Power Moves
I first began seriously following Christ in May of 2004. It was then that I decided to surrender my life to Him and live by His ways. The following school year was my second year of law school. Sometimes after school I would come home and contact old friends to tell them about Jesus. Each week God would lay a few people on my heart and I would call or email them to witness.
I began reaching out to various friends and acquaintances, which got a bit strange in the natural, as you can imagine. But most of them had heard my life had radically changed. One afternoon I called this one guy. As the conversation began he said something I'll never forget. He said, "I heard you've been making power moves."
What a shocking thing for him to say. While maybe he didn't consciously think about all this, it seems He was acknowledging that I had made drastic changes in my life, that these changes had the potential to drastically improve my life, that these moves would increase my power in life, and that all this would come from my improved relationship with God. Sometimes people outside the church system say the most amazing things.
He was absolutely right, I was making power moves. I'm sure I mumbled something worthless and based in false humility in response, wanting to ensure the conversation focused on him and his salvation. But maybe now I would respond differently, in full agreement and inviting him to make the same moves. Now I fully understand that God forgave my sins (Colossians 1:14), gave birth to me Himself (1 John 5:1), made me His son (John 1:12), put His Spirit within me (Ephesians 1:13), and placed me in Christ seated at His right hand (Ephesians 2:6). Simply put, my accepting Christ was the single greatest power move I could ever make. I put myself in God's hands, and by His power He gave me a new life. "But as many as received Him (Jesus), to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." (John 1:12)
But there are other power moves we must make after accepting Christ, and these aren't one time moves. These other power moves must be made again and again for the rest of our lives. Every day we have the opportunity to make power moves. Do we take those opportunities? Are we making power moves? I know I don't make the right moves all the time, but by God's grace and direction, that's going to change.
Once you accept Christ you become perfectly accepted by God (Hebrews 10:14). Read that wonderful truth again. Jesus takes your sin, God forgives you, and you are given God's righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). You can come boldly before God (Hebrews 4:16), for God doesn't see you in your faults, He sees you in Jesus. He sees you in His Perfect Son and covered by Jesus' pure blood (Ephesians 2:13).
We can easily imagine what it would look like if God and Jesus approached each other in bodily form. God would tell Him, "Well done", God would embrace Him, and they would each shed a tear as they smiled. We can get that picture because we know Jesus is perfect and God loves Him completely and without reservation. But we must realize that, because we are in Christ, God feels the exact same way about us (John 17:23). We can run to God's presence, embrace Him, call His name, and speak with Him. God won't turn His face or yell at us to kneel. He will embrace us because in God's eyes we are now perfect because of what Jesus did.
The next power move we must make is daily running to God's presence to better know Him. We must speak with Him in prayer. We must worship Him. We must read His Word. As we are perfect in Christ, we are no longer trying to earn God's favor or blessing, we are already entitled. Rather, we are simply trying to know our wonderful God. And those who know their God shall be strong, and do exploits (Daniel 11:32). The secret to power in this life is your relationship with God.
Philippians 2:13 says, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." That is the King James translation. Look at what the Amplified translation says, "For it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight." The more God in your life, the more power, it's just that simple. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit brings God's power directly into our lives. Remember that Jesus said we would be filled with power from God (Luke 24:49). And 2 Timothy 1:7 says that we are given a Spirit of Power.
Jesus gives you the power to become God's child. Then God gives you the power to do His will.
I believe this last power move we will discuss is the key to seeing the full manifestation of the power that comes from the two moves already mentioned. This power move is surrendering ourselves to God and His will for our lives.
I hate to say it, but I really didn't want to call those people after school. Of course I wanted them saved, and I still do. I want all people to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. But I didn't want to look weird (and still don't, but too late). I didn't want them to think I'm crazy or end our friendships. But a major key to seeing the full manifestation of God's power in your life is doing what He wants you to do.
Is God going to fill you with His power so you can watch television? Is God going to fill you with His power so you can be a normal Sunday morning Christian who even tithes and goes to Bible study? No, God doesn't fill you with His power so you can go through the motions and just make it to Heaven. God doesn't give you His power so you can do what any human can do. God fills you with His power so you can use it just like Jesus did!
God says lay hands on the sick and see them recover (Mark 16:18). God says pray and whatever you ask for will be done for you (Mark 11:24). God says even whatever you say will come to pass (Mark 11:23). God says that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13). God wants to fill you and use you. Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father." (John 14:12)
Getting saved gets you God's righteousness and complete access into His presence. By spending time with God you will know Him and learn what He wants you to do. Now you must deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus. We follow Jesus by continuing His ministry on the earth, and doing the works that He did. You must surrender yourself and do whatever God tells you to do. It may seem impossible, it may seem crazy, and you will almost certainly look weird to natural people, but God has given you His power.
I want to see all of God's power in my life. I want to see God's power to change me and improve my life. But I also want to see God's power touch the lives of others.
"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." (2 Corinthians 4:6-7) We are dealing with God's power, not ours. And God will put this power in you, in an earthen vessel made of dust, so that you can do supernatural things of God's design.
God wants you to do things that seem completely impossible in the natural. He wants you to do things that people will absolutely know were done by God and not you. God wants you to lay hands on sick people and see them recover so that they will then turn and worship Him. I want to do things where people say, "That must have been God because it definitely wasn't Byron." This is another way God shows the world His power and love, supernatural actions by natural people. They will know it wasn't you, they will know it was God, and they will come to Him. This is God's design to show His love to the world through you.
