Turn on the Power

FAITH ADVENTURE  "Turn on the Power" audio podcast by award-winning western author Stephen Bly. Sponsored by BlyBooks.com Legacy Series. 
1) "Got Spiritual Power?" blog post article found here:   https://www.blybooks.com/2024/01/spiritual-power/
2) "A Pastor's Prayer for Power" blog post article here:  https://www.blybooks.com/2024/01/prayer-for-power/
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Transcript

TURN ON THE POWER 

2 Kings 5:8-14 NASB 

“And it happened when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent word to the king, saying, ‘Why have you torn your clothes? Now let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.’ So Naaman came with his horses and his chariots, and stood at the doorway of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, ‘Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you and you shall be clean.’ But Naaman was furious and went away and said, ‘Behold, I thought, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and cure the leper.’ Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascu8s, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?’ So he turned and went away in a rage. Then his servants came near and spoke to him and said, ‘My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?’ So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.” 

Mark 5:35-43 NASB 

“While He was still speaking, they came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, ‘Your daughter has died; why trouble the Teacher anymore?’ But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, ‘Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.’ And He allowed no one to follow Him, except Peter and James and John, the brother of James. And they came to the house of the synagogue official; and He beheld a commotion, and people loudly weeping and wailing. And entering in, He said to them, ‘Why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died but is asleep.’ And they began laughing at Him. But putting them all out, He took along the child’s father and mother and His own companions, and entered the room where the child was. And taking the child by the hand, He said to her, ‘Talitha kum!’ (which translated means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise!’). And immediately the girl rose and began to walk; for she was twelve years old. And immediately they were completely astounded. And He gave them strict orders that no one should know about this; and He said that something should be given to her to eat.”  

Father in Heaven, I do pray that we can be responsive to Your words, that You can speak to us, Lord, and we receive Your word and be changed. I pray in Jesus Name, Amen. 

If your spiritual life was a battery, how much power would it contain? If we got a line into your spiritual lifer on both the positive and the negative of that spiritual battery and tied it all into the lights of the city of Fillmore, California and pulled the switch, would you light up the whole town?  

If your spiritual life was in a battery, could we put it in a tape recorder, would it cause that song playing to go faster and faster? Or would your spiritual power slowly wear down? How much power would you have? 

I don’t think God wants us to have a flat, boring, dull, listless life. And I think the only thing that stands in our way to having a vital spiritual life is to remove some roadblocks. Expose our faith. Let Jesus lead. And respond to His Word. Nurture it. Reveal it to others and give it time to do its work as we expect great things. We need to let it affect every area of our life. Mark 5 shows us we need to turn on the power.  

Jesus’ life was characterized by power.  

In the wilderness He confronted Satan and He had power over the devil. Jesus came back and preached a message and people said, “We’ve never heard anyone speak with such authority,” because He preached with power. The sick were healed, the blind see, the lame walk because He ministered with power. Even demons were confronted because He spoke with authority and power.  

He had power over sin. He was tempted in all matters like we are but He knew no sin because He had power. He had power over life and death, whether it was the son of the widow, or the brother of Mary and Martha, or the synagogue official Jairus’s daughter in Mark 5.  

How much power do you and I have? God wants us to have spiritual power but sometimes we’re hesitant to receive it. We’re hesitant because power means change in our routine. If I have spiritual power I might have to do something different, some might say. Power might mean new responsibility or opportunity. 

Everyone Seeks

We’re all seeking for something. The whole world is full of seekers. Christians need to seek out and hunger for spiritual power. The Bible uses a lot of words for ‘to seek.’ The Old Testament Hebrew words indicate to seek out, to strive after, to beg for, to diligently care for. One word means to painstakingly search for early in the morning.  

Sometimes we crave after, demand, and seek diligently things that bring no power in our lives. That’s not just worldly things. Some misguided believers seek tranquility, life without a ripple. We want all the answers. That’s why we read the Scriptures. We want an answer to every problem. We don’t want any conflict or anxiety or anything to go wrong. And Jesus comes along and says, “But in this world you have tribulation.” 

Sometimes we seek superiority. We study and worship because we want to know God so we’ll know a little bit more than anyone else. A spiritual one-upmanship. And Jesus says, “If anyone wants to be first, he should be last and a servant of all.”  

Meanwhile, we seek longevity. How many of us have heard someone advanced in years who said, “I’ve lived a good life.” And that’s what we want. And Jesus says, “Whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it and whoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel shall save it.” 

