A GOOD BATTERY…but a WEAK CONNECTION

Biblical Text: 1 CORINTHIANS 1:18

”For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us
who are saved it is the power of God.”

Have you ever seen the Energizer battery commercial on television? You know
that is the one where 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. Now, I want you to understand
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 your cordless and
cell phones with weak batteries will be full of static and eventually disconnect
themselves. 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 purchase a new
battery. When he return 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. My brothers and sisters, we too,
as “born again” Christians, must make sure that we have a good connection to
our power source; and that source is Jesus.

Now, in our text, the Cross of Christ represents the power of God unto salvation.
It also represents the power of God for every believer to live in the spirit. But like
the battery, we must have clear contact to keep the power flowing. We must be
in harmony with the will of God to benefit from the power that is available to us.

It is of little or no value at all to have the power of the Almighty God at our
disposal, and 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 men revile you and persecute you, and utter all manner of
evil against you falsely.

Now, notice in our text, it says, "For the preaching of the cross is to them that
perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God”. And
Romans 10:14 reminds us that the first step to releasing the power of God is by
hearing the Word of God. Hear the Word of God:

”How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall
they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear
without a preacher?” Now watch this; verse 17 says this: “So faith cometh by
hearing and hearing by the word of God.”

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

When Paul spoke of the cross as the power source for Christians, he was not
talking about the wooden stake or post in the ground that was used for capitol
punishment. When Paul spoke of the cross as the power source for Christians, he
referred to what the cross symbolizes…that symbolism includes the sacrifice of
Christ, His blood shed on Calvary, His death, burial and resurrection.

The crucifixion of Christ transformed the cross from a symbol of shame and
embarrassment to a symbol of the Mighty Power of God. The Cross embodies this
symbol because Christ’s death on the cross blotted out all sin and man’s foolish
laws from which there could be no redemption.

This is what Paul wrote in his letter to the Colossians, Chapter Two, verse
fourteen; “blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which
was contrary to us, (Christ) took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross.” When
Paul preached about Christ and His crucifixion, the Jews considered it a
stumbling block. The Greeks said that it was foolishness. But I stopped by to tell
you that those who perish are those who reject the power of the cross. They’ve
heard the story, but they refuse to accept it’s truth. They view preaching as a
waste of time…foolishness…. And they will perish.
But to those of us who are called, both Jew and Greek, Christ is the power of God
and the wisdom of God. Those of us who are believers 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. What am I
saying? I’m saying that too many of God’s created people are depending on their
own skills and education to get them through life. Educational skills are
necessary, and I wish that every one would get a degree from the college of their
choice. 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. What I’m trying to say is that 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 your connection with God? Well, pride will corrode your
cables and interfere with your connection. Hatred will keep you from having a
good connection with God. Jealousy will keep you from having a good connection
with God. Strife will keep you from having a good connection with God. And
there are many more. Get rid of the things that are keeping you from having a
good connection with your 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 with 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, move and have our beings.
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. If you are looking for a good power source let me introduce you to
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?