Jesus | Ephesians 1:20-23 | March 10 | Derek Neider

Derek Neider [00:00:06] Raise your hand if you need a Bible. Ephesians chapter one. And the focus of today's study is verses 20 to 23. But we're going to start in verse 19. So Ephesians chapter one, starting in verse 19, when you get there in your Bible, go ahead and stand up with me. Sit down, stand up, sit down, stand up. It's making sure you guys get your exercise today. When you're there, say amen. Okay. All right. The Bible says this. Great verses. If I hit something that you especially love, you can shout out Amen or something like that. The Bible says in verse 19, and what is and what is Paul is praying, 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, number one he raised him from the dead number two and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places. Number three 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. And number four. And he put all things under his feet and gave him his head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. God, we read this and we are filled. We are filled today. Thank you for Jesus, your son. Thank you for who he is and what he's done and what he is doing right now in our lives. Thank you that in him there is all power and all authority, that we're not any longer subject to rulers and powers and dominions and demonic forces. But there is mighty power in the name of Jesus.

Speaker [00:02:09] And would you manifest it today? Would you manifested in this place and in the lives of those watching online today? Would you demonstrate that you are the living God, and that with you all things are possible? In Jesus name, Amen. You can have a seat today. You know, we connect power with preeminence. We connect power with preeminence. I'll say it a different way. We connect power with authority. So for instance, it's baseball season. And, you know, when that home run hitter starts hitting home runs, five home runs, ten, 15, 20, 30, not only is that homerun hitter demonstrating that he has the raw power to knock the ball out of the the park, but in that he also becomes the authority in his field. People start looking to that hitter and learning from his techniques. He becomes a voice piece. There's a position of preeminence or power authority that's given because he has that raw power to knock the ball out of the park. I think about, in the world of finance, you have a financier like Warren Buffett, who has, a powerful financial portfolio. I mean, he he has major purchasing power, but with that power, over the course of time, he's also become an authority in his field. People are looking to Warren Buffett, as an example, as a model of how to run finance, what to purchase, what to sell, how to run organizations and businesses. I think about in the world of politics, there are people who've just had really raw political power. I think of an individual like Ronald Reagan, who was a very influential, influential person whose name carries a lot of authority because he was able to present himself as a a powerhouse politically over the course of time.

Speaker [00:04:12] And so I'm saying to you today that we connect power and authority, and no one has greater power and authority than Jesus Christ. Paul has been teaching that Jesus empowers the powerless. He's been teaching. He's been praying. He's been beseeching. Remember he Paul has been. Paul has been excited. Paul has been lit up in a sense, because of all of the spiritual blessings that have been given to believers in the heavenly places. There's just an immense, immeasurable, infinite number of blessings that belong to us. And and of course, you remember, as Paul is presenting the realities of this, he's giving the people of God reason to to eulogize God, reason to speak a good things about God. Reason to praise the name of God. And then he moves into this time of prayer, because Paul, as a person who's discipling the people in Ephesus, right. Paul, who knows this is a good, solid church. Their reputation has gone before them. There are people of faith who love the brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. They're planted in a really wicked, decadent city. Paul also wants them to know what it is that they're praising God for. And so he says, I've been praying that God would give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, that the eyes of your hearts would be open, so that you would have understanding, because you need to know what it is that you're praising God for. You need to know the hope of your calling. You need to know the glorious inheritance that is his in the saints. And then, of course, you remember. Paul says, you need to know the immeasurable greatness of his power that is working towards us. Paul is talking about this immense power that is available to believers because.