Longevity, superiority, and tranquility are power robbers. But there are some things in life we should be seeking. The Scriptures are clear. From the Book of Genesis to the Book of Revelation, God tells us things we should be seeking. We should seek the Lord. We should seek His strength. We should seek His face continually. We should seek after all the commandments of the Lord. We should seek to dwell in the Lord’s house forever. We should seek His peace, wisdom, and justice, as well as righteousness and humility and immortality and knowledge and love.  

The Bible tells us we should seek the things from above and Christ’s best interest. We should seek to be justified in the Lord and to abundantly instruct His church. We should seek our neighbor’s good and God’s glory and His kingdom and righteousness. We should seek instruction from Him and seek the welfare of the city into which God has sent us. We should seek the good of Jerusalem. We should seek a permanent spiritual home.  

We should also seek spiritual power. How are we going to do that?  

Mark 5:7, “And crying out with a loud voice, he said, ‘What do I have to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment Me!’ 

Jesus is confronted by a man possessed with a demon called Legion who comes running to Jesus. He knows exactly who Jesus is and he knows his own self. We certainly see here Jesus’ power over all these demons. And I think if we’re going to have spiritual power, we must seek it with an honest view of ourselves.  

Legion sought Jesus with an honest view of himself. Only those who know they are spiritually powerless can really get ahold of God’s power.  

Spiritual Power Self-Inventory 

First, take an inventory of your own spiritual power, say in the last five months. How many people have been led to the Lord directly by your conversation or raised up from sick beds? Or how many broken relationships have been restored? How many sinners have been convicted by your words? How many times have you stood against the evils of hate and seen them destroyed?  

Now, because any of us are powerless doesn’t mean we’re worthless or unscriptural or incapable of doing some spiritual good. But we have to seek the Lord with an honest view of ourselves and admit we’re powerless. 

“Lord, I am powerless.” Say it and admit it.  

Don’t Count the Cost 

Second, we can seek spiritual power with no regard for what it will cost.  

Mark 5:17, “And they began to entreat Him to depart from their region.” 

They are the people of the city who had known this man Legion, had heard his screams among the tombs and now could proclaim what Jesus had done in his life. Those people wanted Jesus to leave even though they witnessed firsthand the power of God. It cost too much. They lost a herd of swine. If Jesus stayed around longer, who knows what they would lose? 

Spiritual power might cost a lot of time. Twenty-four hours in prayer? It might cost you dreams? What? Set my own dreams aside?  

Giving It Up

Third, most of all, spiritual power will cost you some sin. What’s your favorite sin? We all have at least one. We coddle it, hold onto it like a grown man hugging his childhood teddy bear, we hang on. And you know for a fact, “If I got rid of that I’d probably have more spiritual power. But I don’t want to.” If you want more spiritual power, you really can’t do it anymore.  

Fourth, disregard what others will think. 

Mark 5:22, “And one of the synagogue officials named Jairus came up, and upon seeing Him, fell at his feet.”  

This scene so amazing because Jairus was such a prominent religious leader, a synagogue official. Everyone knew he was religious and holy and right with God. And how humbling for Jairus to come running up to this traveling prophet from Nazareth and drop to his feet. All the common people might have thought, My old Jairus is a backslider. Look at him. We thought he was such a religious person but now he needs help from this Jesus. 

Shy Faith 

The biggest drawback to seeking God and His spiritual power will be concern that others might think a) you’re not sincere but faking it or b) you’re trying to be some Holy Joe kind of person. So, you hold back.  

But what we have to do is to learn to come to the Lord’s house and worship Him, to grow in knowledge of Him as we hear the Word. Then be ready to come to the conclusion of how to respond when we’ve been challenged and there seems to be no one in the church but us and the Lord. After a dramatic presentation of God’s Word, what would you do if you’re all alone with the Lord?  

Suddenly, you might find that you’re giving yourself to Him. You might sit in the pew an extra hour, even in tears, or on your knees in prayer. If you don’t respond this way, it’s probably because you’re worried about what other people think. 

Brave, Boastful Paul 

Paul knew who he was and was not, and he wasn’t too proud to let others know. In 1 Timothy 1:15 he proclaims, “I am the chief sinner” and in 1 Corinthians 15:9, “I am the least of the apostles, who am not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”  And Ephesians 3:8, he considered himself “the very least of all saints” and in Romans 7:18, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.”  

