WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.560 I'm going to ask you to open your Bibles to Ephesians 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:12.460 chapter 1. To experience powerlessness is to 00:00:12.460 --> 00:00:18.940 experience what it means being human. To have 00:00:18.940 --> 00:00:21.179 moments of powerlessness in your life simply 00:00:21.179 --> 00:00:25.399 means that you are a human being. We human beings 00:00:25.399 --> 00:00:31.579 can't control everything. Powerless was how I 00:00:31.579 --> 00:00:34.460 felt this week when I received an irate telephone 00:00:34.460 --> 00:00:40.079 call from someone who was ill -informed. And 00:00:40.079 --> 00:00:42.179 no matter what I said, there was nothing I could 00:00:42.179 --> 00:00:45.719 do to change his mind. I felt powerless to try 00:00:45.719 --> 00:00:49.359 to correct his misunderstanding. You've had conversations 00:00:49.359 --> 00:00:54.640 like that. Powerless is how you feel when you 00:00:54.640 --> 00:00:57.780 see disease attack the body of your loved one. 00:00:59.070 --> 00:01:02.450 refuse to let go until it has fully drained the 00:01:02.450 --> 00:01:09.409 life out of that one that you have loved. You're 00:01:09.409 --> 00:01:14.930 powerless. Powerless is how you feel when you 00:01:14.930 --> 00:01:19.549 go before a state legislature committee or a 00:01:19.549 --> 00:01:23.489 school board or some other governing body and 00:01:23.489 --> 00:01:27.500 you lay before them the facts of the case. But 00:01:27.500 --> 00:01:31.879 in the end, politics dictates the outcome, not 00:01:31.879 --> 00:01:37.819 reason and facts. You're heard patronizingly, 00:01:38.379 --> 00:01:40.519 but even as you're being heard, you know that 00:01:40.519 --> 00:01:44.379 the minds of the persons in charge are already 00:01:44.379 --> 00:01:48.739 made up. No matter what you say, you're powerless 00:01:48.739 --> 00:01:56.629 to change the outcome. Powerlessness is part 00:01:56.629 --> 00:02:01.069 of being human. Powerless is how you feel when 00:02:01.069 --> 00:02:04.170 you drive by the gas station and the gas has 00:02:04.170 --> 00:02:09.110 gone up four cents overnight. You'd like to ring 00:02:09.110 --> 00:02:12.289 the neck of somebody, but who? And what are you 00:02:12.289 --> 00:02:17.469 going to do about it anyway? Powerless is how 00:02:17.469 --> 00:02:21.849 you feel when you're involved in a divorce proceedings 00:02:21.849 --> 00:02:25.659 that you don't want. But the laws of your state 00:02:25.659 --> 00:02:30.379 permit it anyway. You're powerless to stop it. 00:02:32.539 --> 00:02:35.840 In all of these and in thousands of other ways, 00:02:35.960 --> 00:02:41.139 we all have times when we come away from life 00:02:41.139 --> 00:02:45.240 feeling victimized because we are not powerful 00:02:45.240 --> 00:02:52.159 enough to resist or to overturn or to change 00:02:52.159 --> 00:02:58.400 minds. Feelings of powerlessness quickly develop 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:05.439 into frustration, anger, and despondency. Now 00:03:05.439 --> 00:03:12.699 these are normal human feelings. And they are 00:03:12.699 --> 00:03:16.300 part of the common daily experience of being 00:03:16.300 --> 00:03:24.080 finite. That means limited. Human beings are 00:03:24.080 --> 00:03:29.840 finite, limited, and thus experience times of 00:03:29.840 --> 00:03:35.000 powerlessness. The God that we worship never, 00:03:35.360 --> 00:03:41.919 ever experiences those kinds of feelings. Because 00:03:41.919 --> 00:03:48.400 God is infinite, which means that He has no limitations. 00:03:49.649 --> 00:03:54.030 Therefore, we speak of God as being omnipotent, 00:03:54.490 --> 00:04:01.210 almighty, sovereign, and supreme. The fact of 00:04:01.210 --> 00:04:05.110 God's power being unlimited is demonstrated in 00:04:05.110 --> 00:04:10.310 the very history of the universe. We begin as 00:04:10.310 --> 00:04:13.310 early as we can with the creation of it all. 00:04:13.629 --> 00:04:15.870 This last week I went to a lecture on the university 00:04:15.870 --> 00:04:20.259 campus that was entitled scientific evidence 00:04:20.259 --> 00:04:24.160 for the existence of God. A brilliant professor 00:04:24.160 --> 00:04:26.759 and head of the mechanical engineering department 00:04:26.759 --> 00:04:30.139 at Texas A &M delivered a lecture that was about 00:04:30.139 --> 00:04:33.839 six feet over my head. I think if you weren't 00:04:33.839 --> 00:04:37.500 a major in chemistry or physics you might have 00:04:37.500 --> 00:04:39.560 had a hard time following at least some of his 00:04:39.560 --> 00:04:44.279 speech. But he was demonstrating that in the 00:04:44.279 --> 00:04:50.370 creation itself there is evidence of design and 00:04:50.370 --> 00:04:56.509 power that we cannot understand. Would you turn 