WEBVTT 00:00:00.300 --> 00:00:04.639 Some people measure what is true in a variety 00:00:04.639 --> 00:00:09.080 of different ways. Probably the most recent way 00:00:09.080 --> 00:00:13.060 that our culture has measured truth is by the 00:00:13.060 --> 00:00:17.059 simple statement that everything is true. That 00:00:17.059 --> 00:00:19.820 takes you off the hook, doesn't it? Just say 00:00:19.820 --> 00:00:24.940 everything is true. It's called relativism. The 00:00:24.940 --> 00:00:27.899 problem with measuring truth that way is that 00:00:28.170 --> 00:00:32.229 It leads to personal hopelessness and cultural 00:00:32.229 --> 00:00:37.369 despair, and that's just where we are as a people. 00:00:38.909 --> 00:00:40.869 Because you see, when everything is true, it 00:00:40.869 --> 00:00:44.710 means nothing is true. There is no meaning to 00:00:44.710 --> 00:00:50.490 anything. Out of the ashes of the despair in 00:00:50.490 --> 00:00:54.350 our culture, over that philosophy that everything 00:00:54.350 --> 00:00:58.380 is true, There is quickly arising another way 00:00:58.380 --> 00:01:05.260 to measure truth. It is asking the question, 00:01:06.439 --> 00:01:12.420 does this work? Does this philosophy, does this 00:01:12.420 --> 00:01:17.920 religion, does this idea work? Does it have some 00:01:17.920 --> 00:01:23.260 power, some ability to bring about change? Can 00:01:23.260 --> 00:01:27.319 it deal with human suffering? Will it give meaning 00:01:27.319 --> 00:01:31.519 to existence? Does it work? I believe the world 00:01:31.519 --> 00:01:36.099 is frantically looking for some idea, some religion, 00:01:37.060 --> 00:01:41.959 some theology, some truth that has power to it. 00:01:43.599 --> 00:01:48.060 In the past, truth has tended to be measured 00:01:48.060 --> 00:01:53.739 by its rationale. If you could reason it out, 00:01:54.090 --> 00:01:59.609 it would be true. But I believe now, in the 1990s, 00:01:59.890 --> 00:02:02.030 truth, at least in the Western civilization, 00:02:03.069 --> 00:02:06.450 is starting to be measured by its power. That's 00:02:06.450 --> 00:02:11.370 important for us to note. Because the evangelical 00:02:11.370 --> 00:02:14.270 church has historically sought to prove the truth 00:02:14.270 --> 00:02:19.389 of God and His self -revelation, by arguments, 00:02:20.830 --> 00:02:26.219 by rational evidence. The world is no longer 00:02:26.219 --> 00:02:30.900 impressed by that. Because of the relativism 00:02:30.900 --> 00:02:35.520 of the world, its response to our rationale is, 00:02:35.599 --> 00:02:38.120 well, that's true for you, it may not be true 00:02:38.120 --> 00:02:44.520 for me. If that's your belief, that's fine for 00:02:44.520 --> 00:02:51.639 you. Now, I believe the world is looking for 00:02:51.639 --> 00:02:56.819 power. It wants to find something that works. 00:02:57.439 --> 00:03:01.020 And ladies and gentlemen, the gospel of Jesus 00:03:01.020 --> 00:03:06.280 Christ is not only true, it works. It is the 00:03:06.280 --> 00:03:11.680 power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. 00:03:14.139 --> 00:03:16.800 The Apostle Paul prays in Colossians chapter 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:20.500 1 that we believers might personally be strengthened 00:03:20.500 --> 00:03:25.060 by the reality of God's power that dwells in 00:03:25.060 --> 00:03:28.919 us. We come back to this text of Colossians 1 00:03:28.919 --> 00:03:32.780 and to the end of the prayer that he offers on 00:03:32.780 --> 00:03:36.259 behalf of his readers. We pick it up in verse 00:03:36.259 --> 00:03:41.800 11, where he says, being strengthened with all 00:03:41.800 --> 00:03:45.659 power according to his glorious might for the 00:03:45.659 --> 00:03:49.180 attaining of all steadfastness and patience. 00:03:50.560 --> 00:03:54.580 joyfully giving thanks to the Father who has 00:03:54.580 --> 00:03:58.319 qualified us to share in the inheritance of the 00:03:58.319 --> 00:04:03.039 saints in light. For he delivered us from the 00:04:03.039 --> 00:04:06.520 domain of darkness and transferred us to the 00:04:06.520 --> 00:04:10.419 kingdom of his beloved Son in whom we have redemption, 00:04:11.240 --> 00:04:16.079 the forgiveness of sins. Paul prays that we might 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:19.819 be strengthened with the indwelling dynamic of 00:04:19.819 --> 00:04:24.959 God. He says that this will result as we increasingly 00:04:24.959 --> 00:04:30.959 come into a more intimate knowledge of God, as 00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:33.860 we are