A GOOD BATTERY WITH A WEAK CONNECTION

1 Corinthians 1:10–18 (KJV) 10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.

12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.

13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;

15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.

16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.

17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.

18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

INTRODUCTION Have you ever seen the Energizer battery commercial on television? You know that is the one where the little bunny appears beating a drum, and the announcer says" still going! On he goes, across the desert, over mountains, on lonely highways. Nothing seems to stop the little bunny. Now, I want you to understand that the point of the commercial is not the bunny, but the battery. It’s important to have good batteries because weak batteries cause problems. Cars with weak batteries have problems starting. Once the motor starts the car usually runs, but it takes a good battery to get the motor started. Particularly in cold winter months like December, January, and February, a weak battery just won’t do you any good. Tape recorders with weak batteries will drag. Flashlights with weak batteries will go dim, Pocket radios with weak batteries will fade, And your cordless and cell phones with weak batteries will be full of static and eventually disconnect themselves. Why?….because the battery is the power source. But even a good battery is only half the solution.

There was a woman who was having trouble getting her car started. Every time she would turn on the ignition she would get a clicking sound. So naturally she thought that her battery was dead. Without checking with anyone, she sent her son down to purchase a new battery. When he return he put the battery in and she tried to start the car again, but she got those same clicking sounds. Finally, she called a mechanic who took one look at her cable ends and analyzed her problem. He said “Ma'am, you have a good battery but your cables are bad.” That day she learned a good lesson about her car; you must always make sure that you have a good connection to the battery. My brothers and sisters, we too, as “born again” Christians, must make sure that we have a good connection to our power source; and that source is Jesus. THE CROSS OF CHRIST Now, in our text, the Cross of Christ represents the power of God unto salvation.

Romans 1:16 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. The gospel is the power of God. It reveals and channels the power of God. It is the Gospel that produces faith. It Gospel that generates repentance. It is the Gospel that produces wisdom Creates righteousness, Produces sanctification, And generates redemption (cf. 1:30). The preaching of the cross does all of this.

It is God’s power behind the written word (the Bible). The gospel is the power that points us to the living word (Christ). The Gospel is the power behind the preached word (the gospel). The Gospel is the power that show up in us in the establishment of the Word (Christlikeness). It is the Gospel that gives us the power to live in the spirit. The Gospel, the Word of God is the power source. It brings healing for the sick. Salvation for the lost. Forgiveness for the sinner. There is still power in old rugged cross. There is still power in the hem of his garment. (Source: 1 Utley, R. J. (2002). Paul’s Letters to a Troubled Church: I and II Corinthians (Vol. Volume 6, p. 21). Marshall, TX: Bible Lessons International.

But like the battery and the motor, we must have clear contact and a good connection in order to keep the power flowing. We must be in harmony with the will of God to benefit from the power that is available to us. It is of little or no value at all to have the power of the Almighty God at our disposal, and let our connection get rusty and corroded. You see, that corrosion causes a bad connection. There are too many believers who go through life hearing the "clicking" sound that suggests that there is power under the hood that can't get through. Many of us have the ability to achieve greatness through the exercise of our gifts, but every time we turn the switch all we get is a clicking sound. We, as Christians, need to keep a clear and uninterrupted connection with God. Yes, others might think that we are foolish for doing so, but we who are saved know that our power comes from the Cross, the Power of God. In our text, Paul writes to the church at Corinth who not experience the power of God, because it was a divided church. Contention and conflict has weakened the church’s mission and its ability to make a different. Paul was writing to tell them it was not about the preacher,

it was about the preached Gospel. Some of them were following one preacher and some of them were following another preacher. But Paul was writing to let them know that the goal of preaching was not to glorify the preacher, but that the preaching of the Gospel points us to the God. God is the power source and the cross is the symbol of God and the power of God. Paul explains that those who are saved recognize the cross as a symbol of the power of God. But to those outside of the faith, the church the cross seems foolishness. What is this foolishness of which Paul speaks? Maybe it’s the command to love your enemies or to pray for those who use you seem foolish if you are saved or if you don’t believe in God. Maybe it’s was the belief that what you hope for will become evident through your faith that seemed foolish. Maybe it’s your belief that you are blessed when men revile you and persecute you, and utter all manner of evil against you falsely. Now, notice in our text, it says, "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God”. And Romans 10:14 reminds us that the first step to releasing the power of God is by hearing the Word of God. Hear the Word of God:

“How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without a preacher?” Now watch this; verse 17 says this: “So faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” Oh I love so good singing. In fact singing prepares you to hear the Word of God. I love praying. I love testimony services. Worship can inspire and bless you, but it is the Word of God that can save you. It is Word of God that connects us to our power source. It is the Word of God that directs me to the foot of the Cross. When Paul spoke of the cross as the power source for Christians, he was not talking about the wooden stake or post in the ground that was used for capitol punishment. When Paul spoke of the cross as the power source for Christians, he was not talking about a gold chain that we wear around your neck. When Paul spoke of the cross as the power source for Christians, he referred to what the cross symbolizes…that symbolism includes the sacrifice of Christ, His blood shed on Calvary, His death, burial and resurrection.

