Miracles Of Power – Part 2

2:40 gift to support the ministry. Okay, it's time now to return to our study. I titled this message, Miracles of Power. We're in a series on miracles I'm calling Divine Invasions. What are those times that God's power has been on display? Well, first of all, the first period of time was in Moses and Joshua's day, but the generation of miracles isn't over yet. Remember, I said there are four that have already occurred, but there's one yet to come. There's going to be one more period of time that God does miraculous displays of power. They're going to surround Satan and God during the end times. But even though those displays of power are limited to those five times, it seems like, those five periods, that doesn't mean God isn't working today miraculously. He's working in your life and in my life. How do I know that? Listen to the of 40 verse 28. God says, do you not know? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. You may be thinking, well, pastor, I have no trouble believing that. I believe the power of God. What I have trouble believing is that the great God of the universe cares about little old me and my problems. Don't be surprised at that. Tom Constable says it best when he says, God is not too great to care. He's too great not to care. If you don't remember anything else, I've said in this sermon, remember this, the same power of God that is on dramatic display during these five times in history is working in your life right now. But there are four principles that we need to understand if we're going to harness and experience that same miracle working power in our life today. I want you to write these four principles down. Principle number one for experiencing God's power. God's power is primarily for his children. God's power is

4:52 primarily for his children. That doesn't mean non-Christians don't experience the power of God. we have in theology what we call common grace. That's the benefits everybody, believers and unbelievers alike, experience in the world. Jesus said it this way in Matthew 5 45, God causes his son to rise on the evil and the good. He sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteousness. All creation is the beneficiary of God's goodness. But God's power is reserved mainly for Christians, for his own children. I feel a special responsibility to my children and grandchildren. You feel that too. You know why we feel that way? Because we're made in the image of God. God cares especially about his children. And if you want to experience God's miracles in your life, the single greatest thing you can do is become a part of God's family. And you do that by faith. John 1 12 says, as many as received Jesus to those, he gave the privilege to become the children of God, even to those who believe on his name. God's power is primarily reserved for his children. Principle number two, God's power is generated by the Holy Spirit of God. God's power is generated by the Holy Spirit. We'll talk about that in the weeks to come, but two things under that I want you to write down. First of all, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit once for all at our salvation. We are indwelt by the Spirit once for all at our salvation. 1 Corinthians 12, 13 says, for with one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body. The moment you are saved, you receive all, not part, all of the Holy Spirit of God. It's one of the benefits of salvation. We are indwelt by the Spirit one time at our salvation. But statement number two, we are to be controlled by the Spirit continually throughout

6:59 our life. Indwelt once, but continue to be controlled. The word the Bible uses for control Ephesians 5.18 says, do not get drunk with wine for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Holy Spirit. You know, it was the Roman philosopher Seneca who said drunkenness is nothing but voluntary insanity. It is nothing but insane to allow some foreign substance in your life to influence you and control your life and have you make wrong decisions. But guess what? Drunkenness is not the only thing that can control your life. Anything that controls your life other than God is wrong. What controls your life may be TikTok. It may be social media. It might be athletic games. It might be television programs.

7:53 It might be the stock market. Don't let anything control your life except what? The Holy Spirit of God. Be filled with the Spirit. That word fill, plero in Greek, refers to the wind that fills up the mast of a sail ship. That wind fills up that mast and controls the direction of the ship. Paul is saying, let the Holy Spirit be the one who controls the direction of your life. The Scripture gives three commands related to being filled with the Holy Spirit. Number one, walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5.16, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. Secondly, don't grieve the Spirit. Ephesians 4.30, do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by which you were sealed for the day of redemption. When you sin against God, remember you have God in you, the Holy Spirit. When you join in sin, you're asking God to participate with you in sin.

8:52 It's an unthinkable thing. It grieves the Holy Spirit. when you disobey God. Thirdly, don't quench the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God is like a fire. It can be quenched, not only through disobedience, but simply ignoring the Holy Spirit's direction. Remember, Paul said, for all who are led by the Spirit, these are the sons of God. One mark of being a Christian is that the Holy Spirit is giving you direction. Don't ignore his voice. Be filled with the Holy Spirit of God. Principle number three, God's power is amplified by his word. God's power in your life is amplified by his word. Just like this microphone amplifies my voice, so God's word amplifies his spirit. Yes, his spirit is powerful, But when you combine God's Spirit with His Word, it's like 10 times the power.

