The Way of Spiritual Power: The Christian Way, #6

By Zacharias Tanee Fomum

Spiritual power is needed today. This power is needed to be like Christ in character and in deed. It is the power of God - The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Lord meant that the church as His body, and the believer as a member of His Body, would manifest spiritual power in character and service.
The church is, generally speaking, powerless. The lives of many believers are a tragic contradiction of the gospel they talk about. In the face of diseases, demons, and the like, many believers stand totally powerless. There is a growing confidence in human skills, human techniques, human methods, and human organisations. On the whole, many live and act as if God were absent. This ought not to be so. This must not continue to be so.
In the life of the church and in the life of each believer, there must be power that cannot be accounted for on any grounds. People looking must be able to say, "This is God at work" and nothing else.
The power of the Lord is made available to all who come to Him. His power is manifested in full measure through channels that are fully opened to Him and that give Him the freedom to do His work His way, and in His time.
Although spiritual power can be manifested without holiness and obedience, those who are open to and co-operate with the Lord through prayer, the Word, holiness, a surrendered life, Christian character, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and so on, will begin to experience spiritual power, and as they continue to seek the Lord and His might, they will grow in the knowledge of Him and His might.
We send out this book with prayer that it should be used by the Lord to stir hunger after the Lord and the power of His might.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Books4revival
• Release date: Feb 18, 2015
• ISBN: 9781507009925

Zacharias Tanee Fomum

For FREE books from Zacharias Tanee Fomum: https://books.bookfunnel.com/ztf-free-ebooks. Professor Zacharias Tanee FOMUM was a man of uncommon spirituality, a leading voice for revival, a workaholic, a prophet-teacher, and a world-shaping spiritual genius. He was a bestselling Christian author (with over 350 books, over 10 million copies in circulation in over 100 languages) and a professor of Organic Chemistry (with over 160 published scientific works of high distinction (earning him the award of a Doctor of Science degree from the University of Durham, Great Britain). His books and the millions of people he influenced in more than 40 years of Christian ministry continue to impact the world with the Gospel today. He founded Christian Missionary Fellowship International (CMFI), a missionary movement that has planted churches in more than 120 nations on all continents. He believed in a life of simplicity and with the support and dedication of his wife and their seven children, his all—time, money, heart, and soul— was dedicated to spreading the Gospel. He carried out exploits for God through the making of disciples for Christ, planting of churches, building spiritual leaders according to the model of the Bible, and serving the body of Christ, especially as a teacher on prayer. Learn more and read exclusive excerpts at: https://ztfomum.org

Book preview

THE WAY OF SPIRITUAL POWER

By

Zacharias Tanee Fomum

© 1984 Z.T. Fomum

All Rights Reserved

Published by

the ePublishing unit of the Book Ministry of CMFI

http://www.cmfionline.org | [e-mail]

I dedicate this book most affectionately to

JOSEPH MBAFOR

EMMANUEL BAYIHA

DAVID ATOGHO

JOSEPH GADO

elders of the church in Yaounde, in appreciation of their sacrificial companionship in the service of the Lord Jesus and His Church

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

Spiritual Power In Its Totality Today

The Power Of God

The Power Of The Lord Jesus

The Power Of The Holy Spirit

The Power Of Spiritual Gifts

The Power Of Prayer

The Power Of The Word Of God

The Power Of A Sanctified And Surrendered Life

Spiritual Power Without Holiness -the Story Of Samson

Spiritual Power In The Permissive Will Of God - The Prophet Balaam

The Price of Spiritual Power

Spiritual Power Maintained Through Discipline

About The Author

Other Books

PREFACE

This book is the sixth in The Christian Way Series. The books in this series are :

The Way Of Life

The Way Of Obedience

The Way Of Discipleship

The Way Of Sanctification

The Way Of Christian Character

The Way Of Spiritual Power

The Way Of Christian Service

The Way Of Spiritual Warfare

The Way Of Suffering For Christ

The Way Of Victorious Praying

The Way Of Overcomers

The Way Of Spiritual Encouragement

The Way Of Loving The Lord

Spiritual power is needed today. This power is needed to be like Christ in character and in deed. It is the power of God - The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Lord meant that the church as His body, and the believer as a member of His Body, would manifest spiritual power in character and service.

