Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord! Father in heaven we say thank You; our Maker, our Shield, our Savior, our Sufficiency, our All-in-all, the beginning and the end of all things, hallowed be thy name.
Father we have come this morning because we know that you’ll be here; thank You because Your presence is mighty in our midst; Father thank You because of what You have done in time past, thank You for how (oh Lord) You are going to lead us this morning through Your word; Father thank You for all that You will do in our lives, glory be to Your name forevermore.
My God and my Father, we pray oh Lord, Your limitless power from today, let it begin to find manifestation and fulfillment in our lives in the mighty name of Jesus. Every hindrance, every obstacle, every limitation to the manifestation of Your word, Your power in our lives, from today, Father we ask that You open our eyes, they will no longer limit us in the name of Jesus.
Thank You blessed Redeemer; as we go into Your word, Father please speak to us expressly in the way that we would understand. In the name of Jesus, no one here under the sound of my voice and those online, not anyone will go back the same way they came in the mighty name of Jesus.
Thank You Father, in Jesus wonderful name we prayed. Praise the Lord!
I welcome you all to the presence of the Most High God, God bless you. We thank God Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth and the reason why we are all alive, Father we say thank You.
I’d like to appreciate the Pastor in Charge of Province, our PICP, Pastor Tunde Netufo, for this privilege that I have to share the word today, I pray that the power of God will work perfectly and continuously in his life in Jesus mighty name.
Before we go into the message, tomorrow by the grace of God we’ll have another special prayer chain session and the theme for tomorrow is ‘Declaring His Word’; the text is taken from John 1: 1-5, praise the living Jesus!
Ephesians 3: 14 – 21, “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen”. Praise God!
In the next few minutes, I’ll be talking to us on this message titled “The Power that Works in Us”; if time permits, there’s a group of ministers that will minster along with me, God helping us.
Brethren, the background to this was when Paul was talking to the Christians at Ephesus and was sharing with them how God called him and how God has given him the mandate to minister to the Gentiles, people who before then were not considered heirs to God. So this portion where we read from is where Paul was now praying for the people; and then in verse 20 he said that he will see God to be able to carry the abundant things that God can do, how? According to His power that works in us.
So that tells me that whatever it is that we receive of God is a function of His power that works in us. But I’d also like to extend that this morning, if His power that works in us is what produces the results, how do I generate that power? Praise the Lord!
So this morning, we’re going to quickly define two keywords, Power and Work. Power (as we know) is defined as the ability or capacity to do something or act in a particular way. Capacity to direct, to influence, behaviour of other people or course of event.
Power could also be said to be a supernatural thing or force and in this case, let’s situate it to our course for today, the supernatural force here is God, so we are saying the power of God that works in us, how much of that power, hallelujah!
Work on the other hand is defined as the activity (whether it’s mental or physical) that is deployed to achieve a purpose. I want to move this to that place, what do I need to do? Lift this and take it there, that process of lifting is the work, if I don’t lift it, it doesn’t get there.
You want to move from point A to point B, the power of God needs to work in you to make it happen, hallelujah!
Jeremiah 29:11 says “But I know the thought that I think towards you, thought of good and not of evil to bring it to an expected end”, that bringing to an expected end requires power to work in you, requires God to do one thing or the other.
So we can see that there’s a direct relationship between power and work, if that works is not done, power will not be generated – if it’s small work, small power, praise God!
So let us just take a few look at power and the work that we’re talking about; the more power you deploy, the more work you can do (assuming efficiency is constant). For example, there’s a 50kg bag of cement and you tell a 10 year old boy to carry it, and then you tell a muscular man who is just coming back from the gym to carry the bag of cement, who is more likely to carry the cement?
In Judges 14:5 & 6, the Bible tells us that Samson was on his way to Timnah and from nowhere a young lion ran towards him roaring, and the Bible says ‘and the Spirit of God descended unto Samson and he tore the lion as one would tore a kid’. Now in that story, there were two versions of Samson: there was Samson, the ordinary man, the lion would have killed him; but there was the Samson, the anointed man that was able to tear the lion like a toy. What made the difference? Power. I pray brethren that today God will empower you in the mighty name of Jesus.
- As good as power is, if power is deployed in the wrong direction, in an opposite direction, instead of aiding your ability, it becomes a resistance. If a vehicle is moving and it gets to a point there is a long train on the way, what would happen to that vehicle at the point where it comes in contact with the train? It will no longer be able to move because there’s a resistance, there’s power that is resisting.
So at this point I’ll bring in a concept, it’s a certain power which we’ll look at that tends to work like that train when a child of God is moving and create resistance. I pray for you today in the name that’s above every other name, that every form of resistance to your progress in life, God will take them out today in the mighty name of Jesus.
