United to Power

I am more convinced than ever that:

True power does not come being close to secular leaders. True power comes from understanding and Living the Love of God.

Everywhere you look today it seems that people hungry for power as the world describes it…and in order to secure that power they are playing a game of divide and conquer.

If one can cause enough division in a cause or group it makes it easier for others to either step into power or convince others to join their group or cause.

We have seen this play out throughout history. The siege of Leningrad is and example where Germany had enlisted help from two other countries to attack Leningrad from two opposite directions while they attacked from yet a third direction.

This split the Russian forces up and made it nearly impossible to defend the city by not allowing Russia to mount a significant defence.

This is a merciless yet effective way to overcome a superior force and ultimately defeat your opponents.

However if power is secured this way there is always at least a hint of disunity moving forward. This can lead to a constant state of insecurity for people and defensiveness.

Insecurity plus defensiveness is a terrible mixture for the Church. Mostly becuase the Church is supposed to mirror Jesus. Jesus was never insecure nor was he ever defensive.

When we take on these attributes we tend to feel the need to fight to protect or advance God’s kingdom in worldly ways.

I once finished a message on the power of the love of God and someone came to me and said....all I hear about is love, love, love…what we really need to hear is how to lead or world back to Jesus.

This bothered me for several reasons but the biggest reason was that this person really thought that the way to overcome the evil in this world was to fight it like you and I would fight a conventional war.

I firmly believe that:

Fighting fire with fire is truly a secular way to understand real power.

As Christians we cannot engage in mean spirited attacks socially, politically or ecclesiastically and maintain any credibility as ambassadors of Jesus to the world around us.

In fact real power comes from a place that the world can and probably will never understand.

Scripture Tells us that unlimited Power Comes from understanding the unlimited Love of God.

Ephesians 3:14-21

Ephesians 3:14–21 NLT

14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. 20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

1. Paul is not asking the Father to give the readers of this passage human strength, political clout, or financial influence.

These are the types of power that humankind seeks and are the products of fallen human nature. What Paul desires for his readers is the dynamic power of God which finds its source only in God.

2. The Holy Spirit is the means by which God grants us wisdom and discernment, direction and rebuke when appropriate. Yes sometimes rebuke...

3.Christianity is an internal experience. God is far more concerned with what is going on inside us than outside.

The reason being is that whatever is naturally happening on the outside of the person is a direct reflection of what is happening on the inside.

Worldly people and to be honest immature Christians have trouble understanding this concept, as we often place our emphasis on the more noticeable of the two, resulting in confusion and hypocrisy.

4. In an age that is always asking for the “bottom line,” Paul lists his as the first request. Paul is asking for God’s gift of power so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith (Eph. 3:17). The Greek word for dwell here is used only three times by Paul in his writings.

It means a permanent dwelling, as opposed to a visit or sojourning. Paul desperately wants the readers to be empowered within so that Christ will permanently dwell there.

In order for you and I to be that permanent dwelling we must take more care in understanding ...how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is instead of looking for ways to win the argument.

God’s people maintain focus on the unconditional love of God in situation where they may be tempted to fight fire with fire.

Refuse to let others “Make” you angry.

19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. James 1:19-20

As we listen to other and allow the Holy Spirit to dictate our response we practice righteousness.

As we embrace this practice we will experience the permanent Glory or Presence of God in our personal life and in the life of our Church.

Imagine if you can with me a group of believers United To the Power of the Love of God?

Instead of being the center of controversy we can be the origin of peace.

Instead of being seen as a place for the self righteous…we could be seen as a refuge for a world in need.

God wants us to be a people that are United to the Power of Love. This power will always lead to feelings of belonging and openness among God’s people.

I know this sounds very idealistic…but this is what God’s power looks like. It is time that the Church of Jesus Christ abandon worldly concepts of power and live in a power that has already defeated the world.

There is no better way to contemplate this type of existence than to connect to Jesus around the Table.

Jesus in establishing this sacrament has shown us the Power of Love in action...

Communion Liturgy