00:04:56.509 --> 00:04:58.790 with me to the book of Romans? Let's leave Ephesians 00:04:58.790 --> 00:05:01.529 for just a moment. We'll come back there. But 00:05:01.529 --> 00:05:07.230 look at Romans chapter 1 and verse 20. The apostle 00:05:07.230 --> 00:05:10.689 here says, for since the creation of the world, 00:05:11.810 --> 00:05:16.829 his, God's, invisible attributes, his eternal 00:05:16.829 --> 00:05:22.670 power, and divine nature have been clearly seen, 00:05:23.470 --> 00:05:26.250 being understood through what has been made. 00:05:28.029 --> 00:05:31.250 Someone has said that when the scientists have 00:05:31.250 --> 00:05:33.629 struggled through their scientific experiments 00:05:33.629 --> 00:05:37.889 and theories to the heights of the peak of science, 00:05:38.509 --> 00:05:41.529 they will get there only to discover that theologians 00:05:41.529 --> 00:05:45.050 have been there all along. Because what they 00:05:45.050 --> 00:05:47.509 find when they get to the peak of the summit 00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:55.040 is divine design and eternal power. It's exactly 00:05:55.040 --> 00:05:58.980 what the Word of God says is in creation. After 00:05:58.980 --> 00:06:05.019 God had created by His Word, His Fiat, for six 00:06:05.019 --> 00:06:09.079 days, He then rested on the seventh, not because 00:06:09.079 --> 00:06:12.980 He was tired, not because the creation drained 00:06:12.980 --> 00:06:17.860 Him of energy and He had to catch up. but merely 00:06:17.860 --> 00:06:21.839 to demonstrate his complete satisfaction with 00:06:21.839 --> 00:06:26.000 the six days of creative work and to give an 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:29.199 example of what he wanted man to do in working 00:06:29.199 --> 00:06:36.800 six days and resting on the Sabbath. God's power 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:39.439 and energy is demonstrated in the creation and 00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:42.680 that power yet sustains the creation that he 00:06:42.680 --> 00:06:49.819 spoke into existence eons ago. The psalmist says 00:06:49.819 --> 00:06:54.279 this, the heavens are telling the glory of God 00:06:54.279 --> 00:06:58.920 and their expanse is declaring the work of his 00:06:58.920 --> 00:07:03.759 hands. We also see the historic demonstration 00:07:03.759 --> 00:07:07.339 of God's power in the deliverance of the people 00:07:07.339 --> 00:07:12.040 of Israel from Egypt. God himself points to that 00:07:12.040 --> 00:07:15.740 bit of history as a demonstration of the time 00:07:15.740 --> 00:07:19.410 when he made his arm bare. It's not that God 00:07:19.410 --> 00:07:25.550 has a right arm, but God is using there an anthropomorphic 00:07:25.550 --> 00:07:30.870 expression, a human -like expression, to demonstrate 00:07:30.870 --> 00:07:34.930 a truth about himself. It is his power. The power 00:07:34.930 --> 00:07:38.589 of a person is in his arms. And he says, I made 00:07:38.589 --> 00:07:45.930 my arm bare. I flexed my muscles at the Red Sea. 00:07:46.699 --> 00:07:49.240 Go back and read about it in Exodus when God 00:07:49.240 --> 00:07:53.660 sent the plagues upon Pharaoh and his nation. 00:07:54.600 --> 00:07:57.100 And then when they got to the Red Sea, how God 00:07:57.100 --> 00:08:00.540 parted the waters and demonstrated his mighty 00:08:00.540 --> 00:08:04.100 power. Turn to Psalm 106 and notice the words 00:08:04.100 --> 00:08:06.680 of the psalmist there regarding this historic 00:08:06.680 --> 00:08:14.040 demonstration of God's all -mightiness. Psalm 00:08:14.040 --> 00:08:42.480 106 verse 7, There have been various theories 00:08:42.480 --> 00:08:45.639 as to how the Red Sea actually parted. Everything 00:08:45.639 --> 00:08:51.440 from great earthquakes to volcanoes. Whatever 00:08:51.440 --> 00:08:54.580 means God may have used, the fact is that it 00:08:54.580 --> 00:08:58.539 demonstrated His power to deliver His people 00:08:58.539 --> 00:09:03.480 from Egypt. The Scriptures speak of a strong 00:09:03.480 --> 00:09:07.740 wind that came and parted the water and dried 00:09:07.740 --> 00:09:10.879 up the soil. so that the people of Israel were 00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:15.919 able to walk across that sea bottom. The demonstration 00:09:15.919 --> 00:09:18.539 of God's power is also seen in the history of 00:09:18.539 --> 00:09:23.799 the nations. You can turn to Daniel 2 verses 00:09:23.799 --> 00:09:29.480 20 and 21 or Daniel 4 verses 34 and 35 and especially 00:09:29.480 --> 00:09:33.460 that latter text which is the testimony of Nebuchadnezzar. 