The church is, generally speaking, powerless. The lives of many believers are a tragic contradiction of the gospel they talk about. In the face of diseases, demons, and the like, many believers stand totally powerless. There is a growing confidence in human skills, human techniques, human methods, and human organisations. On the whole, many live and act as if God were absent. This ought not to be so. This must not continue to be so.

In the life of the church and in the life of each believer, there must be power that cannot be accounted for on any grounds. People looking must be able to say, This is God at work and nothing else.

The power of the Lord is made available to all who come to Him. His power is manifested in full measure through channels that are fully opened to Him and that gives Him the freedom to do His work His way, and in His time.

Although spiritual power can be manifested without holiness and obedience, those who are open to and co-operate with the Lord through prayer, the Word, holiness, a surrendered life, Christian character, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and so on, will begin to experience spiritual power, and as they continue to seek the Lord and His might, they will grow in the knowledge of Him and His might.

We send out this book with prayer that it should be used by the Lord to stir hunger after the Lord and the power of His might.

Yaounde, 1984

Dr Zacharias TANEE FOMUM,

P.O. BOX 6090

Yaounde - CAMEROON

Chapter 1

SPIRITUAL POWER IN ITS TOTALITY TODAY

Spiritual power is the power of God’s being and God’s doing. This power resides fully in the Father, the Son and The Holy Spirit. Where God is fully present, His power will be fully felt. The same goes for when the Lord Jesus is present. This is not less true when the Holy Spirit is present.

This era is that of the dispensation of the Holy Spirit. The Father Son and Holy Spirit work together through the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was on earth, the Father Son and Holy Spirit worked through the Son and before then, the three worked through the Father.

In this dispensation, all the power of God - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is manifested through the Holy Spirit. All their power resides in Him and where He is, their power is present. He is present in man’s spirit.

Many wonder how someone who has not been baptized into the Holy Spirit can manifest spiritual power in a mighty way. Others wonder why another person who has not made much progress in the School of Christ-likeness in character can manifest such power. Others wonder how someone who prays so little can be so powerful.

The reason for these abnormalities is this: the full power of God resides in the Holy Spirit who indwells man’s spirit.

These boxes represent the openings through which the power of the Holy Spirit, who is present in the human spirit, can be manifested, flow out and do what God wants it to do. It is obvious that this power should help people to be like God - in character : The power to be. This power should also enable people to be like God in action : the power to do (This includes miracles, and all others). For fullest manifestations, the full power to be and the full power to do should be released. God’s ultimate purpose is that the church should present to Him all the channels needed for the full manifestation of His total power.

Unfortunately, believers often hinder God. They do not let Him have His way, unhindered, in their lives, and He will not force things through. That is why there is often a contradictory manifestation of power. God may allow someone who is unyielded to manifest power through the gifts of power. Someone who is not baptized in the Holy Spirit can attain much spiritual power through a surrendered life and/or a life of prayer, discipline, knowledge and the use of the Word, and so on. No wonder Samson could manifest power in sin and Balaam could manifest power while maintaining a greedy heart. That is why the manifestation of power is not necessarily an indication of vital fellowship with God, and why spiritual power can be lost. For example, the one whose power is released through prayer will cease to manifest spiritual power when he no longer labours with God in prayer and fasting.

Can you imagine God’s power as water locked up in a dam ? The dam may contain plenty of water, but not flow out because of the lack of outlets. If it has one outlet, some amount will flow out. If there are two, then there will be an increase in what flows out, and better still if there are 3, 4, or 5.

If all the outlets are opened, then there will be great gains in flow.

THE SIZE OF THE OUTLETS

All outlets are not of the same size. The outlet of a surrendered life may release power that is different in quantity and quality from that released through a life of prayer.

The size of each outlet will differ from person to person. Especially in the realm of gifts, all who receive the gifts of healing may not receive the gifts to the same extent. Also, the believer has the opportunity to enlarge the outlet. Faith will certainly enlarge the outlet of prayer, and discipline will enhance holy living.

If we were to co-operate with the Holy Spirit to ensure that all the channels are opened and that each is opened to the fullest, then all the power of God would flow out and there would be abundant blessings.

