I'm going to ask you to open your Bibles to Ephesians
chapter 1. To experience powerlessness is to
experience what it means being human. To have
moments of powerlessness in your life simply
means that you are a human being. We human beings
can't control everything. Powerless was how I
felt this week when I received an irate telephone
call from someone who was ill -informed. And
no matter what I said, there was nothing I could
do to change his mind. I felt powerless to try
to correct his misunderstanding. You've had conversations
like that. Powerless is how you feel when you
see disease attack the body of your loved one.
refuse to let go until it has fully drained the
life out of that one that you have loved. You're
powerless. Powerless is how you feel when you
go before a state legislature committee or a
school board or some other governing body and
you lay before them the facts of the case. But
in the end, politics dictates the outcome, not
reason and facts. You're heard patronizingly,
but even as you're being heard, you know that
the minds of the persons in charge are already
made up. No matter what you say, you're powerless
to change the outcome. Powerlessness is part
of being human. Powerless is how you feel when
you drive by the gas station and the gas has
gone up four cents overnight. You'd like to ring
the neck of somebody, but who? And what are you
going to do about it anyway? Powerless is how
you feel when you're involved in a divorce proceedings
that you don't want. But the laws of your state
permit it anyway. You're powerless to stop it.
In all of these and in thousands of other ways,
we all have times when we come away from life
feeling victimized because we are not powerful
enough to resist or to overturn or to change
minds. Feelings of powerlessness quickly develop
into frustration, anger, and despondency. Now
these are normal human feelings. And they are
part of the common daily experience of being
finite. That means limited. Human beings are
finite, limited, and thus experience times of
powerlessness. The God that we worship never,
ever experiences those kinds of feelings. Because
God is infinite, which means that He has no limitations.
Therefore, we speak of God as being omnipotent,
almighty, sovereign, and supreme. The fact of
God's power being unlimited is demonstrated in
the very history of the universe. We begin as
early as we can with the creation of it all.
This last week I went to a lecture on the university
campus that was entitled scientific evidence
for the existence of God. A brilliant professor
and head of the mechanical engineering department
at Texas A &M delivered a lecture that was about
six feet over my head. I think if you weren't
a major in chemistry or physics you might have
had a hard time following at least some of his
speech. But he was demonstrating that in the
creation itself there is evidence of design and
power that we cannot understand. Would you turn
with me to the book of Romans? Let's leave Ephesians
for just a moment. We'll come back there. But
look at Romans chapter 1 and verse 20. The apostle
here says, for since the creation of the world,
his, God's, invisible attributes, his eternal
power, and divine nature have been clearly seen,
being understood through what has been made.
Someone has said that when the scientists have
struggled through their scientific experiments
and theories to the heights of the peak of science,
they will get there only to discover that theologians
have been there all along. Because what they
find when they get to the peak of the summit
is divine design and eternal power. It's exactly
what the Word of God says is in creation. After
God had created by His Word, His Fiat, for six
days, He then rested on the seventh, not because
He was tired, not because the creation drained
Him of energy and He had to catch up. but merely
to demonstrate his complete satisfaction with
the six days of creative work and to give an
example of what he wanted man to do in working
six days and resting on the Sabbath. God's power
and energy is demonstrated in the creation and
that power yet sustains the creation that he
spoke into existence eons ago. The psalmist says
this, the heavens are telling the glory of God
and their expanse is declaring the work of his
hands. We also see the historic demonstration
of God's power in the deliverance of the people
of Israel from Egypt. God himself points to that
bit of history as a demonstration of the time
when he made his arm bare. It's not that God
has a right arm, but God is using there an anthropomorphic
expression, a human -like expression, to demonstrate
a truth about himself. It is his power. The power
of a person is in his arms. And he says, I made
my arm bare. I flexed my muscles at the Red Sea.
Go back and read about it in Exodus when God
sent the plagues upon Pharaoh and his nation.