filled with God's will, as he says in 00:04:33.860 --> 00:04:38.120 verse 9, and then bear fruit and increase in 00:04:38.120 --> 00:04:42.339 the knowledge of God Himself in verse 10. And 00:04:42.339 --> 00:04:46.060 so my point this morning is this, coming to know 00:04:46.060 --> 00:04:52.379 God intimately allows him to release his dynamic 00:04:52.379 --> 00:04:59.259 power in our lives. That power is there. It is 00:04:59.259 --> 00:05:02.279 when you and I come to know God more intimately 00:05:02.279 --> 00:05:06.060 and personally that he is free to release that 00:05:06.060 --> 00:05:12.269 power in our lives to glorify himself. There 00:05:12.269 --> 00:05:16.250 are two aspects of this power that he talks about 00:05:16.250 --> 00:05:20.490 that are laid before us in the text. He talks 00:05:20.490 --> 00:05:23.430 first about the design of God's power and then 00:05:23.430 --> 00:05:29.089 the demonstration of God's power. As he thinks 00:05:29.089 --> 00:05:32.810 about the design of God's power, he begins by 00:05:32.810 --> 00:05:37.170 pointing out its very nature to us. He uses a 00:05:37.170 --> 00:05:42.860 verb strengthened and the noun power. They are 00:05:42.860 --> 00:05:48.399 both the same word. Related to the word dunamis, 00:05:48.500 --> 00:05:52.620 that is the noun. And if you were to spell that 00:05:52.620 --> 00:05:54.519 out with English letters, you would find that 00:05:54.519 --> 00:05:59.480 it's the beginning of our word dynamite. It refers 00:05:59.480 --> 00:06:04.019 to the dynamite, the dynamic, same idea, the 00:06:04.019 --> 00:06:09.339 dunamis of God. That is God's ability, God's 00:06:09.339 --> 00:06:15.959 strength. being strengthened with all dynamic, 00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:22.120 all dynamite, all dunamis from God. And notice 00:06:22.120 --> 00:06:25.279 he describes this with an adverb, all power. 00:06:26.939 --> 00:06:29.639 Do you remember in Ephesians 6, 18 he says, praying 00:06:29.639 --> 00:06:34.279 with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit? 00:06:34.959 --> 00:06:39.129 All prayer. We understand that to mean that we're 00:06:39.129 --> 00:06:45.230 to pray with all kinds of prayer. And when he 00:06:45.230 --> 00:06:47.750 talks about being strengthened with all power, 00:06:47.790 --> 00:06:51.230 what he's saying is that God has power for all 00:06:51.230 --> 00:06:56.149 kinds of needs. One commentator, Herbert Carson, 00:06:57.610 --> 00:07:03.470 wrote, for every requirement there is power available. 00:07:04.589 --> 00:07:08.910 That's his point. The nature of God's power is 00:07:08.910 --> 00:07:11.709 such that for every requirement you may have 00:07:11.709 --> 00:07:15.850 in your life, there is power available from God. 00:07:16.769 --> 00:07:21.649 Is it a need in your marriage? Is it a need in 00:07:21.649 --> 00:07:24.050 your parenting? Is it a need with some sin or 00:07:24.050 --> 00:07:27.829 temptation? Is it a need that you have with an 00:07:27.829 --> 00:07:31.730 emotion in your life that is consuming you? Is 00:07:31.730 --> 00:07:36.480 it a need with a relationship? He says that God 00:07:36.480 --> 00:07:40.420 has all power and we can be strengthened by it. 00:07:42.740 --> 00:07:45.500 And its release is not once for all but it is 00:07:45.500 --> 00:07:48.939 a lifelong experience because he says being strengthened 00:07:48.939 --> 00:07:51.720 and that's in the present tense which means being 00:07:51.720 --> 00:07:55.939 constantly, continuously strengthened. It is 00:07:55.939 --> 00:08:00.959 a lifelong experience and process. This release 00:08:00.959 --> 00:08:05.660 of God's power in us. And notice the measure 00:08:05.660 --> 00:08:10.360 of God's power. He says this is according to 00:08:10.360 --> 00:08:17.420 His glorious might. According to His glorious 00:08:17.420 --> 00:08:21.199 might. Let's suppose that you had a financial 00:08:21.199 --> 00:08:26.180 need. And you made the big mistake of coming 00:08:26.180 --> 00:08:33.720 to me to ask for help. and standing over here 00:08:33.720 --> 00:08:41.379 10 feet away is a man who is a billionaire. I 00:08:41.379 --> 00:08:45.440 may be able to give you something out of what 00:08:45.440 --> 00:08:51.600 I have, but here is a man who can give far greater 00:08:51.600 --> 00:08:55.340 than I can toward your need if he desires to 00:08:55.340 --> 00:08:59.919 do that. I can give you according to what I have 00:09:01.129 --> 00:09:04.750 But think of what He can give you according to 00:09:04.750 --> 00:09:09.889 what He has. You see, the