I) The search for unlimited power has been constant theme of history.
A) Politically, we see this in attempts throughout history to rule the world. For example, Alexander the Great ruled Greece at the age of sixteen and soon set out on a conquest that saw him ruling most of the known Western world. But with all of that power, he found himself powerless against the simple fever that killed him at the age of 33.
B) In the physical realm, we see this search for power exemplified in the quest for perpetual motion, for a machine that can do endless work without refueling. Pierre de Maricourt made one of the earliest efforts to create perpetual motion in 1269, designing a method to keep a wheel in motion with magnets. Ultimately his efforts failed, as have all attempts since.
C) The search for unlimited power is seen even more clearly in the metaphysical realm. Mankind has sought throughout history the power to control events through witchcraft, sorcery, and the occult and has sought the power to foretell the future through astrology and fortune-telling. This quest is personified in the legendary character of Merlin in Camelot, who “youthens” instead of growing old, and therefore has already lived the future and thus has knowledge of it.
D) The common theme in all of these efforts is failure. Man has sought limitless power in every way imaginable. But all have failed to find it.
II) Incredibly, we, of all mankind, do have an unlimited source of power available to us!
A) Nahum 1:3-6 describes a power that can cause an entire ocean to dry at a single word and can shake even the very mountains. “The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, And will not at all acquit the wicked. The LORD has His way In the whirlwind and in the storm, And the clouds are the dust of His feet. He rebukes the sea and makes it dry, And dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel wither, And the flower of Lebanon wilts. The mountains quake before Him, The hills melt, And the earth heaves at His presence, Yes, the world and all who dwell in it. Who can stand before His indignation? And who can endure the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, And the rocks are thrown down by Him” [NKJV]. The source of that power, of course, is God.
B) Job 26:7-14 tells us that as great as we see that power to be, what we see is only a small part of it. In Matt 19:26 Jesus said, “with God all things are possible,” and Genesis 18:14 tells of God asking Abraham the rhetorical question, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”
C) As Christians, we have this very power made available to us. In Eph 1:15-19, Paul tells the Ephesian church that his prayer is that God might open their eyes to truly understand just how great is God’s power that He directs “toward us who believe.” And in the third chapter of that same letter, in verse 20, he speaks again of the unimaginable power of God “that works in us.” “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” [Eph 3:20-21, NKJV].
D) Take a close look at that passage. Paul says that God is able to do everything that we ask. I could ask some pretty extraordinary things, so that is quite a statement by itself. But Paul goes further to say that God can not only do anything I might ask, but is able to do even those things that I might think, but that might seem too absurd to ask. But Paul doesn’t stop there; he says that God can do “above all that we ask or think.” But not just above all we ask or think, but “abundantly above all that we ask or think.” Then, just to make sure we get the idea, he says God is able to do “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.” And all of that power, he concludes, “works in us.” Christ has power we can’t even imagine, and is willing to use it “for us who believe.”
E) Let’s consider briefly some of the powers that God makes available to us.
III) God gives us the power to foresee the future.
A) Even Merlin could only see forward to the day of his birth as an old man. In contrast, we know through God what will happen at the very end of time as this world knows time.
B) Is 46:9-10 tells us that God’s power to know future is unlimited. “Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done….” From the beginning, God has known and declared what the end will be. We need only listen and believe to share that knowledge. Oh, it won’t help us play the stock market, or even tell us how many grandchildren we’ll have. But God shares with us complete knowledge of something so much more important–our final outcome.
C) God tells us that we shall all come to a day of judgment. He tells us in Matt 13:30, 40-43, 49-50 that the day of judgment will be either a day of great joy or of great anguish. And He tells us in Matt 16:27 that the determining factor as to which kind of day that day will be for us is the nature of our deeds in this life.
D) What if we had Merlin’s power to see the future? Would we spend our money differently? Would we treat our family differently? Of course we would! But we do have Merlin’s power! We know there will be a judgment. We know the standard of judgment. We know the punishments and reward. How foolish we would be not to act on that knowledge!
E) Our knowledge of judgment should cause us to live righteously. As Paul says in 2 Cor 5:9-10, “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” If we knew that a depression were coming, it would be foolish to squander our money on luxuries today. Since we know that judgment is coming, it is even more foolish to squander our lives on the pleasures of sin today. We need to act on our knowledge of the future.
F) Our knowledge of judgment should also cause us to convert others. We would certainly do so if we had Merlin’s power and could foresee that our friends were facing terrible calamities. Then why don’t we let our certain knowledge of impending judgment motivate us to convert our friends and neighbors? Paul went on in the next verse of that same letter to the Corinthians to say, “Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men….” [2 Cor 5:11].