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:37.480 And you see that the Sodom Hussein of that day 00:09:39.340 --> 00:09:42.139 finally was humbled and he came to the point 00:09:42.139 --> 00:09:46.639 of recognizing that God Almighty, the Yahweh 00:09:46.639 --> 00:09:51.000 of Israel rules over the destiny of nations and 00:09:51.000 --> 00:09:55.100 their kings, including himself. And it's still 00:09:55.100 --> 00:10:02.360 true today. We see the historic demonstration 00:10:02.360 --> 00:10:06.220 of God's power supremely in one other act. And 00:10:06.220 --> 00:10:10.919 we will go back now to Ephesians chapter 1, the 00:10:10.919 --> 00:10:15.240 text that was read earlier. Paul prays for them 00:10:15.240 --> 00:10:17.700 that they may be enlightened by the ministry 00:10:17.700 --> 00:10:24.059 of the Holy Spirit to know some things. He prays 00:10:24.059 --> 00:10:27.480 that their eyes might be opened, just as we prayed 00:10:27.480 --> 00:10:31.779 earlier, so that they might know something about 00:10:31.779 --> 00:10:36.200 God's calling, the hope of it. that they might 00:10:36.200 --> 00:10:39.100 know something about his inheritance in the saints, 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:46.179 the glory of it. And something about his surpassing 00:10:46.179 --> 00:10:51.320 power toward those who believe. Now he says all 00:10:51.320 --> 00:10:55.279 of these are in accordance with the working of 00:10:55.279 --> 00:10:58.860 the strength of his might which he brought about 00:10:58.860 --> 00:11:03.139 in Christ. when he raised him from the dead and 00:11:03.139 --> 00:11:07.039 seated him at his right hand in the heavenly 00:11:07.039 --> 00:11:11.200 places." If you want to know the greatest demonstration 00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:13.480 in history of the power of God, we have just 00:11:13.480 --> 00:11:17.419 read it. It is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:11:18.360 --> 00:11:20.960 It is true that there were others who were resuscitated 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:25.940 before that. But Jesus was resurrected in a new 00:11:25.940 --> 00:11:31.850 kind of body, a different order. It was the same 00:11:31.850 --> 00:11:36.350 body and yet it was a different kind of body. 00:11:38.070 --> 00:11:42.110 There was nothing left in the grave. It was the 00:11:42.110 --> 00:11:45.230 same body and yet it was a body fitted for the 00:11:45.230 --> 00:11:51.230 supernatural realm, the spiritual realm. Great 00:11:51.230 --> 00:11:54.450 power demonstrated by God in causing the body 00:11:54.450 --> 00:11:58.429 of Jesus to actually be changed in its very makeup. 00:11:58.539 --> 00:12:02.440 there in the grave and for the soul of Christ 00:12:02.440 --> 00:12:07.820 to come back to that body and then for God to 00:12:07.820 --> 00:12:10.340 cause him to come to heaven and to be seated 00:12:10.340 --> 00:12:17.600 at his right hand. No man ever before was seated 00:12:17.600 --> 00:12:22.899 at the right hand of God. But now there is the 00:12:22.899 --> 00:12:28.679 God man who is there, the perfect man. The glorified 00:12:28.679 --> 00:12:32.360 Son of God, who by the power of God has been 00:12:32.360 --> 00:12:36.279 raised to that exalted position. God has demonstrated 00:12:36.279 --> 00:12:38.620 His power in history. We've only touched on a 00:12:38.620 --> 00:12:42.519 few of the examples of it. There is no limit 00:12:42.519 --> 00:12:46.220 to His power. God does whatever pleases Him. 00:12:46.779 --> 00:12:51.179 Thus, He cannot sin, nor can He act in any way 00:12:51.179 --> 00:12:53.940 that is inconsistent with His divine nature. 00:12:54.759 --> 00:12:58.799 But God is unlimited to do whatever pleases Him. 00:13:00.639 --> 00:13:02.960 Let's talk about the contemporary application 00:13:02.960 --> 00:13:07.259 of God's power for a few minutes. Because God 00:13:07.259 --> 00:13:14.539 is almighty, therefore the child of God needs 00:13:14.539 --> 00:13:19.980 fear, no enemy. David wrote, the Lord is my light 00:13:19.980 --> 00:13:23.730 and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord 00:13:23.730 --> 00:13:27.250 is the defense of my life, whom shall I dread? 00:13:28.669 --> 00:13:36.190 We need fear, no enemy." That professor, Dr. 00:13:36.350 --> 00:13:38.350 Walter Bradley, who stood before the students 00:13:38.350 --> 00:13:41.769 at the university this week, I admired his courage. 00:13:43.070 --> 00:13:45.669 Three hundred plus students jammed into that 00:13:45.669 --> 00:13:49.470 lecture hall. They were like a cascade before 00:13:49.470 --> 00:13:54.850 him, coming down to his feet. And of course, 00:13:54.950 --> 00:13:57.090 there were many in the audience who agreed with 00:13:57.090 --> 00:14:00.289 him, but there were significant numbers of skeptics 00:14:00.289 --> 00:14:04.990 who did not agree with him. And after his lecture, 00:14:05.090 --> 00:14:09.529 as the plan was, questions were asked of him. 00:14:10.330 --> 00:14:14.409 And as you know, some of them were hostile. Some 00:14:14.409 --> 00:14:17.110 of them even making accusations regarding his 00:14:17.110 --> 00:14:20.250 logic, his rationale. I admired the way that 00:14:20.250 --> 00:14:23.820 the doctor stood there. and listened politely 00:14:23.820 --> 00:14:27.759 and then answered by the grace of God in ways 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:31.460 that were irrefutable to a reasonable person. 