What is your power source? ∙

What is your power source? ∙

He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, “From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.” – John 7:38

John 7:37-39

 37 Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!

 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”

 39 (When he said, “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)

Both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 have reached “Interstellar space” and continue their journey through the Universe. Voyager 1 is a space probe launched by NASA on September 5, 1977. Voyager 2 was launched on August 20, 1977. They have successively operated for over 40 years. Voyager 1 was 13.72 billion miles from Earth and Voyager 2 and was 11.25 billion miles from Earth on October 19, 2019.

How did they successively function for so long? It all has to do with their power source.

Man harnessed the power of wind and made sailing ships and windmills. Man utilized the power of steam and made engines, motors, and tools. Internal combustion and diesel engines that run on fossil fuel were developed. Electrical engines, tools, instruments work only while electrical energy is present.

All of these power sources and the entities that use them, function only as long as the energy that drives them is available.

The Father had a better idea. He created atomic energy and the sun. They will never run out of energy or turn off any time soon. As long as the sun is shining, energy is available. More recently solar-powered cells were created that run off the energy of the sun. Solar cells allow space probes and satellites to run continuously as long as the cells face the sun. Atomic power was understood and harnessed and radioisotope thermoelectric generators, or RTGs, were invented. The RTGs have powered Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 since their launch in 1967.

What source of energy do you depend upon to live a life pleasing to the Father? Regrettably, many of children of the King, try to renew their spirits as though they were internal spiritual batteries that keep running down. They repetitively seek new “energy fixes.” They are reminiscent of a hamster on a wheel. There is lots of motion, but little real progress, and certainly no permanence. Whatever power or enthusiasm they tap into simply does not last.

Once again, the Father had a better idea. The Father supplied a power source that never runs down or wears out. It belongs to every child of the King. We need only to understand it, actualize it, and live it out in their daily lives.

REFLECT & PRAY

It is almost incredible to think that the Father would provide a sustainable, self-contained power supply for each of His children. Yet our everlasting Father, the Almighty God intelligently designed and created nuclear fusion and uses it to power the sun and the stars every day, everywhere wherever they are found.

Father how I long to serve You. But, in myself alone, I lack the power and ability. Thank You for giving me the Holy Spirit when I believed. Encourage me to rely upon and use His power each day.

INSIGHT

The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God has provided an internal, permanent, constantly self-generating, sustainable power source for each child of the King.

The Lord Jesus Christ exclaimed, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:38). The apostle John explains, “When he said, ‘living water,’ he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him” (John 7:39).

In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit would anoint people and empower them. But in most cases the empowerment was temporary. For example, this is what occurred in Ezekiel’s life and service as a prophet. He stated, “Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon me, and he told me to say . . .” (Ezekiel 11:5). During the Old Testament, only a select few of the Father’s children had the privilege of the Holy Spirit living within them. After David confessed his sin, he pleaded, “do not take Your Holy Spirit from me” (Psalms 51:11).

During the Old Testament epoch, the Holy Spirit was with the Father’s children, but he did not live in them. When the Lord Jesus Christ came on the scene, all that changed. He promised to ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit as another helper. The Holy Spirit would remain in each believer forever.

John 14:17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth . . . he lives with you now and later will be in you.

John 14:16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever.

After He died and was resurrected, the Lord Jesus Christ made a promise to His disciples that it would happen soon. They were to go wait in Jerusalem for the arrival of the Holy Spirit. When He came, they would acquire the ultimate power source that would never drain down or run out, that is, the Holy Spirit living within them.

Luke 24:49 “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.

Acts 2:1-4

 1 On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place.

 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting.

 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:15 You received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”

The power and energy of the Holy Spirit dwell within every child of the King. Do you enjoy and benefit from the overflow of the Holy Spirit from within, or are you like a hamster on a wheel? How is your power source working out for you?

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