How Do We Walk In The Power of Jesus?

As to the question I've proposed in today's title, our culture actually makes it hard to walk in the true essence of Jesus's power. Our culture and the world tell us we should ascend in stature and position as we grow in power. We use terms like, climb the ladder, rise to the top, work one's way up, rise to power, gain [or grow] in power. We have examples throughout history of men who ascended to the pinnacle of world power; Solomon, Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Constantine, Napoleon, Vladimir Lenin, Winston Churchill, Stalin, Hitler, Mao Tse Tung, George Soros to name just a few. [NOTE: I acknowledge that there have been women of power throughout history, but for the sake of this post, I will refer to men in the fact that I am comparing them to Jesus, a man]. 

But how did they get their power and what does it consist of? I recently read an article titled Obedience, Power, and Leadership that started me on this journey of understanding how Jesus's power was so radically different than what the world had experienced before His arrival on earth. In my limited expertise and simple understanding, I see the psychology of power like this: power in our cultures is founded in the ability to influence society, even when the people being influenced may attempt to resist those changes [Fiske, 1993; Keltner, Gruenfeld & Anderson, 2003]. Although this article is highly focused on social psychology and the ability of leaders to create conformity and obedience, it showed me that man's view of how to exercise power is far removed from Jesus's.

While the world teaches us we gain power as we ascend to a height of influence, Jesus says we gain power as we descend from the world's definition and become more humble; we seek to become a servant to others, and not their master. While the world leaders throughout history have used their power and influence for personal gain, Jesus had no interest in accumulating wealth or material things. 

Man's purpose on earth is most often focused on what he can gain here, on the physical earth, during his lifespan; what he has to show for his life at the end of it. Jesus, on the other hand, had an eternal perspective. He didn't come to build up a storehouse of treasure on earth. He knew His assignment here was temporary and to be short-lived. He would be returning to Heaven soon, and anything He amassed would be meaningless to His purpose. He didn't seek to climb the mountain of fame and influence to benefit Himself -- although He certainly could have. No, instead He lowered Himself by emptying Himself of all the benefits of His deity, by taking the form of a servant (Philippians 2:7). 

[NOTE: We need to understand that emptying Himself  implies that He did not renounce or diminish His deity, but only temporarily gave up His divine equality with the Father, and His rightful dignity, in order to take on the likeness of men]. Philippians continues to reveal the beautiful part of this Truth in that He humbled Himself [still further] by becoming obedient [to the Father] to the point of death on a cross for us! So how does His humility translate to His power? And if we are to walk in this world like Jesus, what does that look like in relation to our humility and our power? 

If you will recall, Jesus spent a lot of time in solitude with the Father. He often left His disciples to go off by Himself to confer with the Father on how to best complete His assignment. I can only imagine those conversations and the desire of the Lord to proceed with mindfulness and forethought to avoid anything that might offend God or discredit not only the Name of the Messiah/Christ, but also to protect His ultimate purpose: to die for our sins, offering us a way into an eternal and reconciled relationship with God. And because of this attentiveness to His purpose and assignment, Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men [Luke 2:52]. 

So, as always, Jesus is our model. He walked in confident humility, having spent time with the Father, receiving His instructions and being obedient to follow them through. He walked as a servant to others, offering to everyone the word of Life, while also being responsible to do what He had been called by God to do. The same should hold true for us! Spend time with the Father and Son, asking questions, and discerning how best to carry out our purpose, all with a servant's heart for God and our fellow man. Furthermore, we don't overuse the authority Jesus has given us to trample on the Enemy. We don't seek wealth and success for their own sake, knowing they have no value in eternity. And we don't sow our spiritual power into political or military endeavors because eternity is a bigger goal than those transient pursuits.

In the end, walking in the power of Jesus looks nothing like what the world offers. Seeking my personal gain for the short time I'm here on earth is such a waste when compared to my eternal gain by walking in the example of Christ. It won't be easy, because our culture and the world are constantly tempting us to follow them. But my joy and peace can only be found in what Jesus makes available to me. If power truly comes from the ability to influence others in our society, I believe I can best do that by following in Jesus's footsteps of humility, serving others, and being obedient to seek the fulfillment of my purpose on earth. He was given the ability to do signs and wonders to express the power of Heaven over the power of darkness, and Jesus has transferred that divine power to us. We have all we need to influence the world for the Glory of God. Don't quit or give up! Don't think you are incapable! Do what Jesus did ... pray and ask for the strength of Heaven. And above all else, get quiet and meet with the Father. He will lead you into His wisdom, strength, favor and power. Jesus is a testimony of that! 

Ephesians 1:19 ... [so that you will begin to know] what the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His [active, spiritual] power is, in us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength...

What Spiritual Warfare On Behalf of the Kingdom of God Looks Like

In case you haven't noticed, we are in the midst of a serious and profound spiritual war. At the very heart of this concept is our understanding that there has been an eternal war between God, the Creator of the Universe and all that is in it, and His Enemy, Satan, whose pride led him to rebel against God and seek ownership of all creation. In case you doubt the reality of spiritual warfare, the evidence of this supernatural conflict can be seen in the evil and lawlessness among mankind; the present war posturing in the physical world; and everything in our midst that is counter to God's will.

