Batteries Included
 
By J.R. Ensey
 
Did you get a gift for Christmas or your birthday that was supposed to run, roll, jump, speak, record, play, shave or light up—but wouldn’t? Then you looked at the accompanying information and read: “Batteries not included!” So before it could be used you had to trek to the corner store and buy some batteries to provide the power.

That’s the way it is with things that men make. The essential power is not included. Thats why humanism, legalism, and other isms dont achieve stated goals—there’s no inherent power source.

But when God started this church He didn't neglect the power—“But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The batteries are included!
With the Holy Ghost, He gave us:

POWER TO CHOOSE

Before we were born again we had no choice but to walk in the flesh. The fruit of the natural mans life is described in Galatians 5:19-21 as “fornication...idolatry...hatred... heresies...murders...etc.” Under the Law there was no compelling inner motivation to live according to the standard of Moses. But under grace, with the new nature provided by the Holy Ghost, there is reason, purpose, and deep motivation to live for God.

A born-again believer can say “I choose to be a Christian...I’ve found the life- source, a well of living water—not just a mossy cistern or stagnant pool!” The Holy Ghost experience and power will motivate one to choose to love his brother and his neighbor. He can choose righteousness instead of sin. He can choose to suffer long when wronged, to resist the tendency to return evil for evil, to overcome temptation. Choosing is a power, and that is part of the Pentecostal package.

POWER TO STAND

It was not any easier to live for God in the first century than it is today. The setting wasn’t much different—they were surrounded by idolatry, homosexuality, fornication, greed and all the rest. The temptation to step back into their old lifestyle was ever present. But power from on high enabled them to stand!
Living the Jesus life requires the power of Pentecost. Spiritual victory cannot be won by sheer human effort. This is why Jesus said, “Tarry until ye be endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49).

To stand, we need a moral and ethical resistance beyond natural ability. When we are under pressure on our job, or at school, in the home, or even when we’re all alone, we need the power to stand. As the chorus writer said, “Though the whole world turn against me...I wont turn back, I wont turn back.”

POWER TO WITNESS

The evidence of God’s power in the lives of believers was not going to be merely what they said or did, but who they were! It was not the eloquence of their witness or what happened in their ministry that speaks of the Presence and the Power. It would be their character, integrity and changed lifestyle which revealed the indwelling Spirit.

In witnessing, what we are speaks louder than what we say. What we become is more important than what we do. There is a difference in verbalizing the gospel and living it. A lot of people can talk about Jesus but relatively few live the Jesus life. And that is the most powerful witness of all.

If you are truly converted, people will listen. You don’t have to have a Ph.D—just a testimony! A man with an argument is no match for a man with a testimony. A true testimony is living power! So Jesus didn’t give the church to the world without batteries. The power is built in. It works!

Let’s turn on the power to choose, to stand, to witness—and affect our world for Jesus!