Draw Your Strength from the Lord and in His Mighty Power

 

2 Corinthians 5:15-17, “And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh [human origin and empowerment]. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!”

As part of this, we get a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26) and that the Spirit will renew our thoughts and attitudes over time so we can live according to our new nature, like God—truly right and holy (Ephesians 4:23-24).

As part of this, we want to put aside the old ways of darkness and sin that include lies, anger, stealing, jealously, envy, lust, greed, foul language, being unhelpful, closed handed, harsh, arrogant, judging and negative about others, flattering, discouraging to others or unforgiving and on and on.

Ephesians 4:17, “With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.”

Instead, we are to live as people of the light, filled with love, producing only what is good and benefits others while being thankful to God in all things and singing spiritual songs in our heart and to others. Ephesians 5:8 says, “For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of the light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.”

We are not to bring sorrow to the Holy Spirit, grieving Him by living in darkness, but instead, live in a way that pleases the Lord that is in the power of the Spirit. This power, renewing our minds, freeing us from the bondage of sin, providing us guidance, and equipping us for good works that are according to God’s will and a reflection of Him as we live our lives.

Romans 8:11-13 says, that the powerful Spirit who raised Christ miraculously from the dead is now living in you. And if He lives in you, He will also infuse your life with this miraculous power. Therefore, we have an obligation not to live any longer according to our old human nature that ultimately leads to death, but according to the powerful Spirit working in us, letting Him free us to live like Christ in putting on our new nature.

While living a life of love and putting to death to the flesh are ones I know and have heard over and over and know are part of living out the gospel in my life, the one that has been settling on me lately is living according to His power working in us. Especially as time is getting shorter, God also needs us to use the powerful gifts that He gave us so that we have His powerful impact on the world.

Romans 12:6-8 (ESV) says, “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”

1 Corinthians 12:7-11 (ESV) says, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.”

Having been given the power of the Spirit but denying the gifts of the Spirit and not using them is hiding our talents. It is like being given $1B in cash and receiving the gift but then, because it seems to good to be true, denying to ourselves that we have it and then never spending it. We are hiding and burying what we have been given rather than opening the gift and genuinely receiving and embracing it. In this, we cannot see it grow, multiply, or impact others.

In denying it and living according to the world order, we might think we are being noble as we are choosing the higher cause of love. But if love can actually impact and change people’s lives with healing, deliverance, and freedom, are we really being loving to stand back and just give them our loose change? Like Peter with the man at Gate Beautiful, we need to forget about the change and give them what they need. We are also not fully embracing the gift of the Holy Spirit to not embrace the gifts of the Spirit.

Those who are wise, realize that Jesus is always willing to give us what both stretches our faith and is going to bless others and love others well. He always answers, “I am willing.” Therefore, in apportioning to each on according to what He wills, He gives much to those who ask with a right heart. This is why we see some people flowing in all the gifts of the Spirit and others flowing in none. Some do not want the gifts or do not have the right heart about it. Others are hungry for the things of God.

And, as the verse in Romans 12 notes, it is in exercising them by faith that we use (spend) them. We believe the Holy Spirit is inside us, has equipped us with gifts and exercise them to bless others. He gifts of the Sprit operate by faith. We enact them because we believe we have received them and operate out of His Kingdom realm rather than the worldly and fleshly realm.

I am taking a course recently on renewing the mind and realizing more and more how I live underneath what God has given and according to this world so much more than He would have for me. I often live with a lack of faith, going through life mundanely, and not anticipating His power to meet me.

One author through this course writes, “Faith is not being in denial of the facts. It is having an ability to see the facts through the reality of God’s faithfulness and supernatural ability to perform what He has promised. Living in the Kingdom of God means living in a brand-new reality. Our new reality is that the natural realm is subject to the realm of God and His Word.”[1]

Do we live as nothing is impossible with God? We are to live according to the Spirit’s power. We have unlimited capacity within us to love, serve and give. Do we really see this? Paul says in Ephesians 6:10 to not only be strong in the Lord but in His mighty power. We are not fighting against flesh and blood but against evil rulers and authorities in an unseen world.

How can we battle an unseen world with weapons of this world? Given that this kingdom is under the rule and force of evil, how is it that we would use forces from this world to fight against them? This is exactly why we need the power of God in our lives to both stand and to take the ground. Probably why we see so many Christians that are sitting down or asleep. They are not walking in the power of God and are being plummeted by forces they are defenseless against without it.

There was a time that I was trying to get my husband saved. He did not know the Lord and I tried to accommodate him in his unsaved desires of how I should be as a wife, thinking I may be able to help him become saved. Instead of using the power of God, I was trying to use worldly influence. He had been complaining about me not watching TV shows that I used to see with him so I began watching all his stuff with him. I tried to live life like he expected in hopes it would convince him to love Jesus. This was the biggest mistake of my life. It made me miserable. I ended up in a terrible place, distant from God and feeling lethargic.

All that to say that it was not a battle to be won by earthly means. Going along and chasing after him did not cause me to gain ground but lose ground. When I realized this and turned around, I began to see things change. He changed not by my going along, but by the power of the Spirit being interjected in our lives. As I followed the Spirit, stood on the Word of God in faith, and pursued the Lord with my whole heart, my husband came to know the Lord. The answer was in the total opposite direction. I recently had a dream about this veil being removed. It was between the natural world and the Kingdom world. This old man just came by and took it down and the glory shined in. My prayer from this is that we would live in the glory and open heaven that is given to us. Just recently, my eyes have been opened to how the gospel is to be lived out by Christians in the power of God. Not living in the fullness of the power and doing things according to the world’s order is like trying to get my husband saved by doing things unsaved people do-- it is ineffective. As we live according to His Kingdom, we need to live by Kingdom principles and in Kingdom ways. Like the spies sent out to the Promised Land, our minds need to be renewed to see things differently through the Word of God and according to the Lord’s power rather than our natural capabilities. And as the world has become darker and the forces of evil stronger, we need all the more to walk in the power of the Lord. It is what the world around us needs. Lord, our armor that we are to put on comes from You and is spiritual. It is by the Spirit and in faith that we put it on so that we can stand firm. In the midst of it, we are to pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion –another spiritual weapon. Open our eyes to see and walk into the fullness of the power You have for us. Let us be strong in You and Your mighty power (Ephesians 6:10).

Wendy Backlund. Victorious Emotions (Kindle Locations 330-332).