We Walk By Faith Part 6
Scriptures: Acts 1:8; John 14:16-17; 16:13; Philippians 4:13; Matthew 6:33
Introduction:
To date in this series I have shared with you what faith is; how we all have faith in the natural; how we have some faith spiritually; and how faith comes. This morning I want to elaborate on the source that fuels our faith and that source is the Holy Spirit. As Christians we often judge the strength of our faith based on the qualities that lies within us. If we pray enough, our faith will grow. If I believe hard enough with my eyes closed tightly, my faith will grow. If I have enough faith I can do the impossible. In each of these examples our faith is based on something pertinent to us – the individual. This morning I want us to see that we have a power source that if we can believe our power source will enable us to accomplish much for the kingdom of God. When we tie our faith to the power of the Holy Spirit our faith is backed up, not by our limitations, but by the limitless power of the Holy Spirit. Before I go any further, I want to share this story with you as a reference point. Some of you have heard this story before but I want to use it as an example of what can happen when we focus on things we can see with our eyes versus what we can see through the help of the Holy Spirit. As a reminder, in 2 Corinthians 5:7 Paul makes the following declaration: “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” So here is one of my stories.
Twenty-two years ago as I was preparing for a life outside of the armed forces, I began searching for a job. My wife’s boss at the time suggested that I go into pharmaceutical sales based on my background as a medic in the Air Force. I was resistant to the idea because of the word “sales”. Eventually I began looking into it and decided that it would be a good fit for me (after I realized that it was not commissioned sales). The first company that interviewed me was J&J. I was very impressed with the company but they did not offer me the job because I did not have any sales experience. Eventually I did get a job offer with another large pharmaceutical company (Wyeth). After working for Wyeth for three years another positioned can open with J&J. This time they came looking for me and I knew I was in the dominant negotiations position because I did not have to leave Wyeth and if they wanted me they would have to pay me. (By the way, even though I was working for Wyeth, I still had my eye on J&J as the company I wanted to work for.) So through all of the negotiations, they finally made me a job offer. They offered me $100 less than what I was currently making at the time and I was livid. I was so disappointed that I was going to turn the offer down. I sat down with Nikki and we talked about it and she reminded me that it was not about the money as I had always wanted to work for them since my first interview with them 3 years before. I took Nikki’s advice and placed our finances in God’s hands. I sat my pride aside and I took the lower salary. Ten years later in 2002 God told me to start this Church. What most of you do not know is that if I had not taken the job with J&J, I probably would not be standing here today and each of you would be somewhere else. Even though I could not seek it, God knew. He knew where He wanted me but if I had chosen to walk by my sight I would have turned that job down and waited for more money. In this message I want you to consider your source for your faith. I will use electricity as our point of reference.
I. Power Source
Jesus told the disciples the following in Acts 1:8: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” When the Holy Spirit was given, the disciples received power. They received power to accomplish what Jesus had commanded them to do. This power (in the form of the Holy Spirit) enabled their faith to expand because their belief gave the Holy Spirit the release to act in their life. Their belief tapped into the power source of the Holy Spirit and they were able to accomplish some things. Remember, faith is an unquestioning belief. When you know that the Holy Spirit has your back, you will walk with a certain amount of confidence because you do not doubt that your power source is empowering you. (I will explain this more shortly). Turn to John the fourteenth chapter. I want you to see what our power source will do when we plug into it. Let’s start reading at verse sixteen. “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever. That is the Holy Spirit of truth, who the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16-17)
Jesus said that He was going to send the disciples (and us) another Helper, the Holy Spirit. Notice the reason He said the world could not receive the Holy Spirit. He said the world could not receive Him because they cannot see Him and will not know Him. Remember, we walk by faith and not by sight. The world walks by sight and not by faith. Jump over to John the sixteenth chapter and let’s read verse thirteen. It says “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” (John 16:13) Notice what the Spirit will do. He will guide us into all truth. Someone is lying to you; the Spirit will guide you into all truth. You’re unsure as to what to do about a situation; the Holy spirit will guide you into all truth. Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit is interacting with us He is not telling us things of His own accord, but what He is hearing. In other words, besides empowering us to achieve what God has told us to do, the Holy Spirit is relaying information from on high to us. Doesn’t that give you chills knowing that you are receiving direction from God through the Holy Spirit?
So, let me recap this so we can move on to the good stuff. The Holy Spirit was sent here to help us. He is our power source. When we walk in faith, we are able to do so not under our own power, but through the belief that there is a power beyond us that is able to help us do whatever it is that needs to be done. The power of the Holy Spirit will flow through us if we belief and allow Him to operate in our lives. We have been taught that great men and women of faith did outstanding things because of their great faith; that it was something special about the individual who were accomplishing these things. Well let me tell you the secret. They were able to accomplish these things because they understood the power that was empowering them and they did not doubt that power. To walk in this power, we must stop trying to walk with our own understanding (our sight).
Let me give you an example of what I am talking about. I will not get to all of my examples today, but I wanted to leave you with this example so you have something to chew on this week.
II. The Electrical Fan
I just shared with you that the Holy Spirit is our power source. Jesus said that He will empower us as He guides us into all truth. That empowerment allows us to do what the average person will not. Because the world walks by sight, it will never plug into the power source of the Holy Spirit. That power source abides within us constantly. To illustrate this, I want to use this electrical fan. There are no dark secrets as to how this fan works. The first thing we recognize is that it has a cord running out of it. What do we call this cord? We call it a “power cord” because it is through this cord that the fan receives power. We also notice that there are some buttons on this fan. These buttons allow us to determine how much “Power” this fan will receive based on what we want it to do. If we only need a little air, we turn the fan on low. If we need a lot of air, we turn the fan on high. We control how much power is flowing through this fan. Are we all in agreement on this?
