Where Is God's Power In Your Life?
By Jeff Coble
What is "power"? There are many definitions of power. It is the
combination of strength and speed. It is the authority to act.
It is the product of voltage and current. It is energy per time
unit. It is influence or persuasiveness. It is the rate at which
work is performed. It is the eleventh album by the rock band
Kansas.
Do you know that believers have access to God's power? Yes, the
same God who created the universe. Yes, the same power He used
to raise Jesus from the grave. The Bible tells us we do (Romans
8:11, Ephesians 3:20, 2 Timothy 1:7, 2 Peter 1:3). If we have
access to so much holy power, then why do we so rarely utilize
it?
God has given us all we need, not only for life, but for
abundant life. There are usually two reasons we do not
experience God's eternal power regularly: 1) either we're not
properly "plugged in" to the power source, or 2) we're plugged
in, but there is a short in our wires somewhere. We have access
to God's power all the time, the problem is we neglect to access
it.
The power God gives us is difficult to define, but I think it is
simply the ability to become more like Christ. This is
impossible in us alone. That is why it requires God's power
working in us. This power causes us to love God with all our
heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves
(Matthew 22:36-40). This power gives us the ability to serve
others. It gives us the ability to overcome sin. It gives us the
ability to have self-control. It gives us the ability to
persevere.
God's power displayed in mere humans is awesome. If we could
experience it in fullness, I think we would want to experience
it regularly. So how do we get there? Let's use the word "POWER"
as an acrostic to help us remember five disciplines or actions
that are crucial to us experiencing God's power: Pray, Obey,
Worship, Expect, Remain. If you apply these five actions in
increasing measure, you will see God's power manifested in your
life.
PRAY
Famous evangelist Billy Sunday is quoted as saying, "If you are
strangers to prayer you are strangers to power." We cannot
utilize the full power of God if we're not praying. We cannot
grow in Christ if we are not praying. If Jesus needed to pray
(Mark 1:5, Mark 6:47, Luke 5:16, Luke 6:12), then how much more
do you think we need to pray? E.M. Bounds, a great student of
and writer on prayer, said, "Prayer is faith taking possession
of its unlimited inheritance."
Prayer is powerful (Romans 8:11, Mark, 11:24, Acts 1:14). Prayer
doesn't so much change God's mind as it changes our mind toward
God. Praying prepares us to see the power of God by getting us
ready for God to act (11 Chronicles 20:1-30). Prayer admits our
own limitations. This is when God reveals himself to us.
Prayer is commanded (Matthew 26:41, Luke 18:1, Ephesians 6:18, 1
Thessalonians 5:17). Prayer is commanded because it requires
humility. Humility is key to God allowing us in his presence.
Prayer is also relational, and if we're going to have fellowship
with God and others, we need this type of communication. Thus,
prayer is a spiritual discipline that our obedience demands.
Prayer has conditions (John 15:7). We must be obedient. We
cannot harbor secret sins. We must not be indifferent to the
needs of others, but we must show mercy. Self-indulgence will
cause failure in prayer. Failure is also caused by our
stubbornness and disdain for God's commands.
Prayer is answered (1 Kings 18:37-38, Acts 4:31). Prayer is not
always answered the way we would like, but it is answered. You
have probably heard the ways God answers prayers: "Yes," "No,"
or "Wait awhile." The last answer is probably the hardest for us
to take, because it requires patience and complete trust.
OBEY
Obedience is how we show our love for God and Jesus (John
14:15-23, 1 John 5:3). This is contrary to the world's way of
thinking, but critical to the believer's way. We love because he
first loved us (1 John 4:19). Our attitude towards obedience
should not be "I have to do this," but rather "I get to do
this." Because we know God loves us, we know he only has our
best interests at heart. What he commands is for our own good.
It may not be the most fun or easiest way, but it is the best
way.
Disobedience is one of the sins that prevent God from hearing
our prayers. If our prayers are hindered, we cannot fully
experience God's power. Obedience is a choice. In the Old
Testament, God gave the children of Israel a choice of blessings
or curses. They usually chose curses and "reaped the whirlwind."
If we have a choice and we know that choice will benefit us
greatly, why not choose it?
God will reward our obedience (Ephesians 6:8), though we may not
immediately see the reward. In fact, we will not see many of the
Bible's promised rewards until eternity. But we will get
rewarded, and these rewards are in addition to our salvation.
Our hope in a future blessing should help motivate us to
obedience.
We struggle with obedience because we have the wrong attitude
about it. We obey more out of fear or obligation than out of
love. The world and our flesh tell us that obedience is for the
lowly, scared, and timid. They say obedience is for animals and
is degrading for a human. However, if we change our thought
process to understanding obedience is simply an expression of
our love, then we will want to be obedient. And as we are more
obedient, we will experience more of God's power.
