This is the Introduction to the Sermon. You will receive the full manuscript sermon in Word format when you purchase.
Title: “The Power at Work”
Series: Abundantly More
Introduction:
[1]Chuck Swindoll described a life-changing experience he had when he was just a young boy:
One of my most unforgettable moments happened when I was about ten years old. My father served our country during World War II in a plant in our hometown, building all sorts of interesting equipment for the massive tanks, fighter planes, and bombers that defended us in lands far away. Dad worked too long and too hard. As a result he suffered a physical breakdown. And on its heels came an emotional trauma that puzzled everyone, including the doctors.
I was convinced in my heart that my dad was going to die. He may have had such thoughts too, because one night he called me into his room for a somber father-son talk …. I remember leaning hard against his bed, listening carefully to a voice that was hardly more than a whisper. I thought I was hearing him for the last time. He gave me counsel on life—how I should live, how I should conduct myself as his son. The counsel wasn't long, and then I left and went across the hall to the room that I shared with my older brother. All alone, I lay across my bed and sobbed, convinced that I would never see my dad alive again.
That scene still haunts me. Even though my dad recovered to live … I still remember the night he talked to me. Something very significant is wrapped up in our final words. Consider the night in Jerusalem when the Lord and his disciples gathered for … what we call "The Last Supper." Less than twelve hours after that meal, Jesus was nailed to a cross; a few hours later, he was dead. Jesus understood the significance of those moments and the importance of his last counsel. And so he gave them exactly what they would need to carry them through the rest of their days. [end of illustration]
Consider the last words of Jesus to His disciples just before He ascended into Heaven:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” -- Acts 1:8 (ESV)
And now consider our theme text for this series:
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. -- Ephesians 3:20–21 (ESV)
The power at work within us, and the power Jesus promised His disciples is one and the same – it is the power of the Holy Spirit which indwells every believer. Let’s take a few moments to break down this phrase – “the power” – “at work within us.”
[1] Chuck Swindoll, Embraced By the Spirit (Zondervan, 2010), pp. 11-12