measure of the all 00:09:09.889 --> 00:09:16.090 power that is available to us is the glory of 00:09:16.090 --> 00:09:23.409 God. According to the power of His glory, His 00:09:23.409 --> 00:09:28.889 majesty, writes the Apostle Paul. So when we 00:09:28.889 --> 00:09:30.990 think of the design of God's power, remember 00:09:30.990 --> 00:09:35.070 that it is the dynamic of God that is constantly 00:09:35.070 --> 00:09:41.009 available to you. And there is no way to measure 00:09:41.009 --> 00:09:46.090 the limit of this power. It is according to His 00:09:46.090 --> 00:09:52.690 glorious power. I think that Paul has some specific 00:09:52.690 --> 00:09:56.539 demonstration of that power in mind. When he 00:09:56.539 --> 00:09:59.240 writes that phrase turn back with me to Ephesians 00:09:59.240 --> 00:10:01.480 for a moment and look in chapter 1 where we find 00:10:01.480 --> 00:10:06.240 a very similar expression not identical but similar 00:10:06.240 --> 00:10:15.659 Here he is praying for the Ephesians He prays 00:10:15.659 --> 00:10:19.700 that their eyes may be enlightened Sounds like 00:10:19.700 --> 00:10:21.379 Colossians doesn't it? That's why they're called 00:10:21.379 --> 00:10:26.679 the twin epistles He prays that they may know. 00:10:28.139 --> 00:10:31.039 Know what? Well, while he said know the will 00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:34.200 of God in Colossians, here he says, you may know 00:10:34.200 --> 00:10:37.240 the hope of his calling. What are the riches 00:10:37.240 --> 00:10:39.360 of the glory of his inheritance in the saints? 00:10:39.419 --> 00:10:45.500 Verse 19. And what is the surpassing greatness 00:10:45.500 --> 00:10:51.220 of his power toward us who believe? Notice again 00:10:51.220 --> 00:10:55.700 the power. the surpassing greatness of God's 00:10:55.700 --> 00:11:00.399 power toward us who believe, in accordance with 00:11:00.399 --> 00:11:04.919 the working of the strength of his might. A very 00:11:04.919 --> 00:11:07.759 similar phrase to what we're looking at in Colossians 00:11:07.759 --> 00:11:11.779 1. And then he goes on to say, which he brought 00:11:11.779 --> 00:11:14.639 about in Christ when he raised him from the dead 00:11:14.639 --> 00:11:18.460 and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly 00:11:18.460 --> 00:11:26.460 places. And so the Apostle Paul gives us a picture 00:11:26.460 --> 00:11:31.399 of this power that is according to God's glory. 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:36.440 And that picture is an empty tomb. And a Savior 00:11:36.440 --> 00:11:38.700 who is seated at the right hand of the Father. 00:11:39.039 --> 00:11:42.320 So great is God's power that He is able to reverse 00:11:42.320 --> 00:11:49.210 death. He is able to bring his son from the grave 00:11:49.210 --> 00:11:52.950 alive and to exalt him and seat him at his right 00:11:52.950 --> 00:11:56.789 hand in heaven. That is how great God's power 00:11:56.789 --> 00:11:59.669 is, and he says, for you and for me, that power 00:11:59.669 --> 00:12:04.789 is in you. And he says, I pray that you may be 00:12:04.789 --> 00:12:07.870 strengthened with that power of the resurrection 00:12:07.870 --> 00:12:14.009 of Jesus. Now as we think again about the design 00:12:14.009 --> 00:12:17.070 of God's power notice that he gives us the intent 00:12:17.070 --> 00:12:26.950 of this power back in Colossians chapter 1 Strengthen 00:12:26.950 --> 00:12:30.029 with all power according to his glorious might 00:12:30.029 --> 00:12:37.870 for or unto the attaining of all steadfastness 00:12:37.870 --> 00:12:42.940 and patience He says that the intent of God's 00:12:42.940 --> 00:12:49.720 power in us is to give us endurance. And that 00:12:49.720 --> 00:12:52.500 endurance is pointed in two slightly different 00:12:52.500 --> 00:12:56.860 directions. The first word is the word steadfastness. 00:12:57.279 --> 00:13:00.279 Literally it comes from a word that means to 00:13:00.279 --> 00:13:09.720 remain under. To remain under. It means to remain 00:13:09.720 --> 00:13:16.500 underneath the pressure of your trials He is 00:13:16.500 --> 00:13:19.500 talking about those experiences that come especially 00:13:19.500 --> 00:13:24.259 from God in our lives The trials that God brings 00:13:24.259 --> 00:13:28.340 to us to grow us and he says I pray that you 00:13:28.340 --> 00:13:30.980 may be strengthened with this power that God 00:13:30.980 --> 00:13:34.059 has in your life So that you will learn how to 00:13:34.059 --> 00:13:40.139 abide up under the trials that come to you as 00:13:40.139 --> 