Ron Dunn Podcast - The Flow Of God's Power His Purpose

Episode Date: September 14, 2022

Ron Dunn continues in his series on Victory with a message on the power of God

What a message that would be to come and say tomorrow God will do miracles, God will do wonders among you, and God will so act on your behalf, and the power of God will so flow through your life that there will be wonders occur in your life. And that's exactly what happened in the people. This was the turning point in the history of the nation of Israel. What happened on that morrow when the power of God flowed freely through the lives of the people and on behalf of God's people when that power was released it marked the end of a generation of defeat and frustration and it marked the beginning of a life of

victory and fullness and power and it seems significant to me especially as we have just crossed the threshold of a new year there's something about a new year actually all it really is is another day not that much changes but there is always something about beginning a new year that represents a clean page, a new chapter. And we hope that this year will be better, or we hope that this year things will take a change for improvement. And I can't think of a better message from the Lord as we begin a new year than this, that tomorrow, this year, the Lord will do wonders among you. And there's no greater need in my life or in your life than to somehow have that power of God executed on my behalf because the difference between

failure and victory in this coming year, the difference between misery and joy, the difference between darkness and light in this coming year is simply this, whether or not God's power is flowing in and through our lives. And I think that this is demanded for two reasons as we look at this passage and as we look at where we are this morning. First of all, the certainties of the past demand the power of God for the future. You know, there's a great many things that have happened to us in this past year, and some things are very certain. There have been certain failures and certain disappointments, and we have run up

against certain obstacles, and nobody here this morning can look back on the past, this past 12 months, and say, I do not need the power of God working in my behalf in this coming year. But not only because of that, but also because of the uncertainty of the future. He says to the people, you've not passed this way before and you're going to need what I can do for you because you're traveling in a new path and on a new road. And I have no idea what this year holds for you and I don't know what it holds for me. I'm not even certain what this afternoon holds for me. The future, there's one thing certain about the future, and it's this, it is uncertain. And when I face an uncertain future, and I'm going to be traveling over

ground that I've never passed before, and I recognize there are going to be obstacles, and there are going to be things that are going to meet me that want to destroy my confidence in God, it demands one thing and one thing alone, that the power of God in my life be released and active. And so that brings me to ask myself a question. What is it and when is it that God's power flows in a person's life? I'm certain that many of us could stand this morning and say, boy, there sure were some times this past year I really needed the power of God working in my life. And I prayed, and I begged, and I cried, and I hoped, and nothing happened.

There sure were some times when I could have used a miracle or two. I certainly could have used God working a wonder two or three times, and I thought that He would, and I wanted Him to, and I prayed that He would, but nothing happened. And the question that I'm concerned about this morning is, God has promised His power available to us, but sometimes we miss that power, and sometimes we live lives that are completely devoid of God's activity in our behalf. And the question I'm concerned about is, how do I get into that flow? How is it that I can be certain this coming year that my life has upon it the power of God

that will bring me into the fullness that God wants me to have, that will remove the obstacles, and that will make this year the kind of year that God wants it to be in my own life? And as I've studied this passage, I see some things that I want to share with you, some very important things, because I'm certain there's some of us this morning that have wondered why it is that God's power has not been flowing in your life and why it is there have been some emergency situations where God never had a better opportunity to perform a miracle, and yet He did nothing.

And why is it? How is it? What are the conditions that I have to meet if I'm going to have that power flowing in my life? The first thing that I want to share with you, which is so obvious in this passage, is simply this. The power of God flows in the direction of God's purpose the power of God flows in the direction of God's purpose now listen very carefully there have been times when we have looked upon the power of God as an emergency first aid kit and we have a

tendency to regard God as a heavenly butler or genie in a lamp and when we get in a tight fix or we get into some impossible difficulty we rub the lamp and we call for the butler and we somehow expect God to indulge us there have been times in your life and in my life when I have desperately needed the power of God to move into a situation and solve that situation for me, but nothing has happened. And the thing that you and I have to understand before anything else

is that the power of God is the executive arm of God's purpose, that God's power is never released simply to indulge us and simply to get us out of emergency situations, but the power of God always flows in the channel of God's purpose. And God's power has only one option and that is to accomplish his purpose. And so the first thing is this, that if I am going to experience the power of God in my life, I'm going to have to get into the stream of God's purpose because if I'm out of God's will,

if I'm out of God's purpose, then I will not experience the power of God. I think you'll find this illustrated perfectly with the experience of the three Hebrew children. They had refused to bow down and worship the king and deny their God, and the king threatened to throw them in a furnace. And he even heated it seven times, it's normal heat, so hot that the men who finally

threw them in were concerned with the fire. And you have one of the greatest testimonies of confidence that ever came from the Bible when those three Hebrew children make this statement. They say to the king, our God is able to deliver us, and he will. But if not, now that's almost a contradiction. They said, we're not afraid of the fire. We're not afraid of anything you can do to us because our God is able to deliver us, and he will. But if not, that's okay too.

