There is strength in numbers. A company, a family, a friendship, a marriage is stronger when two or more walk together, having the same mission, the same goals, the same purpose. One of the reasons why past world empires – the Greek empire, the Roman empire – were so strong is that they banded together to conquer. The same is true of the church. There are two significant power sources for the church: the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. They work together to make the church strong. Our verse today says that. In fact, the apostle Paul was always talking about this power source. One without the other makes the church weak. When I say church, I’m also talking about individual Christians since we make up the church.
Have you ever wondered why evil has grown immensely in the schools, in government, in universities, in our country? I believe it’s because the church hasn’t risen. Why? Because the church is weak. The church is often operating in their own strength, rather than the power it was meant to have. Pastors, leaders, Bible teachers believe that we should not get involved in politics. Nothing could be further from the truth. Maybe they believe that because the power source they are operating on is weak.
Many churches and denominations are strong in one of the two sources, but not both. I get it. I grew up in the Baptist church and while I’m VERY thankful for the foundation I received in the Word of God, I know that my church lacked the combination of both the Word of God AND the Holy Spirit. Others have been trained in the opposite… very strong in the Holy Spirit, but lack good theology from the Word of God. The church and Christians need both to have supernatural power. We cannot be effective witnesses, successful ministers of the gospel, or bright lights in this dark world without both the Word of God AND the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is our helper. That means that He helps us to be faithful, to understand Scripture, to be strong, and to do what God has called us to do. Without His power, we will be doing the Lord’s work in our own strength. Every time I sit down to write a lesson, to understand a passage, or to speak a message, I ask the Holy Spirit to help me. That’s all He wants… is to be acknowledged. Let me encourage you today to ask the Holy Spirit to help you. Let’s help make our Christian life be more effective by operating in the FULL power source. Hope this encourages you today.