THE POWER YOU NEED

Hello beloved friends. It’s a pleasure to reach you here again today. May I take this opportunity to appreciate all who called to encourage us and to commend the messages as impacting and transformational. Please, note that our aim is not to give you information on Christian Religion – but to activate transformation that produces righteous fruit in individuals. On that note I encourage you to obey the Word of GOD which has coded in it the ability to transform life and deliver from conformity to the world.

Today’s message is titled, The power You Need.

THE POWER YOU NEED

Our bible reading will be taken from The Book of Acts chapter 1:4-8

Acts 1:4-8

⁴ And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; ⁵ for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” ⁶ Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷ And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. ⁸ But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Let us Pray.

PRAYER

Our FATHER and our GOD, YOU have all power – all power belongs to YOU: all authority belongs to YOU. Today, O GOD our FATHER, we pray that YOU will expose us to the power we need…in The Mighty Name of JESUS CHRIST. Amen!

“The Power You need” is the title of this message. Who does not need power? Everyone wants some kind of power. Politicians sometimes hire thugs who kill because their subjects want political power. People patronized sorcerers, witches and wizards, and occultic men: because they want power to be rich, to control others or to be feared or to be respected.

In Owerri, sometime ago, two young men ran into our church – our church auditorium, at about 1 a.m. during an all-night prayer session. It was on a Friday Night, and the election was to hold the next day. Members were frozen, when the two young men entered into the church at that time. My colleague and myself who are pastors were apprehensive. We thought they were armed – they were armed robbers. The young men joined in singing and clapping. And at about 5 a.m. I asked them about their identity. It was then they said they were housed in a nearby hotel. There were many thugs. At about 12 midnight they briefed them on their assignment the next day. They were given N400000 each; and to their greatest amazement a shotgun was given to each person, with ammunition. The assignment was to go and snatch ballot boxes, kill any person who resists. All this was because someone wanted to be governor. He wants to have power. The boys said they scaled, a wall threw away the gun…and saw that our door was open at that time, they ran in.

While we were filled with fear they too were afraid we were going to call in the police. They said they had never handled a gun before – not to talk of shooting a human being.

People do a lot to gain power. The most perplexing is the wrong notion of power held by Christians. The perspective of many people is not different from that of Simon The Sorcerer. In The Book of Acts chapter 8, you will read about this sorcerer. Acts 8:9-13

Simon the Sorcerer: he played his magic on The People of Samaria. Let me read that portion.

Acts 8 – let me read from verse 9.

Acts 8:9-13

⁹ But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, ¹⁰ to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.” ¹¹ And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. ¹² But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. ¹³ Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.

Simon the Sorcerer played magic on The People of Samaria; but when Philip the Evangelist showed up with the genuine and real Power of GOD Simon quickly offered money to The Apostles to buy the new brand of power they were wielding. Most people, including Christians, think that power is for display. They think that power will make one important and make people to respect the person.

Yes: that is in conformity with the world’s standard. But this was a mindset of Simon The Sorcerer; this was why he was willing to offer money to buy the gift of GOD. Do you notice he got a raw deal from The Apostles.

In Acts 8:18-21 – let me read what happened to him.

Acts 8:18-21

¹⁸ And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, ¹⁹ saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

²⁰ But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money!

²¹ You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. ²² Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. ²³ For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”

That’s how they dealt with Simon The Sorcerer. Power is not to make us important. We are already important GOD, by The Blood of JESUS CHRIST. We’re already Priests and kings of GOD. We’re already Children of GOD. We’re servants of GOD. There is a caveat on any child of GOD: touch not The LORD’s anointed; and do The Prophets of GOD no harm. Our main text says, “You shall receive power, after The HOLY SPIRIT is come up on you.

What is the purpose for receiving power?

1. Power is to make us effective in the service of The Kingdom. The first purpose of power from GOD is to make us effective in the service of The Kingdom of GOD.
2. Specifically, power is to help us carry the message of JESUS to our world. Power! We receive power from on high, so that we can carry out the message of JESUS to all the world.

Friends, any other purpose for power will make our prayer ineffectual. Yes – any search for power other than to be effective in the work of the Kingdom will bother on occultism, witchcraft and the rest.

My friends, GOD is willing to bless you with power. But we must assure HIM that it is for HIS purpose and glory alone. Are you seeking for power? Ask that by it you will live a victorious life over sin. Ask that you will live a victorious life over sin, over Satan and over circumstances. Ask for power to be a worthy ambassador off HIS Kingdom.

3. GOD wants people who will represent HIM here on earth. Power is given to such people to be worthy ambassador of The kingdom of GOD. Again, we need to ask for power to draw people to The LORD JESUS CHRIST, not to ourselves. Power is to enable us draw people to our LORD JESUS CHRIST, point people to our LORD JESUS CHRIST – and not to attract people to ourselves.

4. We need to pray that The LORD will give us power so that we’ll be effective Witnesses for HIM…for power – so that you will be an effective witness, you will be a testimony to the power and the workings of our LORD JESUS CHRIST.

That’s the power you need! That’s the power you need.

Let us pray.

PRAYER

Our Heavenly HEAVENLY FATHER, YOU have made available unto us all The Power of The HOLY SPIRIT, to enable us to be effective in representing YOU here on earth; to be effective in witnessing to YOUR Power. To be effective in being Priest and Kings unto YOU. As many, O GOD our FATHER, as are seeking genuinely the Power from On High, I pray, O GOD, that YOU bestow upon them The power of The HOLY SPIRIT, that will not only make them bold to be witnesses unto YOU, but also to live victoriously here on earth…in JESUS Mighty Name we pray. Amen!