And then when they got to the Red Sea, how God
parted the waters and demonstrated his mighty
power. Turn to Psalm 106 and notice the words
of the psalmist there regarding this historic
demonstration of God's all -mightiness. Psalm
106 verse 7, There have been various theories
as to how the Red Sea actually parted. Everything
from great earthquakes to volcanoes. Whatever
means God may have used, the fact is that it
demonstrated His power to deliver His people
from Egypt. The Scriptures speak of a strong
wind that came and parted the water and dried
up the soil. so that the people of Israel were
able to walk across that sea bottom. The demonstration
of God's power is also seen in the history of
the nations. You can turn to Daniel 2 verses
20 and 21 or Daniel 4 verses 34 and 35 and especially
that latter text which is the testimony of Nebuchadnezzar.
And you see that the Sodom Hussein of that day
finally was humbled and he came to the point
of recognizing that God Almighty, the Yahweh
of Israel rules over the destiny of nations and
their kings, including himself. And it's still
true today. We see the historic demonstration
of God's power supremely in one other act. And
we will go back now to Ephesians chapter 1, the
text that was read earlier. Paul prays for them
that they may be enlightened by the ministry
of the Holy Spirit to know some things. He prays
that their eyes might be opened, just as we prayed
earlier, so that they might know something about
God's calling, the hope of it. that they might
know something about his inheritance in the saints,
the glory of it. And something about his surpassing
power toward those who believe. Now he says all
of these are in accordance with the working of
the strength of his might which he brought about
in Christ. when he raised him from the dead and
seated him at his right hand in the heavenly
places." If you want to know the greatest demonstration
in history of the power of God, we have just
read it. It is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
It is true that there were others who were resuscitated
before that. But Jesus was resurrected in a new
kind of body, a different order. It was the same
body and yet it was a different kind of body.
There was nothing left in the grave. It was the
same body and yet it was a body fitted for the
supernatural realm, the spiritual realm. Great
power demonstrated by God in causing the body
of Jesus to actually be changed in its very makeup.
there in the grave and for the soul of Christ
to come back to that body and then for God to
cause him to come to heaven and to be seated
at his right hand. No man ever before was seated
at the right hand of God. But now there is the
God man who is there, the perfect man. The glorified
Son of God, who by the power of God has been
raised to that exalted position. God has demonstrated
His power in history. We've only touched on a
few of the examples of it. There is no limit
to His power. God does whatever pleases Him.
Thus, He cannot sin, nor can He act in any way
that is inconsistent with His divine nature.
But God is unlimited to do whatever pleases Him.
Let's talk about the contemporary application
of God's power for a few minutes. Because God
is almighty, therefore the child of God needs
fear, no enemy. David wrote, the Lord is my light
and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord
is the defense of my life, whom shall I dread?
We need fear, no enemy." That professor, Dr.
Walter Bradley, who stood before the students
at the university this week, I admired his courage.
Three hundred plus students jammed into that
lecture hall. They were like a cascade before
him, coming down to his feet. And of course,
there were many in the audience who agreed with
him, but there were significant numbers of skeptics
who did not agree with him. And after his lecture,
as the plan was, questions were asked of him.
And as you know, some of them were hostile. Some
of them even making accusations regarding his
logic, his rationale. I admired the way that
the doctor stood there. and listened politely
and then answered by the grace of God in ways
that were irrefutable to a reasonable person.
Such courage, he needs fear no enemy. Why? Because
as he stood there in the midst of this Mars Hill
kind of situation, he stood there in the power
of God. I look out and I see some who've stood
before committees down at the state legislature.
And you have spoken the truth before people who
were hostile. And you know that in yourself that
is a frightening and intimidating situation.
