Learning to Soar in the Power of the Resurrection
What is next after Ressurection Sunday? We need to follow Jesus and walk in the power of the Ressurection, the Holy Spirit of Christ.
Introduction
On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens in the Cascade Range of Washington exploded with what is probably the most visible indication of the power of nature that the modern world has ever seen. At 8:32 A.M. the explosion ripped 1,300 feet off the mountain, with a force of ten million tons of TNT, or roughly equal to five hundred Hiroshimas. Sixty people were killed, most by a blast of 300-degree heat traveling at two hundred miles an hour. Some were killed as far as sixteen miles away.
The blast also leveled 150-foot Douglas firs, as far as seventeen miles away. A total of 3.2 billion board-feet of lumber were destroyed, enough to build 200,000 three-bedroom homes.996
The co-equal and co-eternal Spirit of the Father and the Son, who inspired Scripture and brings new life to the people of God. The Spirit of God is often portrayed in Scripture in terms of “breath”, “life” or “wind”, indicating his role in sustaining and bringing life to God’s creation.
The Holy Spirit equips and empowers believers so that the reign and reality of God is revealed through them in the world.
And mthe Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
The Spirit’s power will enable people to serve God Eze 36:26-27 See also Jer 31:33
The physical aspect of human beings, which distinguishes them from God and is therefore frequently used in the NT as a symbol of human sinful nature in contrast with God’s perfection.
The conflict in human experience between the sinful nature and the Spirit of God Gal 5:17
John Claypool, pastor of the Crescent Hill Baptist Church in Louisville, had a little daughter with leukemia. When she went into remission, everybody thought God had healed her. On an Easter Sunday morning she had a recurrence. In his book Tracks of a Fellow Struggler, Claypool says his daughter asked, “Daddy, did you talk to God about my leukemia?”
He said, “Yes, we’ve been praying for you.”
She asked, “Did you ask him how long the leukemia would last? What did God say?”
What do you say to your daughter when you can’t help her and the heavens are silent? A few hours later, the little girl died. The following Sunday, John Claypool got up to preach. His text was Isaiah 40:31: “Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
“There are three stages of life,” Claypool said. “Sometimes we mount up with wings as an eagle and fly; we’re on top of the world. Sometimes we run, and we don’t grow weary; we just go through the routine. Sometimes the best we can do is to walk and not faint. That’s where I am right now. I need your prayers.”
At the moment that Claypool was at his lowest, he preached probably his most influential sermon. Like Paul, he could say, “For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).
The Holy Spirit demonstrates God’s power
Mic 3:8 See also Ac 1:8; 10:38; Ro 15:19; 1Co 2:4-5; 1Th 1:5