Does the universe sometimes appear random, cold, impersonal, and threatening to you?
Years ago I used to think about what appeared to be random forces in the world, forces to which we are all subject, making us seem to be the victims of a capricious and sometimes cruel universe. If you don't know any better, the whole idea is scary, leading to deep feelings of insecurity.
But the world only appears that way. I later learned that there is a sovereign, unlimited, purposeful, and benevolent power behind the universe. If one is not tapped into this power, the forces and the things that happen to us do appear random and capricious, often cruel. But that is only the appearance and not reality. In fact, such people are the unwitting victims of a spiritual war going on, and they have chosen the wrong side, the diabolical side, even if unknowingly.
The truly diabolical aspect of the dark side of spiritual reality is that its victims do not even realize it is diabolical. Their sad plight seems logical, rational, right, and in concert with the prevailing cultural values at the time, no matter how evil. A 3,000-year-old proverb says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death" (Proverbs 14:2).
There is, indeed, a dark side, and a side of light. The side of light is the source of the power described in this book. The dark side has a degree of power also, such as the power of witchcraft, the occult and demons, all part of satanic power, and all of which can be formidable. However, that power is very limited and is easily vanquished by the power from the light described herein, which is omnipotent.
If one is tapped into the power this book describes, you learn that nothing is by accident, either in appearance or in reality. There is no such thing as luck, good fortune, or even coincidence. "According to the rabbis, coincidence is not a kosher word," says author Chuck Missler. In fact, if you are plugged into this power system, everything that happens to you is ultimately for your good (Romans 8:28). The universe is no longer random. It is totally ordered for your benefit and the new spiritual kingdom in which you find yourself. The realization of this truth produces a transcendent peace beyond all understanding. That alone is worth the effort.
This power brings life. The alternative brings death. I urge you to tap into this life power today. When you do, you will experience a great peace, and an inner sense that you have finally come home to where you were created to be.
What is it? What is this great, benevolent power?
His power is total. It is absolute. It is without limit. It is beyond earthly comprehension. Nothing can resist it¾no person, no devil, no physical law, no circumstance, or no disease.
It is the same power that created the universe and the same power that holds it together.
For by him (Christ) all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together (Colossians 1:16-17).
While really incomprehensible, try to grasp something of this absolute power of Christ:
· In one second, our sun emits more energy than man has done since he was created.
· Our sun is only an average-size star. One star, the Pistol Star, produces 1 million times the energy of the sun and has 100 times its mass.
· Our sun and entire solar system are just a pinpoint, or small speck, in our Milky Way galaxy.
· There are perhaps 200 billion stars just in our galaxy.
· If our galaxy was the size of the North American continent, our solar system would only be the size of a tea cup.
· Quasars, at the extreme edge of the known universe, some 1,000 times brighter than our Milky Way galaxy, emit as much energy every second as our sun does in 10 million years.
· While estimates continue to rise, our galaxy is just one of more than 100 billion galaxies in the universe, many of which are comprised of 200 billion or more stars.
· Astronomers say that the total number of stars in space could equal or surpass the total number of grains of sand on all the seashores of the world, and in most cases they are separated by trillions of miles.
(Some of the above information has only recently become known because of the orbiting Hubble telescope.)
Through the ancient prophet Isaiah, God said, "My own hands stretched out the heavens" (Isaiah 45:12).
The psalmist pondered the wonders of creation and asked God, "What is man that you are mindful of him?" (Psalm 8:4).
God is not only mindful of us, but He has revealed Himself to us in a special way and amazingly, He wants to manifest His power through us, on the earth.
With His kind of unlimited power, God has absolutely no problem wielding it upon the earth and manifesting it through willing human vessels for His purposes.
There are two Greek words translated as power in the New Testament. One is dunamis, where we get the word for "dynamite." According to the Strong's Enhanced Lexicon, the Greek word dunamis means "strength, power, ability, and the power to do miracles."
The other is exousia, often translated as "authority." The lexicon describes exousia as "the ability or strength with which one is endued, which he either possesses or exercises; the power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege)."
Power and authority go hand in hand. Without authority, there can be no power. Without power, authority has no enforcement. Authority is supreme because it controls and exercises the power.
For example, a policeman's authority is represented by his badge. Sometimes respect for the badge (authority) is all that is needed to get compliance and action. But the policeman sometimes may need to use his power, which is his gun. His gun backs up his badge. His power backs up his authority.
Whether one realizes or admits it or not, the Bible says that every person has seen God's power:
For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse (Romans 1:21).
This power referred to is manifested in the world by no less than the Holy Spirit Himself.