On
February 10, 2013, a fire broke out in the engine room of the Carnival cruise
ship, Triumph. The fire knocked out
the ship's power, leaving the vessel drifting in the Gulf of Mexico, with more
than 4,200 passengers and crew left in limbo. The power outage made it
impossible to operate the flush toilets, keep cool in the un-shaded waters of
the deep sea, or preserve and cook all the perishable food on board.
Passengers
reported long lines for rations, foul smells from overflowing toilets, shortages
of fresh water, illnesses, and widespread boredom. Many passengers slept in
hallways or outside to escape the odors and heat below decks. News crews flying
in helicopters followed the ship, and watched passengers beg for help. CNN and
other media outlets later dubbed the disaster of the Triumph “the cruise ship from hell.”
The
ship was finally pulled by tugboats into port safely on February 14, 2013. The
ship's loss of power wasn't just a tragedy for the passengers. Carnival
expected to lose hundreds of millions of dollars due to the incident. Apparently,
Carnival learned their lesson because in June 2013 Triumph set sail once again, but this time it was outfitted with new
emergency power capabilities. Carnival learned the hard way that when the power
goes out, the party is over.[1]
A
Christian who is disconnected from their power source—The Holy Spirit—is like a
powerless, rudderless ship floating in the ocean. Instead of controlling
his/her direction, they succumb to the fluctuating circumstance of life and things
quickly deteriorate. The desire for the Word of God wanes. Prayer time becomes
unfocused and infrequent until its non-existent all together. The sinful
nature, no longer kept in check by the Spirit’s power, has free reign over the
mind and passions. For a detailed description of what happens when we are controlled
by the flesh check out Galatians 5:19-21 for a nasty list of all our sin nature
is capable of. Trust me, you will not be flattered.
As
A.W. Tozer once said, “The problem is not how much of the Holy Spirit we have.
No, every believer has the Holy Spirit. The problem is that the Holy Spirit
does not have every believer.”[2] Much of the difficulty
Christians face in life is due to this fact.
Prior
to receiving the Holy Spirit, the apostles were powerless to carry out Christ's
unfinished work. So in Acts 1:8 Jesus promised, “You will receive power when
the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” The Greek word translated “power” (dunamis) is the source of the English
word “dynamite.” Every Christian is equipped with the Spirit’s power!
God
can do great things through you. Ephesians 3:20 says He "is able to do far
more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.” The power
of the Holy Spirit—to resist sin, to pray effectively, to forgive others, to
live supernaturally—happens when you yield every aspect of your life to
the Spirit's control.
I
am reminded of Robert Boyd Munger’s wonderful little book, My Heart, Christ’s Home, in which he compares the heart to a beautiful
house with many rooms. Most of us have closets, basements and attics that we
try to keep out of public view because they are messy or contain items we don’t
want others to see.
The
same is true in the spiritual realm. Many of us have welcomed the Spirit into a
large part of our hearts. But there are areas of life where He is not welcome
to enter. Usually there is some hidden sin that we have declared “Off Limits!”
If
you want to know the power of the Spirit, the price is simple but not easy to
pay. You must open those hidden doors and allow the Holy Spirit to come in and
make all things new. Will it be painful? Perhaps, but If you have the courage
to let The Holy Spirit into every part of your life, He will come in and
redecorate your life into something more beautiful than you ever imagined
possible.
You
can’t do it alone in this life, and the good news is you don’t have to. Jesus
told His men, “I will ask the Father to give you another Helper, to be with you
always” (John 14:16). You need more power than just willpower in your life. You
need God’s power in your life. Are you plugged in or are you just plodding
along? -DM
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