The Power That Raised Jesus from the Dead

 The list is long. It is always long … that list of things that Christians say “I can’t do.”

·         I can’t forgive him for what he did.

·         I can’t feel sorry for him, i.e., respond with compassion. He deserves what he got.

·         I can’t pray.

·         I can’t understand the Bible.

·         I can’t talk about my faith (witness).

·         My faith is not strong. I struggle to believe …

·         I can’t deal with him. I don’t have the patience to put up with him.

·         I can’t be consistent in my walk with God because I am not a disciplined person.

·         I can’t attend worship every Sunday.

·         I can’t afford to give to the church.

·         I can’t afford to give any more to the church (much less tithe!!).

·         I can’t do anything of value. I don’t have anything to offer.

·         I can’t work with children … or youth … or aging adults.

·         I can’t stop worrying … or judging … or gossiping … or ….

·         I can’t accept gay and lesbians because the Bible says homosexuality is a sin.

·         I can’t accept a woman preacher. 1 Timothy 2 says …

·         I can’t … I can’t … I can’t …

 Christians who say “I can’t” excuse themselves from doing whatever it is they say they can’t do. It doesn’t matter if Jesus taught us to do it or not. They are convinced that they cannot do it. Thus, they resign themselves to doing “as best I can.” They settle for mediocrity in place of the abundant life Jesus promised. They become accustomed to bland, tasteless spirituality. They live with an inner void where peace and joy were designed to live.

 Sadly, Christians who say “I can’t” fill our churches.

 Christians who say “I can’t” are partially right. We cannot forgive those who wrong us. We cannot love our enemy. We cannot “not worry.” We cannot give as generously as Jesus taught. We cannot live the ways of God that Jesus taught … in our own strength!

 Christians who say “I can’t” fail to understand a spiritual principle that lies at the core of healthy spirituality: we were never intended to do what Jesus taught in our own strength! The Spirit abides in us to empower us to do what we cannot do on our own.

Jesus used the imagery of the vine and the branches to teach this principle (John 15:1ff). “Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:4—5). The power of Christ’s life flowing in us and through us through the indwelling Spirit is what enables us to do what he taught.

 Christians who say “I can’t” do not understand the power that is available to us through the Spirit. The writer of Ephesians prayed that his readers would know “what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe”—the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and seated him at the right hand of God (Ephesians 1:17—21). The power of the resurrection is at work in us, transforming our hearts and minds, conforming us to the likeness of Jesus. That power is available to us through the Spirit to empower us to do what we cannot do in our own strength.

 When we don’t know that the power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to us, we resign ourselves to living as a Christian who says “I can’t.”

 Where Christians who say “I can’t” go wrong is at the point of struggle. They (we) struggle with the very idea of doing what Jesus taught, believing we can’t. When we attempt to do what he taught, we fail. At that point, we give up. We proclaim “I can’t,” resigning ourselves to “as best I can.”

 But it doesn’t have to be that way. There is another way that produces a different outcome.

 Rather than viewing them as an excuse to give up, our struggle and failure can be understood as invitations to pray. They call us to turn to God for the power to do what we cannot do in our own strength. We confess our desire to do what Jesus taught along with our struggle and failure to do so. Our confession gives the Spirit permission to work in our hearts and minds. It opens our lives to the power that raised Jesus from the dead.

 The Apostle Paul learned this spiritual principle when he struggled with his thorn in the flesh. In the face of his struggle, Paul received this word from God: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). In response to this word of assurance from God, Paul wrote “I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. For whenever I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9, 10). That spiritual principle lies behind Paul's statement "I can do all things through Christ who strengths me" (Philippians 4:13). 

 The spiritual life—being a follower of Jesus—was always intended to be a divine dance with the Spirit as our partner. We dance with the Spirit, depending on the Spirit for the wisdom, courage, strength, and guidance to do what Jesus taught. We live out of a spirit of glad dependency upon God.

 Christians who say “I can’t” live out of a spirit of self-reliance. They depend on their own strength to do what Jesus taught. No wonder they say “I can’t.” They haven’t learned the truth Paul discovered: when I am weak, then I am strong, that is, the Spirit gives me a power beyond my own.

 “I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know ... what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us—the very power that raised Jesus from the dead!” (Ephesians 1:17-21).