Power Outage?

Luke 24:44-49, “And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. ⁴⁵ Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, ⁴⁶ And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: ⁴⁷ And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ And ye are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. (KJV)

I have been reminding the New River congregation of our need to recognize the importance of the presence and power of God in our lives. The Spirit began to sow these thoughts in my heart as we moved from the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus toward Pentecost Sunday. I wanted the people to realize that we needed more than just an emotional encounter with God. In my opinion the modern day church needs a true "spiritual encounter" with God. That type of encounter will bring true repentance and true transformation through the work of God in our hearts and not just in our emotions. 

Have you ever encountered a power outage in your home due to a storm or possibly your power was disconnected due to the fact that you were unable to pay your bill? Either one of those scenarios caused us to realize that there were many things that we would be unable to accomplish due to the loss of power. But there is an answer in that case as well as the case of the loss of power in our spiritual lives. We call the local utility company when the natural power source is loss and we call on heaven when the loss of spiritual power becomes evident. This message is about calling on Heaven and remembering that God does have the resources to place His power in our lives. I believe that He is just waiting on people who will tarry in His presence believing that there is a surge of power being placed in their lives. 

The literal translation of these words of Jesus found in verse 49 could be stated in this manner, ‘Sit ye still in the city . . . till ye be clothed.’ The original word used in the Bible gives us “the sense of sinking into a garment.”  I think of a fireman putting on his suit of clothes as he/she is preparing to leave the firehouse to go fight a fire.  We are in the spiritual firehouse today and we are preparing our hearts to face those “fiery trials” of life. But I am sharing these words to encourage you “sink” down into the spiritual garment that God has provided for His family to have on as we face our individual set of challenges in life.