A GOOD BATTERY, BUT A BAD CONNECTION

The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 1 CORINTHIANS 1:18

Everybody has seen the Energizer battery commercial on television. The little bunny appears beating a drum, and the announcer says "still going”! On he goes, across the desert, over mountains, on lonely highways. Nothing seems to stop the little bunny. We need to know that the point of the commercial is not the bunny, but the battery.

It’s important to have good batteries because weak batteries cause problems. Cars with weak batteries have problems starting. Once the motor starts the car usually runs, but it takes a good battery to get it started. Particularly in cold weather, a weak battery just won’t do it.

Tape recorders with weak batteries will drag. Flashlights with weak batteries will go dim, pocket radios with weak batteries will fade, and our cell phones with weak batteries will eventually disconnect themselves from the network. Why?….because the battery is the power source.

But even a good battery is only half the solution. There was a woman who was having trouble getting her car started. Every time she would turn on the ignition she would get a clicking sound. So naturally she thought that her battery was dead. Without checking with anyone, she sent her son down to Wal-Mart, to purchase a new battery. When he put the battery in and she tried to start the car again, but she got those same clicking sounds.

Finally, she called a mechanic who took one look at her cable ends and analyzed her problem. He said “Ma'am, you have a good battery but your cables are bad.” That day she learned a good lesson about her car; you must always make sure that you have a good connection to the battery. As Christians, must make sure that we have a good connection to our power source; and that source is Jesus.

But this “power source” is of little or no value at all if let our connection get rusty and corroded. You see, that corrosion causes a bad connection. There are too many believers who go through life hearing the "clicking" sound that suggest that there is power under the hood that can't get through. Many of us have the ability to achieve greatness through the exercise of our gifts, but every time we turn the switch all we get is a clicking sound.

We, as Christians, need to keep a clear and uninterrupted connection with God. Yes, others might think that we are foolish for doing so, but we who are saved know that our power comes from the Cross, the Power of God.

In our text, Paul writes to the church at Corinth about the wisdom of preaching the truth of the cross of Christ. Paul explains that those who are saved recognize the cross as a symbol of the power of God. But to those outside of the faith, the church seems to be involved in foolishness.

What is this foolishness of which Paul speaks? Maybe it’s the command to love your enemies or to pray for those who use you. Maybe it’s your belief that what you hope for will become evident through your faith. Maybe it’s your belief that you are blessed when people dislike you, persecute you, or say bad things about you.

Singing, praying, testimonies and other forms of worship are inspiring, but it is the Word of God that connects us to our power source. It is the Word of God that directs us to the Cross.

People that are not saved can’t understand this power and surely cannot “connect” to it.

But as Believers we know that Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. We know that, at the foot of the cross, we find our ability, our strength, and our power.

Our knowledge of the historical account of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ is our power source; it is our spiritual energizer that just keeps us going, going, and going. There are many who are hooked up to the wrong source; they’re trying to use a six-volt transistor to empower a twelve-volt understanding. This means that many of God’s created people are depending on their own skills and education to get them through life. Educational skills are necessary, but when trouble comes, that battery is too small for the job. When you need real power, you’d better be hooked up to the power that holds the world in the palm of His hand, and lights up the night with the moon and the stars.

Now, in order to get the needed energy from your power source, you must have the right connection. You can have a good battery but if the connection is wrong, there is no power. And since we are talking about connecting to a power source, we must also determine the type of connection required.

There are two types of current, A/C and D/C. Some folks in our churches are A/C in nature. They suffer from being hooked up to an alternating current. They attend church on alternating Sundays. They pray on alternating occasions. They tithe on alternating occasions. In other words they come to church when they feel like it, pray when it is convenient, and give when they want to.

Then there are those who are hooked up to the D/C, or direct current. God is looking for some D/C folks…dedicated Christians; people on whom He can depend. People who just don't do things when it’s convenient for them, but “press toward the mark” daily. God is looking for those who will keep on going no matter how hard it gets.

Now, if you have a good battery, and the connecting cables are good, there’s still one more thing you need to know. The connection must be tight! The battery must be free of external interference. There can be no space separating the cable from the battery post.

Paul said it best when he declared, “nothing shall separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.” And when it comes to the life of a Christian there must be no space that separates us from the Master. The life of a Christian must be lived in such a way that there is nothing between our soul and our Savior.

And what can corrode our connection with God? Well, pride will corrode our cables and interfere with our connection. Hatred and unforgiveness will keep us from having a good connection with God. Jealousy will keep us from having a good connection with God. Conflict will keep us from having a good connection with God. And there are many more. We need to get rid of the things that are keeping us from having a good connection with our power source.

And finally, make sure both cables are connected. Along with the hot wire, there must be a ground cable. Somebody, today, is trying to get a prayer through and you’re not properly grounded. You’re trying to sing His praises but your ground wire is loose. How do I become grounded?

You are grounded when you accept Christ as your PERSONAL SAVIOR, confess with your MOUTH the Lord, Jesus Christ, and believe in YOUR HEART that He was raised from the dead. Abide in the Word of God. Ground yourself to the Cross of Christ….then plunge into the “foolishness” of loving those who hate you. Plunge into the foolishness of believing without seeing. Plunge into the foolishness of praying for those who use you, and finding a blessing in persecution.

Ground yourself to the belief that in Christ we live. When you need power you need to go to the one that created the trees and the flowers. When you need power you need to go to the one that is able to heal the sick and raise the dead.

Yes, when you need power you need to go to the Rock of (your) Salvation and His name is Jesus. We don’t need to go to Wal-Mart to find a good power source if we know God's original power source.

Before there was a 36-Month Goodyear Power Source….Before there was a NAPA 40 Month Power Horse…..Before there was a Sears 60-Month Guaranteed Power Source…..Before Sears and Roebuck ever thought of the name, Jesus was the original Die-Hard.

Yes, Jesus is better than Ever-ready; and He's got power to spare.

They crucified Him on the cross, they buried Him in a borrowed tomb, and they tried to drain Him of his power. But early one Sunday Morning, My Die Hard, My Ever Ready, My Energizer, My Duracell, rose with all power in his hand… “Wonder working power”, “soul saving power”, “healing power” in His hand. Are you connected to His power?