, that their judgment be sound and their motives be pure.

 

We pray for soldiers who lay down their lives for others, that the love, which inspires their sacrifice, be fulfilled in the love of Christ.

 

We pray that these memories may help us and all people turn from warlike ways to pursue the potential of peace.

 

And we pray, O God, that you would help us never to forget that war is hell, that you would help us to honor its saints, and to pray for its sinners and victims, and that you would make us peacemakers.

 

We ask this in the name of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the Word of the Lord for us this day.

 

 

Today is the birthday of the Church, the very day the first church was born. (I tell you, this fire is much better than the one we had outside at eight o’clock. It was wet wood and smoldering. I said that couldn’t possibly be a sign.) We have fire in this service, and that is a good thing. This is the day, of course, the Spirit of the Living God came upon a handful of frightened, depressed, leaderless, powerless individuals, and galvanized them into a group, into a community, into a movement which spread like wildfire across the land, according to the text, and changed the course of history, as you know.

 

Now, normally we might sing “Happy Birthday” to ourselves today and celebrate the wonderful things the Church has done for many over the centuries, and hopefully for us today. We could exhort ourselves to do even better tomorrow.

 

But I want to take a different tack today. I want to strike at what I believe is the heart of something we all need. I want us to talk about your need. I want you to talk about my need, our need, everybody’s deep need for power. Power!

 

Now, we could talk about guns, and we could talk about crazy shooting rampages, and we could talk about what possesses a person to fly an airplane into a building, or to send 160,000 men and women in battle gear to the Middle East, because, as you all know, that’s all about power. It’s all about power.

 

However, I want to bring it home today. I want us to talk about the powerlessness that many of us right here in this group feel. I’m amazed by the amazing amount of time we experience powerlessness. 

 

Where do you get your power? Where do you get the power to live in this crazy but very real world? Where do you get the power to live in a world where sick things happen to good people? Where do you get the power to live every day, which seems, for many right here in this room, to be a constant struggle? Where do you get the strength, not only to survive, but also to flourish? Where?

 

Folks, the reality is that pain and sin are everywhere. It is not just at Virginia Tech, but also right here in this place. It is not just in Baghdad, but also right here in Columbia. Pain and sin are right here. They fill our neighborhoods and our schools. They lurk in the hearts and bodies of people who are sitting right next to you in church today, and in the one who looks back at you every single morning of the year. You may not know this, but actually right now there are senseless tragedies happening to people in this room. They are happening because they’re living powerless lives. They are lives being lived in ways that God did not intend for them to be lived. 

 

The message today is God says, “I want you to have my power. I want you to have it today. I want you to have it every day, and I want you to have it even in the midst of pain and suffering that you may be experiencing.”

 

Indeed, the Bible says the kingdom of God is not just a matter of talk. It is a matter of power. It is living by God’s power. (1 Corinthians 4:19-20)

 

Proverbs 68 says, “God is awesome. God gives power and strength to God’s people.” Underline and circle those words, “God’s people.” 

 

Folks, it is not a question of God’s power. Step outside and look around this incredible place we call planet Earth. Watch the weather channel during storm season. Take a peek inside a microscope. Take a look at a CT-scan, or an MRI. You will see God’s power. It’s not a question of God’s power. The question is, “Is God’s power available to you? Can you access it?”

 

Indeed, they say that God has promised it to you. The theologians say, “Yes, you can.” They say you can access it. They say that God has promised it to all God’s people. They point out those promises are found in Scripture. There are a ton of them. I’m going to lift up three of them for you today. Three promises. These are three times you can count on the Spirit of the Living God’s power in your life.

 

One: You can count on God’s power and strength when you are ground down, when you are tired. You can count on God’s power and strength when you are worn out. 

 

Now, I know some of you take a nap when you get tired. Good for you. That’s wonderful. However, there are people in this room who cannot take a nap. They don’t have that option. They have things they have to do. They have things that require their attention. They have people who are depending upon them. They have tons of responsibility and huge loads to carry, and they are tired. They’re worn out. They are ground down. Their motto is, “Why stop and smell the roses when you can drive right through them.” 

 

In the midst of that kind of struggle, God makes a promise to those stressed people. Do you know what it is?

 

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God – the one who does not sleep or slumber. The One who does not get tired or weary.”

 

Indeed, the Scriptures say, “The sustainer gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40).

 

Memorize that verse. Write it down. Put it on your toothbrush. Shave it in the side of your dog. I don’t care. Oh, I know. Let’s not do that. I’m teasing.

