I like bushes. Bushes look so nice. Do you have some around your yard? But secretly I hate the bushes around my house. I don’t mind them around everybody else's yard. It seems like every time I look at our bushes they have grown 28 or 38 inches more. And we can hardly see out the windows. And they quickly overgrow, and then about that time my wife says, “Husband, I think maybe that the bushes possibly could need trimming a little.” So I go and douse myself with mosquito lotion, and I get out the tarp. You know, you have to use tarps to catch those millions of clippings that are going to come and ruin the mulch. And I get a long handled rake and I shake the bushes to see if those wasps have moved back in, like they usually do. And then I cover the ground with the tarp, and then with my long power cord and my electric trimmer in my hand, I begin.
Well, the last time I made a bad mistake. I went out to do this and I grabbed a green extension cord. Now usually I use orange. You should always use orange. Or bright yellow. The green color camouflaged the cord and since Murphy lives at my house, Murphy's Law kicked in and suddenly I had cut my own cord. All was quiet. The bushes were probably relieved that the power was off, but I was embarrassed. I am an adult man, supposedly intelligent and here I stood looking at the cut end of that power cord. My connection to power had been severed. Quickly I looked around to see if anybody was looking. Nobody was. Whew! I was so glad. It would be so embarrassing. Finally, I got another cord and finished the job. Later I got this brilliant idea. I said to my wife, “You know, sweetheart. I’ve noticed around Collegedale, that the bigger the bushes are in front of the house, the older the house looks. And the house looks smaller because the bushes are so big.” And she said, “You know, I think you’re right. Maybe we should take those bushes out of there.” Well I want to tell you that those bushes are now happily resting in the land fill. I am not an unhappy camper.
Murphy’s Law works in your spiritual life. Does Murphy work at your house? Does he live there occasionally? Well you my say, “yeah, I hit my thumb and I did this and did that.” Does Murphy work in your spiritual life? Well, I think Murphy is very much alive and well. Anything that can happen that’s bad will happen. Anything that can cut off your connection with God’s power will cut it off. And sooner or later, your connection with God will be cut. And then you’ll have to work and get it all fixed up again, or whatever. It’s a lot of work. You at several times in your life will experience a power failure. A good Christian life is totally dependent on the power of God. Would you agree with that? You can’t live a spiritual life without the power of God. I can’t trim those forsythia bushes without electric power. Oh well, unless I go at it this way. I need power in my life. I really do.
On Wednesday, October 11, 1994 NASA’s space explorer called Magellan went silent. It had circled Venus more than 15,000 times successfully, always transmitting data back to the United States, back to NASA. But on that day NASA radioed the satellite and purposefully changed its orbit and crashed it into the planet. Why would they do that? The spacecraft cost more than 900 million dollars. That’s a lot of money. It was working perfectly. All the functions were working. Why would they do that? Why destroy it? The answer is, it was out of power. The batteries were right down to almost zero. They just had enough electricity to radio it to self-destruct. And without power that 900 million dollar wonder of technology had become absolutely worthless.
And let me suggest to you that without spiritual power you are worthless. You can’t do anything good. Without Jesus. Is it possible for a fine Christian, a wonder of spiritual of technology, to run out of spiritual power? It is! It happens. Absolutely. And where does our power as Christians come from?
Well, I get a lot of strength from reading the Adventist Review. It’s called now The Adventist World. I think we can all get a lot of strength from listening to a good sermon. I would hope so. Prayer meeting empowers us. And prayer is an amazing, exceedingly strong help. It’ll start your engines. I’ve had so many answers to prayer in my life, you’ve had answers to prayer. Prayer works. Prayer is a wonderful, wonderful help.
But the number one source of power in the Christian life is the Bible. Scriptures. I would like for you to take your Bible and open it now to Matthew chapter 22. I was reading my Bible this morning as I do every day. Matthew 22, and look at verse 29. Matthew 22:29. “Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing,” what? “Not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.” So here, He is equating the scriptures with the power of God. You find that in the Bible, the Scriptures, this is the power of God. That’s what it is. Jesus equates knowing the Bible with the power of God. Now is the power of God actually in the words of this Bible? Of your Bible? Is it? Well look at John chapter six. Come over here to John, the sixth chapter, and you may want to even underline this in your Bible. John six verse 63. And here Jesus is speaking again. Now Jesus ought to know. He says in John 6:63, “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are” what? “life.” The power is in the words. In these words right here. In the words of your Bible is the power of God. That’s where it is. That’s why I don’t dare start a day without this. I want to be empowered as a Christian. The power is actually in the words of Scripture. The secret of strength, in other words for the Christian, the number one secret, is for you to plug in to the power of the Bible. And how often do you need to do that? You need to do that every day. In your personal devotions you need to plug in to the Bible. You may say, “well, I read the Guidepost, or I read this.” You need to plug into the Bible. These are the words of Jesus. And if you stop this daily habit you will soon run out of power. How many of you put your cell phone on the charger every night? You ought to. Is it going to work if you don’t keep it charged? How often do you have to keep it charged? Every day. How often do you have to keep yourself connected? Every day! Every day. Otherwise you run out. You run out.
