 | Blogs > Noah235 > PLOUGHMAN'S LUNCH > HOLY SPIRIT POWER: Part 1 |
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Have you heard the joke about Jack the lumberjack? Jack wasn't very bright, but he was very strong, and he was very good at cutting down trees. One day he was looking for a job and found himself speaking to Norman the foreman. "We've got a job for you if you want it, Jack", said Norman, "but this company has an unusual salary structure. If you cut down 50 trees or more in a day, you will get paid in full, but if you don't manage the full 50 trees, you'll get paid nothing. Do you understand?" "That's fine Norman", said Jack, "I'm sure I'll be able to cut down at least 50 trees a day. When can I start?" "You can start right now Jack", said Norman, and he handed Jack the chainsaw and off Jack went to cut down trees. At the end of the day Jack came back looking hot, sweaty and exhausted. "You look like you've had a hard day, Jack", said Norman, "how many trees did you cut down?" "Only 47, I'm afraid", said Jack. "Then I'm sorry", said Norman, "but I can't pay you anything. Come back tomorrow and try again". So Jack came back the next day and this time he did a little better, managing to cut down 48 trees. Unfortunately he had to go away without being paid again, but came back the following day for yet another try. At the end of the third day Jack came back looking even hotter, sweatier and more exhausted than before. "Did you manage the 50 trees today, Jack?" asked Norman. "Not quite", replied Jack, "49 today, but I'm getting nearer". Norman couldn't understand why Jack couldn't manage the 50 trees. After all, he was keen and seemed like a really strong man, and he had obviously been working very hard all three days. He found himself wondering if there was something wrong with the chain saw. "Let me have a look at the saw, Jack", he said, and Jack handed the saw to Norman so he could examine it. Norman took the saw, and switched it on. The chain saw roared into life. Jack jumped back, startled, and said "What's that noise?" --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One of the reasons for people being reluctant to join the church is that many of its activities seem utterly pointless and irrelevant to 'real life'. They see Christians working faithfully in the hope of making it to heaven but somehow they seem to be doing it more out of duty than pleasure, and with little expectation of making progress in a society that has largely rejected God. It is little wonder that few people are attracted to the church. The impression given is that becoming a Christian means taking on a burden rather than getting rid of one, and becoming a loser rather than a winner. I hope you got the punchline of the joke about Jack the Lumberjack. Just in case you didn't, let me spell it out for you: he was given a source of power with which to operate his chainsaw, but failed to realise that and used his own strength to make the saw cut down trees. Needless to say he also failed to reach the standard set by the boss and never got paid! We may think that he must have been very stupid, but as Christians many of us (and I was one for a long time) do exactly the same thing! We have also been given a source of power with which to live our Christian lives, but far too often we insist on trying to do it all in our own strength. Guess what? We fail too! The power source God has provided is the Holy Spirit, and with the Holy Spirit comes the necessary power to be and do everything God wants us to be and do. The Holy Spirit has been described as 'a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance' (Ephesians 1 v 14). To understand what this means, imagine you have a very rich uncle who has died and left you a lot of money but you lost touch with him years ago. You get a letter from the solicitors dealing with his estate. The letter informs you of your uncle's death and that he has left you a lot of money (say £10,000,000) in his will. It is likely that it will take some time to finalise an estate of that size, so they are enclosing a cheque for, say, £250,000 as a 'deposit' or 'first instalment' pending completion of formalities. You will have to wait a while to receive the full inheritance, but for most people a quarter of a million pounds is a big enough 'chunk' to cause an immediate transformation of lifestyle! In the same way tapping in to the power of the Holy Spirit will enable our walk with God to be revolutionised. I have identified 5 ways in which the power of the Holy Spirit can enrich our lives, and will describe these in the next few blogs. Peter  "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth" 2 Timothy 2 v 15 |
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6/23/2008 5:55 pm |
Good story about Jack! The saddest thing of all is that a lot of Christians are unaware of the power of the Holy Spirit. Talk about untapped power!! you said it!!  Penelope Captive of Hope 
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6/23/2008 6:22 pm |
Good story about Jack! The saddest thing of all is that a lot of Christians are unaware of the power of the Holy Spirit. Talk about untapped power!! you said it!! Look forward to your future posts, Peter.
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6/23/2008 8:33 pm |
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. . . Continue to be faithful, deliverance is near, obedience must be seen, be an unconditional blessing as He continues to bless you. This time is short, serve Him well, serving all. Without exception. Know? Yes? ? . Meow ? .
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 6/24/2008 2:57 pm |
Hi Peter, Very Good post.Yep.I do know the power (well abit of it) of The Holy Spirit n it`s fantastic.That feelin of euphoria,nothing can beat it. GOD BLESS, Wendy  Show me the way Sweet JESUS. Lead and i Will follow.   
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