The Power of the Church

Guest (Male): We are talking about supernatural power. We are talking about divine power. We are talking about a power that has its source in a person—not a committee, or a group, or a government, or an institution, nor a creed, nor a dogma—but the person of Almighty God who is omnipotent and from whom all power exudes. The church is more than a religious organization. It's a group of believers who are uniquely a people of God. Welcome to In Touch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley. Today we continue Dr. Stanley's series with a reminder of the twofold source of power in the church. Let's listen in to Dr. Stanley's message.
Dr. Charles Stanley: Now if you should ask the average person today, "What do you think the power of the church is?" more than likely they would think in terms of a local church. So they would say, "Well, I think a church has power when it has a place of prominence in the city." Secondly, they would say, "I think the church has power when it has a large host of people, a large membership." Or someone would say, "I believe the church has power when the people in that fellowship are people of prominence." Or someone else may say, "Well, I believe the church has power when it has great prosperity." Well, let me show you why not a single one of those things has anything at all to do with the power that God has provided for His church. First of all, they're all built upon human frailties and carnal flesh. That is just pure fleshly. That has nothing to do with the power of God. Secondly, they're not scriptural. The New Testament church in Jerusalem that exercised the supernatural power of God certainly weren't in with Rome or the leaders of Jerusalem. Thirdly, one of the primary reasons that none of those things are of any value to God is because they have no relationship whatsoever with the primary task of the church. It has nothing to do with the task of the church. It has nothing to do with the work of the church. So the power of God is not any of the things that most people, especially the world, would identify as giving them power. So we're talking about spiritual power. We're talking about supernatural power. We're talking about divine power. We're talking about something that man cannot concoct, nor can he manipulate, can he make up, can he fabricate in any form of fashion. We're talking about a power that has its source in heaven and not on earth. We're talking about a power that has its source in a person—not a committee, or a group, or a government, or an institution, nor a creed, nor a dogma—but the person of Almighty God who is omnipotent and from whom all power exudes. He says that He has decreed, that He has purposed, to give, to place in the body of believers supernatural divine power. Now, what we have to ask is, "What is the purpose of that power?" Would you not agree that it would be very evident that the purpose of that power would naturally conform to God's purpose and plan for the body? Whatever God has for us to do, if He has promised us, "Ye shall receive power," then the promise of that power has to do with the task of the church. He doesn't give power for pride's sake. He only gives power in order that the body may fulfill its original function as a part of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, what is that? If you'll recall, He said to them, "Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you and ye shall be what? Witnesses unto me, that is in my behalf, in Jerusalem to the uttermost parts of this earth." So the promise of power has to do directly, specifically, and personally, and precisely with the work of that fellowship. And what is the work of the fellowship? It is evangelizing the world. Jesus says, "This is my commission to the church. As you go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them, discipling them, equipping them." And He says, "And I will be with you every step of the way." If you're not going anywhere, you don't need any gasoline. If you're not going anywhere, you don't even need to get in the automobile. There are a lot of folks sitting in the automobile with no battery and no gasoline and they're waving as the world goes by. There's nothing going on. And I want to say to you, my friend, that no church, whoever that church may be, has the right to take up any space on this globe if it is not attempting to evangelize the world, equip the believers, and equip them to become what God wants them to be in their personal intimate quiet relationship with Him. Now if that be true, and it is true according to the scripture, what we have to ask is this: In the body of Christ, in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, what is the power? Remember what Paul said in chapter one of Romans beginning in verse 16. He says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." Now listen to what he said. He says the gospel message in the church of Jesus Christ, the gospel message is the power of God. What is the gospel message? Here's the gospel message: That Jesus Christ came into this world, the incarnate Son of God, born in Bethlehem, lived His life, short life of 33 years approximately, went to the cross to atone for your sin and my sin, was buried in a borrowed tomb, was resurrected the third day as the living Lord, and ascended to the Father, seated at His right hand, and one day is coming as Lord and Master and Judge and King of all of life. That is the gospel. That is the only message that has ever been placed on the face of this earth that can change a man's eternal destiny. The power within the church is to be found in the message of the church. And the church of Jesus Christ only has one message. And it is the message that Jesus Christ not only has atoned for man's sins but through the Holy Spirit has come back to live within man—a life that man is incapable of living. And therefore, today the body of Christ is a group of baptized believers who are indwelt by the living resurrected Lord Jesus Christ in order to evangelize and missionize and bring light to a world that is in darkness, sin, guilt, and shame. That is the message. Therefore, any man who stands behind any pulpit in the world and who claims to be a preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ who doubts this book, and in his mind he's taken his invisible scalpel and he's cut out this passage and cut out this passage and shredded this page and sliced at this page because he no longer believes it, what he has done with his own mind, he has abandoned his relationship and his connection to the supernatural power of God to change humanity. God forbid that any man should stand in a pulpit and cause doubt and create doubt and unbelief in the word of God. So He says, first of all, within the body of Christ the power is to reside in the message. And every single one of us who know Jesus Christ have this message living