October 17, 2010
Morning Worship
Text: Colossians 1:11
Subject: What God Wants
Title: He’s All the Power You Need
Today we move on in our series, “What God Wants”. If you have missed out on any of the sermons you can catch up on our website or God to sermoncentral.com and type in my name and then search for the series title “What God Wants” to read all sermons.
This series title asks the question, “What does God want for your life?” You know I spend a lot of time from the pulpit telling you about who you are in Christ, and the authority you have in Him. Maybe I have done so to the point where I have you thinking in a direction we need to correct. You see if you are thinking about who you are and what you can do and what you can receive from God without considering what He wants for your life then we are missing an important point. God wants the best for us but the reason HE wants the best is that HE might be glorified in our lives. My fear is that we get a little off track thinking about MY authority, MY promises, MY healing, MY blessings, MY ministry… when our total focus should be simply on God and nothing else.
Now, having said that, we know that God wants us to have good things. He wants us to have all His promises; all the benefits of a life lived in Him. The reason that HE wants that for us is that it is in our receiving, His character – His power, His mercy, His love, His justice, His eternal nature… - are revealed through us.
Today we want to focus on the third thing that we see that God wants for us according to Colossians 1:11… being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience…
What does God want for you today? He wants you to be strengthened with His power… And He is all the power you need.
Lord, help us to understand Your word today and to see that the things You want for us will bring glory to Your Name. Help us to apply to our lives what we hear today so the whole world will know that there is a great God who cares enough about His people to empower them with His mighty power…
As we begin today I want you to see just exactly what God wants for us here. People might ask, “Why are we focusing so much on this? It was just what Paul wanted for the church and not what God wanted.” This is part of Paul’s prayer for the church that is taken from Colossians 1, but if the Holy Spirit wanted it recorded in the scriptures we can only consider that it is what God wants for us as well.
I want to progress through this a little differently than I normally would on a Sunday Morning. Today I want to be more of a teacher as we would on Wednesday night instead of just preaching at you.
First of all lets look at the verse again. As a matter of fact let’s go back and read from verse 9, 9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience…
I want you to notice three words in verse 11… strengthened, power, and might.
The first two words, strengthened and power come from the same word in the Greek – dunamis – which means, force, miraculous power or the miracle itself… Now, God wants us to have this strength for a reason - so that you may have great endurance and patience…
Look at the last word – might. This is the Greek word kratos and it means vigor (physical power). The translation from the Greek in that first part of verse 11 could easily read, being strengthened with all power according to might (vigor) that is manifested in His glory…
So if we are going to be strengthened where is it going to come from?
with all power according to his glorious might…
I. BEING IN AGREEMENT WITH POWER. Turn over to Luke chapter 4. You all know that when John baptized Jesus the Holy Spirit descended upon Him. Now when that happened did Jesus receive power? Yes He did. It was the same power that Jesus would later tells His disciples about in Acts 1:8, 8But you will receive power (dunamis – miraculous power) when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." It is the same power that is at work within you according to Ephesians 3:20. The same Holy Spirit that empowered Jesus is empowering you. Luke chapter 4, after Jesus had been baptized in power it says in verse 1, 1Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, 2where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. Now if Jesus had been baptized in power then why did the Holy Spirit lead Him out into the desert? I mean, if He had the power why didn’t He just go right into healing and casting out demons and preaching and walking on water and turning water into wine? Why didn’t He just start doing ministry things immediately? Because He knew He needed time to get to a place of intimacy with the Father. That is why He fasted for forty days. Matthew’s account of the desert experience has the devil tempting Jesus at the end of the forty days. Luke makes it sound as though He was tempted the whole forty days. Either way we see that it was this time that Jesus spent getting to know His Father and drawing close to Him that enabled Him to be in touch with the Spirit. That was when He was finally prepared for earthly ministry. As the Son of God He had authority. When the Holy Spirit descended upon Him he had power. But He needed that intimacy with God in order to be sure that He would always do the Father’s will in the Father’s power. It was only when His spirit was in agreement with the Father that He could begin His work. Luke 4:14, 14Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. OK, so if we have the same power in us that Jesus had why can’t we do the works that we are supposed to be doing – the things that Jesus said we would do? Let me ask you three questions. 1) Have you received the Lord Jesus into your heart? I mean really – more than just saying some words but actually letting Him have control of your life? That is when you receive authority. 2) Have you received the baptism in the Holy Spirit? That is the power source that is provided for you. 3) Have you taken time to get intimately acquainted with the Father – to know His will for your life. He wants you to do that for when your will is in agreement with His will you can go into action without fear or doubt. Look at the words that Jesus quoted from Isaiah in Luke 4:18-19, 18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor." You know, when you first get saved all you want to do is to go out and tell people about what Jesus did in your life. We’re just little babies and we are trying to do things that mature Christians struggle with. And yet God honors that. When we get baptized in the Holy Ghost we walk around praying in tongues and praying over people and casting out demons and God honors that. Just like natural babies know when they need nourishment or need to have a diaper changed and they can count on their earthly parent to meet those needs, baby Christians expect their heavenly Father to meet their immediate needs. But as the natural child grows they learn how to feed themselves and take care of themselves, so it is with the spiritual child. You see at the beginning there is that level of spiritual intimacy with God where He will just carry you along. But once you get to a certain spiritual age He expects you to be the one to move toward intimacy with Him, to get to know Him and His will for your life.