00:14:33.120 --> 00:14:36.840 Such courage, he needs fear no enemy. Why? Because 00:14:36.840 --> 00:14:40.580 as he stood there in the midst of this Mars Hill 00:14:40.580 --> 00:14:44.059 kind of situation, he stood there in the power 00:14:44.059 --> 00:14:49.139 of God. I look out and I see some who've stood 00:14:49.139 --> 00:14:51.860 before committees down at the state legislature. 00:14:53.519 --> 00:14:58.480 And you have spoken the truth before people who 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:02.320 were hostile. And you know that in yourself that 00:15:02.320 --> 00:15:04.980 is a frightening and intimidating situation. 00:15:05.679 --> 00:15:08.259 Especially when the chairman of the committee 00:15:08.259 --> 00:15:13.639 is hostile toward your witness. And yet in the 00:15:13.639 --> 00:15:16.059 power of God you have stood there. and you have 00:15:16.059 --> 00:15:22.220 declared the truth. And so it is when you stand 00:15:22.220 --> 00:15:24.480 before someone to witness to them in the name 00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:28.539 of Jesus Christ, or you go to your employer, 00:15:28.840 --> 00:15:32.519 your supervisor, and you stand for what is ethical 00:15:32.519 --> 00:15:36.639 and what is right in the sight of God, God stands 00:15:36.639 --> 00:15:39.539 there with you and you need fear, no human enemy, 00:15:40.820 --> 00:15:46.090 for God demonstrates his power. to protect you. 00:15:47.190 --> 00:15:50.769 This is true likewise of protection from our 00:15:50.769 --> 00:15:54.549 spiritual enemy Satan. In James 4 -7 it says, 00:15:54.629 --> 00:15:57.110 submit therefore to God, resist the devil and 00:15:57.110 --> 00:16:03.730 he will flee from you. It is true when we are 00:16:03.730 --> 00:16:06.610 being persecuted as the Apostles demonstrated 00:16:06.610 --> 00:16:11.970 in Acts chapter 4. They were under intense pressure 00:16:11.970 --> 00:16:15.940 by the leaders of the Jewish religion in Jerusalem. 00:16:17.940 --> 00:16:20.240 And instead of quaking in fear they got on their 00:16:20.240 --> 00:16:22.860 knees and began to pray and God so demonstrated 00:16:22.860 --> 00:16:25.220 His power that the very room where they were 00:16:25.220 --> 00:16:35.019 shook. Elizabeth Elliott in her January -February 00:16:35.019 --> 00:16:38.159 newsletter this year relates a story that her 00:16:38.159 --> 00:16:40.899 brother Dave Howard passed on to her from his 00:16:40.899 --> 00:16:47.159 travels. in the Eastern Bloc. They identify the 00:16:47.159 --> 00:16:50.700 man in the story as Ivan. They do not identify 00:16:50.700 --> 00:16:55.240 the country in which this man lived, but he was 00:16:55.240 --> 00:17:01.360 taken by the secret police to prison. He was 00:17:01.360 --> 00:17:06.200 a Christian. And on one day he was dragged from 00:17:06.200 --> 00:17:11.240 his cell and interrogated. He was tortured. beaten 00:17:11.240 --> 00:17:15.700 to a pulp and then taken back to his room, back 00:17:15.700 --> 00:17:22.819 to his cell and thrown in on the floor. This 00:17:22.819 --> 00:17:27.039 was not a new experience for Ivan. And there 00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:30.259 in the prison he had but one human comfort and 00:17:30.259 --> 00:17:36.640 that was a blanket that he kept over himself 00:17:36.640 --> 00:17:39.619 to try to protect himself from the cold. And 00:17:39.619 --> 00:17:41.960 when he was thrown back into the room to his 00:17:41.960 --> 00:17:45.079 dismay, there was another person in there wrapped 00:17:45.079 --> 00:17:50.839 up in his blanket. That very last vestige of 00:17:50.839 --> 00:17:55.819 comfort had been taken. And he figured that this 00:17:55.819 --> 00:18:01.740 man was an informer. And there, as he lay upon 00:18:01.740 --> 00:18:07.150 that filthy prison floor, bleeding in pain, He 00:18:07.150 --> 00:18:09.230 cried out and said, I can't take it anymore. 00:18:09.329 --> 00:18:15.190 I can't take it anymore. The man who was in the 00:18:15.190 --> 00:18:17.589 blanket said, Ivan, what do you mean you can't 00:18:17.589 --> 00:18:23.069 take it anymore? Thinking that he was an informer, 00:18:23.190 --> 00:18:25.390 Ivan did not explain any more than that. He just 00:18:25.390 --> 00:18:30.309 kept saying it. I can't take it anymore. Then 00:18:30.309 --> 00:18:36.000 the voice from the blanket said, Ivan, Have you 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:42.000 forgotten that Jesus is with you? And immediately 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:44.819 Ivan looked at the blanket and it was empty. 