Strength Is a Mark of the Spiritual
Strength Is a Mark of the Spiritual
I want to speak to you today about the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart. The Holy Spirit has a work in man, and He has fruits mentioned in (Gal. 5:22), and gifts mentioned in (1 Cor. 14). And when the Spirit works in the heart, His work appears clearly through signs, perhaps the most evident of them is: strength.
Strength is a mark of the spiritual.
The spiritual man is a strong person. He has strength from above, from God, which no one can resist.
The proof is the saying of the Lord Christ: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me.”
I am astonished at the children of God who consider meekness a kind of weakness, while the children of the world appear strong, able to reach their goals, and possessing strong personalities!
The children of God ought to be stronger than the people of the world. Good should be stronger than evil, truth stronger than falsehood, and spirituality stronger than secularism.
The person in whom the Holy Spirit works is transformed into a strong man: strong in his personality, in his thought, and in his speech. Strong in his prayers, strong in his service, and in everything.
Among examples of this strength is Paul the prisoner before his captors…
He was bound in chains before Felix the governor. Yet when he spoke about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix the governor trembled. The صاحب authority and influence trembled before this strong prisoner.
And, with the difference in comparison, when the Lord Christ stood before Pilate, Pilate was afraid of Christ. The majesty of Christ dominated him, so he sought every means to release Him, and said, “I find no fault in this righteous Man.” Christ was stronger than His crucifiers and those who judged Him.
Likewise, the martyrs were strong; governors and rulers were perplexed by them.
Mar Girgis was not overcome by a number of kings. Many of the martyrs before them all means of torture and all kinds of temptation became weak. Finally, their persecutors killed them while feeling helpless and powerless.
Defenseless Christianity was stronger than the Roman Empire with all its weapons.
In the end, the Empire was judged by Christianity, and its emperors bowed before the Cross which they had fought. Ariyanus the governor who killed thousands of believers finally believed. Longinus the soldier who pierced Christ with the spear became a Christian martyr. The pagan Roman Empire became the Holy Roman Empire.
Christianity, which seemed to be the religion of ignorant fishermen, was able to triumph over all philosophies, and the ignorant were able to shame the wise.
Unfortunately, there are people who are religious and are ashamed of their religiosity, appearing weak before the people of the world!! But David the prophet says: “I spoke of Your testimonies before kings, and was not ashamed.”
Why then do you stand weak before the wicked, who mock you and ridicule your faith, making you a laughingstock? Remember that he in whom the Holy Spirit dwells receives power from above.
This is the power of which the Lord said to His disciples: “Do not depart from Jerusalem, but wait until you are clothed with power from on high.” Therefore He said that this generation would not pass away till they saw the kingdom of God come with power.
I find no power greater than the power of the wonderful apostolic age.
Power in preaching and in the word… and within thirty years Christianity spread in Palestine and Syria, moved to Asia Minor, extended westward to Greece, Italy, and Spain, and eastward to Arabia, Iraq, and India, and southward to Egypt and Ethiopia… a wondrous power from the Holy Spirit.
It was not human power, but the power of God Himself.
Power in speech:
He said to them, “It is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” One of them would speak, and the Spirit would utter. Therefore it was rightly said of the Holy Spirit: “Who spoke by the prophets.”
Truly, how beautiful is the Lord’s saying to His disciples: “I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to resist.” A mouth and wisdom from the Holy Spirit of God. Therefore the word of the Lord was powerful in their mouths.
Peter delivers a sermon, and three thousand are converted to the faith!! It is a word from the Spirit. Therefore it was said, “The word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword.”
A spiritual man speaks a word to you, and it enters your mind and your heart; you try to resist it but you cannot. The word surrounds you. You remember it in your wakefulness and dream of it in your sleep. It continues to pursue you; you cannot escape it. It is the power of the word.
The word of man is merely a word you hear, but the word of God has power within it: power to convince and to influence, and power to accomplish. Therefore it was said of the word of God that it “shall not return void.”
