These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come. 21 Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come. 22 Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come. 23 And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. John 8:20-24
There is no doubt whatsoever that what Jesus Christ preached was forthright and straightforward. He spoke eloquently without contradiction. He preached boldly without fear of people "voting him out of office" for being "politically incorrect" or worrying that some group, such as the Pharisees, would usurp His authority or that His words were simply pleasing sermons that tickled the ears of the wayward. Simply put, Jesus Christ preached plainly with great POWER! When one surveys the Gospel of Jesus Christ they will find that it is not just a doorway to heaven nor a dormitory of wisdom or a directing influence in one's life. They will find that it is power! Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16). We may confidently assert that there is power in the spoken word of the Living God. It was His Word that brought forth creation in the first chapter of Genesis as He spoke the universe into existence. Solomon said, “Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?” (Ecclesiastes 8:4). Recognizing the authority that a president, a prime minister or a king wields, can we imagine what power the words of the King of Kings would hold? Jesus is that King! The Apostle Paul said, “For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance…” (I Thessalonians 1:5). There is extraordinary power and tremendous blessing in the simple belief that Jesus Christ was the One sent of the Father to assume the penalty for the unspeakable crimes and offenses of mankind and to take away the sin of the entire world, as John the Baptist had proclaimed. Notice that John did not say sins, but SIN. Jesus Christ died for the collective SIN of humanity, the totality of sin this darkened world has been cursed with for 6,000 years. The key to benefiting from the power of Jesus Christ is that you must believe that He IS, not WAS and in His spoken word that "I am HE" lest ye die in your sins. It is simple enough (II Corinthians 11:3) to be saved by believing that Christ agonized and died on the cross at Calvary, was buried and three days later rose gloriously from the grave. Understanding this, we can begin to intellectually and emotionally grasp the magnitude of the great power our Savior commands. (I Corinthians 1:18). Beloved, His power is seen throughout the world (Hebrews 11:3) and in the Word of God. Christ Power is: Delivered by God – John 17:1-2 His power comes from an eternal source and therefore cannot be destroyed, no matter what this world does to you. Derived from the Holy Spirit – Luke 4:14 Delegated to others – Luke 9:1 Determined by Himself – John 10:18
That being said, what else could we ever want in the power of Christ? What else could we need? As a complement to the beauty of the Power of Christ having been Delivered, Derived, Delegated and Determined, it is also Demonstrated! Friend, Jesus Christ’s power is demonstrated by His control over the Devil and his dark storms. “Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth. But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.” (Luke 8:22-25). Many times, God permits storms which have been activated by the Devil and his evil workings to intrude into our personal lives. Job was allowed by God to suffer terribly and to endure great loss which included the loss of his children, his home, his wealth and ultimately, his health. The Sea of Galilee historically is known as the "sweet sea of Galilee". It is normally a beautiful and tranquil body of water which is also called Lake Gennesarat as well as the Sea of Tiberias. Yet as beautiful as it is, it also has a propensity for quickly developing storms, similar to the storms that arise in our lives. The storms in our lives can come upon us so fast that one minute we are enjoying the beauty of God’s creation and the in the next, we are cowering beneath ominous clouds that have rolled in like a darkened veil upon the light of our very existence. It is that darkness that we often allow to come in between us and the power of Christ. Too often we succumb to the darkness of a raging storm which interferes with our relationship with God. Flowing from the Sea of Galilee is the River Jordan. It is noted to be one of the fastest moving rivers in the world and in many locations along it banks, currents are so strong that vegetation cannot take root and grow. The River Jordan travels from the Sea of Galilee emptying into the Dead Sea, also known as the Salt Sea. We may draw upon an interesting analogy to our lives as well in this illustration. The Devil wants us to run from our personal storms (which he has created) by jumping into the fast moving waters of the River Jordan, seeking what appears to be an escape from the winds, the rain and the raging tempest. The problem lies in the fact that as we see the storm passing and fade in hindsight, we never realize that we are trapped, carried downstream in the swift currents of the River Jordan. Satan would tempt us to take the easy way out to surrender and drown never to succeed in crossing the sea of life so that we are able to minister in this world. I was taught that "the path of least resistance will always make rivers and men crooked". That easy path taken away from the course of the storm may provide sunny skies, but only for a moment, for the river ends in a place of death, the Dead Sea, where nothing grows. That is the Devil’s desire, to have us flee from the storms resulting in ruined lives filled with remorse and loss. The Devil depends on us not to exercise the Power of Christ which is clearly demonstrated over him. It is in the midst of the storm that we experience Christ’s uplifting and overcoming power the greatest. It is during those dark and stormy days when life is filled with fearsome noise and thunder that the glorious power of Christ holds us close to hear His comforting words: “Peace, be still." The storms are terrible and tumultuous, but there is nothing greater than the power of the Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, if we would only believe. “…for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins”
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