Lack of Power

From: January 29, – February 4, 2013 TOPIC: “Lack of Power” Deuteronomy 28:15

The lack of power in men is sometimes due to their sin and incredulity. Disobedience also brings as a consequence the loss of what one has and what is desired. There is great heartbreaking pain and regret for the losses in the great disobediences. If we have disobeyed, our eyes will see evilness come upon us and the ones we love. An example of this is seen in the Israelites when they exposed themselves to have children in captivity due to their disobedience. To have the children captive results in one of the most painful and violent that one can be exposed to. Therefore, we should know and reconsider that it is better to be blessed by God and not cursed. Well, it is through sanctification by being separated for God and loving Him that we walk towards eternity having also here on earth God's blessing. Joshua 7:11, 12 "Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.” They were defeated because of their sins. Joshua found out the defeat was due to sin in the camp. Someone named Achan had disobeyed the Lord for plundering in the conquest of Jericho. First, the tribe to which the disobedient Achan belonged to fell before God, then judgment overcame his extended family, and then his closest family who lived under his roof, and at last Achan. Achan’s disorderly passion TOOK HIM AND HIS LOVED ONES TO DESTRUCTION. That condition of desiring to take possession of what was prohibited destroyed him and his loved ones. You either lead your loved ones to well-being or to evilness. Let us see what happens to men when they break their covenant with God. Judges 16:17 “(Samson) So he told her everything. No razor has ever been used on my head” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I will become as weak as any other man”. Before the insistence of the perverse Delilah, Samson no longer resisted the temptation and gave up by giving free rein to his flesh. He informed that impious and treacherous woman where his strength was. We can see that he directly suffered torture and dishonor for not having the power that God had given him. His long hair was the external indication that he was a Nazirite; a man chosen and separated for God. It was not in essence the long hair that gave him the power but rather the power was because of his separation with God. It was his relationship with God what gave him such power and honor; this is the whole (duty) of man. Now Delilah knew the secret of his strength. Now it was her turn, as perverse, to remove his hair. Because this way he would no longer be a Nazirite and God would no longer see him as separated for Him, there would no longer be that power in his life. The lack of power is due to the distance from God. This nation of Israel, together with their spiritual leaders, had left God. How much loss! How sad!

1 Samuel 17:23, 24 "As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his unusual defiance, and David heard it. When the Israelites saw the man, they all ran from him in great fear.” Apostasy existed in Israel in those times. The apostasy produced a nation of cowards. Apostasy is denial, renounce to the faith in religion. It is to walk away from God to embrace the world. Men who are apostates pull God out of their lives and place the devil in His place. That nation that God had called had done this. They all feared Goliath and the Philistines because in that war God was no longer with them. When God is no longer in the lives there is just defeat, fear and shame. There they had a giant that provoked and threatened them. Only someone brave like David, who had close communion with God, was able to say in the war: "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?" "What prize will there be for the man who defeats such character? "The incredulity of the others, who were apostates, weakened them. For such reason, they had no power. One should not be weakened as a consequence of incredulity. We see this with Joshua when God's people sinned; we see it Samson when Delilah reduced him to dishonor and with the people of Israel because of their apostasy when Goliath frightened them. Can the incredulity before the Almighty God become so great! It is easier for men to follow the incredulity than to believe God. Mark 9:17, 18 "A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I ask your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.” "John 15:5 Here we see that the disciples were not capable of helping others, for not believing God. Like those disciples, we are the ones who represent His great power here on earth. Jesus rebuked at them for being incredulous. Is it that perhaps He had not given them the power to cast out demons? How long would He have to be with them for them to use the authority He had given them? How long would He have to tolerate lives of impotence and defeat? How about us in this time? This is the matter: the Devil is able to control men with incredulity, with apostasy and with sin so that we can find ourselves impotent and therefore defeated in everything. In that poor condition of lack of communion and power what can be achieved in order to have peace and happiness? Where is the power, the victory and the honor? Defeat and loss arrive because of the lack of power due to the incredulity and the apostasy. Let us be careful cultivating our communion with God, the life of prayer, sanctification and obedience. It is Jesus who gives us the tools to achieve this. Separated from Him there is nothing we can do. It is Jesus who gives all His disciples the capacity to obtain power. Let us maintain always and without abandoning that bond of communion in purity and obedience with our Savior and Lord. Amen.