00:13:47.220 aliens and strangers in this world. I want you 00:13:47.220 --> 00:13:50.460 to learn to endure those trials because God purposes 00:13:50.460 --> 00:13:57.080 them for good. The idea behind the word steadfastness 00:13:57.080 --> 00:14:03.200 is the opposite of cowardice, running away. Do 00:14:03.200 --> 00:14:05.399 you ever feel like David did? Oh, if I were just 00:14:05.399 --> 00:14:09.039 a bird, it can fly away to the mountain. If you 00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:13.820 could just get away from the pressure. Paul says, 00:14:13.980 --> 00:14:16.759 no, I want you to learn to be strengthened in 00:14:16.759 --> 00:14:22.399 the midst of it and to abide underneath it. To 00:14:22.399 --> 00:14:27.740 bear up under it by the power of God being released 00:14:27.740 --> 00:14:31.059 in your life. And then he uses the word patience. 00:14:31.879 --> 00:14:38.519 The word patient means to suffer long. It has 00:14:38.519 --> 00:14:42.919 the idea of distancing yourself from an angry 00:14:42.919 --> 00:14:48.379 response. The focus here is not on circumstances 00:14:48.379 --> 00:14:53.740 so much as it is on people. It's a whole lot 00:14:53.740 --> 00:14:56.240 easier to take circumstances than people, isn't 00:14:56.240 --> 00:14:59.700 it? I heard one pastor say one time, I would 00:14:59.700 --> 00:15:02.740 love ministry if it just weren't for people. 00:15:06.259 --> 00:15:08.779 And he smiled because that's what ministry is 00:15:08.779 --> 00:15:15.679 about. People. Here he prays that we may experience 00:15:15.679 --> 00:15:18.820 patience, that we may suffer long with people. 00:15:19.139 --> 00:15:24.059 The opposite of this idea is retaliation. Getting 00:15:24.059 --> 00:15:29.649 even. taking vengeance, getting back at somebody. 00:15:32.509 --> 00:15:34.690 And there are people just flash through your 00:15:34.690 --> 00:15:39.610 mind, right, when you say that? Oh boy, those 00:15:39.610 --> 00:15:44.450 people. Paul says, I pray that you may find God's 00:15:44.450 --> 00:15:47.230 power released in your life so that you will 00:15:47.230 --> 00:15:54.269 know how to suffer long with nasty, mean, inconsiderate 00:15:54.269 --> 00:16:02.409 people. I wish that he had said that the design 00:16:02.409 --> 00:16:06.389 of God's power was that it might be released 00:16:06.389 --> 00:16:09.830 in us and we could perform miracles. Don't you 00:16:09.830 --> 00:16:13.169 wish that? I pray that you may be strengthened 00:16:13.169 --> 00:16:17.009 with all power so that you can call down fire 00:16:17.009 --> 00:16:20.669 from heaven on those who are your enemies. Wouldn't 00:16:20.669 --> 00:16:24.190 that be wonderful? Oh, if that were the design 00:16:24.190 --> 00:16:29.419 of God's power. Or if God had said, that His 00:16:29.419 --> 00:16:32.279 power in us was going to cause us to do signs 00:16:32.279 --> 00:16:38.980 and wonders. And there are people who think that 00:16:38.980 --> 00:16:42.940 unless you do signs and wonders or have some 00:16:42.940 --> 00:16:46.220 bizarre experience, you have not experienced 00:16:46.220 --> 00:16:48.960 the power of God. Listen, the design of God's 00:16:48.960 --> 00:16:51.860 power is not for signs and wonders and miracles 00:16:51.860 --> 00:16:55.820 in our lives. It is for transformation of our 00:16:55.820 --> 00:17:02.370 character. It would be appealing were it otherwise, 00:17:03.129 --> 00:17:10.849 but it's not. God wants to change us. And when 00:17:10.849 --> 00:17:14.190 he talks about steadfastness and patience, he 00:17:14.190 --> 00:17:17.289 picks at a couple of characteristics that all 00:17:17.289 --> 00:17:21.690 of us are still learning about in our lives, 00:17:21.750 --> 00:17:28.009 aren't we? He prays that we may know the power 00:17:28.009 --> 00:17:33.269 of God. understand what its design is in us. 00:17:33.910 --> 00:17:42.690 God wants to change us on the inside. Now the 00:17:42.690 --> 00:17:46.289 Apostle concludes this opening to the Epistle 00:17:46.289 --> 00:17:54.650 by talking about the demonstration of God's power. 00:17:57.000 --> 00:18:00.700 He begins by saying, joyfully giving thanks. 00:18:01.579 --> 00:18:05.480 As I pointed out last week, that's the last of 00:18:05.480 --> 00:18:11.000 the results of knowing God's will and knowing 00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:15.700 God personally. It is bearing fruit, increasing 00:18:15.700 --> 00:18:17.660 in the knowledge of God, being strengthened, 00:18:17.720 --> 00:18:22.420 giving thanks. But as the apostle is thinking 00:18:22.420 --> 00:18:26.140 about this power of God by which we can be strengthened, 00:18:26.769 --> 00:18:30.390 He says, joyfully giving thanks to the Father. 