With Great Power …

Ephesians 1:17-19 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.

Stan Lee wrote into the Spiderman comics this single tenet: “With great power comes great responsibility.”  Fair enough.  It makes sense.  When someone is given the privilege of wealth, knowledge, or power of any sort, we ought to use it for greater good and not just self-fulfillment.  Long before Lee ever wrote those words, the idea of great power was written by the Apostle Paul to the church in Ephesus.

In his first few statements, Paul prays for the church.  He prays that they (and I believe the entire church, including today) might know the hope by which Christ calls us, the riches of his glorious inheritance, and the immeasurable greatness of his power for believers.  Hope, riches of inheritance, and great power!  The first two flow from one to another.  We have hope BECAUSE of our inheritance.  We have eternal life with God.  Our hope is not on this earth.  Our hope is in the promises of God to heal and renew the earth to set right again the brokenness that we struggle with each day.

Then comes the great power.  Paul continues in verse 20 to tell us that this great power was at work in Jesus when he was resurrected and now rules over the entire world. Talk about power!  Paul wants YOU to know this power.  Power to overcome addiction, pain, suffering, and death.  Power to heal.  Power to forgive and be forgiven.  Power to be made new.  Power of new Life.  This is Holy Spirit power.  This is what we NEED to live as Christians.

We learned last Thursday that Diana’s sister, Jenny, passed away.  Jenny had a battle with alcohol that she lost.  In the pain of grief, we need Paul’s prayer!  We need resurrection hope, the great riches of our inheritance as believers, and above all else we need to know that power. We cannot do this Christian life alone.  We cannot do this with our own power.  We can only do this in reliance and obedience to God and His power.  We conquer death, grief, pain, and sin, through the power of Jesus Christ.

This is the key to living the Christian life, and it doesn’t come from a magical prayer, or a fancy evangelist, or a new program.  It comes from faith that comes from believing.  I pray you know resurrection hope, the riches of your inheritance, and the greatness of God’s power for you!