H i s  P o w e r

Pastor Eric Maxwell
Written down by Eric Xu

(Philippians 3:10 and 11:18-20)

We’re still trying to work through this verse here, Philippians chapter 3:10, and we’ve covered the first part of it, which says, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”  We’ve been working on this verse and the part, “I want to know Christ”, and if you guys have been able to be here for the past few weeks, we’ve made some discoveries about Jesus, and actually we can study it further by studying who our Lord Jesus is and attaching it to different descriptions of him of who he is, and we can learn to follow him.

Now some of these things we’ve covered so far are that we’ve seen he was focused, we’ve seen that he had integrity, we saw that he was attentive to the Father’s voice and that he listened to the Father, and then the last thing that we covered last week was that he was compassionate. We talked about having compassion, and the idea of “Do we have compassion in our own lives? Do we look beyond peoples’ situations?  Do we look beyond the stereotype, and do we really understand and look at people the way Jesus looks at people, and He sees the true plight of humanity”.

So we talked about that last week and this week we’re going to move on in this verse from the part where Paul says, “I want to know Christ”, to the part where he says, “I want to know the power of his resurrection”. Now lets go ahead and flip over to Ephesians chapter 1, and I’m going to read verses 18 through 20. It says this, “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened”, this is Paul praying for them, “in order that you may know the hope for which he called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which is extorted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.”

Let’s pray together: 

“Father, I thank you for this morning, and I thank you Father, for your word.  I thank you, Father, for allowing us to worship you in freedom. I thank you, Father, that you are concerned about us, that you want us to be back in right relationships with you and most of all I thank you for sending Jesus to die for us, and I thank you that we have the opportunity to be back in a right relationship with you because of what Jesus has done. So father, I pray that you’ll help us to understand more about Jesus, and Lord Jesus I pray that we will be found as faithful followers of you here, and Father, as we look at this subject today I pray that you would open our eyes and open our hearts to help us understand what it is that Scripture is saying, and Father, help us to have the courage to be obedient to what it is that the Holy Spirit lays on our hearts and how we are convicted. I pray Father God, that you would just give us the courage to repent where we need to repent, and Father I pray that you would help us just to walk according to your word, and according to your will. I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Now today we’re following along here where Paul says that not only does he want to know Christ, but also the power of His resurrection. It’s easy for us to find abuses of power throughout history, and it’s even pretty easy for us to find abuses of power in the Bible itself and in the history of the church. I’m sure that I could, very quickly, get people to give some examples of abuses of power throughout history and throughout the church itself, and even in some places in the Bible. I think power is something that we all long to have, and we all kind of want to be our own kings and queens of our own little kingdoms and “queendoms”. We want to have the power in our place. For some of you, it might be your room at home! That is your place of power and you want to have power over whether you clean it, or whether you put stuff on the walls, or whether you leave food in there, or whatever it is that you want. For some of you here your kingdom may be your car! You can do whatever you want to with your car. For some of you it may be your cubicle at work! Or maybe it is your home! You’re the king or queen of your home! But we all tend to want to have power. It’s a very attractive and appealing thing to people. Life would teach us that to gain power it takes cunning, craftiness, and a little bit of shrewdness to do whatever it takes to gain power. It might’ve taken a little bit of luck, and a little bit of family heritage probably plays into the ability to have power.

But when we are dealing with the kingdom of God, we find that power is really, when we look at the Bible, what? It seems a little bit unsettling when we understand what power means in the kingdom of God. The world is really turned on its head, it talks about things like “to gain, you must lose”, or, “to get, you must give up”. The New Testament ethic is basically “if you’re going to be somebody then you’re going to be a nobody”. So when you start studying the Bible, you’ll start studying this issue  of power. It’s hard to understand because our common understanding of power is very different from the Biblical understanding of what power is, and what it talks about here. No, power is not something that is very foreign to the Bible. Really, the good and the bad are found here, and one interesting thing that really tells me that, by my own personal opinion, the Bible is really true because the bad is not hidden in the Bible. I mean, it is all there, both the good and the bad. When we look at the Old Testament, we see the kings vying for power, and they resorted to all kinds of evil methods to gain power, whether it’s killing off a family or doing all kinds of craziness. So we see all kinds of issues of power throughout the Scriptures, but also I have to say that we see power where we see God speaking creation into being, and we see the parting of the Red Sea, and we see the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal where we see the power of God. And so, as I began to think about and look at this verse where Paul said, “I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection” I began thinking about this issue of power. How often it’s something we really seek after in life! Whether you want to be the CEO of a company or whether you want to be the best basketball player that you can be, whatever it is, we want to be in a powerful position where you can point at someone and say, “you go here” or “you go do this” and have authority. But how does this apply to us as Christians, as God’s followers, as Jesus’ followers? Because Paul was actually saying here, “I want to know the power of His resurrection”

