How a Rocket Works — and the Power Already in You

I have seen a lot of videos of rockets taking off and landing recently. Have you? I was wondering about rockets and how they fly. So, do you know how a rocket actually flies?

You may think that a rocket pushes against the ground… when it lifts off, or that… those flames shooting out the bottom are pushing against the air. Sounds right, doesn't it? You've got that big flame, it hits the air, the air pushes back, and up she goes.

Well, that's not it at all. And here's how we know it's not. A rocket flies just fine — actually flies better — way up in outer space where there is no air. No air. It’s a vacuum. Nothing out there to push against. So if a rocket isn't pushing… against the air, and it isn't pushing against the ground… what in the world is a rocket pushing up against in order to go up?

The answer is what I’d like to share with you. Please turn to Ephesians 3.

I want to show you three things about how a rocket really works — and every single one of them is going to land us right in the middle of God’s Word, and on the spiritual truths that Paul wrote for you and me a couple thousand years ago.

1. The power is on the inside

2. You rise by letting go

3. A greater law breaks the pull

ONE — THE POWER IS ON THE INSIDE

So back to the question. What pushes up a rocket?

It actually pushes against itself. A rocket carries its fuel inside it, ignites it, burns it, and throws that burned-up gas out its bottom at tremendous speed. And Sir Isaac Newton told us back in 1687 — every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The rocket throws mass down and out the bottom (mass is just what is being shot out of the rocket). And the rocket gets pushed in the opposite way, up and forward.

The rocket is not going up… by pushing down against the air. It's not pushing away from the ground. The rocket throws down burnt fuel, and gets pushed up in the equal and opposite direction.

And the rocket carries its own power source… inside the bottom fuel tank. And the rocket carries that tank… the whole way up, while it’s shooting out the burnt fuel.

That's why a rocket works… in the vacuum of outer space. The force was not coming from the air or the ground. The released power… comes from… inside the rocket. 

Now write that down, because that is exactly — what the Word says about you and me. 

Look at Ephesians 3:20. Paul wrote — Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.

“According to the power that worketh” — where? In us. On the inside. Not the power out there… in the world… in our particular circumstances. Not the power that somebody else gave you. But… the power that worketh in us. 

God didn't store our power… way off in the distance… and then go tell us to find it, or chase it, or reach for it. The day I got born again, God put power in my fuel tank. It's already inside… my rocket ship.

So when life feels like a vacuum — when it feels empty out there… in the world… when there's nothing in your life situation to push against — a rocket flies its best flight… in that empty space. Because the power was never coming from… outside. It’s power… that worketh… in you.

Okay, so that topic #1: the power is on the inside. Topic #2, you rise by letting go. 

TWO — YOU RISE BY LETTING GO

Here's the second thing about rockets. Turn to Philippians 3. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians.

The big rockets don't fly up in one piece. They're built in sections called stages, stacked one on top of the other. And the bottom stage — the great big one — burns up all its fuel in just a couple of minutes… getting things off the ground. And then, once it's empty… they let it go. It drops away and falls off. 

Well — they used to just let it go and drop into the ocean and be lost forever. Now, SpaceX changed all that. They now catch that big rocket booster stage, and reuse it.

But why do they let the booster go in the first place… and fall away from the rocket? Because the moment that stage runs dry (burning out all of its fuel from the bottom), it stops being useful. It just becomes dead weight. It did its job. But now it's nothing but a heavy empty can. And if the rocket holds onto it, all that dead weight drags down the whole thing.

So… to keep climbing, the rocket has to release what it has already spent. It lets go of what's behind… so it can reach for… what's ahead. Listen to how Paul said the very same thing.

Philippians 3:13-14 — (13) Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, (14) I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

• Forgetting those things which are behind.

• Reaching forth to what's ahead.

• Pressing toward the high calling — and "high calling" is the language of going up. That's Paul describing a rocket launch.

Some of the dead weight… that we're hauling around in our lives… already did its job. The old guilt. The previous failures. The old friend. The way things used to be. That rocket fuel stage… burned out a long time ago. It’s empty now. And as long as we keep it connected to us… we can't lift off like we should. Dead weight is a drag.

The Word tells us in Hebrews 12:1 to "lay aside every weight." Lay it aside. Drop the spent stage. We can’t climb and press… to where we're going… while we're still hauling… what God already told us… to let fall away.

The cool thing about that bottom booster of a rocket is that… we used to drop those big empty cans in the ocean and lose them forever. But not anymore. We now fly that giant booster — taller than a twenty-story building — all the way back down to the very tower it launched from. And a great big pair of mechanical arms (chop sticks) reaches out and catches it… right out of the air. Then they restore it. And they send it back up to fly again.

