If you are a baseball fan, then you have probably seen some small guys come up and hit some big, long home runs. When that happens, have you ever wondered, how did they do that? You can understand some big, strong players hitting it that hard and far; but it doesn’t make sense when someone like a Jose Altuve comes up and hits a mammoth blast. What power hitters will tell you is that the power is in the wrists and forearms. You don’t have to have 16″ biceps. You have to have a good eye, solid timing, and powerful forearms and wrists. That is the recipe for hitting home runs. But let’s talk about the power of change in something different. Have you ever seen someone who was in the throws of addiction get clean, but someone who you thought would have an easier time breaking a habit, continuously fall into that habit? There is a difference between will power and God’s power.
In today’s text in Nehemiah, we have come to the point where the wall is complete. Ezra the priest gets up on a wooden platform and begins to read the Law to the people. He reads for about six hours. While Ezra was up on a wooden platform reading, there were men of the priestly tribe, the Levites, out in the crowd and they were helping explain what was being read to the people. There were two things that were happening during this time of reading the Law. The people were saddened on one hand. Then we read the other reaction in Nehemiah 8:12, “And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.” The people were encouraged as the Law was being read to them, and as they were given understanding.
The difference between our will power and God’s power, is the difference between genuine change versus temporal change. Our will power can be amazing. However, the same will that can power us to do incredible things, can also be very weak and cause us to fall back into sinful habits. However, God’s power not only saves us, but it also changes us, and it keeps changing us until we are in the presence of Jesus for all of eternity. The power that we see in our text is the power of the Word of God. It can bring sorrow to us, because it points out our sin. However, it can also give us great encouragement. Either use of that power brings about genuine, lasting change in our lives. The power isn’t in the giftedness of a pastor or teacher. The power is the Spirit of God using the Word of God to change the child of God. That is what we should all crave. It is something that is available to each Christian. You don’t need a seminary degree to understand the Bible. You need a humble dependence on the Holy Spirit. He is the best teacher of the Bible there is, because He is the One who inspired the Bible. Therefore, if you want to see the power of God at work in your life, be intentional about getting alone with the Word of God. Take your time in reading the Bible, and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you what it means, and how to live it out. He will do it if we ask. The greatest curriculum we can ever use in our walk with God is a Bible, a pen, and a notebook. We don’t need more Bible studies, we don’t need better teachers. We need more desperation for God, and a dependence upon the Holy Spirit.
By His grace and for His glory,
Pastor Justin