The Source Of Your Power
How God Meets Your Deepest Needs
Genesis 17:1-3
By Pastor Ted Palaroan
All of us at sometime in our lives have felt weak and useless. We’ve struggled with some problem that seems to always defeat us and bring us down. During those times we ask ourselves, were do I get the strength and power to survive? Where do we get the power to live in today’s crazy mixed up, but very real world, in a world where sick things happen to good people, in a world where life seems to be this constant struggle? Where do we get the power to live in a world that’s filled with these difficult questions? And where do I get the power to keep going every day of my life?
The reality is, is this, God never promised you or I that life would be easy. Pain and sin are everywhere. Not just in other states or countries. Pain and suffering is right here in our own community even in our own church.
The message (the Good News) is that you and I don’t have to live powerless lives. You and I don’t have to look for other sources of power. God says, "I want you to have My power today and everyday, even in the midst of pain and suffering."
I love what Job said, He said in 6:10 "At least I can take comfort in this: Despite the pain, I have not denied the words of the Holy One." The words of the Holy One make us a promise. The promise is this: That you and I can experience God’s unlimited, God’s divine, God’s supernatural power in our lives today and live the way He intended us to live and, when necessary, endure the pain and hardship of life.
God doesn’t want us to just talk about power. He wants us to access it. 1 Corinthians 4:20 "The kingdom of God is not just fancy talk. It is living by God’s power." Each week as we talk about a different need in our lives, we take a look at one of the names that God referred to Himself by and how God meets that need. Today we see that one of His names is El Shaddai, which means, "I am your all powerful God." God knew that we would have this need for power to live a Holy Consecrated life for Him. God knew that we would be powerless to live our lives the way that He intended us to live them and He says, "I’m the answer to your need for power. I am your all powerful God." God didn’t just say this about Himself; others said it about Him. Psalm 68:35 (New Living Translation) "God is awesome in His sanctuary. The God of Israel gives power and strength to His people. Praise the Lord"
I want to take a look at four promises that God says, "I’ll give you power when…" There are more but these are very relevant to us today.
When can I count on God’s power?
1. WHEN I’M TIRED AND WORN OUT.
Isaiah 40:29-31 29 He gives power to those who are tired and worn out; he offers strength to the weak. 30 Even youths will become exhausted, and young men will give up. 31 But those who wait on the LORD will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. (The New Living Translation)
I can count on God’s power when I’m tired. I don’t even have to ask you if you are tired. I can see it in your faces. We believed that in the 80’s and 90’s we could go-out-and get-and-achieve-everything-you-can and now that we’ve achieved it, we’re too tired to enjoy it! Our motto is, Why stop and smell the roses when you can drive right through them! We can rename ourselves too Tired.
Obviously there are some things that you and I can do to slow the pace of our lives down, but in the midst of this, God makes us a promise. Isaiah 40 "The Lord is the everlasting God. He never grows tired or weary. He strengthens those who are weak and tired. Those who trust the Lord for help will find their strength renewed. He gives power to those who are tired and worn out; He offers strength to the weak." I know some of you… you need to memorize this verse! Write it down and put it by your toothbrush, get a tattoo of it on your body, shave it on the side of your dog! I don’t care where you put it, just put it someplace where you can be reminded of it. It’s a great verse. God’s power is unlimited. He never gets tired. He never gets weary. He never goes to bed. He has unlimited energy. He created the entire universe and said, "What’s next?"
Would you like to tap into that kind of power? It’s available.
When else can I count on god’s power?
2. WHEN I’M WEAK AND HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO GIVE.
2 Corinthians 12:7-9 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
God says, "I’ll give you power when you don’t feel like you’ve got any strength left to go on." I’ll give you power to accomplish something when you feel inadequate. I will give you power to overcome when you feel that you are being overcome. I will give you strength and power to build your relationship with me, and those in the body of Christ. I will give you power to cope with those that are unbearable. God says, "My power will show up when you’re weak." Paul said to God, "I’ve got this affliction. Will You take it away from me?" God said no. "My power shows up best in weak people." And I love what Paul says, "Now I’m glad to boast about how weak I am. I ’m glad to be a living demonstration of Christ’s power instead of showing off my own power and abilities."
God makes a promise. When you feel inadequate. When you feel weak or you feel like you have nothing to offer, He wants to invade your life with His power. Do you need to tap into a power like that? It’s available.
When else can I count on God’s power?
3. I CAN COUNT ON GOD’S POWER WHEN I’M IN PAIN.
Psalm 41:3 "The Lord nurses them when they’re sick and eases their pain discomfort." For Christians, God’s power doesn’t just pacify our pain. When we access God’s power, it will nurture and comfort us. God’s power will ease our pain and comfort. Do you want to tap into that kind of power? It’s available.
Some of the pain that’s in this room is very real, and very hard.