The stage doesn't get thrown out like garbage. The same hands that sent it up… reach out and catch it before it crashes… restore it… and give it purpose all over again. 

When we let old weights… fall away, God doesn't let us crash and burn. He catches what falls. Nothing about us gets written off as waste. God upholds all of our steps (Psalm 37:23–24). God restores what was lost (Joel 2:25). All things work together for good (Romans 8:28). Jesus turned away no one (John 6:37). Redemption and forgiveness is through Christ (Ephesians 1:7). Rocket redemption — the spent thing… is caught, then restored, and sent up to fly again. I think that’s pretty cool. 

Okay, so, topic #1: the power is on the inside. Topic #2, you rise by letting go. Topic #3, a greater law breaks the pull. 

THREE — A GREATER LAW BREAKS THE PULL

Now the third thing, and this is my favorite. It's called escape velocity. Turn to Romans 8. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans.

The whole time a rocket is climbing, there's something fighting against it. Gravity. 

The earth is pulling down on that rocket every second, never quitting, trying to bring it back to the ground. 

Gravity is a law.

So, how does anything ever leave Earth? You have to reach a certain speed. And for Earth, it's about twenty-five thousand miles an hour — and once you're going that fast, you break free of the gravitational pull. That speed has a name: it’s “escape velocity.”

But here’s the point for us in our fellowship. The rocket never breaks the law of gravity. Gravity is still acting on the rocket… the whole way up. What happens is a greater force — the thrust, the lift, which is the power in that rocket engine… that overcomes the pull of gravity. You don't break the law of gravity. You overcome it with something stronger. (Romans 12:21, 1 John 5:4, Romans 8:37).

Now, let’s look at what Paul wrote in Romans 8:2: — For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

Two laws. There's a law of sin and death — and that one is just like gravity. It pulls you down. It never takes a day off. It tries to drag you back to the ground every time. (1 Peter 5:8, Romans 6:23, John 8:32, John 8:36, 2 Corinthians 3:17).

But Paul says there's a higher law now for born-again believers: the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. And that’s a greater law. And it has set us free… by overcoming the world… with something greater. The gift of holy spirit, that’s “Christ in you.” That’s the super power thrust… that breaks away from the hold of sin and death. In Christ, you have reached… escape velocity. Because greater is He in you (1 John 4:4), and Christ overcame the world (John 16:33).

A greater law breaks the pull of the world. 

SUMMARY

So, here’s what we’ve learned. We learned 3 things about a rocket, and 3 things about us.

One — the power isn't out there; it's on the inside. "The power that worketh in us” (Eph 3:20). It works even when things around you might feel empty.

Two — you rise by letting go. Drop the spent stage. Forget what's behind, reach for what's ahead, lay aside every weight.

Three — a greater law breaks the downward pull. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made us free from the law of sin and death. You've already hit escape velocity.

Okay, 1: power is on the inside. 2: rise by letting go. 3: a greater law breaks the pull.

Turn to Ephesians 3:20.

A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT

I encourage you to think about rockets. You are not a rocket… still sitting on the launchpad, waiting and hoping the engines will turn on someday. 

The day you believed, God filled your fuel tank and hit the engines. The power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is the very same power that worketh in you, right now, on the inside (Ephesians 1:19–20).

You are not waiting for liftoff. You are already climbing. So if today, the weight of the world around you… feels strong, don't worry, doubt, or fear — the rocket power in you is stronger (Philippians 4:6, Mark 11:23, 2 Timothy 1:7). The power inside always was, and always will be, greater than the pull from the outside (1 John 4:4).

GREEK WORD STUDY

Let me show you one word before we close.

In Ephesians 3:20, that word "power" — "the power that worketh in us" — in the Greek is the word dunamis (Strong's number G1411). It means inherent power, strength, ability within — the power to actually get things done.

Our English words for dynamics and dynamite come from that Greek word dunamis. “Dynamics” is the branch of physics that studies force and motion, the science of how things (like rockets) move. And "dynamite" — you know what that is. So when Paul says there is… dunamis power working in you, he's not talking about a little candle. He's talking about… the kind of explosive power that moves things. Boom!

DO THE WORD

The next time we face something, and our first thought might be, "I don't have what it takes," STOP, and say a verse, like Eph 3:20, and remember “the rocket power that worketh in you." 

Let’s remember… to let go of the spent dead weight in our lives. Pick one thing we’re still hauling around… that already burned out, and let it fall away. 

Let’s trust the greater law. When the pressures of the world come around (John 16:33), remember Romans 8:2 and lean into the higher law: the law of the Spirit of life that sets us free. 

Each one of us can walk out of here tonight knowing the truth: (a) the power is already on the inside, (b) the weight is already cleared away, and (c) in Christ, we have already reached escape velocity. 

Amen?