The Pleasure Of Power Series

Every day of your life you enjoy the pleasure of power. The power to flip switches and give light in

the darkness, and heat in the coldness. The power of electricity is the source of abundant pleasure.

When we lose that power we are deprived of all our electric devices, and it is a major pain. All of us

have electrical devices and gadgets that no longer work. They look just as nice as they did when

they worked, but they are powerless to give us pleasure anymore.

All the pleasures of life revolve around some kind of power. Life itself is a form of power, and

when that power ceases we are just like an electrical device that no longer works-we are dead.

Power is life and power is pleasure. The Sun is the source of the power of life on the physical level.

God made it that way, but He is Himself the Sun of our spiritual solar system, and all of our power

to have life, and to enjoy it, comes from Him.

The Psalmist says in verse 11, "For the Lord God is a sun and shield, the Lord bestows favor and

honor; no good thing does He behold from those whose walk is blameless." God is our sun, the

source of all our pleasure, because He is the source of all our power. Power and pleasure are linked

together as one. This theme is everywhere in the Psalms. Here is Psa. 84 verse 5 he says, "Blessed

are those whose strength is in you." Then in verse 7 he says, "They go from strength to strength."

God is the source of all our power, and the whole point of the Christian life is to grow in that power,

for that is what the abundant life is all about. It is about power to achieve the purpose of God in our

lives. Paul said he could do all things through Christ who strengthened him.

This theme is found often in the Psalms.

Psa. 22:19, "O Lord, O my strength haste Thee to help."

Psa. 71:16, "I will go in the strength of the Lord."

Psa. 18:1, "I will love Thee, O Lord my strength."

Psa. 18:32, "It is God who guideth me with strength."

Psa. 27:1, "The Lord is the strength of my life."

Psa. 28:7, "The Lord is my strength."

Psa. 59:17, "Unto Thee, O my strength will I sing."

There are many more, for this theme is one of the major themes of the Old Testament. God is the

source of the power to experience all that is good and pleasurable. Without Him we are like an

electrical appliance that is not plugged in. We do not function to produce pleasure for God, for

others, or for ourselves.

Norman Vincent Peale in most famous book, The Power Of Positive Thinking, tells of the

husband and wife who went through a terrible trial. Bill was the vice president of his company and

expected to become the president. But when the time came he was passed over by a man brought in

from the outside. His wife was furious and insisted that Bill tell them off and quit. He was reluctant

to do so. Doctor Peale was a good friend, and so they sought his advice. He urged them to sit in

silence before God, and ask Him to give them the power to choose the right way. They were to plug

into their power source, so to speak, and see how the power of God flowing through them would

help them function in a way that would please them. As they waited on the Lord the wife had a

change of spirit. She realized anger and not wisdom was controlling her.

She agreed to encourage Bill to work with the new man to see what would happen. It turned out

that Bill really liked the new president, and the new man consulted with Bill often. Two years later

the president was called to an even better job and Bill became president. He and his wife were so

grateful they did not let the power of anger decide their future. They let the power of God do it, and

the result was great pleasure.

Power to do the will of God is one of life's greatest pleasures. Weakness that lets the flesh

determine our direction in life is one of life's greatest pains. The great battle of life is between

pleasure and pain, and which one dominates is determined by our source of power. That is why

verse 5 says, "Blessed are those whose strength is in you." Happiness in life means God is the

source of our power. This theme breaks into many parts. There is-

The power of praise.

The power of prayer.

The power of passion.