Christ: His Power

Christ: His Power

Christ Comes to Puerto Rico
At a meeting where someone attacked missionary work, a Jewish gentleman asked if he might say a few words. "A few years ago," he began, "my bank sent me to make some studies of a place in Puerto Rico. It was the worst, the dirtiest city imaginable. It was a real hell. Two years ago I went back to that same city-it was entirely new. The change was unbelievable. The houses, the streets were all so clean. The taverns had gone out of existence! What had happened, I wondered. Did they elect a new mayor? Was the place invaded by new educators? No. A Christian missionary had come to work among them and teach them about Christ. I went and found this missionary and gave him a generous gift for his work. I saw with my own eyes what Christ can do in just a short time."

Christ, the Master Builder
Agostino d'Antonio, a sculptor of Florence, wrought diligently but unsuccessfully on a large piece of marble. "I can do nothing with it," he finally said. Other sculptors tried their hand at it, but they too gave up the task. The stone lay on a rubbish heap for forty years. Out strolling one day, Michelangelo saw the stone and its latent possibilities and ordered it brought to his studio. He began to work upon it, and ultimately his vision and work were crowned with success. From that seemingly worthless stone he carved one of the world's masterpieces of sculpture-David! The secret lay in Michelangelo, not in the stone. Look at life-your own with all its disappointments, and the lives of others with all that God has accomplished in them or all that He is able to accomplish. Expect Him to produce a masterpiece because you know the quality of the work of the Master Builder, Christ.

Held by Christ
A minister traveling on a train in Europe was the sole occupant of a compartment, save for a young man reading a newspaper. The youth was also a Christian, but so weak was his faith, and so many were his temptations, that he told the minister he did not think he would be able to stand life a week longer. The minister took from his pocket a Bible and a penknife and said, "See, I will make this penknife stand up on the cover of this Bible, in spite of the rocking of the train." The young man, thinking that this was some conjuring trick, watched the proceeding with interest, saying, "I am afraid that it will not be very easy to do that , sir." "But," said the minister, "I am doing it." "Oh, but you are holding it," retorted his fellow passenger. "Why of course. Did you ever hear of a penknife standing up on its end without being held up?" "I see," was the young man's comment. "I see you mean to teach me that I cannot stand unless Christ holds me. Thank you for reminding me of that." The Source of Life
It is said that Tennyson was walking one day in a beautiful flower garden when a friend said to him, "Mr. Tennyson, you speak so often of Jesus Christ. Will you tell me what Christ really means to your life?" Tennyson stooped and pointing to a beautiful yellow flower said, "What the sun is to the flower, Jesus Christ is to my soul."

Weakness Becomes Strength
In front of the great Cathedral of Amiens stands a statue of Jesus Christ, and on either side His twelve apostles. Below them are written their greatest virtues, in contrast to their greatest vices. In Peter's case, his outstanding quality is his courage, but below it you see a figure of Peter fleeing from a leopard, representing his cowardice. Then beneath that you see the same figure sitting on a leopard and riding forth to conquest. The sculptor wished to teach us that by contact with the Lord Jesus Christ that very thing which is a man's weakness can be transfigured into his strength; that very thing from which he fled can become the glorious chariot on which he rides forward, conquering and to conquer.

Jesus' Authority
In a football game, the power of big, strong, muscular men is ruled by a man with a striped shirt and a whistle. The referee alone has ultimate authority in the game. He alone has the power to stop the game and even throw rebellious players off the field. That's the type of authority Jesus claims for Himself. In spite of Satan's attempts to control the universe and the affairs of men, Jesus wears the striped shirt and carries the whistle. He controls the field of play. If we are going to accomplish His mission, we must operate under His authority. In the Hands of a Champion
One man used to play tennis quite a lot. He wasn't very good, but he was always open to anything that could help him. One day he was watching a match on TV, and saw a commercial advertising the Wilson T-2000 metal racquet. It showed Jimmy Connors making a lot of fancy shots while a hidden narrator said, "If the Wilson T-2000 could win Wimbledon and Forest Hills, it could certainly handle my little matches."
So he played with one all that summer. And he lost all summer. That racquet didn't do anything for him. The truth is, the Wilson T-2000 didn't win Wimbledon or Forest Hills. Jimmy Connors did-using the Wilson T-2000. When the fans walked away from the match that day, they didn't talk about what a great racquet the Wilson T-2000 was; they talked about what a great player Jimmy Connors was. And the prize check was made out to Jimmy Connors and not to you-know-what.
Now in tennis, a racquet is essential-but it isn't the racquet that wins. It's the champion who wins, using the racquet. In the doing of works and greater works, Jesus is the champion and we are the racquet in His hands.