Need Power? - Ephesians 1:15-23
How
many of you have ever felt powerless?
I
imagine over the last few days quite a number of us have felt powerless…in
fact, many of us may still feel powerless this morning and may have come here
not only to worship but as a refuge of the cold and darkness. Anita and I, as I am sure many of you have,
have been powerless on a number of occasions.
In fact as we sat in the cold on Friday morning we debated. We have lost power due to winter storms and
hurricanes and were discussing which time of the year was the worst to lose
power. She suggested it was the winter
time, because you simply get cold and it’s hard to get warm, and probably, it
would seem that way to many because it is also a time of the year when it stays
dark longer. I, on the other hand, think
myself more practical. In the summer
time when the power goes out, the things in your refrigerator and freezer get
warm a lot quicker, and the ice you use to keep stuff cold in the coolers tends
to melt quicker. In the winter time, at
least to start with, you can just throw stuff in the coolers and put it
outside. When it starts to get warmer
outside, and you ice stuff down, the ice hangs around a lot longer in shady
spots, or where our coolers are right now, in the dark kitchen (because it was
colder in the house yesterday than outside).
The one thing we did agree on, and we all could probably agree on, is
that we really don’t like losing power anytime of the year. In fact, we are all so spoiled as to having
electricity, let me ask a simply question, “how many of you, even after the
power had been out for hours and the storm was still icing everything down
outside and you could still hear transformers blowing and tree limbs cracking,
still walked into a room and flipped on the light switch?” It is times like this when a Duke Energy or
other power company vehicle appears to be a heavenly sight.
However,
it is not simply a loss of electricity that leaves us feeling powerless. There are many other times in our lives when
we feel powerless:
…when
we lose our job.
…when
a crisis, financial or relational, hits our family.
…when
we, or someone we love, is the victim of a crime.
…when
we are battling an addiction.
…when
a disaster—either natural or terrorist—strikes.
…when
we or a loved one become sick, especially if the diagnosis or prognosis is not
for a physical recovery.
…when
a loved one dies.
We
may find ourselves in these situations and just not know what to do or where to
turn. We feel helpless and
powerless. Our world seems to have gone
as dark as the last few days have been for some…though it is not the overhead
lights that we are missing…it is the light within ourselves, the light of our
entire world. It is the kind of darkness
and power loss that no Duke Energy team could ever handle.
Paul
knew about times like that. He writes
that he had experienced an immeasurable amount of situations that would leave
many of us feeling powerless:
“Five times I have received from the Jews
the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received
a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked; for a night and a day I was adrift at
sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger
from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the
wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers and sisters; in toil and
hardship, through many a sleepless night, hungry and thirsty, often without
food, cold and naked. And, besides other things, I am under daily pressure
because of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak?”[i]
Yet,
in the verses following this, Paul does not grumble or complain about his
hardships or his weakness, he says: “If I must boast, I will boast of the
things that show my weakness.”[ii] Why is this?
Paul tells us:
“So I will boast all the more gladly
of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses,
insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for
wherever I am weak, then I am strong.”[iii]
How
could Paul find contentment in his weakness…in his powerlessness…it is because
Paul knew the source of all power. He
knew that when he felt powerless, he would find strength because he would no
longer be relying on his own strength, but in the strength of God.
That’s
why in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians we read a little while ago…in those seven
short verses…in Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians…his prayer is for the church,
for all of God’s people…to experience the “immeasurable greatness of his power
for all of us who believe.” In those
short verses, he references power four times, and none of the power resides in
us, it all resides in God. Paul wants us
to know that true power comes not from Duke Energy or body building or even our
own willpower, but true power resides in God and God alone.
I
shared in the newsletter this month about a movie I was given the privilege of
screening, God’s Not Dead, before it
hits the theater later this month. I
will not spoil all of the movie, but want to share with you one of the
side-stories. There is a young woman who
has no use for God or Christians at the beginning of this movie. As the movie progresses, she is diagnosed
with cancer. She feels hopeless and
powerless. She turns to her boyfriend
who suggests that their relationship is now over because her illness doesn’t
fit into his plans. Treatments don’t
work. She struggles to just move from
day to day. Yet, later, as she confronts
a group of Christians about the uselessness of their faith, especially in her
situation, and they take the time to witness to her about the presence and
power of God, she comes to believe…and in the midst of her helplessness and
powerlessness, the power of God suddenly fills her with joy and peace.
Where
are you feeling powerless today? There
is a source of power greater than any power company can bring us. For you and I, in the midst of whatever we
are facing in our lives right now, there is the power of the One who claimed
power of sin on the cross and the power of death as He raised His Son from the
dead. The power of God is there
available today, for you and I, regardless of what we are facing, God is there
to give us the strength to weather the storm.
He may not take the storm from us, but He will fill us with the Light of
Christ and His own power and strength to endure it…for the One who conquered
sin and death has the power to bring us through anything.
In
the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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