Our name | Mission | Vision | Leaders Ministries | Schedule | Directions | Contact Home   Gateway Church gathers for worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Location: 6425 Jefferson Rd. (Hwy. 129) in Athens, Georgia. For directions, click here. Ministry of the Word: Recent sermons Our quarterly e-magazine Gateway Today For the Gateway family Pastor Jerry's Weekly E-Mail A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY AUDIO Demonstrating God's power Jerry Varnado, pastor Gateway Church, Athens GA February 16, 2003 Main Scripture text: Mark 1:40-45. The clear message of Mark is that Jesus has God's power. In the first chapter alone, He casts out evil spirits, heals a fever and other unspecified diseases, and cleanses a leper. Many Christians believe that when Jesus went back to heaven, He took his power with Him. That is contrary to the clear declaration of Scripture. The Bible teaches that both the authority and power to deal with the devil, sickness, and disease are given to the church. The founder of our denomination, John Wesley, was concerned that the Methodist movement, which began in an explosion of God's power, would stop tapping into that power. Here's what he wrote: "I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist.... But I am afraid, lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power." Today, in most of Western culture, the church is not showing the world the power of God. As a result, we find more and more people turning to the devil and demons trying to find the power to live successfully in a fallen world. For centuries, much of the Church has taught and conditioned us not to expect a demonstration of God's power. We have a cloud of skepticism over our minds concerning miracles. We need to tell the world things have changed! The transcendent power of God has broken into human history! They need not turn to the power of the devil and demons. I'm going to continue believing and preaching the Bible, believing that one day we will overcome this shadow of skepticism and unbelief and will see the power of God demonstrated to this world through the church on a consistent and regular basis. Supporting texts: Hebrews 1:3 | Hebrews 13:8 | John 14:12 | Luke 9:1-6 | Luke 10: 1; 8-9; 17-20 | 1 Corinthians 2:4 | 1 Corinthians 4:20 | John 10:10 | Mark 6:1-6 | 1 Corinthians 1:24 | Romans 12:11-12 | Hebrews 10:23 A mp3 audio file of this sermon is here. (Download to a PC by right clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." Mac users: click, hold, and choose "Download Link to Disk." Depending on your connection speed, the file may take several minutes to download.) An audio tape of this sermon is available free of charge (U.S. requests only). Request a tape by calling or writing the Gateway Church office. Please specify tape number 030216a: Demonstrating God's Power. © 2003 Gerald R. Varnado To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us