You see what they were recognizing? They were recognizing that the ability of God to deliver them from the fiery furnace flowed only in the channel of God's purpose, and if it was not God's purpose for them to miss the fire, his power would not deliver them from it. They were simply saying, we are submitted to the purpose of God. We are in the stream and the channel of God's purpose.

And if it's God's purpose for us to be delivered from the fiery furnace, then He'll deliver us. But if it isn't, that's okay, because God's power always flows in the channel of the purpose of God and I think that some of us in this past year have missed the purpose of God we have thought it was God's purpose to solve a situation here and now we thought it was God's purpose surely it would be God's will to deliver us from an uncomfortable situation we prayed we've done everything we've known to do, and yet God has not

come through. He hasn't delivered us. We still are immersed in that impossible situation. What's the explanation? The explanation is simply this. God's purpose has not been to deliver you yet from that situation. You and I must get in the stream of that purpose now this is an eternal purpose it's an eternal purpose and it's imperative that you and I understand this if we're going to align our lives with this purpose one of the favorite verses of mine is Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 10 and I've quoted it many times where the Apostle Paul says, for we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus on two good works which he hath

before ordained that we should walk in them. Now, what that verse simply means is that God has an eternal purpose and plan for every life. Even before I was born, God had a blueprint for my life. There was a purpose he wanted me to fulfill. And so, I was born into this world, and God saved me. He created me. He made me. His workmanship, why? For this one purpose that I might fulfill the purpose for which God had in eternity planned for me. And you know, the sad fact is that the majority of people never bother to ask the question,

why has God created me? What has God planned for me? What has God planned for me? What does God have for me in life? And the majority of us just drift through life without ever considering, why has God saved me? Why has God spared me? Why has God brought me to this place today?

I could have died a thousand times. I could have died at birth. I could have had a crippling disease. A thousand things could have happened. Why is it that God has spared me? What purpose does God have in my life? You know what success is? Real success. It's simply finding what God has purposed for you in eternity and fitting into that purpose and the thing that captivated the Apostle Paul and made him what he was was the fact that even before he was born,

as we're told in Galatians 1, God chose him. God selected him even before he was born. And Paul never knew what it was to live in the stream of God's power and purpose until on that Damascus Road he met the Lord Jesus Christ and discovered why it was God created him in the first place and he fit himself in to that divine purpose you see the same thing in the

life of Jeremiah and when God comes to Jeremiah says Jeremiah I have something I want you to do Jeremiah says but, but Lord, I'm not qualified. And Lord, I don't have the ability and I don't have the credentials. And God reveals to Jeremiah that even before he was born, God knew him and God chose him for an eternal purpose. And the moment you get outside the purpose and the will of God, you're going to get outside the power of God. And there will be no power of God demonstrated in your life,

released in your life, and flowing through your life to others the moment you step outside the will of God. It's an eternal purpose, but not only is it an eternal purpose, it's also an essential but not only is it an eternal purpose it's also an essential purpose it is essential now it's essential to God first of all because this is the only way he can be glorified as he comes to Joshua he says I'm doing this so that the people may know that I am among you and I'm going to begin magnifying you today. And the only way that God can be glorified is as He accomplishes His purpose, and so the Lord never abandons that purpose.

The Lord never abandons that purpose. And one of the things that I think is so marvelous about the mercy of God is that no matter how many times you and I have rebelled against that purpose, have fought that purpose, God never abandons it. And you know the instance of Jeremiah 18, the potter and the clay. As Jeremiah watched that potter sitting at the wheel, fashioning that vessel out of clay, it says that as he roughed the work on the wheel, the vessel became marred in the potter's hand.

But what did he do with it? He didn't cast it aside and say, I've had it. I've lost my patience. The Bible says that the potter made it again another vessel as seemeth good to the potter to make it, as seemeth good to the potter to make it. God never abandons that purpose. It is an essential purpose, not only to God, but to us. It was essential that the people of Israel cross over Jordan

and get into the promised land because apart from that, they would never know joy. They would never know victory. They would never know the fullness that God had saved them for. It's essential that you fit into the purpose of God. You'll miss everything that God has for you, and your life will be totally wasted if you miss the purpose of God. And it's a tragedy that you and I and the average man on the street today take so lightly and flippantly the fact that God has an eternal purpose for us.

It doesn't make any difference what you accomplish in life or how many trophies you win or how much money you accumulate. If you come to the end of your life and you have missed the eternal purpose for which God saved you, you have wasted your life, and your life has been nothing more than wood, hay, and stubble. The Apostle Paul tells us in Acts chapter 26, as he was going on the road to Damascus,

going to persecute Christians, that he met the Lord Jesus. Jesus revealed himself to the Apostle. And he made a very interesting statement. He said, Paul, it's hard for thee to kick against the goads. It's hard for thee to kick against the goads. Now, I'm certain that every young person here knows what a goad is. But a gold was a sharp pointed stick used to prod oxen to make them quicken their pace. And as they were driving oxen, they would use these golds and punch them in the side and in the flanks to cause them to walk a little faster.

