Troublesome Topic: ARE WE LIVING UP TO OUR POTENTIAL

We look at Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Daniel, and the other prophets, and wonder if we can ever live as close to God as they did. The men and women of old that we consider heroes did what they did because they were close to God.

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit, as expressed in Acts 2 and throughout the Epistles, should provide the potential for a closer walk with God. However, God was able to supply the people of old with everything they needed; God was not limited by His Spirit being with them instead of in them. From God’s perspective there is probably no difference between the potential of people before Pentecost and after. From our perspective, it seems like we should have the opportunity for greater closeness.

 The Holy Spirit is the reason Jesus said that His followers would do greater miracles than He did (Jn 14:12).

When I consider the closeness that is possible due to the Holy Spirit dwelling in me, I come away with a sense of awe, shame, amazement mixed with humility, and deeper commitment. I ask myself, “Why is this potential so rarely tapped? Why are we content to live at arm’s length when God wants to be so close that people will look at us and see Him? If God and His human followers live in the same dwelling (our bodies and minds), why doesn’t it make a difference in our impact on others around us.

The way the New Covenant is designed we should be living at least as close to God on a continual basis, if not closer to Him, than those we read about under the Former Covenant. So why is the world influencing the church, instead of the church impacting our world? Why do believers talk so much about power, and yet live such weak lives?

The most likely answer is that we have allowed things into our lives that hinder our closeness to God. Brothers and sisters, God has given us amazing potential if we draw close to Him; let’s use it. Let’s remove the barriers that separate us from God. Let’s see how close to Him we can get, instead of trying to see how far from Him we can live and still convince ourselves that we are Christians.

The next lesson in the Full and Medium Series on Covenants is: The Holy Spirit Can Help Us Live In Victory Over Sin