00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:52.880 God demonstrated to Ivan that he was there in 00:18:52.880 --> 00:19:00.119 that moment of weakness. And Ivan jumped up and 00:19:00.119 --> 00:19:06.579 began to shout and praise God. And in the morning, 00:19:06.819 --> 00:19:09.380 when the guard came who had starved and beaten 00:19:09.380 --> 00:19:15.640 him, Ivan didn't even want any food from the 00:19:15.640 --> 00:19:17.779 guard. And the guard said, why, did someone feed 00:19:17.779 --> 00:19:22.240 you? And Ivan said, no. The guard said, but you 00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:26.019 look so different. Ivan said, that's because 00:19:26.019 --> 00:19:32.480 my lord was with me last night. Oh, is that so? 00:19:32.519 --> 00:19:37.140 said the guard. Where's your lord now? Ivan opened 00:19:37.140 --> 00:19:40.240 up his shirt, pointed to his heart, and he said, 00:19:40.420 --> 00:19:45.420 right here. Okay, said the guard, I'm going to 00:19:45.420 --> 00:19:48.740 shoot you and your lord right now. So he drew 00:19:48.740 --> 00:19:51.440 out his pistol and pointed it at Ivan's chest. 00:19:52.740 --> 00:19:55.400 Ivan said, shoot me if you wish. I'll just go 00:19:55.400 --> 00:19:59.920 to be with my lord. Shaking his head, the guard 00:19:59.920 --> 00:20:02.880 put the pistol back in the holster and went away 00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:07.319 in bewilderment. Later, Ivan learned that at 00:20:07.319 --> 00:20:09.960 that very time that he had been undergoing suffering, 00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:12.559 his wife and children had been praying for him. 00:20:13.460 --> 00:20:16.099 And they had read this verse as they prayed from 00:20:16.099 --> 00:20:21.319 Isaiah 51, 14. The cowering prisoners will soon 00:20:21.319 --> 00:20:25.180 be set free. They will not die in their dungeon, 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:33.000 nor will they lack bread. It was not long after 00:20:33.000 --> 00:20:36.650 that that Ivan was released from prison. And 00:20:36.650 --> 00:20:39.569 he went back home and preached the gospel of 00:20:39.569 --> 00:20:42.509 Jesus Christ until he was in his eighties before 00:20:42.509 --> 00:20:49.569 the Lord took him home. God's power, my friend, 00:20:49.650 --> 00:20:53.789 is as real today as it was in the book of Acts. 00:20:56.230 --> 00:20:58.369 Now the fact is that God doesn't always demonstrate 00:20:58.369 --> 00:21:02.829 his power as he did with Ivan. There are times 00:21:02.829 --> 00:21:08.549 when the beatings result in death. There are 00:21:08.549 --> 00:21:13.130 times when there is no apparent human relief, 00:21:14.789 --> 00:21:19.410 but God is there. And God is able to demonstrate 00:21:19.410 --> 00:21:26.509 his power in other ways. Not only is the child 00:21:26.509 --> 00:21:31.049 of God in such a situation that he needs fear 00:21:31.049 --> 00:21:33.750 no enemy, but the child of God also is assured 00:21:33.750 --> 00:21:37.079 of his eternal safekeeping. As Peter says, in 00:21:37.079 --> 00:21:40.160 1 Peter 1, 5, who are protected by the power 00:21:40.160 --> 00:21:43.940 of God through faith for a salvation ready to 00:21:43.940 --> 00:21:48.700 be revealed in the last time. Those who are the 00:21:48.700 --> 00:21:53.359 born again ones of God are protected by the power 00:21:53.359 --> 00:21:57.299 of God until that day when they stand complete 00:21:57.299 --> 00:22:01.920 in the presence of Jesus Christ. I thank God 00:22:01.920 --> 00:22:04.680 that my salvation and security does not rest 00:22:04.680 --> 00:22:12.150 upon me but upon God. That is not my faithfulness, 00:22:12.349 --> 00:22:16.690 but it's God's power that is keeping and guarding 00:22:16.690 --> 00:22:20.509 me until that day when I will stand before Him. 00:22:22.069 --> 00:22:25.750 The child of God can pray with confidence because 00:22:25.750 --> 00:22:29.750 God is almighty. There is nothing that is too 00:22:29.750 --> 00:22:34.049 hard for God. We sometimes sing the chorus, nothing 00:22:34.049 --> 00:22:38.289 is too difficult for thee. Why? Because God is 00:22:38.289 --> 00:22:43.549 almighty. Jeremiah 33 verses 2 and 3, thus says 00:22:43.549 --> 00:22:48.430 the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed 00:22:48.430 --> 00:22:53.190 it to establish it, the Lord is his name, call 00:22:53.190 --> 00:22:56.950 unto me and I will answer you and I will tell 00:22:56.950 --> 00:22:59.529 you great and mighty things which you do not 00:22:59.529 --> 00:23:07.299 know. Look in Ephesians chapter 3. Paul as he 00:23:07.299 --> 00:23:10.680 concludes this first part of his book says in 00:23:10.680 --> 00:23:16.500 verse 20, now to him who is able to do exceeding 00:23:16.500 --> 00:23:21.799 abundantly beyond all we ask or think according 00:23:21.799 --> 00:23:27.480 to the power that works. The power that works. 