Our church has been focusing lately on listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit. It’s basically every Christian’s superpower – the voice of the Holy Spirit. There have been individuals who have come into great wealth by praying fervently and listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit to guide their business transactions. Others have avoided potentially fatal situations by following the leading of the Holy Spirit. Chances are you don’t fall in either of those categories, but you still have that superpower.
The way I see it, we all have the potential to be Superman, but many of us are just content to be Clark Kent. We go through life as our ordinary selves without really tapping into this extraordinary gift we’ve been given as children of God. We stay in the Clark Kent disguise without ripping off the suit and flying off to save the world. What if Superman had done that? Well, he wouldn’t be Superman, would he? We never would have heard about him.
Superman is an alien. Literally. He was born of another world and sent to earth, but on the outside he looks just like an ordinary man. Well, that’s us too, right? We have been born of a force beyond this earth, but we still look just like everyone else from the outside. But what is on the inside? Superman had the ability to fly and superhuman strength. You have the Holy Spirit. You have the God who created the universe living inside of you. And just like Clark Kent’s parents advised him when he discovered his superpowers, you should use this gift to help the world.
So, then why haven’t Christians just completely taken over the world for the Kingdom of Christ? Why isn’t light pouring from every corner of this planet – because there was only one Superman, but there are many more Christians. And we have superpowers, we should be saving the world!
The one we’d all most like to blame is the enemy, right? Superman had countless enemies he had to fight. We have one main enemy, but he has helpers. And he’s real and he really is wreaking havoc in the lives of people every single day. But if we really tap into our superpower, he’s powerless. Superman didn’t know the end of his story, but we know the end of our story – Christ already won. So, while the enemy will form weapons against us, those weapons will not prosper! The Word says it, so it must be true! And God has already given us what we need to defeat all of the weapons that might come against us!
Since we can’t really blame the enemy, who can we blame? Because, as humans, we like to blame things outside of ourselves for problems. Can we blame the church? Maybe. Many churches are preaching watered down versions of the gospel. But, I mean, Superman was the only one of his kind and he still figured out how to use his superpowers. He didn’t even have an instruction manual like we do.
If you want to be good at something, you practice. If you want to be a singer, you spend time with music, perfecting your pitch, enhancing your tone, studying other great singers and studying under great teachers. Superman probably had to practice flying so that he didn’t fly into Skyscrapers or accidentally drop the person he was saving. And we have to practice listening for the voice of the Holy Spirit by putting down the device, turning off the music, and pushing pause to the running list of obligations in our mind. We have to be intentional about listening. I’m sure every Christian spends time in prayer – praying. But do you spend time in prayer listening?
Maybe you’re thinking, “God lit a bush on fire for Moses, so he can get my attention.” True. He could do that. Maybe he has and you ignored it? Moses could have run from that bush. Moses could have been too focused on his job or his wife and kids to have noticed. Because God wants your attention and he’s trying to get your attention, but what if he has gotten your attention in the past and you ignored Him? And what if that has happened over and over again? What if you tried to get someone’s attention repeatedly and they just weren’t responding, would you keep trying? God does keep trying, but after a while you’ve gotten pretty good at tuning him out. Just like a child tuning out your plea for them to clean their room or brush their hair.
Maybe he’s getting your attention just by showing you a need he wants you to answer. That’s how Superman knew when to act. He saw someone in trouble. He saw an enemy attacking his city and he acted because he wanted to save those people and he knew he had the power to save them. How many people do you see everyday that you have the power to save? How many people has the Holy Spirit been pushing you to speak to or pray for or help? How many cities or schools or neighborhoods are under siege by the enemy and need a Superman to come save them and the Holy Spirit is sending you?
Embrace your superpowers. Be Superman (or Superwoman) to your world. Can you imagine if every Christian woke up tomorrow and said, “Holy Spirit, help me to be Superman to someone today.” We would change the world. So, let’s change the world. Be Superman with me so I’m not the only crazy lady walking around in a leotard and tights tomorrow!
