Similarly, when it says God breathed into man the breath of life (Gen 2:7), it could also be translated the Spirit of life. Hebrews 11:19 says he was willing to do this because he knew that God could raise him from the dead. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. It cannot accept or understand Gods Word apart from the Spirit (1 Cor 2:14). How can we experience Gods power in our lives? God was going to bless Abraham so he could be a blessing to others (cf. Yet, most of us sit. This story will shock you to the core, as it will reveal to you how real God is and how he wants to work in your life as well. People are inundated with words and messages in our world today. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. Here, God reveals himself to Abraham as El Shaddai, God Almightythe God for whom nothing is impossible. Be Obedient (p. 63). He works in the impossible. Exercise Your Understanding of God & Demonstrate His Power Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced" ( Psalm 105:4-5 ). Ezekiel is standing in what is basically a mass grave, a field with bones scattered everywhere, their flesh completely gone. It was very similar to baptism for believers today. The world is a confusing place right now. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God. Then God said to Abraham, As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. In Acts 4:31, the apostles and the early church got together to pray, in response to persecution, and the place they gathered was shaken. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. During his stint in Athens, he had marvelously presented the Gospel message, yet his teaching did not produce outstanding results. Lesson 11: God's Mighty Power (Ephesians 1:19-23) | Bible.org In addition to commitment to God, circumcision represents putting no confidence in the flesh. He wants God to not forget about his son, Ishmael. "God's Word is not only the word he speaks to us; it is Jesus Christ himself, according to John 1:1-14. 8 Boice, J. M. (1998). The need for divine power is just as important today as it was 2,000 years ago when Paul wrote these words to the Corinthians believers. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of mans wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Both Abraham and Sarah were beyond the age of child bearing, and therefore, this word from the Lord seemed incredulous. 2 Kgs 24:17). The word blameless does not mean sinless. The word means single-hearted, without blame, sincere, wholly devoted to the Lord.3. Using these four examples (or demonstrations of God's power), Paul explains that no matter what you may be facing, God's power is sufficient and able to do exceedingly, abundantly more than you could ever ask or imagine. He was the ultimate fulfillment of Gods covenant with Abraham, as he is a blessing to the nations. I think we also see this symbolism in how Paul described our spiritual circumcision in the New Covenant. These combined acts of power led to the salvation of this mans family. But the independent and prideful only experience his power in discipline. But there were problems. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. What the Bible says about Power of God - Bible Tools God symbolized this by adding the breath sound to Abrahams and Sarahs names. Be Obedient (p. 63). It has been called the manifested presence of God, but more than just a presence, it's power. Christ-Centered Bible Teaching and Resources. 15 Prayers for God's Power. MUST WATCH!!! Dr Anyi Obi teaches HOW TO DEMONSTRATE THE POWER OF GOD Are there any specific areas in which God is calling you to be blameless? I feel compelled to ask you: What kind of power do you demonstrate with your life and your message as you share Christ with your friends, family, or acquaintances? Do you think God hears your prayers? Thus, Paul started his ministry in Corinth not only with words, but also with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power.. Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety? And Abraham said to God, If only Ishmael might live under your blessing! Then God said, Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God, that we may understand what God has freely given us ( 1 Corinthians 2:11-12 ). AsD. Martyn Lloyd-Jones well articulated it: Take all the dictionaries of the world, exhaust all the vocabularies, and when you have added them all together you have still not begun to describe the greatness of Gods power.. (2 Corinthians 12:710). El is the Hebrew word for God, but there is some debate over the word Shaddai. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Remember, Romans 1:16 says that the Gospel is the power of God, and I assure you that He is just as willing today to back up His Word with a supernatural display of power as He was 2,000 years ago! David Sorensen had a dramatic encounter with God, which completely transformed his life. God named Abraham because he was his sovereign. 