This past Sunday morning, the skies were gray and cloudy.  As I finished my message in our late worship service, the thunder roared and all electric power left our building for just a brief moment.  As the electric power left the building, the noise of our sound system make a loud popping sound that startled everyone.  All the things that we have come to take for granted as a part of our worship experience such of reinforced sound, the projected images on the screen behind me all quickly disappeared.

It was obvious to everyone there as the room became dark, the sound of my voice seemed more distant and the pictures on the screen went black that the power was no longer there.  We could go on, but it was not the same.

As I reflect upon that moment in our worship time last Sunday and the impact the loss of electric power had on our worship service, I know that there are times that our worship services experience another type of power outage and I fear that some never even realize it.  The power outage that I refer to is the power of God's Holy Spirit. 

Could a church grow in numbers, be faithful in declaring biblical truth, have a busy schedule of activities for all ages and experience a power outage?  Could a church operate without drawing about the power of the Holy Spirit?  I think it happens far more than we realize or would even what to consider.  I know that some of you have battery operated devices that you use in your homes and in the course of everyday life.  It's amazing how wonderful they work when the batteries are fresh or freshly recharged.  But when the batteries in those devices become weak they become useless to the user. 

We have several wireless microphones that have become a very important piece of equipment we use in our weekly worship services.  No matter how nice they are and cool they look, if the batteries are not charged, they have nothing to offer.  I have a wireless mouse and keyboard for my computer at my desk.  I can tell when the batteries are growing weak because they no longer cooperate with what work I am trying to get accomplished. 

Maybe that is something that we ought to consider!  If we would all be honest, we would admit that there are times we have tried to do kingdom work on low or no power? 

What I mean by that is that we haven't taken time to recharge ourselves spiritually. 

How many including pastors, elders, small group leaders, greeters, musicians, singers and the folks who come to worship read/study the Bible for themselves between Sundays.  How many people spend any time in prayer except for a few, "O God help me!" prayers when things aren't going well at the moment.

Just think with me for a moment about that feeling you get when you reach for a flash light and you flip it on and either nothing happens or there is only a dimly light bulb.  How disappointing is that?  But that is exactly the picture of our lives as Christians when we don't take time to recharge.  Sunday Sermons are not enough to keep you charged.  We aren't able to really cooperate with the work God's desires to accomplish through us if we aren't fully charged. I mean obeying the biblical command to be filled with the spirit.

Just like my cell phone, I have to plug it into the charger every evening.  I use my cell phone a lot.  It's a great tool for me to stay in touch with all areas of ministry at Flack Memorial and with our church family.  But if I didn't recharge it each evening, it would be worthless.  I would be paying a monthly fee for service I couldn't use.  Jesus Christ paid a great price to purchase our redemption.  We could be of great service to Him in His kingdom work if we would only plug into His kingdom power.  His power supply never goes out.  His power is the kind of power that caused Him to triumph over death.  That's some kind of power!

I would just like you to consider what the difference a fully Holy Spirit powered church might look like and what it might really be able to do. 

I think a Holy Spirit powered church would be attractive. 

People who are fully charged and fully powered by the Holy Spirit would be loving people. 

A Holy Spirit powered church would be filled with passionate servants that have realized they have few precious days to make the greatest impact on others living far from God.

A Holy Spirit powered church exhibits among it members love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control.  

A Holy Spirit powered church would experience God's presence in a powerful way in our individual lives and in our corporate times of worship because we could no longer stand to come before a Holy God with some of our favorite sins we can't seem to part with.  Personal time with a Holy God in His Holy Word will take you on a journey to personal holiness.  I think that would be to choose to live life on the narrow road.

So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God's obedient children. Don't slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn't know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, "You must be holy because I am holy.  I Peter 1:13-16 NLT

Life on the Narrow Road

Several year ago former Gaither Vocal Band lead vocalist Steve Green recorded a Christian song entitled, "Find us Faithful."  The first few words of the song remind those of us who have chosen to devote our lives to following Jesus Christ that we are pilgrims on the journey of the narrow road.  Some of you might wonder what that means.

In what the Bible refers to us as "The Sermon of the Mount", Jesus said, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."  Matthew 7:13-14 NIV

Up to this point in "The Sermon on the Mount" Jesus had been talking about the kingdom of heaven and the traits of Kingdom citizens.  At this point in his sermon Jesus changes from talking about the traits of kingdom citizens to kingdom citizenship.

Although kingdom citizenship is inclusive and diverse and has no membership limitations, kingdom citizenship comes at a very high price.  First all of you must be rightly related to the king, we have to become a child of God.  Although none of us are born into the family of God, the Bible teaches that we can be born again.

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn,not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. John 1:12 NLT

Unlike United States citizenship, kingdom citizenship is not automatically guaranteed. Citizenship in heaven is not inherited.  Just because your parents are/were kingdom citizens doesn't mean you are automatically born into God's family.  Everyone has to enter the narrow gate by themselves and shed many things from their old way of life to enter through the narrow gate.  Some people have deceived themselves into thinking they are kingdom citizens and on the narrow road while never giving up anything from their old way of life to enter through the narrow gate.  While thinking they are on the narrow road they still travel with those who are on the broad road that leads to destruction. 

The narrow road that Jesus refers to that leads to life is the life that Jesus called "the abundant life."  My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. John 10:10 NLT 

This abundant life or the rich and satisfying life is the path of sanctification.  This is the path that kingdom citizens take having entered through the narrow gate. 

It is a choice of setting one's life apart for God's use and God's glory or what we often refer to at Flack Memorial as being a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ.  Over the course of the next few weeks, maybe months, the focus of our teaching in our weekly worship times  will be about life on the narrow road. 

When traveling, the route we choose is paramount in reaching your destination.  Although there are differences of opinions of how a person gets to heaven, since God determines who enters into heaven it's important that we know the path He prescribes. 

Life on the narrow road need not be a mystery to you or cause you to feel as though you are wandering aimlessly through life with no sense of direction.  Our map for this journey is the Bible.  

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. 

Psalm 119:105 NLT

I sense that God is calling our entire church family to a deeper and richer relationship with Him living life on the narrow road.  Some of have taken detours that have led them down paths of disappointment and despair.  Others were enticed to exit the narrow road only to go down paths that were dead ends.

If you've never traveled the narrow road, the onramp is just ahead.  We'll move over so you can merge into the flow of traffic where we are headed into the rich and satisfying life Jesus promised, living life on the narrow road.