I enjoy watching the Tournament of Roses parade, the Rose Bowl, at Pasadena, California. That parade is so pretty. And one New Years Day a beautiful float that was going by suddenly stopped. And the engine that was down underneath, in the third basement of these floats, there is some power source, I know that. They don’t just float along. There is an engine down in there, because some of these floats are pretty heavy. And it stopped. And the engine underneath had run out of gas. Now can you imagine something like that happening? Running out of gas. And the amazing thing is that this float was the Standard Oil Company float. With its vast reserves of oil, its own truck was out of gas. That’s incomprehensible. We are God’s own children, right? We’re floating along, and when we stop, it’s incomprehensible that that should happen. We ought to be full of fuel. And what’s the reason that we run out? Because we don’t fuel up. That float ran out of gas because nobody put the gas in the tank. You’ve got to put the gas in your tank or you will soon stop. You’ve got to fill up on the scriptures or you will soon run out. Such a shame. Don’t run out of power. The Bible says that Christians are clothed with power. Luke chapter 24, verse 49. And what a shame it is for a Christian to run out of gas. Don’t run out of power.
Now I must confess that I like power. I grew up as a boy beside the railroad tracks of the Pennsylvania railroad system in Hartford City, Indiana, and those huge locomotives would come through about every hour. And every chance I got I would run over to the railroad track and just feel the power. I mean the ground was shaking. It was just the most awesome thing that came through town. I enjoyed it. And I must confess I like going to engine shows. I like to see the tractors pulling and plowing, and the engines sawing the saw-mills and sawing that wood. I like that. I like power!
Mechanical power is a joy but I must also admit that I am after more power than that. Every day I search for the ultimate power. I don’t search for that in drugs, or muscles, or music. I search for that in Jesus. The ultimate power is in Jesus Christ. That’s where it’s at. If you’re searching somewhere else, you’re not going to find it. I don’t want to just stand beside some gigantic engine and feel the ground shake. I want that power on the inside of me. Does that make sense? I want to have that power. I want it to be my power.
Now I hold in my hand here a heavy, almost one pound, solid brass key. This key is the key to a 2000 horsepower diesel locomotive. It’s real. It’s solid. And somebody gave it to me. I doubt if too many church members have these types of keys on your key-ring. I could go downtown, plug this into a locomotive and take off. I have the key. What is the key to spiritual power? What is it? Is this real power available to you? Now this power is not available to you. If I were to take advantage of this key, I would probably be in jail. Is real power available to you? Yes it is.
Fortunately the wonderful power is not in the hands of a miserly tightwad. The wonderful power that you can have, God is willing to share with you. And not just any power. He’s willing to share His personal, phenomenal power with you. Now here’s the promise of power. Come over here to the scripture reading that we read today. I want you to look at second Peter chapter one. This is one of my very favorite verses in the whole Bible. This is an awesome verse. Second Peter one, verse three. Mark this in your Bible. “His divine power.” Not just any divine power. “His divine power has given us everything.” How do we get it? You can’t buy it. It’s given to you. How much? “Everything that we need for life and godliness through,” what? Here’s how you get it. “Through our knowledge of Him.” How do you get knowledge of Him? Right here. This is how you get it. In the Bible. “Through our knowledge of Him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these,” through these verses, through these words, “He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature.” You’re going to get the divine nature. How? Through the words of the Bible. And you’re going to “escape the corruption that is in the world that is caused by evil desires.” You’re going to conquer your evil desires through the words of this Book. This is the key.
The word power appears over 150 times in the New Testament. God is willing to give you real power. The conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer. “For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever, amen.” He has the power and He is willing to share that power with you. God’s power never runs out. It’s sort of like perpetual motion, perpetual power lasting forever. The power is yours! “Thine” is the power. We have title to it now. Today that power is ours. So often when somebody remembers you in their will it’s after you have already struggled, you’ve already paid for your cars and your house and you get it as a add on. But God says that the power is ours today, right now, right when we need it. The power is available to us, and it comes at the time we need it. It comes now. You can have it right now.
