1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,800 Good morning. 2 00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:04,340 The Ever-Bible Ephesians 1 is where we'll be. 3 00:00:04,340 --> 00:00:07,280 Last Sunday, we spent some time looking over Paul's prayer 4 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:10,380 to the church in Ephesus in 15 through 19, 5 00:00:10,380 --> 00:00:14,220 where he prays that we would know God first with our heads, 6 00:00:14,220 --> 00:00:19,120 with wisdom and revelation that leads to a full knowledge of him, 7 00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:21,320 that leads to a full understanding of him. 8 00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:22,960 And then secondly, with our hearts, 9 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:26,800 where Paul asked God that the eyes of our hearts 10 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:29,000 would be enlightened. 11 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:31,600 So that we would know the hope, right? 12 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:35,900 So that we would understand that we are God's inheritance, 13 00:00:35,900 --> 00:00:39,140 and we would understand God's power. 14 00:00:39,140 --> 00:00:41,580 The last part of chapter one elaborates 15 00:00:41,580 --> 00:00:44,620 on this final request that we would know God better. 16 00:00:44,620 --> 00:00:48,480 But to summarize the passage, let's start in verse 15. 17 00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:51,560 I know it's covered it, but let's fill the passage. 18 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:52,760 So here we go, 15. 19 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:55,500 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith 20 00:00:55,500 --> 00:00:58,020 in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints, 21 00:00:58,020 --> 00:00:59,940 I do not cease to give thanks for you, 22 00:00:59,940 --> 00:01:01,700 remembering you in my prayers, 23 00:01:01,700 --> 00:01:03,600 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, 24 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:06,800 the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom 25 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:08,680 and of revelation and the knowledge of him. 26 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:11,180 Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, 27 00:01:11,180 --> 00:01:13,740 that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, 28 00:01:13,740 --> 00:01:15,580 what are the riches of his glorious inheritance 29 00:01:15,580 --> 00:01:18,320 to the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness 30 00:01:18,320 --> 00:01:20,380 of his power towards us who will leave, 31 00:01:20,380 --> 00:01:22,720 according to the work in his great might. 32 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:24,260 Verse 20 is where we're at today, 33 00:01:24,260 --> 00:01:27,020 that he who he worked in Christ, 34 00:01:27,020 --> 00:01:28,800 when he raised him from the dead, 35 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:31,660 and seated him at the right hand in the heavenly places, 36 00:01:31,660 --> 00:01:35,240 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, 37 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:37,440 and above every name that is named, 38 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:41,080 not only in this age, but in the age to come. 39 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:43,180 Let's talk about God's power this morning. 40 00:01:43,180 --> 00:01:44,380 There's at least three things 41 00:01:44,380 --> 00:01:46,340 that we need to know about God's power. 42 00:01:46,340 --> 00:01:50,220 The first one is, it's God's power for us. 43 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:53,780 Before jumping into the description of power, 44 00:01:53,780 --> 00:01:55,720 we need to first recognize 45 00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:59,160 that this power is for us. 46 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:02,860 We need to see all Paul is about to say, 47 00:02:02,860 --> 00:02:07,200 about the power of God as being available to us, 48 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:10,240 purpose for us to live in, and to know. 49 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:11,900 As we walk through the rest of this passage, 50 00:02:11,900 --> 00:02:15,380 we need to constantly keep in mind 51 00:02:15,380 --> 00:02:17,640 that in the power Paul is describing 52 00:02:17,640 --> 00:02:20,280 is for us to who believes. 