The Bradley Factor

“It is futile for us to try to serve God without the power of the Holy Spirit. NOTHING can take the place of His power.”

- Warren Wiersbe

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

- The Apostle Paul, Ephesians 2:10

Yesterday, Pastor Jared talked about a young man named Bradley whom he met at camp. Bradley was not engaging and interacting with the rest of the campers, so Jared asked him, “Is there something we can do to make your experience better?’ Bradley replied, “Did you know that we only use 10% of our brain’s capacity? I’m trying to figure out how to tap into the rest of it.”

While Bradley had the right idea, what he did not realize is that we are extremely limited in and of our own abilities and efforts. As Charles Spurgeon once said,

“Without the Spirit of God, we can do nothing. We are like ships without wind.”

However, when we unleash the power of the Holy Spirit in us, the possibilities are endless.

I remember when former San Diego Padres pitcher, Andy Benes, spoke at one of our men’s events a number of years ago. One of the guys asked him, “How do you throw a baseball 100 miles per hour?” Andy did not hesitate even for a moment in responding, ”I can teach you some mechanics that will help you throw a baseball faster than you currently do, but the rest of it is all God-given ability.”

As the Apostle Paul teaches us in Ephesians 2:10, we have been created by God to do good works, and when we allow the power of the Holy Spirit to work in and through us, those good works go way beyond what we could accomplish on our own.

The Spirit is there to do in us that which we cannot do ourselves.

There is no reason for doubt and uncertainty, but instead, we can be overflowing with confidence, for just as the Disciples experienced at Pentecost, we will “receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us.”

Surrender to the Holy Spirit, create space for Him to work in you, and watch in awe as the power of the Holy Spirit is unleashed in ways you could never imagine.

He will tap into areas you never even knew existed and allow you to do that which you never thought possible.

Pastor Ken

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