and abiding within us so that it can never be taken away from us. Regardless of persecution, regardless of hardship, regardless of trial, regardless of heartache, this message is a part of our life even more so than the blood that runs through our veins. We can never escape the message. That's where the power lies. But you see, you can have the message, you can know the truth, you can have it on your lips, you can know it in your heart, but that's not enough. And this is why Jesus said to those disciples—He said in my terms—He said to them, "You have seen me. You have heard me. You have witnessed me raise the dead, heal the lame, give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf. You've seen miracle after miracle. You've touched me with your hands and now in my glorified body you know that I am the resurrected living Messiah and the Lord of life. But I want to tell all of you who have just seen me and have witnessed these three years with me and walked with me: You're still not ready to carry out the mission of the church." These 12 men had heard, seen, felt, touched, and lived the life of Christ. But He said to them, "Tarry ye, wait ye in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with the Holy Spirit. Then you're ready. Then you're right. Then you're equipped. Then you can fulfill the mission of the church." Now, why did He say to them, "Tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you be endued with power?" For this reason: If you're not functioning in God's power, whose power are you functioning in? Whose? Your power. So what we have is an impossible task. What we have is a divine task, a supernatural task. Would God ever say to His people, giving them a supernatural message for a supernatural task, "Now carry out this message in your natural power and strength?" He would never say that. And you see, whenever people shy away from the work of the Holy Spirit—"Don't want to get too close to those spirit things"—what they're doing is they're cutting off their source of power. The source of power that runs from heaven to your heart is the power of the Holy Spirit who lives and abides and dwells in every single one of us. The power of the Holy Spirit. If they could have done their work without it, Jesus would have said, "Go to it." But He said, "Even though you've seen, heard, felt, touched, and lived, you're not ready." The only way God is going to get His church doing His great work is when the people in that fellowship of the body of Christ begin to understand. "We with all of our knowledge, all of our experience, all of our intellect, all of our eloquence, all of our prosperity, all of our programs, all of our prominence—all of these things that you can negate—all of that." And when a man's willing to drop on his face before Almighty God and say, "God, I cannot. I am absolutely and totally incapable. I have the message but not the power." When a man or woman is willing to get on their knees and acknowledge before God, "Without your anointing, without your enduement, without your unction, it's all in vain," then the power comes and the spirit of God begins to move in that fellowship. We must never give men credit. We must never praise men. We must never glorify men. We must glorify Almighty God. To glorify a man puts the man in jeopardy. To honor the man puts the man in jeopardy. It is the message wherein the power comes. It is through the Holy Spirit that the spirit of God works His power in the life of His church. Therefore, if the message is the message of the gospel of Christ, if we know that to be true, and if we know that God will not equip us apart from the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, then it is our personal responsibility to see to it that the spirit of God take the message of God in our lives and by His spirit He convey that in supernatural power so that the task, which is the mission of the church—of sharing their faith and their spiritual warfare—we will not face Satan in finite power and end up in defeat. We will not attempt to do the work of the church in finite power and end up in defeat. But the warfare is to be victorious and likewise is the missionary opportunities to be victorious. So somebody says, "But now wait a minute. Where does prayer and faith come in? Because I would have thought that prayer and faith, that these two areas is where you find the real power in the church." No, the power is in the message of Christ. The power is in the Holy Spirit who equips and endues and anoints and unctionizes that whole body to present that message. Prayer is the means by which God releases that power in the life of that church. Faith, when God's people begin to believe Him and to look to Him in prayer, those are the two vessels through which God releases the spirit and releases the power in the life of that church when they are willing to pray and willing to believe God on the basis of the message in their absolute and total dependence upon the Holy Spirit. Prayer and faith are the triggers that release the supernatural power of God in the life of that church. Listen, when you and I are gripped, gripped by the fact that the only message that can change the world, change a man's eternal destiny, is the simple saving gospel of Jesus Christ that kept me out of hell and put my name in glory. Whether it is the saving of people individually, the healing of physical bodies, the release of His spirit and the release of gifts among God's people, whatever He wants to do, He's going to do it. But He's only going to do it to His own glory, praise, and honor. And secondly, to accomplish the mission of the church, which is to evangelize the world and in the process of doing so equipping us in the spiritual warfare that we're going to face as we fulfill the great commission. And let me just say this to you and I want to say it again—I hope this echoes and haunts some of you because I keep saying it for that reason: You only get one trip through this life. You can live it in weakness, frailty, defeat, discouragement, disillusion, and hopelessness. Or in pleasure and pride wasting away your life because you don't feel adequate. Praise God you don't feel adequate. He never wants you to feel adequate within yourself. Our adequacy is in the message and in the power of the spirit of God. You can live it weakly, wasting your life, living it for yourself. And one of these days it's all going to be there and it's all going to be over and you're going to say, "Oh, if I had only." It's too late. And that's why I keep saying to you week after week after week after week after week before God: Make your life count while you've got time to make it count because, friend, you're not going to have forever. There are four very simple but definite requirements if the spirit of the living God is going to take the message of the living God in your life and make you a blessing to someone else. And