POWER PLAY

Greetings Oh Ye Explosive Saints. How's your POWER STATUS?

QUESTION: What do ya get when a goat eats dynamite?
ANSWER: KA-BLOOEY!!!!!!!!!

QUESTION: How POWERful is Superman?
ANSWER: More POWERful than a locomotive.

QUESTION: What song have most blues singers recorded?
ANSWER: BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

QUESTION: How much POWER is needed to send a DeLorean Back To The Future?
ANSWER: 1.21 Jigawatts

QUESTION: Ruminatin' Rod..What's up with all the POWER QUESTIONS?
ANSWER: I'm glad you asked.

I was reading in the Book of Acts how...the CHURCH...went from 12 guys following Jesus...in one of the smallest countries in the world...to a WORLD WIDE movement. What was the POWER SOURCE...that led the POWER PLAY that was heard around the world?


Jesus layed out His POWER PLAN...to His followers...as He layed out the Father's plan. "Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and he said to them, Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day (aka D.B.R.); and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be PROCLAIMED in HIS NAME to ALL the NATIONS...beginning in Jerusalem. You are WITNESSES of these things. And behold, I am SENDING FORTH THE PROMISE...of My Father UPON YOU...but you are to stay in the city until you are CLOTHED WITH POWER FROM ON HIGH." (Luke 24:45-49)

Luke...the Beloved Physician...lays out the Plan...the Purpose...the Promise...the source of Power. Luke is also attributed with writing the Book of Acts...where he continues with what he began in Luke 24.

"And gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to WAIT for what the Father had PROMISED...which He said...you heard from Me (Luke 24:45-49)...for John baptized (dipped wholly) with water...BUT you shall be baptized (dipped wholly) WITH/IN THE HOLY SPIRIT not many days from now." (Acts 1:4-5)

NOTE: In Ephesians 4:4-4...we see"There is ONE body and ONE Spirit, just as also you were called in ONE hope of your calling; ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism (dipped wholly), ONE God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:4-5)

In the book of Hebrews chapter 5 verse 1-2...we see that one of the elementary principles/teachings about the Christ....is the doctrine/instruction about baptisms/washings (plural).

In the act of baptism....there is (1) the Baptizer...the one who dips wholly (2) the Baptizee...the person being dipped wholly (3) the element that the Baptizer...dips the Baptize into...and brings back out. There are multiple types of baptisms seen in the New Testament including: John the Baptist's baptism in preparation for the King and the Kingdom (the candidate was people who had repented...and evidence was a changed life before the dipping into the element...the Jordan River. Another would be Jesus as the Baptizer...where his followers would be baptized into the Holy Spirit and fire. Then in Romans 6...there are those who have been baptized into Christ Jesus...into His death. And of course there is what theologians describe as a baptism of suffering that Jesus would experience (Luke 12:50, Mark 10:38)

When the gathered disciples heard what Jesus said about a baptism that would differ from John the Baptist's dunking...they responded by trying to change the subject..."And so when they had come together, they were asking Him saying...Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel." (Acts 1:6).

Jesus was instructing them in POWER FOR THE KINGDOM...while they were thinking POLITICAL POWER on earth.

Jesus responded by contrasting two types of POWER. "He said to them...It is not for you to know times or seasons/epochs which the Father has fixed by His own POWER (exousia=delegated authority)...BUT you shall RECEIVE POWER (dunamis=dynamic ability) when the HOLY SPIRIT HAS COME UPON YOU...and you SHALL BE (cause and effect of the HOLY GHOST POWER coming on them)...and you SHALL BE...My WITNESSES (martus=witness, record, martyr)...both in (1) Jerusalem (2) in all Judea (3) and Samaria (4) and even to the remotest part of the earth.

Dunamis power is that dynamic ability to reproduce like a dynamo...where we get words like Dy-No-Mite. Of course there was no dynamite in the Bible....but the potential was there. Explosive power that would send shock waves throughout the world as freshly baptized in the Holy Ghost believers...began to share their faith and walking in what Jesus taught and demonstrated for three years.
They went about (like Jesus)...taught/shared/proclaimed the Good News of the Gospel (like Jesus)...and demonstrated the healing, delivering power, the yoke breaking, burden lifting, oppression removing power of the Holy Ghost (like Jesus) [see Matthew 4:23-25;
John 14:1-13; Mark 16:15-20; Matthew 28:19-20; The entire Book of Acts...aka Acts of the Apostles...which really should be called the Acts of Jesus/Holy Spirit).

Exousia power is delegated authority. It is what backs up the dunamis. It's like Walker Texas Ranger...with the badge...and authority to stop the bad guys. This authority goes up the change of command from Walker...to the head of the Texas Rangers...to the governor...to Washington...to God. He has the authority to say...STOP...IN THE NAME OF THE LAW. If the bad guys do not stop...then Walker has been AUTHORIZED...to pull out the FIRE POWER...and bring them down.

FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY!

Petra...one of my favorite Christian Rock N' Roll Bands...and I do mean Rock N' Roll...had an album called MORE POWER TO YA. The album covers at that time had a Space Fighter theme (ala Star Wars...). Here's of the words to the song MORE POWER TO YA (if ya get a chance find a copy and listen up)

You say you've been feeling weaker...weaker by the day
You say you can't make the joy...of your salvation stay
But good things come to them that wait
Not to those who hesitate
So hurry up and wait upon the Lord

More power to ya
When you're standing on the Word
When you're trusting with your whole heart
In the message you have heard
More power to ya...when we're all in one accord
They that wait upon the Lord...they shall renew...they shall renew their strength

Jesus promised His disciples...He'd give strength to them
Jesus told them all to tarry in Jerusalem
When they were all in one accord
The POWER of His SPIRIT poured
And they began to turn the world around

SO be strong in the Lord and in the POWER of His MIGHT
Put on all His armour and fight the good fight
In all of our WEAKNESS...He becomes so STRONG
And He gives us the POWER and the STRENGTH to CARRY ON.

QUESTION: Have you received the POWER
ANSWER: ????????????????????????????

Love and Explosive Kisses
Rodney "I Am Weak But He Is Strong" Boyd