Unlocking God’s Power in Your Life

Rev Mark Barnard

What a joy it is to be with you. We have been here numerous times. We came during Ps Geoffrey, then Ps Gideon and now Ps Ronald. This is a beautiful place and you are a beautiful people so tell your neighbour you look good. Everywhere I go everybody talks to me about this forbidden fruit called the durian. It must be the fruit at the Garden of Eden where it says if you eat it you will surely die. I have tried it before. Maybe some day I may try again.

How many of you believe that God has unlimited power? That God can do everything? How many of you believe that nothing is impossible with God? Who believe that God is all powerful? You all put up your hands. We believe that for everybody else but when it comes to ourselves we find that it's difficult to believe.

We believe and we verbalise it but in our lives we have to actualise it.

In the OT, God brought out the people from Egypt. And God did incredible things. A group of slaves walked out from the most powerful man on earth.  Miracles after miracles. He fed them manna, provided them with water from rocks, led them day and night and God even parted the Red Sea for them and they walked on dry lands. And God closed the waters and the Egyptians in their chariots died. What an incredible thing. What an amazing God.

Yet these people kept complaining all the time. They complained about no water and no food. They complained on everything until when Moses went up to Mt Sinai after putting up with these people where God wrote the law on two tablets of stone and told Moses take these two tablets and it’ll get better. Israel tempted and tested God and limited the Holy One of Israel. They limited the God almighty.

We want to unlock the limitless power of God in our life.

John 1:1-5 (NKJV)

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

That is speaking about Jesus.

John 1:9-11 (NKJV)

9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

Jesus came through the Jews.  And God has always been with these people but by the time we get to here, these people are looking for the Messiah. They were desperate for the Messiah to come and deliver them from the Romans. But his own did not receive Him. That word receive Him is very important.

John 1:12 (NKJV)

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:

Receive Him brought some transformation to their lives. They rejected him and his power to transform their lives were limited. To those that receive Him he gave the right, authority or power or ability to become children of God. By receiving Jesus  they receive the power to become another person.

We become a new creation. We became born again by the Spirit of God, we were translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God. We receive eternal life from that moment. We become something new. Something else.

1. We give power to the things we receive.

If we take gossip for example. If we receive gossip, we keep it going by gossiping but if we stop, we stop it in its track. If we receive negative things we give it power. The negative had power in their lives. Negative rules when I receive negative. The same with positives in our lives. Then the positive things take root in our life.

If you receive the truth, the truth will set you free. It liberates and transforms your life. So it's important to know what to receive and what to reject. Here the Jews rejected Jesus. We give power to the things we receive in our lives.

Everywhere Jesus went people were excited but some people were not happy.

Mark 6:1-2 (NKJV)

1 Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!

They all saw the incredible work of Jesus. They saw and acknowledged all these things that Jesus did. They have seen and heard these things.

Then they said:

Mark 6:3 (NKJV)

Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him.

Something here stopped them from receiving from him.

Mark 6:4-6 (NKJV)

4 But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” 5 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.

We give power to the things we receive.

But when we choose to receive Jesus, it will transforms us. Our mindset keeps us in or out of certain things. We all have a way of thinking.

If our way of thinking do not align with God's word then we will miss out. We need to open up our lives to God. We want what God has for our lives and be changed by his word and his spirit.

I grew up in a very traditional church. Those church where the pastor wears like my mother but calls himself a father. He stands there and is so aloof. I went to that church for 20 years and would not have recognised Jesus if I bumped into him.

At about 20 years old I went into a Pentecostal church and it was strange because they were speaking in tongues. I thought they belonged to the nuthouse. But I saw how they loved God and I received Jesus that day.

So I went back to the father and I told him about that and he said it'll pass. I told him I wanted to be baptised but he wouldn't do it. So I went back to that Pentecostal church and got baptised. And then I saw them being baptised in the Holy Spirit and I also wanted it. But I keep going out for altar call and nothing happened. But after many times they took me to the back room and the day came I was filled with the Holy Spirit. I went back and told the father and he told me to get out and don't come back.

If God deals with you don't fight it but yield to God. You get power from the things you receive. There is great value in receiving from God.

Unlocking the power of believing in God.

2. We receive power from the things that we believe.

Mark 2:1-5 (NKJV)

1 And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. 2 Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. 3 Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. 4 And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.

5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

Later Jesus said to that man arise and walk.

Mark 2:9 (NKJV)

Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’?

Jesus saw their faith. How could Jesus see their faith? By the hole in the roof. The story shows their faith unlocks something in their situation. We receive power from the things we believe. They believed Jesus can heal their friend and they were willing to do anything to get to Jesus.

When they had broken through, that's the key. Some of us has to get pass obstacles to get to Jesus. I'm sure in this room there are people who has obstacles, problems in their life. When we really believe something we are willing to do what is necessary to get what we need.

If we believe Jesus has the power, then we receive that power from Jesus. So my question is what do you believe about Jesus? Do you believe that he is the answer to your problems? There is the fact and there is the truth. Doctors will give us the diagnosis that is very bleak. That's the fact. But will we hang on to the truth. That by his stripes we are healed. That's the truth. There is a journey that take the fact to the truth. Man and medicine are wonderful so I'm not against medicine. But the truth is that God will heal all our diseases. God sent his word and he healed them.

We have no problems believing that Jesus save us from our sins. And we believe he forgives me when I do wrong or I fall. In the same way that he forgives us he also heals us. We receive healing whether it's emotional, physical or spiritual.

3. Experiencing the blessings of trusting in God.

Sometimes in our journey we have to trust the Lord. God loves people who believe. And have faith. Faith is what unlocks God's treasure chest and God's blessings in your life even when it looks impossible.

Luke 5:1-5 (NKJV)

1 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, 2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. 3 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.

4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.”

Simon is first of all a professional fisherman. That's his job so he knows how to fish, not Jesus who is a preacher. Simon could have said there is no fish out there. Don't tell me there are fishes out there because there is none. I'm the fisherman.

But Simon said nevertheless at your word I will let down the net. Everything natural said there's no fish but Simon chose to listen to Jesus. Just like when God spoke to Mary. Let it be unto me according to your word. You cannot conceive without sex. But she obeyed.

Luke 5:6-7 (NKJV)

6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. 7 So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

Who wants to go fishing with Jesus? They had a big haul of fishes. In the natural there's no fish.

When God called us to come to Malaysia we didn't know anyone. We had no money. It cost money to do the work of the Lord. So I told God I have no money and God said to trust him. So I prayed and half an hour later I got a call from someone 300 miles away and he said God spoke to him that he has open the door for me to do international work. And he said he wants to sow into our ministry.

So I said okay but right about then, God spoke to me to bring a team of 10 people. Oh, okay. But God told me I am to pay for all of them. I was at a person's office and as I was leaving he passed me an envelope.

Immediately when I went back I open the envelope and in there was 9,000 dollars. That's a lot of money at that time.

If God orders it God will pay for it. God showed me by a miracle. I didn't manipulate because it's never about the money. We are not interested in that. I did not want the love of money to be in my heart. The Lord has always provided when we trust him. It released God's power into our circumstances. We need to experience the blessings of trusting in God.

These three things are very important.

1. We give power to the things we receive.
2. We receive power from the things that we believe.
3. Experiencing the blessings of trusting in God.

Perhaps today you are here and you need a breakthrough from God. Make a choice to receive the truth and the life. To receive Jesus. Make a choice today. Put that issue on God's hands. It could be financial or your marriage or a child that has moved away from God. Believe and put your trust in God.