WORSHIP
Worship comes from the word "worthship" which means that we
worship that which is worthy (Revelation 4:11). God is the only
one worthy of worship. Worship is not for us. We insult God when
we act as if worship is to entertain or please us. God should
always be the object of our worship and we are the subjects. We
relinquish control of our lives and give ourselves to God as an
offering. We worship Him because of who he is and what He does.
Worship is basically communion with God where we interact with
Him and other believers. It is devotion focused on Him and
shared with others. There should be elements of remembering
(looking back), expecting (looking forward), and honoring (in
the present looking up). Paul D. Adams says worship is the "free
and spontaneous response that delights in glorious revelation of
God ultimately shown to us in the crucified and risen Christ."
Like prayer and obedience, worship is one of those spiritual
disciplines that is not optional. In fact, it is essential.
Dwight Bradley put it this way, "When a person worships God, it
is as a thirsty land crying out for rain." Worship is a hungry
heart seeking love. It is a soul searching for its counterpart.
Worship starts with inward attitude that is often expressed
outwardly through praising, singing, etc. (Colossians 3:16).
True worship is a balance of the heart and the head (Romans
12:1-2). We worship in "spirit and truth" (John 4:21-24). John
Ortberg tells us to "pursue worship that links well-ordered
minds with overflowing hearts."
Though worship regularly occurs in church where we come as God's
people to respond to him and go to reveal him, location does not
really matter in worship. We should have a worshipful spirit all
the time. Our service and ministry stem from our worship. Every
task, every moment should be an opportunity to worship God. We
should do nothing less than worship the source and foundation of
our power.
EXPECT
According to Webster's Dictionary, expect means "to look for as
likely to occur or appear." It implies a considerable degree of
confidence that a particular event will happen. Words in the
Bible that are synonymous with expect are faith and hope
(Ephesians 6:16, Philippians 1:19-20, Hebrews 11:1).
Having an expectant attitude is a discipline that needs to be
developed. Our attitude has such a profound affect on our lives
that we need to work to develop a positive one. One of the ways
we can do this is by being ever hopeful in all things, even more
so in time of struggle or turmoil. James said "consider it joy
when you encounter various trials, know that the testing of your
faith produces endurance" (James 1:2).
Satan cannot steal our salvation (heart), so he attacks the
mind. His aim is to make us ineffective in our Christian walk.
He wants to short-circuit our power outlet by planting seeds of
doubt and causing us to become undisciplined. Cynicism,
discouragement, bitterness, and anger are the attitudes he would
like us to have. As difficult as it is, we must force negative
thoughts out of our mind. Negative thinking leads to a sour
spirit.
"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus
(Philippians 2:5). Positive Christian thinking is critical
(Philippians 4:8). What we think about is what we bring about in
our lives. People will not be attracted to the gospel of Christ
if it is brought by a bunch of grumpy, gripey people. Let's keep
expecting the Lord to do His work in us and keep looking for his
eminent return. An expectant heart is a hopeful, happy, powerful
heart.
REMAIN
Jesus is the source of all the good things we have through God,
including His power. Jesus tells in John 15:4-11 that we have to
remain in Him in order to be fruitful. Producing fruit is the
evidence of remaining in Him. Jesus also gives us the
consequences of not remaining in Him, which are in drastic
opposition to remaining in Him (hint: removal, fire, burning).
The Greek word translated "remain" in the NIV is from the word
meno. This word is also translated "abide," "continue," "stay,"
and "dwell." It implies some decision to stay or continue in. It
is a choice we make to persevere in our walk with Christ. When
we remain or abide in something, we are loyal to it even to
death. We keep doing what needs to be done even when it is hard
and requires great effort. We do not quit in the midst of the
struggle.
Our Christianity is not just a "Sunday thing," but an every day
thing. It is not a one-time surrendering but more of an ongoing
conversion to the image of Christ. If we are to become like
Jesus and bear fruit for Him, we need to remain, stay, abide in
Him. We need to "continue in" his word and in the things we have
been taught (1 John 2:24, 2 Timothy 3:14). Remaining is a
discipline we should choose to do daily if we want to see God's
power manifested in us.
It is crucial that we keep our dependence on Jesus and our
communion with him. Our dependence on him needs to become
habitual. Remaining in him is necessary for producing what is
pleasing to God and profitable to us. When our pride tells us we
can "go it alone" is when the branch starts to die. There will
be no power for godly living if we do not regularly maintain the
connection to our power source. Our branch must stay attached to
the Vine.
As you review the five disciplines, you may have noticed that
all are related. You may have noticed a common thread running
through each. The common thread is relationship. A relationship
is a connection. These disciplines require a connection to the
source of our power. Our power was embodied in and exemplified
by Jesus Christ. In Him was all the fullness of the Father, and
in Him we come to know and have access to the Father. Maximum
spiritual power comes from maximally maintaining our connection
(relationship) with God through Christ. All we have to do is
choose to do so. Choose POWER.
Jeff has been a Christian for 35 years. He's married to
Terre and they have 3 boys.
He currently teaches a class of seventy at at local Baptist
church.
Check out www.runwithperseverance.com for more info.