So make these power moves today. If you aren't saved, accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, repent of your sins, and run boldly to God's presence. Spend time with God to know Him and learn His will for your life. Do this continually and forever. Then act boldly and confidently when He says to do something, for He has put His power in you to do His will on earth. Glory to God.
I began reaching out to various friends and acquaintances, which got a bit strange in the natural, as you can imagine. But most of them had heard my life had radically changed. One afternoon I called this one guy. As the conversation began he said something I'll never forget. He said, "I heard you've been making power moves."
What a shocking thing for him to say. While maybe he didn't consciously think about all this, it seems He was acknowledging that I had made drastic changes in my life, that these changes had the potential to drastically improve my life, that these moves would increase my power in life, and that all this would come from my improved relationship with God. Sometimes people outside the church system say the most amazing things.
He was absolutely right, I was making power moves. I'm sure I mumbled something worthless and based in false humility in response, wanting to ensure the conversation focused on him and his salvation. But maybe now I would respond differently, in full agreement and inviting him to make the same moves. Now I fully understand that God forgave my sins (Colossians 1:14), gave birth to me Himself (1 John 5:1), made me His son (John 1:12), put His Spirit within me (Ephesians 1:13), and placed me in Christ seated at His right hand (Ephesians 2:6). Simply put, my accepting Christ was the single greatest power move I could ever make. I put myself in God's hands, and by His power He gave me a new life. "But as many as received Him (Jesus), to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." (John 1:12)
But there are other power moves we must make after accepting Christ, and these aren't one time moves. These other power moves must be made again and again for the rest of our lives. Every day we have the opportunity to make power moves. Do we take those opportunities? Are we making power moves? I know I don't make the right moves all the time, but by God's grace and direction, that's going to change.
Once you accept Christ you become perfectly accepted by God (Hebrews 10:14). Read that wonderful truth again. Jesus takes your sin, God forgives you, and you are given God's righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). You can come boldly before God (Hebrews 4:16), for God doesn't see you in your faults, He sees you in Jesus. He sees you in His Perfect Son and covered by Jesus' pure blood (Ephesians 2:13).
We can easily imagine what it would look like if God and Jesus approached each other in bodily form. God would tell Him, "Well done", God would embrace Him, and they would each shed a tear as they smiled. We can get that picture because we know Jesus is perfect and God loves Him completely and without reservation. But we must realize that, because we are in Christ, God feels the exact same way about us (John 17:23). We can run to God's presence, embrace Him, call His name, and speak with Him. God won't turn His face or yell at us to kneel. He will embrace us because in God's eyes we are now perfect because of what Jesus did.
The next power move we must make is daily running to God's presence to better know Him. We must speak with Him in prayer. We must worship Him. We must read His Word. As we are perfect in Christ, we are no longer trying to earn God's favor or blessing, we are already entitled. Rather, we are simply trying to know our wonderful God. And those who know their God shall be strong, and do exploits (Daniel 11:32). The secret to power in this life is your relationship with God.
Philippians 2:13 says, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." That is the King James translation. Look at what the Amplified translation says, "For it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight." The more God in your life, the more power, it's just that simple. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit brings God's power directly into our lives. Remember that Jesus said we would be filled with power from God (Luke 24:49). And 2 Timothy 1:7 says that we are given a Spirit of Power.
Jesus gives you the power to become God's child. Then God gives you the power to do His will.
I believe this last power move we will discuss is the key to seeing the full manifestation of the power that comes from the two moves already mentioned. This power move is surrendering ourselves to God and His will for our lives.
I hate to say it, but I really didn't want to call those people after school. Of course I wanted them saved, and I still do. I want all people to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. But I didn't want to look weird (and still don't, but too late). I didn't want them to think I'm crazy or end our friendships. But a major key to seeing the full manifestation of God's power in your life is doing what He wants you to do.
Is God going to fill you with His power so you can watch television? Is God going to fill you with His power so you can be a normal Sunday morning Christian who even tithes and goes to Bible study? No, God doesn't fill you with His power so you can go through the motions and just make it to Heaven. God doesn't give you His power so you can do what any human can do. God fills you with His power so you can use it just like Jesus did!
God says lay hands on the sick and see them recover (Mark 16:18). God says pray and whatever you ask for will be done for you (Mark 11:24). God says even whatever you say will come to pass (Mark 11:23). God says that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13). God wants to fill you and use you. Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father." (John 14:12)
Getting saved gets you God's righteousness and complete access into His presence. By spending time with God you will know Him and learn what He wants you to do. Now you must deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus. We follow Jesus by continuing His ministry on the earth, and doing the works that He did. You must surrender yourself and do whatever God tells you to do. It may seem impossible, it may seem crazy, and you will almost certainly look weird to natural people, but God has given you His power.
I want to see all of God's power in my life. I want to see God's power to change me and improve my life. But I also want to see God's power touch the lives of others.
"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." (2 Corinthians 4:6-7) We are dealing with God's power, not ours. And God will put this power in you, in an earthen vessel made of dust, so that you can do supernatural things of God's design.
God wants you to do things that seem completely impossible in the natural. He wants you to do things that people will absolutely know were done by God and not you. God wants you to lay hands on sick people and see them recover so that they will then turn and worship Him. I want to do things where people say, "That must have been God because it definitely wasn't Byron." This is another way God shows the world His power and love, supernatural actions by natural people. They will know it wasn't you, they will know it was God, and they will come to Him. This is God's design to show His love to the world through you.
So make these power moves today. If you aren't saved, accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, repent of your sins, and run boldly to God's presence. Spend time with God to know Him and learn His will for your life. Do this continually and forever. Then act boldly and confidently when He says to do something, for He has put His power in you to do His will on earth. Glory to God.
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