Philippians 3:10-11 says, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.”
Over a half dozen men showed up for the big day of cement pouring. Dad had built the forms for the foundation and basement walls of his double A-frame cabin. The cement truck could not get close enough to make the pour. Men came with wheelbarrows to get the job done. Early in the morning the cement truck showed up with the first load. Backing up to the site, the truck got stuck in the mud—all the way to the axles. The driver called his boss. “Chain the backhoe between the truck and a tree. It has the power to pull it out,” he instructed. No sooner said than done. The backhoe pulled and strained. The truck didn’t budge. For the next few hours the men tried another way. Five pickups were chained end-to-end. The lead pickup was a Dodge 4-wheel drive with positraction. It was sitting on the paved road. At the word go, engines revved, mud flew, and all four wheels of the Dodge were burning rubber. After several tries to no avail, the driver called his boss again. The boss arrived. With almost no words, he hooked up the backhoe himself, climbed in the seat and applied pressure. Nothing happened. He continued to apply pressure. After about two minutes the truck began to slowly move. The suction that the huge tires and heavy weight had created gave way to the powerful backhoe. The truck was soon resurrected onto dry ground.
Just as everybody denied that the backhoe had the power to do the job, many today deny that God has the power to pull a man out of the muck of sin and set him on holy ground to walk a holy life. Paul warned Timothy to be aware of these churchgoers, “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away” (II Timothy 3:5).
The people Paul was describing were blinded by self-love. They had a form of godliness. They must have wanted some godliness, but they did not experience the resurrection power of God themselves. Maybe they tried to walk holy for awhile and it didn’t work.
God’s resurrection power goes far beyond the resurrection. God’s power, the power of the Holy Spirit, is worth waiting for. God’s power is a steady power that is always there, always available.
Sometimes we need to stand still and wait to see the power of God. The Israelites feared when they were trapped between the Egyptian army and the Red Sea. “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you today:” (Exodus 14:13a).
Paul prayed that the Ephesians would see God’s power, “…making mention of you in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power” (Ephesians 1:16-19).
Paul counted all things but loss to win Christ. Our power is useless. Let us die to self and know the power of His resurrection. Know His power!
