A power struggle is a situation in which two or more people or groups compete for control in a particular sphere. The power struggle can be at home (between a husband and wife or between a parent and child or between siblings) or at work (between a boss and colleagues or between colleagues vying for favour) or between neighbours (‘keeping up with the Joneses’ is a form of power struggle!) and these can be extremely wearing, a ‘battle of the wills’, so to speak. Power struggles can result in all kinds of tactics, from sulking to tantrums, from manipulation to deceit, from cold shouldering to malice and slander, and can make life extremely difficult for those involved.

One of the difficulties with these situations is that the parties involved may not always be on an equal footing. When one person is in a position of authority over another (an employer with an employee, for example), the power struggle can result in bullying and intimidation. Ephesus was a very prestigious place in the Mediterranean world in the 1^st century, ‘a great city at the hub of the trade routes of the world, full of culture and money and temples and politics and soldiers and merchants and slaves. And power.’ (Tom Wright, ‘Acts For Everyone’, Pt 2, P 113) Into this situation, Paul arrived, preaching a gospel which demonstrated God’s power over all the world. (Acts 19:1-22)

Luke tells us that ‘God performed unusual works of power through Paul’s hands’ (Acts 19:11) and this chapter shows us people being baptised in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues and prophesying as well as healings, exorcisms and deliverances. It shows us not a power struggle between equal forces, but a demonstration that God’s power is far greater than any human or satanic power. It’s perhaps not surprising that in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he talks of praying that their eyes will be opened to see ‘his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.’ (Eph 1:19-21) Paul was well aware that in any power struggle between people and God, between spiritual powers and God, there is only one winner: God!

Our problem is that we tend to see evil as all-powerful. Eugene Peterson says, ‘We underestimate God and we overestimate evil. We don’t see what God is doing and conclude that he is doing nothing. We see everything that evil is doing and think it is in control of everyone.’ (‘Run With The Horses’) This becomes a vicious circle as we cower before the devil and refuse to believe God has the power to deliver us and establish His kingdom where we are.  Eugene Peterson goes on to remind us that “evil is not inexhaustible. It is not infinite. It is not worthy of a lifetime of attention.” What this passage in Acts teaches us is that in any power struggle with God, God will win. He is not called omnipotent for nothing!

Ephesus (in Turkey) was a centre of power (magic power, political power, religious power), and Paul’s ministry demonstrated that the power of the name of the Lord Jesus was stronger than all of them. This power was strong to heal (in ways that hadn’t happened before, with handkerchiefs and cloths that had touched Paul’s skin somehow bringing healing power to the sick. Acts 19:11-12) It was stronger than exorcists who thought they could just add the name of Jesus to their repertoire of magic charms, only to discover that the demon they were addressing on this occasion respected Jesus and Paul but had no respect for them. (Acts 19:13-16) People saw these unusual signs and came to believe in God as a result, as was demonstrated by them burning their letters and charms as a sign of their repentance and renunciation of occult practices. (Acts 19:17-20)

God’s power is not magic, however. Magic attempts to gain power without paying the price of humble submission to God. God’s power has dominion over magic (as is seen by the burning of the costly magic books and the confession and renunciation by those who had been practising magic.) What these verses do clearly teach us is that we serve an omnipotent God whose power is often visibly demonstrated in our midst as stepping-stones towards faith.

Jesus Himself told His disciples, ‘believe on the evidence of the works themselves’ (John 14:11); signs are given to stir our faith and open our eyes to the might and power of God. He went on to say, ‘Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.’ (John 14:12-14) Paul’s ministry in Ephesus was an outworking of those words and a fulfilment of those promises, with the result that ‘the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.’ (Acts 19:20) Can the same be said of our ministry in Goldthorpe? If not, why not?

Apart from our usual Sunday and Thursday meetings, there are a few other services being held throughout October.

Take Back The Streets prayer walk (4th October)

Our ‘Take Back the Streets’ prayer meeting/ prayer walk will be on Saturday 4th October, leaving the building at 10 a.m. Those who can’t walk are invited to stay and pray in the building as we ask God to bring revival to Goldthorpe and pray for our local community.

‘Churches Together’ Prayer Meeting (7th October)

On Wednesday 7th October at 10.45 a.m. we will be meeting at Sacred Heart RC Church on Lockwood Road in Goldthorpe for our ‘Churches Together’ prayer meeting, looking at the theme ‘Light & Life.‘ We will also be livestreaming this on the Dearne Churches Together Facebook page.

Half-Term Fun (28th October)

We will be doing our family fun day a little bit differently this half-term because of the restrictions on larger gatherings. We’re inviting families to book a collection slot between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Wednesday 28th October (at GPCC and Furlong Road Methodist Church) and will be giving out goody bags with crafts, snacks and other surprises. If you can help with preparing goody bags on Tuesday 27th October or with giving them out on the Wednesday, please let Julie know.

