Who needs Spiderman’s spidey senses!

Within our church here we’ve started a new journey through the book of Romans. Over the coming weeks I’m going to be adapting my sermons for my blog. I think that God is giving me this stuff to share with my fellowship, but also to encourage men everywhere.

I hope you enjoy the read.

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, 7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 1:1–7 (ESV)

If you look at Romans 1:1-7 you see the apostle Paul introducing himself to the church in Rome. Verses 3 & 4 really stand out for me concerning the two detailed natures of Jesus.

First we see that Jesus was a descendant of King David. This being the case means we are able to recognise the human nature of Jesus. These verses however show that Jesus was more than just a man, He was also the Son of God, and declared so through His resurrection in power.

Guy’s think about this for a moment, Jesus isn’t some distant deity that has no clue as to what being a bloke is all about – He is fully God but also fully man. Now don’t ask me how to theologically explain how that is all possible. If I have to get into all that, you might end up missing the quite amazing truth that Jesus knows all about being a bloke.

You know what? I can follow a God like that; one who knows my struggles! I can worship a God like that; one who isn’t some far away distant deity!

Keep looking at these verses and you’ll see mention of Jesus being resurrected in power. This is something that we as believers have in common with Jesus. You see, when we turn to Jesus and ask Him to be our Saviour, our Lord, something amazing happens. In less than a micro second to us, we die and are re-born. In that micro second we, like Jesus, are resurrected in power and declared sons and daughters of God. That’s cool stuff right there eh?

It’s such amazing stuff that Hollywood and Marvel comics have been using the idea for years. Notice how Marvel’s Superheroes nearly always go through some kind of near death experience. This experience is closely followed by the receiving of some kind of new power!

Now as followers of Jesus, we may not have Spiderman’s super spidey senses, but we do have something that’s quite unique to us as Christians. We have the Holy Spirit who lives within us. He, among many other things, is the new power of God that we are re-born with.

Now the Holy Spirit lives in and with us for many reasons, one is all about the idea of bringing about change. Something happens in us when become Christians doesn’t it? We start to change from the inside out; we start to take on the characteristics of Jesus. In fact I defy you to show me a person who knows Jesus as both Lord and Saviour, who hasn’t experienced some kind of change in their life!

The change however doesn’t stop with our remodelling; as we become more responsive to the Holy Spirit within us, He will often lead us to engage in our communities in new ways, ways in which He can begin to influence change. In the hands of God, each and every one of us can be an instrument of change in our local communities, in our circle of friends, and even in our families.

I want to encourage you as you read this, to recognise the new nature you’ve been born with. When you started believing in Jesus; when He became your Lord and Saviour, you were given a new nature, one known as a ‘child of God, born in power’. Recognise this amazing miracle in your life, work with the Holy Spirit and you won’t see a fictional tale of a superhero making a difference, you’ll see a real life bloke making a difference wherever he goes.

Go, and save the day!!