 

But I’m not teasing about this, because the day is going to come. It may already be here for some of you. Some of you here will need that verse today. Are you going to remember that promise?

 

“I will give you power when you are worn down. I will give you power when you are tired and weary.” Scripture says, “This is the God who never tires, that neither sleeps nor slumbers. This is the God who created all that is and said, ‘What’s next?’”

 

Would you like to access that power? Do you need to personally tap that kind of power? Hang in there with me. We are going to get to that in just a minute. 

 

Number one: You can count on God’s power when you’re ground down.

 

Two: You can count on God’s power and strength when you’re in the place where you just feel like you have nothing to offer. It may be in your job. We have people in this room right here today who feel like they’re over their heads in their job. It may be in a relationship that you feel like you just don’t know what the person you’re trying to relate to really wants and needs from you. It may be the enormity of the challenges of a hurting world that obviously is going in the wrong direction, and you don’t think there is anything you can do to make a difference. The key word here: inadequate.

 

I remember when I was a younger pastor, and I would get a call. It would invariably be at six or seven in the morning. (Now, nobody in their right mind calls my house at six or seven in the morning… unless it’s an emergency. Then it is OK. Don’t misquote me.) When the phone rings at six or seven in the morning at my house, you know it is an emergency. Sure enough, one of our members had a crisis. They had been in an accident. They had suffered the loss of a loved one. It was my job to go. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what to do. I had taken the courses, but I felt totally inadequate. It was intimidating. I had no clue what to offer.

 

God says, “My power will show up when you’re weak.  My power shows up when you don’t know what to say, when you don’t know what to do.”

 

Saint Paul prayed, “Lord, I have this affliction. I have this weakness. I have this disability. Will you take it from me?”

 

And God said, “No. My power shows up best in weak people.”

 

Later, when Paul actually got that and experienced that power, he said, “Now I’m glad to boast about how weak I am. I’m glad to be a living demonstration of God’s power, instead of showing off my own powers and abilities” (2 Corinthians 12).

 

Would you like to access… Would you have any need to tap into that kind of power? It’s available. You can count on God’s power:

1.      When you’re worn down.

2.      When you don’t think you have anything to offer.

 

Three: You can count on God’s power when you are in pain.

 

I made a list this week of folks I know in this church who are going through a tough time – a painful time. See if you can identify with any of these things on my list.

·        There are people in this room this very day who are living in a home where there is so much anger, so much jealousy, so much fighting, so much bitterness, they don’t even want to go back there. That’s pain.

·        There are people in this room who hate their jobs. They live with unrealistic quotas, impossible deadlines, incompetent bosses, and inept workers, and it is grinding them down. That’s pain.

·        Some here today are in great bodily pain. They carry an affliction they have to live with. It is an affliction that was there when they woke up this morning. In all likelihood, it is going to be there when they wake up tomorrow morning, and they are tired of it. It’s grinding them down. That is pain.

·        Some in this room are going through the trauma of a separation or divorce. That is pain.

·        There are people in this room who have recently lost love ones. That is pain.

·        There are friendships that are fractured. That is pain.

·        Some people in this room are on the verge of bankruptcy. That is pain.

·        Some of our children are making self-destructive decisions that are unbearable to watch. That is pain.

·        Some of us are sick of being single. That is pain.

·        Some of us are sick of being married. That is pain. (I won’t say that in the next worship when Jan is here, but I can say it in this one.)

·        Some of us have loved ones in harm’s way, and they jump every time the phone rings. That is pain.

 

Did I hit anybody here? I wanted to see if I missed anyone here? Don’t worry. If I did, your number is coming up. It’s right around the corner. You are not immune. There is no shortage of difficulty for those of us in this house.

 

The reality is God never promised you, or me, or anybody that life would be easy or that life would be fair. You know that. Pain and suffering are everywhere. 

 

Christians walk through some of the deepest, darkest valleys that exist in this world, but they will tell you that if it wasn’t for God’s power… if it wasn’t for God’s strength… they would never have made it out to the other side in one piece.

 

The question today: Where do you get that kind of power? What do you do with your pain?

 

There is good news today. Hey, we have Stephen Ministers waiting for you to let them help you. Do you know the last time a man in this congregation allowed a Stephens Minister to help them? It was December. What’s going on?

 

God promises us power, folks, in the midst of pain, and we are not accessing it. Psalm 41 says:

 

Psalm 40 says:

 

 

Do you want to tap that kind of power? If so, the Bible says very clearly it’s available.

 

There are three steps to availability. They are three action steps you and I can take to receive God’s power – the power of the Living Spirit of God. For centuries it is what we have called the “Holy Spirit.” Now, it’s not as easy as A-B-C, but I’m going to give them to you in that order, because they’re a little easier to remember.