In Phil 4:1-9, Paul gives us further insights into how to rejoice always and what to do when we feel anxious and perhaps unable to rejoice. He says, ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’ (Phil 4:6-7) These famous verses show us how to deal with the ‘unconscious blasphemy’ (to quote Ralph Martin) of anxiety, worry and fear which often blight our lives, despite Jesus’s command not to worry (Matt 6:25, 34)

Thanksgiving is again part of the way we actually move in prayer from anxiety to peace. When we come to God in prayer, we may well feel overwhelmed and swamped, because our focus is on the issue, the problem. But as we give thanks to the Lord, we recall His goodness and mercy to us; we remember all the ways He has helped us in the past; we get our gaze back in the right place. God then gives us His peace, a peace which may well transcend our understanding but which is His gift to us.

Paul’s final piece of advice in these verses is to ensure we win the battle of the mind by focussing our thoughts on things that are true, good and wholesome (Phil 4:8). The mind controls so much. What we think about determines so much in our lives. If we think wrong things, we end up believing lies. If we believe lies, we will end up in chains, slaves to sin. Jesus made it very plain that the devil is the ‘father of lies.’ Lies are his native language. (John 8:44) He likes nothing more than people thinking about wrong things and believing lies, because then it’s a very short step to people doing wrong things and living in slavery rather than in the freedom God wants us to know and experience. Jesus said that knowing the truth has the power to set us free (John 8:32), and so it’s crucially important that we think about whatever is true.

Again, we have the choice as to what we think about, and we must choose wisely. As the saying goes, ‘If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.’ Paul talks about taking every thought captive to Christ (2 Cor 10:5), and so we must learn to identify the lies (which we can do by allowing God’s word to shape our understanding of truth and lies), refuse to believe them any more and focus on truth instead. As we put up the wallpaper of God’s truth in our minds, letting His word shape our thinking and our outlook, we are transformed into His image and the peace of God is with us. (Phil 4:9)

Phil 4:1-9 is rather like a crammed suitcase that overflows when unpacked; it’s full of truths which seem to expand into our lives, leading us to a spacious place (see also Ps 18:19, Ps 31:8, Ps 118:5), a place of freedom and joy.

Paul starts the chapter by urging the Philippians (his ‘dear friends’, his ‘crown and joy‘) to ‘stand firm in the Lord’. This command is found elsewhere in his letters (see 2 Cor 1:21, 24; Eph 6:14, Gal 5:1) and echoes Jesus’s own words (Luke 21:19, Mark 13:13) as well as those of the Old Testament prophets (e.g. Isaiah 7:9, Ex 14:13). In order to stand firm, we need a solid footing and good balance. Jesus told us to build our lives on solid rock rather than on shifting sands. (Matt 7:24-27) We need a solid foundation, a firm place to stand (Ps 40:2), but we also need to learn balance as we navigate the stormy circumstances of life. We need to be like the children’s toy, the Weeble, which wobbles but doesn’t fall down!

One thing which can help us to stand firm is being of one mind in the Lord. Paul has already spoken about the strength of unity when he urged us to be one in spirit and in mind. (Phil 2:2) Now, he speaks specifically to two women, Euodia and Syntyche, ‘to be of the same mind in the Lord.’ (Phil 4:2) Presumably, there were problems between these two women which were spilling over into church life and Paul urges them, and others around them, to work towards reconciliation and mutual love. We always need to bear in mind that our faith has to be lived out in everyday relationships and that we have to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (Eph 4:3)

Paul urges us yet again to rejoice in the Lord always, reiterating that command immediately. (Phil 4:4) This is possible (however impossible we may feel it is at times!) because we know that God is in control and is working for good in every circumstance of life. (Rom 8:28) We can rejoice because, no matter how we may feel, ‘the Lord is near.’ (Phil 4:5) As we realise God’s closeness to us and focus on who He is, never-changing, always there for us, we can rejoice always in Him. The ability to do this is there; it’s up to us to choose to rejoice.

This morning, Stephen spoke from Eph 1:3-14. At the moment, we can perhaps feel frustrated by our experience of church life, faced with restrictions, face coverings and a lack of sung worship. Even now, however, Christ is the same and therefore each one of us has access to God’s blessings and can know something of heaven on earth.

We often think of heaven as an extension to the things we enjoy on earth (for example, when extremely happy, we may say, ‘I feel like I’ve died and gone to heaven!’) Heaven is not just for the future, however. Eph 2:6 reminds us that we are now seated in heavenly realms; we are not waiting for the future but are already transported from where we were (dead in transgressions and sins) to a place of heavenly blessing. The ‘unseen world of spiritual reality’, which should be our guide (since we are called to live by faith and not by sight), is our present experience. We may feel masked, silenced and distanced, but the truth is that we can enjoy the security of God’s love and the peace that He brings, for access to His glory is still available to us all.

We know that God’s original creation was good and that God Himself walked with Adam and Eve in the garden, a foretaste of what God always intended our relationship to be. Jesus Christ came to restore that blissful relationship which was marred by sin and to give us access to all that God intended for mankind. All we have to do is to step out of the earthly reality (that which is governed by our five senses, the material, visible world) and into the heavenly reality of the presence and blessing of God.