Sunday, August 7 The power is IN you

I am involved in a new domestic and sexual violence movement on Flagler College’s campus. The idea is so simple and it is so resourceful that it is a piece of cake to teach. We are putting all of the power in the hands of the bystander. We teach the whole thing thru the lense of a bystander. We are teaching people to do something that no one has to do something huge, but everyone has to do something. The whole premise is about breaking down barriers, knowing your comfort levels and your strengths. It’s about knowing there is ALWAYS an option. We teach them the three D’s to be direct, to distract or to delegate. It’s about everyone playing a small role in changing the culture. How on earth have they put together something and made it so simple and so resourceful? It’s simple, they are meeting needs with the correct attitude. It’s an attitude that when you see someone being harmed you have a job to do, because if it was someone you loved one of your children or grandchildren you would step in and do something. Well, as Christians we are called to be involved in the spread of the Gospel. We have barriers and we have weaknesses but Timidity shouldn’t be one of them. That is why Paul wants to encourage the timid, because it shouldn’t be that way and he is more direct with Timothy in his second letter to him. Encourage the timid – remind people who are a little reserved and less likely to speak out of God’s promises. Teach the timid that we were not wired that way, we weren’t put together that way, and help them. Don’t yell at them or put them down, encourage them along the way until they are ready to get plugged in. 2 Timothy 1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline. First let’s address what Paul says to Timothy here about being timid. He says God did not give us a spirit of timidity. In other words you were not put together that way and come to think of it, the moment you accepted Christ and received the Holy Spirit you were now empowered with everything you will ever need to serve God in every capacity. Then, he says not only that you have three characteristics as a Christian to combat timidity. 1. Spirit of power - Think of power, the word power and it’s meaning. I grew up loving to watch wrestling. I liked Hulk Hogan and Jimmy superfly snuka, Macho Man Randy Savage and the list goes on and on. Sure the wrestling was entertaining but the real thing drawing me to it was the size and the power of those guys. They were almost super human. I watch the world’s strongest man sometimes on tv and I am in complete amazement as they accomplish feats that are mind blowing. Those guys do things that we cannot even relate to, but we watch in astonishment because it’s amazing. I obviously grew up in a drag racing house, I have been going to the drag strip since I was born. I love being at the track, the sounds, the feeling and the scenes are some of my absolute favorites. While I will admit I don’t race for the speed or the feeling of the power I do it for the competition. But horsepower is a cool thing, most any human being can sit behind the wheel of a car with more horsepower than they have ever felt and immediately they will smile and be blown away. Power, we all have a different picture that pops up but for all of us it is usually something we don’t have. I won’t ever be on WWE Raw, I won’t ever be on the world’s strongest man. But, I know the creator of all things on a personal basis and He has put inside of me a spirit. His Holy Spirit which is full of power and strength and there will never be a day that I don’t have the power to overcome the things the world puts in my path, never ever a day. But, I have to call on that strength. I shared with a young man during a training with chaplains a few weeks ago. I shared with him that to me there are two types of believers in Christ. Those who pray for no storms and smooth sailing, and those who pray for the strength and the ability to get thru life’s storms. It’s that second group that impacts the world for Christ. Each morning we need to call on God’s Spirit dwelling inside of us to empower us to face the day, it’s trials and it’s ups and it’s downs. Then it is up to us to walk in confidence thru the day, confidence that the power of God is living inside of us and we can take on anything life throws our way. 2. Spirit of love - You want to talk about power? What about the power of love? Love can be the driving force behind so many things. When we are in love we are blind to so many things. We overlook flaws, we overlook pitfalls and we many times leap blindly. These things we do for a love of a fallible human being. Yet, before we jump for God, before we leap we walk out and toe the line carefully and slowly. We want to know every detail, we want to know as much as we can and we slowly piece it all together and get our ducks in a row. Then we step out like this(crawl slowly across and hug the plank). 3. Spirit of self-discipline – What are we talking about with self discipline is the work that goes on behind the scenes. It is empowering to serve God, to love like Jesus but it takes work. But it’s work that is rewarding. I read my Bible each morning and I pray each morning and the more I do it the more I want to do it. I preach on Sundays and Wednesday nights and the more I do those things the more I want to do them. I started out a journey in April wanting to lose weight by my 40th birthday. I didn’t want to start my 40’s overweight so I started out dieting. I cut out carbs and started losing weight but eventually it wasn’t moving along fast enough so I started running on an elliptical machine, finally I added a workout to it. It became almost an addiction, I wanted to do something every day that led me to lose weight because it was a good feeling. But, it still wasn’t nearly the fulfilling I get from growing in Christ. Gary Player, one of the most successful international golfers of all time, lost count of how many times someone said to him, “I’d give anything if I could hit a golf ball like you.” After one particularly grueling day on the links, Player couldn’t resist correcting the person, “No, you wouldn’t. You’d give anything to hit a golf ball like me, if it were easy.” Player then listed the things one would have to do in order to achieve his level of play: “You’ve got to get up at five o’clock in the morning, go out and hit a thousand golf balls, walk up to the club house to put a bandage on your hand where it started bleeding, then go and hit another thousand golf balls. That’s what it takes to hit a golf ball like me.” God places within every believer strength and power. It isn’t just the ability to speak, it’s the ability to get involved boldly in the spread of the Gospel. It’s the self discipline to prepare for those moments of boldness each day. Close out with illustration of balance beam. Stand on the beam and say that this is how we feel when we are speaking out for God. Then lay down flat and hold on tightly to the beam and tell them that is what we really look like to God. Just like the gymnasts that we see in the Olympics doing amazing things on the beam, they started out clutching it and crawling across it. God wants more and can do so much more thru us as soon as we acknowledge that all of the power we need is inside of us already.