In Genesis 26: 18 – 22, there was this story of Isaac, the Bible tells us that every time he dug a well, the Philistines would come and drive them away – resistance, that happened a few times, two, three, four times until such a time they got to a point and they dug the well, the Philistines didn’t come and then the water came out, and the Bible says they called the name of the place Rehoboth, meaning a place of rest. For as many of you that have been working against resistance, you will come to your Rehoboth in the mighty name of Jesus.
So now that we’ve established the relationship between power and work, let us now see how these play out in our lives; when we talk about power brethren, there is power and there is power – there is the power of man and except God works with man, many times man wants to show his power, he wants to flex that I’m the one in charge here. So often times, the power of man can be like a resistance.
In Acts 12: 1-11, the Bible tells us Herod took James, killed him and when he realized that the people were happy, he said ha, so this will give me more fame politically, he then laid his hand on Peter, he was going to kill him but there was a festival, so he said let’s leave him until after the Passover.
Verse 10, the Bible says the thief comes not but to steal, to kill and to destroy but I have come to give life. The Bible tells us that he works in a very structured manner, Ephesians 6:12, he has different layers, principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, spiritual wickedness in high places, very well organized, each one taking charge of one thing or the other, that’s why he’s a very difficult enemy, but brethren, as we will see soon, it doesn’t matter how much of the power the enemy is operating upon your life, the moment the power of God starts working for you, there will be no place for Satan in the mighty name of Jesus.
And then there is the third power which I introduced much earlier, the power of God, in that same John 10:10, it says everything that the devil has done has come to unwind it, says the thief comes not, but to steal, to kill, and to destroy but I have come to give life, and give it more abundantly, hallelujah!
Matthew 11:28 – 30, it says Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. So everything that the devil has caused in your life, every resistance, every limitation, every impossibility, the power that is above all powers is here today and He has come to give you rest in the mighty name of Jesus, and from there you will begin to make progress in the mighty name of Jesus. This is the power that conquers sickness, the power that conquers Satan, the power that can do all exploits, this takes me to the next concept quickly.
Giving the different definitions of power, you can quickly tell that power is in levels: there’s the power of a man that doesn’t know God, just a man, a natural man; and then there is power of devil and his cohorts, and then you’ll now have a child of God above them because Jesus Christ said we are seated with Him in heavenly places far above principalities and powers. So when you are in Christ, your level is above the power of the devil, hallelujah! And then there is the power of God which is the ultimate power.
Brethren, I’m happy to announce to you that when the power of God comes, every other power trembles. You know this song, ‘Demons tremble at His presence’, every time there is a power in operation in your life that is not the power of God, when God comes they must surrender and they will surrender today in the name of Jesus.
Now this is where we are going, as powerful and important as the power of God can be, many times brethren, we need to activate it to work, we need to do one thing or the other to make it work. There are times when you do nothing and you just see the power of God working for you, for example, in Numbers 16, the Bible tells us there are three guys – Dathan, Korah and Abiram, they were grumbling, mumbling and working against Moses, and God said Moses don’t worry, I will deal with them. Moses didn’t go to ask God please, help me deal with them, so there are times that happen.
However brethren, many times we need to do things to activate the power. And remember when I started, I said until that power operates in your life, you are not able to do what that power can do exceedingly abundantly, praise the living Jesus!
I would like to borrow a concept now before I go into the next point, and this concept is from science in physics. You know there is concept of a potential energy and a kinetic energy, I will explain; potential, it is there but it is not working; then there is kinetic, energy in action, motion, praise the living Jesus!
For example, if somebody loads a gun with bullets and just drops it on the table, a child can come and hold that gun and say daddy, did you buy a new toy for me? And it remains a toy until somebody pulls the trigger, but when somebody pulls the trigger and the boy sees what the toy can do, he runs away and say this is no longer a toy. The same gun at one point in time was a toy because it was in a resting place – potential, but it becomes fire when there’s a shot out of it, I’m going somewhere.
The power of God, for it to work in us brethren, there is something that is sleeping that we need to activate, there’s a potential that we need to stir up and that is the word of God, praise the Lord! The word of God and your faith in God. There’s a strong relationship between the word of God, faith in God and the power of God that will manifest in your life.
The word of God is a power of God, the Bible says once He has spoken, twice I have heard that power belongs to God. The Bible is a library of the word of God, if you are looking for the word of God, go into the Bible you will see it there.