53 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:22,140 We have to keep that in mind. 54 00:02:22,140 --> 00:02:23,880 The second part of verse 19 begins 55 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:27,720 with the description of God's power. 56 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:28,820 Have you ever listened to someone 57 00:02:28,820 --> 00:02:31,320 try to describe something they're really, 58 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:33,760 really excited about? 59 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:37,500 Something that has completely amazed them? 60 00:02:37,500 --> 00:02:38,840 It was great. 61 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:40,560 It was awesome. 62 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:44,140 It was incredible, amazing, unbelievable. 63 00:02:44,140 --> 00:02:47,540 We use those words when we're describing something like that. 64 00:02:47,540 --> 00:02:50,380 We kind of pile up words, one on top of the other, 65 00:02:50,380 --> 00:02:54,480 in order to try to convey our sense of excitement 66 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:56,420 about that particular thing. 67 00:02:56,420 --> 00:02:59,780 Paul does the same thing in the second part of verse 19. 68 00:02:59,780 --> 00:03:02,360 He starts thinking about the power of God, 69 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:04,120 and I think he gets excited, 70 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:06,920 and he starts to pile up words to describe it. 71 00:03:06,920 --> 00:03:09,720 We lose some of that sense in the building excitement 72 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:11,760 in our translations. 73 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:15,100 The words there are power and might and strength, 74 00:03:15,100 --> 00:03:17,140 and exerted and used, 75 00:03:17,140 --> 00:03:21,440 but we miss the building of the sense of enthusiasm. 76 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:22,800 If you ever read the message, 77 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:24,580 the translation, the message, 78 00:03:24,580 --> 00:03:26,680 it captures this feeling a little more. 79 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:27,840 Verse 19 says, 80 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:30,620 Oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us, 81 00:03:30,620 --> 00:03:34,820 who trust in him, endless energy, boundless strength. 82 00:03:34,820 --> 00:03:37,260 There is an exuberance here, 83 00:03:37,260 --> 00:03:39,560 an excitement as the topic shifts 84 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:44,200 to describing the power of God for us. 85 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:47,260 The second thing is we see his power demonstrated, 86 00:03:47,260 --> 00:03:49,900 and that overflows into verse 20, 87 00:03:49,900 --> 00:03:53,040 where God's power is demonstrated in two ways. 88 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:56,040 The two greatest examples of the power of God 89 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:57,140 are found in verse 20, 90 00:03:57,140 --> 00:03:59,840 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead 91 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:03,320 and seated him at the right hand in the heavenly places. 92 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:07,820 We see his power shown when Jesus is resurrected. 93 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:12,860 The first example of the incomparably great power 94 00:04:12,860 --> 00:04:15,500 is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. 95 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:18,660 How much power did that take? 96 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:23,840 Remember that Jesus' resurrection was far different 97 00:04:23,840 --> 00:04:26,840 than from when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. 98 00:04:26,840 --> 00:04:30,440 Lazarus' resurrection was temporary. 99 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:33,040 He still would have died a second time, 100 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:36,980 but in Jesus, we do not have a temporary defeat 101 00:04:36,980 --> 00:04:39,380 over the power of death, 102 00:04:39,380 --> 00:04:43,260 but a permanent defeat over the power of death. 