Batteries Included

Did you ever open a Christmas or Birthday present only to read on the box, “Batteries not included”? The gift was so cool that you wanted to play with it right then and there, but you had to wait until your parents bought batteries at the store? And who knows when they would remember to do that! What a disappointment! Without batteries to give the toy its power, it was just a piece of useless plastic taking up space in your toy box or on your shelf. What a bummer!

Did you know that when Jesus ascended into heaven and called his disciples to continue carrying out his work, he did not leave them without any “batteries”? In fact, Jesus made it very clear that they would be given a supernatural power to fulfill their calling to spread the Gospel. “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” Acts 1:8.

This very power, the Holy Spirit, was not only given to the disciples to carry out the Great Commission, but even today, is given to all those who put their trust in Christ. So as believers we can be confident that God has not left us to complete his will and navigate the peaks and valleys of this earthly life on our own. As John 14:17 states, the Spirit actually “dwells” with us and is in us. I don’t think we could be more closely connected to any source of power than this! What an intimate relationship!

-Unsure of how you are going to continue living after a tragedy rocks your world? The Holy Spirit will give you the power to keep pressing on. “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” Romans 15:13.

-Unsure of how you are going to witness to your lost friend? The Holy Spirit will give you the power to proclaim the gospel. “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me” John 15:26.

-Unsure of how you will remember Scripture when witnessing to an unbeliever? The Holy Spirit will give you the power of recall. “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I have said to you” John 14:26.

-Unsure of how you will show Christ’s love to someone who has persecuted you? The Holy Spirit will give you the power to remain calm and to speak God’s truth in love. “But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given to you in that hour, speak that, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit” Mark 13:11.

-Unsure of how you can break the stronghold a particular sin has on your life? The Holy Spirit will give you the power to be obedient to the will of God and to develop self-control. “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another so that you do not do the things that you wish” Galatians 5:16,17.

Isn’t it exciting that when we make the decision to trust in Christ as our Lord and Savior, we do not have to wait to receive his power? We can access the power of the Holy Spirit as soon as we say yes to Jesus! This time, batteries are included!