Especially when the chairman of the committee
is hostile toward your witness. And yet in the
power of God you have stood there. and you have
declared the truth. And so it is when you stand
before someone to witness to them in the name
of Jesus Christ, or you go to your employer,
your supervisor, and you stand for what is ethical
and what is right in the sight of God, God stands
there with you and you need fear, no human enemy,
for God demonstrates his power. to protect you.
This is true likewise of protection from our
spiritual enemy Satan. In James 4 -7 it says,
submit therefore to God, resist the devil and
he will flee from you. It is true when we are
being persecuted as the Apostles demonstrated
in Acts chapter 4. They were under intense pressure
by the leaders of the Jewish religion in Jerusalem.
And instead of quaking in fear they got on their
knees and began to pray and God so demonstrated
His power that the very room where they were
shook. Elizabeth Elliott in her January -February
newsletter this year relates a story that her
brother Dave Howard passed on to her from his
travels. in the Eastern Bloc. They identify the
man in the story as Ivan. They do not identify
the country in which this man lived, but he was
taken by the secret police to prison. He was
a Christian. And on one day he was dragged from
his cell and interrogated. He was tortured. beaten
to a pulp and then taken back to his room, back
to his cell and thrown in on the floor. This
was not a new experience for Ivan. And there
in the prison he had but one human comfort and
that was a blanket that he kept over himself
to try to protect himself from the cold. And
when he was thrown back into the room to his
dismay, there was another person in there wrapped
up in his blanket. That very last vestige of
comfort had been taken. And he figured that this
man was an informer. And there, as he lay upon
that filthy prison floor, bleeding in pain, He
cried out and said, I can't take it anymore.
I can't take it anymore. The man who was in the
blanket said, Ivan, what do you mean you can't
take it anymore? Thinking that he was an informer,
Ivan did not explain any more than that. He just
kept saying it. I can't take it anymore. Then
the voice from the blanket said, Ivan, Have you
forgotten that Jesus is with you? And immediately
Ivan looked at the blanket and it was empty.
God demonstrated to Ivan that he was there in
that moment of weakness. And Ivan jumped up and
began to shout and praise God. And in the morning,
when the guard came who had starved and beaten
him, Ivan didn't even want any food from the
guard. And the guard said, why, did someone feed
you? And Ivan said, no. The guard said, but you
look so different. Ivan said, that's because
my lord was with me last night. Oh, is that so?
said the guard. Where's your lord now? Ivan opened
up his shirt, pointed to his heart, and he said,
right here. Okay, said the guard, I'm going to
shoot you and your lord right now. So he drew
out his pistol and pointed it at Ivan's chest.
Ivan said, shoot me if you wish. I'll just go
to be with my lord. Shaking his head, the guard
put the pistol back in the holster and went away
in bewilderment. Later, Ivan learned that at
that very time that he had been undergoing suffering,
his wife and children had been praying for him.
And they had read this verse as they prayed from
Isaiah 51, 14. The cowering prisoners will soon
be set free. They will not die in their dungeon,
nor will they lack bread. It was not long after
that that Ivan was released from prison. And
he went back home and preached the gospel of
Jesus Christ until he was in his eighties before
the Lord took him home. God's power, my friend,
is as real today as it was in the book of Acts.
Now the fact is that God doesn't always demonstrate
his power as he did with Ivan. There are times
when the beatings result in death. There are
times when there is no apparent human relief,
but God is there. And God is able to demonstrate
his power in other ways. Not only is the child
of God in such a situation that he needs fear
no enemy, but the child of God also is assured
of his eternal safekeeping. As Peter says, in
1 Peter 1, 5, who are protected by the power
of God through faith for a salvation ready to
be revealed in the last time. Those who are the
born again ones of God are protected by the power
of God until that day when they stand complete
in the presence of Jesus Christ. I thank God
that my salvation and security does not rest
upon me but upon God. That is not my faithfulness,
but it's God's power that is keeping and guarding
me until that day when I will stand before Him.