And there are a couple things I want to share with you this morning. One thing I really was made aware of as I was studying this scripture, this first thing is this: that the power Paul was asking about here and wanting to know is very specific. It’s very specific. Alright, let’s look at it here. “ I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection.” Now who was the ‘His’ that he’s talking about here? Jesus. And I was you to catch this in this verse because he’s not talking about just the power that is necessary to raise somebody from the dead. Paul is not sitting here saying, “Hey I want to be able to raise people from the dead. I want to know this power, have this power, and therefore be able to do those things.” In the New Testament we come across a story of a guy by the name of Lazarus who died. Remember, and Jesus came a little bit too late, he died, and he was in the tomb, and Jesus came and resurrected him. We have that story. We also have the story of our Lord Jesus, who was crucified, who was dead, who was buried, but then was also resurrected. Now those two resurrections are very different. And the way that they’re different is this: when Lazarus was raised from the dead, he lived his life, and he did what? He died again.  When Jesus died, he was resurrected; He did not die again. He was resurrected where he went and ascended into heaven and He sits at the Father’s right hand as scripture tells us. So this power that he’s talking about is a very specific resurrection power and it is the resurrection power that is only found in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Now what does this mean? What is the power of His resurrection? What do you think Paul’s meaning here? Help me out. Paul’s asking for something here, what is he asking for? “The power of His resurrection.” “I want to know Christ and I want to know the power of his resurrection.” I mean, was Paul making a power grab? Did he just want to have these supernatural capabilities and abilities? Was that what he was asking for? What does it mean, “the power of His resurrection”?

Here’s the first thing that’s declared. This has been declared: that death has been overcome. Death has been overcome. There’s hope for eternal life. First of all, we see here when we look at this power here, the power of His resurrection is found in the fact that death has been overcome. The second thing is this: You’re sins have been forgiven. That is the power of Jesus’ resurrection. Most of the time when we think about this idea of power, it’s what God does through me. That’s not the reality. The reality is what God has done in me. And the fact of the matter is that in Jesus’ resurrection, the power is that death has been overcome. That when you trust in Him, that when you pass from this physical life, you can live forevermore. And the second thing is this, is that your sins have been forgiven. Turn over to First Corinthians chapter fifteen. This whole chapter is talking about the resurrection of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the resurrection body. A great chapter, but in verse seventeen it says this, “If Christ had not been raised, your faith is futile. You are still in your sins.” That is the power of Christ’s resurrection. Because he was resurrected, our sins are able to be forgiven. It’s not enough that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. And we say that all the time, we use that terminology. “Jesus died on the cross for our sins”, and that is correct, but you need to add on to that that He was resurrected also. If our Lord Jesus was still in tomb today, He would not be a Savior. He would be like anyone else. But because He died on the cross, He was perfect, and He was resurrected, there is forgiveness for sins. So this power Paul was asking for is very specific. It’s asking for the resurrection power that was Jesus’, the power to overcome death and forgive sins.

