The Power of Faith

A message for Akron Alliance Fellowship Church, Akron OH, September 17, 2023.

For the “Live in Church” audio version of this message, click here.

My lovely bride and I were at the Central District and Prayer Conference this past week at North-Mar Church in Warren, Ohio.  It gave us the opportunity to spend time with Pastor Gus and also meeting a number of pastors and their spouses that I had not seen for a quite a while.  It was great to see so many pastors from different ethnicities and backgrounds come together for a common purpose in worship, prayer and praise.  Our group of pastors, delegates and guests all gathered together with the common theme that we are an Acts 1:8 community with a Kingdom focus.

Acts 1:8 NIV

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

These words happen to be the last recorded words in Scripture of Jesus communicating to his disciples before He ascended into the clouds as they watched.  He was telling them that their ultimate power source in proclaiming the gospel to the world will come from the Holy Spirit.

We know Jesus because the Spirit reveals Him to us.  And the Spirit gives us the ability to acknowledge the presence of Jesus in our lives.  He also gives us the ability to love Him and love others as He loves us.

Isaiah 61:1 ESV

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.

Jesus Himself was able to perform all of His miracles in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 10:38 ESV

…how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 

The indwelling presence of the Spirit is where we get our ability to live as members of an Acts 1:8 community.

The importance of the presence of the Holy Spirit is often associated with the word “power.”  Power indicates the ability to do something that goes beyond your own strength or ability.  That power comes from Jesus Christ.  He provides what we need to carry out His command to share the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Philippians 4:13 CSB

I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.

Let’s make a declaration for today’s message about the power that God gives you in the Spirit—with His power in your life comes great responsibility.  The responsibility that we, as believers in Jesus, have is to allow God to teach us and mature us in our faith as we rely upon the teaching that the Spirit provides us.  It’s much the same as learning from life’s experiences as we were growing up.  As we got older, we became wiser.  As we learn more about what it requires to be obedient to the words of Jesus, we receive godly wisdom.  When we were younger, we often acted impatiently and impulsively.  As we have matured over time, we have learned more about what it is to be patient and prudent in our actions.  Life experiences taught us these lessons, but the Spirit gives us what we need to remain patient and obedient to Jesus.

John 14:15-17 CSB

¹⁵ “If you love me, you will keep my commands. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. ¹⁷ He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive him because it doesn’t see him or know him. But you do know him, because he remains with you and will be in you.

Our Counselor provides maturity when it comes to our faith.  Let’s look at how Jesus teaches us and challenges us with our faith.  It’s safe to say that we have different levels of faith.  In order to be effective in our ministry, faith must be present.  How do we know this?  Scripture gives us what we need to understand this:

Hebrews 11:6 NIV

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Luke 17:6 ESV

And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

For clarity, and to help us understand the words of Jesus here, we need to know that this is not about physically moving objects with your mind.  That’s not a result of faith.  This verse is to be understood with regard to the nature of faith—it is God’s gift to us.  The power of faith reflects the all-powerful nature of God who gives us this faith.  Notice the word “power” here.  Jesus notes this power in the following passage:

Matthew 13:31-32 ESV

³¹ He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. ³² It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

So now that we have seen that there is power in the presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit, let’s put out the challenge and encourage one another to rely on it more and more.  We have the power of God available to us.  We have to CHOOSE to use it.

Here is an illustration of the power of faith in the book of John.  It involves a place where Jesus often went as there were many there who believed in Him, and His reputation was growing from his first miracle.

John 4:46-48 NLT

⁴⁶ As he traveled through Galilee, he came to Cana, where he had turned the water into wine. There was a government official in nearby Capernaum whose son was very sick. ⁴⁷ When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged Jesus to come to Capernaum to heal his son, who was about to die.

⁴⁸ Jesus asked, “Will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?”

Now, this statement from Jesus to the royal official was a challenge to go beyond what is seen.  He knew what Jesus could do in person, but Jesus is telling the official to take his faith in Him to a new place.  The official wanted Jesus to come with him to Capernaum, which is, at the minimum, a two day walk from Cana.  Capernaum was about 20 miles away from there.

John 4:49-50 NLT

⁴⁹ The official pleaded, “Lord, please come now before my little boy dies.”

