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Embracing Spirit Dependence: The Power of the Cross

Explore the significance of relying on the Holy Spirit's power through weakness, as exemplified by Apostle Paul. Discover how seeking God's power through the way of the Cross can transform faith and achieve divine wisdom in a modern world that glorifies human achievements over God's might.

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Embracing Spirit Dependence: The Power of the Cross

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  1. Spirit Dependence:The Power of the Way of the Cross The Way of the Cross Series [7] Selected Scriptures October 27, 2013 Pastor Paul K. Kim

  2. WHEN WE DONOT DEPEND ON THE HOLY SPIRIT, WE DEPEND ON… • Our own ability/wisdom/strengths • Innovation/strategy/programs • Sheer effort/hard work • Connections in high places/network/people • Education/intelligence/technique • Charm/looks/personality • Money/possession/investment • ?

  3. What Do We Christians Really Rely On? • We Christians often quote ‘not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD,’ and yet in practice we seem to rely upon the mighty dollar and the power of the press and advertising. We seem to think that our influence will depend on our technique and the program we can put forward and that it would be the numbers, the largeness, the bigness that would prove effective. We seem to have forgotten that God has done most of his deeds in the church throughout its history through remnants. We seem to have forgotten the great story of Gideon, for instance, and how God insisted on reducing the 32,000 men down to 300 before he would make use of them. We have become fascinated by the idea of bigness, and we are quite convinced that if we can only stage, yes, that's the word, stage something really big before the world, we will shake it and produce a mighty religious awakening. That seems to be the modern conception of authority. • — Martyn Lloyd-Jones

  4. A REAL-LIFE EXAMPLE: HOW AND WHY DID APOSTLE PAUL SEEK SPIRIT DEPENDENCE? • 1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decidedto know nothing among you except Jesus Christ andhim crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message werenot in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstrationof the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.1 Corinthians 2:1-5

  5. A REAL-LIFE EXAMPLE: HOW AND WHY DID APOSTLE PAUL SEEK SPIRIT DEPENDENCE? • WHAT PAUL DIDN’T DO: Relying on his own ability/wisdom. • He didn’t come with lofty speech or wisdom. • His messages were not in plausible words of wisdom. • WHAT PAUL DID: Seeking to rely on the Spirit’s power. • He decided to know nothing except Christ and him crucified. • He was with them in weakness and fear & trembling. • WHY?: To have their faith be rooted in God’s power/wisdom. • So that the Corinthians’ faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. • Because God chooses to reveal his power through weakness (so no one can boast before God)—it is the way of the cross.

  6. The Spirit-filled life is not a special, deluxe edition of Christianity. It is part and parcel of the total plan of God for His people. • A. W. Tozer

  7. SPIRIT DEPENDENCE: HOW TO SEEK GOD’S POWER THROUGH WEAKNESS • 1) Seek God’s power through weakness in THE FOOLISHNESS OF THE CROSS [Our Message]. • 18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God . . . 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. • 1 Corinthians 1:18, 22-25 • The message of the cross—the gospel—is foolish and offensive to those who see it through the wisdom of men. • Our first temptation in today’s world is to bypass the cross or minimize it; but it is the power and wisdom of God that saves. • As Christ’s church, we are to fully trust in and be bold for our message—God’s power through the weakness of the cross.

  8. But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.Galatians 6:14

  9. SPIRIT DEPENDENCE: HOW TO SEEK GOD’S POWER THROUGH WEAKNESS • 2) Seek God’s power through weakness in THOSE WHOM WE REACH [Our Perspective]. • 26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 • God chooses the foolish and weak things of the world to shame the wise and the strong. (cf. 2 Cor. 5:16; James 2:5) • Our second temptation in today’s world is to see people through the worldly values, resulting in pride or shame. • As Christ’s church, we are to change the way we view people so the power of God would be revealed in brokenness.

  10. SPIRIT DEPENDENCE: HOW TO SEEK GOD’S POWER THROUGH WEAKNESS • Seek God’s power through weakness in OURSELVES [Our Effectiveness]. • 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the powerof Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.2 Corinthians 12:9-10 • In our weakness God’s power has the best opportunity to be revealed. (1 Cor. 2:3-5; 2 Cor. 4:7; 12:9-10) • Our third temptation in today’s world is to rely on our own wisdom & strengths, resulting in self-reliance/self-sufficiency. • As Christ’s church, we are to embrace our brokenness and weaknesses as a channel for God’s power to be revealed.

  11. WHAT ARE THE FIRST SIGNS OF SPIRIT-DEPENDENCE? • Internal Sign: “HUMBLE CONFIDENCE”(Jas. 4:6-7; Matt. 26:41; Luke 5:16) • It is a learned passivity of Spirit-dependence (“active passivity”). • God opposes the proud but gives his power/grace to the humble. • Without prayer, it is impossible for us to cultivate humility in our character and confidence in God’s power. • External Sign: “PRAYER FIRST”(Col. 4:2; Eph. 6:18) • Hence, prayer must be the FIRST THING in our individual lives and communal life as Spirit-dependent people of God. • Do NOT walk ahead of the Holy Spirit and prayer!

  12. What the Church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Spirit can use—men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Spirit does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men—men of prayer.E. M. Bounds

  13. THREE PRACTICAL QUESTIONS FOR OUR EVERYDAY LIFE • In what ways can I trust more in the message of the cross so that the power of God could be revealed in my everyday life? As CrossWay Church? • What would it look like if I change the way I view people so that the power of God would be revealed in those whom I reach for Christ? As CrossWay Church? • What would be my first step toward seeking the power of God through my own weaknesses? As CrossWay Church?

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