Christian Living

The Power Filled Christian

by Thomas Kirkpatrick
01/22/21
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“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:18-23)

When they profess their induction into the Christian faith, there are those that life for them will now be in perfect harmony. This is a true statement as their life will be in perfect harmony with God’s will for their life if they allow it. That would be a true statement that all things in this life here will work towards their good, freeing them of the anxiousness of dealing with the world’s issues. “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) It is not an easy narrow road that leads to perfect harmony in the will of God, as in this world, there are many struggles they will have to overcome along the way. All things work together for good, but all things work together for good according to God’s purpose. All this works together for their redemption and restoration of fellowship with God the Father.

But man has not walked with God since the fall in the Garden. The man lost the perfect harmony of living in God’s will and will continue to live in a sin fracture world until the race has been completed and His own are home in the Father’s House. Jesus lived here in this world, and all things did not seem to be good, but it all worked together for the good of man’s redemption. Jesus faced the trials and temptations of this world and overcame. Jesus faced the opposition and rejection of the people He came to save. Jesus stood against the self-righteous religious leaders of His day, those who swore allegiance to His Father, and in the end, they nailed Him to the cross. Jesus told His disciples, us who follow Him now, that we will also have these same trials, tribulations, opposition, and rejection as He. “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Jesus suffered here in this world, and this verse is a charge that He overcame so the Christian can too, as he follows Jesus.

Living the Christian life in this world will be a challenge, as it will cause friction in many of the people we come into contact with. And some pursue to persecute you simply because you proclaim the name of Jesus. It’s a fair deal as Jesus warned that it would be this way. “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.” (John 15:18-19)

To walk in the shadows of this world where the shadows often grow long, we need a mighty light within us to see the path that our Lord has placed before us. One way is to have a solid understanding of God’s Word in our hearts. We cannot discern the error before knowing the why. The only way is to have the power of Christ abiding with us, as we abide with Him. “But to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:24) It’s not that God gives us this power as we could not separate the power of God from Himself. God does not provide us with power. He gives us Himself.

We are but men, the same as those who oppose us, the same that may have worldly power to come against us. We are but men who are powerless to confront the evil spiritual forces from the heavenly places. Still, all the power that we will ever need to live the Christian life and fulfill the work that the Lord has placed before us is the power of Jesus in our life. We are but weak human beings with the Goliaths before us, but God can use us as we are to display His mighty works through us. Consider David, who slew Goliath with a pebble from a sling-shot. The Lord uses us the show how mighty He is. With Jesus living in us, we become the conduit of the greatest power. It is no longer “us,” but Jesus living through us. “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

As a conduit of God’s power, we must keep it clean and clear that His power can flow through us. This for the followers of Jesus is a constant battle against our sin-nature, a battle against the adversary’s temptations, and a battle against peer pressure. We must seek and live the righteous life that our spirit desires over the weak flesh. It is not burdensome to us, as the sinful life is the burden. It is that which we seek that brings the power toward us. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

When we pray, we pray in the name of Jesus, and we should also live in the name of Jesus. “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe.” (Proverbs 18:10) His name is the power, He is the power, and if we allow Him to live through us, the greatness of His power will be toward us. “What is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 1:19-20)

When Paul states toward us, that is a flow of His power through the conduit that we are. This is the same power that God used to raise Jesus from the dead and seated Him at God’s right hand. It is the same power that someday we shall be raised from the dead to sit next to the throne of Jesus. His power is the same that subjected all things under the feet of Jesus and placed Jesus as the Head of the Church. It is a mighty power that can resurrect, and it is a transcending power, a subduing power, and a healing power. This is the power that flows through us like water through a conduit. “And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:22-23)

This power of God Almighty can raise us out of our spiritual deadness, elevate us above every problem, subdue Satan under our feet, and direct the path of our lives. It is the power that can bind His Church together to be Christ’s body. “Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:27)

To have this power flow through us, we must adhere to this verse’s condition, the “believing ones.” We have to believe and act on that belief in faith. It is one thing to know God’s Word, but the power comes when we live God’s Word in faith. If we believe the Word of God, then we must speak God’s Word. This is our testimony, and if our testimony is God’s Word, then it is true. His true Word switches on the Divine Power when we speak it. This is the power to live the Christian life. “For as he thinks within himself, so he is.” (Proverbs 23:7)

We cannot be conduits of God’s power if we close the valve with our mouth. The action of our believing is in faith, speaking the truth that God has given us, which is sharing the gospel message of the Kingdom of God, our home. “But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed, therefore I spoke,” we also believe, therefore we also speak.” (2 Corinthians 4:13)

We may have doubts in our minds, but faith is in our spirit, and we need to connect that to our mouth. We cannot go around saying pitiful me, and I cannot live the Christian life because this is accepting failure, and you will never win, even yourself. Doubt is fear, and, amazingly, Scripture has “Do not Fear” 365 times in the Bible. Once for every day of the year. Replace your doubt with strong and courageous because when all else comes against you, Jesus, your Lord, will intercede in prayer. “If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.” (Romans 8:10, 34)

Thomas N Kirkpatrick

First Baptist Church of Durant, April 5, 2019