THE DANGER OF MOVEMENTS

Sometimes God has moved through some person and brought back to the church some lost aspect of the truth. This is wonderful. The only problem is that men soon take over and build a movement around that truth, to the neglect of other equally vital aspects of the truth, and say, This is the one key. There was the truth of justification by faith alone. That was wonderful. Some measure of power is released through that. Unfortunately, there are people who stopped there. Then, there was the truth of Holiness (sanctification).This again was wonderful, but again many stopped there. Some discovered the power of a Christ-like character and the fruit of the Spirit. That is wonderful. The only problem is that many have stopped there. Then the Lord revealed the truth of the Holy Spirit outpoured. This again has been wonderful. The problem is that some think that the gifts of power are all that is needed, and some even think that the who has spoken in tongues has arrived. This is sad.

Something worse is the seeking of spiritual gifts by people who still bow to idols, worship saints and Mary, and even reject the basic necessity of the new birth. To be safe, we must receive all the aspects of the truth that God has brought forth and refuse to build a movement. We must proclaim the whole counsel of God. We must press on for the whole counsel of God.

Balaam failed ultimately. Samson failed ultimately. All who concentrate on one or more aspects of spiritual power, to the neglect of others, have likewise failed.

In a sense, this book is terribly inadequate. It presents too little of the way of power. It is not The Book. It is at best a book. The Bible is The Book. We see only in part. Even what we see in part is not all set out here. All that we see in part of the way of power, is presented in our series of 14 volumes. This is just one of them. The 14 volumes are called The Way of Life. They could easily be called the Way of Power, for the Christian way of life is also God’s way of power.

JESUS IS THE END

All the power of God is at work so that Jesus may be all. The purpose of the gospel is to glorify Christ. The goal of the gospel for me is that, Christ may have all of me and all that I have, and that He may have the whole world through you and me.

Let us seek (desire) spiritual gifts. Let us labour in the study of the Word and in prayer; let us give ourselves, without reserve, to the Lord. Let us be holy, for He is Holy; but above all, let us set our eyes on Jesus, for He is the fullness of God. Let us have Him in His totality and let us let Him have us in our totality, and we shall see God’s power mightily at work, to the glory of Christ.

Glory be to His Holy Name ! Amen.

Chapter 2

THE POWER OF GOD

Power belongs to God. (Psalm 62:11). God alone is all powerful. His power is manifested in :-

His sovereignty

His creation

His keeping His Word

His new creation

GOD’S POWER MANIFESTED IN HIS SOVEREIGNTY

The greatest manifestation of power is that a person can do everything he wants to do, at the time he wants to do it, to the extent that he wants to do it, and with whom he wants to do it. God is sovereign. He is all powerful. Scriptures declare His sovereignty in the following ways:-

The Lord of hosts has sworn:

"As I have planned,

so it shall be,

and as I have purposed,

so shall it stand,

that I will break the Assyrian in my land,

and upon my mountain trample him under foot;

and his yoke shall depart from them,

and his burden from their shoulders.

This is the purpose that is purposed,

concerning the whole earth;

and this is the hand that is stretched out

over all the nations .

For the Lord of hosts has purposed,

and who will annul it?

His hand is stretched out,

and who will turn it back?" (Isaiah 14:24-27).

There is great power behind such phrases as :-

"I have planned, so it shall be.

As I have purposed, so shall it stand.

For the Lord of host has purposed, and who will annul it?

His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?"

Indeed, what He plans takes place and what He purposes stands. No one can annul what He has purposed, and none can turn His outstretched hand back. This applies, not just to one place or some places. It is His purpose concerning the whole earth; and His hand is stretched out over all the nations! That is the extent of His power. Again the Scriptures say:-

"To whom will you liken me and make me equal,

and compare me, that we may be alike?

Those who lavish gold from the purse,

and weigh out silver in the scales

hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;

then they fall down and worship!

They lift it upon their shoulders, they carry it, they set it in its place, and it stands there;

it cannot move from its place.

If one cries to it, it does not answer

or save him from his trouble."

"Remember this and consider,

recall it to mind, you transgressors

remember the former things of old;

for I am God, and there is none like me,

declaring the end from the beginning

and from ancient times things not yet done,

saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’

calling a bird of prey from the east,the man of my counsel from a far country.

I have spoken, and I