Speaker [00:06:12] Because in Jesus Christ, because Jesus possesses raw power, right? He possesses the power to be raised from the dead, to be seated at the right hand of God, to be elevated above every ruler and power and dominion and authority, to be the one who has the name above all names. He has the raw power to be the head of the church, and that all things are underneath his feet. But with that power also comes authority. You see, these two things are connected together. Power and authority are connected together. I don't often do this, but I'm going to do it today. The Greek word for power is dunamis. And the Greek word for authority is exousía. Say exousía. Today, these two words, sometimes are used interchangeably. So of course, dunamis is where we get our English words dynamite or dynamic or dynamo. It is an expression of real power. Then exousía is is authority. It means that you have the right to exercise that power in any way that you want. You there's so closely connected that sometimes the words power and authority are used interchangeably between the two, but while they're closely connected, they are also very unique. They are also different because you can have power without authority. Like back to the illustration of our home run hitter. You can be, the most amazing home run hitter. You can have the power to knock the ball out of the park at every at bat. But if you're sitting on the bench, if you don't have the authority, then you're never going to be given the opportunity to demonstrate that power. You can have the power, but no authority. You can also have the authority without the power. And so a coach, a crazy coach, probably like we'll have this here for the Boston Red Sox.

Speaker [00:08:09] I'm not like hoping for much because it's not looking all that good, but a crazy coach may put a really bad batter in the box. Someone who is given the authority to do something but doesn't necessarily have the power with Jesus. We have in him both power and authority. And that means listen. That means he has the ability and the unrestricted right to do what he wants to do. To have both power and authority means that Jesus has the ability to do the ability and unrestricted right to do what he wants to, when he wants to do it, and how he wants to do it. It was the raw power of Christ that raised him from the dead. I just said that we have walked through that as we read these verses. I'll just say it again. You guys with me today. I'll say it again. You lost an hour of sleep. But listen, you know, he's still present with us this morning and he wants to bless us, even though you poor people lost an hour of sleep. He is the one who demonstrated that he has power over death. He was. He was resurrected from the dead. He ascended to the right hand of the father. He is seated there in power and authority. He is high and lifted up, and his name is above every name. Just as Paul says that at the name of Jesus, every tongue will, every knee will bow. It'd be interesting if every tongue bowed and every knee confess. But I lost an hour of sleep. Till every knee will bow. And every tongue will confess. And he is high above every ruler and authority and power and dominion. And everything has been placed underneath his feet.

Speaker [00:09:59] Church, that should light you up today. That should light you up. That should fire you up. That should strengthen you up. That should lift you up. That should raise you up. Maybe you've come in a little low today. Set your eyes on Jesus Christ. He is the one who had the raw power to raise himself up from the dead. And with that trajectory, because he is the one who is high and lifted up and seated at the right hand of the father, he also, with all of that raw power, has absolute authority. This is this is the mindset of the apostle to to show that the elevation of Christ causes him to be supreme over every other being. And if you were living back in Paul's time, this would have made sense to you, because in the Middle Eastern mind, in the eastern mind, that elevation represented supremacy. So back in Paul's time, if you were, you know, living in one of the monarchies, you would never go into the king's court and present yourself as higher than the king, because if you presented yourself as higher than the king, maybe you're taller than the king. If your head was higher, you would be implicitly saying that you had more power and authority than the King does. And so the king would always be seated higher if you'd been with me to Tunisia. You know, this is the biggest mosque in Africa. And you see in front of the mosque ruins, well, those ruins are the ancient church of Saint Cyprian. Cyprian was one of the great Church Fathers. And what the Muslims wanted to do is they wanted to show the supremacy in their mind of Islam over all other religions. And so they built their mosque on the highest place above the church, in essence saying that Islam is greater than Christianity.

Speaker [00:11:55] Of course, we know that that's not true, because it's not about how high your mosque is, it? It is about high. How high your Savior is, how elevated he is. So while expressing the unparalleled power that's at work in every Christian, Paul presents Jesus as the greatest and most authoritative being in the universe. God's gift to his people, a people that Jesus fills with all his fullness. Paul, expressing the unparalleled power that is at work in every Christian, presents Jesus not just as the greatest and most authoritative being in the universe. And you got to catch this today, because this is the point. I mean, that's awesome in and of itself, to have a day where you just pour your whole heart into worshiping your Lord and Savior. But not only that, he goes on to say that Jesus is God's gift to the church, a people that Jesus Himself fills with all his fullness. Are you living to that fullness today? Are you living in the power and the authority that is available in the name of Jesus Christ? Because as Christians, we live in Jesus's name. We live in Jesus, his name. That means. And we're going to unpack that this morning, that that means that we live. We operate. We have our being in his power and authority. Some of you guys know what it means to be a power or to have the power of attorney. Maybe you have a loved one or a friend who's buying a home in the city that you live in. They're not able to make it. So what they do is they give to you the power of a of attorney, and so you're able to sign the document in their name, because you've been given the power of attorney, and because you've been given that all of their power and authority is represented in your name.

