God is not a power source that can be misappropriated …

There are a lot of professing Christians who assign “power” to several sources other than God Himself.

For example, we often hear “there is power in prayer.” That statement fosters the idea that the act of praying is, itself, a source of power that generates an outcome when applied. But that isn’t true. The One to whom we pray is all powerful, and the outcome of our prayer is what God decides will be His response to our conversation with Him (remember, prayer is simply the act of talking to God!).

We often hear “there is power in the cross,” as if a piece of wood shaped as a cross independently contains a source of power. Not true. It is the One who offered His life upon a cross as a living sacrifice for our sins who has the power over sin and death – the wooden cross, itself, has no “power.”

One Christian leader posted today a comment that there is “power in humility,” as if we can appropriate and “activate” some source of power simply by exercising humility.

Some who profess to be Christians speak of many things as being “powerful” without ever once attaching God to such things as the true source of power! Many even speak of appropriating power from the Holy Spirit, as if “power” can be taken from the Holy Spirit for ourselves, and then wielded by us as we wish.

Not true.

Don’t laugh at that last idea, it’s an old one professing Christians still stumble over today. We first see an example of it in the New Testament, in Acts 8, in a story about “Simon the sorcerer” …

“A man named Simon had been a sorcerer there for many years, amazing the people of Samaria and claiming to be someone great. Everyone, from the least to the greatest, often spoke of him as “the Great One — the Power of God.” They listened closely to him because for a long time he had astounded them with his magic. But now the people believed Philip’s message of Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. As a result, many men and women were baptized. Then Simon himself believed and was baptized. He began following Philip wherever he went, and he was amazed by the signs and great miracles Philip performed. When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God’s message, they sent Peter and John there. As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw that the Spirit was given when the apostles laid their hands on people, he offered them money to buy this power. ‘Let me have this power, too,’ he exclaimed, ‘so that when I lay my hands on people, they will receive the Holy Spirit!” Acts 8:9-19.

Simon had always been dazzled with the idea of having power and displaying it in entertaining and personally profitable ways. He was foolishly intoxicated with the idea of being a source of power.

So are many of us.

God may grant to us limits of power (e.g., 2 Timothy 1:7), but it does not come from us; we are weak, broken, sinful people with no power of our own. God is the original, limitless, sovereign, and eternal source of power upon which all creation depends.

I am convinced there has been deep and widespread misunderstanding AND mis-teaching within the church regarding the issues of both power and weakness that has serious negative impact on the church as a whole, and in the lives of many Christians, and especially among many church leaders. The best exploration of this power/weakness issue that I’ve seen is the topic of a book by Jamin and Goggin and Kyle Strobel titled, “The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb,” which is my top reading recommendation for Christians in general, and church leaders in particular. I strongly recommend you purchase the book to delve deeper into this issue of power (you can read my original review of this book by clicking here).

Some respond that people saying there’s “power in prayer,” “power in the cross,” etc., is just an issue of semantics, but I don’t think so. I believe there are many who would be happy (even prefer) to snatch up power and bypass God. Too many are looking for power for living, and power for pleasure, than the all-powerful God who loves us so much He gave His one and only Son to save us and reconcile us to Himself. It’s the power they’re after, not the Powerful One!

In Simon’s case, Peter rebuked him and called him to repentance:

“But Peter replied, ‘May your money be destroyed with you for thinking God’s gift can be bought! You can have no part in this, for your heart is not right with God. Repent of your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive your evil thoughts, for I can see that you are full of bitter jealousy and are held captive by sin,’” Acts 8:20-23.

Many today need to hear the same rebuke and need to repent over the same kind of evil thoughts. How about you? Are you hungry for power, or desire a right relationship with the all-powerful One?

Scotty