THE POWER OF THE CHURCH
The Church of Jesus Christ was born in the fires of Pentecost:
Act 2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
Act 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The world was about to be turned upside down by a new type of believer. The world would say about the new church:
Act 17:6 ….."These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.
The devil had not expected it and had not prepared for this coming onslaught. The Church would be filled with the Power of God.
Act 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
The word power being translated from the Greek word Dunamis- where we get our word dynamite from. The new Church would be filled with dynamite power.
John the Baptist said:
Mat 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Then God did something special, He gave the believers armour to be able to fight against all the devils that operate on the earth, unbreakable and unshakeable armour to be the Lords Army here on earth.
Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Eph 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Then not only did He give us armour, God, also gave us attack weapons, to not only defend ourselves but drive the enemy from the battlefields of the earth.
Eph 6:16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
We cannot say we are only human anymore, we have the powerful Spirit of God in us and heavenly weapons and shields to fight for and protect, the human race. The songs says it all:
Father, Your word says that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities and rulers of this dark age, but you have designed and ordained armour and weapons for us to come against the wickedness in high places. Right now we put on the helmet of salvation, we lift up the shield of faith, and we clothe ourselves with the breastplate of righteousness, and we pick up the sword of truth. And in the mighty name of Jesus our Saviour, we declare war in the heavenlies!
Making war in the heavenlies tearing down principalities
Standing firm in Jesus’ victory
Making war in the heavenlies casting down every high thing
That exalts itself against the knowledge of Christ
We do not bow our knee to the prince of the air
We know the truth has set us free
And under our feet he will shortly be crushed
And having done all we’ll stand in victory
Our hearts are set apart for the courts of the Lord
And we will not be bought or sold
By His spirit in us we will overcome
Pulling down every stronghold….
The Church of Christ has been given the Power of God to overcome and defeat everything that exalts itself against the Power of God!
The power of God is not given to us to use against humans as humans are made in the image of God and the Lord wants us to rescue His people:
Act 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
Our mission on earth as the powerful Church is to win the lost at any cost. To try and rescue as many people, from going to hell, no matter the cost. Even if it means us laying down our lives for one another. No one takes our life we choose to lay it down.
Heb 11:35 ……Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection
Paul says:
2Ti 4:6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
2Ti 4:7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
The Church of Christ has the power to proclaim Gods Word to a fallen Word and to warn rebels and undesirables that judgement is coming! A.W. Tozer said:
We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.
God offers life, but not an improved old life. The life He offers is life out of death. It stands always on the far side of the cross. Whoever would possess it must pass under the rod. He must repudiate himself and concur in God's just sentence against him. Then repent and place his trust in Jesus Christ.
The so called, modern day, prophets are often nothing more than fortune tellers, peddling their prophecies for a few dollars more. We who are the Church, prophesy to the world that unless they repent and Place their trust in Christ they will go to hell, but if they turn, they will find eternal life and purpose in a fallen world. We also prophesy to backsliders and rebels that it will not go well with them on this earth and in the world to come unless they repent.
2Ti 4:1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:
2Ti 4:2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
We thunder Gods Word to all upon the earth-Hear the Word of God or perish. Kiss the Son or be lost! Turn or burn!
The Church has one powerful weapon that the devil could not even imagine:
1Co 12:31 But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.
1Co 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
1Co 13:2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
1Co 13:3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
1Co 13:4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
1Co 13:5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
1Co 13:6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
1Co 13:7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1Co 13:8 Love never fails…..
God gave us the power to love the unlovable and to reach the unreachable. Alone we could not do it. Gods Love reaches high above the heavens and the earth, there is no love like and nothing can fight it, there is no weapon formed that can destroy the love of God through Christ.
I remember reading a story about a great man of God who was used mightily in healing. He was one day sitting by the bed of a Pastors wife who was dying of cancer. They had prayed for her and fasted and done everything they could to try and heal her, but to no avail. She had refused to accept medication and had placed her trust in Christ alone. One day he was sitting next to her bed, as all the people of the church were taking turns to stay with her and help when needed. He had to go change his shirt as it was hot and as he went down the stairs, the woman let out such a cry of pain and hurt, that he ran back up stairs and picked the lady up in his arms and held her to his chest, saying nothing, he felt such compassion and love for the woman. As he held her, she was completely healed.
