There’s Power in God’s Word!  Imagine living with the power of God’s Word, alive in you, empowering you with strength and courage to triumph over the fears and troubles of our world.  Let’s share some fun stories and lean into scripture to discover how God’s Word can truly give us victory, no matter what struggles we may have.

Let’s begin by going deep – 790 feet below the earth’s surface into the darkness of the Reed Flute Cave in China.  A place so dark that there is only one color – solid black.  No matter how hard you squint or how long you stare, you will see absolutely nothing but darkness.

And then, imagine lighting a single match and seeing a wonder of amazing beauty and vibrant colors, shapes and mysteries hidden inside this cave!  How can someone even begin to describe this breathtaking brilliance?! It is beyond any dream.  All from the light of one little, tiny match.

This small flame has the power to take the darkness away and to flood our senses with awe!

With this vivid example of the vast power inside one little flame, let’s visit the very first words that God ever spoke as he said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ^{Genesis 1:3}   Wow! God wasted absolutely no time, right at the very beginning of his book, as he displayed the power of his word.

God said. His words spoke light into existence.

Yes, there is power – power beyond belief – in God’s Word, and it is a power that God wants to put inside your life.  A power to move mountains, to overcome hurdles and obstacles.  Power to restore relationships.  Power to triumph over trouble.  Power to be the best version of yourself.  Power to forgive.  Power to overcome addictions.

In this video, we are going to learn how to be alive within this incredible power – alive inside of us!  The power of God’s Word is not like the power of Hoover Dam that lights Los Angeles some 266 miles away.  Instead, the power of God’s Word is a personal power – something that God wants you and I to have intimately in our lives.

So, let’s see how all this relates to us, by opening the Gospel of John, where we cannot help but recognize the familiar start!  Once again, God wastes absolutely no time as he re-quotes the first three words of the Bible: “In the beginning.”

While Genesis says, “In the beginning, God. . . ”  The Gospel of John says, “In the beginning was the Word. . . ”

This is not a mistake.  The Bible is clearly saying that the “Word of God” and “God” are one and the same.  No distinction.  The Word of God was God.  The Word of God is God.

In modern terms we might say of someone, “He’s a man of his word.” Someone who always keeps his promises and does what he says he is going to do no matter what it costs.  He is someone totally trustworthy, whose word is his bond.   That’s who God is.  A God of his Word, with the power to make his word come true.  God and God’s Word are one and the same.

And just a few sentences later, the Gospel of John proclaims, “In Jesus is life. . .  The light of men.”  Imagine the drumroll in heaven for the next words, “The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”  ^{John 1:3-4}

How is that for power!!  Power that has a personal name.  Power inside a person.

Jesus!

In the beginning. . . God said, “Let there be light!”   In the beginning was the Word – and the Word is Jesus who is the light of men!  Powerful words no doubt.  The claim to be one with God, one with God’s word, and to be the light – all at the same time!

Wow.  How do we even begin to grasp all this?  How big, how enormous is this power?  This is such an imperfect analogy, but I’d still like to ask you to imagine someone giving you – the gift of a billion dollars – with a B for billion.  Most of us have no concept of having even a million dollars in our bank account – but a billion dollars is when you take a million dollars times 100 to get to 100 million and then multiply it again by 10 again!  That’s 100 million dollars ten times.

With the billion dollars in mind, bring your thoughts back to the little match and how it lights up the cave.  How puny is the light from this match compared to the light of the world.  How puny is a billion dollars compared to God owning it all!!

So far beyond a mere billion dollars or a light in some remote cave, God Almighty, Jesus, the Word of God is the light of the world and the light of men!  The light of you and me.

What an amazing power.

Then Jesus makes it even more personal as he offers us to share in his light when he says, “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. . . In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” ^{Matthew 5:14,16 NLT}

To put what Jesus said in really simple terms, consider how, when you squeeze a lemon, you get lemonade.  Think about putting that lemon under pressure, crushing it with force, applying weight and strength against it – and you get lemonade!

Now let’s apply this same kind of pressure situation to a Christian who has the power of God’s Word living inside them. . . Put them under stress, back them into a corner, push them, apply heaviness upon them, or try to smother them in darkness.   When we are filled with the power of God’s Word, filled with Christ, Jesus will shine through.

Squeeze a lemon you get lemonade.  Squeeze a Christian, you get Jesus.

When this happens – you know what it is really called?  The Power of Christ – living in me.  The Power of God’s Word living in me.  No wonder that Jesus offered this to us when he said, “You are the light of the world.”

All this brings us the question, “How do I get this kind of light, the power of God’s Word in my life?”

Simply put, we need to recognize and go to the power source.  A power cord is worthless unless it is plugged into the power outlet and the same is true for you and me!  And our outlet is God’s Word that we call the Bible.

Let’s look at an example from Jesus’ life, and some modern, practical examples of how this power can work in your life.

The first thing we can know is that Jesus spent a lot of time in prayer.  As a devout Jewish boy of that era, he most likely memorized all of the Psalms and large portions of Scripture.  Furthermore, there are several places in the gospels that talk about Jesus praying, and we know the disciples even asked Jesus to teach them how to pray.

But the most telling and most revealing example of how Jesus plugged himself into God is shown before Jesus even began his ministry.  Before he healed, before he spoke, before any miracles, Jesus set the table by spending 40 days alone in the wilderness with God.