Speaker [00:13:58] Well, in a similar way, we live in the power and the authority of the name of Jesus. And when I say that I'm not talking about a magical combination of consonants and vowels that we put together, and then we just speak those out and there's power in speaking those out. When we talk about living in Jesus name, we're talking about being representatives of the King. We're talking about living in a way where we are people who have full relationship with the father through faith in the son. We're talking about being people who have been commissioned by the King himself. And so we live our lives in Jesus name, having the authority and the power of Christ fully at work within us. Because we're representatives of the King, we live in relationship with the father through the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and we are on commission by the King. We're doing the King's work. Well, Paul says there, I'll pause for that. Paul says. Paul says there are four ways that happens in our life. Number one, let's get back to the scripture today. Check this out with me. I numbered these as I read these because I love you so much and wanted to make it easy today. But the Bible says in verse 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead, that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead. Paul is saying, man, you need to know it. You need to know the immeasurable greatness of his power. You need to stop living in weakness. You need to stop living by the by the power of your own willpower. You need to stop depending on your capacity to make new habits in your life, as if that is the same as operating in the power and the authority of Jesus Christ.

Speaker [00:15:48] You need to discover that you're a representative of the King. You need to take advantage of everything that's been supplied to you in this living faith relationship that you have with the father through the son and you, you need to remember that you are commissioned by him, and we live to that in both life and death. We live to that in both life and death. Can I remind you, as we are approaching, as we're approaching this amazing Easter season where we celebrate the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, can I remind you today? Can I remind you of something? Thank you. Thank you so much. Death could not hold him down. Death could not hold him down. He has resurrection power. Everybody because of the curse, is under the power of death. For every one person that is born, one person apart from the rapture is going to die. Even if you're Jeff Bezos. All right. And some of you know, Jeff and a bunch of other very wealthy people are seeking to discover technological ways to, at the cellular level, reverse, the consequences of death itself. Well, bad news for Jeff. He's not going to the only way to beat death. And by the way, there's only one who is able to beat death. And his name is Jesus. And not only that. Listen, not only that, he didn't just beat death. He conquered. He conquered death. He won the victory. He didn't just win the victory for himself. He also frees all of his people from death. The only way for Jeff to beat death is to put his trust in faith in Jesus Christ. And you know, you know, this is what Jesus said. He's speaking to the multitudes. And in John chapter ten, he says, no one, no one has the authority to take my life.

Speaker [00:17:44] He's like, I am the one who has the exousía here. I am the one who has the authority to lay my life down. And I also have the exousía the I have the authority, the full power of God, to do what I want, when I want to do it, to take my life up again. Jesus has the authority over the power of death, and he demonstrated that not just for himself, but for all who put their trust and faith in him. Paul in first Corinthians chapter 15, great chapter on the resurrection. He says this. He says in verse 54, death is swallowed up in victory. He says, O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But but what say a church. Are you really thankful today? How many Christians we have in this room? Like. Like I'm not like taking your little, effort to say those words. But thanks be to God is like, you're really excited about the reality that death has no power over you anymore. So I'll try it again. But. Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Man that that is good in Jesus name. In Jesus name you have the opportunity. Now. You have the privilege. You have the ability to live free from the fear of death. You have the ability today in Jesus name to live with real purpose in your life. You can invest in things that last forever because in Christ, because you're born again by the Spirit of God, you have the hope of eternal life in Jesus name. The second thing that Paul says here is that in Jesus name we experience the power of prayer.

