Mark 4:39 "He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.” This episode is about how we have have the power of the Holy Spirit inside us too! We have no idea how much power in inside of us. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The Power Within
Mark 4:39 "He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.”
Man, how great would it be to have Jesus right there with you in the storms? I know he is always with us in the storms, but I mean right there sitting next to you. So that you can see Him and hear Him stand up and yell at the storms in your life to shut up and behave. Wouldn’t that be amazing? I feel as though it would make it so much easier to trust that He was there if we could see Him. If we could hear his voice. Think about how hard it is to see in a storm. Particularly if you are on a boat as these men were. I can just picture the boat being thrown about on the water. I can picture it being so dark and the rain coming down so heavily. This may not have been the case in this circumstance as it does not mention rain. However, there are all different types of storms that we go through in our lives. Some are worse than others. Maybe it wasn’t raining this particular storm, but the winds were blowing and the waves were rising. The people on this boat were very concerned. Then with very few words, Jesus calmed the storm. He rebuked the winds and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” and everything was completely calm.
Can you even imagine this? Can you picture the storms in your life ending as quickly as they started? Wouldn’t it be so nice to just speak a few words and everything calms down? Did you know that you actually do have that power? Jesus gave us the power to rebuke our enemies, to chases away evil and to worry no more. We just have to accept that power and then use it. You have the power to rebuke all evil that comes into your life. You can close the door and not let it in. You can chose to bind all evil and send it to the foot of the cross. But first, you have to believe that you have that power, you have to know that you have that power. Maybe no one ever told you about this before. If this is the first you are hearing about this, then I am glad you are listening to this episode. In Acts 1:8 Jesus said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
When you are baptized in the Holy Spirit, which if you are Catholic, usually happens when you are a baby and then again when you make your confirmation. If you are not Catholic it happens, when you are baptized into your church, or when you ask for it. There are many ways to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. If you want more information on that, reach out, I would be happy to give you all the information you need. When you are baptized in the Holy Spirit, “the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you.” Romans 8:11. I remember the first time I heard this I was truly in awe. Think about that for a minute. "The Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you.” I don’t think we have any idea how much power we have living inside of us. We feel weak and we feel helpless when we are in a storm. We wish we could do something and yet what can we do, we are weak, we are powerless in this situation. This is a lie from the enemy and we buy it hook line and sinker, every single time. Oh, how amazing it would be if we all could realize the power we have living inside of us. Imagine how afraid the enemy would be if we knew how great this power was.
There are some that know how great this power is. Do you know anyone that has been faces with incredible pain and suffering and yet they seem to still have joy? Do you know anyone that seems to be faced with storm after storm and yet has beat incredible odds and was pretty calm and joyful throughout? Do you wonder what their secret is? Do you wonder how they can be so calm, in the face of so much uncertainty? I will tell you their secret right now. They know the power they have inside of them. Is it their power, no. Are they powerful on their own, no. They are powerful because they have the power of the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that brought Jesus back from the dead. They know that even if the seas get rough, the winds blow and the waves pick up, they have the power to rebuke the wind and tell the waves to calm down. They step out in faith and calm the storms because they know they are capable. Not through their own strength but through the strength of the Holy Spirit. You have this strength too.
Does this mean that once you know this, things won’t ever be tough again. Nope. Does this mean that you will never worry when things get hard. nope. You have this strength and this power so that you can use it. You will be tested and will need to call upon this power. So, if knowing this doesn’t help me stay out of the storm, why is it important that we know this? Because once you know you have the power to rebuke the evil that wants to enter your life, then you are able to use this power. If you don’t know that this power is lying dormant inside of you then you won’t call upon it. You will feel helpless in situations when you don’t know what to do. When situations feel too big, like the storm in the verse for today, you may feel weak and helpless. However, if you know you have this power inside of you then you can stand strong and face the storm with a peace and a joy because you know that you are not helpless. You can stand in this power and you can tell the evil to leave. You can refuse to let the evil into your mind or your heart. You can rely on the spirit that lives inside of you to calm your mind and your heart.
If you are looking for calm in the storm, be that calm. Call upon the power that is already inside of you. Call upon that power to rebuke any evil that comes your way. Call upon that power to help you refuse to believe the lies of the enemy. Call upon that power to be strong. When you don’t know what to do in a situation, Pray. It may feel like you aren’t doing anything. I have heard many people say, all I can do is pray. Praying is not a little thing. Prayers are so very powerful. Again, the idea that you are not doing anything except praying, is something the enemy wants you to believe. He wants you to believe that praying isn’t a big deal because even he knows how powerful prayers can be. Once people realize that they have the power of the Holy Spirit inside of them, and that praying is the most powerful they can do in any situation, they will be unstoppable. Their prayers will shoot like a rocket to heaven, straight to the ears of God. I know God hears all or our prayers, but I think if we all knew the power of our prayers, if we all believed in the power of our prayers, the enemy would be shaking in his boots.
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, I pray that you reveal to all those listening how truly powerful their prayers are. Give them a glimpse as to how much you love to hear them pray. Lord open their eyes to the power of the Holy Spirit that is living inside of them. If anyone listening doesn’t have the Holy Spirit living inside of them I ask that you place that desire upon their hearts. Lord, you are so truly amazing. The fact that you would even give us the Holy Spirit is beyond words. Your love is unending and we can’t even comprehend what that means. You have given us so much and we are not worthy. We are so grateful Lord. We love you so much and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to spending time with you tomorrow. Have a blessed day!