The power we need most

The power we need most - Greg Laurie - http://www.wnd.com/2016/05/the-power-we-need-most/

 

Pastor Greg Laurie discusses that first bite of a Krispy Kreme doughnut

 

We like power. And it seems like we never have enough of it. Get a group of guys together, throw a car into the mix, and it won't be long until the subject of horsepower comes up. How much horsepower does that car have? How fast will it go?

 

Throughout history, it has been all about the acquiring of power. First it was manpower. Then there was steam power. Then there was nuclear power. But what we seem to lack most is willpower. It seems as though humanity can harness the powers of the universe, but we can't control ourselves.

 

Some people say they find it hard to be a Christian. But I don't think it's hard to be a Christian; I think it's impossible - without God's power in my life. If I try to live the Christian life in self-effort and my own strength, I will fail miserably.

 

We all have been given a choice in life. We have a God who loves us and has a plan for us. Or, we can choose our own way. And we each decide for ourselves which of these two ways we will go.

 

Many times when people are young, they think they are indestructible. They think they are the one exception to the rule. And despite all the lives that have been ruined by drugs or drinking or other things, they still get chewed up and spit out by the same things that destroyed the lives of those who have gone before them.

 

Have you ever wondered why people try to hand you samples at the mall? I'm sorry to break this news, but it isn't because they love you. It's because they want your money. Marketers know that if they can give us one little taste, we will want more. For example, just sample one complimentary, hot, glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut, and the party is over. It is hard to eat just one. You have that little taste, and off you go.

 

The same is true in life. You have your first experiment with something, and you want more, more, more. Maybe it's that first drink or that first hit off a joint or that first act of sexual promiscuity. You find out it is actually kind of exciting. It is actually kind of fun.

 

The Bible even acknowledges there is a pleasure in sin for a time. It happens at the front end. There is the excitement. There is the rush. There is the buzz. But then come the repercussions. Then come the long-term effects. Then come the results of that choice. And they are not pretty. They are miserable, in fact.

 

The Bible tells the story of a sad, tormented man who lived in a graveyard and had no one to help him. But Jesus was determined to reach this man. And as Christ was crossing the Sea of Galilee to the country of the Gadarenes, where this man was, a big storm came up. At one point, the storm became so violent that Jesus spoke to it and said, "Peace, be still!" (Mark 4:39 NKJV).

 

Jesus was determined to get to this man who needed him. He would not be stopped. And he will not be stopped in his pursuit of someone he loves. Jesus told the story of a shepherd who had 100 sheep, and one went astray. So did the shepherd say, "Oh well. Win a few, lose a few"? No, the shepherd left the 99 and went after the one sheep until he found it and, rejoicing, brought it back.

 

Have you ever lost something you love? You just got your new sunglasses - really nice ones. And, of course, you lose them. You can't lose that junky pair with scratches all over the lens. It was the good pair you just bought. So what do you do? You search and you search until you find them.

 

That is how God is toward us. In his search for us, failure is not an option. He won't give up.

 

Jesus knew that in the country of the Gadarenes, there was a sad, tormented man who had no help. He went to meet with that man to touch him and to transform his life. And what the culture could not do, Jesus did with one sentence. He cast out the demons who were possessing the man and sent them into a herd of pigs. Then the pigs proceeded to run themselves over the side of a cliff.

 

This man who once hung out in a cemetery was totally transformed. In fact, his transformation was so dramatic that he didn't even look like the same person. So how did people react? Mark's Gospel tells us, "And the crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave them alone" (Mark 5:17 NLT).

 

I would have expected Mark to tell us, "The whole city came out to meet Jesus and fell on their knees and asked him to forgive them, too." Or, "The whole city came out to meet Jesus and worshiped him for the transformation in this man's life." But instead, the whole city came out and begged Jesus to go away.

 

Why did they want him to go away? Because Jesus was bad for business. There was no more bringing home the bacon for them. So they wanted Jesus to leave.

 

And that is really the choice we have in life. We ask Jesus to either come in or go away. But if whatever it is we are doing is so bad that we don't want Jesus to be a part of it, then we shouldn't be doing it.

 

You see, our society has no answers. With all of our achievements and technology, we still can't change the human heart. Only God has the power to do that.