00:18:31.609 --> 00:18:36.009 And he's going to tell us now how God's power 00:18:36.009 --> 00:18:40.769 has been demonstrated on our behalf. I'm going 00:18:40.769 --> 00:18:42.769 to take them a little out of order from what 00:18:42.769 --> 00:18:46.029 he names them here in order to make them chronological. 00:18:47.130 --> 00:18:51.069 And so I'm going to begin with verse 14. Where 00:18:51.069 --> 00:18:54.470 he says, in whom? In Christ the Son, the beloved 00:18:54.470 --> 00:19:00.730 Son. we have redemption. God has demonstrated 00:19:00.730 --> 00:19:04.630 His power in that number one, He has redeemed 00:19:04.630 --> 00:19:09.910 us. This word means the complete release of a 00:19:09.910 --> 00:19:16.690 slave. It means a prisoner of war for whom a 00:19:16.690 --> 00:19:20.089 price has been paid and now he can go back home 00:19:20.089 --> 00:19:26.130 and be free. God's power is so great that he 00:19:26.130 --> 00:19:30.970 is able to pay the redemption price. He doesn't 00:19:30.970 --> 00:19:33.890 name it here, he does in a parallel passage in 00:19:33.890 --> 00:19:38.289 Ephesians 1 and verse 7 where it says that is 00:19:38.289 --> 00:19:44.670 through the blood of Christ. The price demanded 00:19:44.670 --> 00:19:51.569 by God's justice for our sin and our rebellion. 00:19:51.819 --> 00:20:00.099 was human death. Thank God that He by His power 00:20:00.099 --> 00:20:04.839 provided a substitutionary sacrifice on our behalf 00:20:04.839 --> 00:20:10.059 in His Son so that we might not have to experience 00:20:10.059 --> 00:20:15.579 that death that we deserve. God demonstrated 00:20:15.579 --> 00:20:20.180 His power on Calvary's cross when He caused the 00:20:20.180 --> 00:20:22.420 weight and the guilt and the penalty of your 00:20:22.420 --> 00:20:25.460 sin and mine to be placed upon His beloved Son. 00:20:26.380 --> 00:20:29.440 And in the shedding of His blood, in His death, 00:20:29.960 --> 00:20:36.059 He provided for our debt payment, our ransom 00:20:36.059 --> 00:20:40.539 payment, so that we can be released and set free. 00:20:43.420 --> 00:20:46.680 He calls this redemption the forgiveness of sin. 00:20:46.759 --> 00:20:52.319 Literally this word is the removal of sin. The 00:20:52.319 --> 00:20:55.839 word forgive means to send away, to send away, 00:20:56.539 --> 00:21:04.359 get rid of our sin. The psalmist in Psalm 103 00:21:04.359 --> 00:21:08.000 says, as far as the east is from the west, so 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:11.839 far has he removed our transgressions from us. 00:21:12.559 --> 00:21:16.720 That's forgiveness. So, God's power is so great 00:21:16.720 --> 00:21:18.680 that, number one, He provided the redemption 00:21:18.680 --> 00:21:21.619 price so that we could have our sins removed 00:21:21.619 --> 00:21:30.279 from us. Number two, He delivered us from the 00:21:30.279 --> 00:21:35.720 domain of darkness, sins, slavery, from which 00:21:35.720 --> 00:21:40.579 we were redeemed, entailed of being dominated 00:21:41.289 --> 00:21:45.549 by what he calls here the domain of darkness. 00:21:47.329 --> 00:21:52.589 This word domain is a word that he uses elsewhere, 00:21:52.710 --> 00:21:55.509 and again it's back in Ephesians, the 20th epistle, 00:21:55.670 --> 00:22:01.369 chapter 6 and verse 12, where he says, for our 00:22:01.369 --> 00:22:03.769 struggle is not against flesh and blood, but 00:22:03.769 --> 00:22:08.130 against the rulers, against the, what's the next 00:22:08.130 --> 00:22:16.299 word? Mine has powers against the world forces 00:22:16.299 --> 00:22:20.180 of this darkness. The word powers there is the 00:22:20.180 --> 00:22:26.819 very same word as domain in Colossians 1 .13. 00:22:28.799 --> 00:22:33.960 For he delivered us from the powers of darkness. 00:22:35.660 --> 00:22:40.019 What is he talking about? Darkness is used in 00:22:40.019 --> 00:22:43.059 an ethical sense in the Bible, that which is 00:22:43.059 --> 00:22:48.119 sinful, that which is unclean. And certainly 00:22:48.119 --> 00:22:50.880 we have been delivered from ethical darkness, 00:22:51.519 --> 00:22:54.619 but I believe he is talking here also about spiritual 00:22:54.619 --> 00:22:59.619 darkness and about wicked spirits. He says we 00:22:59.619 --> 00:23:02.880 have been delivered from their domination, from 00:23:02.880 --> 00:23:09.390 their power. Robert Gromachy, writing about this 00:23:09.390 --> 00:23:12.630 book of Colossians says, this expression from 00:23:12.630 --> 00:23:16.309 the power of darkness points to the kingdom of 00:23:16.309 --> 00:23:19.690 Satan, which is marked by sin and moral darkness. 