9:52 It's a booster to God's power, God's Word. They work in tandem together. To just understand the power of the Word of God, listen to Hebrews 4, verse 12. For the Word of God is living, it's active, it is sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing as far as the division of the soul and the spirit. According to Paul, listen to 2 Timothy 3, 16 to 17. All scripture is inspired by God, and it's profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be adequately equipped for every good work. That's the power of the word of God. God's word is God-breathed. It's inspired. You know, I forgot to tell you the end of my story about Billy Graham. listened to him talk. I committed my life, and I thought about the miracle of that night. Have you ever had God do something extra special for you? That night, he did something extra special for me.

10:56 After giving me that spiritual ice cream sundae of all these events, he put a cherry on the top of it. That night, I was leaving the arena like thousands of other students. I got lost, and I found myself backstage in a freight elevator trying to get out. And when I got in that freight elevator, the door opened again and there was Billy Graham. And he had his security guard with him. And he stepped in the elevator. I introduced myself. I told him what his message had meant to me and the commitment I made. He took my spiral notebook that I had. He signed his name and he signed a scripture verse. And I kept that for years and years and years. And anytime I had a doubt about God's Word, I opened that and remembered the commitment that I had made. What was the Scripture verse he wrote down?

11:49 It was this one, 2 Timothy 3, 16 to 17. For all Scripture is inspired by God. And notice the four things that it will do in your life. It's good for teaching. This refers to giving us information. We need to live as a Christian, teaching for reproof. That's God's power to make you conscious of sin in your life. God's Word is like a surgeon's scalpel. It has to cut us before it can bring healing. That's the negative side. The positive side is the third word, correction. God's Word not only convicts us, it corrects us. I like the way the Living Bible says it in verse 16. It straightens us out. shows us the path to go on. And finally, God's Word is sufficient for training, to make obedience to God the rule, not the exception in our life. If you want to see the relationship between the power of God's Spirit and the power of His Word, go to Ephesians chapter 5. Some of you may remember a sermon I preached years ago entitled, How to Take a Spiritual Bath. Ephesians 5 tells us how to do that. It's by the washing of regeneration and the Word. It talks about two things, God, the washing of the water with the Word. God wants to make us spiritually clean. The Word is sanctified.

13:16 He wants us to resemble Jesus Christ in every part of our life. How does He do that miraculous work of sanctification? It's by the washing of water and the Word. Imagine this, it's a hot 110 outside. You've been working in the yard, and you can't wait to get inside and take a shower. And you step into that shower, and you turn the faucet on, and nothing comes out. All you have in that shower is a bar of soap. So you take that bar of dove soap, and you start rubbing it over your body without the water. Can you imagine anything more unpleasant? How long would you want to stay in that shower with just a bar of soap. Imagine getting into the shower, turning it on, and you feel that water washing over you. And oh, it feels so good. You reach for the soap, and Amy forgot to put a bar of soap in it. No, there's no soap at all. You might feel good, but could you really get clean without soap? You need the water, and you need the soap. Paul says to be spiritually clean, we don't need just the soap of God's Word. You know, God's Word without the Holy Spirit at work can be a dry experience. A lot of churches have a lot of Bible study, but no Holy Spirit working.

14:41 It can be a dry experience. If you don't have the Holy Spirit, you're just increasing your level of knowledge. There are other churches that all emphasize experiences with the Spirit of God, but there's no biblical instruction. It's not either or. You need both. You need the washing of the water with the Word. You need the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. That's how you take a spiritual bath. God's work is amplified by His Word. And principle number four, God's power is often accessed through prayer. Many times, God gives us things as a result of our asking for them. Sometimes God does things that we don't ask for him to do, but usually God's power is access through our asking for it. The theologian Karl Barth said it this way, to clasp your hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of this world. James 5, 16 says it this way, the effective prayer of a righteous person accomplishes much. The power of God in prayer. Do you remember how Paul closes Ephesians chapter 3, that prayer he prayed for the Ephesian Christians. He said, now to him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. I want you to notice and write down just real briefly these three statements that come from that prayer. They may be an encouragement to you.

16:31 First of all, God is able to do. Now to him who is able to do. Remember that chorus we used to sing, God is able, he is able. God is able. God himself said it this way, is there anything too hard for me. I am the Lord, your creator. God is able to do. Ladies and gentlemen, the only limit to what God can do in your life is according to the working of his power, Paul said. Now to him who is able to do according to the working of his power, the miracles God wants to do in your life, the only limit to them is the limit to the power of God. Is God's power limited in any way? No. I mean, think about how powerful God is. God is so powerful, he was able to fling this entire universe into existence by a single word of his.