Stephen the archdeacon was full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. He stood before three synagogues of heretics, and they were not able to resist the Spirit nor the power by which he spoke.
Power in prayer and in life:
The apostles prayed, and the place was shaken. Prayer was greatly effective in its working, as though it were keys to heaven, swift in its response.
There is, besides the power of the word and the power of prayer, the power of victory over sin. The spiritual man is led by the Lord in the procession of His triumph.
But the sinner is a weak man; he cannot overcome sin.
The spiritual man is also strong in the society in which he lives. He influences society; society does not influence him. He leaves his mark on his generation, and perhaps on generations that follow.
There are saints whose influence is still strong through the generations, reaching us through the centuries in their sayings and in the impact of their holy lives.
Abba Antony, who established the monastic system and whose principles spread throughout the whole world, was strong. Strong because thousands and millions believed in his idea. He was strong because he overcame the world, money, desires, and lusts; because he overcame the demons and endured solitude and dwelling in the desert.
If you are weak, examine yourself: perhaps the Holy Spirit is not working in you, or you have lost the Holy Spirit within you. Therefore pray and say: Grant me, O Lord, the power of the Spirit and His work in me.
Grant me, O Lord, power from You, by which I may triumph inwardly and outwardly as well. Power not for boasting, but for steadfastness in You. Do not leave the Lord until you are clothed with power from on high.
A man who cannot fight thoughts is a weak man. But Paul the Apostle says, “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”
Every thought that attempts to rebel against obedience to the Lord, we capture it and bring it as a prisoner bound in chains, subject to the will of the Spirit.
There are spiritual persons whom demons fear and flee from.
Saint Abba Macarius was exiled by the Arians to the island of Philae. When he entered it, the demons cried out because of him. The daughter of a pagan priest who was possessed by a demon was freed when it left her and fled. The whole island believed. And at the meeting of the Lord Christ, the demons would cry out.
The twelve apostles whom Christ left were stronger than thousands and millions.
They were mighty men of valor, stronger than lands and countries and continents. When the angel appeared to Gideon, the Lord said to him, “The Lord is with you, mighty man of valor.” A very wondrous expression of strength.
The children of God are mighty men of valor, mighty in the Spirit.
“Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O Mighty One,” says the Psalm, “Draw it out, prosper, and reign.” “Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the King’s enemies, O Mighty One.” It was said of Solomon’s throne that around it were sixty mighty men, all holding swords and ready for war.
From the might of these men, eras were named after them.
Thus we say the age of Athanasius, for he was the pillar of that age; and we say the age of Moses and the age of Elijah. This is the power of the Holy Spirit which those righteous ones were clothed with, and with which they clothed their generations, so that they were formed by their spirituality.
There is a great difference between spiritual power and secular power:
The power of the world is for oppression, for wrongdoing, for injustice, for war, for humiliating others—a brute and ignorant power. But spiritual power is, before everything, an inner inward power: power in the spirit, in building the kingdom. The children of God are strong. We do not rejoice in large numbers, but in the power of the Spirit working in people.
When we say a spiritual church, we mean a strong church. And when we say a strong church, we mean a spiritual church. David the young boy was stronger than King Saul because the Spirit of the Lord was upon him. Therefore the demons that terrified King Saul feared him. David was also stronger than Goliath, whom the whole army feared.
The psalms of David were stronger than the demons of Saul, and the stone of David was stronger than the sword of Goliath. He represents the power of God in human weakness. Despite his young age, he was stronger than the elders.
What is the reason for the weakness of service in many churches?
It is that the servants advanced to service before receiving power from the Spirit.
Therefore pray before you serve. Say: Grant me, O Lord, a word, and grant the word power and influence.
Grant me, O Lord, Your Spirit, that I may work by Him and that He may work in me. Grant me this power without which I will not serve.
An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III – in El-Keraza Magazine – Year Seven (Issue Thirty-Six) 3-9-1976.
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