00:23:19.890 --> 00:23:22.170 The concept of darkness includes an opposition 00:23:22.170 --> 00:23:26.730 to the light as well as an absence of it. The 00:23:26.730 --> 00:23:29.029 unbeliever is not only without God in the world, 00:23:29.069 --> 00:23:33.180 he is also against God. This is a realm of moral 00:23:33.180 --> 00:23:37.240 rebellion, insubordination, and creaturely independence. 00:23:39.440 --> 00:23:44.039 And so this darkness is the realm of hostility 00:23:44.039 --> 00:23:48.740 toward God. It is the realm headed by Satan and 00:23:48.740 --> 00:23:52.740 his powers of darkness, which is insubordinate 00:23:52.740 --> 00:23:57.619 and rebellious against God. And he says that 00:23:57.619 --> 00:24:01.710 God's power is so great that He has delivered 00:24:01.710 --> 00:24:05.470 us from that power. The word delivered means 00:24:05.470 --> 00:24:11.630 to be rescued. He has rescued us by His divine 00:24:11.630 --> 00:24:15.250 intervention so that we are no longer a part 00:24:15.250 --> 00:24:22.329 of that domain. We're no longer under the thumb 00:24:22.329 --> 00:24:29.710 of the powers of darkness. Thank God. The third 00:24:29.710 --> 00:24:35.430 demonstration of His power. He transferred us 00:24:35.430 --> 00:24:42.470 to Christ's Kingdom. The word transferred means 00:24:42.470 --> 00:24:45.349 to move from one place to another. How many of 00:24:45.349 --> 00:24:49.910 you have ever been transferred? Oh, you've had 00:24:49.910 --> 00:24:52.289 very stable lives. Nobody here has been transferred. 00:24:55.529 --> 00:24:59.690 To be transferred means to be colonized. It was 00:24:59.690 --> 00:25:01.690 a word used in the secular literature of that 00:25:01.690 --> 00:25:04.569 day of a colony of people that were taken from 00:25:04.569 --> 00:25:08.369 one place and moved to another. It means to be 00:25:08.369 --> 00:25:13.049 deported. And so it's saying here that God by 00:25:13.049 --> 00:25:18.069 His power has transferred us. He has moved us. 00:25:19.730 --> 00:25:22.930 Not to a new geographical location, but to a 00:25:22.930 --> 00:25:30.460 new spiritual position. He has placed us into 00:25:30.460 --> 00:25:35.200 the kingdom of His beloved Son. That is the rule 00:25:35.200 --> 00:25:38.339 of Jesus Christ. So no longer are we under the 00:25:38.339 --> 00:25:41.200 rule of the powers of darkness. We have been 00:25:41.200 --> 00:25:43.819 moved to a new spiritual position so that we 00:25:43.819 --> 00:25:48.579 are now in the kingdom or under the rule of the 00:25:48.579 --> 00:25:56.380 Son whom God loves, Jesus Christ. For 16 years 00:25:56.380 --> 00:26:01.400 John Kovacs was among those who lived in the 00:26:01.400 --> 00:26:06.039 railroad tunnels in New York City. They call 00:26:06.039 --> 00:26:09.660 themselves sometimes the mole people because 00:26:09.660 --> 00:26:15.960 they live underground in darkness. Amtrak bought 00:26:15.960 --> 00:26:21.430 the tunnel in which John Kovacs lived. that prepared 00:26:21.430 --> 00:26:24.690 to reopen this track and the tunnel, forcing 00:26:24.690 --> 00:26:29.750 him out. It happened at a particular time when 00:26:29.750 --> 00:26:34.029 the city of New York had just begun a new program 00:26:34.029 --> 00:26:38.890 to help people like that who were homeless, to 00:26:38.890 --> 00:26:42.869 change the homeless into homesteaders. And so 00:26:42.869 --> 00:26:46.849 after spending 16 years of his life underground 00:26:46.849 --> 00:26:54.460 as a mole, He was transferred to a farm in Upper 00:26:54.460 --> 00:26:59.380 New York State where he became a farmer, an organic 00:26:59.380 --> 00:27:03.980 farmer. He was quoted as saying, the air will 00:27:03.980 --> 00:27:06.339 be better up there. I'm not going to miss anything. 00:27:06.640 --> 00:27:10.819 I'm not coming back. I want to tell you something. 