Paul even bragged about his weaknesses in 2 Corinthians 12:9 after some people doubted Paul’s authority, that he didn’t have all that much power because he was sick himself with a thorn in his flesh. But Paul explains, I have this so “that the power of Christ may dwell in me.” 

Best Way to Seek Power 

Fifth, seek spiritual power with a desperate heart.  

Mark 5:28, “For she thought, ‘If I just touch His garments, I shall get well.”” 

This is one of Jesus’ most familiar miracles. The woman had a hemorrhage for twelve years. Desperate, she tried everything. She heard about Christ, how He healed the sick. She thought to herself, if only I can get through the crowd, be strong enough to make it close to Him to touch His garment. She sought His spiritual power with a desperate heart. 

How About You? 

How bad do you want spiritual power in your life? Or are you just seeking it in order to gain tranquility, superiority, or longevity? If you can get along without spiritual power, you probably will. Perhaps spiritual power to you is merely frosting on your spiritual cake. Or is it a necessity? 

Sixth, spiritual power comes when we believe enough even when we don’t see any immediate results. 

Mark 5:35,36 “While He was sill speaking, they came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, ‘Your daughter has died; why trouble the Teacher anymore?’ But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, ‘Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.’” 

We need to seek spiritual power while believing. On Ascension Thursday celebrates when Christ ascended into heaven, marking 40 days after His resurrection and Passover. Ten days after that we designate Pentecost, the day the Holy Spirit came in power on the Apostles.  

Now, during that ten-day period of time between when Jesus rose up before them into heaven and the Holy Spirit came with power, the Apostles were told to go back into Jerusalem and wait. That waiting must have been difficult. Why didn’t He just reach through the clouds as He rose up and grant them that power right then?  

Ten days may not seem like a long time unless you’re just sitting around in a room, hour after hour, day after day, waiting for how long and for who knows what? And while they waited they could consider their own unworthiness, that they didn’t really deserve any power from God. He certainly didn’t need to listen to any demands from them. They didn’t say, “Lord, we did 1, 2, and 3, now you have to give us your power.” 

During the waiting time, it’s good to ponder what it’s like not to have any spiritual power. I don’t think it’s any secret. We need spiritual power to get our spiritual lives going. And we must seek it with an honest view of ourselves, with no regard for what it will cost or for what others think. We must seek spiritual power with a desperate heart and keep believing, no matter what we see.  

It's not a sin to discover that your spiritual life is stuck in neutral, but you shouldn’t leave it there.  

A Pastor’s Prayer for Power 

“Father in heaven, I come before You just as I am, and I know it doesn’t come as a big shock, but I need Your power. You know I’m Your child and have accepted Jesus as my Savior. I love You, Lord. I have received Your Holy Spirit and tasted the goodness of Your gifts. I have committed my life to Your service, and I enjoy Your working in my life. But in spite of all of that, I’m powerless. 

I agonized for months with a feuding couple and they’re still getting a divorce. I’ve counseled those with great resentment, and they stay bitter. The angry are still angry and the sensual are still full of lust. The skeptic has not been converted yet. And the unforgiving haven’t started to forgive. The backslidden are still sliding. And the depressed are still down, no matter what I’ve said. The weak are barely surviving. Lord, you’ve been with me in my study as I’ve poured over the text. You’ve excited my spirit, propelled me into the pulpit as I’ve listened to the silence of empty pews. Father, I’m powerless. 

I need Your power. This church needs Your power and so does this town. I want You to know I’ll pay the price, even if it takes laboring eighty hours a week, or writing not one more article or book, or getting rid of our house by the lake. I’ll pay the price. I want it, Lord. 

I want the spiritual power to do Your work, to see the dramatic results in the lives of these people. I can’t be satisfied with anything else. I want to see every husband whose wife is here alone today to come to know You, to be at church, to see them rejoice in Your presence. I want to see people of all ages excited about their faith. May the church walls vibrate when we sing praise to You. 

Lord, I’ve shared my heart in public and I’m afraid. Have I exposed myself too deeply? Give those who hear mercy to accept, to believe in Your power, for I’ve seen it before. I thank You now for the great joy that will be ours when the power begins to flow. Lord, not just in my life, but in the lives of all these others around me. And Father, may the glory all be Yours, in Jesus Name, Amen.”

Pastor Stephen Bly

Circa 1980s