103 00:04:44,420 --> 00:04:47,520 In the resurrection of Jesus, we have eternal life, 104 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:49,400 a resurrected body, 105 00:04:49,400 --> 00:04:51,500 a deliverance from the permanence 106 00:04:51,500 --> 00:04:54,160 and hopelessness of death. 107 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:57,740 The power of God which raised Jesus Christ from the dead 108 00:04:57,740 --> 00:04:59,440 is a victory. 109 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:03,580 It earned a permanent hope in a new order. 110 00:05:04,580 --> 00:05:09,320 It provided a bridge back into relationship with God, 111 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:11,120 and gives us hope for all of eternity, 112 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:14,720 all because God raised Jesus from the dead. 113 00:05:15,860 --> 00:05:18,020 The moment of Jesus' resurrection 114 00:05:18,020 --> 00:05:20,260 is a great turning point in history. 115 00:05:21,860 --> 00:05:26,400 From a low desperate point where it seemed that hope was dead, 116 00:05:27,700 --> 00:05:31,240 Jesus' claim to be God's son is in doubt, 117 00:05:32,580 --> 00:05:34,980 and it shifts to one of victory and triumph of God's 118 00:05:34,980 --> 00:05:37,340 incredible power over Satan and over death. 119 00:05:37,340 --> 00:05:41,340 Remember Paul's assertion is that that same power 120 00:05:41,340 --> 00:05:42,840 is for us. 121 00:05:45,840 --> 00:05:47,840 We also see Jesus exalted. 122 00:05:49,140 --> 00:05:52,840 The second example of this incomparably great power 123 00:05:52,840 --> 00:05:55,980 for us is the exaltation of Christ. 124 00:05:55,980 --> 00:05:58,760 Seated at the right hand of God right now. 125 00:05:59,760 --> 00:06:01,720 We don't talk as much about this aspect 126 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:04,800 of what Jesus did for us as we do about Jesus' death 127 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:08,660 and resurrection, but it's very common in scriptures 128 00:06:08,660 --> 00:06:12,940 for the reign of Jesus to be linked to his death 129 00:06:12,940 --> 00:06:14,600 and resurrection. 130 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:17,140 It simply completes the process. 131 00:06:17,140 --> 00:06:20,680 Jesus died, God raised him from the dead, 132 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:23,380 and now he is enthroned in heaven. 133 00:06:23,380 --> 00:06:27,220 But it is critical for our understanding 134 00:06:27,220 --> 00:06:31,060 in what is happening now, that who is in control? 135 00:06:31,060 --> 00:06:36,060 What's Jesus' role and what that means for us? 136 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:40,440 The remaining verses elaborate on this idea 137 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:43,240 of the reign of Christ, and it's spelled out for us 138 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:47,380 what it means to have Jesus be exalted. 139 00:06:47,380 --> 00:06:50,880 I love how Paul, the excitement of Paul, 140 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:55,880 about the power of God directly points back to Jesus. 141 00:06:57,180 --> 00:06:59,580 Think of all that Paul had done in his ministry. 142 00:06:59,580 --> 00:07:01,460 Think about all the stories. 143 00:07:01,460 --> 00:07:05,200 He had seen people healed in miraculous ways. 144 00:07:05,200 --> 00:07:08,800 He had been shipwrecked and delivered from that. 145 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:11,000 He had been bitten by a poisonous snake 146 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:12,900 and delivered from that. 147 00:07:12,900 --> 00:07:14,640 He had cast out demons. 