DRAINED OF POWER?
Recently I was reading Isaiah 37 from the NIV and came across these words: “Their people, drained of power, are dismayed and put to shame. They are like plants in the field, like tender green shoots, like grass sprouting on the roof, scorched before it grows up” (v.27). The words “drained of power” stood out to me and made me realize afresh how much we Christians need to be filled with the power of God. Without God’s power in our lives we are destined to fulfil the rest of the verse, i.e. never fulfilling the purpose for which God saved us. It is no wonder, then, that Jesus taught that His disciples needed to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. One of the evidences that we are filled with the Holy Spirit is that we receive a power in our lives that is not a natural power. It is God’s power to enable us to be His true witnesses in the earth today (Acts 1:8).
We are living in days where there is so much being thrust at us that is not of God ~ most of it is very anti-God ~ and therefore we need to know that the power of God has to be working in our lives to enable us to be kept free from the “schemings of the devil” (Ephesians 6:10-20). His whole ploy against the born-again, Bible-believing, Holy Spirit-filled Christian is to “drain us of our power” so we will become ineffectual in our lives and so settle for living a natural, normal life-style. It may be acceptable, but it is powerless. We will never overcome all the obstacles that life throws at us without the power of the Holy Spirit resident within us. Remember this: Jesus never tells us to receive anything that is not necessary for us. And He strongly urged and taught His disciples that they needed to be “endued (“clothed upon”) with power from on high” (Luke 24:49).
The Book of Timothy warns us that the last days are “perilous times” and are recognized by many people “having a form of godliness but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3). Surely most of us by now should know that religious practices and traditions do not feed or satisfy the spirit. We can know the Christian teachings, go to church, do what we think is right ~ yet still be powerless. Christianity is more about Who we believe rather than what we believe. Knowing Jesus Christ in reality fills us with a love and power that we can receive no other way. It is through being filled with the Holy Spirit!
Let us, each one, see the urgency of being filled with God’s Holy Spirit, so much so that we know that His power has now taken up residency within us, and we are able to do whatever He asks of us. He has so much for us to accomplish in these days. The world desperately needs our message, but that message has to be revealed through lives who demonstrate the power of God is real and alive within us! God desires that every one of us will do His will in this hour, but it has to be done in the power of His might and enabling. Powerless Christianity only brings shame and dishonour to our Wonderful Lord Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords! He has chosen you and me to be His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:17-21) and to fulfil that high and holy calling means we need to be “endued with power from on high.” Hallelujah! That is God’s will for you and for me!
Right now, we need to ask ourselves some heart-searching questions:
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Am I filled with the Holy Spirit of God?
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How filled am I with God’s Holy Spirit?
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Do I know something of the power of the Holy Spirit in my life?
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As a Christian, what is my Number One priority?
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How committed am I to that Number One priority?
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Am I an effective Christian, or have I been “drained of power”?
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Do you know how to get that power back (if you have been drained)?
Know that it is only the will of God being done in our lives that will last throughout time and into all eternity. Listen afresh to Jesus Christ today and carry that commitment that will do whatever He asks of you. I share this way with you because my heart longs to see more and more Christians rise up in the power of God to demonstrate that “Greater is He that is within us than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). God bless you ~ Rodney W. Francis.
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses unto Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8, NKJV).
Bible Readings: The Books of Ephesians and Colossians
Please Pray This Prayer:
“Dear God, I come to You in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, and I ask You to deal with anything in my life that drains me of Your power. Help me to be very honest and sensitive to what You are saying to me, and requiring of me. I really do want to do Your will, and to be an effective, fruitful and powerful minister of Your Supernatural Gospel in my day and generation. I desire to fulfil Your vision for my life, and share Your loving heart with others! You are such a Good and Wonderful Lord to me. In Jesus' name, I pray these things. Amen."
The Gospel Faith Messenger Ministry,, New Zealand. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.