Grace Part 8 How God meets your deepest needs: Where to find the power you need

How God meets your deepest needs: Where to find the power you need
(El Shaddai – Genesis 17:1)

I want to tell you about Mother Theresa, adapted from Max Lucado’s: “In the eye of the storm”, chapter 3]
Mother Theresa can help us understand power…God’s power. I’m not thinking of Teresa, the saintly sister in India. I am thinking of Theresa, the muscular mom in America. Theresa Briones is a loving mother; but she has a good left hook, and used it to deck a woman in a coin laundry.
Some kids were making fun of Theresa’s daughter, Alicia. Alicia is only 10 years old, but looks as if she is 70. She is bald; her skin is wrinkled; she has arthritis in all her joints. She suffers from progeria, a genetic aging disease that affects 1 child in 8 million.
“Mom,” the kids called, “come and look at the little monster.” “She’s not a monster,” said Mother Theresa, “she’s just like you and me.” Theresa has grown accustomed to the stares. She answers the questions of the curious. But she will not tolerate insensitive slander.
“Mom,” the kids called again, “come and see the monster.” The kids’ mom looked up: “I see it,” she said. “My child is not an ’it’,” replied Mother Theresa. That’s when she decked the woman….pow!
Why did she do it? Because she loved her child…wanted to protect her child.
How often has the Almighty God used His power to keep you and me out of harm’s way? None of us knows all that Almighty God has done for us. Who knows how many times He has used His might.
Martin Luther said – He uses His might to “defend (us) against all danger…guard (us) from all evil”.
God does not only use His power for us to prevent us from being listed as victims. He also shares His power with us. He wants to put us in a position where we can live as “victors”.
David says: El Shaddai…this God Almighty – “is awesome… He gives power and strength to His people” [Psalm 68:35 NIV]. Does El Shaddai want us to simply talk, or sing about His power? No. He wants us to experience and use the power that He gives. He does not want any of us here this morning to be “powerless”.
The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 4:20 (NLT) For the Kingdom of God is not just fancy talk; it is living by God’s power.
Ephesians 1:18-19 (NIV) "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength"

We need to discover how very great this power is that is working in us who believe. We are going to examine the “when” and “how” of God’s power. When does God provide power to you and me? How we can plug into that power?