People also look to food for power; after all, we have to maintain those powerful P90X bodies, so we have things like power bars and powerade. All around us we see the evidence that people are looking for power. We are looking for it in bodies and in our finances and in our relationships and we are looking for it in our society as well. People look to government for power and people are looking to the economy for power. Now, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but for the next 9 months we will hear endless debates and discussions about the appropriate power of government or how to make our economy powerful once again. As we gear up for this year’s presidential election we will be looking for the most powerful candidates with the most powerful solutions to lead the last remaining super-power.
We are all looking for power, a power that is real and a power that will last and the gospel of Mark makes it clear to us that real power and lasting power isn’t found in P90X or powerade, it’s not found in powerball tickets or powerbars and real and lasting power is not even found in a powerful economy or a powerful national leader, real power and lasting power is only found in Jesus.
Last week it was the power of Jesus love that we saw when he called ordinary fishermen to follow him. When the world said that these men didn’t have what it takes to be a rabbi or to even follow in the footsteps of a rabbi, the power of Jesus love and faith in the men reached out and called them to drop their nets, leave behind their ordinary lives and follow Jesus in the work of God, and they did. But that was just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the power we see in Jesus, there was so much more to come and what we heard from Mark’s gospel today opens our eyes to the rest of that power. The gospels are clear, there is real and lasting power in Jesus and people first saw this power, or actually heard it, in his teaching.
What made Jesus’ teaching so powerful was that it had authority. While other teachers taught from the authority found in the words of the teachers who went before them, Jesus taught people with the authority of His word and people could hear the difference. People could hear the power of truth in Jesus’ teaching and preaching and they could actually begin to see the power of God’s kingdom in the stories Jesus told and the images He used. But it wasn’t just the teaching of Jesus that revealed his power, it was his actions as well.
When Jesus was teaching in the synagogue one day he is confronted by a demon possessed man, actually, he is confronted by a demon in a man and Jesus shows his power over this demon and over all the forces of evil by silencing the demon and commanding him to leave the man he had tormented for years. When the demon has no choice but to silently leave the man’s body, mind and spirit, the power of Jesus is clearly seen, and this power, the power of Jesus’ word and actions caused people to flock to him.
Huge crowds began to follow Jesus and they came with demons and diseases that they wanted Jesus to drive out – and he did. The power of Jesus literally took people by the hand and lifted them up, it healed them. It cast out demons and restored people bodies and lives, and what Mark is making clear to us is here is that Jesus is the one who has real and lasting power for everyone’s life. There is power in Jesus love for people, there is power in his faith and trust in people, there is power in his teaching and truth, there is power in his authority over demons and evil, and Jesus is the one who has the power to change people’s live physically, emotionally and spiritually. There is real and lasting power in Jesus.
So if we are looking for power for our lives today, then we need understand that it is not going to be found from somewhere deep within us as we discipline and train our muscles, and it’s not going to be found by putting the right food or vitamins into us, and it is not going be found from anything in the world around us, real and lasting power only comes from Jesus and if we want to experience this power we need to start looking to Him.
Turning to Jesus for power is exactly what the crowds begin to do in Mark and I think it’s interesting that Jesus begins to reveal his power not thought mighty acts and miracles but through teaching and preaching. The first sign of power that we see in Jesus life doesn’t come from his actions but his words, he spoke with authenticity and authority. When other rabbis just quoted the words of the rabbi’s who went before them, Jesus spoke out of his own authority and he spoke with conviction and passion because he was the word. Jesus himself is the word of God in the flesh, so he has authority and power when he speaks. There was power in his teaching to reveal truth and there was power in his story telling to reveal to people what God’s heart and mind looked like and what life in God’s kingdom looked like.
If we want to begin to experience the power of God in our lives then we need to start by turning to the teaching and the preaching of Jesus. There is power when we come face to face with the truth of God shared with us through Jesus. It’s not always easy to face that power because sometimes the truth of God penetrates into the darkness of our hearts and it convicts us of sin and challenges us in life, but the power of that light can also bring forgiveness and healing. The power of God’s word can bring direction and purpose and life. So if we are looking for power, real and lasting power in our lives then like the crowds who were first drawn to Jesus because of his word, we need to first turn to God’s word. I would encourage all of us this week to read the most powerful sermon of Jesus, the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5-7. In this sermon Jesus speaks with authority and in it we begin to hear the power of Jesus. The more we read God’s word the more power we will see and the power won’t just be in Jesus teaching us the truth, it will be in the miracles we see as well.
