Loyal
It seems the world is all about power. More horse-power. More political power. More star-power.
More buying power. More wifi-power. More cell-phone power. More power to influence others.
The Bible talks about a certain power also. It's a power we as Christians can have.,
Acts 1:8; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."
Acts 6:8; And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.
Rom 15:18; For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed,
Rom 15:19; in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.
Rom 15:13; Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Eph 3:16; that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,
Eph 3:20; Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,
There are several more verses about this, but you get the idea. When the Holy Spirit comes upon us, we
receive a certain "power". It's a power we don't have without the Holy Spirit.
The Bible talks about those who overcome, and trees that bear good fruit, and those who die to their previous sinful natures. It also talks about certain people with the power to prophecy, do miracles and healings. It says we as Christians can have that power. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead.
Now of course we can't do any of those things on our own power. We can't bear fruit without Jesus, we can't overcome without Jesus, we can't do miracles without Jesus, we can't cast out demons without Jesus.
Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches... we can't do anything without Him.
Maybe you've never healed anyone. Maybe you've never prophesied. That's OK. But what about the more basic things? How is your fruit? Have you been overcoming? Or has the world been overcoming you?
Have you quit doing certain addictive sins, or are you living the same exact way you were before you got saved?
The Bible warns about certain people who deny God's power.
2 Tim 3:1; But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.
2 Tim 3:2; For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
2 Tim 3:3; unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,
2 Tim 3:4; treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
2 Tim 3:5; holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.
What about you? Do you love yourself more than others? Do you love money? Are you unloving?
Are you without self-control? Are you conceited? Do you love pleasure more than God?
There are people who call themselves Christians, but deny the power of being a Christian.
Not so much by what they say, but more so by their actions (or in many cases, inactions).
Even if we are attached to the vine, we are still capable of bearing no fruit it's that what we want to do.
Even with the power of the Holy Spirit helping us, guiding us, and "empowering" us, we are still capable of not being overcomers if we resist the Holy Spirit hard enough. We are perfectly capable of going back to
the vomit and pig-sty of sin we can from before we got saved.
So the question is... are you using this power available to you? Do you have the Holy Spirit within you?
If not, what are you going to do about it?
John 3:5; Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
A lot of people claim to have the Holy Spirit within them, but you never see any evidence of it. Now of course I haven't met most of you personally and I don't know you, so I can't judge whether you have this evidence of power within you. But God knows, and you know too.
1 Jn 5:5 ; Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
No one can overcome without Jesus, but there are many who claim to know Jesus who have no power.
Rev 3:8; 'I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name.
Rev 2:26; 'He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS;
Rev 3:21; 'He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
Do you have this power inside you? Are you using it or denying it? Is there any evidence of it?
1 Thes 1:5; for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.
2 Tim 1:7; For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.
1 Pet 2:24; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
Jesus died to give us this power. How are you doing?
More buying power. More wifi-power. More cell-phone power. More power to influence others.
The Bible talks about a certain power also. It's a power we as Christians can have.,
Acts 1:8; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."
Acts 6:8; And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.
Rom 15:18; For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed,
Rom 15:19; in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.
Rom 15:13; Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Eph 3:16; that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,
Eph 3:20; Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,
There are several more verses about this, but you get the idea. When the Holy Spirit comes upon us, we
receive a certain "power". It's a power we don't have without the Holy Spirit.
The Bible talks about those who overcome, and trees that bear good fruit, and those who die to their previous sinful natures. It also talks about certain people with the power to prophecy, do miracles and healings. It says we as Christians can have that power. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead.
Now of course we can't do any of those things on our own power. We can't bear fruit without Jesus, we can't overcome without Jesus, we can't do miracles without Jesus, we can't cast out demons without Jesus.
Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches... we can't do anything without Him.
Maybe you've never healed anyone. Maybe you've never prophesied. That's OK. But what about the more basic things? How is your fruit? Have you been overcoming? Or has the world been overcoming you?
Have you quit doing certain addictive sins, or are you living the same exact way you were before you got saved?
The Bible warns about certain people who deny God's power.
2 Tim 3:1; But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.
2 Tim 3:2; For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
2 Tim 3:3; unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,
2 Tim 3:4; treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
2 Tim 3:5; holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.
What about you? Do you love yourself more than others? Do you love money? Are you unloving?
Are you without self-control? Are you conceited? Do you love pleasure more than God?
There are people who call themselves Christians, but deny the power of being a Christian.
Not so much by what they say, but more so by their actions (or in many cases, inactions).
Even if we are attached to the vine, we are still capable of bearing no fruit it's that what we want to do.
Even with the power of the Holy Spirit helping us, guiding us, and "empowering" us, we are still capable of not being overcomers if we resist the Holy Spirit hard enough. We are perfectly capable of going back to
the vomit and pig-sty of sin we can from before we got saved.
So the question is... are you using this power available to you? Do you have the Holy Spirit within you?
If not, what are you going to do about it?
John 3:5; Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
A lot of people claim to have the Holy Spirit within them, but you never see any evidence of it. Now of course I haven't met most of you personally and I don't know you, so I can't judge whether you have this evidence of power within you. But God knows, and you know too.
1 Jn 5:5 ; Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
No one can overcome without Jesus, but there are many who claim to know Jesus who have no power.
Rev 3:8; 'I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name.
Rev 2:26; 'He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS;
Rev 3:21; 'He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
Do you have this power inside you? Are you using it or denying it? Is there any evidence of it?
1 Thes 1:5; for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.
2 Tim 1:7; For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.
1 Pet 2:24; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
Jesus died to give us this power. How are you doing?