17:25 God's power will be seen one day when we are raised from the dead to live with him forever and ever. The power of God is going to be the agent that creates the new heaven and the new earth. Ladies and gentlemen, God is able to do. There is nothing that is too hard for God. Secondly, God is able to do what we ask or imagine. God is able to do what we ask or sometimes even what we imagine. Do you have anything in your life right now you want God to do so badly that you almost hesitate to ask him? Something that is so breathtaking that you simply think, I can't ask God for that. I can only imagine that. in my life. Something supernatural I'm asking God to do, but sometimes I hesitate to voice it. I can just imagine that God says he's able to do what we ask or even imagine. But not only that, God is not just able to do. He's not just able to do what we ask or imagine. He is able to do above and beyond. He is able to do exceeding, abundantly beyond, the King James says.

18:42 exceeding abundantly beyond. That's so funny. Paul got worked up, and he was trying to describe the indescribable power of God, and he searched for a Greek word, and there was no word. So, he made one up. He took three Greek words that are translated exceeding abundantly and beyond, and he strung those words together into one nonsense word. It's kind of like supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. It just expresses something. He came up with one word that expresses God's ability to do above and beyond. That's the power of God. He can do beyond anything you could ever ask or even imagine. Dr. Criswell, as only Dr. Criswell could do, described it in his book, The Ableness of God. He said, could we ask too much from God? Who would have dared to ask in redemption for God to come down in human flesh and die on the cross for our sins? Who would have dared to ask such a thing? Who would have dared to ask God for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the very presence we feel in our souls? Who would dare have asked God to adopt us into his family so that we could be the children of God? Who in the hour of his death would dare ask God for a resurrection from the dead. Think of the dissolution of our bodies and that they're mingled with the dust of the ground and blown about by the wind and the roots go down and take its substance and strength. Yet God says he marks the spot where we die.

20:15 God marks our dust. He marks the very atoms and particles and molecules of our bodies. And someday God will raise them up. Who would have ever dared to ask God for a resurrection dead and in the renovation, who would have dared ask God for a new heaven and a new earth? Dear brethren, above all that we ask or think, God is able. And to him be honor in the church and in Christ Jesus for all generations forever and ever and ever. Amen.

20:59 The God who is able to raise the dead, who is able to speak a new heaven and a new earth into being, that's the God who stands ready to work in your life. But most maturing Christians have never learned how to lay hold of that power. That's exactly why I wrote Divine Invasions. In my book, I take these truths off the page and put them into your hands.

22:14 When you give to support Pathway to Victory, you help set discouraged believers free to expect great things from a great God again. Would you stand with me? Thanks so much for getting in touch today. Here's David to tell you more. You're invited to request a hardcover copy of Dr. Jeffress's brand new book, Divine Invasions, when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. Just call 866-999-2965, visit ptv.org, or you could text PTV to 78800. And when your gift is $100 or more, we'll also send you, in addition to the book, this month's teaching series on audio and video disc, along with the companion study guide. To request these resources, call 866-999-2965 or make your request online at ptv.org. You could send your donation and request by mail to P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222.

23:19 That's P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. And now it's time for a special edition of Ask Dr. Jeffress. Dr. Jeffress stopped by the studio recently to answer a question from one of our listeners. Does God promise to provide for our financial needs? Well, I think about Philippians 4, verse 19, Paul said, For my God shall supply all your needs according to the riches of Christ Jesus. And so that seems like a pretty clear promise. He didn't say, My God shall supply all your greeds, but your needs. And that seems to be the general pattern that God promises to take care of our basic provisions. Now, sometimes that doesn't happen. And it may be God's will for you to go through a time of spiritual poverty or financial poverty. But for most of us, God will promise to meet our needs.

24:14 Now, not all the time, but some of the time, people's lack of finances is because they're violating the biblical principles of money. They go into debt, or they spend more than they make, or they don't save for the future. God commands us to do all of those things to meet the needs that we have. I think about the story of Joseph. Joseph was the right-hand man to Pharaoh, and God gave Joseph a vision of what was going to happen in Egypt, that there were going to be seven years of plentiful harvest followed by seven years of famine. And he instructed Joseph to set aside a portion of the grain during the bountiful harvest so that it would be available to the Egyptians when the time of famine came. And you know, God has said the same to each of us. There's going to come a time when our outgo exceeds our income. It may be retirement.

25:08 It may be a sickness, a problem. So right now, if we have enough, we need to set aside some money for the future. That's what Proverbs 6 says. when it comes to finances, certainly pray for God to meet your needs, not your greeds, but your needs, but also follow the wisdom of scripture when it comes to handling the money that God does bless you with.