Be Like Jesus- Empowered by the Spirit
Pastor Ryan Binkley
5 minute read
Some people misinterpret the goal of being a Christian and end up living a fairly boring life.
I want to guide you far from that.
If you have ever thought that Christianity was boring, you can’t blame that on Jesus because His life was anything but boring. You must blame it on us as Christians.
If we are not careful, we can fall into the routine of a Christian life. I have been caught in the monotony of doing ‘church life’, telling my kids to live right, trying to be a good husband, good father, make a living, love people and read my bible. But slowly…
I started to feel stuck.
So, what happened? I got used to living a life without the daily empowerment of Christ. We need God’s voice and power in our everyday life… or it can become boring.
And just maybe, if you were honest with yourself, you would say that there is more to the Christian life than what you are experiencing today. If that is you, then I want to invite you to a Jesus-empowered life.
I think of it like this: there were 12 people out on the boat caught in a storm, but only Peter stepped out in faith to walk on the waves.
The calling of our Church is to launch people into their created destiny. The Creator has called you to live a crazy life. Miracles. Faith. Waves. Storms. Purpose.
How do we access the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives?
1. You must recognize authority
I went to the movies with Ellie, and I thought I dropped my phone in the seat between us, so I reached deep in the seat and pulled out a policeman’s badge. Oh, it was an amazing feeling of power. When we pulled in the driveway, I flashed it to Ellie and said, “Pardon me ma’am, I need to see some identification.” She said, “You need to give that back tonight.”
So, I called the police station to give it back to the real authority. As with that badge, I’m believing for you that God is restoring that which is lost. Let’s discover how to get authority back!
2. You must follow authority
Allow me to introduce the disciple, Peter. More than anyone else in scripture, he learned that when you follow authority you have to do some things that make no sense.
- Peter had to put his net down on the other side of the boat.
- Peter had to step out on the waves.
- Peter had to pull a gold coin out of a fish’s mouth to pay taxes.
- Peter had to sheath his sword in the face of violence.
- Peter had to preach about the promised Holy Spirit.
God wants to make you like Peter.
Peter started off as a doubting fisherman who didn’t want Jesus to go to the cross, but Jesus turned him into a man who could walk on water. He performed miracles and preached the Gospel, which led many to Christ. Peter had the highest honor of Jesus calling him “the rock on which I will build my church.”
3. You must access authority
Like Peter, there’s someone who experienced the truth about accessing authority – King David. What was unique about David? He sought the heart of the Lord. He knew the power of being God’s Anointed. David was known as a man after God’s own heart. When David had an opportunity to strike at the unjust king Saul while he lay defenseless in a cave, David refrained from doing so because he recognized that Saul still had access to the authority as king.
4. You must receive authority
Jesus was under authority and walked in authority. Jesus lived out His earthly life under the authority of his mother, Mary, and father, Joseph. Think about that. Jesus, who robbed death, hell, and the grave, listened to his mother’s authority. Jesus, who lived fully as we do, received authority from on high to bring heaven to earth. He’s asking us to do the same.
Jesus has given us authority to access Heaven’s resources.
Jesus has given us authority over the power of the enemy.
Jesus has given us the authority to preach the Kingdom of God and make disciples.
So, my question to you today: does that sound boring?