Isaiah 49:1-7, Psalm 40:1-11, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, John 1:29-42
When I first sat down to write this sermon, I had some kind of pithy comments or funny jokes to get things started. But they just didn’t seem right this time, because I feel that today’s topic is too important to be remembered by a joke. Power. We look at power in our world in many ways. Electrical power, political power, physical power. Because power is the ability to get things done, and let’s face it, there is always plenty of work to get done.
But I have noticed something. We are trying to use less power in anything we do. We are looking for efficiency. We are trying to save our energy, our strength…our power. Now, let me get things straight. I have no problem with energy conservation. We use fluorescent light bulbs and LED nightlights. Jen dries our laundry on the clothesline in the summer. In the winter, some of it she dries on drying racks in the guest room. Growing up, my parents always set their thermostat at 72. We set out furnace at 69 instead. I have no problem with using less fossil fuels, but I do it to be a good steward and to keep the church’s bills down. Perhaps if we use less energy at our house, we can do more ministry at God’s house.
But really, my purpose is not to talk about electric bills or pat myself on the shoulder for saving the church a few dollars. I want to talk about, and I want us to reflect deeply upon…God’s power. I believe that it is sorely missing in our denomination and our lives as well.
Since its founding in 1968, the United Methodist Church has been shrinking. This is certainly not news. Although the world’s population has grown by more than a billion people during this times, our membership has gotten smaller. We are an ever-shrinking church in a constantly growing world. For more than 25 years, the United Methodist Church has been wondering what to do? From the top down, there have been many ideas, plans, and decrees on what the church should do to reverse this trend.
There have been repeated calls for change. Let’s try this. Let’s do that. Over the decades, there has been so much effort but so little response. So much time, effort, and resources given, yet yielded so little growth. Plus there have been other issues. Issues that have not only affected us, but other major denominations as well.
Perhaps that is the main problem with the United Methodist Church. We have become a church defined by its issues and not by its power. Yes, there are attempts of the parent church to work some of its political power. But many times the issues supported by the parent church, do not align themselves with the beliefs of most of its people.
But that is not to say that everything in or about the church is dead. There is still a lot of life in the Church, but it is often happening in places, you might not hear much about. United Methodist congregations in Africa, South America, and China are growing. They are taking off in much the same way our North American churches did back in the 1800’s. Why? What do they have, that many of our churches seem to have lost? Power. The miraculous, healing, transforming, supernatural power that comes from God alone. The power that Isaiah knew in chapter 49:5
5 And now the LORD says-- he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD and my God has been my strength-- 6 he says: "It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth."
Isaiah had depended on the Lord’s strength to carry out his duties, and still he felt incapable of carrying out what the Lord had called on him to do. Isaiah was to lead the tribes of Israel out of their Babylonian captivity. This would be more than a task for anyone, but God has promised to always be with Isaiah. With God’s strength, there will be nothing that Isaiah will be unable to do.
Even then, Isaiah still feels inadequate. He doesn’t see what he believes to be good results. So he feels that all of his efforts are for naught. But God then tells him that Isaiah will do even greater things. Along with delivering the Israelites, Isaiah will even minister to the Gentile unbelievers. God will use Isaiah to reach the people who were considered untouchable and beyond help. Isaiah would not have to become stronger; he would need to rely even more on God’s strength than ever before.
In any day and age, this is no easy task. So often do we see…we know in our hearts what God wants us to do. He wants us to start a new Bible study, to reach out to people we love, or to minister to people we don't even know. God may be calling you, pointing you in what seems like a million different directions and telling you to go. And you know yourself. You know your abilities. You know your strengths and weaknesses. What it boils right down to…is that you have issues.
But just as the church should not be defined by its issues, you cannot be defined by yours. Your limited abilities…your limited strength…your limited powers are of little importance to God. He will give you what you need. The Apostle Paul in his letter to the church at Corinth said,
4 I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5 For in him you have been enriched in every way-- in all your speaking and in all your knowledge-- 6 because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. 7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 8 He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
Word is getting back to Paul about the church at Corinth. Although that bunch of people has its share of issues, Paul knows that God is with them. God’s grace is evident within them. What Paul has taught them about Jesus has changed their lives. Their hearts have been made anew in Christ, and thus their way of speaking and acting have changed as well.
And though their gifts and graces are apparent, there are still questions in their hearts. How long can they do this? How long can they keep up the faith as they await Christ’s return? Paul assures them that they will make it. Paul assures them that the power that God has given them in their faith will sustain them in their lives and ministries together. Christ will keep you strong to the end. In his strength, you will not fall back but move forward to the day of Christ’s return. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
You see, we all have our issues. We all have our concerns. But do we define our issues, or do our issues define us? We cannot be held back by our issues. We must not let our worries and fears slow us down. We must take hold of the power which God has given to us through his Word and his Holy Spirit. But even then I know that it is easier said than done.
I think that there are three or four kinds of people…three or four ways of thinking when it comes to God’s power. There are people, unwilling to accept that God is powerful. To them, the only power is human power. I am the master of my life and destiny. Some people are unwilling to accept that God is powerful and has made his power available to us through his Son, Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit. God is up there and I am down here. I know that God loves me, but he has left us here to fend for ourselves.
There are people who know that God is real. They know his power for their lives is infinite, but they are afraid. They are unwilling to yield that power. They are unwilling to trust what that power can do. They are afraid of what God might ask of them. They are afraid of where God might lead them, or the sacrifices he might ask them to make.
Finally, there are those who yield to God’s power. They may have their doubts, and they may have their questions from time to time. However, they are willing to take that chance, and they are willing to go out on that limb for God. Because wherever it is that God leads them, he will give them the strength to see them through. He will give them the power to do things greater than they would ask of themselves.
The United Methodist Church needs to regain this. We need to stop being a church defined by issues and once again be a church empowered by the God of power. But it will not happen until we become PEOPLE empowered by him. I know you have you issues, each and every one of you. That’s OK…I have my issues too. But we cannot let our issues stop us in our tracks.
I know that this may sound strange, but this is a problem for me too. I have issues of adequacy. I don’t feel gifted, talented, or able enough to be a pastor…to be your pastor. And I see God at work in you, and I feel unworthy. God could not possibly use me to glorify him. God could not possibly use me to draw people to him. But I see that he does. I have learned that I usually serve him best, when I try to serve him least. When I get out of his way, and let him work…when I stop depending on my abilities and lean fully on his strength…that is when I see God’s power moving. Trust him to give you that same power.
Three things I’ve learned in my life as a Christians. Don’t depend on your own wisdom. Don’t count on your own plans. Don’t use any other power, than God’s power. Be empowered by God to make you a new person and grow your faith. Be empowered by Him to give you abilities to serve and to empower you for service.
(Commissioning new leaders)
For those of you who were sitting down, you might be thinking that you got off easy. Oh no…not a chance. These people were commissioned to carry out specific ministries of the church. You. You have your own ministries to uphold. Whether in the church or out…whether to friends and family or to complete strangers…you have a ministry. Just as the Lord has called you to the church, he has called you to service and ministry. Just as he has called you, he has given you His Spirit, his gifts, and his power.
John Wesley once said, “The world is my parish.” The entire world is our mission field. You are the people, the tools, the ministries through which God will work to spread his good news across the earth. Because the world is our parish, the Lord is our power. Do not rely on your own, or else you will fail.
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