8. How to Experience God's Power in Our Lives (Genesis 17 Christ teaches people, freeing us from misunderstandings about God and his Law. People may say that God doesnt exist, but these testimonies prove them wrong. Enduring Word Media. Negativity is winning a presidential primary. When we think of power, it is most often power used in some way to achieve one's own desires, whether it's a bully flexing his muscles, a professor flexing her knowledge, or a businessman flexing his wallet. Instead of relying only on your own careful selection of words, why dont you start seeking the Lord with greater fervency than ever before for His divine power and articulation as you present the Gospel to people who are in darkness? Greg Brown has served twenty years in pastoral ministry, including twelve in his current position as a chaplain and professor at Handong Global University and the teaching pastor at Handong International Congregation. 2. The Deeper Christian Bible Study Series in Ephesians is an in-depth verse-by-verse study of Pauls letter to the Ephesians. In Greek, the word pneumos, spirit, also means breath. A former missionary to Romania, Trevin is a regular columnist at The Gospel Coalition and has contributed to The Washington Post, Religion News Service, World, and Christianity Today, which named him one of 33 millennials shaping the next generation of evangelicals. However, Abraham had different motivations. The names of God in the Bible God Images My encounter with God God help! There is one indwelling at salvation and many fillings throughout the believers life. This means that being filled with the Spirit is synonymous to allowing the Word of Christ to dwell in us richly. Though God has revealed Himself in the form of man, the Scriptures show clearly that no human has been allowed to see Him in His glorified state. What Does the Bible Say About Gods Power? - OpenBible.info Every miracle recorded for us in the Bible should give us encouragement that His strength is more than enough for our need. You can follow him on Twitter, Facebook, or receive his columns via email. You quarrel and fight. James said their prayers werent being answered because they were selfishconsumed with their own desires. Beautiful pictures of Jesus Christ! Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Application Question: How can we experience the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives? This was unlike Sarahs laugh in Genesis 18, when God rebuked her. He needed to know his weakness to know his need for God. The males were to be circumcised eight days after birth. It refers to the exercise of His power, or to action that gets results. We must learn our weakness to truly see and experience Gods power. For this reason, one of the most powerful . Certainly we must be wise in the way we preach and present the Gospel, but we must never forget the importance of preaching the Gospel with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power. Nothing impacts an unbelieving crowd more than the power of God! Pain and suffering is Gods gracious reminder of how much we need him. Are you striving to experience the promises through your own power and wisdom? And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. God is always working, but he especially shows his glory through the impossible. This is true for us as well. When it is time for God to show up in all of His marvelous supernatural ability, I move out of the way and make room so that God can do exactly what He wants to do. But when you look at how he ministered in other cities, you find that in addition to preaching brilliant messages, he also demonstrated the miraculous power of God. I love strength. The Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, has appeared throughout Scripture as a Being through and by whom great works of power are made manifest. Are you being filled with the Spirit of God? We ask questions like, How can God fix this situation? How can God turn this around? or How can God use somebody like me? We do not consider that God is in the miracle working business, and it is through miracles that he often chooses to glorify himself. What are you going to do differently when you present the Gospel to lost people as a result of todays. Copyright 2023 The Gospel Coalition, INC. All Rights Reserved. the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped as creator and ruler of the universe. Under Solomons reign, the nations of the world came to Israel to bask in its glory. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are supernatural powers of God, that are given to those who believe in Jesus Christ. As we consider Abraham in this passage and Gods call on his life, we cannot but think about Abrahams grandson, Jesus (cf. Verse Concepts. Selah. Jesus Christ didnt bring a nice, fluffy, weak religion to the earth. How to Receive Power from God (Christianity): 11 Steps - wikiHow Raising the physically dead is no big deal, comparatively speaking. Find out today. The Spirit would give them a son in their old age. Because of this miraculous event, the door to this island was thrown wide open for Paul to boldly preach the Gospel to them! He called upon Paul to come pray for his father, and Acts 28:8 says, And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him. Because of this miraculous demonstration of power, verse 9 says, So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed.. Might refers to inherent strength. Salvation, essentially, is the greatest miracle we can experience. Peter, in anger, responds to him: May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowled. (Romans 8:3132). Acts 17:6). God wants us to faithfully walk step by step with him. Application Question: As we seek to experience Gods power in our lives, how do we make sure that we have right motives? By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. He would forever limp, which reminded him of his weakness. Before we begin our mini-series examining the first example Paul gives of Gods power (Ephesians 1:20-23), we step back and look at the global picture of how Paul talks about the power of God in the first three chapters of Ephesians and the four key examples Paul gives. (James 4:23). It also could be translated the wind of the God. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant. (Genesis 17:1014). It is clear from his own testimony that when Paul preached the powerful message of the Gospel to the Corinthians, he had determined to go one step further than simply preaching an intellectually and culturally relevant sermon. Whatever our situation, we must not discount the impossible if we are going to see El ShaddaiGod Almightymove. Even for God to hear our prayers, we must separate from sin and live a holy life. In Acts 14:8-18, Paul again demonstrated supernatural power. Some scholars say it comes from a word meaning mountainagain representing Gods strength. He probably didnt laugh because he didnt believe, but simply because the promise was incredulous. In this powerful video apostel Maldonado teaches from the Bible about the power of God. Christs ministry was largely limited to Israel, but the disciples reached and turned the world upside down (cf. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. In fact, we see this in 2 Kings 3:15 when Elisha calls for a harpist. If you have enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe on your favorite app by searching for Deeper Christian Ephesians or clicking the button below. However, with that said, most Christians still have no personal experience of this. Let us bring our problems, fears, and hopes before him because that is exactly where he works. We can understand this symbolism by considering the wedding ring often used in marriage ceremonies. Kindle Edition. You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Many Christians feel frustrated because they dont grow spiritually. Tune in on. Christ gives us his Spirit, freeing us from being motivated only by our selfishness. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. Other versions include English Standard Version, New Living Translation, New American Standard Bible, and King James Version. Is your faith keeping God from breaking into your circumstance in a special way? In Genesis 16, he married Hagar and she conceived Ishmael. His eyes keep watch on the nations; Let not the rebellious exalt themselves. When we make the transition of forgiveness of sins into the resurrection power of Jesus Christ, He can display His victory in our lives and through us to others.. Mark 6:5 says, He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.. It says. He and his descendants would forever be reminded of their weakness and need for Gods power. It is not that he doesnt work in the mundane. A Congregant was pulled out and was taught how to demonstrate the power of God.Subscribe and follow . He was filled with the Spirit from the womb. However, that is exactly what God did. Every work of the flesh must be put to death. No doubt, Abraham had not considered the impossible, that God could bring a child through barren Sarah. God is full of love and compassion and wants to clothe YOU with His divine power, to overcome the powers of sins, sickness and darkness in your life and in your sphere of influence. The power of God is the hallmark of His kingdom. [1] Abraham needed to walk blamelessly to experience Gods power. In the kingdom of God demons are cast out, evil is destroyed, sickness is overcome and the dead are begin raised, because life flows in abundance. Holy Spirit, I am looking to You to help me find the right words, to empower me and flow through me, and to do Your mighty work as I share Christ with people who are lost and in darkness. Application Question: In what ways have you experienced Gods power when being filled with the Spirit? Gen 17:17). He discovered the secret of deep intimacy with the Holy Spirit. For instance, let's reflect on the beauty in the poetry of Psalms 19. the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Help TGC bring biblical wisdom to the confusing issues across the world by making a gift to our international work. The natural mind is at enmity with God (Rom 8:7). In addition, we see that the person who submits to others out of reverence for Christ also will be filled with the Spirit. This laugh does not seem to be out of unbelief but simply because this miracle was incredulous. Is there proof that God exists? Christ comes back from the dead, freeing us from the sting of death. There is power in the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said to the disciples that they needed to wait in Jerusalem until they were endowed with power through the Holy Spirit (cf. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. Holy Bible, New International Version , NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. This power goes to the one who practices thanksgiving. Sometimes, he allows us to have a thorn in the flesh so his power might be made perfect in us. This statement, while comforting, can also be a bit misleading. These cookies do not store any personal information. Then we KNOW with every part of our being that God is real, that He loves us and that He wantsto heal and save us.