 

A: Admit. If you want to receive God’s power, admit your need. I know it’s going to be tough for some of you in this room, because you think you are God. You think you have it all together. You really believe in Nike. You really believe all you have to do is “do it.” I have news for you. That’s a great ad, and it sells lots of stuff, but it “ain’t” true. You can’t control everything. I know, you would love to, but you can’t. In fact, you don’t really control very much. You’re a human being, and you’ve been given gifts and strengths. Yes. But you have your weaknesses. When you pretend to be self-sufficient (the key word is “pretend”), you short-circuit God’s power in your life. That’s what most people forget.

 

Point: If you want to access God’s power, it starts right here. It starts with A. It starts with addressing our pride. 

 

Now I looked up “pride” this week. “Pride” is a good word in some respects. There is nothing wrong with taking great pleasure and satisfaction in your achievements. But the hook comes when you start believing you do it by yourself. The problem comes when you think it is all up to you.

 

The Bible says that God doesn’t hate many things, but one thing that God hates is pride. Not the type that takes satisfaction, but the kind of pride that says, “I don’t need anything. I don’t need God. God is for weak people. God is for people who have needs. I have it all together. It’s all up to me. I’m self-sufficient. I make the call. I take what I want, when I want. I do what I choose. I do it my way.”

 

Proverbs 29 says, “Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor.”

 

Point:  If you want to tap in to God’s power, you have to put God in the driver’s seat of your life. You ride shotgun. God drives. But that’s another whole story and another day.

 

It starts by admitting, by owning your weakness, your need, your dependence on God. God is the creator, and guess what? You are not, and that is so clear.

 

First, A is to admit.

 

B: Be connected. Be connected with a source of power. You want power? You have to get connected. Have you noticed at your place that things tend to work better when they are plugged in? It’s amazing.

 

I have this wonderful computer at my house. I can e-mail around the world. I can instant message my kids. I can Google absolutely anything in 2.6 seconds. But you just try to do anything on your computer if it’s not connected. I don’t care how good your computer looks. I don’t care what its net worth is. I don’t care if it grew up in the church kitchen all its life. If it’s not plugged in, if it’s not connected to the source of power, it’s not going to work. And neither are you.

 

Evidently, Jesus understood that principle when he said to his disciples, “I am the vine, and you are the branches. Those who connect with me,” he said, “and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing” (John 15).

 

I am a pretty mellow guy, most of the time. But I get a little crazy when someone says to me, “You know, I’m just not growing spiritually here. I have to go find a place where my spiritual needs are being met.” I just want to slap them. You know? In love, of course!

 

Folks, if you want to grow, if have to get plugged in. You have to get connected. If you want to do that, we have a group for you. I don’t care if you are a left-handed mechanic, color-blind, and enjoy tropical fish all at the same time; we have a group for you. OK? I don’t care what your interests are. We can find one for you. If you’re not connected, folks, don’t blame God. Don’t blame your church. The ball’s in your court.

 

A: Admit.

B: Be connected.

 

C: Choose. Choose God’s way with faith that God’s power will show up when you need it. Now, folks, this is the tough one. This is the hard one. It’s hard because what you and I have to do if we want to access that kind of power is to step out. We have to step out in faith. It means you have to take action. You have to choose God’s way. This goes all the way back to Genesis. When God sees your faith, God turns on the power. It’s that way all the way through Scripture.

 

It means you have to step out in obedience, just like Abraham and Sarah. Whatever God calls you to do before the power shows up. The key word here is “before.” See the rub? If you are like me, I want the power before I step out, before I go, before the showdown, before the change. I want to operate from a position of power. Nope. You are not going to find that in Scripture. It doesn’t work that way. You do the possible with faith that God will do the impossible.

 

You have a marriage that needs fixing? You have a friendship that needs repair? You have a condition that needs to be cured? You have an issue that needs to be confronted? You have a state or national policy that needs to be changed? You do the possible in faith that God’s power will show up.

 

Nelson Mandela, the saint of South Africa, gave an inaugural address when he was made the first president of South Africa. In 1994, he said these words, and they live today:

 

I think power is a huge issue in our lives, folks.

 

A: Admit.

B: Be connected.

C: Choose God’s way. 

 

Start living in God’s power. See what happens.

 

And we all say together… “Amen.”

 

 

Most Holy Spirit, let your power fall upon us, ignite our spirits to seek and love you. Show us what you would have us do, and give us the courage and heart to do it. Amen.