There are many power struggles swirling all around us. Our society says Whoever has the most power wins! Our culture loves winners.

Transcription

1 1 There are many power struggles swirling all around us. Our society says Whoever has the most power wins! Our culture loves winners. Winning and power! Athletics, Politics, Business. Get on top, get ahead, beat your opponent! What power struggles are you engaged in currently? Big debates on social media? Power struggles with neighbors? Power struggles with a co-worker or a boss? Any battles with the in-laws? Who controls the finances in your house? Do you have young children who are secretly seeking power over you as parents? There are so many versions of power, not all of it healthy. But I find it is a popular topic in scripture. Luke 24:49 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." Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. When 1st century Jews heard Jesus talking about power they immediately thought Jesus would over power and over throw the Roman government and free all of Israel politically. Is there some people or organizations you would like to overpower and over throw? The IRS maybe? I am being educated by scripture into a whole new idea of what power is and what it means to be powerful. When I read these scriptures I believe God desires us to be very powerful people. I ve had very limited ideas of what power was. Before I ever read the Bible I collected comic books. I thought power was all physical and external. Whoever could overpower someone physically had the ultimate power. My favorite super hero was literally called Power Man, aka, Luke Cage. He had impenetrable skin and superhuman strength and fought crime in the inner city. 1

2 2 Not all power is good. Remember Darth Vader seeking to get Luke to embrace the power of the darkside. We have observed our politicians wrestling for political power within their parties of government. We are having a national debate on sexism, feminism, battle of the sexes and racial bias or supremacy which are all centered on the proper use or improper use of power. The idea of bullying is a cheap and hollow display of the shallowest type of power. Bullying is based on ridiculing someone else that seems weaker. Bullying is clear evidence of sin. But the Bible does not steer away from the idea of power and recognizes it as the critical factor for followers to be victorious. However it is a different type of power, from a different type of place and used for different types of reasons. It is a power of another kind, another type. Would you consider the power of the Spirit and the purpose of the Spirit? 1. Power from a different place Where is your favorite place to shop for clothes? Do you have a certain clothing line you prefer? GAP, Buckle, Bannana Republic, Nordstrom, Costco, Thrift Stores, garage sales? How about Amazon? As believers we all go to the same clothing department called the Power Store of God. You have heard of a power suit, power tie. This is spiritual clothing. We put this on. It is not clothing of this world. Believers truly are aliens in this world. We are ambassadors. They don t preside in their home country. An alien, like an extra terrestrial ambassador comes from above in their spaceship, they appear with some weird outfit and announce we come in peace. Sounds like Christians. We come from a heavenly home, we look a little different and we say I come in peace representing the Prince of Peace. 2

3 3 We should be very different because our power for life is from above. Our clothing we wear is from above. Everything about us should be different than the nature and power of the world. This power is to help us change, give us greater spiritual capacities and draw ourselves and others closer to Jesus. Jesus prayed to the Father let your Kingdom come, let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. He is praying for heaven to come down to earth. That is why we are to receive power from on high. This is a very supernatural worldview. Not so popular in our western and industrialized society. There is a power struggle on earth for souls. It is spiritual. A cosmic struggle. The two main forces are the kingdom of darkness, a defeated foe but with limited power for a time and the Kingdom of God. It really is that simple. Keep that in mind always. I invite you to only one power struggle, the struggle between light and darkness as God defines it. Commit yourself. And you will look at all other battles and struggles differently. You will stay in the correct battle and will be within the greatest power of all and to be utilized for the greatest reasons ever. There will be many squabbles you can let go of and stay on track with the most important battle in which you have been promised power. Power from above creates new dynamics to life. The ideas of waiting, praying and seeking. A life of dependence and worship are all activities connected to power from on high. It is as if you are always awaiting permission to move ahead in life. That is how I live more and more. Because of following Jesus we yield to the Spirit, the Spirit s direction, the Spirit s timing and the Spirit s intention. It is a big shift. 2. Power revealed in weakness. The power of the Spirit is very counter intuitive. 3

4 4 In order to spiritually live we first must die to our sin nature. If you want to go high you first go low. If you want to break out in life you first must become broken within. 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 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. Many times when I admit I am powerless it is an open door for God to show His power. What amazes me about Jesus is not only what He did but what He didn t do. It amazes me how little he defended himself. The greatest expression of power was Jesus as he humbled himself to the point of death and submitted to suffering and crucifixion. The more powerful I am in the Spirit it seems the less I feel the need to control circumstances or people or relationships. It also takes pressure off trying to portray all my strength. I have learned I can still be powerful even if I don t win or if I make mistakes. To admit to being weak is powerful. A great vision will make you weak. For a marriage, family business or ministry. It will bring out your need for help. We shouldn t have a vision we can do on our own. My strength compared to God s strength is properly labeled as weakness. This admission simply invites God s strength to have a place to materialize in my life. Paul is saying the more weakness in my life in some ways just expands the territory in which God can show off in you. He is not asking you to think negatively of yourself. It is about being honest. He wants you to have everything available to you in the spiritual realm you are meant to have. How much do you want? It is a lifestyle of living within a power and strength not my own. Acknowledging weakness is an invitation for God to leverage His power in my life. 4

