“Too often we regard God’s power as an added ingredient that turbocharges our own efforts. The early church didn’t think that way. They thought of God’s power as a miraculous intervention without which they were dead in the water. Not even gospel words were expected to work in an automatic way.
The Apostle Paul defined authentic ministry among the Thessalonians like this: “Our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction” (1 Thess. 1:5). The coming of the gospel provoked an encounter, a clash between the claims of Thessalonian culture and the claims of an eternal kingdom. It turned the Thessalonians from their self-invented idols to serve the living and true God (1 Thess. 1:9). The idea that God might enhance their power was the furthest thing from the minds of these believers.
How can we press more deeply into the power of God today? The answer will always be simple. All we can do is go back to our Lord and His grace: “Be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 2:1). Does that answer seem too easy, even a letdown? Then try it. It is never easy. I means deliberately rejecting every source of strength but the grace of Christ alone.
Such rejection is counterintuitive to self-assured, get-it-done, pragmatic Christians like us. Our cleverness always seems to promise more impact. But that cleverness, in fact, is a liability brilliantly disguised as an asset. The real battle being fought in our times is so profound it can be won only by the grace that is in Christ Jesus alone.”
Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. in The Gospel: How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ (Wheaton: Crossway, 2014) 105-106.
Today, the practice of many reveals the belief that the power for ministry is money and as Ortlund puts it, our “cleverness” which leads us to think we can produce the impact. He rightly added that such cleverness “is a liability brilliantly disguised as an asset.”
What does this have to do with generosity? Everything. God will generously strengthen us by the grace that is in Christ Jesus if we ask Him. Humble obedience and dependence is the posture we must take, and as Ortlund rightly says, “it is never easy!” It is however, the choice every believer must make.
I wrote a book along these lines last year with Scott Rodin and Wes Willmer. It’s called The Choice: The Christ-Centered Pursuit of Kingdom Outcomes. To encourage your spiritual journey, I’d be happy to share the ebook with you freely. Simply reply to this email to receive your personal copy.