But usually the first time an oxen was prodded with that gold, instead of quickening his pace, he would kick back against it. And as he would kick back against it, the only thing he would accomplish is he would hurt himself more. He would wound himself more severely. And after a while, the oxen would learn, he would finally catch on, that the thing to do when he was goaded by that sharp stick was to quicken his pace. The wrong thing to do was to kick against it.

And what the apostle Paul had been doing was this. God had a purpose for that man. The Lord Jesus Christ had chosen him. He had selected him for an eternal purpose and Paul was fighting it he was kicking against it and the only thing he was accomplishing was he was hurting himself and wounding himself more and more severely even an oxen has enough sense to stop kicking against the gold but man doesn't and some of us have been kicking against the will of God and against the purpose of God and all you've done is wound yourself more severely you see fitting into the purpose of God is essential it

is essential if your life is going to know peace and joy and success and fulfillment so there's one final thing that I I just could not miss as I read the history of God's people the purpose of God above everything else is an exciting purpose it's exciting not a one of these folks ever died from boredom none of the Apostles died from boredom because as they fit themselves into the purpose the eternal purpose of God God was was constantly, as he said, doing wonders among you, doing wonders among you. You know, it's like blue chip stock. If you have any stock, it might not be too exciting these days. But you know, there is an excitement in fascination and there's an excitement in fear. But if you have all of your savings and if your whole financial system

rests upon the stock market today, I want to tell you something. You're living an exciting life and looking to see every day what's happening. And I want to tell you something. When a man or woman fits themselves into the plan of God and finds themselves in the center of God's will and says, Lord, I want what you want for me. I fit myself into your purpose, whatever that purpose is. I don't have any idea what you have planned for me, but I accept it, I submit to it, I fit myself into it, and every day it's just exciting to see what God's going to do,

where he's going to lead you, the miracles that he's going to perform, the wonders that he's going to do, where He's going to lead you, the miracles that He's going to perform, the wonders that He's going to do, the tight places He gets you out of, those last-minute emergencies that He comes through and says, listen, here's what you can do, and here's this need met. And it's an exciting life because God promises to guide us through every obstacle that stands before us. He said, the ark of the covenant is going to go before you. The ark of the Lord of all the earth will go before you, and when you see it, you follow it.

And it's exciting because God has promised to guide us through every obstacle. Now, I want to tell you something. Not only does God guide us through every difficulty, but He guards us from everything that would threaten to destroy us. Now, I want to tell you something. Once you fix your life into the plan and purpose of God, there is no power on heaven and earth that can keep you from doing that purpose. When the Apostle Paul was on his way to Rome, they had a storm and

it grew more severe and more fierce. And they began casting the cargo overboard. Well, Paul knew what was next. The prisoners were next. And if casting the cargo overboard didn't do the job, he knew that the prisoners of whom he was one would be next to be cast aside. And it looked as though the ship was going to be destroyed and everybody was going to be lost. And that night, Paul had a prayer meeting.

And the Bible says the next morning he stood in the midst of the people. And you know what he said? He said, be of good cheer. Cheer up. You know, Christians say unusual things sometimes at strange times. Here is a ship that is being tossed, that is being wracked, that is in danger of breaking in two in the midst of a heavy storm. Everybody is about to drown and

Paul stands in the midst of that situation and says, cheer up. You know why? He says, there stood by me the angel of God this night whose servant I am and he told me there would be no loss of life, for he said to me, You must stand before Caesar and preach the gospel in Rome. You know what the apostle was saying? He said, God's eternal purpose for me, way back under in the dark recesses of eternity before there ever was a sun or a moon or a star,

God had planned and purposed that someday I would stand in Caesar's court and preach the gospel. And until that is accomplished, no storm, no water, no breaking ship, nothing can keep me from God's purpose. Cheer up. Cheer up. You see, it's exciting to fix your life

into the plan and purpose of God because you come to understand that whatever happens, no matter how adverse it may be, no matter how terrible it may appear, it is simply God's way of moving you further into His eternal purpose. And it is only as we are fitting ourselves into the purpose of God that the power of God is going to flow into our lives. Tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you. And there's not anything that you're going to face this year.

There's not anything that's wrong with you this morning that a miracle wouldn't help. And if you're like most people, nothing short of a miracle will help. And the most important question as you face life, as you face today, as you face this year is, how can I be assured that God is going to be flowing in my life and working in my life? How can I have the assurance of God's power flowing? The first thing, put yourself in His purpose. Get into the stream of God's will. And when you get into that stream,

you'll be flowing with the power of God. Now let's bow our heads for a moment.