Speaker [00:19:41] Check this out. He goes on to say in verse 20 and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places. Of course, you know, theologically we're talking about the ascension. We don't often talk about the Ascension, unfortunately, because, you know, the ascension is very important. We talk about the condescension. We talk about the incarnation. As the word became flesh. We talk about the perfection that Christ fulfilled every aspect of the law, living a perfect life. We talk about the crucifixion, Jesus's substitutionary death on the cross for you and for me. He paid a penalty that we were unable to pay ourselves. We talk about the resurrection, how death could not hold him down. That stone was rolled away. The angel said to the women disciples, what are you seeking? Why do you seek the dead amongst the living? He is not here. He's been raised again. But we often don't talk about the Ascension. It's the ascension of Christ that identified him as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. I want you to notice here Paul is very particular that Jesus has been seated. He has been seated at the right hand of God that signifies that the work that he accomplished was settled and done when he died on the cross, for you and for me. That modern way of saying, this is it was done and done. It was done and done. The theological way of saying this in the Greek is tetelestai it is finished. Those were the words of Christ, and because it was finished, because there's nothing for you to add, because you can't make the sacrifice of Christ on the cross better, because it's a free gift as offered to you today through faith in Christ, salvation, forgiveness of your sins.

Speaker [00:21:42] Because of that, he was seated at the place of honor, in the place of privilege, in the place of power. And by the way, he is the only one who sits there. Jesus is absolutely unique from any other person who's ever lived. He is the only begotten Son of God. He is the second person of the Triune Godhead. He is not only the Son of God. He is God the Son. He is unique because he alone sits at the place of honor and privilege and power, the very right hand of God. And not only that, but the Bible says in Ephesians chapter two that we have been seated in the heavenly places with him. That is that is so good. We're going to unpack that later on. But in the eastern mine. Listen, in the eastern mine, heaven, the realms of heaven and earth were interconnected. Sometimes in the West, you know, we had the tendency to chop things up and compartmentalize them and segment them and separate them. And so sometimes when we talk about heaven, we're talking about some distant place that we're going to go one day. Pie in the sky, by and by, kind of disconnected from our present moment in the eastern mind. That was not the case. These two realms were connected together. And this is essential for you and for me. Because while we do know, and we're looking forward to the reality that one day we will be in heaven with our God, worshiping him for all of eternity. As followers of Jesus Christ, the fullness of heaven influences our life right now, right now, in this present moment, right now, in this present time when Jesus ascended to heaven, to the right hand of the father, he went to God's world.

Speaker [00:23:33] But in the biblical mind, God's world touches all worlds. And so the reality is, this is what it means through the Ascension. Jesus is unbound by the space time continuum and is present two and for all people at all times. When he ascended to the father and was seated at the right hand, it represented the reality that he was unbound by the space time continuum. And now, in that place, in the heavenly place, he is available to all people and for all people at all times. This is why the Bible refers to him as the Great Intercessor. The Bible says that as he seated at the right hand of the father, he always lives to make intercession for those who come to him by faith. Today you might be thinking, man, pastor, I don't have anybody to pray for me. I just, I know, I just I just need someone to pray for me. Pastor, the pastors don't pray for me. Christians don't pray for me. I say, are you a believer in Jesus Christ? You say, yes, I am. I say, Jesus is praying for you. Jesus is praying for you. Maybe, maybe the leadership has failed you and maybe your friends have let you down. But let me tell you something there's one who will never let you down. There is one who is seated at the right hand of the father. There is one who, on your behalf, like how many millions of Christians exist on the face of the globe today? And yet, in his infinite wisdom, in his absolute omniscience, he knows you and he knows the circumstances situation of your life. He is deeply concerned with it. You have a high priest who can sympathize with your weaknesses. In other words, he knows what you need in the moment that you need it.

Speaker [00:25:24] And he sits at the right hand of the father interceding on your behalf. And not only that, but you have influence with the intercessor. You have influence with the intercessor in the eastern mind, in the biblical mind. Heaven is seen as the control room for earth. And so what that means in like very simple terms, is this. Are you ready for it? Jesus is in control, right? Jesus is in control. I don't know about you, but every week is like, could it get worse? Could go worse. I'm not trying to be negative today, but you know what? Sometimes, you know, you watch the news, you hear the news, you. You listen to what's going on. And people say to me, pastor, like, what? What the heck is going on? I'm like, well, the end times are coming to pass. Like, this is the reality of it. But you don't have to be afraid. You know, you don't have to live in fear. You don't have to be stressed out and filled with anxiety. And you might be thinking, well, you give me one good reason why I don't have to live with anxiety, stress, and fear. And the one good reason is Jesus is in control. And this is what compels you. This is what compels me to go to him in prayer. We have influence with the influencer. This is what you said in John chapter 16, verse 23. He said to his disciples, and he says to you today, whatever you ask in my name, whatever you ask in my name, whatever you ask as my representative, whatever you ask because you are in living relationship with me, whatever you ask, because I've commissioned you and called you and directed you and I've sent you out.