II. WORKING THROUGH THE PROCESS OF POWER. There are several Greek words that are translated “power” in the New Testament. As I said earlier, one of them is dunamis meaning miraculous power. It is obviously supernatural. The other word that is often translated as power in the KJV is the word exousia. This word means delegated influence and is more often translated as “authority” in the NIV. As a believer, you have authority, but not everyone with authority will operate in that authority. Spirit filled believers have power but not all of them will operate in power. Paul says in Ephesians 6 that it is a process. 10Finally, be strong (supernaturally) in the Lord and in his mighty power (His ability, His forcefulness, His strength). So now here is the part where we see that operating in God’s strength is a process. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. Who is the source of our struggle? 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. 1) you need truth. Jesus’ prayer in John 17:17, Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. You need God’s word in your life. 2) You need the righteousness of God that is only found in a right relationship with Jesus Christ. 3) Verse 15 says, your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace… Many say that refers to being willing to share the gospel at any moment. Paul told Timothy we are to be instant in season and out of season. I want to take that a step further. I believe it means being so in tune with the Holy Spirit that you recognize His voice within you at any given moment and are prepared to do what He says when He says it. 4) take up the shield of faith… Faith means being fully persuaded like Abraham was that God is able to do whatever He has promised. This goes together with knowing God’s word. Know what God has promised you and then confess it until you believe it… Faith comes by hearing. What does the shield of faith do? It confesses what God is doing and rejects what the enemy tries to do… you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one… 5) the helmet of salvation… The helmet is the proactive covering for your mind. Don’t let the enemy convince you that you aren’t saved, you don’t have any authority, or you aren’t powerful enough to stand against Him. He is a liar and the father of all lies. 6) the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God… This is the only offensive weapon that you have. The sword of the Spirit. Look how it is connected to everything else. The sword is truth. The word is the good news of salvation for all who believe. That is where you righteousness comes from. Listening to the Spirit as he testifies with your spirit to confirm God’s word in your life… the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. The shield of faith – faith comes by hearing the word of God. Helmet of salvation. knowing that this word is what it claims to be and not backing down from it. There is one other element that Paul mentions that is connected to having the power to stand against the enemy. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. Releasing power in the heavenly realms to accomplish its task on earth by praying in tongues as the Holy Spirit gives the utterance.
III. DOING THE WORK IN POWER. I want you to notice a bit a variation in how the disciples went to work compared to Jesus. Jesus received the Holy Ghost then went out into the desert for forty days. The disciples waited in the upper room for ten days then received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The point is that there was an extended time of preparation before the work began. Not long after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit Peter stood and addressed the visiting Jews in Jerusalem with what was really a prophetic word and 3000 were saved. Not long after that Peter and John were going up to the temple to pray and a man who had been lame from birth was healed. When the opportunity came Peter gave God the glory. Acts 3:11, While the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. 12When Peter saw this, he said to them: "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. 14You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. 16By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see. Turn over to 1 Corinthians 2. I want you to see what Paul saw at work in his own life. 1When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. For God’s glory – to show the world who God is. How did Paul do that? He spent three years in Arabia receiving revelation from the Holy Spirit.
I’ve got that burning in my spirit man again for more of God. I am desperate for a move of the Holy Spirit. I want that in this church more than anything. I want to see people saved. I want to see His people move in power. I long to see the gifts of the spirit operating to capacity. I anticipate the church being full again. But I believe that as a church we are going to have to take the time to get reacquainted with God on a personal level. Tonight we will take some time to move in that direction. We are going to wait on God and hear from Him, as we desire more.
God wants you to experience His power in your life.
10And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience…