I remember many years ago when I was growing up, some people used to take their Bibles at night and we know those who are in my generation now; at night, they will put the Bible under their pillow and sleep, they say because of bad dreams or because of enemies chasing them at night, hallelujah! But brethren may I tell you, if you like put 20 Bibles under your pillow, if you are not using what is inside that Bible, the enemy will so chase you, will so beat you…praise the living Jesus!
The size of your Bible does not make a difference, what makes the difference is your interaction with what is in that Bible. I also remember some months ago, many of us would have seen it, I saw it on social media, a man that is under trial carried a big Bible to appear in the court, the Bible will not do anything at that point in time.
So what must you do? You must study the word, you must chew the word, you must ingest the word, you must digest it and retain it in your system, and then when the time comes… So back to that passage, Psalm 62:11, once He has spoken, if it remains in His mouth nothing will happen.
Genesis 1:3, after God looked at everywhere and He said let there be light; if God did not speak, darkness will remain, that word would remain potential like that gun on the table that was like a toy, but once the word is spoken, it begins to work, power follows it, praise the living Jesus!
Brethren, the reason why many of us today are challenged or oppressed by the devil is that we don’t speak the word, and to go back a bit, many of us don’t even know the word; those that know their God shall be strong and do exploits, hallelujah! Joshua 1:8, the Bible says this book of the law should not depart from my mouth. When you speak the word of God with boldness with faith (boldness being a function of your faith), it releases abundant power, it turns the potential energy to kinetic, it begins to work.
So going back to that passage in Ephesians 3: 20, it says according to the power that works in us, we need to stir up that power by the word of God, and you cannot speak the word that you do not know, so we must study the word, study to show yourself approved, (2nd Timothy 2:15), a workman that needed not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth, praise God!
Hebrews 4:12, the Bible says for the word of God is quick and powerful, if you don’t use the word of God, you don’t get the power. One of these songs by Ada Ehi, there’s a portion there that says ‘say to the mountain, I overcame’, if you are looking at your mountain, the mountain will get bigger; tell the mountain, greater is He that is in me than he that is in you, mountain; say to your problem, you came too late, if you had come when I was not a Christian, maybe, but now that I am a child of God, you have nothing to do with me, hallelujah! Tell that sickness that you already won, praise the Lord! Until you speak the word of God with understanding and by boldness in faith, the power will not manifest.
Some scriptures I want to link power and the word of God; Ecclesiastes 8:4, “Where the word of a king is, there is power (and the King of kings, where the word of God is, there is power)”; Romans 1:16, the Bible says “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God”, the gospel is the word of God, the power of God. 1st Corinthians 4:20, the Bible says for the kingdom of God is not in word but in power, praise the living Jesus!
So what are the inhibitors, because now that we know that if you speak the word of God with boldness, with faith, you will generate power, so why are we not using it?
Lack of knowledge of the word, lack of many of us don’t study the word, many of us are Sunday -Sunday Christians, praise the living Jesus! Every child of God should know his or her Father, our God Almighty and the best way to know Him is through His word; you must read the word, you must study it, you must meditate on it and declare the word as necessary.
In Acts 19:11, some people will say they call themselves the Sons of Sceva, they went to a mad fellow and say I command you in the name of Jesus who Paul preaches, he said who are you? Who is talking? Korogba lenu e, and they dealt with him because he didn’t have authority to use the word.
Lack of faith. God’s word can achieve a lot but without faith you can do nothing. Hebrews 11:6, without faith, it is impossible to please God; Hebrews 4: 2 says the scripture was preached unto them as it was unto us but nothing happened because it did not meet with faith in them, praise the Lord!
And the third one is sin. Inhibitors to the use of the word, sin; sin cannot stop the word of God, what sin does is that it creates an atmosphere where the word of God cannot operate.
There are two different things: sin is not able to stop God’s words, once God’s word is released, it’s done. In Numbers 25, the Bible tells us about the children of Israel and said and the committed whoredom in Shittim; in Numbers 23, they had been trying to kill them, to pronounce words, it didn’t work, then they said don’t worry, cause them to sin, when they sin, the power they had that was making them like this would go, so they committed sin and in one day, 24,000 of them were killed. If you want the power of God to work in your life, run away from sin, praise the living Jesus.
I would like to exhibit one or two of the points so that we can see visuals. In place of that, I’ll just share a testimony to see the efficacy of the word of God; many years ago in 2008 (and I shared this testimony to the glory of God), my wife and I had a life threatening situation.
One day, we were sitting across a table before a doctor and he said from the test, the diagnosis and all that, I can see that you have (they called the name), long and short, he said there is cancer and they have to cut the breasts. While he was saying it, I was shaking, she was paralyzed, she couldn’t even say anything, but out of that shaking I was able to muster the word, I said no sir, we have a God that can change things. I was shaking but I said this, so we got up and left the doctor’s place, and we never went back there. We went back home and we were crying, and I said God, I have declared your word, I didn’t know what I was saying but please help me.