The child of God can pray with confidence because
God is almighty. There is nothing that is too
hard for God. We sometimes sing the chorus, nothing
is too difficult for thee. Why? Because God is
almighty. Jeremiah 33 verses 2 and 3, thus says
the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed
it to establish it, the Lord is his name, call
unto me and I will answer you and I will tell
you great and mighty things which you do not
know. Look in Ephesians chapter 3. Paul as he
concludes this first part of his book says in
verse 20, now to him who is able to do exceeding
abundantly beyond all we ask or think according
to the power that works. The power that works.
The dynamite of God that energizes us. The power
that works, the last two words, within us. God's
power is in us. And when you and I pray, it releases
the power of God. You and I can pray with confidence
because we are praying to a God who is sovereign.
Dear friend of mine, whom I talked with this
last week, has served the Lord faithfully. He's
now 68 years old. He's been a pastor, a college
president, a seminary dean, and above all, a
great preacher. As I talked with him, he told
me what God has been teaching him in recent years
really regarding prayer. He's just finished a
book on that subject. And one of the things he
told me on the phone, I was paying so he seemed
to want to talk a lot about it. One of the things
he told me on the phone was that one of the things
God has taught him from the Lord's Prayer is
that every day we gotta pray for our daily needs
to be met. Give me this day, my daily bread.
So for 13 years, every day. He's prayed that.
Give us Lord what we need today. When he retired
from the college position that he had, they desired
to move back to where some of their roots are
in the Dallas area. When they got there, they
had no money really for a home. Housing is even
higher there than, or has been at least, than
it is in this area. And they looked at homes,
couldn't find anything, and they finally found
one that they really liked. It was just kind
of their dream home, but it was twice as much
as they could afford to get a loan for. I don't
know how much, but twice as much as they could
afford to get a loan for. The day after they
saw the house, a friend from somewhere I'm sorry
he didn't give me the name and address. A friend
from somewhere called and talked to his wife,
Celeste. He said, how are things going? She says,
well, just fine. Well, we found a house. Well,
we saw a house that we liked, but it's twice
what we can afford. He said, well, tell me about
it. So he did. She did. And she explained the
details. And the friend said, tomorrow there
will be a cashier's check for that whole amount.
delivered to you, along with enough extra money
to pay for your moving expenses from the other
state where you've lived to get to Dallas. Is
that an accident? Is that a quirk? No. It's because
that couple has learned to pray every day, Lord
just give us what we need. We don't want to go
out and get in debt, God just give us what we
need. And God, after thirteen years of praying
that way, felt that He could entrust them with
that kind of an answer. We pray to a God who
is able to meet our needs if we're willing to
trust Him. We can also say that because God is
almighty, the child of God can serve with effectiveness
and fruitfulness. Ephesians 3 .7 says that our
gifts are given to us by the power of God. In
Ephesians 5, 18, we are told to be filled with
the Holy Spirit in our living, in our ministering,
and use of those gifts. God's power can be demonstrated
today in our lives just as it has been through
the centuries. It may be in different ways, but
nonetheless, it is truly God's power. In the
days of the apostles, it was with signs, wonders,
and miracles. And there are some people today
who think that God still has to demonstrate His
power in the same way or God hasn't worked. I'm
afraid that's a deception. God does work that
way sometimes. I received a letter from a missionary
friend of mine in Nigeria who tells of the conversion
of some of the Muslim teachers. and leaders called
Mollems in that area. And he says that their
conversion to Jesus Christ has been demonstrated
by the same kinds of things that occurred around
the conversion of Paul the apostle. Things that
are miraculous and unexplainable. God can demonstrate
his power in that way if he so chooses. But it
is no less a miracle. It is no less the power
of God when you sit down in a Sunday school class.