148 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:19,040 One time, Paul preached on and on and on. 149 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:23,320 A young man fell asleep, fell out a window to his death, 150 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:25,480 and Paul raised him from the dead. 151 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:27,220 If that happens to you here, 152 00:07:27,220 --> 00:07:28,800 give an answer to that now. 153 00:07:30,100 --> 00:07:31,500 What is it? 154 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:40,340 Acts 19 tells us, while Paul was in Ephesus, 155 00:07:40,340 --> 00:07:43,700 God was doing extraordinary miracles through Paul, 156 00:07:43,700 --> 00:07:46,820 that even the handkerchiefs and the aprons that he had touched 157 00:07:46,820 --> 00:07:50,420 were taken to the sick and their illnesses were cured, 158 00:07:50,420 --> 00:07:53,180 and the evil spirits had left them. 159 00:07:53,180 --> 00:07:56,660 But here in this passage, when he gets caught up 160 00:07:56,660 --> 00:08:05,940 Does he list all those miracles? No, he talks about Jesus. Was he not excited about those 161 00:08:05,940 --> 00:08:11,940 miracles? Did he downplay them or try to explain them away or minimize them? Absolutely not. 162 00:08:11,940 --> 00:08:21,860 It's just that held up against the resurrection of Christ, those pale in comparison. What Paul, 163 00:08:21,860 --> 00:08:32,660 it's focused on Christ. It leads to Christ. It exalts Christ. It points people to Christ. That is 164 00:08:32,660 --> 00:08:41,420 the point of the power of God to exalt Christ and lift him up and to recognize that Jesus is ruler 165 00:08:41,420 --> 00:08:48,580 of all. Remember, Paul wasn't a follower of Jesus during Jesus' life on earth. He wasn't there when 166 00:08:48,580 --> 00:08:54,780 Jesus taught, when he died, when he was resurrected. Though he did meet the risen Lord on the road to 167 00:08:54,780 --> 00:09:02,340 Damascus, he is much more like us in that he heard about Jesus from someone else secondhand. 168 00:09:02,340 --> 00:09:10,180 And yet still he is focused on the cross and the exaltation of Jesus as the ultimate demonstration 169 00:09:10,180 --> 00:09:18,820 of the power of God. Do you see this model for us? When we see God move in power around and through 170 00:09:18,820 --> 00:09:27,980 us, it has to take us to Jesus. It has to exalt Jesus. It has to proclaim Jesus to the world. 171 00:09:27,980 --> 00:09:36,660 It's not about us. Not about the things God has done through us as if we are so great and so spiritual. 172 00:09:36,660 --> 00:09:45,460 The power of God is for us. The purpose of knowing that power is to bring us to Jesus and keep us there. 173 00:09:45,460 --> 00:09:54,420 We also see power in action. Jesus' reign in heaven is the topic of verses 21 through 22, 174 00:09:54,420 --> 00:10:02,860 where we see the power of God through our reigning Lord Jesus in action. We see he has power over 175 00:10:02,860 --> 00:10:11,420 all spiritual beings. This one would have been encouraging to the people of Ephesus and all the 176 00:10:11,420 --> 00:10:16,620 other cities that this letter was written to. Because they lived in a highly spiritual culture, 177 00:10:16,620 --> 00:10:23,540 we know that there was a lot of magic practice at Ephesus. We know that the temple to a goddess 178 00:10:23,540 --> 00:10:28,460 named Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and there was a lot of spiritual 179 00:10:28,460 --> 00:10:37,500 rituals and sorcery and divination. The words rule, authority, power, and dominion refer to 180 00:10:37,500 --> 00:10:47,180 spiritual forces. It's made clear in Ephesians 6. Note that Paul claims Jesus is not only stronger, 181 00:10:47,180 --> 00:10:57,020 but he is far above. He's far above. Hopefully this is encouraging to you also. We need have no fear 182 00:10:57,020 --> 00:11:08,820 because Jesus, whom we know and love and serve, is far above any spiritual force. Jesus reigns. Stay 183 00:11:08,820 --> 00:11:16,700 focused on him and know him and know that he is stronger. He's more powerful than any rule, 184 00:11:16,700 --> 00:11:25,140 authority, power, or dominion, demon, or temptation to sin. He's over all of it. He's stronger than 185 00:11:25,140 --> 00:11:32,900 all of it. Use your imagination for a minute. Can you do that? Yes. Thank you. Think of yourself 186 00:11:32,900 --> 00:11:42,660 as living in an apartment building. You live there under a landlord who has made your life miserable. 187 00:11:42,660 --> 00:11:51,940 He charges you an exorbitant amount of rent. When you can't pay the rent, he loans you money at a 188 00:11:51,940 --> 00:11:59,740 fearful rate of interest to get you even further into debt. He barges into your apartment at all 189 00:11:59,740 --> 00:12:06,340 hours of the day and night, wrecks your place up, then he charges you extra for not maintaining the 190 00:12:06,340 --> 00:12:14,780 premises. Your life is miserable. Then comes someone who says, I've taken over this apartment 191 00:12:14,780 --> 00:12:22,460 building. I've purchased it. You can live here as long as you like for free. The rent is paid up. 192 00:12:22,460 --> 00:12:28,020 I'm going to live in this building with you in the manager's apartment. What a joy that would be, 193 00:12:28,020 --> 00:12:35,460 right? You are saved. You are delivered out of the clutches of the old landlord. But what happens? 