The Spirit of Power 2 Timothy 1: 7 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
In this passage we see that God gives us the spirit of power. But we also see that the limit to that power is the spirit of fear. There are many who take on the form of godliness but deny the power thereof [2 Tim 3:5]. We need not live like Christianity is just another religion. There is real supernatural power in the salvation we have. So, today we are going to examine the Bible to see how God manifests this power in our lives and what this power is for.
The spirit of power is manifested in:
The Power of the Gospel – Jn 1:12 – the power to become the sons of God – we avail ourselves of a tremendous supernatural power when we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior – we are transformed immediately into the sons of God and we become new creatures in Christ – we are no longer just the children of Adam possessing physical life but we are now the children of God possessing eternal life and all of its attributes of the divine nature – the spirit of fear will cause a man to reject eternal security – don’t go there – live in the spirit of the power of God to finish the work that he has begun in you. Also be aware that one of the main reasons people refuse to be saved by the power of the gospel is fear!
The Power to Witness to the Lost – Acts 1:8 – 1 Thes 1:5 – you have within you the Holy Spirit of God who desires to speak through you to the salvation of the lost – he has given you the power to witness of the supernatural power of God to save souls – you have this great commission given to you – but it is the spirit of fear that causes us to not witness – no matter what excuse you might use to convince yourself, the truth is you are afraid – but God didn’t give you that spirit; he gave you the spirit of power – so relying upon that power you need to witness.
The Power to Give beyond your Power – 2 Cor 8:1-3 – the Macedonians didn’t have the power to do what they did – but in the spirit of the power of God, they gave beyond their power – you know why you haven’t experienced what they did – fear – you are afraid that if you give like that then you won’t have enough to pay your own bills – you will be shocked to find out in heaven that you could have given a lot more than you did because God has given you a lot more power to give than you are utilizing in your giving.
The Power to Glory in you Infirmities – 2 Cor 12:9-10 – Paul realized that every time he was weakened by an infirmity, a distress, a necessity, a reproach or a persecution, he was stronger than he had been before he was weakened – he learned that the power of Christ is made perfect in weakness – we are so scared by the infirmity or the necessity or whatever in our lives that we don’t even realize that we are actually being weakened for the glory of God and the power of Christ to work in us – next time the trouble comes look to the power of God and not the spirit of fear.
The Power to do Exceeding Abundantly above all that You can Ask or Think – Eph 3:20 – in life we seem to be so limited by our experience – we can’t even imagine God doing things in our lives above what we can ask or think – and so since we don’t think he can we don’t ask him to – but the power of God given to us at salvation manifests itself in the things God does in our lives that are above what we can ask and think – some of these are: 2 Cor 13:4 the power to live with him – Col 1:11 the power of God to make us patient, longsuffering, and joyful – 2 Tim 1:8 the power to be a partaker of the afflictions of the gospel – and so forth – Paul said. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”