Spiritual power is not something you work up through emotion. You do not produce it with Scriptural learning. Even knowledge of Biblical power principles will not guarantee receiving spiritual power.
Spiritual power flows from its source. Jesus is compared to a vine. You are a spiritual branch. You cannot produce power in yourself. He is the life flow from which the power comes. Just let His power flow through you:
John 15:5 " I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing."
So how do you experience the power of God?
(1) Fast and pray.
Come before God and humble yourself through fasting and prayer. God has promised to hear when we come before Him in this attitude:
2 Chronicles 7:14a "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from Heaven..."
Do not pursue power itself. Through prayer and fasting prepare yourself as a channel through which God's power can flow.
(2) Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:8 "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you."
(3) Exercise your faith.
By faith, accept His promise of power:
Luke 10:19 "Behold, I give unto you power...over all the power of the enemy..."
Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.>
You accepted salvation by faith. Now accept the power of God by faith. Why is it so easy to accept salvation by faith and so difficult to trust God for miraculous demonstrations of His power like healing and casting out demons?
(4) Stand on Biblical principles.
-The power of the Gospel.
Your life must first be changed through the power of the Gospel. Repentance is the basis of true spiritual power.
-The power of the Holy Spirit.
You receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you.
-The power of love.
Any spiritual gift, any manifestation of power is ineffective without it.
-The power of anointing.
It is the anointing that will break the yoke. You cannot do it in your own strength and power.
-Power, faith, and works.
These are inseparable. They must function together in your life and ministry.
-The power of the name of Jesus.
You come in His authority. It is power through His name.
-The power of the Word.
Speak His words, not yours. His Word will not return void. It will accomplish the purpose for which it is sent forth.
-The power of His resurrection.
Experience it now in your mortal body.
Spiritual power must be experienced individually by believers but it is not to function independently of the Body of Christ. It is God's plan that the Church experience spiritual power corporately. The Church is to be the center for the demonstration of His power.
One day Jesus went into the temple in Jerusalem and found the leaders selling oxen, sheep, and doves. They had actually made a prosperous business out of people's need for sacrificial animals. They were using the church as the center for this merchandising.
Jesus made a small whip of cords and drove these people out of the temple. He poured out the money and overthrew the tables. He said. . .
Luke 19:46 "It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves."
In many instances today the Church has become a social center, a place for recreation and fellowship. It has become a center of food distribution and entertainment.
Some of these activities may have their place, but it is not God's true purpose for the Church. The Church can even become a center of prayer and Bible study and still miss God's purpose if human needs remain unmet right outside its door. The temple Jesus cleansed had become a center of trading and merchandise. But Jesus explained the true purpose of the Church in a parable in Luke 14:16-24. In this parable, the master of the house told his servants:.
Verse 21 "Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt and the blind."
Verse 23 "Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled."
The Church is to be filled with multitudes having deep human need. Believers are to go into all levels of society and compel them to come in. The Church is to be populated with believers who have spiritual power. This creates the corporate environment where God can manifest Himself. The lame will be healed, the blind see, the deaf hear, and the power of the Gospel will change lives.
A needy world is looking on us. Suffering humanity is turning their eyes to the Church of Jesus Christ. We must have something to give.
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