Some of you are struggling with the pain of a troubled marriage. Some of you are struggling with the pain of lost loved ones. Some of you may be dealing with the pain of broken relationship, broken homes, financial difficulties and health problems. There’s no shortage of difficulty facing those of us that are here. You’re not immune from pain and neither am I. It’s inevitable that you and I will experience the kind of soul-piercing heartbreak that comes from some loss that is too painful to bear.
If you’re not a Christian, you’re here just checking this God-thing out, some of my Christian friends that have gone through this kind of pain that I’m talking about will tell you that they have walked through the deepest and darkest valleys of their life but they would also tell you with conviction that if it wasn’t for God’s power and strength, they would never have made it out the other side - at least not in one piece. Where do you go with your pain? God promises us power in the midst of pain.
When else can I count on God’s power?
4. I CAN COUNT N GOD’S POWER WHEN I’M TEMPTED.
One of the reasons that some of the pain is in our life is because we haven’t had the power to say no to temptation. Paul understood this. Romans 7 "I often find that I have the will to do good, but no power." Can anybody relate to that one? "I want to do it but I don’t have the power!" Temptation is out there!
Bumper sticker: "Lead us not into temptation; I’m perfectly capable of finding it on my own." I can relate to that. Temptation is as sure as taxes and death, but the good news is God won’t let us be tempted beyond our own capacity to handle that. God is faithful and gives you the power to say no when you’re tempted. You name the temptation - chocolate cake, internet pornography, gossip, lying for a job interview, cheating on your taxes - when you’re tempted, God gives you the power to say no. It says in the Bible, in 1 Corinthians 10 "Every temptation that has come your way is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps His promise, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond your power to resist. At the time you are tempted He will give you strength to endure it and so provide you with a way out." The promise is this: there’s always a way out. Here’s the question: Do you take it? God says, I want to give you power to conquer and overcome temptation.
The bottom line to these four promises is I feel like God’s saying, "When you are burned out and tired I want to give you My power. In the midst of your feeling inadequate with your life, I want to give you power. I want to give you My power so you can handle the devastating hurt that you’re going through right now … When you feel like you’re tempted beyond your control, I want to give you My power …" That’s the good news of today. It is good news. We don’t have to live powerless, weak lives.
Paul understood God’s power when he said, Philippians 4:13 "I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me." I know what some of you are thinking. "God may give you the power, preacher, but He doesn’t work like that with me. I’m just an average Christian. I love God and everything but frankly, I’m fatigued, I’m stressed. My kids are out of control. My heart’s been broken. My prayers aren’t answered. I don’t see God’s power in my life."
Do you know how I’d respond to you? I would say that God’s power is not automatic. As a matter of fact, I’ve seen a lot of Christians who live their life with no more power than a non-Christian. They may have salvation and God’s presence, but they live with no more power.
I want to give you some action steps of what you and I can do to receive God’s power. I listed A-B-C. It may not be as easy as ABC but it may be a little more memorable this way.
A - ADMIT YOU’RE WEAK
If you want God’s power, admit you’re weak. This is where I admit my lack of power, I admit that I don’t have it all together, I admit that I can’t solve everything on my own. For some of us in here, this is tough. We think we’ve got it all together and we can do this. If you’re thinking that, who are you kidding? You can’t control everything. You can’t reach every goal you’ve set. You’re not going to make as much money as you’ve dreamed up. You’re human, you’re weak, you’re getting older. Your hairline is receding. If you’re a man, you’re going bald.
When we pretend to be self sufficient - and the key word is "pretend" - we short circuit God’s power for our lives. If you want to access God’s power, you start here. You drop to your knees and you admit that you’re weak. The Bible is filled with verses on pride. The Bible tells us that God doesn’t hate many things but one of the things He hates is pride. Pride says I don’t need God. Pride says I’ve got it all together. Proverbs "Pride ends in humiliation. While humility [admitting my weakness] brings honor." If you want God’s power, at some point in your life, you’ve got to get rid of this steering wheel and say, "God, You take control. I’m going to set shotgun. You get in the driver’s seat of my life." Then you open up the channels for God’s power. It starts with this admission - admitting that we’re weak.
B - BE CONNECTED TO THE SOURCE OF POWER
You want power? Get connected. I have for years this bottom line theory that goes like this: things work best when they’re plugged in. You and I work best when we’re plugged in to the creator of the universe. If you’ve got a toaster, try to do toast without plugging it in. It’s not going to work. I don’t care how good looking that toaster is, I don’t care the net worth of that toaster, I don’t care if that toaster grew up in the church kitchen its entire life, it’s not going to work if it’s not plugged in and neither are you.