Several of our church family went down to help out after Hurricane Katrina. And thousands of people call that an “act of God”. Let me tell you. May I suggest that when you want to kick the cat and you don’t, it’s an act of God. When you want to yell at your wife and you don’t that’s an act of God. An act of God is a display of power, divine power in your life.
A little boy was out playing in the sandbox with a few little tractors and some plastic horses and toys. And he built a tunnel. And as he was playing there he discovered a rock. A large rock there in the middle of his sandbox. He didn’t want the rock there. He didn’t know how it got there. So he dug around it with his little red shovel and finally got the rock out and rolled if with all of his strength over to the edge of the sandbox. But he could not roll it up and over the edge.
Determined, he pushed and he shoved and finally he began to cry. His chubby little fingers were just not strong enough to do the job. And his father had been watching from the window, and suddenly there was a shadow over the sandbox. His father came and stood there behind him. He said “Son, why didn’t you use all the strength you had?” And the boy sobbed and he said, “I did daddy!” His daddy said, “Actually you didn’t.... you didn’t ask me. My strength is your strength.” And with that he reached down, picked up the rock and removed it.
Do you have rocks in your life? Hard places that you can’t seem to do anything with? And you’ve tried and tried? You can’t do it on your own power. You’ve got to have spiritual power. You’ve got to have God’s power. And you can have God’s power. And God will simply just remove that from your life if you ask Him in faith, and you believe with all your heart. He will give you that power. He’s willing to give us His mighty power. Actually, you have all the power of God at your disposal. Philippians chapter four, verse 13 says, “I can do,” I can do how many things? “all things through Him Who gives me the strength.” We have His power. Romans chapter one and verse 16, “the gospel of Christ ... is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” If you believe in Jesus Christ today, you have God’s power today. Use it. Connect to it. Many Christians are powerless. They’re unplugged. You’ve got to plug into it. Don’t just stand there with your cords cut. Plug in. Get connected.
The key to power; here is how to get plugged in:
Number one, believe in Jesus. And let me back that up with a scripture. Ephesians chapter one, in your Bible. Ephesians one and verse 19. “How tremendous is the power available to us who believe in God.” If you believe in God you’ve got His power. It’s tremendous.
Number two, receive Jesus. And this is in John chapter one. John one, verse two. And you could probably quote this. In John one verse two it says this, “as many as received Him, to them He gave power.” Receive Jesus, that’s point number two.
Number one, believe in Jesus, number two receive Jesus.
Number three, know Jesus. Where do we get that? Get acquainted with Jesus. That’s found there in second Peter one verse three which we read. “His divine power has given us everything we need in life and godliness through,” now here’s the key, “through our knowledge of him.“ You’ve got to know Him. And how do you get that knowledge? You get that right here. In your Bible. Read your Bible. The secret of power is personal communion with God.
And then point number four. Not only believe in God, receive Jesus, know Jesus, but have the Holy Spirit in your life. The Holy Spirit wants to come into your life. Acts chapter one, verse eight, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” And Zechariah four, verse six, “So he said unto me, this is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, 'Not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit,' sayeth the Lord Almighty.”
When you have God’s power, you connect with God’s Kingdom. First Corinthians chapter four, verse 20. “For the Kingdom of God is not just fancy talk; it is living by God's power.” That’s what it means to be in God’s kingdom. You have power to eventually break free from the Devil’s anchors, the Devil’s anchors are heavy like lead weights. They weight you down, they drag you down. You can break free from that. And He gives it to us, it’s free of all charge. John one, verse 12. “To as many as received Him, to them He gave power to become,” power to become “the sons of God.”
Second Peter one, verse three, “His divine power has given us everything we need.”
So abide in Him. Stay plugged in. Check your connections. Somebody came to the McDonald Road church not long ago, and after second church was over, everybody was leaving and they couldn’t get their car started. They turned the key and all they would hear was a clicking sound. You know what the problem was, don’t you? A loose connection. A corroded connection. Had all that battery acid, and it just got corroded. Had to clean it up, reconnect, and then it was ready to go.
It has been my experience that when you use something a lot, it doesn’t get corroded. Like a brass key. Does brass tarnish? Oh, yes it does. But if you use it everyday. It’s like some of the door knobs in the church. If you use them all the time, or in your house, if they’re solid brass, they’re going to be shiny because you’re using that thing all the time. Go around and look at the door knobs on the back of the house. They’re not near as shiny. If you use it, you’re going to avoid the corrosion. Use it! Use it! Stay plugged in.
