Mary's Favorite - Pt 7

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. (Ephesians 1:15-21 ESV).

What I have found about knowing something and feeling something is that it is always harer to do the latter. So my message today from this great passage is this: The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and what became of him after his resurrection, shows the greatness of God’s power toward us now in this life. Perhaps you can remember three words to capture this message: resurrection power now. It sounds idealistic. It sounds like religious hype. It sounds vague and theoretical. There are some reasons why we don’t “feel” this great powewr at work in our lives. Perhaps the most basic reason is that the eyes of our hearts are dull to spiritual reality. I have heard this called “spiritual dullness.” It is that we are not fully aware of the blinding, deadening power of sin that is now being conquered in our lives by God’s superior power. If you are feeling healthy, you will be thrilled with the power of your medicine, only if you know the deadly power of the disease it is holding back. If you are forgiven and have any measure of victory over sin in your life, you will be amazed at the power of God, only if you know the indescribable depth and power of sin. However, another reason we don’t feel the power of God toward us now is that we are not fully aware of the magnitude of demonic power that is coming against us at all times. If you feel safe, you will be thrilled with your protector, only if you know the deadly power of the enemy he is holding back. If you have any measure of freedom from demonic control, you will be amazed at God’s power toward you now, only if you know the indescribable power of Satan. Additionally, we often do not consider fully what has happened to Jesus and his present role in the universe. If Jesus gave his life for us, we will be amazed at God’s power toward us only if we see what has become of him since the resurrection. He is “seated at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named.” That is the source of the power!