The Power of the Spirit

The question has been raised, “What power do I, as an individual, really have?” That’s an interesting question, and well worth some discussion.

Many times we feel that we are essentially nothing. God created us, yet, He is so much greater than we are . King David once wrote that he was a worm, and no man. The Scripture says that His thoughts are not our thoughts, nor His ways our ways. He is so far beyond what we are capable of… Yet, Jesus said that he has given us power; He even said that we would do greater works than the ones that He did. John 1:12 says that we have the power to become sons of God. We are given some indication of that power in the Gospels; it says that Jesus sent them out two-by-two, and told them not to take anything with them, and yet, when they returned, they attested that they had lacked nothing. Further, Apostle Paul told us that he could do all things in Christ Jesus. And yet, Jesus Himself said that He could do nothing of Himself. Of course, Colossians 2:9 tells us exactly what was in Christ’s physical body to allow Him to do the miracles that He did.

So, you may ask, how do we obtain that power? In Acts 1:8, Jesus told the disciples that they would receive power when the Holy Ghost was come upon them (which it did, in Acts 2:4Acts Chapter 2). Does that mean that one has to speak in tongues to receive that power? Again, that is an entirely different subject; certainly there is power in knowing that God has taken control of your tongue and made words come out of your mouth that you didn’t even understand (you know that God has complete control over you when that happens), but, what about someone who is mute? There is a power from on high that doesn’t involve speaking in tongues. So, to receive that power, ask for it in Jesus’ Name. Of course, you have to ask in faith believing; if you don’t believe, then you won’t receive.

Understand also that there is power in the spoken word. James warned us that the tongue, though a small member, can do a lot of damage, or a lot of good, depending upon how it is used. James also told us that you can tell a lot about a man by how well he can control his tongue. In Mark Chapter 11, Jesus saw a fig tree off in the distance that had leaves on it, and, although figs were not in season, usually leaves grow on fig trees at about the same time that the tree bears fruit. When Jesus got to the tree, however, there were no figs on it, and He told the tree, “No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever.” (This could be taken as a warning to avoid the appearance of bearing fruit unless one actually is bearing fruit, but that’s a completely different subject). The next day, the disciples came by that same tree, and were amazed to see that it had withered and died. Jesus went on to tell them that they had the power to move mountains, just by telling the mountain to move. Now, if we have His Spirit in us, then our words can have devastating effect. Of course, if the Spirit is truly in us, then God should be working in us to do His good pleasure. That doesn’t mean that if you call yourself a Christian, then you can do no wrong, but it does mean that if you stay prayed up, and continue to seek God’s will for your life, and you allow yourself to be used of God, then you will only mess up when you get sidetracked, and forget whose you are. That’s one of those human traits.