The crucifixion of Christ transformed the cross from a symbol of shame and embarrassment to a symbol of the Mighty Power of God. The Cross embodies this symbol because Christ’s death on the cross blotted out all sin and man’s foolish laws from which there could be no redemption. This is what Paul wrote in his letter to the Colossians, Chapter Two, verse fourteen; “blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, (Christ) took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross.” When Paul preached about Christ and His crucifixion, the Jews considered it a stumbling block. The Greeks said that it was foolishness. But I stopped by to tell you that those who perish are those who reject the power of the cross. They’ve heard the story, but they refuse to accept its truth. They view preaching as a waste of time…foolishness…. And they will perish. But to those of us who are called, both Jew and Greek, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. Those of us who are believers know that, at the foot of the cross, we find our ability, our strength, and our power. Our knowledge of the historical account of the Crucifixion of Jesus

Christ is our power source; it is our spiritual energizer that just keeps us going, going, and going. There are many who are hooked up to the wrong source; they’re trying to use a six-volt transistor to empower a twelve-volt understanding. What am I saying? I’m saying that too many of God’s created people are depending on their own skills and education to get them through life. Educational skills are necessary, and I wish that every one would get a degree from the college of their choice. But when trouble comes, that battery is too small for the job. When you need real power, you’d better be hooked up to the power that holds the world in the palm of His hand, and lights up the night with the moon and the stars. Now, in order to get the needed energy from your power source, you must have the right connection. You can have a good battery but if the connection is wrong, there is no power. And since we are talking about connecting to a power source, we must also determine the type of connection required. According to my research, there are two types of current, A/C and D/C. AC power is alternating power. Some folks in our churches are A/C in nature. They suffer from being hooked up to an alternating current. They attend church on alternating Sundays. They pray on alternating occasions. They tithe on alternating occasions. What I’m trying to say is that they come to church when they feel like it, pray when it is convenient, and give when they want to. Then there are those who are hooked up to the D/C, or direct current. God is looking for some D/C folks…dedicated Christians; people on whom He can depend. People who just don't do things when it’s convenient for them, but “press toward the mark” daily. God is looking for those who will keep on going no matter how hard it gets. Now, if you have a good battery, and the connecting cables are good, there’s still one more thing you need to know. The connection must be tight! The battery must be free of external interference. There can be no space separating the cable from the battery post. Paul said it best when he declared, “nothing shall separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.” And when it comes to the life of a Christian there must be no space that separates us from the Master. The life of a Christian must be lived in such a way that there is nothing between our soul and our Savior. And what can corrode your connection with God? Well, pride will corrode your cables and interfere with your connection.

Hatred will keep you from having a good connection with God. Jealousy will keep you from having a good connection with God. Strife will keep you from having a good connection with God. And there are many more. Get rid of the things that are keeping you from having a good connection with your power source. And finally, make sure both cables are connected. Along with the hot wire, there must be a ground cable. Somebody, today, is trying to get a prayer through and you’re not properly grounded. You’re trying to sing His praises but your ground wire is loose. How do I become grounded? You are grounded when you accept Christ as your PERSONAL SAVIOR, confess with your MOUTH the Lord, Jesus Christ, and believe in YOUR HEART that He was raised from the dead. Abide in the Word of God. Ground yourself to the Cross of Christ….then plunge into the “foolishness” of loving those who hate you. Plunge into the foolishness of believing without seeing. Plunge into the foolishness of praying for those who use you, and finding a blessing in persecution. Ground yourself to the belief that in Christ we live, move and have our beings.

When you need power you need to go to the one that created the trees and the flowers. When you need power you need to go to the one that is able to heal the sick and raise the dead. Yes, when you need power you need to go to the Rock of (your) Salvation, and His name is Jesus. If you are looking for a good power source let me introduce you to God's original power source. Before there was a 36-Month Goodyear Power Source…. Before there was a NAPA 40 Month Power Horse….. Before there was a Sears 60-Month Guaranteed Power Source….. Before Sears and Roebuck ever thought of the name, Jesus was the original Die-Hard. Yes, Jesus is better than Ever-ready; and He's got power to spare. They crucified Him on the cross, they buried Him in a borrowed tomb, they tried to drain Him of his power. But early one Sunday Morning, My Die Hard, My Ever Ready, My Energizer, My Duracell, rose with all power in his hands… ”wonder working power,” “soul saving power,” “healing power” in His hand.

Are you connected to His power?