THE POWER TO RULE! 

Pastor Michael Olawore

New Wine Church

Sunday 20 February 2011

Foundation Scriptures: Judges 10: 17; 11: 1-11; 32

The Power to Rule

In Judges 11 we see that the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah and he went throughout the land and brought utter defeat upon the Ammonites. The success and victory brought about by Jephthah was therefore not solely due to his strength or military prowess but because of the Holy Spirit. The anointing of the Holy Spirit caused him to pass through Gilead and Mannaseh including Mizpha in Gilead gathering an army; by the Spirit of God he operated in strength and power; he was unstoppable and indomitable.

In Acts 1:8 we are promised “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you”. Notice that the promise of power here is not conditional but certain – You shall receive power. There is a release of power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us; there is an impartation and without the Holy Spirit there is no power. In this day that we are living in, we need the power of the Holy Spirit as this is the only way that burdens can be removed and yokes destroyed. To be invincible and unconquerable as Jephthah was, we need what he had – the power of the Holy Spirit.  Acts 10:38 makes clear that the Holy Spirit was the key to the success of Jesus’ ministry. It was the anointing of the Holy Spirit that enabled Him to go about doing good and healing those who had were oppressed by the devil. We cannot therefore afford to ignore the ministry of the Holy Spirit; it is essential in the life of every believer. We need the power of the Holy Spirit to live in victory and fulfil our dominion mandate.

Allow me to share with you five witnesses of the power of the Holy Spirit from the scriptures:

(i)                  Othniel: In Judges 3:9 the Spirit of God came upon him and he overcame Israel’s enemies. The Holy Spirit gives us the advantage over our enemies and gives us the power to rule.

(ii)                Gideon: In Judges 6:34 and 8:28 we see that the Spirit of God came upon him and he defeated the Midanites whom never recovered from that defeat.

(iii)               Samson: In Judges 14 the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him and he ripped a lion’s jaws apart with his bare hands.

(iv)              Jahaziel: In 2 Chronicles 20:14 Jahaziel began to address the future by the Spirit of God assuring the Israelites that the battle was the Lord’s.

(v)                Saul: In 1 Samuel 10: 6 the Spirit of God came upon him and he prophesied – the Spirit of God enables us to do what we have never done and propel us to new dimensions of effectiveness. It is simply impossible to remain the same after encounter with the Holy Spirit.

Scripture shows us that the Holy Spirit leads us (Romans 8:14), encourages us (Acts 9:31) and is our Advocate, namely our counsellor, comforter and helper (John 16: 70. Further, He helps in our weaknesses and intercedes for us (Romans 8: 26). From Isaiah 11:2 we understand the Holy Spirit is the source of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

“When the purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable”

Mike Murdoch

Each time that God releases His power there is a purpose. Every unction is attached to a function. Nothing God does is without purpose. In Luke 10: 19 when Jesus gave the disciples authority there was a purpose –  it was “to trample over serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy”’. The presence of God’s power guarantees our ability to rule. God would not expect us to rule without first equipping us for this function. We are called to be problem solvers and answer bringers. We are born to rule and exercise dominion. We are called to influence our generation and make a difference. We must recognise this and we must live according to God’s purpose, living by the Spirit of God.

In the body of Christ there tend to be two types of believers: the carnal and the spiritual. The carnal believer is born-again but has not renewed their mind and therefore dwells in the realms of soul and flesh.  Rather than being led and controlled by the Holy Spirit, they are governed by the flesh and live in the energy of their flesh and their emotions.  Romans 8: 5 makes clear that those who live by the Spirit are the sons of God and in verse 8, that those who are controlled by the flesh can never please God. On the other hand, spiritual believers are those in whom Christ is in control and whom, according to Romans 8: 6 have life and peace. We must live by the Spirit and experience the power of the Spirit if we are to rule. We must choose to live by the Spirit and be Spirit-filled and Spirit-led.  We cannot fight, quarrel, lie, curse and gossip all week and expect to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. I therefore challenge you to examine yourself and honestly ask yourself whether you really want to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit or remain a carnal believer.

Hunger for Righteousness

There are two keys to receiving the power of the Holy Spirit as God has intended. The first key can be found in Isaiah 44:3 and Matthew 5: 6. In Isaiah 44 God has promised to pour water on the thirsty and Jesus promises that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled. From this we can understand that whenever He sees a genuine hunger, God will respond. It is clear therefore that the move of God is dependent not upon Him but upon us. God has promised to pour out His Spirit on those who are hungry and this therefore is what we must develop: a true hunger for God.

Many of us are hungry but for the wrong things, namely the things of this world whereas we are called to seek first the kingdom of God and all other things will be added to us. There needs to be a craving and a deep, enduring desire for the things of God in order to experience the power of the Holy Spirit. We must seek Him intentionally and unswervingly. We cannot experience the power of the Holy Spirit on the basis of a casual pursuit. God has promised that we will find Him if we seek Him with all our hearts. Nothing less than a wholehearted, passionate, purposeful pursuit will do. God must be our priority, commanding our full attention. The place of victory therefore is the place of a passionate, intense craving for God.

The second key to operating in the power of the Holy Spirit is found in Zechariah 10:1 in which God instructs us to “Ask for the rain in the time of rain” with the promise that He will make flashing clouds and send the rain. The truth is that God is not limited. It is us who fail to ask for the right things. Many of us have fallen into the enemy’s trap of making material things the focus of our requests to God.  Whilst there is nothing wrong with material possessions, these must not be our priority. When we ask for the rain, material blessings will come, however our priorities must be in the right place. From this scripture, we must understand that we need to seek the rain – this means to pray! If we do, we can be confident that God will send the latter rain – this means answers!

And so in conclusion, in these days I believe that we are going to see an outpouring of the grace and power of God as never seen before. I am challenging you to determine to be one of the believers who operate in the fullness of the power of God. I am looking for believers who are hungry; hungry for the power of the Holy Spirit. Hungry for God; hungry for righteousness. Believers who will ask for the latter rain and do whatever it takes for God will open the heavens and send a downpour!