Speaker [00:27:06] Whatever you ask in my name, according to my will, for my glory will become effective as you experience my power and authority in your life. He hears from heaven at the right hand of God, and he executes here on earth. The third thing that we see today is this we live in Jesus name in the face of powers and authority. We live with the power and the authority of Jesus Christ in the face of powers and authorities. Check this out in verse 21. Stay far above, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that his name, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. And so the third thing today, the third thing the Scripture encourages us to live in. This is the purpose of the prayer of the Apostle Paul. He's tying you to the divine trajectory of Christ, who was raised from the dead, who was seated at the right hand, and who was elevated high above every rule, authority, power, and dominion. Paul is saying that in the earthly and heavenly realms there is no one higher than Jesus Christ. He is not only superior to death, but he is superior to any hostile power that would seek to oppose him. His name is the name above all names. His title is the title above all titles, and Paul here refers to spiritual agencies, not agencies of flesh and blood, of people or earthly powers. Paul is talking about rulers, authorities, powers and dominions. Paul is reminding these believers that with respect to the whole host of demonic forces, Jesus Christ is greater. I want to remind you today, maybe this is new news to you. Paul knew this full well that we had an ad.

Speaker [00:29:12] We have an adversary. He's a fallen angel. His name was Lucifer. We call him Satan or the devil or the serpent of old. There are all sorts of titles that we have for him. He is an adversary not to be trifled with. He is an adversary of. Immense power. I didn't say supreme power. I didn't say divine power. And so let me remind you today. Don't attribute more power to the adversary than what actually belongs to him. Some some people, you know, some people when they talk about G. When they talk about the devil, I'm like, are you talking about the devil? Are you talking about Jesus? Because you're almost framing the devil as if he is omnipotent and he is not omnipotent. He is not all powerful. But I'll tell you what. He's strategic. Paul said this. We're not. We are not unaware of the wiles of the devil. And by the way, the word wiles means strategies. You know, because the devil has strategies. The devil has a plan that he's working. Paul goes on to talk about the wiles they were familiar with, and he talked specifically about unforgiveness. That's a topic for another time. But one of the tactics of the devil is to get into your heart with bitterness that comes from unforgiveness. So? So, he says, we're not unaware of his strategies. He does have strategies and he has ordered his host right. At least one third of the angels fell with Lucifer and were turned into demons or wicked spiritual beings. And they're ordered, you know, kind of like we order our military in the army. You have the private, the corporal, the sergeant, the lieutenant, the captain, the major, the colonel and the general. And in the spiritual world, with respect to the wicked hoes that are under the influence of Satan, you have rules and authorities and powers and dominions and the not.

