The Need for Revelation and Power (2014)
We need revelation and power from the Holy Spirit to live an overcoming life, full of purity, humility, and love.
Zac Poonen emphasizes the necessity of receiving revelation and power from the Holy Spirit, as highlighted in Paul's prayers in Ephesians. He explains that understanding God's love and the fullness of Christ requires the collective experience of the entire Body of Christ, urging believers to remain open-hearted towards all fellow Christians. Poonen warns against sectarian attitudes that limit spiritual wealth and encourages a humble acceptance of all God's children. He stresses that true revelation leads to the power to live a life of purity, humility, and love, enabling believers to overcome sin and embody Christ's teachings. Ultimately, he reminds us that God can accomplish far more in us than we can imagine.
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In Ephesians 1:17,18, Paul had prayed that the Christians at Ephesus might receive revelation from the Holy Spirit. At the end of this first half of Ephesians, in chapter 3:16, Paul prays that they might receive power from the Holy Spirit. These are our two greatest needs - revelation and power. The Holy Spirit alone can give us both. The entire Christian life is dependent on the Holy Spirit. First of all, the Spirit gives us revelation on what God has done for us in Christ. Then, He gives us power to walk in a manner worthy of our calling, obeying all that the Lord has taught us.
In Ephesians 3: 18& 19, we see that we can experience the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ (there are four dimensions there and that itself goes beyond human knowledge!!) - only along with ALL the saints. We can never grasp the love of Christ all by ourselves. We need the other members of Christ's Body. And further, we need ALL the members of Christ's Body, not just those in our own little group. That is why our hearts should always be open to ALL believers, even to those who don't agree with us, and even to those whom we would consider a bit extreme. We may not be able to work with all of them, and we certainly will not be able to meet all of them on this earth. But our hearts should be open to all of God's children. Our hearts must have room for as many brothers and sisters as God has children - both barbarian and cultured.
That is why we need to be open to read the writings of ALL godly people - and not just to the writings of our favourite authors. Let me warn you, in advance, that in my lifetime, I have found very, very few believers who have such an open heart. But those are the few who are truly spiritually wealthy. The remainder carry on with their poverty-stricken, sectarian attitudes and live and die as Pharisees, missing out on the wealth that could have been theirs if they had been humble enough to accept all whom God had accepted.
Let us meditate carefully on the first three chapters of Ephesians and ask the Holy Spirit to give us revelation on these glorious truths. Once you have got revelation, you will be ready to seek the Spirit for His power to live an overcoming life, full of purity, humility and love. Then we will be able to put away ALL unwholesome words from our speech, and ALL anger and ALL bitterness from our hearts (Eph.4:29,31).
Then wives will be able to submit to their husbands as the church is to Christ, and husbands will be able to love their wives as Christ loved the church (Eph.5:22,25). Then we will be able to overcome Satan at all times (Eph.6:11-13). And then we will have the power to "become imitators of God" (Eph.5:1).
God is able to do far more in us and through us than we can ask or think.
To Him alone be all the glory (Eph.3:20,21).
Wish you all a Happy New year!
Sermon Outline
- I. Our Greatest Needs - Revelation and Power
- A. Revelation: Understanding what God has done for us in Christ
- B. Power: Walking in a manner worthy of our calling
- II. The Breadth and Length and Height and Depth of the Love of Christ
- A. Experienced with all the saints, not alone
- III. The Importance of an Open Heart
- A. Open to all believers, even those who disagree
- B. Open to read the writings of all godly people
- IV. The Result of an Open Heart - Spiritual Wealth
- A. Humility and acceptance of all God's children
- B. Putting away unwholesome words and anger
Key Quotes
“We can never grasp the love of Christ all by ourselves.” — Zac Poonen
“Our hearts must have room for as many brothers and sisters as God has children - both barbarian and cultured.” — Zac Poonen
“God is able to do far more in us and through us than we can ask or think.” — Zac Poonen
Application Points
- We should seek the Spirit's power to live an overcoming life, full of purity, humility, and love.
- We should put away unwholesome words and anger from our hearts.
- We should submit to our husbands as the church is to Christ, and love our wives as Christ loved the church.