Whenever I've brought up the subject of "spiritual warfare", I get one of several reactions. There are some Christians who react out of fear. They have been influenced by movies like The Exorcist or the slew of demonic films that feed our sense of being vulnerable and powerless against monsters and demons from the pit of hell. Then there are those who are at the other extreme; they refuse to recognize that spiritual warfare is real, and also unavoidable. They chalk it up to radical Christians who see a demon behind every bad thing that happens to people. Of course, there are also people [both Christian and nonbelievers] who simply do not believe in the supernatural or existence of spirits in this earthly realm.

The Apostle Paul clearly states some very clear principles regarding spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6:10-12. First, it is assumed that we recognize that we are actually in a spiritual war -- a war waged from the spiritual realms by spiritual beings! Then he points out these realities about our position in this war ... 1) We can find our strength [to fight and win!] in the Lord and His mighty power; 2) The Lord has given us battle armor to protect us as we fight defensively and offensively; 3) The enemy we fight does not look like us -- it is not of human flesh and blood, but of spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, we cannot fight and defend from our human abilities. We must learn to battle with supernatural authority from God.

I think part of our problem is that the world does not believe in or embrace either the Great Commission that our Lord and Savior gave us to thwart the schemes of the devil to claim lives for his dark kingdom, or in our supernatural authority to defeat him. It's easy to see those schemes that kill, steal, and destroy lives ... iniquity in the family bloodline (such as molestation and sexual abuse); addictions; disease; emotional and psychological attacks; anything that creates low self-esteem, among many others. 

Jesus gave us the example of what His blood would eventually buy for us -- the ability to overcome those schemes through our spiritual relationship with Him and the commission He made available to us. [NOTE: our commission from Christ means that we have authority to perform a task or certain duties that He instructs and commands us to do. See Matthew 28:16-20, and Mark 16:14-19, keeping in mind that this passage uses idioms that would have been known to the hearers in that time period]. Sometimes He dealt with a demon and cast it out of a person. Sometimes, He simply declared that they were healed and washed clean. Other times He spit in His hand and made mud out of the dirt and applied it to a man's eyes. All of these examples are part of the Great Commission to His followers and disciples, and are forms of spiritual warfare.  

But the important thing to note is that Jesus took control over Satan's strategy to enslave that person, and set Jesus them free through the power of Heaven. That's what it can look like for us, too, when we enter His Kingdom here on earth and receive His strategies so that we can overcome Satan's. But, too often, we react to Satan's game plan instead of taking control of the situation in the power of the Lord. And our most common reaction is FEAR.

But did you know that Satan actually fears US because he knows we were created to rule over him? Satan knows that Jesus brought the Father's Kingdom government to the earth at His First Coming. And He knows those who have entered that Kingdom domain as citizens, and the spiritual authority they have been given. Therefore, Satan is intimidated by our intimate relationship with the Creator, which is why he tries to get us to accept fear in the battle. But when we refuse to step into that spiritual place of fear, and recognize if for the trap that it is, the devil knows his defeat is imminent.

 He recognizes that we are confident in our authority as Kingdom representatives and in the Lord's power. Satan realizes we are poised for victory! As part of our battle plan, we must always cling to God's promises, surround ourselves with people of strong faith, and be encouragers by sharing our testimonies of how the Lord has led us to triumph over the enemy. Remembering our history of victories in the Lord encourages us, too, and is a great practice to get into!

And it is important to come to the realization that God is never going to put us in a situation or send us into a spiritual battle that is above our level of obedience. He will not subject us to something over our heads, causing us to turn from our commission. He wants to see us win! If we are committed to fighting a battle for the Kingdom of God, in the center of His will and out of righteous obedience, then He will equip us to win. It's when we step outside that safe place of His will, that we receive self-inflicted war wounds. 

So, I just want to reiterate how important it is for the Body of Christ to not only be aware of the spiritual war that is waging all around us, but to get into battle mode -- be obedient to the instructions and will of the Lord; and be ready to fight both offensively and defensively, as He leads you. Be so confident in your victory, and the ability of your armor to protect you, that the Enemy cowers in fear of you, knowing you will not only recognize his strategies, but have the power of the Lord behind you to defeat him ... the power of His blood that bought your salvation; the Lord's righteousness as your breastplate; God's Truth as your belt; the readiness to always spread the Gospel of Peace as your shoes; your faith [and God's faithfulness to you]  as your shield; and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

I want to leave you with the wise words of Pastor Bill Johnson on this subject of spiritual warfare: We were born in a war. There are no time-outs, no vacations, no leaves of absence. The safest place is in the center of God's will, which is in a place of deep intimacy. There He allows only the battles to come our way that we are equipped to win. Not only is this the safest place, it is the most joyful place for each believer. Outside of intimacy, we are likely to miss the greatest event on earth ... the finale and climax of His Kingdom on earth! 

Remember: we were born for a time such as this. All the mayhem and chaos we see in the world is not going to go away, "if we just try to get along". But we need not fear! We have the resources of Heaven that have been made available to us to ensure our victory, on earth and in the spiritual realms. Christ's blood covers us in the present spiritual war, and those to come! 

2 Thessalonians 3:3   But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you [setting you on a firm foundation] and will protect and guard you from the evil one.