00:23:29.039 --> 00:23:35.319 The dynamite of God that energizes us. The power 00:23:35.319 --> 00:23:41.640 that works, the last two words, within us. God's 00:23:41.640 --> 00:23:48.160 power is in us. And when you and I pray, it releases 00:23:48.160 --> 00:23:53.720 the power of God. You and I can pray with confidence 00:23:53.720 --> 00:23:57.720 because we are praying to a God who is sovereign. 00:24:02.880 --> 00:24:05.599 Dear friend of mine, whom I talked with this 00:24:05.599 --> 00:24:09.599 last week, has served the Lord faithfully. He's 00:24:09.599 --> 00:24:13.700 now 68 years old. He's been a pastor, a college 00:24:13.700 --> 00:24:19.119 president, a seminary dean, and above all, a 00:24:19.119 --> 00:24:24.160 great preacher. As I talked with him, he told 00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:26.940 me what God has been teaching him in recent years 00:24:26.940 --> 00:24:29.160 really regarding prayer. He's just finished a 00:24:29.160 --> 00:24:35.599 book on that subject. And one of the things he 00:24:35.599 --> 00:24:38.720 told me on the phone, I was paying so he seemed 00:24:38.720 --> 00:24:43.759 to want to talk a lot about it. One of the things 00:24:43.759 --> 00:24:47.099 he told me on the phone was that one of the things 00:24:47.099 --> 00:24:49.019 God has taught him from the Lord's Prayer is 00:24:49.019 --> 00:24:51.720 that every day we gotta pray for our daily needs 00:24:51.720 --> 00:24:59.460 to be met. Give me this day, my daily bread. 00:25:01.039 --> 00:25:05.960 So for 13 years, every day. He's prayed that. 00:25:07.279 --> 00:25:13.700 Give us Lord what we need today. When he retired 00:25:13.700 --> 00:25:16.079 from the college position that he had, they desired 00:25:16.079 --> 00:25:19.839 to move back to where some of their roots are 00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:25.680 in the Dallas area. When they got there, they 00:25:25.680 --> 00:25:29.099 had no money really for a home. Housing is even 00:25:29.099 --> 00:25:31.599 higher there than, or has been at least, than 00:25:31.599 --> 00:25:37.190 it is in this area. And they looked at homes, 00:25:37.289 --> 00:25:40.009 couldn't find anything, and they finally found 00:25:40.009 --> 00:25:43.910 one that they really liked. It was just kind 00:25:43.910 --> 00:25:48.890 of their dream home, but it was twice as much 00:25:48.890 --> 00:25:52.990 as they could afford to get a loan for. I don't 00:25:52.990 --> 00:25:54.910 know how much, but twice as much as they could 00:25:54.910 --> 00:26:02.470 afford to get a loan for. The day after they 00:26:02.470 --> 00:26:06.089 saw the house, a friend from somewhere I'm sorry 00:26:06.089 --> 00:26:11.809 he didn't give me the name and address. A friend 00:26:11.809 --> 00:26:14.069 from somewhere called and talked to his wife, 00:26:14.069 --> 00:26:16.390 Celeste. He said, how are things going? She says, 00:26:16.450 --> 00:26:18.450 well, just fine. Well, we found a house. Well, 00:26:18.670 --> 00:26:20.390 we saw a house that we liked, but it's twice 00:26:20.390 --> 00:26:24.130 what we can afford. He said, well, tell me about 00:26:24.130 --> 00:26:27.470 it. So he did. She did. And she explained the 00:26:27.470 --> 00:26:30.529 details. And the friend said, tomorrow there 00:26:30.529 --> 00:26:32.910 will be a cashier's check for that whole amount. 00:26:34.240 --> 00:26:36.640 delivered to you, along with enough extra money 00:26:36.640 --> 00:26:39.839 to pay for your moving expenses from the other 00:26:39.839 --> 00:26:45.700 state where you've lived to get to Dallas. Is 00:26:45.700 --> 00:26:50.700 that an accident? Is that a quirk? No. It's because 00:26:50.700 --> 00:26:53.339 that couple has learned to pray every day, Lord 00:26:53.339 --> 00:26:57.519 just give us what we need. We don't want to go 00:26:57.519 --> 00:26:59.539 out and get in debt, God just give us what we 00:26:59.539 --> 00:27:04.380 need. And God, after thirteen years of praying 00:27:04.380 --> 00:27:06.460 that way, felt that He could entrust them with 00:27:06.460 --> 00:27:12.819 that kind of an answer. We pray to a God who 00:27:12.819 --> 00:27:14.819 is able to meet our needs if we're willing to 00:27:14.819 --> 00:27:20.099 trust Him. We can also say that because God is 00:27:20.099 --> 00:27:23.640 almighty, the child of God can serve with effectiveness 00:27:23.640 --> 00:27:28.220 and fruitfulness. Ephesians 3 .7 says that our 00:27:28.220 --> 00:27:31.900 gifts are given to us by the power of God. In 00:27:31.900 --> 00:27:34.779 Ephesians 5, 18, we are told to