In a nutshell – Jesus plugged himself into God.

Jesus did not go into the wilderness to study cactus plants or to count the stars, even though he probably enjoyed them both!  Jesus knew his power source was God.  No wonder the Bible says “Be still and know that I am God” in so many ways and so many times.  ^{Psalm 46:10 Psalm 37:7, Exodus 14:13, Mark 4:39, Philippians 4:6}

We can only imagine how hungry and exhausted Jesus must have been after fasting in the wilderness for 40 days.  It’s the same condition we are usually in when Satan tries to tempt us, and that is exactly what Satan tried to do to Jesus.  Three times, Satan tried to tempt Jesus, and all three times Jesus answered the temptations by quoting scripture out loud!

Jesus told the devil, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” ^{Mat 4:4BSB  and Deuteronomy 8:2-3}   What an example of the power of God’s word in action!

Jesus not only quoted scripture, but at the same time, he gave us the secret recipe – the recipe from heaven itself – on how to use the power of God’s Word to defeat Satan’s lies!

Amazing Jesus!  I have to imagine that if a mosquito ever buzzed near Jesus’ ear, that he would not have hesitated to swat that little pest.  I doubt Jesus would have pondered it or hoped it would just go away.  Nope.  He’d smack it – right now – instantly and without hesitation – the same way you and I would.

Can you hear that mosquito near your ear?  Can you feel it land on your neck?   You’re not going to wait!  You are going to instantaneously deal with it, even if you have to drop everything in your hands to do it.

Jesus showed us his example, and this is the same way we need to respond to Satan’s lies.  Instantly and without hesitation, we can follow Jesus lead, by quoting Scripture out loud.  By grabbing the Power of God’s Word and hitting that blood-sucking liar with the truth!

Yes, Jesus fought temptation by quoting scripture out loud.

Our temptations might be to gossip, take offense, be afraid, get angry or turn to a bad habit for comfort.  All of these lures – lies of Satan – are things that he knows are attractive to us – because we’ve taken his bait before.

When we take the effort to quote scripture out loud, to plug into our source of power, so many good things happen:

First is that it buys us time – perhaps just the few extra seconds we need – as we recite God’s Word out loud.   Time to think.  Time to remember what we truly value.  Time to decide who we really want to be.

Second, God’s Word gives us extra courage.  Just think of the power in that one little light in the dark cave.  If you’ve ever been alone in the dark woods, a little light gives you so much courage.  This courage is part of the power we are plugging into.

Third, the power of God’s Word puts our enemy in a downward spiral, so he loses control.  Just the action of speaking scripture gave Jesus the enormous power of God’s authority.  It’s like presenting a letter – signed by the mayor – to a city worker. . .  Suddenly your words take on huge power and authority.

The name “Jesus” has total authority over Satan and his battle schemes.  Over and over the Bible says, “In Jesus’ name.”  Demons were cast out in his name. ^{Mark 16:17-18} Healing occurred in his name. ^{Acts 3:6.} Demons submitted in his name. ^{Luke 10:17} Salvation comes in his name. ^{Acts 4:12, Rom. 10:13}

I witnessed the power of Jesus name when I was twenty years-old in an unforgettable moment that changed my life.  It’s a powerful story that can be applied in so many ways.

I was with one of the prettiest girls in the world, alone in my dorm room, and we were kissing to our hearts content.  This girl had a smile that made her eyes dance and lips that melted into mine.  The moment was one that I had only dreamt about and I wanted the passion to last forever.

In the midst of this passion, she reached down and started to unzip my pants – and I instantly blurted – almost unconsciously, “Dear Jesus, please help us to stop.”  And guess what happened.  We stopped.

The power of God’s Word flooded the room!

Almost immediately, the girl started to cry, a deep sobbing, weeping cry.  I asked her what was wrong.  She looked straight into my eyes and said, “I’m pregnant.  I was going to have you believe that you were the father.”

There is absolutely no doubt that I would have assumed I was the father of that child if we had continued.  I would have married that girl and dropped out of college to support my new family, and my life would have taken a whole new trajectory.  Pretty daunting to think about – wouldn’t you say!

Now with all that passion in mind, can we even begin to imagine the power inside those words, “Dear Jesus, please help us to stop.”  The power inside the name of Jesus.  To this day, I tremble to think how Jesus saved me.  How he saved me then, and how he has saved me over and over again through the power of calling on his name.

Jesus.  Jesus help me to stop.  Jesus give me the courage to start.  Jesus be with me through this struggle.  Jesus let me see things the way you see them.  Jesus help me to forgive.  Jesus please forgive them.  Jesus please send your angels to protect me.  Jesus deliver me.  Jesus you are Lord. Together, let’s call on Jesus mighty name right now, and throughout every day.  Jesus name is above every other name.  ^{Philippians 2:9 ESV.}  The name of Jesus has more power than anything or anybody.  Jesus is Lord.

My friends, Jesus wants us to call his name in power, while Satan wants you to feel afraid, alone and powerless.  That’s why we’d like to bless you with a free MP3 audiobook or PDF of Why Wait to Be Happy.  Jesus paid a big price for you to have the living power of his word inside you.  He wants you to have what he paid for.