You’ve Got the Power!

I’m not a guy who understands technical computing stuff, but I know this: Our modern technology is incredibly powerful!

A brief internet search tells me that a modern calculator has more power than the combined computing power of NASA’s 1969 Apollo Program! Apple’s iPhone 6 has enough power to guide 120,000,000 Apollo rockets to the moon!

Which is cool, because I need that power to text stupid dad jokes to my kids. I need that power to look up the latest scores and headlines. And, of course, I need to play app games like Candy Crush!

So much power to do such stupid, waste of time things! It’s, quite frankly, embarrassing. I don’t even want to tell you how many levels of Candy Crush I‘ve crushed with that power.

The amount of power we have available compared to what we do with it is ridiculous.

Ephesians 1 contains a prayer of the Apostle Paul for the believers in the church of Ephesus. He prays that they would know various things about who God is, who Christ is, and what they have in the Gospel. In verse 19 he prays that they would know:

“what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might.”

Paul goes on to describe the power available. It’s the same power that physically raised Jesus Christ from the dead. It’s the same power that ascended Christ to heaven and sat Him at the right hand of God (Ephesians 1:20). It’s the same power that is greater than all principalities and powers, greater than every name that is named in this world and that to come (1:21)!

That, my friends, is a lot of power. This power is available to all who believe the Gospel!

What do we do with this power? Are we doing the spiritual equivalent of playing Candy Crush with it? Or are we going to the moon 120,000,000 times?!

The power of God available in the Gospel is enough to raise us up to new life in Christ (Ephesians 2:10). It has the power to help us resist the world, the Devil (2:2), and our own sinful flesh (2:3).

The Bible calls us to do some remarkable things; things that are impossible for our natural self to pull off. Things that require supernatural power. I’m not even talking about physical miracles here either!

I’m talking about:

Forgiving people who have hurt you.

Turning the other cheek.

Giving to those who ask of you.

Loving your enemies.

Sharing the Gospel with neighbors.

We can come up with all kinds of excuses why we can’t do these things. We’re not good looking enough, we don’t speak well, we’re shy, we’re busy, or we’re too dumb. The list goes on.

Guess what? You’ve got the power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead at work in you through the Gospel of Jesus Christ! If you weren’t naturally weak, how would anyone know the power of God was at work in you?!

We’ve got divine power available to us; that’s not the question.

The question is: are we doing anything that would require divine power?

Prayer Requests:

Pray for spiritual opportunities to depend upon God for power to do what is impossible for us, but very possible with Him.

Pray for the power necessary to be humble enough to apologize and to forgive.

Pray for the Holy Spirit to instruct, guide, and empower us to do God’s will hour by hour.

Pray for an increased knowledge of the splendors of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.