Defining Power

Power is the ability to get things done, and it is expandable.

-Ray Bakke, A Theology As Big As The City

Man’s nature is a perpetual factory of idols.

-John Calvin

Simon & Power

- Great magician

- Power provides him attention, worth and significance

- He’s the “Great Power of God!”      (vs. 10)

It is not so much that Simon had power, but in a very real sense, power has him.

What Simon sought was control over the Holy Spirit.

-Richard Foster

1.Everyone struggles with idolatry, even Christians.

1.Idols cost us something.

When Power Takes The Throne

What we seek: Success, Influence

Price we pay: Burdened, Overly Responsible for Outcomes

Nightmare:    Humiliation or     Incapability

Others Feel:   Used 

We feel:      Anger 

Is Power On The Throne

Of Your Heart?

1.Are you hesitant to accept help from someone else because of how it makes you feel?

2.Are you always the strong one in your relationships?

3.Are you driven to be competent in every area of your life?

4.Do you fear being out of control?

5. Are you meticulous about knowing what is happening in your day?

6. Is success for you measured in terms of productivity?

7. Do you find yourself continually talking of your accomplishments or your influence? 

8. When was the last time you gave someone permission to have the final say, yes or no, FOR you, in an area of life?

9. Are you adverse to accountability? Can you name someone who holds you accountable in an area of life?

10. Do you struggle to trust God with your future?

1. Idols don’t just need to be removed, they need to be replaced.

2. Practice Submission.

Submission is an unpopular, repugnant concept these days. The notion of giving away power conjures up images of becoming a doormat, a weak-willed nonentity or a brainwashed cult follower.

But this perception is miles away from the biblical model of submission. True biblical submission is not linked solely to hierarchy and roles.

It begins in the very center of the Trinity where the Father and Son and the Holy Spirit all mutually honor and defer to each other.

-Adele Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook

True power has freedom as its aim.

-Richard Foster.