Walk In The Power of God!

Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. ⁵ For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”
Judges 13:4-5

We have all been taught the story of Samson in Sunday School. As children it was quite impressive to hear of a man with so much strength and power. We also were taught that Delilah through constant pressure and persistence finally caused Samson to tell her the source of his strength. His lack of discernment becomes his downfall and he ends up losing his vision being imprisoned by the enemy. Since this story is told to children we leave out all the gory details and just tell the kids about how Samson finally got victory over his enemies when he pushed over the pillars at their gathering killing them all.  

However, there is a great lesson in the story of Samson that has been overlooked that is key to walking in great power....CONSECRATION! Consecration means to be set apart for God's purposes. Samson was set apart by birth. The other day I was reading a post online and someone made an interesting statement about the powerlessness of the church. I thought about it and it came to me...the reason for the powerlessness in the church is that they been like Samson. They given over to the seduction of Delilah and have not kept their consecration to the Lord. The truth is the church has lost its vision and direction because it has been taken captive by the enemy. All over the world believers have given in to compromise and now have no power to escape their captivity. Yet, the key lies within their very reach. 

In Mark 9 there is a story of a boy who was demonized. The disciples tried to cast the devil out but they could not. Later on, "when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”²⁹ So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting." Mark 9:28-29 I used think that this meant that demons somehow knew that we were fasting and praying giving us power over them. The fact is demons don't care if you don't eat or pray. What they do care about is when a Christian consecrates themselves through prayer and fasting. See a lot of people use fasting as a means to diet and prayer to tell God about all their problems. However, to be truly effective you need to set time aside to seek God alone, denying yourself in abstinence and staying in a place of intimacy with God.

Until recently when I started going to prayer mountain to fast and pray during our event called "Come Away My Beloved" I had no idea how disconnected from the presence of God I was. You have no idea how the constant demands of our time, attention, and distraction take their toll on our relationship with God until you get away from it all. I didn't quite get the importance of this even though I read that Jesus made a habit to get alone and pray. Even in that wilderness experience he was putting death and overcoming the devil. It was after that Jesus returned in power. (Luke 4:14)

Which leads me to the second key: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." John 15:5  This word abide means to stay within, remain and dwell in God's presence. My friends don't expect to walk in great power if you never pick up your bible, pray or spend time in worship. Now a lot of people spend time in devotionals reading other people's material, give God their 5 minute prayers and sing songs to the Lord in their car. Praise God but that is not going to cut it. "Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone." John 6:15  Jesus spent time alone in prayer. He did not go to prayer meetings so everyone can see how spiritual He was. He did take his disciples with him but would still pray alone. I do believe in corporate prayer but not as a substitute for praying alone. "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly" Matthew 6:6

Spending time alone with God is key to walking in great power! I know it is not easy because we are constantly in place of being able to be contacted by others and distracted. If someone messages us on Facebook it goes to our phone. Our e-mails go to our phones. There is texting, instant messaging, cell phones, IPOD's and all kinds of gadgets that interrupt our time. If you go anywhere there is music in the background and TV's. You almost have to leave the city and find a mountain like Jesus to be alone. I heard this from a Pastor and I believe it to be true, "Get anyone in a place of solitude and silence and they will hear from God!" I am going to add to that. Get anyone alone in a place of solitude, silence, prayer and worship; living their life in consecration...YOU WILL SEE GREAT POWER!

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Jaziz Gutierrez
http://www.loverevivalrevolution.com

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