The Power of God
By: Robert C.

Thesis: To inform others of God’s power through the powers of prayer, encouragement, thanksgiving and love and to encourage them to pray, encourage, be thankful, and to love.

Introduction:
I. Good morning. It’s great to be here and to tell you of God’s power. This morning we will be talking about the power of God.
II. In the Webster’s dictionary, power means strength, energy, and ability. We know that the government has power to protect us and make laws for us.

As 2008 begins, God offers us yet another chance to demonstrate our faith and grow closer to Him. What are some ways we can do this?

Well we could:

Reorganize our Priorities

At the Cross

As we bow at the cross we try to block out the worries of our lives; the bills, the problems with our children, our worsening health, the absence of social morals. Our fears slowly fade as we realize the importance of where we are. What had been significant to us a few minutes earlier doesn't matter as much as we watch the blood slowly trickle down the wood and into the dirt beneath us. What we see next will change us forever.

At the cross we see the darkest day in history.

Everybody wants the Good Lord to bless them and give them eternal life. We all want to go to heaven. But some of us want blessings and eternal life on our terms, not God’s terms.

From the beginning of time, God has asked man to do certain things. He has required man to be honest, moral, loving, and kind toward each other. Micah 6:8 says: “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Our God has also required man to worship Him. Sacrifice was always a part of worship. Under the old covenant there were animal and grain offerings. Under the new covenant, Jesus was the once for all sacrifice. We are asked to offer a sacrifice of the lips in singing, we’re asked to offer a sacrifice of service and time.

Just recently, I went on a camping trip, and I was in the sun so much that I came home with a sunburn. I've been thinking a lot about Christ's humanity, and how as a full human being He was able to be so close to God, and to know God so well. It seems to me that He was completely human, and was only empowered by the Holy Spirit to teach, prophesy, and perform miracles. This seems to be in line with the gospels and Phil 2:6-7.

When Moses came from Mount Sinai, his face was radiant because he had been in the presence of God (Exodus 34:29-35). We should strive for a relationship so close to God, so close to Christ, that we get a "Son Burn." People should see Jesus shine from us (Matt 5:16).

The world today looks at Christianity... and laughs.

We have "backward" thinkers, "illogical" premises, and we can't even get along with each other! One of the major barriers to people of other religions is the numerous divisions among Christians. This does not surprise me. Jesus foresaw this. In John 17:20b-21, he prays to the Father:

"I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me."

The implication of that last statement is that if we are all together, as a community, then the world will know that Jesus is Lord. Conversely, if we do not do so, it will be quite unlikely that the world will see us as the Truth.

Many, many people today claim to be followers of Jesus. Few, however, know what that really entails. In order to understand what being a follower, or a disciple of Jesus really means, one must understand the culture which surrounds it. (Acknowledgement: Most of this material comes from teachings by Ray VanderLaan, and subsequent research).

In Jewish society, there were two kinds of rabbis. First, there were the "Torah teachers," or, as the New Testament says, "teachers of the Law." These teachers would teach in the following manner:

1) It is written: biblical verse.
2) According to: rabbi,

In the old testament, one of the things that I think God was trying to stress the most is that he wants our hearts. He wishes for us to have a need to serve him; not because we're scared of hell, or because our parents said so, but because we have a need for God, and because we're nothing without Him.

Isaiah makes it clear when he speaks the words of the Lord, "'These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men" (Isaiah 29:13). They enforced the details of the law, and only followed them out of tradition. Their worship and praise was meaningless.

In Revelation chapter 4 and 5, John, the aged apostle of our Lord describes his unique opportunity to see into heaven, the throne room of God. The scene he describes is a picture of heavenly creatures who are gathered around the throne to worship the One seated upon the throne. Our conclusion is that the One on the throne would have to be God, our heavenly Father. In chapter five the scene changes as we are introduced to a Lamb. We immediately recognize Him as "the lamb of God," as John the Baptist described Him (John 1:29). That Lamb is none other than Jesus, the Christ, God's Son. Everyone around the throne was worshiping, and that's what we will be doing when we get there.