After Mr. Norbert Link’s last sermon on “God the Father Is the Highest, Part 2”, I have been thinking about the power that is God’s and how that power is a part of us who are true Christians.
We are alive at this moment because this is what He has foreordained. Everything in the world has led up to the moments that we are living. We would not be here if God hadn’t made sure that we would be (compare Isaiah 44:24; Isaiah 49:15; Psalm 71:6; Jeremiah 1:5; Galatians 1:15). God would not have spent so much time and effort in making sure of this fact just to have us fail our calling.
How we choose to live each day becomes a byproduct of our lives. We live each day, day by day, moment by moment. Who we set out to become is dictated by the things that we do or do not do (1 Peter 1:13-25).
If we choose to do so, we live with the Spirit of God! It emanates from the Father and Jesus Christ and is given to us to dwell within us and help us. And yet, what do we do with it? Does it stagnate within us? Does it live dynamically through us? How is it put to use in our lives?
We are the responsible party to make sure that we are making spiritual progress. Yes God is full of power and willing to share – but it is useless unless we are the willing participants, actively seeking Him. Growth happens when we are engaging the Spirit of God.
Hebrews 6:1 explains that as we continue on our path, and we are able to use more of God’s Spirit within our lives, in all the little details, it will hopefully lead to us sinning less and less: “Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection (maturity), not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God.” This is something that takes spiritual maturity – growth. Paul encourages us in 1 Corinthians 14:20: “Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature.”
The Father is the highest. He is perfect in all His ways, His thoughts, His actions – in everything! He does not and cannot sin because He has willed not to. It is from this mindset and this power that we draw upon His power and strength.
Hebrews 4:16 powerfully tells us to approach God’s throne with conviction, and makes clear that we can never ask God for TOO MUCH. It doesn’t tell us there is a limit with what we can approach God. It is not like we get a 10-ticket punch card per day, and then, that is it. NO, it says: “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” When we are in need, when we are in doubt, when we are facing a problem or series of problems, our ONLY way forward is to approach God and to pray—to pray without doubt (James 1:6-8), without reservation, and with sincere conviction (Luke 22:44), and to pray without ceasing.
To be close to God is on the one hand very easy to do. It takes consistent prayer, Bible study, meditation and forethought. It also takes planning and preparation. It takes a willingness and a want to stay in contact with Him.
On the other hand, we are facing the physical person – the person who should have died at baptism; we face the pressures of this world; and we face Satan and his demons. This is not an easy war! There are many, many battles to be fought and won. There are fights that we cannot and will not win, unless we are intimately involved in our relationship with God.
We must give over ourselves to God’s Spirit; that great power with which Christ holds the universe together and sustains all things. The same power that Christ used when He was here on this earth, and by which He did many miracles. This power is emanating and being spilled out from us towards others. We were called for a reason. We have God’s Spirit for a reason. Galatians 5:16-26 tells us we have a choice to walk according to the flesh – and all that it desires – or we learn to walk in the Spirit. To the degree that we learn how to walk in the Spirit, so will our power, influence and obedience grow. We will become more and more powerful as we become more and more obedient to God
Paul tells us that while it is our potential to become God beings, this process is actually in progress right now. We are to be using the power from God to become more and more spiritual. Not that we are Spirit yet, for that is our potential at Christ’s return; but rather, that we have the power now, dwelling within us. Romans 8:9-11 states: “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who [better, “which”] dwells in you.”
This entire chapter of Romans 8 really speaks to the power of God’s Spirit which we must allow to dwell in us. As we have heard in Mr. Link’s above-mentioned sermon, when we have the Spirit dwelling in us, we essentially have the Father and Christ dwelling in us. Christ tells us one of the most powerful things in John 14:23: “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.’” God the Father and Christ are living in us. That Truth is incredible to think about. If we really meditate on this, we will do everything in our power to overcome the part of us that fails.
This is all incredible information! What we choose to do with it is up to each of us. We cannot neglect this great power to which we have access. Now is our opportunity!