00:27:11.599 --> 00:27:13.940 God has done something far greater than that 00:27:13.940 --> 00:27:16.339 for you and me. He has taken us out of the darkness 00:27:16.339 --> 00:27:20.809 and He has given us new life. He has made us 00:27:20.809 --> 00:27:23.730 a part of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. We don't 00:27:23.730 --> 00:27:28.230 want to go back. We have a city that we're heading 00:27:28.230 --> 00:27:32.450 toward, whose builder and maker is God. We are 00:27:32.450 --> 00:27:35.690 citizens now of the eternal kingdom of Jesus 00:27:35.690 --> 00:27:42.210 Christ by the power of God. Fourthly, and finally, 00:27:43.130 --> 00:27:50.309 he has qualified us, it says, to share in the 00:27:50.309 --> 00:27:53.250 inheritance. Literally he says that we have been 00:27:53.250 --> 00:27:55.990 authorized, we have been made sufficient, we 00:27:55.990 --> 00:28:00.430 have been named on the will as we might say it. 00:28:00.869 --> 00:28:04.150 So that we have a claim, we have a right to something, 00:28:05.589 --> 00:28:08.750 an inheritance. It is not an inheritance we deserve, 00:28:08.809 --> 00:28:11.890 it is Christ's inheritance and we have been placed 00:28:11.890 --> 00:28:17.509 in Christ, therefore we are qualified to share. 00:28:17.849 --> 00:28:21.690 in the inheritance that all of the saints will 00:28:21.690 --> 00:28:26.470 enjoy in light. Notice again the contrast between 00:28:26.470 --> 00:28:30.250 the saints in light and the powers of darkness 00:28:30.250 --> 00:28:36.069 that once held us in bondage. He's drawing upon 00:28:36.069 --> 00:28:38.769 an illusion here probably of the Old Testament 00:28:38.769 --> 00:28:44.369 saints, the Israelites, who after they had conquered 00:28:44.369 --> 00:28:49.420 the land, divided it up. It became their inheritance. 00:28:50.660 --> 00:28:54.839 You and I do not have a piece of real estate 00:28:54.839 --> 00:29:00.500 as our inheritance. Our inheritance is one that 00:29:00.500 --> 00:29:04.980 is reserved in heaven for us. It is said to be 00:29:04.980 --> 00:29:11.819 incorruptible. It is unstained. It is said to 00:29:11.819 --> 00:29:17.210 be unfading. and it is kept safe for us in heaven. 00:29:18.230 --> 00:29:21.809 And so we are sharers of that eternal inheritance. 00:29:21.970 --> 00:29:28.430 No wonder that the apostle gives thanks. What 00:29:28.430 --> 00:29:31.970 amazing work the power of God has accomplished 00:29:31.970 --> 00:29:35.589 on our behalf. Now he says, considering all that 00:29:35.589 --> 00:29:38.769 God has done for you, I pray that you may be 00:29:38.769 --> 00:29:43.579 strengthened with that same power. That power 00:29:43.579 --> 00:29:48.000 that raised Jesus from the dead. That exalted 00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:50.160 Him to the right hand of the Father in heaven. 00:29:51.359 --> 00:29:54.079 I pray that you throughout your life may learn 00:29:54.079 --> 00:29:58.920 to have that power released in you. So that you 00:29:58.920 --> 00:30:09.039 may be changed. Made a new person. Have you experienced 00:30:09.039 --> 00:30:15.690 the dynamic of God in your life? The apostle 00:30:15.690 --> 00:30:19.509 warns about those in the last days who will have 00:30:19.509 --> 00:30:24.029 a form of godliness, but who will deny the power 00:30:24.029 --> 00:30:29.650 of it. That is, there will be an exterior of 00:30:29.650 --> 00:30:35.569 godliness, a show, an outward form of religion, 00:30:36.910 --> 00:30:44.029 but no power. And you see, he's saying in that 00:30:44.029 --> 00:30:46.430 context at least, that the power is the proof. 00:30:48.170 --> 00:30:50.990 The power is the test that is real. Have you 00:30:50.990 --> 00:30:53.150 experienced the dynamic of God in your life, 00:30:53.269 --> 00:30:56.529 this God who redeems, this God who delivers, 00:30:56.650 --> 00:30:59.769 this God who transfers us, this God who qualifies 00:30:59.769 --> 00:31:05.029 us to be heirs of Christ? I'll tell you something, 00:31:05.069 --> 00:31:08.789 this is the truth that works. This is the truth 00:31:08.789 --> 00:31:14.359 the world is looking for. And we need to be busy 00:31:14.359 --> 00:31:19.400 helping them to see it. Are you growing in your 00:31:19.400 --> 00:31:24.519 intimacy with God? In your knowledge of God? 00:31:25.920 --> 00:31:30.180 So you can experience this power released in 00:31:30.180 --> 00:31:34.559 your own life. To bear you up in life's circumstances 00:31:34.559 --> 00:31:37.160 so that you remain under them and don't run away. 00:31:39.750 --> 00:31:42.569 to strengthen you so that you don't retaliate 00:31:42.569 --> 00:31:49.009 against people who are hard to live with. Do 00:31:49.009 --> 00:31:51.289 you long for that power? Do you need that power? 