5 5 When you know your limited, in comparison to God but loved by a God who is unlimited it does wonders to your soul. It takes pressure off of you to perform and impress. Our faith puts the pressure back on God. He loves it. I find a peace within myself that translates to a peace with others. This is a road map to experiencing biblical power. A little stress can be good, a lot of stress is not good. The difference is mainly an attitude. If I am seeking to boast in my strength I am way too stressed. If I see my limits and God s strength I have a little stress but not inappropriate stress. 3. Power to tear down We are fighters and here to topple down kingdoms. There is such a thing as spiritual violence. We tear down the devil all day long. The devil has been cast down as has been cursed like a snake to have it s belly always on the earth. The church continues in this victory. Genesis 3:14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. Scholars say the Hebrew word for dirt is where we get the word underworld. Satan has been torn down and stripped of his powers when disarmed by Jesus. He is limited to earth and not happy about it. We do need to be violent spiritually and have a battle mindset here on earth. We are called soldiers in scripture. Our faith is aggressive to destroy the works of the devil, not people. We have to stay on mission. We should all be participate in politics as active citizens. But my main goal is to lead all people to Jesus. I will not be persuaded against that. Democrats, Republicans, those who kneel, those who don t. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 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 5

6 6 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. Notice this is more than an intellectual argument. These are spiritual forces. There are strongholds, arguments and reasonings that need to be torn down in the spiritual realm. Paul mentions demolishing strongholds. To take down. These are established negative developments in our lives that have some persistent occupancy or residency in our lives. Unhealthy habits, attitudes, patterns of sin, chronic stubbornness or resistance to the Spirit, a stronghold of discouragement or hopelessness. These all have a source, a rationale a reasoning that allow for the seed to take root. A stronghold Is simply places in your life resisting God s fullness. It is a gated area Jesus is not active in. It begins with impure thought patterns leading to addictive negative behaviors in which you cant stop. And to top it off there are demons seeking to reinforce and compound these reasonings and behaviors which will more completely ensare us. These are spiritual and have spiritual roots that need to be extracted completely by God s power. Deliverance and discipleship! There are stronghold actions that come from stronghold ideas. These mass shooters are clear demonstrations that demons exist and they have gained strongholds in people s lives. Both can be conquered by God s power. The root and the fruit! Come forward for prayer today and lets pray for anything close to resembling a stronghold. 4. Power to build up Paul talks about power to build up others. 2 Corinthians 13:10 This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority--the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down. 6

7 7 Authority is positional power that authorizes you to exert power. God has equipped and authorized Paul to build up people and churches. This point alone can give you enough to do to keep your whole life busy and simply create goodness everywhere you go. The desire to edify others comes directly from the heart of God. The power of God does everything it can to bring people to their highest potential. Being built up is the theme of our Men s retreat. It is the agenda of heaven. Paul seemed to think this was of utmost importance. I love the story of Mark. He failed then was rescued by being encouraged and built up by Barnabas, the son of encouragement. 2 Timothy 4:11 Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. Our world is filled with Marks, who have made mistakes and not at full spiritual strength who need to be built up and soar again in life. Nicolas friends - We all need load bearing beams of the soul. Otherwise we are not resilient emotionally or spiritually. 5. Power to spread the God s love We are to be witnesses of Jesus. 39 of the 40 miracles in the book of Acts all happened outside the church. Spiritual power happening outside of a Sunday morning, out in the marketplace. This is why we want to scatter our region with Life Journal groups in our city, in coffee shops. The ministry, the harvest field is outside of these walls. The first miracle was at the temple with the paralyzed man, the next 39 were out in the world. Power is meant to flow outward. In Acts the most influential people were scattered people. The first 7 chapters of Acts primarily revolved around the church in Jerusalem. Then a great persecution broke out in 8 and the church was scattered, the dispersion. Godly dispersion. They were disrupted refugees who became missionaries, they spread the word of the Lord. 7

8 8 After the first century, the church was 70 years old and there were considered to be 50,000 true disciples of Jesus Christ. By AD 400 (300 years later) there were 34 million who professed to follow Jesus. Over half the Roman Empire. Worldly destructive power came into contact with healthy heavenly power and it caused the Good News to spread. Heavenly power always turns what the devil meant for harm into something meant to save people. It is not just about the numbers or mathematics of growth. It is a love story of God. Jerusalem Family and Friends Judea Neighborhood - Take 10 challenge Samaria Community Monster Dash - Open Arms Uttermost parts Statewide, national and global ministries. Robbie and Denise Davis. Airport: Tamika illust. 8