Surviving Chaos

Acts 1:8
“But the Holy Spirit will come upon you and give you power. Then you will tell everyone about me in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and everywhere in the world.”

Last week I preached the first of four lessons on “How to be a Super Hero”. Lesson One, “Becoming a Super Hero” dealt with the idea that we have an unique opportunity to reach out to those around us and invest in people’s lives.

This week’s message “Powering Up!” dealt with tapping into the Holy Spirit as our power source. I started by asking the question, “What do Bruce Wayne, Peter Parker, and Bruce Banner have in common?” If you are even a little fan of comic books you might recognize each of these names as the alter egos of three big name heroes; Batman, Spiderman, and the Hulk. But more than that they have something else in common. Each of these characters were not born with their power. It was through a traumatic event that each of these characters underwent their hero transformation. Batman, at age eight, witnesses the brutal death of his parents. Spiderman was bitten by a “radio active” spider. And the Hulk was created when gamma radiation bombarded Dr. Bruce Banner’s body altering his genetic structure.

Like each of these characters, we are not initially born with the Power to be the witnesses Jesus told us to be according to Acts 1:8. It is only through the Holy Spirit and our spiritual transformation that we have the power to understand our Purpose for Existence; the ability to access our Oneness with God; the Wisdom to handle tough situations; the Energy to endure; and the Refining towards righteousness. Five elements defining the POWER we find only from the Holy Spirit.

As Macho Man Randy Savage used to say, “Snap into a Slim Jim” I give a similar challenge: “Tap into the Holy Spirit!” Once you do, evil doers BEWARE!