be filled with 00:27:34.779 --> 00:27:38.099 the Holy Spirit in our living, in our ministering, 00:27:38.099 --> 00:27:43.779 and use of those gifts. God's power can be demonstrated 00:27:43.779 --> 00:27:46.440 today in our lives just as it has been through 00:27:46.440 --> 00:27:49.440 the centuries. It may be in different ways, but 00:27:49.440 --> 00:27:55.880 nonetheless, it is truly God's power. In the 00:27:55.880 --> 00:27:58.579 days of the apostles, it was with signs, wonders, 00:27:58.740 --> 00:28:00.779 and miracles. And there are some people today 00:28:00.779 --> 00:28:03.079 who think that God still has to demonstrate His 00:28:03.079 --> 00:28:07.920 power in the same way or God hasn't worked. I'm 00:28:07.920 --> 00:28:14.980 afraid that's a deception. God does work that 00:28:14.980 --> 00:28:17.579 way sometimes. I received a letter from a missionary 00:28:17.579 --> 00:28:21.240 friend of mine in Nigeria who tells of the conversion 00:28:21.240 --> 00:28:25.329 of some of the Muslim teachers. and leaders called 00:28:25.329 --> 00:28:29.150 Mollems in that area. And he says that their 00:28:29.150 --> 00:28:32.490 conversion to Jesus Christ has been demonstrated 00:28:32.490 --> 00:28:35.210 by the same kinds of things that occurred around 00:28:35.210 --> 00:28:38.029 the conversion of Paul the apostle. Things that 00:28:38.029 --> 00:28:41.170 are miraculous and unexplainable. God can demonstrate 00:28:41.170 --> 00:28:46.170 his power in that way if he so chooses. But it 00:28:46.170 --> 00:28:48.650 is no less a miracle. It is no less the power 00:28:48.650 --> 00:28:51.369 of God when you sit down in a Sunday school class. 00:28:51.759 --> 00:28:54.460 with some precious children, and there's no signs, 00:28:54.519 --> 00:28:56.859 wonders, and miracles, but you're opening the 00:28:56.859 --> 00:28:58.880 Word of God to them, and because you are under 00:28:58.880 --> 00:29:01.559 the control of the Holy Spirit, that Word goes 00:29:01.559 --> 00:29:04.579 into their hearts. And it takes root in there, 00:29:04.619 --> 00:29:07.619 and it begins to change them slowly from the 00:29:07.619 --> 00:29:11.299 inside out. That's just as much the power of 00:29:11.299 --> 00:29:18.339 God. God wants us to serve Him in the power that 00:29:18.339 --> 00:29:21.619 He's placed within us. resident person of the 00:29:21.619 --> 00:29:26.299 Holy Spirit. I've used this illustration before, 00:29:26.299 --> 00:29:28.680 but I think it demonstrates so well what being 00:29:28.680 --> 00:29:31.140 filled with the Holy Spirit means. It's not like 00:29:31.140 --> 00:29:34.079 a glass being poured up with water. But a better 00:29:34.079 --> 00:29:38.220 illustration is that of a sail on a boat that 00:29:38.220 --> 00:29:41.500 is put up. And because the sail is up, the wind 00:29:41.500 --> 00:29:45.759 comes along and fills the sail. It billows. Because 00:29:45.759 --> 00:29:51.460 the sail is full, the ship is moved along. So 00:29:51.460 --> 00:29:54.099 when you and I are filled with the Holy Spirit, 00:29:54.380 --> 00:29:58.140 it is that we have put up the sails, so to speak, 00:29:59.240 --> 00:30:02.319 and the Spirit of God moves us along in our lives, 00:30:02.500 --> 00:30:12.359 empowers us, enables us. We can be certain that 00:30:12.359 --> 00:30:15.279 God is going to respond in our lives with powerful 00:30:15.279 --> 00:30:18.900 working when we put up that sail. We might compare 00:30:18.900 --> 00:30:24.920 that sale to obedience. Feelings of powerlessness 00:30:24.920 --> 00:30:28.220 are common to humanity. I would imagine some 00:30:28.220 --> 00:30:31.500 of you have had experiences in recent days when 00:30:31.500 --> 00:30:36.299 you have felt victimized. Or when you were in 00:30:36.299 --> 00:30:39.160 a situation where you could not change somebody 00:30:39.160 --> 00:30:43.240 else. You could not control the circumstances 00:30:43.240 --> 00:30:47.869 in which you found yourself. The fact is that 00:30:47.869 --> 00:30:51.730 you and I worship a God who is all -powerful. 00:30:53.029 --> 00:30:55.710 And with His supernatural power, He is able to 00:30:55.710 --> 00:30:59.089 sustain us, to keep us, whatever our earthly 00:30:59.089 --> 00:31:03.509 circumstances. God doesn't directly intervene 00:31:03.509 --> 00:31:07.950 every time that you and I are disappointed. Nor 00:31:07.950 --> 00:31:11.650 does He always provide physical protection in 00:31:11.650 --> 00:31:17.319 the moment of a threat. Nor can we as believers 00:31:17.319 --> 00:31:22.279 presume upon God's power or abuse it for self 00:31:22.279 --> 00:31:27.079 -gratifying purposes. But the fact is that God's 00:31:27.079 --> 00:31:30.920 power indwells and surrounds every child of His 00:31:30.920 --> 00:31:36.400 to preserve us unto our divine destiny. And so 00:31:36.400 --> 00:31:39.559 the best way for you and for me to live is in 00:31:39.559 --> 00:31:43.319 faith where we recognize the all -mightiness 00:31:43.319 --> 00:31:48.549 of God. and we relax and we rest in our circumstances, 00:31:49.250 --> 00:31:53.769 knowing that God is bigger than it all, that 00:31:53.769 --> 00:31:57.650 we can rest in His sovereign shepherding of our 00:31:57.650 --> 00:32:05.009 lives. All power resides in the benevolent and 00:32:05.009 --> 00:32:09.069 wise Supreme Being that we call God and Father. 