After, we had an evangelism outreach which I was to anchor, I said I won’t go, God said I should go, we went and it was a fantastic place, that was where we had our maternity at Awoyaya today. Then God led me to go to three people, go to Arise and Shine, so we went there one day, we went to talk to the minister one day (I won’t mention names), they prayed with us and we left; the second person, we went, they said he’s not in the office, he had traveled, we said please call him. They called him and he prayed with us on the phone, faith, because God said I should go. The third place, we went, prayed, and then the person said God said don’t worry it is done, you don’t need to do anything and we said no sir, please, just connect us to people in Italy, we want to go to see a doctor.
He said if that’s what you want to do but if you go, you are only going on vacation. So we got visa, did everything, we got to France first – Paris, so we started calling the contact and there was no link, the contact we were talking to before we left Nigeria didn’t pick calls again.
So after about 7 days in Paris, we left, we went back to London, we said let’s go and find another solution; we got there, went to a hospital, they gave us a date, checked, did everything and said madam, there is nothing here, I can’t see anything. Please check again sir, he said this is what I have been doing for twenty something years, I can’t see anything, where did they tell you that they saw something? You should go and sue those people, they don’t know what they are doing. I said sir, they know what they are doing, I already know what has happened, because the word of God says if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you will tell the mountain to move and the mountain will go, that mountain has moved sixteen years ago and never to come again.
In summary brethren, the word of God has potential power in it; if you speak the word of God, there’s a lot of power in it, don’t joke with the word of God, you must study it, you must meditate on it; lack of knowledge and understanding is a reason why the devil continues to oppress us today, so spend time, study the word, live the word, speak the word, act the word, even beyond the word that is written there’s the written word is the logos, there’s also the rhema, whenever there’s a revelation, catch on to the word, hallelujah!
And praising God is a high level of manifesting the word because when you praise you are speaking the word. Praying is a level of manifesting the word because when you pray, you are speaking the word of God, praise the Lord!
In 1st Kings 17: 1 & 2, Elijah said there will be no rain and the Bible says according to the word of Elijah there was no rain for 42 years; and in James, the Bible tells us Elijah was a man of like passion like me and you; the same word that Elijah spoke, you and I can speak it and it will come to being, hallelujah!
His power, His influence, His purpose has not changed and it does not change, it will never change. The same power that worked for Paul, Elijah, Peter, for all those men of faith, it has not changed brethren, it is the same power today, praise the Lord!
Therefore brethren, if the word of God does not appear to be working in your life, two things: either you are not speaking the word, you don’t know the word or you are afraid, you are not talking with boldness or there is an inhibitor (remember the three inhibitors – lack of knowledge of the word, lack of faith and sin), if there is an inhibitor, the word will not work, praise the living Jesus!
Have you ever wondered why some people will speak the word and things happen, and some will speak it and nothing happens? When anyone speaks the word of God, God first checks, who is this knocking at My door? And then He looks, oh My son, and then He will open the power for the word to operate; but when He sees that the person – ehn, this one, He slams the door and the word does not work.
What am I saying? If you are not on God’s side, remember the Sons of Sceva, they spoke the word but it wasn’t the word of God so it didn’t work. Brethren, if you are here this morning and you are not a child of God, if you like, speak the word 200 times, it will not work because whenever God sees, He locks the door and says this is not Mine, hallelujah!
Samson, in Judges 16: 20, they called him and said the Philistines are here, he said yes, I will go again like as other times, he said God be with me as You have been, he’s speaking the word but the word did not work because he was already living in disobedience. The same Samson in Judges 16:30, he said God, give me power to bring down and the word worked for him because the Bible tells us his hair started growing, that is he reconnected himself back to God.
[Altar call]
Let’s begin to give thanks to God for the power that’s in His word, Father thank You, thank You Lord, Father we thank You.
The next prayer point is for you, you know what mountain you want to move but I want you to listen to this song, if there is any mountain that has defied the power of God in your life, today it has to contend with God in your life.
[Music]
That song is saying if there is anything that is tampering with the glory of God upon your life, it has God to contend with. Right now, let us stand on the authority of the word of God and begin to declare those words.
I remember sitting that day and I said we have a God who can make a difference, begin to speak the word to the mysteries in your life brethren, speak the word of God, the word of God is potent, is powerful, sharper than a double edged sword, speak the words of God to your situation this morning, speak the word of God to your mountains.
If you have faith as little as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to the mountain, move, and it will be moved; speak that word.