The miracles that are recorded in the gospels are the physical evidence of Jesus power in the world. As we saw earlier, Jesus had the power to overcome evil. Jesus literally drove out demons not just once but on many occasions and he restored people’s minds and spirits. He healed the sick and even raised the dead and Jesus is the one who had the spiritual power to forgive sin which released people to experience the fullness of God. But there’s more because in the gospels we read about Jesus walking on water, telling the wind and the waves to stop and multiplying bread in order to feed thousands of people. Over and over again we see that it is Jesus who has real and lasting power and the more we turn to Jesus the more power we see and one of the things we see is that Jesus not only had power but he shared it as well. Again, we heard that from Mark this morning. Jesus used his power to drive out a demon and restore a man’s life – he shared his power. Jesus used his power to heal Simon-Peter’s mother in law and he used his power to heal people.
Jesus didn’t hold on to the power of God that was part of his life – he shared it. During his lifetime Jesus shared his power with those who were sick and demon possessed. He shared his power with those where sinners and those whom society ignored and neglected. Jesus shared the power of God with others and that power changed people’s lives, but it goes so much deeper than that because Jesus actually shared his power to heal and teach and forgive and inspire with those who followed him. Look at Mark 6:7 and 12.
The disciples were given the power of God to teach and preach and cast out demons and heal the sick and they used it. Jesus literally shared his power, he gave it to his followers so they could help people and then God gave his full power to the church which means it was given to all of us. In Acts 2 we read about the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit thaws given to the followers of Jesus and that Holy Spirit was the full power of God and what we read about through the rest of the book of Acts is the story of Jesus followers using the power of God to do the same things that Jesus did. They teach and preach and heal and forgive. They change peoples lives and build God’s kingdom and then they offer people the power of God for their own lives.
If we are looking for power today we need to turn and see that the only real and lasting power is found in Jesus and then we need to understand that Jesus shares this power with us, and all of this leads us to ask… how can we receive this power and experience the power we want in our own lives? The simple answer is, we ask for it. Jesus said, seek and you will find, knock and the door will opened, ask and it shall be given to you. Now I don’t think this means that whatever we might want in life we will get, after all my ticket didn’t win the powerball, but if we ask God for something that He wants us to have and something He is willing to give us, then I believe He will give it to us when we ask. So if we want to experience power and God has power to give, and God wants to give us His power, then the simple answer of how to receive God’s power is to ask Him for it.
But, and you knew there was a but coming, but… we have to ask with the right heart and the right faith. On the day of Pentecost when the power of the Holy Spirit was given to the disciples, the reason they received it is because they were in Jerusalem when the Holy Spirit came and the reason they were in Jerusalem was because they were following the instructions of Jesus. Before he ascended into heaven Jesus told his followers to wait in Jerusalem and you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. God shares his power with us when we ask for it but he shares it with us when we ask with hearts that are willing to wait on him, listen to him and follow what he has already told us. In fact, I think what the day of Pentecost teaches us is that the power of God is experienced as we follow Jesus.
When we put into practice what we find in God’s word and as we follow the teaching of Jesus we find the power of God flowing into our lives. As we forgive others we experience the power of God ourselves. As we serve those in need we experience the power of God in our lives. As we worship and connect with God through prayer we experience the power of God. God shares his power with us willingly and abundantly when we ask but that power flows as we stay connected to God and walk in the footsteps of Jesus.
So if you are looking for power in your life today, real and lasting power, then first turn and see that Jesus is the one who has the power we want and need in life, and then see how willingly God shares this power with us, and then, let us ask. Let us just ask God for his power, a power that can fill us and a power that can change us. Let us ask…
Next Steps: Are you looking for some real power?
1. See that real power rests in Jesus.
Read Jesus Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7)
Reflect on Jesus miraculous power
- Power to Forgive (Mark 2:1-12)
- Power to Heal (Mark 5:21-43)
- Power over Evil and Demons (Mark 5:1-20)
- Power over Nature (Mark 6:45-52)
2. See that Jesus share real and lasting power (Acts 1:1-5, 2:1-13)
3. Ask God for His power.
- Ask in simple faith.
- Ask with open hands and willing heart.
- Ask in faithful service.