So let me ask you a question. True or false: “In order for this fan to work it must be plugged into a power source?” If you answered “true” then you are correct. This fan needs a power source. I can stand here and push all of these buttons and they will do nothing until the fan receives power. I can push them as hard as I want, but without power, the blades will not turn and I will receive no air. Second question, True or False: “It makes a difference as to what power source you plug the fan into?” The answer is true. If you took this fan to other countries, you’d probably need some type of adapter in order to get it connected to a power source. So we understand that for this fan to work it must be plugged into a power source and it must be the right power source.
Where is the main power source for this fan? If you think the power source is this plug, you’d be wrong. The main power source is located miles from here in a place that is actually generating the electricity. By the way, how many sources are used to generate electricity in the U.S.? There are several. 49.8% of our electricity comes from burning coal; 19.9% nuclear; 17.9% natural gas and the rest are from other sources. I share this with you because when we think of electricity, we think of the meter on the outside of the building and these big power lines that allows the current to flow through. Those currents have a starting point which is the plant or facility that actually uses the resources to generate the electrical current that flows through all of these power lines. So the main power source is not the outlet, but where the electricity is actually generated from.
Let me get back to the fan. This fan cannot operate itself. This fan cannot place itself in any room it chooses. This fan cannot decide which way it wants to turn and how hard it must work. This fan cannot turn itself on or off. When this fan get’s dirty, it cannot clean itself. In order for this fan to operate, it requires that an outside force get it to the proper location; it requires that an outside force get it plugged into a power source; it requires that an outside force to push the button to turn it on or off. Without that outside force, the fan would just sit there. When that fan is on the shelf waiting to be purchased, it thinks it knows what it can do based on how it was tested before it left the manufacturer. However, it will not know for sure until it has the opportunity to prove itself. Well guess what, we are the same!
We are the fan! We need to understand that we are the fan. Without God we go through a whole lifetime doing nothing for no one. God is the one that places us where He wants us. God is the one that plugs us into His power source – the Holy Spirit. God is the one that directs us. God is the one that keeps us clean and functioning. Without God we just exist in this world doing very little good for mankind. Before we entered into a relationship with God all we did was sit on a shelf waiting. We did not do much for Him. We did not proactively try to identify what it was that He had for our lives. That is not to say that we did not help out the needy or care about others, but we did not consciously devote time to understanding what God desired for us to do with our lives. We made our own decisions based on what we though were better for us. I thought about me and I focused on me. Once I entered into a relationship with God, it ceased to be about me, but about Him. If I am truly the fan, and I believe that I am, God should be able to control my life. The things that I do for Him are being powered by the power He has placed within me through His Holy Spirit. I can do nothing of my own accord for Him if I am truly yielding to serve Him and be used by Him. My faith ceases to be about what I know in and of myself as it relates to my gifts and talents and what I know I can do. My faith now shifts to the unknown because I truly believe that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13) The term “all things” does not just mean those things you can naturally do based on your learning. It does not just mean those things you’re trying to do when others are fighting against you. It mean every single things that God wants you to do even if you’ve never been trained on it, seen it, done it, experienced it, felt it, wished it, and everything in between. It means that whatever God wants you to do you can get it done. You plug into His power source and you will be able to do all things.
Now let me take you back to my story from my time and J&J. I went through some difficult times there and often wondered if I was where God wanted me. Several times I tried and tried to leave for “greener pastures”. I cannot tell you the number of jobs I applied for, prayed about and “almost” got, but the doors were always closed before an offer was extended. Through those seven and a half years at J&J, I learned what it meant to walk by faith and not by sight. Through everything I was going through all I knew was that I had to trust God. When my managers were giving me a hard time and I so wanted to leave all I knew was to trust God. But here is the good part – I realized later that every time I was trying to leave I was actually stepping outside of His will for me because He was leading me here. This is where my road through J&J was taking me. In the summer of 1998, I flew into Kansas City for a meeting with my director who was based here in Overland Park. While I was driving to the city from the airport, God spoke to me and “You will live here one day.” I thought I had to have misheard because we had just moved to St. Louis and I was happy with my new position at J&J. One year later we were living here in Kansas. There are two things I want you to consider from my personal story as I am sure you have stories of your own to reflect on. The first is my initial response to their offer (my disappointment and anger) and the second is what God did through that company that allowed me to be standing here right now. If I had allowed my emotions and what I could see to dictate my actions, I would not be here today. I had someone who told me to think about what I was contemplating because this could still be God moving. Oftentimes we see God moving when it is something good and favorable. This was not favorable to me. Through this situation I learned to trust God for my job.
Before I close this morning I want to talk to our young people. Today is youth Sunday. Youth Sunday is the fourth Sunday of every month and we do this to equip and prepare you to take on a leadership role in the Church. So many times you are told that you are the Church of tomorrow, but that is not true. You’re a vital part of the Church of today. Your faith can be just as strong as your parents if you choose to believe. Sometimes we look at our parents and think that we cannot exceed their faith, but I want you to know that you have the potential to exceed all of our faith. I was in my twenties when I actually began learning about how to walk in faith. You have a head start. Do not compare what God will do in your life with what He is trying to get accomplished in your parent’s lives. You are unique to Him and He has something special planned for you. As you go through your week this week, I want you to meditate on this verse from Matthew 6:33. It says “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Seek God first and when you do this, He will ensure that the things you need you will have.
Next week we will continue with this series and look at some household appliances that resemble our faith. Until next week, may God bless and keep you is my prayer.
