Here I Am Lord, Use ME!

Continuing my thoughts from the past few blogs…if the world sees us (the church) as nothing more than a powerless assembly, that is good people doing good things for God, we have failed miserably. The Lion’s Club is good people doing good things…the Rotarians are good people doing good things…4-H is good people doing good things…at times each of these good organizations might even invoke the name of God in their good works! Is that what the church is to be? I don’t think so. Jesus promised us power, God delivered the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, and the Church was born…not as a powerless assembly struggling to survive in a worried world, but as an army, well equipped to battle against the principalities and powers of dark. At that moment (Pentecost) we were given the authority and credibility to boldly act in Jesus’ name to make disciples and expand the Kingdom…before Pentecost that was Jesus’ job. We, like Peter, should shout, “Look at us!” (Acts 3:4) As we do, the world should see in us the Holy Spirit flexing its muscle. There should not be a spirit of fear or anxiety; rather our eyes should be fixed on the prize as we boldly proclaim the name of Jesus. If we do, it leads us back to Acts 3:10 where we find everyone “absolutely astounded!” Are you worried yet? Don’t be, unless you are trying to act in your strength instead of the power of the Spirit. You can’t do it…doesn’t matter how big or small your church is…how good a person you are or how good your works are. We can only become the Church when God is in us because only the Spirit can do God-sized things thru us (Philippians 4:13). My prayer is that God would find us usable for the transformation of the world into the Kingdom.