Ephesians 1:15-22 vs. 18,19
"So that...
you may know...
what is the immeasurable greatness of His power
for us who believe."

We have witnessed some awesome as well as awful power in the past decades. The power of the atomic bomb. The power of mother nature. The power of a rocket engine to put an astronaut in orbit around the earth and even put them on the moon. The power of hate, prejudice, and bigotry. The power of love, reconciliation. The power to build up walls and the power to tear down walls and iron curtains.

Power - that seems to be the word of the present generation. You can buy power bars. You can take power naps. If there is an example today of our hunger for power, it is our car. They come with power seats, power windows, power brakes, power mirrors, power locks, and under the hood you have an engine that will you give the power to go 120 miles an hour. What’s with that? Have you ever been on a highway where the speed limit was 120 MPH?

If you have been reading the sports page this week, or following ESPN’s analysis of the super bowl, then you know that the outcome of today’s super bowl comes down to POWER. The running backs power to burst through the line. The defensive lineman’s power move to the inside. The powerful arm of the quarterback. The truth be told the real power in today’s super bowl, isn’t going to be seen on the field. The real power is in the commercial. You think I’m kidding. Think about it. The actual playtime of a football game is one hour. The TV time slot allotted for today’s game is four hours. The average length of a football play is twelve seconds. The average length of a commercial thirty seconds. While the quarterback’s pitch to his running back will have no power over you, every company spending millions of dollars to pitch their product, are hoping that it will have the power to change you buying habits.

The worlds power in all its splendor and ugliness, doesn’t compare to the power of God. One of the reasons Paul talked to the church of Ephesus was that they may know

"What is the immeasurable greatness
of God’s power for us who believe."

The Bible is filled with stories revealing God’s power. The parting of the Red Sea or the River Jordan. God giving the Israelites water to drink from a rock. The walls of Jericho falling. The story of Jonah. Jesus stilling the storm. Jesus casting out evil spirits. Jesus healing the sick. Jesus raising Lazarus from death.

Psalm 33:6-8 "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of His mouth. He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle; He puts the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

Psalm 135: 5,6 "For I know that the Lord is great; our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the Lord pleases He does, in heaven and on earth."

Jeremiah 32:27 "See I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too hard for me?"

Ephesians 3:20 "Now to Him who be the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine."

Hebrews 1:3 "He sustains all things by
His powerful word."

With so much evidence that God is a powerful God, why is it that His power goes untapped?

The answer, "We tip our hats to God’s power." I take this statement to mean that we acknowledge God’s power,   BUT we don’t assimilate God’s power into our daily living. Paul said to the Romans, the gospel of Christ is "The power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes."

The power of God is not some supernatural power which makes you more powerful than an locomotive.   You won’t be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, nor will you be faster than a speeding bullet.

The power of God does not mean that you will never suffer defeat, instead the power of God will help you rise up from the ashes of defeat.

The power of God does not mean that you will never suffer death, instead the power of God will help you rise from death into eternal life.

The power of God does not mean that you will never experience despair, instead the power of God helps rise up from despair with hope.

The power of God does not mean that you will never experience evil, instead the power of God will help you rise up by responding to evil with goodness.

The power of God is not about getting even, putting oneself in the winners circle, the ability to Lord over someone or something. The power of God is about daily walking with God.

If you want God’s power then you have to be willing to give up the wheel. That’s right give up control. I have heard people say God is their co-pilot. That sounds nice, but it’s wrong. God needs to be the pilot. If you want God’s power you have to give up control. You have to leave the driving to God. You have to be willing to let God drive you to the very depths of your soul. Do you want God’s power, than

The second thing you have to do is

Empty your life of your ways, your agendas, your goals. If you don’t do that you are not asking for God’s power, you are asking for His approval. This is what I want, now God give me the power to accomplish it.

Psalm 139:23 states, "Search me, O God." We need to examine our hearts. We may not like what we see. If such is the case, it time to clean house.

The third thing you need to do is

Are you willing to obey at all costs, as did Abraham, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego? To unleash the power of God you must hear and obey.

Proverb 3:5,6 states it this way, "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding."

When you are willing to trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding: then and only then will you understand the verse of scripture which states,

amen

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