00:32:10.620 --> 00:32:13.599 But the fact is, in the demonstration of His 00:32:13.599 --> 00:32:17.259 power in our lives, He will limit Himself to 00:32:17.259 --> 00:32:22.460 the size that we believe Him to be. Maybe that's 00:32:22.460 --> 00:32:24.779 why J .B. Phillips called that book written years 00:32:24.779 --> 00:32:29.440 ago now, Your God is Too Small. Because we put 00:32:29.440 --> 00:32:32.059 God in a little box this big, and we say, now 00:32:32.059 --> 00:32:36.559 God, can you fill that box? God says, oh yes, 00:32:36.559 --> 00:32:40.700 I can fill that box. And we're content for God 00:32:40.700 --> 00:32:48.079 to be that big. When in fact God will expand 00:32:48.079 --> 00:32:51.779 in our lives to give, to fill all the room that 00:32:51.779 --> 00:32:56.059 we give to Him. We can't give too much to God. 00:32:56.079 --> 00:32:59.940 There's no way that we can open up to God beyond 00:32:59.940 --> 00:33:06.460 what He's able to use and empower. God is unlimited. 00:33:07.079 --> 00:33:10.279 Paul S. Reese. who used to pastor in the city 00:33:10.279 --> 00:33:14.059 said, I can count on God to let loose in my life 00:33:14.059 --> 00:33:18.759 when I am ready to let something loose. The hurtful 00:33:18.759 --> 00:33:21.779 habit, the crippling compromise, the unsurrendered 00:33:21.779 --> 00:33:26.039 ambition. When we let loose of those things, 00:33:26.099 --> 00:33:31.119 God will let His power loose in our lives. Elizabeth 00:33:31.119 --> 00:33:33.660 Elliott said, throughout the Bible, when God 00:33:33.660 --> 00:33:37.880 asked a person to do something, Methods, means, 00:33:38.440 --> 00:33:40.799 materials, and specific directions were always 00:33:40.799 --> 00:33:44.839 provided. The person had only one thing to do. 00:33:46.119 --> 00:33:54.440 Obey. Obey. God is using you today, said Vance 00:33:54.440 --> 00:33:59.480 Havner, as much as he can. Not as much as he 00:33:59.480 --> 00:34:08.079 could. Whoever we are, There is more that God 00:34:08.079 --> 00:34:11.699 can do in and through us if we will learn to 00:34:11.699 --> 00:34:16.519 yield to Him and obey. May that be the point 00:34:16.519 --> 00:34:20.099 of contact with this message today that we understand 00:34:20.099 --> 00:34:22.599 the all -mightiness of God and we go forth from 00:34:22.599 --> 00:34:26.139 here determined by the grace of God to be yielded 00:34:26.139 --> 00:34:29.739 to the Lordship of Christ and to obey Him in 00:34:29.739 --> 00:34:34.380 every respect knowing that when we do that God 00:34:34.380 --> 00:34:37.119 will fill us with His power. and we will act 00:34:37.119 --> 00:34:43.019 nothing. Let's pray. Would you stand with me 00:34:43.019 --> 00:34:54.019 please as we pray? Father, I pray that the power 00:34:54.019 --> 00:34:58.579 that we have talked about this morning and seen 00:34:58.579 --> 00:35:01.420 demonstrated in history as well as in contemporary 00:35:01.420 --> 00:35:06.019 times that that power which is resident in the 00:35:06.019 --> 00:35:10.300 Holy Spirit who resides in our lives, that that 00:35:10.300 --> 00:35:14.519 power that is dynamically working within us may 00:35:14.519 --> 00:35:20.320 be expressed through us. Forgive us for living 00:35:20.320 --> 00:35:26.599 weak and poor lives, for conducting ourselves 00:35:26.599 --> 00:35:31.110 as paupers. when in fact we are enriched with 00:35:31.110 --> 00:35:36.949 all of the power of God and can live as princes 00:35:36.949 --> 00:35:45.130 in God's family. Father, with some of us today 00:35:45.130 --> 00:35:48.389 there are issues of obedience that need to be 00:35:48.389 --> 00:35:52.530 resolved. We pray that you will deal with those. 00:35:54.489 --> 00:36:01.280 Do not allow us to rest. in disobedience, but 00:36:01.280 --> 00:36:06.239 continue to stir up and even to trouble us until 00:36:06.239 --> 00:36:10.059 we come to that place of surrender, for that 00:36:10.059 --> 00:36:14.599 is the place of happiness. In Jesus' name I pray, 00:36:15.340 --> 00:36:19.059 amen. I'd like for us to sing just one verse 00:36:19.059 --> 00:36:24.889 of hymn number three. So take your hymnal and 00:36:24.889 --> 00:36:28.510 let's sing that before we are dismissed. Praise 00:36:28.510 --> 00:36:34.730 to the Lord the Almighty. It's hymn number three. 00:36:34.769 --> 00:36:36.389 Let's sing the first verse.