Some of you are saying, "I’m already a Christian. I’m already connected with God." But you know why you don’t have power? Because you unplug yourself by ungodly choices and doing things on your own agenda then we have this arrogant expectation that God is going to bless what we’re doing. Think about it: it wouldn’t make sense for God to supernaturally renew our strength so we could pursue something outside of God’s design for our life. As I go through these action steps - A-B-C - and you’re setting there thinking, "I’ve been a Christian for a long time. Move on!" It’s not, you do this once and then you’ve got His power. It’s, you do this all the time. You’re always admitting your weakness. You’re working to get connected with God.
Jesus understood this connection theory and He gives us a word picture. I love the way Jesus taught because it was so visual. Jesus said in John 15 "I am the vine and you are the branches. Those who remain in Me [those who are connected with Me] and I in them, they will produce much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing."
There are some people that say, "It seems so hard to get plugged into a relationship with God."
C - CHOOSE GOD’S WAY AND WALK IN FAITHFUL OBEDIENCE TO HIM
This is the toughest. The Bible makes it very, very clear that God’s power and my faith are connected. For me to get God’s power, I’ve got to step out in faith. What does "choose God’s way" mean? It means step out in obedience to what God calls us to do before the power shows up. That’s a key word - before. God wants us to take action before He supplies the power. Some of you may be thinking, "You mean I have to take action and act as if I have the power even before I have the power in order to get the power?" Yes! That’s where faith enters in.
"What is faith?…" Hebrews 11:1 "… It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen." You choose God’s way. You make godly choices.
B and C work very closely together. When I’m connected with God, my choices become a lot clearer. Notice I didn’t say my choices are easier. There aren’t easy choices in life, but they become clearer. So I choose God’s way and God says, "Ok, now My power is going to show up." He sees our faith and He turns on the power.
Imagine being a slave for years and now you’re free. They’re dancing and they’re singing and having a good old time marching out of Egypt. Back in Egypt, Pharaoh all of a sudden goes, "What did I just do?" He starts thinking about all the slaves and the free labor - a recession, a depression - and he goes, "I must have been crazy to let them go! Who’s going to make bricks in the hot sun? Who’s going to clean the bathroom? Who’s going to do all this stuff?" So he calls out the Egypt National Guard and says go get them. Imagine you’re an Israelite and you’re kind of singing and dancing and marching to freedom and all of a sudden you look over your shoulder and you see the Egyptian army coming after you with obvious evil intent. In front of you is a sea. They’re chasing you into a sea. It’s a holocaust in the making.
Now, all of a sudden, they think they’re going to get killed and they start going crazy. They say to Moses in Exodus 14 "Then they turned against Moses and complained, `Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? Why did you make us leave? Our slavery was far better than us dying out here in the wilderness.’"
I wonder if some of us say that sometimes. "Our powerless life was far better than stepping out in faith." But Moses told the people "Don’t be afraid. Just wait and watch what God will do."
Would you take that answer? Think about it: You’re thinking "I’m either going to get drowned or killed and Moses says, "Relax, pal! And watch what God will do." I don’t know. I don’t think I would keep marching into the ocean. I don’t think I have that kind of faith. I think I’d be one of those guys saying, "I think I’ve got something caught in my sandals. Why don’t you go ahead?"
It says, "The Lord Himself will fight for you. You won’t have to lift a finger in defense." And we know what happens (especially if you’ve been to Universal Studios). God speaks and the ocean opens up. God’s power arrives as they took that step in faith.
I could go from story to story. You could do the same thing. The principle is you choose God’s way and God’s power shows up.
Moses didn’t know how God was going to intervene until he trusted in God’s power and he kept walking.
God says to you today, "I will honor your faith by a display of My supernatural power. I’ll give you power along the way." If you’re like me, and I think some of you probably are, I don’t want power along the way. I want power before I go. I want power before the crisis. I want power before the showdown. I want power before the ocean’s edge. And if I was to consult God, that’s what I would tell Him.
But the Bible teaches that God supplies power along the way according to our faith. And the same God who intervened and expressed His power throughout the pages of the Bible is the same God who says to you today, right now, "I want to infuse your life with My power." Admit you’re weak, be connected to the source of power and choose God’s way with faith that God’s power will show up.
Isaiah 40:31 "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary."
Are these easy steps? No. But they’re good steps. And when you move in the direction that God wants you to take, His power will show up. You do the possible with faith and God will do the impossible. But this power that we’re talking about, the only other condition that I haven’t told you about is, you don’t get the power without the person. The person is Jesus Christ. It says in Romans 8:17 "And since we are His children [His people] we will share His treasures. For everything God gives to His son, Christ, is ours, too." If you’re someone here that’s never opened up your life to Jesus Christ, you may have gone to church your entire life but you’ve never let go of the steering wheel of your life, would you just say - it’s as simple as this - "Christ, come in. Would you give me the power that I need because I want to live Your way?" If you’re ready to do that, He’s standing at the door knocking.
For the rest of you, what area of your life do you need God’s power to show up? Make this very practical to you. It’s not just fancy talk. It’s living by God’s power.
