GOD'S POWER PART FIVE I - HOW TO TAP INTO THIS POWER

A colleague I used to work with was so funny. Any time we used to plan something He would not leave out this question “what in it for me?” In the law of contract for the contract to be legally binding there must be what we call consideration this is the monetary value of the whole contract, there must be give and take. We do not expect God to grant us all these favours without us doing something in return, we must give back. In Exodus 20:5 “⁵Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;” God is a Jealous God, you cannot do anything you want and expect still God to bless you. Likewise like in the law of contract this gift of power cannot be acquired by money Acts 8:18-20 “¹⁸And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,¹⁹Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.²⁰But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. See verse 20, the gift of God may not be purchased with money.

So what is the form of this cost?

ONE: BY LEADING A CONSECRATED LIFE.

Dictionary meaning – sanctification, dedication. This means living a holy life. Well some people may ask, how can you live a holy life, in Job 1:1-3 1 “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.²And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.³His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

See, Job was very very rich, he had anything a man could desire, yet he was very holy and upright. Contrary to today’s world where Ninety percent of rich people are related to very shrewd business practices until a popular belief holds that you cannot be rich until you engage in evil business practices, for business people you must adjust your scale to rob your customers, you must evade taxes, for employees you cannot make it until you involve yourself in funny dealing to swindle your employer, drivers, do you have to bribe a police officer.

Living a righteous, a pure dignified life has become a thing of the past yet this is the one condition that God wants us to fulfill for us to tap into his power, wow what a challenge. This is where most of us fail in the first place.

How can we make God to be proud in our lives like in Job 1:8 “And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?”  Wonderful, God could even boast to Satan, he would ask” have you seen my servant Job” see, he could even give a testimony about Jobs life “that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?” can you imagine God giving a testimony about your life, we must fulfill this condition if we really want God to give us his power to face today’s world challenges.

Consecration indicates that you have fear of God in all your dealing, look at the life of Noah; he was the only person in the face of earth who could please God, and for that God spared him from the floods. Genesis 6:9 “These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” Noah walked with God, do you want to walk with God? Be righteous in all your dealings.

How do we get into living a consecrated life?

Study the word of God and pay attention to the word of God.

We will see the power of the word in our next series – HEALING POWER

Exercise your willpower to say no to sin.

In James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” You have the power to resist devil.

In Genesis 39:9 “There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” Joseph resisted King’s wife he fled from evil, he resisted sin.  In Romans 6:12-14 “¹²Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.¹³Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.¹⁴For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” Let sin therefore not reign in our bodies, nor yield to instruments of unrighteousness.

Exercise covenant reasoning

In Isaiah 1:18 “¹⁸Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Though you are a sinner God can review his covenant with you. Yes you stand a chance to reap from these benefits through Christ who died for our sin. Remember we said for you to be filled with the Holy Spirit who is the custodian of God’s power you have to be born again, that why Jesus is telling us “come and let us reason together.”

What are the rewards of leading a Consecrated life?

You will attract Gods power

This is the essence by which you lead a consecrated life. In Psalms 45:6-7 “⁶ your throne, O God,^* endures for ever and ever. Your royal scepter is a scepter of equity; ⁷you love righteousness and hate wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;

Glory, honour and exhaultation will be your daily testimony.

In Genesis 41: 37-45 “the proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants. ³⁸Pharaoh said to his servants, ‘Can we find anyone else like this—one in whom is the spirit of God?’ ³⁹So Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘since God has shown you all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. ⁴⁰You shall be over my house and all my people shall order themselves as you command; only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you.’ ⁴¹And Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.’ ⁴²Removing his signet ring from his hand, Pharaoh put it on Joseph’s hand; he arrayed him in garments of fine linen, and put a gold chain around his neck. ⁴³He had him ride in the chariot of his second-in-command; and they cried out in front of him, ‘Bow the knee!’^* Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁴Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.’ ⁴⁵Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, as his wife. Thus Joseph gained authority over the land of Egypt. Joseph was elevated (exhaulted)  to wine and dine with the king, not only that he was made the prime minister in a foreign land.”

Even pharaoh testified in verse 38”can we find anyone else like this one in whom is the spirit of God”, you get to stand out of the others and you are exhaulted. Joseph due to leading a consecrated life was made a ruler in a foreign land, can you imagine that, God can make things happen even when the contrary proves possible.

You will be bold in what you do

In Proverbs 28:1 “The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.” You will have confidence in all you endeavor; you will be bold as a lion. A lion is considered the king of the jungle due to its boldness and the zeal that it does about its activities in the wilderness, without fear. You know that you are protected by the most high God.

In Psalms 92:12 “The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon”. You will have all round fruitfulness in all spheres of life.