Spiritual Impotence
“If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95 percent of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference. If the Holy Spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament church, 95 percent of what they did would stop, and everybody would know the difference (A. W. Tozer).”
Faith in what is proven by experience only, is unbelief, where faith in the unseen abandons human senses.
Impotence: Inability to take effective action, helplessness
Modern churches have promoted ideas such as diversity, moderation, kindness, which are all good. But we must not use them to excuse ourselves from preaching God’s word, even when it ruffles some feathers.
Modern philosophy has become a tool of choice in church leadership. Distractions from preaching the word of God may sound and feel socially correct but can leave the church impotent. Because of this, we have lowered the bar from what scripture teaches and ended up looking like the world.
Relegating ourselves to silence will not change anyone. Our silence is giving consent to normalizing a substandard gospel. This may sound harsh, but we need to love people enough to tell them the truth. The temptation still remains to acquiesce and not make waves. Resist it!
When we yoke ourselves with Jesus, we are led into places of life. When we go it alone, there is a strong pull into the business of Church, work, or family. If you are yoked with a burden that is difficult and heavy, break away.
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light (Matthew 11:30 NKJV).
…praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak (Ephesians 6:18-20 NKJV).
We are not in chains like Paul was, but we can be chained by fear, peer pressure, and pride.
Diversity is not strength, only a worldly concept that discounts what the bible teaches and can lead to more impotence. “Narrow is the way that leads to life, and few find it” is a relevant passage you’ll find in Matthew 7:14.
A bond of peace must be taught, not assumed in silence. Standards in scripture like love one another, forgiveness, reconciliation are forgotten, or fall on the desk of a secular counseling office.
…with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:2-3 NKJV).
Unity: oneness that is (figuratively) unanimity. (Unanimity means oneness, agreement by all people involved.)
Bond means uniting principle, control
The Church is more than adequate to rescue those suffering and bring them the word of life. Similar to old age, impotence can creep into our thinking, but we must be vigilant in guarding our thought life.
Think about what happens when we yoke ourselves with another. The dominant partner, in our case, stays focused on mission. Distractions of emotion, attitude, popularity, etc., will otherwise steer us off course. The example of being yoked with Jesus helps us focus on humility, gentleness, longsuffering, and putting up with difficult situations, less the attitude.
Living life with peace and guidance from the Comforter - Holy Spirit - surpasses living life as a chrome ball in a pinball machine.
© 2025 Mark Rossback