Preached October 12, 2008, Grace Family Church of Americus
For I am not ashamed of the gospel,
for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith." (Romans 1:16-17, ESV)
The Gospel is power of God….but let us ask ourselves the question……what is this the power of God to do? How is it made known? I mean, if such a powerful force is necessary to redeem a soul, then where is it in the world that we can go and look and see such a display of the majesty and the power of God?
When the nuclear bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, there was ample evidence that it had released its power. It burned shadows of man into concrete, incinerating the men and leaving their shadows on the wall. Everything in its path was utterly destroyed.
The tornado that ripped through our town last year left no doubt of its terrible power, destroying buildings and trees and tossing cars like matchboxes and snapping trees like toothpicks. Nobody woke up the next morning and went to work to a normal day. EVERYTHING was different, because of this awesome power.
Hurricanes hit the coast and devastation is not hard to find. But look into the pews and pulpits of the American congregation, and you will be hard pressed to find such a demonstration of this power which is infinitely greater than any atom bomb, tornado or hurricane can every be. My dear friends, if we glue our eyes to the TV to see the power of a hurricane or tonado or nuclear bomb, then HOW MUCH MORE should we glue our eyes and hearts to see such an immensely greater power at work in the human heart? And where is that evidence in the church today? More importantly, where is that evidence in your own life today????
So what is an illustration that I can give that can possibly communicate this truth of a power so great that it is known and realized that something radical has happened in the life of the one who has been gripped with it?
The power of a $3 extension cord.
Last night, as I was sitting at the desk, my two sons Logan and Levi were playing together in the floor. Now, all of the sudden, I hear Levi screaming in terror. Not knowing what he was screaming about, I jumped out of my chair and saw him sitting there, screaming. I thought maybe he had a bug or something biting him. He screamed "It's freezing me, it's freezing me!" Now, where this lamp is, there is no power outlet. So we have this $3 brown extension cord running to the lamp. Somehow, it apparently, unbeknownst to me, got under the rocking chair, which shattered the housing of the plug, exposing the wires. What was freezing my 3-year old son was the surge of electricity through his body. He had grabbed the exposed wires, and his body had become part of the circuit of electricity. Realizing this, as I stood over him for a split second, knew that he could not turn loose of it. It had him, and would not let him go, and he could not let it go. So instead of reaching down to grab him, as my first instinct was, I used my leg to kick him away from the wires. He was not hurt, only except for a couple of burns on his fingers.
This mighty power of electricity, when encountered by men, will not let the man go, and the man cannot let it go. He may will to do so, but he cannot. When a person is gripped in electrocution, his total thoughts are focused on that which has gripped him. The electricity, because of its nature, will not let go.
The power of the Gospel takes a similar form, although there can be no one to come by and kick you off of it. THIS IS THE POWER OF GOD…..You are gripped by it through a power that will not let you go, and by that same power, you cannot let it go.
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