Psalm 26, 28; Dan. 4:28-37; 1 John 4:7-21; Luke 4:31-37
What have I done to build my own kingdom for my own glory? Nebuchadnezzar sees the glory of Babylon and takes all the credit and immediately the prophetic dream he had been given comes true. It is amazing that over a seven year period there is not one who steps forward and claims the throne while the king is literally out of his mind. Who are those who have charge over the kingdom during this time? It would seem that, based on the last few verses of chapter 2 and the final verse of chapter 3 that Daniel and his companions were rulers over Babylon. When the king recovers his senses, his reaction is to praise the Most High God as king of all, whose kingdom is everlasting, who is so great that we are as nothing, who is greater than all gods, and who is able to do as He pleases with no one greater who can stop Him. The king may not know this God but he knows a good bit about Him.
Jesus is in the synagogue and teaches with a power and authority that is different from that of the other teachers. His power and authority come from the Spirit of God, and here we see a demonstration of that power, the power of the spoken word that created the universe. When He speaks to the demon, it immediately obeys the command. He has power over the forces of evil that transcends anything they have ever seen before and at this they marvel. This miracle got people talking about Him, the report goes to all the surrounding region. The power with which Jesus teaches is the certainty of interpretation that comes from being the law-giver, there is no provisional interpretation or teaching here, only certainty. When we speak from conviction regarding truth, the conviction that comes from the power of the Holy Spirit, we teach with power and authority as well and lives are changed.
Conviction of the love of God, the belief that Jesus is the Son of God, and that all He did reveals the love of the Father, gives us a testimony and a life of power and authority. When we confess thus, we confess also that Jesus abides in the Father and the Father in Him and in that confession He comes and abides in us. By the power of the Holy Spirit abiding in us we have access to the power that Jesus had in His ministry, the power of conviction regarding truth and the power to do great things in His Name. It does not mean that we will always possess the power to heal or to speak to demons but that through us He can accomplish such things as He wills and desires, but only if we cooperate with that will and step into the authority we are given. The first test, however, of the power of the Holy Spirit in us is our love for God and our concurrent love for the world that caused Him to send His Son. We are the firstfruits of His kingdom, the new creation, and we bring that kingdom to life when we live from the Spirit. The kingdom is first birthed in us and then we live out the conviction that there is coming a new kingdom on earth that is, in fact, the eternal kingdom of God and in joy we participate in that kingdom now in part and later in full. Should we not be as those in the synagogue in Capernaum, spreading the report of what Jesus has done in all the region around us?
O worship the King, all glorious above,
O gratefully sing His power and His love;
Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise.
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