IV) Another great power that God makes available to us is the power to gain riches. This has always certainly been a dream of mankind, from the search for El Dorado to dreams of a genie granting three wishes. But we can gain riches to which none on earth can even begin to compare.
A) Oh, God doesn’t promise us luxuries of earth, but He does promise eternity in the luxury of heaven! He promises us a joy-filled eternity free from guilt and free from worry. He promises us the love of a close-knit family of thousands. And He promises us an all-powerful protector and provider.
B) As Christ reminds us in Matt 6:19-21, it would be foolish to trade away our heavenly riches for earthly. If I told you there were a dollar and a car hidden outside, and you could have either one that you find, how much time would you spend on your hands and knees looking for the dollar? Yet the contrast between heaven and all earthly riches is greater than that. Which are we spending our lives looking for?
C) Paul warns us in Gal 6:7 that “whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” That is a basic concept of agriculture. And it is just as true, and just as basic, in the spiritual realm. We can have a wonderful time on earth if we sow efforts to prosper physically; we can have incredible riches and incredible pleasure. But is that worth giving up heaven for? Are we carefully cultivating spiritual lives, or just throwing out a few spiritual seeds? Paul cautioned us in that same verse, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked.”
V) The power to extend life is another incredible power that is given to us by God. Like the other powers, this power has been sought throughout history. It has been sought through exploration, such as by Ponce De Leon, the Spanish explorer helping to settle the newly discovered America in the early 1500s, who discovered Florida while searching for an island called Bimini that was rumored to hold a fountain of youth. It has been sought through the occult, giving rise to black magic and the myth of vampirism. And it has been sought through science, through an emphasis on health foods, exercise, or disease control.
A) But where all others have failed, we actually have the power to extend our lives without limit! In John 3:16, Jesus says that believers need not perish, but can have eternal life! And Paul explains in Rom 2:7 that in the day of judgment God will grant “eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality….” Then let’s continue seeking just that by patiently doing good.
B) We need to resolve that we will let nothing interfere with our seeking, through God and through godliness, “glory, honor, and immortality.” If Ponce De Leon had discovered a fountain of youth and then neglected to use it, we would consider him a fool. But Rev 21:5-8 tells us that we have found not simply a fountain of youth, but a fountain of eternal life. We must take care not to exchange that fountain for anything: riches, the pleasures of sin, or the praise of men.
C) What a great and powerful a gift God has given us! We need never fear death. There is no need to dread missing the pleasures of life or to fear an unknown future beyond death. We need never dwell on sorrow for our loved ones who die. Of course we will miss their company here with us, but we can know that they have inherited the joys of heaven and that we will eventually be with them eternally. And we can not only extend lives without limit, but have the end of our lives filled with immeasurably more pleasure than we have known.
VI) Do we behave appropriately for individuals possessed of these unlimited powers? Do we use our powers?
A) Returning again to Eph 1:15-23, we find that Paul prayed constantly that the church might understand how great God’s power is that is used for us. It is that same power that raised Christ from the dead. It is this same power (Eph 2:1) that makes us alive, raising us from useless lives of sin. It is this same power (Eph 2:9) through which we were created in order to walk in good works. Do we do so, or do we ignore the power that God so freely makes available to us?
B) Do we ignore our knowledge of the judgment to come, or do we prepare ourselves for it daily? Do we make use of our power to live in eternal joy, or have we traded that for something else in order to gain a few minutes of pleasure? Do we enjoy God’s riches given through His power, or squander our time on worthless worldly things?
C) If we use our God-given powers, we can lead lives which the Alexander’s and Ponce de Leons of the world could not even imagine. We can peacefully approach the future, knowing what incredible joy it holds for us. We can be completely content with whatever wealth we have, knowing that after only a few short years we will enjoy incomparable riches that cannot be taken away. We can view death without fear, recognizing it as only a momentary pause in a life without end.
VII) God also gives us the power to correct the past.
A) How many times have we said, “If only I had it to do again”? We can’t “do it again,” but we can make it as if it never happened. Jer 31:34 assures us that God will not only forgive our sin, but will forget it. Micah offers that same assurance in Micah 7:19, picturing God as throwing our sins into the depths of the sea. God does not forgive in the same way as a man. We can forgive, but we really can’t forget. But God forgets what He forgives; what a blessing!
B) We can live at peace with God, knowing our sins are completely forgotten. How? 1 John 1:9 says we need to simply confess our sins and ask forgiveness. Then we need to set out to continue patiently in doing good (Rom 2:7). And of course, if we are not yet a Christian, we need to be baptized for the remission of our sins (Acts 2:38). It is so easy; we are so foolish if we throw away that power.
