God created our Universe by speaking. Everything you see today and even you yourself are a created being with the very breath of God inside of you. For centuries man has been trying to unlock this stored potential inside each of us to be more than what we are, not realizing that what we are is much more than enough, we are the very breath and spirit of God inside human vessels. So then how do we unlock this power in our daily lives?

Today we will be studying the topic of power; how we unlock it and how we use it. It may surprise some of you to know that Jesus told us the answer multiple times and in multiple ways in the Bible, which we will be examining today. If you have been experiencing a lack of effectual power in your life, then this study will deliver your breakthrough.

There are many believers today who are looking for power, and just as many of them have differing ideas about how to go about getting that power; however the main issue is one of substance. This one thing has kept many believers powerless and unfruitful in their endeavors, and so it is vital that we examine this in our study of power today.

This substance that I am speaking of is specifically the substance of our words. You see, some believers know what to say, but they still do not have the substance of the words that they are saying.
To better understand this, let’s begin by looking at John 8:28:

“Then said Jesus to them, When you have lifted up the Son of man, then shall you know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father has taught me, I speak these things.”

Now those words “lifted up” in that verse actually mean exalt. So this verse has a manifold statement with a double-meaning. When Jesus is lifted up and exalted by His crucifixion and resurrection, then we will see that He truly is the Christ. Also, as we exalt Jesus, as we honor and worship Him and give Him the ultimate place of honor in our lives, then will will see that He is truly is all that He claims.
Pay special attention though to the second half of this verse. Jesus says that He does nothing of Himself, but that He only speaks what His Father has taught Him. Keep this statement in mind as we look at our next verse in John 7:16-18:

“Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
He that speaks of himself seeks his own glory: but he that seeks his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.”

This is the first area which causes believers to have a lack of substance in their words, and that is the area of non-Biblical doctrines that either they themselves have created, or simply believing superstitions and fairy-tales. You might actually be surprised to learn how very common this is even among believers in the church. For example, many believers are still much more inclined to believe in past experiences rather than what the Bible says to determine the future courses in their lives. They rely on themselves to direct their own course, rather than the solid foundation of God’s Word.

The result of this is that when they try to claim God’s promises in their lives they are found to be fraudulent because God is not really the Lord of their lives at all. It is not that God doesn’t want to help, it’s that He has never been given the place of authority in the person’s life to begin with. The person is actually leading themselves and God is merely a superficial facade in their life.

There are believers denying various statements of divine fact in the Bible simply because it does not line up with their personal past experiences. There are pastors preaching that healing is not for today, that prosperity is wrong, and that we must earn our salvation through works. Even though the Bible is plain about divine healing being true, prosperity being God’s will, and salvation being a gift through faith.

We need to understand what Jesus is saying in these verses: His doctrine is not His own, but that of His Father in Heaven.

We must toss out our own doctrines and start seeing what God actually says in His Word and standing on that. Jesus goes on to say in verses 17 and 18 that there are those people who are speaking their own doctrine and following their own passions and desires, but this is not for God but for themselves and they will not receive any Heavenly glory for such things.

This principle of authority is often overlooked when talking about power but it is something that many believers still need to understand. Turn with me to Matthew chapter 8, and let’s read verses 8 through 10:

“The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it.
When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Truly I say to you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.”

We see here that Jesus equates this understanding of authority with faith. Why? Because the centurion had information of God. He understood who Jesus was and the kind of power that He had.

Look at verse 9, the centurion admits that he is a man “under authority”. He knows not only what it is like to lead the soldiers under him, but also how to take orders. This is such a very important concept for us as believers to learn, because I have spoken to and counseled people who very clearly did not understand the authority of God. They could never handle correction, and wanted to be told that everything they were doing is right all of the time. The danger with this is that when we take such an attitude towards God, we stop His ability to adjust our course and stop His ability to mold and shape our thinking then He is not our leader anymore but we place our own selves on the throne once again.

Now there is one final point that we must address today on the subject of power and that is actually how to unlock it. All of these things we have studied up to now is how to prepare ourselves as the vessel, because according to Matthew 9:17, we can not put the new wine of Christ Jesus into old wineskins or both will be lost. If God were to give us His unlimited authority and power without our will and nature being changed, we would destroy ourselves and others, and also abuse it for our own pleasures, which can not be allowed. Also as it says in Proverbs 26:1, honor is not fitting for a fool.

So now that we understand the foundation upon which this truth can be built, let’s examine how to unlock the power of God in our lives in John 6:63-64:

“It is the spirit that vivifies; the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak to you, they are spirit, and they are life.
But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.”

Now I know that many of you have heard me teach on verse 63 before, about how the Word of God is spirit and life. Today we are going to go deeper into this truth. Let’s focus first on the second-half of verse 63. Jesus says The words that He speaks to us are spirit and life.

Notice that this has suddenly become a personal statement. These are not general words spoken to a multitude, but the words that I speak to YOU. This is specifically speaking about personal words of revelation that the Holy Spirit  illuminates to us within the Word of God. In the Greek language which is what this verse was originally written in, the word is rhema , and it’s meaning means “present spoken word”.

All of the Bible is the Word of God, and all of the Bible is rhema from God, but the Holy Spirit only illuminates to us certain portions at certain times. Isaiah 55:8-11 tells us this truth:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, said the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and returns not thither, but waters the earth, and makes it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

Why does He gives it to us in small portions? Because we could never handle it all at once. His Wisdom and power would crush us if He gave it to us in one big lump. His ways are much higher than ours and His thoughts are much more grand than we can even imagine, but He feeds us in bite-sized portions that we can handle. However once we receive His rhema word for us and speak it over our lives, it will never return to Him without accomplishing its purpose.

This is where most true believers are missing it. Confession of God’s Word is a wonderful thing, but without the revelation of God illuminating it to you, it can very much be a dead word. Those who just parrot what the Bible says without any real belief or support from the Holy Spirit, are really  just shadows without substance.

Yet there are some who are getting the revelation of this truth even now during this study and are now even beginning to understand what Jesus meant when He told Martha that “one thing is needful” and also when He said to “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you”.

When we truly have a rhema word from God regarding the Scriptures (and you should know that the two can not be separated), that is when we have power and victory in our lives. And today I have shared with you the very truth that Jesus gave to His disciples and anyone who would listen. The “big secret” is as plain as day. Receive from God, hear His voice, let Him illuminate the Scriptures to you, and then you will have His power in you.

This can only happen when we truly get our own ego and self out of the way, and begin to truly submit to Him as our Lord. As we read in John 6:64, Jesus knows who is a genuine believer in Him and who is just a faker. Those people will never attain what you and I are studying about today. However for those of us who are truly attentive to His Word and truly teachable by His Spirit to make His Word alive in us (see the interaction?) the words that we speak will be His Words of power, and not our own empty words.

God said to Israel in Psalms 81:10, “Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.”

He is saying the same thing to us today, the more we are attentive to His Word, the more He will give us until we are full. His Spirit can only teach us if we actually are open and ready to learn. The amount He can fill is the amount to which we are open. I encourage each of you today, do not stay closed by following yourself or your own desires or doctrines. Submit to His authority like the centurion and you will see the same results. The Spirit and Word of power is the same today as He was back then. Jesus has never changed, nor has He worn out.

You can find the same power in the Word today. You can speak with the power of God.