194 00:12:35,460 --> 00:12:43,460 You hardly have time to rejoice in your newfound freedom when a knock comes out the door. And 195 00:12:43,460 --> 00:12:53,500 there he is, right? The old landlord. Mean, glowering, demanding as ever. He has come for the rent. 196 00:12:53,500 --> 00:13:03,900 What do you do? Do you pay him? Of course you don't pay him. Do you go out and pop him in the face? 197 00:13:03,900 --> 00:13:12,140 No, he's bigger than you. You confidently tell him you're going to have to take that up with the 198 00:13:12,140 --> 00:13:20,300 new landlord. He may bellow. He may threaten. He may intimidate. He may scow. And you just quietly 199 00:13:20,300 --> 00:13:27,260 tell him, take it up with the new landlord. He may come back to you a dozen times with all sorts 200 00:13:27,260 --> 00:13:33,180 of threats and arguments, waving legal looking documents in your face. And simply, and you simply 201 00:13:33,180 --> 00:13:39,980 tell him once again, you have to take it up with the new landlord. In the end, he has to and he 202 00:13:39,980 --> 00:13:47,980 knows it. He just hopes that he can bluff and threaten and deceive you into doubting that the 203 00:13:47,980 --> 00:13:59,220 new landlord will really take care of things. Now, this is the situation of the Christian. Once Christ 204 00:13:59,220 --> 00:14:08,100 has delivered you from the power of sin and the devil, you can depend on it. That old landlord will 205 00:14:08,100 --> 00:14:14,460 soon come knocking back at your door. And what is your defense? How do you keep him from getting 206 00:14:14,460 --> 00:14:23,100 the upper hand on you again? You send him to the new landlord. You send him to Jesus. When Jesus 207 00:14:23,100 --> 00:14:33,940 Christ truly takes charge of our minds, bringing every thought captive to him, we become spiritually 208 00:14:33,940 --> 00:14:44,860 invincible. We operate with supernatural power. We walk under God's complete control. What would our 209 00:14:44,860 --> 00:14:53,100 church look like if each of us believed and lived the fact that we, the church, the body of Christ, 210 00:14:53,100 --> 00:15:02,860 are filled with all the fullness of Christ? What will we look like? What would it feel like? What 211 00:15:02,860 --> 00:15:11,020 would our priorities be? How would we care for one another? I'm not suggesting that we're a long way 212 00:15:11,020 --> 00:15:16,260 off from that. In fact, I think there are many ways as a church that we do live and believe this. 213 00:15:16,260 --> 00:15:24,820 But there are some ways where we do not. There are some ways in which we are focused just on the 214 00:15:24,820 --> 00:15:32,540 human institution and forget about the spiritual reality. Some ways that we focus on our needs and 215 00:15:32,540 --> 00:15:39,700 wants rather than letting God be in control. I believe this verse calls us to an extremely high 216 00:15:39,700 --> 00:15:47,300 view of the church and calls us to ensure that Jesus is Lord and that we keep him as the head 217 00:15:47,300 --> 00:15:56,220 over everything. It is in the church that God has chosen to reveal his power. The church is full 218 00:15:56,220 --> 00:16:04,620 with the fullness of him who fills everything in every way so that we can know God's power. So all 219 00:16:04,620 --> 00:16:12,220 divine power, all divine glory is found in Christ is also found in the church. It's found in you. 220 00:16:12,220 --> 00:16:23,300 It's found in me. Because of this, he has the power to change lives. I began by asking us to keep in 221 00:16:23,300 --> 00:16:30,060 mind that all this description of the power in God comes out of Paul's prayer that we would know 222 00:16:30,060 --> 00:16:44,540 this incomparable great power for us who believe. Talking about the power of God for many is one of 223 00:16:44,540 --> 00:16:49,980 those things that's a little outside our comfort zone. Actually, I guess it's not as much talking 224 00:16:49,980 --> 00:16:58,420 about the power of God as much as thinking about encountering it. Maybe that's where we tend to 225 00:16:58,420 --> 00:17:08,260 get a little nervous. I think the root of that is fear. More specifically, a fear that you and I 226 00:17:08,260 --> 00:17:16,540 will no longer be in control. That we might end up looking silly