What does this mean for us? I mean, you’re saying “Great, Eric, it’s great that you’re telling me this, but what does this mean for my life?” The first implication is this: That the future has hope. The power, really understand that the power of Jesus’ resurrection, is that our future has hope. And you live your life out of that hope that you have because there is a future. Look down there to verse nineteen. First Corinthians chapter fifteen verse nineteen says this, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” And that’s the point of this. The Point of the declaration that we have overcome death, that we have overcome sins because of what Christ has done on the cross for us; the implication is that we have a future and that we have a hope for when we pass from this life. The second implication is this: That life can be different now. And I think this is where it hits us today. Life can be different now. Your perspective can change. The way you see things can change. Your behavior can change. Your attitudes can change because Jesus was resurrected from the dead. Death has been overcome, your sins have been forgiven, you have a hope and a future, and you have the ability right now for your life to be radically different. A lot of people go through life, kind of walk through life. They go, “Yeah, I’m a Christian, I’m saved”, but if you were to talk to them, you wouldn’t know any different. I mean, they don’t sound much like Christ. They don’t look much like Christ. They wear a frown all the time; they’re kind of down in the mouth all the time. And a lot of people have this idea that one day when I get to heaven, I will be perfected, and that is true. Scripture teaches us that. But a lot of people go through life never making strides to becoming more like Christ, and never taking hold of the power that Paul was talking about. “I want to know Christ, and I want to know the power of His resurrection”. The implication here is that your life can be different now. No longer do we have to be slaves to the things that lead us to spiritual death. Scripture talks about the sins that so easily entangle us. You know what that sin is in your life. That thing you keep going back to God with, going “God I messed up again, forgive me”. You know what it is. But there is victory because Jesus is resurrected.

Here’s the second point. First of all, the power is very specific. Second thing is that this power is offered to all believers. Turn over to Ephesians chapter one. So we have in Philippians chapter three, Paul wanting to have this power in his life. And one of the coolest things here is that now he’s at the church in Ephesus, and he’s writing a letter to them, and he’s sending it to them, this letter, and he’s praying the same things that he wanted in his life for the people in Ephesus. And it says in here in verse eighteen, “May the eyes of your heart be enlightened so that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints.” So he wants them to know the hope, but he also wants them to know, in verse nineteen, “His incomparable great power for those of us who believe”. And then he explains what that power is. He says, “That power is like the working of his mighty strength which he exerts when He raises Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand and in the heavenly realms.” The point I’m making to you this morning is that this power is offered to you as a believer. Paul was praying that for the Ephesians.  Paul not only wanted that for his own life, but he wanted it in the lives of the churches that he had founded. He was wanting for that to be seen in their lives.

So what did that mean in the life of Paul? Paul wanted to see it displayed in his own life. What did that mean for him? Inwardly, that meant he was being transformed, becoming more like Christ. Outwardly, he was giving glory to God, he was bringing others to Christ, and God was receiving glory through it all. So Paul said, “I want to know the power of His resurrection”, and then he not only wanted to know that, but he also thought it well enough to pray for the Ephesian believers the same thing. So we realize that this power is offered to each of us. This power is not so that we can boost our ego. It’s not so that we gain superpowers. But the power of His resurrection is found simply in the fact that death has been overcome. That should make you shout Hallelujah! It should make you praise the Lord. That’s enough! I don’t need special powers! What I’ve been given is enough. Living out of the knowledge that death has been overcome and your sins have been forgiven, your life will be powerful. Your life will have tremendous impact on people’s lives if you will simply live within that knowledge knowing Jesus has overcome. Jesus has overcome, and because He has overcome, I am an over comer too. My sins have been forgiven, my past is done with, I have a future hope, and guess what, I’m looking forward to the day when I see my Lord face to face, but for the here and now, I’m going to seek to be like Him. The here and now can be different. That’s what Paul was saying.

Here’s the application of today’s message. Are you a display of God’s power?  Don’t misunderstand me; I’m not talking about you walking around healing people, or you walking around with special abilities to drive out demons or any of those things. Are you a display of God’s power? In my home in Louisiana where I grew up, my mom collected small things, figurines, stuff like that. I remember in our living room, we had this case. It’s called a curio cabinet. Don’t know how many of you are familiar with a curio cabinet. Basically, it had glass on three sides, and it had these little shelves and lights. Basically, she put things in there to show them off. We were never to touch it. Because, I mean, it would get broken if we were to touch it. We could get up close to it and look at it, but we had to keep our hands off of it. So those things inside the cabinet were displayed. They were on display for me to look at. I couldn’t touch them, but I could look at them. And I liked looking at them. Because really deep inside of me I wanted to open up and touch them, and get them out, right? But the point is that they were on display and I was looking at them. The question this morning is, “are you a display of God’s power”? Not that you go around healing people, not that you go around driving out demons, but that you are on display showing that God’s power has overcome in your life. Your sins have been forgiven. That your testimony is shared: “you know what? I used to struggle with this, and God overcame that in my life; He can do the same in your life”. That is just as powerful as healing someone from sickness, or driving a demon out, or whatever else we can talk about.

