IT IS AN EXPERIENCE THAT I AM FAIRLY FAMILIAR WITH NOW.
As the traffic light turns green at the corner of The Ponds Boulevard and Stanhope Parkway, there is frequently a Subaru WRX or Commodore SS V8 behind me that pulls out and roars past me up the hill. I feel the urge to floor my accelerator and try to keep in the lead, but I don’t want to waste my fuel and… Think about it: A Honda Civic versus a Subaru WRX? We all know who will end up in front!
What about your church? Do you ever get frustrated, thinking about how slow and ineffective your church is? Do you feel that your church gets more entangled with heatedly discussing how many times the bell should be rung to make sure that Sabbath School classes finish on time while it has almost no effective engagement with the community? Consider this incredible thought: “Enfeebled and defective as it may appear, the church is the one object upon which God bestows in a special sense His supreme regard. It is the theater of His grace, in which He delights to reveal His power to transform hearts.” AA p12
The Church. The theatre of His grace? The place where God reveals His power to transform hearts? Doesn’t that stir the deepest, most powerful emotions in your own heart? Don’t you want to jump up and say, “God, I know I am not very good but… empower me to play a part in Your drama of salvation! Work a miracle and transform our church into Your theater of grace!”?
That’s the miracle that Jesus accomplished with a motley crew of Galilean fishermen, tax collectors and a terrorist. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,” Jesus promised them, and they took His promise seriously. The Bible records that, for ten whole days, they devoted themselves to praying together. The result? That’s the story for tomorrow…!
The fact is that Jesus’ offer and promise is just as available and accessible today as it was in 31 AD. “There is no limit to the usefulness of one who, putting self aside, makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit upon his heart and lives a life wholly consecrated to God. All who consecrate body, soul, and spirit to His service will be constantly receiving a new endowment of physical, mental, and spiritual power. The inexhaustible supplies of heaven are at their command. Christ gives them the breath of His own Spirit, the life of His own life… To everyone who offers himself to the Lord for service, withholding nothing, is given power for the attainment of measureless results.” MH pp159,160
You have a chance to do this today. Don’t hold back anything in your life! You also can join Adventist disciples from all around Sydney on 27-30 June 2016 for the Mission to Sydney Week of Spiritual Emphasis. Stay tuned…
Unlimited power to transform hearts is available—all you have to do is ask!
The book of Acts is drenched with the Holy Spirit. Reading it is like taking time to play out in the tropical rain. Read the full stories for today in:
Acts 1 ESV
Acts of the Apostles “God’s Purpose for His Church”
Invite your friends to join this journey with you!