Speaker [00:31:18] Some of you are like. Are you trying to scare me today, pastor? Like you're trying to scare me? No, you don't have to be afraid because Colossians 2:15 says this God disarmed God, disarmed the rulers and authorities, and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in Jesus, specifically in his crucifixion on the cross. So Jesus, Jesus has overcome. Jesus has been victorious. Jesus has won the day. And in Jesus name you are no longer under those powers. You are no longer under those powers. Paul in Ephesians chapter two is going to talk about the reality of who we are, before we put our trust and faith in Christ is certainly is not flattering. He says, hey, you know, you were sons and daughters of disobedience. You were children of wrath. You were under the prince of the power of the air. You gave your life to wickedness. But. You want to know? One of the most powerful words in the scripture is little, tiny three letter word. It's the word. But right. But God encourage you. And I mean it's in the most pure theological says you should check out all the buts in the Bible because the butts of God are amazing. They're powerful. They take us in our wickedness and they convey us into the kingdom. Who is the who is the, the kingdom of the sun? Who is the object of the father's love? I got all messed up right there with with the butts of God, I'll tell you that straight up. But you, you are no longer. You are no longer under the power of those demonic forces. You are no longer under the influence of. Paul was so convinced of this that in Romans chapter eight, verse 38, he said, for I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Speaker [00:33:22] Not only are you no longer under the influence of those rulers and dominions and authorities and powers, not only are you no longer subject to them in that regard, but they now are subject to you. There is power in Jesus name because you're a representative of the King, because you live in full relationship with the father through the son, because you're on commission. You now operate with the power and the authority of Jesus Christ. I love the story of the Apostle Paul. He's planning a church in Philippi. You remember he's cruising along. He's sharing the gospel. There's a demon possessed girl. Every day she's following Paul and the other missionaries, and she's saying all these things that were not uplifting or directing people to the message of the gospel. They were they were distracting. They were distracting people from the message of the gospel. And finally, Paul the Bible says, very annoyed in the spirit. Paul turns around and he says, in the name of Jesus, come out of her in the name of Jesus. Paul wasn't just putting together a series of consonants and vowels because he was a child of God, because he was on commission, because he was a representative of the King. He was able to exercise the power and the authority in the name of Jesus Christ, so that this girl was exorcized of her demon. She was forgiven and cleansed and became part of the early church. You know, it's amazing. In the last couple of months we have seen the pastors, have seen multiple people freed from demonic possession because of the power of the name of Jesus, the powers available to you. The fourth thing today is this. You, in Jesus name, are able to have his power and authority in preaching and demonstrations of power.

Speaker [00:35:16] The Scripture says this. I'm just going to go back to verse 21, 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. Check this out. And he put all things under his feet and gave him has head over all things to the church. The fourth and final thing today, the fourth and final thing today that Paul would encourage us. And today the Spirit of God is encouraging us to live in, to live in Jesus name, to live with his power and authority in preaching and also demonstrations of power. So the Bible says from head to toe, Jesus has all authority from head to toe. Not only are fallen powers inferior to him, they are also subject to him, as is all creation. Everything has been placed underneath his feet. He has full authority to accomplish his mission, the mission of God, the redemption of not only creation, but the redemption of men and women, human souls to heaven. I've said to you last week that Jesus has won the victory, and that is true. But while we know the war has been won, there are still skirmishes that we are fighting. You guys feel this on a daily basis, on a daily basis. You know, we talk about the the wiles of the adversary and and the reality is this he is always seeking to undermine every good thing that God desires to do in your life. You know that you don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers. You know that it literally is hand-to-hand combat, and God is not giving you weapons of warfare that are carnal in nature, but mighty in God to pull down strongholds and every high thing that exalts itself against the name of Christ.

Speaker [00:37:06] And you need that because Jesus has commissioned you, Jesus has sent his followers out, directing them to influence the world with his gospel. And you know, in commissioning you, the good news is this he shares his power with you for the sake of the mission. He shares his power with you for the sake of the mission. I'm just saying to you, today is not your charisma. You're like, it's not yours either, pastor. It's not your charisma. It is not your intellect. It is not the assets that you possess for us as a church. It's not our building. It's not our property. It's not our technology. It's not. It's not a personality. It is not even a natural gifting that is going to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ. You know what? We have to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ as a church and in our lives individually, we have the power and the authority that is present in his name. That's what we go forward in. Okay. And listen. We become anemic as Christians. We become anemic when we stop relying on the power and the authority that is present in the name of Christ. When we start looking to the things of this world. And don't get me wrong, because God will use the tools that he gives to us to to further the gospel. But the tools have no power in and of themselves. When you take a step of faith and you're like, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to live a life. I'm going to live a life. Pastor, you know what? I am tired. I'm tired of the lukewarm life. I'm tired of living with one foot in the world and one foot in the word.

