The Power of God

We serve a POWERFUL God!

No… let me rephrase that. We serve THE POWERFUL GOD! There is no other like Him! No one and nothing can compare! And this morning, we are going to talk about why that is truth today.

Over the course of history, mankind has furnished a variety of “gods,” faiths, religions, ideologies, and belief systems.

This has happened because of what we know as general revelation: people know there is “higher power” but they struggle to know His name.

So they try to find Him. They are looking for that higher power in the world around them. They are looking for that someone who can fully satisfy the spiritual need they feel… we ALL feel inside!

God has not hidden Himself from His creation, but much of creation has turned to other things to fill the void within.

But no matter what this world has tried, nothing has come close to the real God!

Our God is REAL! His power is REAL! His love for us is REAL! And today, we need to be thankful that we know Him and have a relationship with Him!

This morning is a special day… a day on which we will celebrate with those who have decided to follow Jesus and have chosen to be baptized in water. It is a day of giving thanks… a day of rejoicing! It is a day that we get to see God’s power at work!

So far in our series, we have talked about the power of God and we have surveyed multiple stories from the Bible to see His power at work.

But let us never forget… His power is not something we read about in biblical history only. His power is something made available to us… His power is something that we can experience on a daily basis. His power… is greater than anything we could possibly imagine!

Ephesians 3:20-21 says it this way

Ephesians 3:20–21 NIV

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

God’s power is at work within the lives of believers. And if for some reason you question that or doubt that… this message is especially for you.

Today, we are going to talk about the greatest display of God’s power in our lives and what it is doing for us on a daily basis. We are going to talk about the power… of the Gospel.

First off, what does this term Gospel mean? We use it frequently in our talk, but what is it referring to?

The Gospel defined is simple. It is the joyous good news of salvation in Jesus Christ.

The Greek translation of the original word used simply means “good news” Just how good is this news? Paul talks about it in this way:

Romans 1:16–17 NIV

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

Did you catch that? the gospel is what? THE POWER OF GOD that brings salvation to EVERYONE who believes!

The gospel message has the POWER to liberate ANY sinner from their transgressions and wrong doings. More importantly, it has the POWER to bring that person back into fellowship with the Father!

Church, listen to me… I know we often desire to see God move in powerful ways.

We want to see cancer healed, we want to see financial needs met, we want to see families reconciled, we want to see addicts set free, we want to see peace throughout the land, we want to see the sick raised up. These are all good things to want and yes… God is able to do such things!

But let us never forget the POWER that is the gospel message of Jesus Christ! That power is working in us… And God desires today for that power to work through us as well. IT IS THE ONLY POWER STRONG ENOUGH TO SET THIS WORLD FREE!

There is no other story or any other source. The power for freedom is Jesus… the power for redemption is Jesus… the power for healing is Jesus… the power for wholeness is Jesus… the power this world needs IS JESUS!

Paul fully understood this as he wrote this passage. How do I know this? Because when regarding the gospel message, Paul first declared of having...

No Shame.

The gospel message is not anything to be ashamed of. In fact, it is EVERYTHING that needs to be declared.

But remember the day in which Paul and the Romans were living. Not long ago, they witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus. It was a move to silence His influence. It was a hostile action against the message He preached.

But… Jesus did not back down. Why? Because Jesus knew this was the ONLY WAY to open the door for our forgiveness of sin.

EVEN while this world rejected Christ, His love and the Father’s love remained strong for all. The Word tells us in Romans 5:8

Romans 5:8 NIV

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

God could have rescued His Son from the cross at any time. But He sent His Son for this very thing. He sent His Son the wreck sin… to destroy sin… to nail it to the cross and leave it in the grave.

But the world struggled to receive the message. Although it had the power to set the world free… the world chose to try to silence the message.

But church… the gospel of Jesus Christ is something this world can NEVER silence! The power of the message simply cannot be contained. Paul knew this… because He had been RADICALLY changed by the gospel! In that change, He experienced the power of God in his life.

In response to that change, he makes this declaration in Romans 1:16: I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL.

Not only had Paul experienced the power of God through the gospel in his life, he wanted those around him to experience this same power. Because it is the ONLY POWER that can truly change a life!

The power that changed you… is the power that will change others! There are forces trying to intimidate you to convince you… to keep that power to yourself. But that is NOT the plan of God!

That power is working in you… and God wants that power to work through you! And let’s remember something today: The power to change a life is NOT about the messenger… its all about the message God has given us!

Paul knew that his part was to be faithful in spreading the gospel. THE POWER OF GOD WOULD DO THE REST.

Therefore, we need to move past any fear, shame, or timidity when it comes to the declaration of the gospel message of Jesus.

The Word tells us in 2 Timothy 1:7

2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV

7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Listen, if you feel a sense of timidity, fear, or shame regarding sharing the message of the gospel, you need to understand that is the enemy trying to silence you and your faith in Christ. THAT SPIRIT DOES NOT COME FROM GOD!

What Spirit does come from God? Look at the text again.

God gives us a Spirit of power - power that cannot be found in this world.

God gives us a Spirit of love - love that looks beyond the sin and sees the sinner.

God gives us a Spirit of soundness of mind - understanding that is beyond human reasoning.

His Spirit breaks us free from the spirit of this world that would otherwise silence our witness.

If we want to see the power of God on display in the heartland, then we must be willing to drop any and all shame regarding the gospel message that IS the power of God!

