Iron Man - The Power Core Series

OPEN: (Video from the first Iron Man movie of Anthony Stark having his assistant Pepper Potts replace his power core. Begins with Stark contacting Potts asking “How big are your hands” and ends with Stark thanking her for her help)

What you just saw was Iron Man’s assistant replacing his power core or Arc Reactor. According to the legend, this reactor is the source of his power as a superhero. At one point in the movie, the hero informs us that this power core/arc reactor is capable of generating 3 gigajoules (gigawatts) of energy. That’s roughly the amount of power that 3 large nuclear reactors can create, and in movie that power is wrapped up in a piece of metal the size of a tennis ball.

Most everyone in the REAL world admits that’s not even remotely possible. There’s no way anything that small could generate that much power.

But – hey – Iron Man is a comic book character.

He’s not supposed to be bound by the laws of physics.

That’s why he’s a superhero and we’re not!

But in the Bible we’re told that (as Christians) we have an advantage that Iron Man didn’t have. We actually do have a power core inside of us and that power core is far more powerful than any nuclear power plant.

Romans 8:11 tells us “… the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you,

he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you”

The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives inside of YOU who are Christians.

Imagine the amount of energy that would be required to raise someone from the dead.

That energy, that power is inside your heart.

There isn’t a nuclear power plant on face of the earth could hope to create that much power

And it’s all, right there, inside of you.

Now, that wasn’t always how God did things.

In the Old Testament it appears that God rarely placed His Spirit INSIDE of people. Bezalel (Exodus 35:30ff) the architect of the Tabernacle was one of these. But ordinarily, when God imparted His Spirit to the Old Testament saints, the Scriptures speak of the Spirit coming UPON them.

* In Judges we’re told “…the Spirit of the LORD came UPON Gideon, and he blew a trumpet… and summoned Israel together to challenge the Midianites” Judges 6:34

* In Judges 14 “…The Spirit of the LORD came UPON (Samson) in power so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat...” Judges 14:6

* 1st Samuel tells us “Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed (David) in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came UPON David in power...” 1Samuel 16:13

Again and again (thru-out the Old Testament) God’s Spirit came UPON certain people to give them power. Even then, God’s Spirit only came upon select individuals for specific purposes for God’s Spirit to come upon anyone. And while that Spirit did come upon several Old Testament people, it was rare for the Spirit of God to be INSIDE someone during the Old Testament times.

However, all that changed when Jesus came.

In John 14:16-17 Jesus promised “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be IN you.”

This was going to be different that how the Spirit had interacted with God’s people up until this time.

John 7:38-39 tells us that Jesus declared “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time THE SPIRIT HAD NOT BEEN GIVEN, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”

You see, in the Old Testament God’s Spirit only came upon certain select individuals. Judges, Prophets, Kings and such. But in the New Testament God’s Spirit was to be INSIDE each and every Christian.

In 1Corinthians 3:16 Paul told us Christians:

“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives IN you?”

Like the power core in Iron Man – the Spirit of God is always inside the Christian. He’s always there to give us His power. His energy.

SO, what exactly does God’s Spirit do for us?

If the Holy Spirit is our POWER source from God… what kind of power does He give me?

1st God’s Spirit gives us the power to deal our broken lives.