What gives you power?

Here is part 3 to the Superman series of posts. I hope you have enjoyed them! If you missed part 1 or part 2, go back and read them!

Superman draws his strength and abilities from the Sun. And I believe that we draw our strength and abilities from The Son, Jesus Christ!

You see, all of Superman’s powers, Super strength, Flying, speed, heat vision, x-ray vision, and even super hearing comes from the sun. When he is feeling weak from a hard, tough battle, all he needs to do is let the sun shine on him.

Friend’s, this is a great lesson from Superman for us. We, too, draw our strength from the Son but from a far greater Son. Jesus gives us the strength to carry on in times of trouble.

We are told this in Psalm34:19, A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; Jesus is our strength in times of troubles. We were never told or promised that we would not have any troubles once we gave our lives to Jesus. We were told and promised that He will see us through the troubles we face and He will give us the strength and abilities to overcome them.

Philippians 4:13, I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Have you been beaten up by the super villain twins, Sin and Temptation? The truth is, temptation has some super powers over each of us and sometimes it over comes us and then we get beat up by the seemingly all-powerful villain, Sin!

We are promised that we will find the strength to overcome the temptations of this world through our Savior, Jesus Christ. We say we know this but do we really have faith in it? Do we truly trust in Him to see us through the things of this world?

The old story is told about a great flood that engulfed an entire town. Everything was submerged; people were at the mercy of the waters. One Christian man in particular found his way on top of his roof. There he sat trusting that the Lord was going to take care of him. A rescue boat came by but the man said no thanks, I trust that God will see me through this. Then a rescue helicopter came by, but once again the man said no thanks as he knew God was going to help him during his time of trouble.

The waters continued to rise and eventually the waters took the man’s life. He made it to heaven and was confused about why he died. After all, he was a Christian man and he trusted that the Lord would see him through the flood. So he asked God where he was during the flood. He told God that he believed the Scriptures and had complete faith that He would deliver him from any trouble that came his way.

God told him, “Look, I sent you a boat, you said no thanks, I then sent you a helicopter and you once again said no thanks, what else did you want me to do?”

I believe we are much like this man. We say we have faith and we say we believe but when it comes down to it, life is more about us and how we want things done. We want it our way and if things don’t match what and how we want it, then it’s not good enough for us, "surely that isn't God's plan!?!"

Looking back at the Scripture we began with in part one, we are told to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. 1 Peter 2:12, Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.

When I look at this Scripture I can’t help but see the evangelical emphasis that it has for us. You see this Scripture is not just about us, not just for us. It’s pointing towards others seeing us that they may give their lives to Jesus and glorify God as well. This Scripture helps me to understand that the world does not just revolve around me and that life is not just about me.

Superman’s destiny was to help the people of earth. We all have seen on television, at the movies or have read a comic book or two about how Superman is selfless, compassionate, and how he cares for people as he lives his life to help others. Christian, I ask you, what is your destiny? Is it to make it into heaven? If you believe and have given your life to Jesus, then you must know that goal has already been accomplished. What more must we do as Christians?

I believe that the main lesson we can take from Superman is this: “Life is not about us.”

We need to be selfless and compassionate; we need to care enough about other people that they may be saved and not perish.

We need to live our lives as the true Superman, Jesus Christ.

Matthew 20: 26-28, "… whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

I've already stated that people are searching…as we live authentically as Jesus desires, people will take notice.

Some will look to Jesus and claim Him. Others may reject and mistreat us.

Those who mock us are most often the ones searching the most. They put us to the test to see if we’re serious and if our walk is genuine…are we really living out what we’re telling them we do?

Even in the midst of the ridicule and rejection, our response must be one of grace. And as we seek to live as God desires, following the example Jesus set, our response must be, “Yes!”

The simple truth is that there is no such thing as Superman but there is such a thing as THE Superman. You see, Jesus Christ embodies all the characteristics that we need in order to be the super people that God has destined each of us to be.

As we look to our Father for guidance, I pray we all can become the heroes that he has called each one of us to be.