Pastor
Erik Reed spoke Sunday on the incomparably glorious power of JESUS. He stated, “Encountering JESUS’ power exposes
the condition of your heart.”
I
desperately desire the power of JESUS in my life, but, to be honest, I never
desire to be exposed. Women spend hours
preventing exposure. We choose clothing
that does not expose our body flaws. We
use make-up so that skin blemishes and wrinkles and our age will not be
exposed. We clean and conceal so that
the true condition of our house will not be exposed. And then, we overhaul our husbands and
children so that they, and our inadequacies as wives and mothers, will not be
exposed.
Then
Pastor Erik spoke tenderly to my fear of exposure, “Jesus’ power is not to make
your life safe but to make you His.”
Somehow
for me as a woman belonging to someone
trumps everything - even my fear of exposure.
And to be reminded that my Creator - the Lord of the universe, the only
one who has laid down His life for me at my worst – desires to make me
His.
During
our response time after Pastor Erik’s sermon, I thought back to a season when I
desperately cried out and sought JESUS’ power.
Someone I knew, loved, and trusted despised me, rejected me, broke my
heart and my body, and abandoned me. As
I evaluated the fallout in my life and in the lives of others, I began to view
myself as a victim.
One
night as I begged God for His power to change the circumstances and to deal
with this person who threatened to destroy my life, God revealed to me the
condition of my heart. “Let him who is without sin among you be the
first to throw a stone.” (John 8:7)
I
put down my accusatory finger and
confessed my fear and despair and
changed my prayer. I began to pray, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me
and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me
in the way everlasting” (Ps. 139:23, 24). And JESUS’ power came
through. He exposed my problem, my sin,
and walked me through a thorough cleansing. Exposed and naked in my sin before a holy God,
I was broken. But He put His
righteousness upon me and covered my nakedness and He made something beautiful
out of the ash heap of my past.
That
was fifteen years ago. But today, fall
2014, I find myself at another crossroads that makes my past seem like a walk
in the park. As I cry for the power of
JESUS, I know there is a cost – everything, exposure, even heart surgery by the
Great Physician. So my prayer today is, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me
and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me
in the way everlasting. Father, silence
the enemy Satan who whispers lies and threatens me with despair. Teach me to trust You and be more Yours
because of this trial. Reveal the sins
that keep me from intimacy with You. And
may my hurting mother’s heart better understand the Abba heart of God. May I be fully satisfied in the incomparably
glorious JESUS. Give me JESUS!”
The Power of Jesus sermon by Erik Reed
The Power of Jesus sermon by Erik Reed
