The Mighty Power of Jesus Christ
6/1/03
Christianity is not a matter of giving it
your best effort, but depending upon God’s mighty power!
Christianity is not how good you are, but how
great Jesus Christ is in you!
It’s impossible to live the Christian life and be
what God wants us to be without His mighty power!
We have sin to overcome.
We have bondage's to break.
We have fear to destroy.
We have a devil to resist.
We have family and friends to witness to.
We have a life to live that reflects the love of
God.
And none of these
can be accomplished without the Power of God in our life!
It’s amazing how modern churches debate the reality of the baptism of the
Holy Spirit. The early church would not dare try to live this life without
walking in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Could it be that we live a life style that makes us think we don’t need the
baptism of the Holy Spirit?
Heb. 10:32 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light,
when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. 33
Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times
you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34 You
sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your
property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting
possessions.
The truth is, we need God’s mighty power as much
now as ever!
The New Testament is full of scripture that
addresses the Power of God in the believer’s life.
The early Christians were told to “stay home” until they were clothed with
power from on high!
Lk. 24:45 Then he opened their minds so they could
understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is
written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47
and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all
nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these
things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay
in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
There is nothing hard or difficult about
receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Lk. 11:11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks
for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an
egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil,
know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in
heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
There is absolutely nothing we can do as Christians that truly bears fruit
without the Holy Spirit’s power!
We can’t really pray
We can’t have the right kind of love
We can’t overcome sin
We can’t witness
Without the empowering of the Holy Spirit!
Our witness is unpersuasive without the power of the Holy
Spirit. Witnessing without the Holy Spirit’s power is done almost
apologetically!
Acts 1:6 So when they met together, they asked
him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them: “It is not for you
to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you
will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to
the ends of the earth.”
You can get yourself is a real jam when you don’t have real power!
Acts 19:13 Some Jews who went around driving out
evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were
demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I
command you to come out.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief
priest, were doing this. 15 One day the evil spirit answered them,
“Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” 16 Then
the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He
gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
17 When this became known to the Jews
and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of
the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. 18 Many of those who believed
now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. 19 A number who had
practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When
they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand
drachmas. 20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew
in power.
There is no position too small that doesn’t require the empowering of the
Holy Spirit.
Acts 6:1 In those days when the number of
disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the
Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily
distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples
together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the
word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers, choose
seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We
will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our
attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
Let’s look at one of these table waiters.
Acts 6:8 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace
and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. 9
Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it
was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia
and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, 10 but they could
not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke. 11
Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak
words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.”
12 So they stirred up the people and
the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him
before the Sanhedrin. 13 They produced false witnesses, who
testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against
the law. 14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth
will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” 15
All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw
that his face was like the face of an angel.
What Paul said is still true today. The Kingdom of God is not a matter of
talk, but power!
1 Cor. 4:18 Some of you have become arrogant, as
if I were not coming to you. 19 But I will come to you very soon, if
the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant
people are talking, but what power they have. 20 For the
kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.
How do you fight the battles of life? Do you try to overcome problems,
difficulties, and disappointments, in your own strength or in God’s power and
strength?
2 Cor. 10:3 For though we live in the world, we do
not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not
the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish
strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets
itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to
make it obedient to Christ.
The weaker you feel, the greater opportunity for His strength and power.
2 Cor. 12:7 To keep me from becoming conceited
because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in
my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I
pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me,
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that
Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I
delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in
difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Jesus is interceding for us! In a few moments I’ll share what I think He’s
praying.
Rom. 8:31 What, then, shall we say in response to
this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not
spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with
him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge
against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who
is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was
raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or
hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36
As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long; we are
considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things
we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am
convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the
present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of
God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I have an idea about Jesus interceding for us by listening to Paul and how
he interceded for the Ephesians.
Eph. 1:18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart
may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called
you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and
his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the
working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when
he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly
realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and
every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one
to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed
him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body,
the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Eph. 3:14 For this reason I kneel before the
Father, 15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives
its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may
strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you,
being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together
with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love
of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that
you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do
immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that
is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and
in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
We are admonished to be strong in His power!
Eph. 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in
his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can
take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is
not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God,
so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and
after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with
the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of
righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the
readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all
this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the
flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and
the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in
the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this
in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
None of us lack anything we need to accomplish all God has ordained for us
to do and to be.
2 Pet. 1:3 His divine power has given us
everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who
called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has
given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may
participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused
by evil desires.
2 Thess. 1:11 With this in mind, we constantly
pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by
his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act
prompted by your faith. 12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord
Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our
God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
It’s only the Power of God that gives us the endurance and patience we need
to handle life when it gets hard.
Col. 1:9 For this reason, since the day we heard
about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with
the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10
And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may
please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the
knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power
according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and
patience, and joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who
has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of
light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and
brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have
redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
2 Tim. 1:7 For God did not give us a spirit
of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.