or foolish or undignified. I wonder 227 00:17:16,540 --> 00:17:24,940 if we avoid God's power because we're really not sure that what's going to happen. And we're afraid 228 00:17:24,940 --> 00:17:32,660 to let Jesus be the Lord and to be the one in control. We have some misconceptions, some powerful 229 00:17:32,660 --> 00:17:42,580 misconceptions that keep us from knowing the power of God. We think it has to be manifest in some 230 00:17:42,580 --> 00:17:49,020 weird supernatural way that is strange and obscure that will make us look like total fools, that it's 231 00:17:49,020 --> 00:17:55,700 going to humiliate us. We assume it will be painful. We will begin, we will believe that it's 232 00:17:55,700 --> 00:18:03,620 going to marginalize us, pushing us to the lunatic fringe of society. Some of that comes from really 233 00:18:03,620 --> 00:18:10,100 bad accusations. Some of that comes from really bad teaching, from potentially what you've seen on 234 00:18:10,100 --> 00:18:22,420 TV. Maybe you've even had some negative experiences with people who talk about the power of God. Well, 235 00:18:22,420 --> 00:18:31,780 I want to say this and I need you to hear me, that those misconceptions are exactly that. False ideas 236 00:18:31,780 --> 00:18:39,740 of what God wants to and needs to do when we let Him be in control. So what are the right ideas? 237 00:18:39,740 --> 00:18:46,420 Scripture clearly teaches that when we are open to God, when we are open to letting Him be in 238 00:18:46,420 --> 00:18:54,220 control and us seeking to be obedient, the result will be the fullest life possible. Maybe it will 239 00:18:54,220 --> 00:19:00,980 be strange, maybe it will be miraculous, maybe it will be supernatural, maybe someone will think 240 00:19:00,980 --> 00:19:09,860 that you and I are fools, or maybe we will just live lives of quiet, yet powerful obedience until 241 00:19:09,860 --> 00:19:18,260 the end of our lives. But regardless, it will be full. It will be powerful. Jesus said, I have come 242 00:19:18,260 --> 00:19:26,340 that you might have life and have it in the full. Acts 1-8 says that we will receive power to be the 243 00:19:26,340 --> 00:19:37,300 witnesses of Christ. Paul taught that the result of a spirit controlled life is love, joy, peace, 244 00:19:37,300 --> 00:19:51,340 patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self control. God's power is for us. Studying the life 245 00:19:51,340 --> 00:19:57,900 of Christ is incredibly instructive when we are thinking about God's power and how people respond. 246 00:19:57,900 --> 00:20:05,780 At the beginning, the miracles, the signs and wonders, if you will, were attractive. People 247 00:20:05,780 --> 00:20:11,340 wanted to be around Jesus. They invited Him to all the parties. They listened to His sermons. The 248 00:20:11,340 --> 00:20:19,220 power of God was attractive. But then there was a shift. Jesus began to teach some things that were 249 00:20:19,220 --> 00:20:26,460 uncomfortable. He began to talk about repentance. He said, He said He was the Son of God. He said 250 00:20:26,460 --> 00:20:31,700 that if anyone wanted to follow Him, they had to surrender everything. They had to leave their 251 00:20:31,700 --> 00:20:38,940 father and mother. They had to take up their cross daily. In John 6, right after Jesus had fed 252 00:20:38,940 --> 00:20:45,060 the 5,000, a bunch of people chased Jesus to the other side of the lake, looking for more 253 00:20:45,060 --> 00:20:53,420 miracles, looking for another free lunch. Jesus said, I am the bread of life. And He started 254 00:20:53,420 --> 00:20:58,900 talking about them eating His flesh, right? And they grumbled and they went away. Until the very 255 00:20:58,900 --> 00:21:07,860 end, even most of Jesus' closest disciples deserted Him at the cross. What's my point? 256 00:21:07,860 --> 00:21:20,220 The power of God in Christ has as His only purpose to bring us to Christ and to change our lives 257 00:21:20,220 --> 00:21:26,940 and make us more like Jesus. And sometimes that's a hard road, but it is a road to the fullest 258 00:21:26,940 --> 00:21:33,340 life possible. There is a reason we call the demonstrations of the power of God, signs and 259 00:21:33,340 --> 00:21:39,780 wonders. There's a reason for that. They are signs because they point to Jesus and His kingdom 260 00:21:39,780 --> 00:21:48,100 reign. They validate Ephesians 1, 20 through 22 by demonstrating that Jesus is in control and is 261 00:21:48,100 --> 00:21:57,140 directly active in the world today. But that is the