Introduction                                                                                      June 18, 2023

We’ve been talking about Preparing for your New life In Christ. We learned that there were Three keys to empowering your life: 

1. Programming your mind in what you believe. 2 Cor. 10:5 

2. Establishing your heart in what you believe. Luke 6:45 and

3. Develop your speech in what you believe. James 3:2 

Applying these 3 keys allows “You, a spirit being with a body and soul (trinity), to be unified as one. This unified state is critical for your empowerment since the scriptures teach that a house divided against itself cannot stand. You are the house of God, a temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you. 1 Cor. 3:16.

 In addition, Jesus’ prayer before leaving was, “I am not asking on behalf of these alone, but also for those who believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. John 17:20 

So, as you, spirit being, are unified and intertwined with God, God molds you more into your created state, which is in His image and likeness. 

For God created you with the unique ability to represent His character through your lifestyle and to think like Him in your decision-making and through your reasoning, intellect, will and emotion. (1 Corinthians 11:7; Eph. 5:1-20; Phil. 4:13; Gal. 5: 16-18; 2 Cor. 5:21 Mark 11:20-25. Phil. 2: 12,13)

You can discern all things because you have the mind of Christ. (1 Cor. 2:6-16) 

Therefore when “You, a spirit being,” have your body and soul in line with you as one, “YOU” are able to operate at your full potential, as you are walking in the wisdom of God with kingdom power and authority.  

This gives your words power and authority in the spiritual realm over principalities in the heavenly realm.   For the kingdom of God is not in words but in power. 1 Cor. 4:20 

You must hold fast to that truth because scripture says . . .  in the last days, difficult times will come. People will be lovers of self, holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these.  

Among them are those who slip into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1 Tim. 4: 1-7 

So, today we want to talk about the “Purpose of Empowerment.” 

Let’s begin by answering the question, what is empowerment? From a biblical perspective, empowerment is the ability to execute God’s will for your life and creation.  

Our scripture text will be coming from 1 Cor. 2:2-5. And when I came to you, brothers, and sisters, I did not come as someone superior in speaking ability or wisdom, as I proclaimed God’s testimony to you.  

I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I also was with you in weakness and fear and in great trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of mankind, but on the power of God.  

This concept of the demonstration of the Spirit and of power is revealed in Zech. 4: 6,7 “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of armies.  

What are you, you great mountain? Before Zerubbabel, you will become a plain; he will bring out the top stone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” Zech. 4: 6,7

Jesus told His disciples, “ Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matt. 17:20

This same principle can be observed in action later in Luke 5: 17-25. In verse 17, we are told that as Jesus is teaching, the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. Luke 5:17, then in verse 24, we see him simply tell the paralyzed man to get up, take his mat and go home, and immediately the man does.

This is a biblical concept discussed with Jesus by the centurion in Matt. 8:5-15

And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, begging Him and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, terribly tormented.”

Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.

For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

When Jesus heard this, He was amazed and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.

And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness; in that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment. Matt. 8:5-15

Jesus also said Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will also do; and greater works than these he will do, because I am going to the Father.  

And whatever you ask in My name, I will do this so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. John 14:12-14 

That’s right.  By empowering your life, you can execute God’s will in creation by your words just like Jesus did, establishing kingdom rule here on earth as we await Jesus’s return through the power of the Holy Spirit.  

As God’s official representatives here on earth, we are officially recognized by Satan, the ruler of this world, as God’s resident representatives over creation with authority to establish kingdom rule and set those free from Satan’s rule and authority who choose to come out of their own free will. (2 Cor. 5: 20) 

Satan and his demons are bound by our authority and must submit to it. Yet, as God’s representatives, we are not subject to Satan’s authority.  Furthermore, God prevents him from harming or touching us. (Matt. 3:27; 1 John 5:18-21) 

However, to be effective in service to God, you must become a symbol of power and authority; Only then will you be able to keep the saints by the power of God’s word, as God says in Hebrews 1:2, 3

His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory, and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.

Therefore, you must have an authoritative message along with the demonstration of God’s power.  The experience must be empowerment, deliverance from the things that bind, guidance, comfort, healing, and transformation. 

Jesus said, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. Matt. 16:19

Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to cast them out and heal every disease and every sickness.

And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. Matt. 10:1-8

The eagerly waiting creation waits for the revealing of the sons and daughters of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in the hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. Rom. 8:19-21 

Therefore, as a born-again believer, you must take ownership because everything belongs to you now. That includes life, death, things present, and things to come; all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God. 

You are authorized with power and authority to offer humanity an opportunity to be enlightened, experience the good things of heaven, share in the Holy Spirit, taste the goodness of the word of God, and experience the power of the age to come. 

As a family of born-again believers, we must empower a generation of believers while developing a new era of Church leadership. Spiritual empowerment and authority will position the church to drive out Satan’s influence upon the world while establishing the kingdom of God here on earth as we await Jesus’ return. 

So then, the purpose of empowerment is for you to execute God’s will in creation, fulfilling God’s idea of creating you;  In which He revealed when He said

 “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the sky and the livestock and all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.” in Gen. 1: 26 and also

when He stated, “Whoever wants to become prominent among you shall be your servant, and whoever desires to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” Matt. 20:26.

If you haven’t already noticed, the reality is, operating in spiritual power and authority to execute God’s will in the creation and your life requires a complete mind shift.   You must seek spiritual solutions for peace, justice, and righteousness whenever unrest, injustice, and unrighteousness are revealed. 

This requires you to become a person of substance who believes in bringing value to the world, a person who likes creating things, whether it is a material item, a thought, or an emotion.  

You must also become a kingdom thinker and a doer, craving to be around people of God’s original ideas and who are solution driven.  You must work diligently at accomplishing God’s will.

In all of this, we can be encouraged because this is the confidence that we have before Him that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  

And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. 1 John 5: 14,15 

This is why we are told to pray, “Our Father, who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come.

Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. ‘Give us this day our daily bread.

‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’

For if you forgive other people for their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive other people, then your Father will not forgive your offenses.

Are you executing God’s will in your life and the world? If yes, how? If not, why not?