Power

(Mat 28:18-20) And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. -19. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: -20. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. The subject we are going to study today is POWER. Jesus said that All power is given unto Him in heaven and in earth. As we study this subject today we pray that you will see that God has all power; God has always used His power to protect His people; and that This power is available to you today.

God has all power: (Gen 1) In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. -2. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. -3. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. -4. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. -5. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. -6. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. -7. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. -8. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. -9. And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. -10. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. -11. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. -12. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. -13. And the evening and the morning were the third day. -14. And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: -15. And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. -16. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. -17. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, -18. And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. -19. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. -20. And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. -21. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. -22. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. -23. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. -24. And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. -25. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. -26. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. -27. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. -28. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. -29. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. -30. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. -31. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Here in the account of creation, you can see the power of God demonstrated. The awesomness of this power is beyond human thinking or understanding. Power to create a universe. Power to create light. Power to create life. To think of some way to measure this power is to think of an impossible task. And our Lord, Jesus Christ, tells us that all power is available to Him. There is nothing that He cannot do!

God has always used His power to protect his people: (Psa 111) Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation. -2. The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein. -3. His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever. -4. He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion. -5. He hath given meat unto them that fear him: he will ever be mindful of his covenant. -6. He hath showed his people the power of his works, that he may give them the heritage of the heathen. -7. The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure. -8. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness. -9. He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name. -10. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever. The writer of this Psalm is reminding us of the history of the children of God throughout the Old Testament. God used His power again and again to deliver His children. As Abraham, Issac, Jacob and the many others down through the ages of time took God for their father and obeyed His commandments, then God was faithful to use His power to deliver them and provide for them. God will do the same for you today. If you will obey Him and keep His commandments, then He will use His power to deliver you from sin and temptation. (Jer 31:33) But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. This is the covenant or agreement that God makes with us today - He writes His law in our hearts when we surrender our lives to Him.

Our Lord, Jesus Christ, has all power in heaven and in earth and that power is available to you to deliver you from sin and temptation. (Eph 1:19-22) And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, -20. Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, -21. Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: -22. And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us who believe? It is the same power that that has worked thousands of miracles down through the ages of time. That same power that raised Christ form the dead is extended to every one that believes in Him. This is the same power that Jesus gave to his disciples during His ministry on earth: (Luke 10:1-20) After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. -2. Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest. -3. Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. -4. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. -5. And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. -6. And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again. -7. And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. -8. And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: -9. And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. -10. But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, -11. Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. -12. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city. -13. Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. -14. But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you. -15. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell. -16. He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me. -17. And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. -18. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. -19. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. -20. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. Power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and power over all the power of the enemy.

So you can see that when you take Jesus Christ as your Lord, He will give you the power you need to live a Christian life for He gives you power over all the power of the enemy. This does not mean that the enemy does not have any power for he surely does have plenty of power. What it does mean is that your Lord, Jesus Christ, has more power and that He gives that power to you. As you learn His word and follow His teachings, you will learn how to use this power to live a Christian life. For example when you are being tempted by the enemy to commit sin, do as the Bible instructs you in (James 4:7) Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. You will also learn how Jesus resisted the devil and the devil did flee from Him. (Mat 4:1-11) Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. -2. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. -3. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. -4. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. -5. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, -6. And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. -7. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. -8. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; -9. And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. -10. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. -11. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. You can see that Jesus was able to resist the devil through the power of God. Jesus knew what the Bible said and He understood the Word of God. As a Christian, you need to also understand the Word of God. That is what Church services are all about. It is a time for you to learn about God, to gain understanding of God's Word, a time to check on your own study and meditations to see if you are making progress in a clear understanding, a time to have your soul fed, and a time to show your Lord your appreciation for His power turned loose in your life.

Yes, God has all power. Power to create and to change any thing. With God all things are possible. A power beyond human understanding. God has always used His power to protect and deliver His people. When you obey Him and keep His commandments, He uses His power to protect and change your life. Jesus gives you the power to live a righteous, holy, and Godly life in this present world. He teaches you how to resist the devil so that you also can live without being overcome with sin.

Is the power of God working in your life today? If not, then why don't you take advantage of this opportunity to seek the Lord and His power in your life today? God's power can deliver you from sin just as it delivered the Children of Israel from the slavery of Egypt by parting the Red Sea. God's power can part any hindrance that is keeping you from enjoying living in the Kingdom of God - A Kingdom of Righteousness, Peace, and Joy in the Holy Ghost.