Power with God

Spurgeon, Charles Haddon

Genesis 32:28

And he said, Your name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince have you power with God and with men…

I. WHAT THIS POWER CANNOT BE.

1. Cannot be physical force.

2. Cannot be mental energy.

3. Cannot be magical.

4. Cannot be meritorious.

5. Cannot be independent.

II. WHENCE THIS POWER PROCEEDS.

1. It arises from the Lord's nature. His goodness and tenderness are excited by the sight of our sorrow and weakness.

2. It comes out of God's promise (Isaiah 43:26).

3. It springs out of the relationships of grace.

4. It grows out of the Lord's previous acts. Each blessing draws on another, like links of a chain.

III. How CAN IT BE EXERCISED.

1. There must be a deep sense of weakness (2 Corinthians 12:10).

2. There must be simple faith in the goodness of the Lord (John 14:12).

3. There must be earnest obedience to His will (John 9:31).

4. There must be fixed resolve (ver. 26).

5. With this must be blended importunity (ver. 24).

6. The whole heart must be poured out (Hosea 12:4).

7. Increased weakness must not make us cease (Isaiah 33:23).

IV. To WHAT USE THIS POWER MAY BE TURNED.

1. For ourselves.

(1)  For our own deliverance from special trial.

(2)  An honourable preferment.

(3)  Our future comfort, strength, and growth, when, like Jacob, we are called to successive trials.

2. For others. Jacob's wives and children were preserved, and Esau's heart was softened. If we had more power with God, we should have a happier influence among our relatives.

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