with some precious children, and there's no signs,
wonders, and miracles, but you're opening the
Word of God to them, and because you are under
the control of the Holy Spirit, that Word goes
into their hearts. And it takes root in there,
and it begins to change them slowly from the
inside out. That's just as much the power of
God. God wants us to serve Him in the power that
He's placed within us. resident person of the
Holy Spirit. I've used this illustration before,
but I think it demonstrates so well what being
filled with the Holy Spirit means. It's not like
a glass being poured up with water. But a better
illustration is that of a sail on a boat that
is put up. And because the sail is up, the wind
comes along and fills the sail. It billows. Because
the sail is full, the ship is moved along. So
when you and I are filled with the Holy Spirit,
it is that we have put up the sails, so to speak,
and the Spirit of God moves us along in our lives,
empowers us, enables us. We can be certain that
God is going to respond in our lives with powerful
working when we put up that sail. We might compare
that sale to obedience. Feelings of powerlessness
are common to humanity. I would imagine some
of you have had experiences in recent days when
you have felt victimized. Or when you were in
a situation where you could not change somebody
else. You could not control the circumstances
in which you found yourself. The fact is that
you and I worship a God who is all -powerful.
And with His supernatural power, He is able to
sustain us, to keep us, whatever our earthly
circumstances. God doesn't directly intervene
every time that you and I are disappointed. Nor
does He always provide physical protection in
the moment of a threat. Nor can we as believers
presume upon God's power or abuse it for self
-gratifying purposes. But the fact is that God's
power indwells and surrounds every child of His
to preserve us unto our divine destiny. And so
the best way for you and for me to live is in
faith where we recognize the all -mightiness
of God. and we relax and we rest in our circumstances,
knowing that God is bigger than it all, that
we can rest in His sovereign shepherding of our
lives. All power resides in the benevolent and
wise Supreme Being that we call God and Father.
But the fact is, in the demonstration of His
power in our lives, He will limit Himself to
the size that we believe Him to be. Maybe that's
why J .B. Phillips called that book written years
ago now, Your God is Too Small. Because we put
God in a little box this big, and we say, now
God, can you fill that box? God says, oh yes,
I can fill that box. And we're content for God
to be that big. When in fact God will expand
in our lives to give, to fill all the room that
we give to Him. We can't give too much to God.
There's no way that we can open up to God beyond
what He's able to use and empower. God is unlimited.
Paul S. Reese. who used to pastor in the city
said, I can count on God to let loose in my life
when I am ready to let something loose. The hurtful
habit, the crippling compromise, the unsurrendered
ambition. When we let loose of those things,
God will let His power loose in our lives. Elizabeth
Elliott said, throughout the Bible, when God
asked a person to do something, Methods, means,
materials, and specific directions were always
provided. The person had only one thing to do.
Obey. Obey. God is using you today, said Vance
Havner, as much as he can. Not as much as he
could. Whoever we are, There is more that God
can do in and through us if we will learn to
yield to Him and obey. May that be the point
of contact with this message today that we understand
the all -mightiness of God and we go forth from
here determined by the grace of God to be yielded
to the Lordship of Christ and to obey Him in
every respect knowing that when we do that God
will fill us with His power. and we will act
nothing. Let's pray. Would you stand with me
please as we pray? Father, I pray that the power
that we have talked about this morning and seen
demonstrated in history as well as in contemporary
times that that power which is resident in the
Holy Spirit who resides in our lives, that that
power that is dynamically working within us may
be expressed through us. Forgive us for living
weak and poor lives, for conducting ourselves
as paupers. when in fact we are enriched with
all of the power of God and can live as princes
in God's family. Father, with some of us today
there are issues of obedience that need to be
resolved. We pray that you will deal with those.
Do not allow us to rest. in disobedience, but
continue to stir up and even to trouble us until
we come to that place of surrender, for that
is the place of happiness. In Jesus' name I pray,
amen. I'd like for us to sing just one verse
of hymn number three. So take your hymnal and
let's sing that before we are dismissed. Praise
to the Lord the Almighty. It's hymn number three.
Let's sing the first verse.