Wednesday, September 21, 2005
People in the real estate business will tell you that three things really matter when it comes to the value of any property: location, location, and location. Apparently, the President's White House team believes that, too. After Bill Clinton's re-election, "Newsweek" described the efforts of various officials to get the best office spaces at the White House. It happens with every administration. The article was named, interestingly enough, "The Geography of Power." What makes an office at the White House a good office? Well, if you had a choice about your office, you'd probably want the one with windows and plenty of space. But that's not what matters most in the White House office scramble. It's how close are you to the Oval Office! You must be near the President! The way they put it is this: "proximity is power." Yes, it is.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Geography of Power."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 27:51-52. It's the event that changed forever the geography of power - spiritual power. The Bible says, "And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He gave up His spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom." Someone might say, "That's impressive. A curtain in the temple just suddenly split in two at the moment Jesus died. But so what?"
Well, the "so what" is this. That curtain covered the Holy of Holies, the place where God Himself was present on earth. No one could enter that place and live for centuries, except for one man, the high priest, one time a year. He could go in to make sacrifice for the nation's sins. The geography of spiritual power was that basically no one could get near the personal presence of the living God. Sin kept everyone out, until the day Jesus died to pay for every sin of every man and woman. And suddenly, God said, "If you belong to Me, come into My Presence, anytime, for any reason." And today, if you have put your trust in Jesus Christ as the Rescuer from your sin, you have a spot that is always close to the power.
Listen to God's invitation - it's staggering. Hebrews 4:16 says, "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and grace to help us in our time of need." People think they have power because they can come and go from the Oval Office regularly? That's nothing, compared to your privilege of coming and going regularly from the Throne Room of Almighty God. The Throne Room from which a hundred billion galaxies are governed! Through prayer, God has thrown open His Throne Room to you, His blood-bought child!
So are you praying like you are with an awesome, all-powerful God? Or are you, like too many of us, under-praying? And over-worrying, over-scheming, praying too often as a last resort or an afterthought, or praying for just man-sized things; praying these safe, small, predictable prayers. Listen, you have access to the power but you're trying to figure it out in your little office down the hall! If you're under-praying, then you are probably under-living, settling for mediocrity and unnecessary spiritual poverty. When you don't spend time in God's Throne Room, you overestimate the problem and you underestimate the Lord.
If proximity is power, then God has placed you in the most powerful position a human being can be in. By earth standards, your spot may not be very impressive. But because Jesus opened the door, you have instant access to all the power, all the love, all the resources of the God of the universe. Pray like it! Live like it!