main point. It is not the signs, but what they 262 00:21:57,140 --> 00:22:07,060 point to. It's not the miracles, but the source. We wonder, not at the manifestations, but at Jesus 263 00:22:07,060 --> 00:22:18,540 whom they glorify. I believe as strongly as I can that the purpose of the power of God is to change 264 00:22:18,540 --> 00:22:27,180 lives. It is to remake us in Christ's image. And honestly, I don't care how God chooses to do that. 265 00:22:27,180 --> 00:22:36,420 I am more excited by evidence and growth. Growth and love more so than I am about the manifestation 266 00:22:36,420 --> 00:22:44,300 of power. I am far more affected by the testimony of someone whose life has been changed by God 267 00:22:44,300 --> 00:22:51,700 than by the method God uses to change it. I don't care so much how God chooses to speak or move or 268 00:22:51,700 --> 00:22:59,380 display his power as far as I'm concerned that it is totally and completely up to him. What I care 269 00:22:59,380 --> 00:23:06,180 about is that people grow in love for God and grow in love for each other. What I care about is that 270 00:23:06,180 --> 00:23:12,860 our lives are changed to be more obedient and more Christ-like and more empowered to live effectively 271 00:23:12,860 --> 00:23:25,420 in this world. I welcome and I embrace any means that God chooses to do this. My prayer for us each 272 00:23:25,420 --> 00:23:33,100 and every week is that God will be free to move and to work however he chooses to draw us closer to 273 00:23:33,100 --> 00:23:43,620 himself. I know I shed a lot this morning but I need to say one more thing. In our quick fix, pill- 274 00:23:43,620 --> 00:23:53,500 popping culture, we want and expect the power of God to be instantaneous, to fix whatever is wrong 275 00:23:53,500 --> 00:24:01,020 immediately and miraculously. And sometimes it does, but the purpose of the power of God is to change 276 00:24:01,020 --> 00:24:08,300 our lives to make us more like Jesus. And that kind of inward transformation sometimes, it takes time. 277 00:24:08,300 --> 00:24:16,260 It takes the power of God working overtime to conform us to Christ's image. It's like planting a 278 00:24:16,260 --> 00:24:24,020 garden more so than flipping a switch. The results are measured in lifetimes, not an instance. So my 279 00:24:24,020 --> 00:24:30,540 question is what is holding you back from experiencing more of the power of God? What is 280 00:24:30,540 --> 00:24:36,140 keeping you from allowing him to be the Lord of your life just like he is over all of creation? 281 00:24:36,140 --> 00:24:46,620 I urge you this morning to no longer hold back, to allow God to open the eyes of your heart, 282 00:24:46,620 --> 00:24:52,580 to know the power of God which raised Christ from the dead and seated him at God's right hand in 283 00:24:52,580 --> 00:25:02,100 the heavenly realms. That you would surrender control to him. That we would see the fullness of 284 00:25:02,100 --> 00:25:12,140 his power active in this place. We need to forget about all the bad representations we've had of 285 00:25:12,140 --> 00:25:22,380 God's power being manifested around us. And we need to be willing to surrender to that. We need to be 286 00:25:22,380 --> 00:25:29,820 willing to surrender to the power that is available to each and every one of us. So I'm going to pray 287 00:25:29,820 --> 00:25:44,700 for us. And I don't care how he does it. I don't care how he moves in this place. But I hope he does. 288 00:25:44,700 --> 00:25:51,980 And I pray he does. That's pray. Father God, I pray right now that your spirit will freely move 289 00:25:51,980 --> 00:26:02,540 around us. That it will freely speak to us. God, I pray that you will eliminate any pride that we 290 00:26:02,540 --> 00:26:08,820 have in this place. That you will eliminate any misconception of control that we think we have. 291 00:26:08,820 --> 00:26:19,140 God, I pray that we will have it in our minds that you are the new landlord. And every lie, 292 00:26:19,140 --> 00:26:26,420 every thought, every misconception is sent back to you because you have rule over all of it. 293 00:26:26,420 --> 00:26:35,260 God, help us walk in freedom. Help us walk in knowing that you are God over all. Help us walk 294 00:26:35,260 --> 00:26:44,180 in knowing that every thought we have can be taken captive in you. That you can renew our mind. 295 00:26:44,180 --> 00:26:51,460 And so God, we pray that your spirit and your power will be evidence in this place. 296 00:26:51,460 --> 00:27:15,060 That's in your name, we pray. Amen.