00:31:51.369 --> 00:31:55.470 It's there. And Paul prays for you and he prays 00:31:55.470 --> 00:31:59.210 for me that we may be strengthened with it. In 00:31:59.210 --> 00:32:01.690 Philippians 3 he puts it this way, that I may 00:32:01.690 --> 00:32:06.750 know him and the power of his resurrection. and 00:32:06.750 --> 00:32:10.630 the fellowship of his suffering being conformed 00:32:10.630 --> 00:32:16.109 inwardly to his death. If, in fact, this is the 00:32:16.109 --> 00:32:18.430 power of the resurrection we're talking about, 00:32:18.890 --> 00:32:24.930 resurrection implies death. To experience this 00:32:24.930 --> 00:32:27.890 resurrection power in our lives, there also has 00:32:27.890 --> 00:32:30.329 to be death. And I want to suggest to you this 00:32:30.329 --> 00:32:33.049 morning that that death is death to ourself. 00:32:35.210 --> 00:32:38.069 And one reason that we may not be experiencing 00:32:38.069 --> 00:32:41.549 God's power if we're not is that self is on the 00:32:41.549 --> 00:32:52.369 throne and not Christ. We cannot live to please 00:32:52.369 --> 00:32:57.049 ourselves and experience the power of God being 00:32:57.049 --> 00:33:01.410 released in us. Who's on the throne of your life? 00:33:03.130 --> 00:33:07.759 Self or Christ? Are you experiencing God's dynamic 00:33:07.759 --> 00:33:15.380 at work within you? One dry cleaner who also 00:33:15.380 --> 00:33:20.420 did dyeing of fabrics had a quaint little sign 00:33:20.420 --> 00:33:26.640 outside his shop. It said, we die, D -Y -E, we 00:33:26.640 --> 00:33:36.180 die to live, and we live to die. Just change 00:33:36.180 --> 00:33:39.759 the word die Apply it to self and I think we 00:33:39.759 --> 00:33:43.700 have a principle here For God's power being released 00:33:43.700 --> 00:33:51.039 in us as believers. We must die to live and Living 00:33:51.039 --> 00:33:57.740 die to self As long as we argue and put self 00:33:57.740 --> 00:34:01.200 on the throne as long as we resist God as long 00:34:01.200 --> 00:34:04.920 as we are insisting on our own way God's power 00:34:04.920 --> 00:34:07.579 will be there, but it will not be released. How 00:34:07.579 --> 00:34:12.860 tragic. When we have God's power that we can 00:34:12.860 --> 00:34:17.400 experience and know that can change us, make 00:34:17.400 --> 00:34:24.599 us new people. Somebody asked George Mueller 00:34:24.599 --> 00:34:28.960 one day the cause, the secret of his fruitfulness. 00:34:30.159 --> 00:34:32.980 And he said, there came a day when George Mueller 00:34:32.980 --> 00:34:38.000 died, utterly died. No longer did his own desire, 00:34:38.280 --> 00:34:42.579 preferences, and tastes come first. He knew that 00:34:42.579 --> 00:34:53.039 from then on Christ must be all in all. Before 00:34:53.039 --> 00:34:55.539 we can know resurrection power, we have to die. 00:34:56.809 --> 00:34:59.550 And when we die, that power will be released 00:34:59.550 --> 00:35:03.610 in us. And throughout our lives we can begin 00:35:03.610 --> 00:35:07.150 to experience the depths of it that are according 00:35:07.150 --> 00:35:15.010 to the glory of God and His power. Let's pray 00:35:15.010 --> 00:35:25.110 together. The Spirit of God is the one who brings 00:35:25.110 --> 00:35:28.829 to us this power. we need him to fill and control 00:35:28.829 --> 00:35:34.130 our lives. Are you willing to die to yourself, 00:35:34.250 --> 00:35:41.230 to be broken of selfish habits, to put to an 00:35:41.230 --> 00:35:47.590 end self -centeredness, to confess the sin of 00:35:47.590 --> 00:35:56.349 self -realization, self -actualization, and see 00:35:56.349 --> 00:36:06.989 self as on the cross. You know, it's when we 00:36:06.989 --> 00:36:09.449 come to that point of desperation, we come to 00:36:09.449 --> 00:36:15.969 die, that God's resurrection power can be manifested. 00:36:18.170 --> 00:36:20.210 There are some of you hungry for power in your 00:36:20.210 --> 00:36:25.139 lives. God's power. This is the way. This is 00:36:25.139 --> 00:36:29.440 how you do it. This is how you experience it 00:36:29.440 --> 00:36:38.099 Being made conformed to his death Or Jesus, you 00:36:38.099 --> 00:36:48.159 know where each of us needs to die to self Self 00:36:48.159 --> 00:36:55.510 is on the throne self -renes, and consequently 00:36:55.510 --> 00:37:00.570 your power within us is restrained. Oh, I pray 00:37:00.570 --> 00:37:04.869 that each of us may truly be willing to die to 00:37:04.869 --> 00:37:08.750 self, be conformed to Christ's death, that we 00:37:08.750 --> 00:37:12.070 may then experience the power of His resurrection 00:37:12.070 --> 00:37:16.750 in this pilgrimage that we're on in the world. 00:37:18.250 --> 00:37:21.219 Oh Spirit of the Living God, Fall fresh on us, 00:37:22.420 --> 00:37:26.019 I pray. Work new in our lives. Bring revival. 00:37:27.440 --> 00:37:29.800 In Jesus' name, would you stand with me please 00:37:29.800 --> 00:37:31.239 and let's sing this chorus.