Yesterday we took a look at how the Advent season and Christmas commemorates one of the most significant events in our history. In the process, we came to know Christ as the Lamb of God and Savior of the world.
But Christmas also celebrates the coming of the King who lived among us, the Son of the Most High dwelling among His people, the Immanuel. Vested in the identity of a king is the connotation of power. Last Sunday, Pr Benny Liew of DUMC shared a message about the power in the Name of Christ and how we as a people of God have the power of God’s Holy Spirit within us.
Pr Benny observed that we have always been fascinated with super powers. This is very clearly seen in pop culture and in the commercial juggernauts of DC and Marvel. Yet even before all this was conceived by the mind of men, the Bible had already told the remarkable story of the superpower of God.
As Christians, we are in a position to move from imaginative power against evil to something real. The omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God had made this possible when He sent His Son, Jesus, who is perfect without any weaknesses, from Heaven to dwell among us on Earth.
Knowing the power Jesus possess (Luke 1:34-35, Luke 3:21-22, Matthew 26:52-54)
Jesus is unique among all figures in history. He was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born as a human being, thus bridging the realms of the divine and the mundane. He was fully human and yet fully divine. During Jesus’s baptism, just before He went into the wilderness and triumphed against Satan, thus starting His ministry on Earth, God’s Spirit came to rest upon Him as a dove. This is significant because it shows to us that God was with Jesus. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit were all there at once.
The extraordinary thing in all of this is that even with His Godly power, Jesus practised self restraint in obedience to His heavenly Father. Out of deep love for us and obedience to the Heavenly Father, Jesus lived like a man and faced the challenges in this world, even to the extent of dying on the cross to fulfil His Father’s call because of His love for us.
Experiencing the power of Jesus (Acts 10:36-38)
Jesus practised an astonishing level of self-restraint but there were many instances in which His power was displayed. The Gospels recorded up to 37 miracles He performed during His ministry on Earth but there may have been many more. These miracles were not frivolous – they had a purpose, not least to show that they are from God. Jesus’s power was manifested in diverse ways. These are just some of them:
(i) Jesus has Power over diseases (John 4:43-54, Matthew 8:1-4, Luke 5:17-26, Mark 6:53-56)
Jesus’s healing was not just on the Jews but also the Gentiles. This can be seen in many cases such as the healing for an official’s son in Capernaum from afar, the cleansing of a man from leprosy, and a paralytic who was let down from the roof. Jesus looked upon the faith of the friends and healed the man. All of them were healed because of their faith.
(ii) Jesus has Power over demons (Mark 5:1-20, Mark 7:24-30)
Jesus’s healing was not just on physical ailments but transcended into the spiritual. Even as a man, Jesus had the power to drive out evil spirits. One of the most notable of these is the driving of a whole legion of demons from a man in the region of Gadara and Gerasa who had been tormented for years, casting those demons into a herd of pigs. Some of the deliverance were quieter but no less tremendous such as the healing of a Gentile woman’s demon-possessed daughter.
(iii) Jesus was and is the Powerful presentation of the truth (John 2:1-11, Luke 8:22-25, John 6:1-15, Matthew 14:22-33)
Jesus had the power to heal and deliver people and He also performed many other miracles. He turned water into wine. He calmed the storm. He walked on water. He fed 5000 with five loaves and two fish. Through these miracles, He presented us with the Truth. We are reminded to look at the Giver and not the gifts for the central point in these miracles is the person of Jesus. Though He had unlimited power, He shows us love and humility. Through Jesus, we are encouraged to do good for righteousness, and that holiness will prevail. Just as Jesus was with the people at that time, He is still with us today.
(iv) Jesus has Power over death (Luke 7:11-17, Matthew 9:18, 23-26, John 11:1-45)
Most significantly, Jesus has power over death. This is visible in the raising of a widow’s son from the dead in Nain, the raising of Jairus’ daughter back to life, and most well-known of all, Lazarus from the dead in Bethany many days after his death. The greatest miracle of all is that He rose from the dead three days after His death. During His ascension, He gave us the power to overcome the world and evil that we may apply in our lives.
Receiving and applying the power from Jesus
How can we receive and apply the power from Jesus? Pr Benny shared two main aspects:
(i) Through the Indwelling and Infilling of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8, John 16:13)
Before we can apply the power in witnessing for Jesus, there must be the indwelling and infilling of the Holy Spirit. We need to spend time with Him to hear and devote time to Him to hear Him clearly. The power of the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins, comforts us, guides us, and gives us the desire to obey God and understand what He has to say about our lives. We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit everyday.
(ii) By Invoking the powerful Name of Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:11b, Phillippians 2:9-11)
When we came to know Christ as our Redeemer and Savior, we were conferred identities and statuses as God’s children. The Bible also describes the Church as the Bride of Christ. The Name of Jesus invokes in us power and authority according to these identities. As the bride of Christ we share His identity and as we are in Christ, we can do all things in His Name, according to His attributes. Thus there is power in His Holy Name.
This Christmas, let us take a step of faith and the opportunity to grow deeper in our relationship with Jesus. Let God who is Omnipresent be your partner in life. There is peace within Christ’s presence when we speak His Name over every heart and mind. There is power in God’s Name and reverence in our walk with Him. God is in control in every situation. He is in us and with us when we receive the Holy Spirit into our lives.
Sharing based on a devotional prepared by Michelle Chuah for a sermon given by Pr Benny Liew in DUMC on 16th and 17th December 2023. The full sermon can be viewed on DUMC’s YouTube page at https://youtu.be/Ok3mau8b03g?feature=shared
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