We hate to be powerless don’t we? Suffering illness, for example, is made far more intolerable if we are powerless over it. Persecution is harder when we realise that we are powerless to stop it or reduce it. Crimes are far more heinous when the victim is powerless. That’s partly why our culture, even our Christian culture, talks about empowering and assertiveness.
When it comes to our salvation the Bible teaches us that we were helpless. Put another way, the Bible teaches that we were helpless in our slavery to sin. Perhaps this is why humanity is so keen to work towards salvation or to help God out. The Bible makes it clear that while we were dead in our sins, we were totally unable to do anything to save ourselves. The biblical picture is not of a corpse on the operating theatre table waiting for the doctor to apply the heart start paddles. The corpse can do nothing to assist the doctor. Romans 5:6 is clear. While we were dead, powerless and totally unable to help, Christ died for us.
While verse 6 has caused much confusion regarding the definition of a righteous man and a good man, the comparison is clear. It’s conceivable that someone might die to save a good man, perhaps one that imitates God or helps lots of people. Even for a righteous man, it’s hard to find someone who will willingly die for him. But Christ died for us while we were at the other end of the spectrum. The point of verse 7 is found in verse 8. While we were still sinners - unrighteous and not good at all - Christ died for us. This is how God shows us the magnitude of His love. God didn’t wait for us to get our act together. God didn't wait for us to come to our senses. God didn’t wait for us to earn brownie points and to better ourselves. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
If we can fathom this truth and accept it without having to re-paint ourselves as being better than we really were, we can live a life of powerful witness and love. Often as believers we find ourselves with the balance of power over others. When someone sins against us, we hold the balance of power over them. As they confess and seek our forgiveness, we have the power over them. When someone says something wrong we have the balance of power. We can slam dunk them by our power. When someone owes us or is indebted to us we are more powerful than they are.
Often we find ourselves in these such situations where another person is to us what we were to God. When we were powerless before God, He chose to freely and totally love us. He proved that love by sending Jesus into the world to die for our sins. When other people are powerless before us, we can choose to love them totally and freely. We can choose to be like Christ and to offer love. We can choose to love in words, deeds and attitudes. We can choose to mirror Christ rather than wielding our power for our own ends.
It takes far more power to love, to give and to sacrificially serve others than it does to serve ourselves. How will you use the power you have over others?
Prayer:
Use the bible passage from today and the reading notes to write down your prayer points before you pray.
Adoration:
Confession:
Thanks:
Supplication:
¥ Pray that sacrificial love would blossom in each individual in your church.
¥ Pray that Shiloh Church ministries would continue to reach out in love towards the sick, orphaned, widowed and needy.
Worship Moment:
Placing our faith in Jesus includes our head, heart and hands. We make the decision in our head, love Him in our heart and serve Him with our hands because of all He’s done for us.
1. Why is love more powerful than evil?
2. How can you counsel a person in your congregation who is bitter at the hard life he/she has lived?
3. What is the role of cell group in growing a powerful other centred love among individuals?
4. What do we do with people who are not in cell?
Intro: Finish the sentence ‘I felt powerless when…’
Discuss a time when you used your power in a negative or wrong way. Talk about what would have been a better choice.
Read Proverbs 3:5-6.
Explain in your own words what God wants you to do.
How does this stop you from being powerless?
How does this relate to Jesus?
Pray together God would give you power and strength to trust Him and to live His way.
Intro: Finish the sentence ‘I felt powerless when…’
Discuss a time when you used your power in a negative or wrong way. Talk about what would have been a better choice.
Read Proverbs 3:5-6.
Explain in your own words what God wants you to do.
How does this stop you from being powerless?
How does this relate to Jesus?
Pray together God would give you power and strength to trust Him and to live His way.
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