God never expected us to walk out this journey of faith on our own; because for one, He knew we were incapable of doing it in a manner that would honor and please Him. That’s why Jesus promised to send us the Holy Spirit to dwell within so we could be endued with supernatural, miraculous ‘power from on high' (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8). Did you catch yesterday’s message, by chance?

Look what He told His disciples there at the very end of His earthly ministry before He returned to heaven: “I am with you always” (Matt. 28:20). Then, flip over to Mark 16:20 as we learn how those disciples “went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs”.

How do you think we can do the same thing if we are lacking that same Holy Spirit who empowers and equips us to ‘walk just as He walked’ and to ‘love others as he loved us’ (1 John 2:6; John 15:12).

You do realize there is nothing wrong when you are traveling somewhere, and you pull over to get your bearings straight to make sure you are on the right route and haven’t missed any exits or turns, yes? That’s probably why Paul encourages us to do just that with our walk of faith, to ‘pull over’ and to ‘examine ourselves to make sure we are in the faith and that Christ Jesus is in us...’ (2 Cor. 13:5).

When Paul wrote to the believers in Rome, you’ll notice how he did not just throw out this blanket assurance that they ALL now were ‘saved, and had the Holy Spirit’ in them because they had ‘accepted Christ as their personal Savior’. He made it known in Rom. 8:1 that there was ‘now therefore, no condemnation for those who were ‘in Christ’ and walked according to the Spirit and not the flesh’. He reminded them that ‘IF’...the same Spirit who raised Christ form the dead was in them...that they too would be raised and quickened’ (10-11) and ought to be ‘walking in the newness of life’ (Rom. 6:4). After all...that is what the true ‘children of God’ do...they are ‘led by the Spirit’ as they ‘walk in the Spirit’...and no longer fulfill the lusts of the flesh nature (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 5:16).

Trying to walk out this walk of faith is a lesson in futility if you are still trying to do it ‘on your own’. Being ‘sincere’ is nice, but it gets you nowhere if you are void of God’s wonder working power that He has provided for us to walk in. Hence...the reason Jesus told that first graduating class...to ‘wait...until you are endued with ‘power’[dynamin] on high” (Luke 24:49)

I always chuckle when I read there in Acts 19, where Paul first arrived at Ephesus and found some other disciples/believers. It seems the very first question out of his mouth was: “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” (2). I say I chuckle... because who here has ever been around one of those settings when an overzealous believer of the ‘charismatic/Pentecostal persuasion’ asks a similar question to an unsuspecting Episcopalian (or any other traditional denomination)...and you think to yourself...”O Boy...here we go.” IYKYK

But I can appreciate what Paul was asking those early believers; he wants to know...’have you been equipped with that same power from on high in order to walk this walk in an overcoming manner where you too...can overcome ‘all the power of the enemy’ that Jesus spoke of in Luke 10:19. The reason I cite that passage from Luke 10, is that Jesus is acknowledging that the ‘enemy’ (Satan) has a ‘power’ [dynamin]...that we are no match for, if left to our own devices. Friends...we are truly engaged in a ‘spiritual war’ or conflict that transcends anything you may know as ‘flesh and blood’. Paul wants to dispel that notion when he states:

“For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” (Eph. 6:12 NLT)

IF....you are ‘not of God’...and not ‘abiding in Jesus’, then to whom are you subject to and being governed by, according to 1 John 5:19? Just because you ‘say Lord, Lord’ does not mean you are actually submitting yourself to His Lordship (Luke 6:46; Matt. 7:21). The fact of the matter is...if you are still walking according to the flesh...guess who is really operating ‘in’ you? (Eph. 2:1-3). Yeah...take a few moments with that one, if you would please.

Now this is where it gets interesting. Take a look at Acts 26:18, where Jesus is telling Paul why he’s being sent to share the gospel with the Gentiles...so that ‘their eyes can be opened, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the ‘power’ of Satan to God...”. That word used for ‘power’ is now [exousian], meaning ‘delegated’ power and/or authority’. Back in Luke 10, Jesus told those disciples they at the time, had this ‘delegated authority’...to use against the ‘power-dynamin’ that the enemy had (19). So what’s the difference now? Prior to the cross, Satan had supernatural powers to use as he went about like a ‘roaring lion’ (1 Pet. 5:8) who came to ‘steal, kill, and destroy’ (John 10:10).

Why do you suppose so many people, including desperate parents... were bringing loved ones to Jesus to have demons cast out of them? And what had Jesus been anointed and equipped with... to do for those people, according to Peter’s testimony in Acts 10:38? But...after the cross, where Jesus ‘made a public spectacle of Satan...having ‘disarmed principalities and powers’ (Col. 2:15)...something changed. Satan now only has ‘delegated power’ to move in wherever he sees sin. Hence, the reason he continues to tempt us (James 1:13-16). That's why Paul warns us to ‘give no place to the devil’ (Eph. 4:27)? We do that when we 'sin'...or break God's commandments (1 John 3:4)

Yes, Satan still has ‘power’ to devour and destroy...when we ‘give him place’. Why else would Jesus have shared that illustration in Matt. 12:43-45; or even better...why would Jesus instruct us to ‘go and sin no more...lest something worse come upon us’? (John 5:14).

Perhaps it is this super-natural working power that is needed to overcome all sin...where we can go ...and ‘sin no more’, which most of us have been taught is impossible to do.

I don’t know about you, but I think I will stick to the word of God: “And we know whoever is born of God no longer sins...and the wicked one does not touch him.” (1 John 5:18)