Where is the Real Power

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"Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength; they will mount up on wings as eagles."
Romans chapter 7 records Paul's struggle and misery of trying to live the Christian Life in his own strength by trying to obey the law. He found that this approach of trying to "live for God" brought death, misery and made him feel like a prisoner. The Holy Spirit is not mentioned once in Romans 7, and by the end of Romans 7, Paul cries out, "Oh wretched man that I am, who will rescue me from this body of death!" Paul had come to an end of himself; his resources, his coping strategies and his facade. (Step 1) Paul answers the question in the next verse: "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord."(Step 2) Notice that Paul did not say, "what church, what book, what 7 point plan will rescue me". He asked "who?" We are personal beings and external things like a church organization, a self help book, or even God's law will not be able to rescue us--these are impersonal, and the impersonal can't change the personal. So, God through person of Jesus Christ is the answer. What does that vague, undefined term "Jesus is the answer really mean." It means that He is our source for LIFE. He is our source for everything that is good, true, beautiful and strong in us. He is the answer to the spiritual void that plagues us from birth and causes us to look everywhere to get our deepest needs for love met. He is the source. And He is the source for our Spiritual Life. We established that the Holy Spirit is not mentioned once in Romans 7, but after Paul cries out to God and sees Jesus as His source, his dependency switches from him being the source to God being the source--the Holy Spirit is mentioned 21 times in Romans 8. The emphasis is on the Spirit's power: "The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is living in you." So, the two lifestyles are LAW - You are the source and your adherence to the law determines the quality of your life. AND, Grace - God is the source and you are joined to Christ inseparably through the Holy Spirit, and He is your source. He lives in you and expresses His life through you. You rest in Him, He works through you. His yoke is easy and his burden is light. You are loved unconditionally, accepted and complete in Christ. You no longer labor for God's love and acceptance - they are yours in Christ. The two lifestyles can also be seen from Union or Separation. The gospel says that we are joined to Christ...that we are one with Christ...This is a spiritual reality that we live out of by faith. Faith will increase our awareness of our Union, and thus, our source will be His Life. The enemy of that truth is the lie of separation. The lie of separations sounds something like this: God is in heaven, you are here on earth. God loves you and is just waiting to come bless you if and when you obey. The concept of tithing is a good example of this. God is waiting for you to give your money so he can bless you. You are here; He is there, and you have to labor to get his blessing, get Him to pay attention to you, or at least keep Him from knocking you into tomorrow. Because, you are separated, you have to work and labor and you are the source. Again, every believer is joined to Christ and He is our source. When we believe it, it becomes part of us, and thus, our reality.

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