The Price for Power (II)

 “Say to God, ‘How awesome are your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.’” (Psalm 66:3, New King James Version).

This is the key Bible verse for the “Come and See” devotional today.

One non-negotiable price that we must all pay to be powerful is to live a holy life. Jesus Christ met this requirement in order to be the custodian of ALL POWER in heaven and on earth. Thus, in Romans 1:3-4 (New King James Version) we read: “concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”

It is the will of Almighty God to fill us with His power through the Holy Spirit. Shortly before His departure from this earthly realm, Jesus Christ assured His disciples about their ultimate need: “but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8, New King James Version).

This suggests that the channel of God’s power is through His Holy Spirit. It is therefore clear that Holiness is the key to power. This brings to mind the teachings of Jesus Christ about bottles to hold new wine when  He said: “and no one puts a piece of cloth that has not been shrunk on an old garment, for such a patch tears away from the garment and a worse rent (tear) is made. Neither is new wine put in old wineskins; for if it is, the skins burst and are torn in pieces, and the wine is spilled and the skins are ruined. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.” (Matthew 9:16-17, Amplified Bible).

The power of God abandoned Samson because of his immoral lifestyle as described in Judges 16. We should not confuse the power of God with His gifts; those gifts are irrevocable (see Romans 11:29) and are like the talents which are given to everybody to make a living.  We learn in Proverbs 18:16 (Amplified Version) that “a man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great men.” The power of God is simply the presence of His Spirit and so, a lack of power reflects the absence of God in a person’s life.

The Bible described the fallen state of Samson in the bedroom of Delilah as follows: “and she said, ‘The Philistines are upon you, Samson!’ So he awoke from his sleep, and said, ‘I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!’ But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.” (Judges 16:20, New King James Version). Holiness is a choice. We must choose whether to make our lives the dwelling place of the Holy God by His Spirit.

Let us pray: “Father, I receive grace to fulfill divine conditions required to assess your unfailing power,” in Jesus‘ Mighty Name. Amen.

This message was brought to you by Evangelical Ministries International (EMI). We know this message has been a blessing to you. Please share your testimonies with us by visiting our website www.evangelicalministries.org or contact us on info@evangelicalministries.org. God bless you!