Remember… There is no other story or any other source. The power for freedom is Jesus… the power for redemption is Jesus… the power for healing is Jesus… the power for wholeness is Jesus… the power this world needs IS JESUS!

Paul made clear he had no shame regarding this gospel message… as we should have no shame for it as well. And he also recognized that the message was for ALL PEOPLE. Which means this Gospel has…

No Boundaries.

What do I mean by boundaries? Simple. There are no restrictions regarding who should hear this powerful gospel.

The first thing Paul dealt with was any potential boundary within himself. He rid himself of any shame or obstacle.

Next, he recognizes that this gospel message is for ALL people - Jew and gentile. Every man, woman, and child needed to hear this message.

And I can’t help but think that his own experience in Jesus helped to fuel this recognition.

Before he was Paul, he was Saul of Tarsus - a man known throughout the region for his passionate and zealous desire to silence the church of Jesus.

Saul persecuted the church with a very heavy hand. He thought he was doing right in the eyes of the Lord… until the very person he was persecuting showed him otherwise.

Saul had an encounter with Jesus that completely changed the trajectory of his life! Jesus was using a man that tried to stop the church through fear… to fearlessly proclaim the gospel and bring freedom!

IF the gospel had the power to change a man like Saul… it has the power to change any person in this world!

And that is the point!

It doesn’t matter what your past looks like, what your skin color is, what your financial status is, what your education level is… it doesn’t matter if you have it all together or things are continually falling apart. Who you were and where you are makes no difference to Jesus. WHERE YOU ARE GOING IS HIS FOCUS.

Where you are going has everything to do with WHO you are following. When a person hears and applies the gospel to their life, it will change their course on life. It will change who it is you are pursuing.

Maybe you are pursuing wealth. Maybe you are pursuing status. Maybe you are pursuing title. Maybe you are pursuing… just trying to make it to the end of the week! Maybe you are pursuing success. Or like Saul… maybe you are pursuing what you believe to be right.

All of these things places our self at the center. What the gospel will do is… place JESUS at the center.

God wants that for you… and He wants that for every person on this planet!

2 Peter 3:9 tells us in regard to the coming of the Lord

2 Peter 3:9 NIV

9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

God does not want one soul to miss out on the gospel message! ALL PEOPLE MATTER TO GOD. ALL PEOPLE NEED TO HEAR THE GOSPEL.

But… we tend to set boundaries.

Boundaries are often the result of our personal experiences… with people. We might view a person as unworthy of hearing the message.

Truth be told… none of us are worthy of what Jesus did for us… which is why it is such a beautiful and powerful thing!

The thief on the cross next to Jesus on Calvary deserved to be where he was that day. But at the end of the day, because of the power he encountered in Christ, he was in a place that Jesus described as paradise.

None of this is about what we deserve… it is ALL about what God has done DESPITE what we deserve. That is why we call it grace! And that is what makes it so powerful!

There is no other story or any other source. The power for freedom is Jesus… the power for redemption is Jesus… the power for healing is Jesus… the power for wholeness is Jesus… the power this world needs IS JESUS!

So Paul said no shame… no boundaries… and he talked about one more aspect of the gospel I hope we will remember… Paul said the gospel is...

No Secret.

God wants the world to know this message. As it was written in Romans 1:17

Romans 1:17 NIV

17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

“In the gospel the righteousness of God is” what? It is REVEALED. And it is a righteousness that is by FAITH.

Remember in the introduction we talked about how sin separates us from God but the gospel has the power to bring us back into fellowship with the Father.

We need to understand what that means today. A righteous and holy God cannot associate with unrighteous sin-filled people. So how does the gospel message bridge this gap? How is this problem overcome?

Through a process we know as justification. Sin is a very real problem that God cannot overlook. And the only answer for this problem was and is Jesus.

Jesus came to this earth, to take on our sin, and nail it to the cross. Because Jesus was without sin, His blood was sufficient to cover any and all sin. His blood was enough to pay the price we could not pay.

Think about it this way… the righteousness of Christ was revealed as He hung on the cross. He was there… as the spotless Lamb sent to take away the sins of the world. He gave His life as a sacrifice for all sinners.

Now, When we call on the name of the Lord for our salvation, Jesus takes on our sin… and in return, we take on His righteousness - not by works, but by faith.

2 Corinthians 5:21 says it this way

2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV

21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

So Paul declares in Romans that it is no secret… God revealed this to us that our lives might be transformed!

We move from dirty rotten sinner to redeemed, made righteous believer through the blood of the spotless Lamb!

By faith, we call on His name because His blood is the only thing POWERFUL enough to set us free! It is not a secret formula to be protected… it is a revelation from God to be shared! The righteous shall live be FAITH! Faith in the One who gave His life for all mankind!

The Power of God

THAT is the power of God, made available to us through the giving of His Son!

God desires for this entire world to know and live in that power… to experience the transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And that is what we are going to celebrate in a couple of minutes… Those who have said yes… and those who are willing to publically declare “I have decided to follow Jesus.”

Maybe you have not made that decision but would like to. Maybe you have not called on the name of Jesus but would like to. Today, if you are ready to experience the power of God in your life through the gospel message… I want to pray with you.

PRAYER

Close eyes, bow heads, invite for responses.

Offer opportunity for rededication.

Water Baptism

Lastly, we celebrate! If you made a decision for Jesus and you want to follow in His footsteps but didn’t sign up, we have towels you can use… but don’t miss out on this moment.

Let’s give God praise for those who are ready and willing to publically declare their faith in Christ!