Every day, check your spiritual connection. Are you connected with the source of power? Do you read, do you study your Bible? Did you do it today? Did you do it yesterday? Did you do it the day before? It’s my observation that the more you use the Bible, the stronger you will become.
One of the greatest displays of power happened on Resurrection Morning. Yesterday, we had a funeral. Laura Winkler, one of our members, died. We had a grave-side service. She was buried on Good Friday. Jesus was buried on Good Friday. And I said, “You know, here we are on Good Friday, and Jesus was resurrected, and I think she will be resurrected.” An awesome display of power we had 2000 years ago. I was reading it this morning, and I must confess to you, I read the experience in Luke of Jesus and His resurrection and the disciples on the road to Emmaus. And I must confess to you that I had tears in my eyes. I cannot read that story without tears in my eyes. It is so moving. What my Saviour did for me.
So, on this Easter weekend, I would like for you to remember what Jesus did for you. We call it Good Friday. It was good for us. It was terribly painful for Him. Jesus rested in the tomb on the Holy Sabbath day. From sundown Friday to sundown Saturday evening He rested, in the tomb. Then early on Sunday morning, they came and the tomb was empty. Early on Sunday morning, something began to move inside of Jesus’ dead body. I don’t know what it was. The dead cells came to life. The circuits joined each other again. Everything came back. In an awesome display of power, Jesus resurrected Himself. First Corinthians 15, verse 26, He came back from death, and “The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” And Jesus destroyed it right there. Jesus ultimate power destroyed the ultimate enemy, which is death. And Jesus displayed the fullness of His awesome power by resurrecting Himself. You may say, “Well, I don’t know if He did it Himself.” Well, look at John in your Bible. John, chapter 10, you can read this. These are Jesus’ own words. John 10, verse 17, “I lay down my life, that I may take it again.” Verse 18, “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. And I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it again.” He was completely dead, and yet, He resurrected Himself with His own power.
There’s no parallel to what Jesus did. If my microwave oven dies; you ever have something die like that in your house? If the sparks fly and it just goes dead and it won’t come back, and you set it out on the trash, wouldn’t it be interesting to see the next day, that thing is out there working. It’s not going to happen. Once it dies, it’s dead. I guarantee you that it won’t repair itself sitting out there on the trash pile. It won’t come back to life. But Jesus did! In fact, they had buried Him, down under the ground. But by His own power He took His life back again and resurrected Himself. He was in the tomb. It was darkened by a huge stone and sealed with the Roman seal. Jesus could have blasted that rock into a million grains of sand but He allowed the Angel to come and roll it away. And then Jesus walked out on His own steam, on His own power.
And what Jesus did on Easter weekend is the key to eternal life for each human being. It’s your key to eternal life. Jesus broke the chains of death for you. And Jesus has all power. Matthew 28, verse 18, “Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.”
Today you can have Jesus’ power in your life. When Jesus went back to Heaven, Jesus left a full supply of power right here on this world. He left it for you, He left it for me. And where is that power? Where do we find it? Well, I hold in my hand a solid, heavy, two pound key to power. Not like this key. This key. Eternal power. This is the key. But you’ve got to plug into it.
That power is right here in the words of this book. The words that I speak unto you, they are life. That’s awesome. You can read Jesus’ words this afternoon. You can read them tomorrow morning and the next morning and the next morning. You want to saturate yourself with the words of Jesus. I think they’re in every page. Every page. Don’t let the Devil cut your green power cord. Don’t let Murphy and Murphy’s law keep you away from the Bible. You don’t have to have a dead Spiritual life. Don’t camouflage your spiritual life. Make it bright orange, or yellow, or whatever. Keep it going. Get attached to Jesus. Give your heart to Jesus.
I’m going to make an appeal to you this morning. And I’m going to ask you to stand if you want to give your life completely, you may have done this before. Maybe somebody here has never done that. But I’m going to ask everybody to respond. If you want to give your life to Jesus Christ, or re-give your life to Jesus Christ, would you just simply stand to your feet at this time, please. If you want to give your life to Jesus, please stand to your feet. And I’m going to pray for you.
Hymn of Praise: #20, O Praise Ye The Lord Scripture: 2 Peter 1:3-4 Hymn of Response: #290, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
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McDonald Road Sermon transcribed by Steve Foster 4/16/07