Turn over to Luke chapter ten verse seventeen. Luke chapter ten verse seventeen. This is what is says here in Luke chapter ten; Jesus send out the seventy-two. And they come back to him. “The seventy-two return with joy saying, ‘Lord! Even the demons submit to us in your name!’” So these guys were on a power trip. Now Jesus told them to go out and cast out demons and heal the sick and preach the kingdom and all these things, He told them to do. When they got back, they were pumped up. That’s what it says here, “Lord! Even the demons submit to us in Your name!” Listen to what Jesus told them. He said this, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority over snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you.” Listen to verse twenty. “However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names have are written in heaven.” Are you a display of God’s power? Don’t get full of yourself, saying “God’s doing supernatural wonderful things through me.” It should be the fact of the matter is, “Look at me. Look at where I was. And look at what God’s done in me” and that is your testimony. Don’t rejoice in the display of power, because that’s what they were rejoicing in! “Hey, we were able to cast out demons!” They were rejoicing in that. But what did Jesus tell them? That they should rejoice in the testimony that they have because of God’s power. He tells them, “You rejoice because your name is written in heaven.” That is why you should rejoice. That should be your testimony. And that is powerful. And if, on the side, God gives you supernatural powers to do some of that other stuff, then glory to God! But the first place you need to be living out of is what God has done in your life, and allow that to be powerful.

All right, this is the challenge. Will you pray? Today, will this be your prayer as we come to our time of response? Will you pray, “Lord, I want to know the power of our Lord’s resurrection in my life. I want to know His power. I don’t want to wait until heaven to be transformed by that power; I want to be transformed now. Because? Not that I want to have a power trip, but because I want to see Your name glorified.” Is that your prayer today? Will you be willing to pray this today? Guys, this may be even more difficult because you know that sin in your life that you haven’t let God deal with because you haven’t confessed it. Maybe you haven’t repented of it. But perhaps that is the one thing that God wants to use to radically change your life, so that you could radically change other people in the same way. Satan will keep you bound up. “Oh, don’t deal with that! That is too shameful to deal with! That is too shameful to bring out into the light! Others will think less of you!” But the power of the resurrection is this: When He died, He died for every sin. You don’t need to go to God and ask, “God, is my sin on Your list?” Every sin is there. And there is nothing you can do to make God love you more, and there is nothing you can do to make God love you less. Guys, I really hope that you will start believing that. Because you start living your life, and the power of knowing “I am weak, I need my Lord Jesus, and you tell people what God did in my life. I was addicted to this or that! I had a problem with anger! I was a liar! God changed me, and this is what happened” and that is knowing the power of the resurrection in your life.

Guys, I don’t know where you are. I don’t know what you need to do with God this morning. I’m not sure where this message may meet you. But you know what? God does want to exhibit His power in your life. In the most simple things, God’s power can be displayed. It’s kind of like going out into nature and taking a moment to examine nature itself, even closely examining a flower and seeing how intricate it is, a blooming flower. You may not know what God wants to do in your life. You may not understand how God can use your life. You may come to him saying, “God, my life is pretty bland. Eric is talking about having sins in your life, but I don’t think that I have anything I need to confess.” If you’re saying that, it may be pride that God needs to deal with in your life. Our lives should be one that when we walk out of this place, when we walk out of the door, that when we go to the place where we eat today, that somehow God’s power is shown to everyone around us. It it’s not because we just radiate for no reason. It’s because we’ve been transformed and that we have the fruit of the spirit in our lives. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self – control. When we’re standing in the line at lunch today and the line is forever long, we need patience. And when everyone else is getting frustrated, and when you get up to the lady who’s doing the best she can to do her job, and everyone else is yelling at her, you speak to her a kind word. That is the power of the resurrection. And that power can change people’s lives. That lady may come back to you and ask, “Hey, why do you smile?” And you can say, “Well you know, I have a savior.” And the greatest thing you can do for anyone is to share the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to them. And today, when we pray, pray “Lord Jesus, I want to know Your power.” Let’s stand together this morning.