Mini-story: The Mother of All Power Struggles

 

The story of the world is a story about a power struggle.

 

God gave the first humans power over all creation, but they lost that power to Satan. God gradually exposed Satan’s weak spots through Moses and the prophets.

 

Jesus announced the end of Satan’s power. He broke it once and for all through his death and resurrection. Then he took power on the throne of heaven, and he sent his power down into his followers. Now his followers keep defeating the enemy until Jesus returns to bring the final victory.  

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Expanded version: The Mother

of All Power Struggles

 

The first humans had God-given power to rule their beautiful world, but they lost it to a liar, Satan. He got their power to rule, and they fell under a curse. The rest of the story of the world is the power struggle to get that oppressive, manipulative, divisive enemy off our backs.

 

God had a strategy for that, but it doesn’t seem powerful at all. He started by choosing an elderly couple, Abraham and Sarah, who never had the power to have children. Through them he created a whole nation of twelve tribes. Its homeland was right in between the ancient super-powers of Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon, like a Chihuahua living between three Rottweilers.

 

But God kept sending his messengers to tell his powerless nation about a coming king, a descendant of their great King David. Everything would change when he arrived. He would rescue humanity from evil control and rule the entire world with justice and peace forever.

 

Centuries passed. Greece took the nation over, followed by Rome. Finally, Jesus, a man born in King David’s home town, declared to this little nation: “God’s ancient promise is coming true in our time! God himself is taking power now. Follow me and see what I mean.”

 

Jesus showed God’s power by healing sick people, driving out demons, multiplying food, and doing many things that human power cannot do. Everything he taught was about God’s power arriving on earth. He even empowered his followers to do the same good things he did.

 

The powers of darkness saw Jesus as a dangerous man who had to be stopped before he broke their power entirely. The Jewish religious establishment and the Roman political establishment combined forces to get him executed. They were sure that his death would absolutely prove to everybody that they were the power holders, not Jesus.

 

But they had no idea what power they were up against. God did not fight fair! He raised the executed “criminal” back to life, vindicating Jesus and proving where the seat of power was.

 

For forty days Jesus showed his followers that he was alive again, but he did not appear to anyone else. He did not strike his enemies dead. He did not strong-arm anyone into believing he was the Rescuer, the Messiah, the rightful heir to David’s throne. Then, without dying again, he returned to heaven to take power.

 

His first act from his throne as King of the Universe was to send his Spirit down into his followers, putting his power for good into them and authorizing them to be his ambassadors on earth. Their message from then on was that the power of evil was broken because Jesus was alive and well. They got to show his power to heal the sick, and they pointed people to him and his mercy.

 

Some people welcomed Jesus’ powerful representatives; others fought them, especially power holders who felt threatened by them. But the messengers worked  courageously anyway.

 

They knew who they were and they knew what their mission was. It was not to take over and rule. It was not even to defend themselves. Their mission was only to point everyone to the new era, the new regime of King Jesus, using his power to do good and to bless.

 

They also knew that at the set time known only to God, the King would come back himself to break the power of his enemies once and for all. He would publicly assert his power, and no one would get away with anything ever again.

 

Who are we? We are the walking evidence that Jesus is more alive than ever and his power keeps on working. Our job is to show that Jesus gave power back to humanity; that is, he broke the ancient curse on the human race and authorized us to go on defeating evil in his name until he returns to finish the work in person.

 

And that’s why we don’t grab for earthly power or abuse it if we have it. If we did that, we would not be convincing evidence of his power to transform people inside.

 

That’s our story. That’s why we live the way we live and tell this story to anybody who will listen.     

 

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Reflections on SYNCing with the story,

The Mother of All Power Struggles   

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Already SYNCing?

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If you have already said, “I’m in! SYNC me!” Jesus Christ has put his Holy Spirit into you, giving you all the power and authority you need to make the difference he wants you to make in the world. (2 Pt. 1.3) So let’s get the party started, celebrating with a huge “Yes” to all five of these things:

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1. Yes, God is the ultimate power holder and he has everything under his control and on schedule. All other power holders are temporary until he decides their time is up.

2. Yes, God’s whole plan revolves around Jesus, who willingly laid aside his power and sacrificed himself in order to carry out his mission. He warned his followers they would have to do the same.

3. Yes, Jesus has put his Spirit, life, and power for good into me, making me a citizen of his kingdom and a member of his team of ambassadors on earth.

4. Yes, I keep doing the most basic thing the Spirit empowers me to do—forgiving others for everything like Jesus has forgiven me. I will not allow vengeance to block the power flow through me.

5. Yes, I will trust Jesus and his Spirit to give me power to endure whatever I may have to suffer as an ambassador of the King.

 

Still undecided?

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If you have not yet said, “I’m in! SYNC me!” your caution is understandable. This is a huge decision, and you want to be sure before you make it. 

 

As you are thinking it over, Jesus won’t force you in, but once you say yes, he brings you in. He moves into your life, and you become part of the God-powered restoration plan that started with Abraham. That is what the rest of your life will be about—finding out what Jesus meant when he said, “God himself is taking power now!”

 

You won’t get to build your own kingdom anymore or brag about any position of power that God assigns you to, but you will live with the power of the Holy Spirit in and around you, connecting you with his plan and his people.

 

That doesn't mean you will become a power-holder who dominates others because you have all the answers. It means you have a whole new power connection to discover and explore. Happy exploring! 

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