let me tell you something, my friend, if your life is not a continuing blessing to someone else, there's something missing in your life. Where in this world did we get the idea that believers are to be saved to go to heaven and to sit until Jesus comes? He has saved you and is equipping you in order that your life may be poured out in somebody else's life. We can never be able to apologize and reason and rationalize and get God's approval. Four simple things. Number one: I must acknowledge my total incapability of fulfilling God's purpose for my life apart from the power of the Holy Spirit. Number one. As long as I think I can do it, I will never come to the place of making the decision God wants me to make about the Holy Spirit in His life. Secondly, I must be willing to deal with every specific known sin God brings to my mind without any cover-up, without any rationalization, without any excusing. Just face it like it is. "God, you're right." It may not even be anything wrong in your life, but if God wants to remove it and you're not willing for Him to remove it, then the wrong comes. And thirdly, I've got to be willing—listen now carefully—to yield myself to God. Now what does that include? Listen very carefully. To yield means that I am willing to definitely, deliberately, voluntarily transfer the undivided possession, control, and use of my body, soul, and spirit to the person of Jesus Christ my Lord, who is rightfully my Lord because He created me and because He has redeemed me. Now listen, a lot of folks get saved, walk the church aisle, and make a few commitments. Did you hear what I said? The voluntary, definite, willful transfer of undivided possession. Undivided possession—He owns it all. Undivided control—not partly me and partly Him. Undivided use—I give up all my rights to claim my future and to make my plans apart from His approval. Undivided possession, undivided control, undivided use to Jesus Christ my Lord and my Savior, who rightfully deserves all of that. And the fourth simple thing is this: I must be willing to believe that when I make that yield to Him, the spirit of the living God fills my life and is—listen—and is freed and liberated to fulfill His will because He has undivided possession, undivided control, and undivided use of your eyes, your ears, your tongue, your whole body, all you possess, all that you are, all of your relationships, all of your plans, all of your hopes, all of your future, all of your dream. He has undivided possession, control, and use of that. And the moment you're willing to believe Him, my friend, I guarantee you on the basis of everything this book teaches you, there will come into your life an awareness of an authority with God, an authority with His word, an authority in sharing that word that you have never experienced, which is available, free, offered to every single believer who is willing to meet the requirements. We'll be strong and powerful as a church or we'll be weak, flimsy, and an embarrassment to God. And all that depends upon whether I'm willing to be strong in the Lord as an individual person that my life may count in the lives of other people.
Guest (Male): Thanks for joining us on In Touch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley. The strength of any local fellowship of believers lies in their belief in the word of God and the empowerment of the spirit of God. And that trust must begin in the life of every individual follower of the Son of God. If you want to learn more about the gospel message and what it means for you, visit intouch.org and you can hear this message again by clicking "Today on Radio." To order a copy of Dr. Stanley's message, "The Power of the Church," visit our online store. It's also part of the complete teaching set that is titled "Uniquely a People of God." Log on to intouch.org for that, or call or text us at the number 1-800-INTOUCH. And to write to us, you can address your letter to In Touch, Post Office Box 7900, Atlanta, Georgia 30357 or 1-800-INTOUCH. What's so different about the Bible? Find out coming up in today's moment with Charles Stanley. Tired of faith feeling like a performance? Worn down by constant striving? Jesus never meant it to feel that way. His call was always to something more, to a life that's generous, vibrant, joyful, and sustainable—a real life with Him. That's the heart of Follow Me, our book created to help you answer that call. Get your copy at intouch.org/store. In our spiritual journey, we often have questions. "How do I know God's will for my life?" "Does God hear my prayers?" "Why do bad things happen?" The answers are found in the word of God. But how do we know where to start? The free In Touch devotional can help point you in the right direction with biblically based content from Dr. Charles Stanley. You'll gain insight and wisdom through daily devotions, Bible studies, and more. The In Touch devotional, delivered monthly to your mailbox—subscribe for free at intouch.org/daily. You're listening to In Touch. The word of God is more than a collection of religious stories. Hear about its uniqueness in a moment with Charles Stanley.
Dr. Charles Stanley: When you look in this book to see what the book says about itself, it says that it is the inspired word of God. It says that it is like a hammer, a hammer blow to crush and to break. It is like fire to burn out the dross. It is like a sword to pierce to the very quick and mire. So that the Bible is described as a powerful instrument. Fire is a powerful instrument. A sword is a powerful instrument. A hammer is a powerful instrument. You can either do good or you can do evil with any one of those. But the word of God has been given to us as the message of God to humanity. It is the only message. All the philosophies, all the dogmas, all the creeds, all the doctrines in the world are absolutely nothing compared to the message of this book. It is the only message God said a man should lay down his life for. It is the only message that God said a man is to live by, to follow through, and to share with every single person on the face of this earth. The power in the body of Christ is centered in the message that body is to share with the world. And when that body abandons this book, what it does is to abandon the power of God.
Guest (Male): You can learn more about the power of God through the word of God at intouch.org. And if this program challenged you to grow up in your faith, tell us what you learned. On the next edition of In Touch, if financial support of the church makes you uneasy, it might mean that you don't understand the purpose of church giving. Find out more about that when our series continues on In Touch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley. This program is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia, and remains on the station through the grace of God and your faithful prayers and gifts.