Wednesday, June 1
A different kind of power
Scripture: 1 Kings 9-10, Ephesians 3
Ephesians 3:16 I pray that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through his Spirit,
Observation
In this beautiful prayer at the end of chapter 3, Paul prays that we would be strengthened with power in our inner beings through the Spirit.
In Acts 1:8, Jesus promised the disciples that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came on them and they would be his witnesses everywhere.
The word “power” in both passages translates the Greek word dunamis, from which we get the English word “dynamite.” And “dynamic.”
One is explosive…and destructive. The other is “marked by continuous and productive activity or change.” We need a different kind of power!
Application
Last night, Danielle Strickland spoke at our convention and her message left me stunned. This was the theme: we need a different kind of power, and with a smile she asked how many of us have preached on the Greek word dunamis and that we get dynamite from it. I raised my hand. We did it last Sunday! She pointed out that we also get the word dynamic from it—a different kind of power—and said that we need a different kind of power.
Then she gave several Biblical examples. One: in Acts 16, Paul and Silas are unjustly jailed in Philippi. A midnight earthquake shakes the prison and everyone’s chains fall off. Power! Dynamite! God obviously wants them free. But the jailer is about to fall on his sword (the penalty for letting prisoners escape was death). Paul stops him and says, “We’re all here. We’re not going anywhere.” Paul sacrifices their freedom for the jailer’s life. It results in the man being saved, coming to Christ along with his whole family. Power! Dynamic!
Danielle also reminded us that Acts 1:8 promises power to be witnesses—the Greek word is martureo, we get the word “martyr” from it. This is the power of sacrifice, the power to take up your cross, the power of Jesus saving us.
The power God gives us is a different kind of power.
Prayer: Lord, strengthen me with power in my inner being through your Spirit and make me your witness today…witness with a different kind of power.