Speaker [00:38:52] I'm tired of, like, living this half hearted Christian life that is sapping the energy out of me. I'm going to choose to live. I'm going to choose to be a light. I'm going to choose to be on fire. For. For Christ. And not only that, but I'm not going to be afraid anymore. I'm not going to be afraid to let the gospel fly from my lips. I'm not going to be afraid to say, like Isaiah said, Lord, here am I. Send me. Take a call from the altar and purge my lips that I can bring your message of hope and love to the world around me. I'm not going to be afraid of that anymore. And I say, you know what? What's going to. You don't have to be afraid of that anymore. You can live a life in the full power. You can be a herald of the gospel because you are on commission by Jesus Christ, and he is extended to you. He has chosen to share his power and his authority with you to accomplish his divine purposes. He said it. He said it. When it gets to the Great Commission, you know, sometimes we start with go therefore and make disciples. That's not where it starts. He starts by saying, all authority, all exousía in heaven and on earth has been given to me. He says, listen, church, it's all underneath my feet. All authority has been given to me. Go. Therefore, you're not going in your power. You're not going in your might. You're not going in your abilities. Not by might, not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord. Peter knew this when he was preaching the very first time, preaching to, to, to the multitudes.

Speaker [00:40:32] After the Ascension of Christ. They were convicted to the core, and they said, what must we do to be saved? And he said, repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus. Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. It is the power and the authority that is present and the purpose of in the person of Christ to forgive your sins. You guys remember the story? There were four guys. They had a friend. They lowered him before Jesus because he physically needed to be healed. And Jesus said, just a wild thing. You said to him, son, your sins have been forgiven. And the Pharisees and the scribes, you know, they were all angry and upset. And they said amongst each other, who is this who thinks that he has the authority to forgive sins? Only God has authority to forgive sins. And Jesus, knowing their thoughts, the Bible says, says so that you might know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. He looked at the guy and said, rise up, take your bed and walk. He has the authority today. He has the he is the only one. He is the only one. Maybe today you're living in a condition of brokenness. You're burdened with guilt and shame because of what you you've done. Your sins, your past sins, your present sins are haunting you. They follow you wherever you go. David was in that spot where he said to God in prayer, my sins are always before my eyes. And maybe today that's how you feel. And you're burdened down and you're broken because of sin in your life. There is one present among us who has the power and the authority today to say, your sins are forgiven, your sins are forgiven, be washed and cleansed and connected to God through faith in me.

Speaker [00:42:21] That was the message that was preached. And by the way, not only does Christ empower you to preach, but he empowers you to work miracles, signs and wonders. Some people say, hey, you know, the early church was so great because back then, back then, the Holy Spirit worked signs and miracles and wonders. And I say, you know, the Holy Spirit is the same yesterday, today and forever. He's not changed. He's not changed. That power is still present today. Peter and John were walking through the temple at the hour of prayer. And you remember you remember that they saw this man who was begging for alms. And Peter said, silver and gold, I don't have what I do have. I give to you in the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus rise up and walk. And then they were ushered into the Sanhedrin, and the guys were like, who do you think you are? And you can't do this? And he's like, well, what's the problem here? It's not us. It is in the name of Jesus that this man was strengthened. There is power today in his name. Church, I got to remind us today, what do we have as the people of God? What do we have as the people of God? We have Jesus and His authority and his power. We are the body of Christ, right? We're the body of Christ. We're the body of Christ. We are the body of Christ. He he he lives through us. Corporeally lead. Christ lives through his people. And I just want to say this today. His people aren't making a dent. That's just the reality, like we can said, and be frustrated about the condition of our society all day long. But the reality is, the church today is not making a spiritual dent because the church is not operating in the power and the authority of Jesus Christ.

Speaker [00:44:12] And so we have a choice. We have a choice today. We can be that powerful light that touches and is used by God to transform people's lives. We can be those heralds and those proclaimers of the gospel, speaking the truth not in fear, not not resisting the leading of the Spirit of God. We can speak in power and we can see the gospel change people's lives. Or we can continue with the status quo. We can continue to live with our light under the bushel. We can continue to live with one foot in the world and one foot in the world. We can continue to live in a in a half hearted, hardly lit up life. Or we can finally, once and for all, make our stand and say, in these times, in this generation, we are not just going to stand by while the world goes to hell in a handbasket. We are going to be empowered by the power and authority that is present and available in the name of Jesus. In Jesus name, Amen.