Power is real. Some have witnessed or heard interesting stories about occult powers, fetish power, witchcraft and the likes. They can attest and credit strange happening to such. But these are no match for the Power of God, effected through the Holy Spirit. This is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, the same power that brooded over a void world and created the grandeur we're still discovering in the universe. Thanks to the finished work of Christ and Father's faithfulness, this same power of the Holy Spirit is available for our enjoyment here on earth.
A story is told of a preacher who didn’t believe in tongues speaking and the gifts of the spirit. He was invited to a Bible school graduation in a Pentecostal church to speak. He couldn’t complete his message because of the time. He run out of time for his presentation so he had to end without two points in his notes. During the prayer time that ensued, one of the graduating students rose to speak in tongues and another got up to interpret. To his amazement, the very notes that remained were being uttered word for word by the interpreter. This is the power of God. Sadly, as systems have advanced, we've become so reliant on technology that we have neglected this power from on high. Only when we come to our wits end, when all else fails, do we realize that the only thing that mends dire situations is the power of God.
Imagine what the power of God can do in your life. Had I not tasted and experienced this before, I would have said it doesn’t exist but I have touched and tasted God’s power. And I am still enjoying that power. It takes power to conceive and that power is made available through the Holy Ghost. We celebrate worldwide the virgin conception of the Holy One because this power overshadowed Mary. If only we can come to the point where we rely completely on God to do us this honour, we too will carry our children in our hands. Many conditions we face in our times require nothing but the power of the Holy Ghost.
From the beginning, there have been great moves of God. The Old Testament is replete with demonstrations in the creation of the world and all creatures herein (Jeremiah 32:17, 27:5), the deliverance of Israel from Egypt's bondage through many miraculous acts of God, as well as their possession of the Promised land of Canaan. After 400 years of no recorded miracles, signs and wonders. Jesus birth and ministry unleashed another wave of glorious manifestation of divine power. In Matthew 11:4-6, Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see:
The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor" (NIV). The power of God can be seen and heard - it causes tangible impact.
It was this same power that Abraham and Sarah latched unto and which revitalized their good-as-dead bodies to have children when they were well advanced in age. In Romans 4:18-21 TPT “ In spite of being nearly one hundred years old when the promise of having a son was made, his faith was so strong that it could not be undermined by the fact that he and Sarah were incapable of conceiving a child. He never stopped believing God’s promise, for he was made strong in his faith to father a child . And because he was mighty in faith and convinced that God had all the power needed to fulfill his promises, Abraham glorified God!”
Before our Lord left the earth, He promised that His followers will do greater works than He did (John 14:12). He buttressed this promise with another: He said the Father will send the same Holy Spirit at work in His life upon them to dwell in them. In Acts 1:8, the Lord said: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” True to His words, in the Acts of the Apostles, we see records of strange acts of God in the early church that gave a powerful testimony of the gospel they preached in that generation. Have we also not received that same dunamis power in the Spirit? Where are the greater works in our day?
We grapple with problems beyond medical and expert help. As people visit specialist after specialist, move from one church to another, we see a desperation, a deep longing, for the manifestation of God's power. Greater works include not just the raising of the dead and the healing the sick, but also giving of new wombs, supernatural conception, miraculous preservation of pregnancies and delivery of miracles babies. In Jeremiah 32:17, the prophet reechoes the very word that paved way for supernatural conception in the matriarch of faith: "There is nothing too hard for God". Every challenge we face in this realm - in the spirit, soul or body - can be handled by the power of God.
Today, the Holy Spirit is still available in His full power, but we are not able to receive. Why? We are more concerned about the choice of vessel and the methods. We are like Naaman who was offended at the messenger Elisha sent and the instruction to bath seven times in the ordinary Jordan River (See 2 Kings 5). Imagine someone caring more about the background or credentials of the author of this material rather than opening up to receive God's power. Anytime we question God's vessels and methods, we reject all that accompanies them too. Remember, Jesus in all His divine majesty could do very few works in his hometown, Nazareth, because they couldn't receive him with honour? It wasn't a lack of anointing that made this visit devoid of manifestations. The Word made flesh whom God had anointed with the Holy Ghost and power was right in their midst, but their situations were unchanged. Could it be that our problems persist because we are offended by the vessels and methods God is using?
In 2 Timothy 3:5, Apostle Paul speaking of the last days wrote “For [although] they hold a form of piety (true religion), they deny and reject and are strangers to the power of it [their conduct belies the genuineness of their profession] (AMPC). The Living Bible renders this same verse as, “They will go to church, yes, but they won’t really believe anything they hear”. The Passion Translation says “they may pretend to have a respect for God, but in reality they want nothing to do with God’s power. This is the generation we are in: professing Christians do not acknowledge or experience God's power. If only we would acknowledge, believe and honour the Holy Spirit, His dunamis power will manifest in our lives.
We cannot live in dishonour and rebellion and expect to experience His power. Many don’t believe their own spouses have been endued with power to pray for them to receive their breakthrough. So, they would show reverence to a man of God but despise God's delegated authority under their roof. In this era of free speech where many express opinions without any consideration, it's so easy to insult leadership and not even realize it. Of course, the leaders God gives us are fallible yet He asks us to give them the honour due them. Scripture does not hide the fact that Peter was unstable in temperament with his own failures yet the church experienced tangible growth and power because they accepted him and acknowledged the authority of His leadership. When we disregard or dishonour God's established authority - the Lord Jesus, His word, His delegated authority in our homes, workplaces, churches and institutions - we set ourselves against His power.
It is not surprising then that Apostle Peter highlights the power of God when he addressed the need for honour in the church. "In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor" (1 Peter 5:5-6). This principle applies in all spheres: to remain under and experience the mighty power of God, we must relate rightly with one another and honour authority.
At this onset of our 21-day journey, the Lord highlighted the relevance of harmony and agreement in this quest. Today, He is reminding us again to ensure that we are rightly connected with Him, our spouses, the vessels He sends our way and the authorities He's instituted in our lives. In most cases, gratitude for all God is already doing calibrates our regard for His power. Further, in our marital homes especially, He would want to revive the spirit of love and submission that stream from our reverence for Him. As we set this atmosphere, His mighty power will flood our lives and bring tangible manifestations that onlookers can testify about. On the day of Pentecost, the people had assembled in one place and one accord when, suddenly, the Holy Spirit descended. If you, as a couple, will come into harmony and anticipate God's visitation in this season, you will experience the power of God.
Ephesians 5 gives us great insights on living by God's power in our relationships. The New Living Translation captions them aptly and I will want us to reflect on these through the day.
Living by the Spirit ’
s Power (Ephesians 5:15-20)
So be careful how you live. Don ’
t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don ’
t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don ’
t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.
For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God ’
s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. And we are members of his body.
As the Scriptures say, “ A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Scripture Reading:
Luke 4:14-30 and Ephesians 5:15-33