Sermon Central
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What The Church Needs Now, Part Iii Series
Contributed by William Noel on Jul 31, 2005 (message contributor)
Summary: In-depth look at the witnessing efforts of the church.
“What The Church Needs Now”
Part III
“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
[Prayer]
Introduction
As we continue with the series, ‘What The Church Needs Now”, I hope and pray that you have been blessed by what the Lord has done these last few weeks. Obviously, this subject matter is needed for such a time as this.
Nonetheless, more than ‘hearing’ is needed. We need ‘doers of the word’ to step forward and make a change in their reality.
· Ph.D.’s are fine. But, Ph. Do’s are better.
As we consider yet another area in which the church is lacking, I would propose that this area is one of the greatest.
· Although we have many programs, they lack power!
· Although we have many choirs, they lack power!
· Although we have many sermons and lessons, they lack power!
How do I know? Look at the lives of the hearer.
· When Christ preached, people changed.
· When Christ taught, people changed.
Yet, today, we have a house full of hearers and very few “Ph.Doers”. The only change people have to offer is what they put in the offering plate.
Today, more than ever, the church needs power. Holy Ghost power. Wonder-working Power. Power to bring about ‘change’ that will shape our eternity.
Christ knew this. For 3 ½ years, the Son of God, walked among man.
· Teaching.
· Preaching.
· Performing miracles.
He talked the talk, and walked the walk. Why did He do this? Because the world had fallen from grace. It had plunged head first into a life of sin. It had become separated from its Creator.
So, instead of ignoring the problem; instead of pretending there wasn’t a problem, God sent His only begotten Son into the world, to face the problem, that, apart from Divine intervention, the world and all its inhabitants would perish.
For 3 ½ years, the Lord Jesus Christ walked among those that He created. He ate their food. Slept in their beds. Worshipped in their synagogues. And, changed their world.
How did He do this? Through the power, that Almighty God had given Him.
· Power that was used when God spoke the words, In the beginning…”
· Power that cast a rebellious angel from the presence of God, and lifts up a repentant sinner to the throne room of the Same.
· Through wonder working power, that touches and shapes the natural, as well as the super natural.
· The Holy Ghost power that was not, is not, and will not be constrained by the limitation and frailty of man.
Christ knew that even He needed the power of God on His life, if He were to do the Father’s will. And, so do we!!
And, do you want to know how important this power is? When asked by His disciples to teach them to pray, Christ concluded this model prayer with the words, “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” Power, dunamis in the Greek. This word is where we get our English word Dynamite!
The power that Christ wanted His disciples to have was the constructive, as well as destructive, ‘Dynamite’ power of God. Constructive to build up the broken hearted and set the captive free. Destructive to break down the strong hold of the enemy, Satan.
We see it…
· At His first miracle, Jesus turned water into wine, by the power I speak of today!
· When the disciples fretted on the wind swept sea, Christ spoke the words, ‘Peace. Be still’, by the power I speak of today!
· When the father of a demon-possessed child came to Jesus, the demon was cast into a herd of swine, by the power I speak of today!
· When the masses hungered, having followed Jesus all day… and when the disciples tried to turn them away with a simply, “I’ll be praying for you…” Jesus fed the five thousand with 5 loaves and 2 fishes, by the power that I speak of today!
· When a woman with an issue of blood, was healed of the ailment that had tormented her for 12 years, it was by the power that I speak of today!
· When life had ceased, and three days had past, in the life of Lazarus the friend of Christ, he was raised from the dead, by the power that I speak of today!