⁵⁰ Then Jesus told him, “Go back home. Your son will live!” And the man believed what Jesus said and started home.

Now, you’ll notice that there was definitely a connection that Jesus made with this man.  The official was convinced, beyond any doubt, that Jesus would do exactly what He said He would do and heal His son WITHOUT having to travel down to Capernaum.  (Ask yourself the question—how would you have responded to what Jesus said here?  The life of a family member is at stake.  You’ve already traveled a considerable distance to find Jesus and make your appeal.) 

Think about this for a moment and note that faith and believing in the power of Christ will undoubtedly challenge us to go further than we can ever imagine.  This was a fearful time for the official, but he chose to believe in the power of Jesus that came directly from His words of reassurance:

“Your son will live!”

2 Timothy 1:7 ESV

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

The official believed Jesus right then and there and turned around to go back to Capernaum.  He believed that Jesus would heal his son before seeing the result.

Jesus, of course, knew that he would encounter the official in Cana.  The official received the words of Jesus and believed, and now he would not have to travel for two days to see that his son was healed.  Jesus must have prompted the official’s servants to go out and meet him with the good news!

John 4:51-54 NLT

⁵¹ While the man was on his way, some of his servants met him with the news that his son was alive and well. ⁵² He asked them when the boy had begun to get better, and they replied, “Yesterday afternoon at one o’clock his fever suddenly disappeared!” ⁵³ Then the father realized that that was the very time Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.” And he and his entire household believed in Jesus. ⁵⁴ This was the second miraculous sign Jesus did in Galilee after coming from Judea.

This is important to see.  The only witnesses to the miracle were the official’s servants.  They had to connect with their master to share the great news!  This is a reflection of God’s grace in that the one who believed in Him did not have to wait very long to know that Jesus acted in power to heal his son at the very moment of their encounter.  And note that the entire household believed in Jesus.   

Our faith in Jesus overcomes our fears and our doubts.  (Yes, we experience fear, and yes, we have doubts about a number of things.)  Our faith in Jesus gives us the power and ability to trust in His goodness and His results.

Jesus has a way of keeping us focused on Him and His power in the midst of life’s most chaotic moments.

Who provides our strength?  Jesus does.  He received this power from God Himself.

Acts 10:36-38 ESV

³⁶ As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), ³⁷ you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: ³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

With this information, we can readily say that God is with us.  One of the names of Jesus, Immanuel, means “God with us.”  The Holy Spirit that dwells within us provides us with power, capability and sustainability.

We certainly need to rely on this power today.  Our faith, in the same manner as the royal official, must mature daily to cope with a world that lives without hope.  Our mission as an Acts 1:8 community is to provide hope to the masses that do not have a relationship with Jesus.

Romans 15:13 ESV

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

A world without hope must see believers in Jesus reflect the hope that He freely gives to those who believe in Him.

The Spirit has the responsibility to now compel every believer to have a heart for the lost.  That is a reflection of God’s character in our lives.  His love for the people of the world should also be our love and concern for those who need salvation.

One of my co-workers is really going through a ringer right now.  He just realized through doctor visits that the pain in his foot is actually gout.  On top of that, the mother of his fiancée just had an operation to remove a cancerous brain tumor, and there is more cancer that is inoperable and requires radiation treatment.  When you combine this with a hectic work schedule, there is an avalanche of emotion that can overwhelm even the strongest people, and that’s especially true if you don’t have the power of God in your life.  You’ll know that your outreach is appreciated because it will be in the response.  Of course, you’re not providing words of encouragement for personal gratification…you do it for God’s glory.  You are to decrease in order that Jesus is increased in the lives of others (John 3:30).

Believers, I implore you to take the opportunity to be the hope in the life of those that you encounter who are experiencing difficulty.  Let them see the love of Christ in your words and actions, and when the time is right, share the goodness of Jesus.  In doing so, we are showing love, empathy, kindness and patience.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

The Lord has been very kind and patient with each one of us, and He wants us to experience His power and goodness of the Spirit AND SHARE IT with others.  In order to be our best, we need to draw upon the Spirit to strengthen our faith.  We need faith that trusts in the Word and share it with others.  The people of the world our worth our time and effort.

Be ready.  Be a presence.  Speak the truth and trust in the power of Jesus.

Copyright © 2023 Melvin Gaines