The Power Of God
THE POWER OF GOD
By Rodney W. Francis
Throughout the Word of God we read of those who walked and lived in the realm where the power of God was operating and being manifested. God’s men have always been men of power. Christians are called to be “power-houses” ~ to manifest the power of the Gospel which transforms the lives of all who believe. Too often are we contented to rest on a knowledge of the Word we have gained, rather than to lay hold of the power of God that is available and which confirms the Word. (Genuine God-knowledge is powerful; it brings results and should be sought after.)
For too many of God’s people today have a knowledge and form of godliness, but deny the power of it. Christianity is not a theory or words. It is an experience, a new life that is generated by God’s power. When the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he told them he wanted to know their power and not their speech ~ “For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power”(1 Corinthians 4:19-20, NKJV). To the same people he testified, “And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit AND OF POWER.”And he tells them why: “That your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the POWER OF GOD”(1 Corinthians 2:4-5). Where there is no demonstration of the Holy Spirit and power, there can be no faith in the power of God.
Great Men Of The Bible
The great men of the Bible were empowered by the Holy Spirit. Four times we are told that the Spirit of the Lord came on Samson (Judges 13:16). While he walked in that power he was in complete control of every circumstance. When he exchanged it for the flesh life he became a useless, miserable grinder!
After the Spirit of the Lord came on David he went out and slew a giant (1 Samuel 16:17), while all the rest of the children of Israel hid themselves in great fear! (Notice who hid themselves and who were afraid? ~ God’s army)!
The three Hebrew children had more power in their lives than a burning, fiery furnace heated seven times. They never received so much as a hair singed or the smell of smoke on them. They believed in the delivering ability of their God (Daniel chapter 3). Their God is the Christian’s God ~ your God, my God ~ and He is able!
The prophet Micah testified that his life was “full of power by the Spirit of the Lord” (Micah 3:8).
Elijah and Elisha walked in the power of God’s Spirit and accomplished great things. We say, ‘But they were mighty men of God; we could not expect to be like them.’ What does the Scripture say? “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly . . .”(James 5:17). Doesn’t that blast a hole in our theology! Those men of God in the Bible were like you and me ~ they weren’t angels with wings ~ but they were men who prayed, who believed God and walked according to His Word. And God blessed them with His Holy Spirit power!
John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah. He was filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb (Luke 1:13-17). He was “the voice of one crying in the wilderness”(John 1:23) and his voice (message) was so powerful that all the people round Jerusalem, Judea and Jordan “went out to him, and were baptized in water, confessing their sins” (Matthew 3:5-6).
Jesus Christ was anointed with the Holy Spirit and power (Acts 10:38; Luke 4:14, 18, 36). His Word was with power. His ministry brought powerful results. Even though we know that Jesus is the Son of God, yet He took the position that He wants you and me to take ~ that of complete and utter yieldedness to the Father’s will (see John 5:17-21). He taught His disciples that they, too, must have this power in their lives. He told them to “tarry (wait) until they be endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). Jesus told them they “would receive power after that the Holy Spirit was come upon them” (Acts 1:8). So they waited and, sure enough, on the Day of Pentecost they “were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4). Tongues were the outward manifestation of being filled with the Holy Ghost which Jesus gives! Power and Prophesying are the other two signs.
Have YOU received the Holy Spirit, with fire and power yet?
Those disciples’ lives were changed! After Pentecost, Peter changed from a weakling into a “power-house.” He preached with a power and authority he never had before and 3,000 were converted. Praise the Lord!
Stephen, the first martyr, was a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. As a result the people were “not able to resist the wisdom and power by which he spoke” (Acts chapter 6).
Philip preached Christ to the Samaritans and we read of the power of God working with him confirming the Word with signs following (Acts chapter 8). “And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 4:33).
Theory, Or Power?
Let us not fool ourselves. God ~ Who is the Almighty and Powerful One ~ is the God of every born-again believer and His will is that all of us be endued with power from on high. We have become unbalanced if we have failed to have the power of God confirming our theories, teachings and ministries. God says He will confirm His Word with signs and wonders (Mark 16:15-20).
Whether we like it or not, theories, unconfirmed Gospel messages, church attendance, etc., are not enough to get by on. The Bible tells us to turn away from those “having a form of godliness, but denying its(the Gospel’s) power” (2 Timothy 3:5). God is a powerful God. He is a Powerful Deliverer and His children are powerful children ~ born of God and translated into the Kingdom of His dear Son ~ Jesus . . . “AS HE IS, SO ARE WE in this world” (1 John 4:17). (Can you imagine God having weak, sickly children ~ and it being His will? Yet many are believing and living that way today.) How privileged we are that “we should be called the children of God”(1 John 3:1), and the whole world is waiting to see the manifestation of it ~ in YOU and in ME! God wants to manifest His power and glory in His children ~ NOW.
Let us get back to believing the Bible and then we shall definitely see and experience God’s saving, keeping and delivering power in these days in which we live. May it be your lot and mine in dynamic fashion.
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