Nothing else had worked but love and compassion. I have read of Chinese soldiers cutting out the tongue of a believer and the love in the believers eyes for the soldier shone so great that the soldier fell to his knees.
In foxes Book of martyrs, very often the Christians being tortured would cry for their torturers and ask, what terrible thing happened to you that you have become such a person.
If the Church of Jesus Christ walked in the power of love, nothing could stop us.
Joh 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
Joh 13:35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
Is this not a powerful church? You as a believer are part of this Church. But it does not stop there, we have the Name of Jesus to help us and to minister to the lost and broken.
Mar 16:15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
Mar 16:16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
Mar 16:17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;
Mar 16:18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."
We are given a mandate to preach the Gospel with power. We cant cut these Scriptures out the Bible, we must listen to our Lord Jesus Christ.
In Jesus Name we will cast out demons, out of people, out of our suburbs and out of everywhere that we are preaching the Gospel. Sometimes demons will hinder the work of Christ through people or circumstances- we will cast them out, we will cast them out in Jesus Name. They will speak with new tongues, not all people speak with tongues and that’s okay, but we can in Jesus Name. A supernatural language to God or an earthly language to men. I have read about men speaking to foreign people by faith and unknown to him, he was preaching the Gospel.
1Co 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels..
They will take up serpents and if they drink any deadly thing it will by no means hurt them..
Most people say this is talking about demons, yes, but also if serpents get in your way taking the Gospel to some lost tribe do what Paul did:
Act 28:3 But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
Act 28:4 So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, "No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live."
Act 28:5 But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.
Act 28:6 However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.
During the Catholic persecutions of the Christian church it was common for Catholic agents to put hemlock in the Puritans drinks at an inn. One day they poured enough hemlock in a Puritan minister drink to kill a horse. But the Puritan prayed over his food and drank the drink without any harm coming to him. I believe they repented and gave their life to Christ.
Now the last part of this verse says:
they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."
Now that’s what Gods Word says! The early disciples of Christ laid hands on the sick, the seventy disciples of Jesus laid hands on the sick, and Jesus told the church to lay hands on the sick and they will recover. Recovery can be immediate or slow. But we are to obey Gods Word. You will be surprised what God will do Church, if you lay hands on the sick, we are not promising them a healing, we are just obeying the Lords Word.
Mar 16:19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.
Mar 16:20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen
Please be part of a Church with signs following, a powerful church that drives out demons, lays hands on the sick, preaches the Gospel with power, loves furiously with all their heart, is never defeated, overcomes all the weapons of the enemy, like discouragement, depression, suppression, anxiety, fear and that lead people to victory in their own lives.
Act 2:16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
Act 2:17 'AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS IN THE LAST DAYS, SAYS GOD, THAT I WILL POUR OUT OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL FLESH; YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS.
Act 2:18 AND ON MY MENSERVANTS AND ON MY MAIDSERVANTS I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT IN THOSE DAYS; AND THEY SHALL PROPHESY.
Act 2:19 I WILL SHOW WONDERS IN HEAVEN ABOVE AND SIGNS IN THE EARTH BENEATH: BLOOD AND FIRE AND VAPOR OF SMOKE.
Act 2:20 THE SUN SHALL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS, AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE COMING OF THE GREAT AND AWESOME DAY OF THE LORD.
Act 2:21 AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS THAT WHOEVER CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED.'
You Church are part of Gods Powerful Church, lets do what God tells us to do and we will see an end time revival that will seem like a tsunami of believers. People are sick of dead churches with no power, money grabbing, wishy washy messages and seeker friendly programs. Clean your armour, sharpen your swords, knock the dents out your shields, blow the shofar, link shields and advance in Jesus Name. No surrender- no retreat!
Amen.
