“Universal Power”
Text; 1 Peter 5:8-11 (8)
Introduction:
It is without a doubt that we are now living in the last day before the coming of the Lord to catch His bride away to be with Him in Glory.
All we have to do is look around and we can’t help but see all the evil that is in the world today. We are certainly living in the days that the Bible talks about as Noah and Lot’s day. People take no thought of how they live. They live as though that tomorrow always comes.
The Bible speaks it like this; “In the last days, they shall be marring and given in marriage, they shall be drinking and making merry. Sin shall abound. Men will be lover of their own flesh more than lovers of God.” Peter said; “In the last days perilous times shall come.” One writer said; “Men’s hearts shall fail them for fear of what is coming upon the earth.” You might say brother Corley, what does all this have to do with what your talking about. All of this leads up to verse eight (8) of chapter five (5) of 1 Peter, which says; “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour.”
Satan is going about, or at least sending his emps about, seeking whom he can, trying to get them to fall. Satan don’t play fair church, he’ll slip in and sit on your shoulder and talk into your ear and play games with your mind, if we allow him too. The church is too hot, or too cold, the preacher didn’t shake my hand tonight, something must be wrong. The sound system is to loud, or it’s not loud enough, the music is too loud, or it’s not loud enough. They get too excited or not excited enough. Someone said it before and I liked it so I remembered it. They said; “It’s not the big things that is going to take the church member to hell, it’s the little things.”
Those things we complain about, and talk about, and let eat away at us until it cause us to act and do things we know we shouldn’t.
Now; I have four (4) universal powers that I want to talk about tonight. The Lord laid these things on my heart about 3 to 4 weeks ago and I have had plenty of time to think about them and put this message together.
Pray for me that the Lord will help me teach/preach and when I finish we will all pray together.
1). “The Power of Prayer:
I believe that prayer is the most important (or at least one of the most important) weapons that a child of God has at his disposal. Satan can’t do anything with a child of God that prays. Luke 18:1 say; “Men ought always to pray.” We should always have a prayer on our heart and mind. One writer said; “Pray without ceasing.” I know and realize that we can’t go around all day long doing nothing but praying, but we can always have a prayer on our mind and heart. I know there are time that we don’t know what to pray for, that is when the Holy Ghost will intercede on our behalf and pray through us telling the Lord what we need……..
I don’t want you to raise your hand, but I going to ask some very pointed questions.
How may of you pray over your meals before you eat, at home and the restaurant?
How many of you pray before you lay down at night and close your eyes to sleep?
How many of you take time out of the day, and close everything and everybody out and spend time with the Lord alone, talking to him in prayer?
I want to tell you, we don’t pray like we should. We don’t spend time with the Lord in prayer like we should, if we did this church house would be full, sinners would be coming in, needs would be met, sickness would find no place here because the Healer, would be in the house, every time we came together. There is power in prayer, and there is power in the people that pray! Here me; Satan trembles when a child of God get down to pray…..
2). The Power of Praise:
The second greatest weapon at our disposal is the power of praise. Praise is a powerful weapon. Satan does not want us to praise the Lord, he would like for us to praise him. You have heard me say this before, but here it again; When you raise your hands to praise the Lord, you are placing your hand around the throat of Satan and choking him out.” We can’t get anything from the Lord by complaining to Him. We get what we need through praise. King David said it like this;
“Praise God in His sanctuary, (we are to praise Him when we come to church, lifting our hands and voice to Him). Praise him in the firmament of His power; (the Bible says that all power is given to Him in heaven and in earth). Praise Him for His mighty acts, praise Him for His excellent greatness. ( When thing aren’t going quite right and Satan seem to be there tempting all the time, God’s Word teaches us to think on the things He has brought us through. His mighty acts, if you please). Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet, praise Him with the psaltery and harp, Praise Him with the timbrel and the dance, praise Him with string instruments and organs. Praise Him with the loud cymbals; praise Him upon the High sounding cymbals. (You see, we are to praise Him with our hands, praise Him with our feet, praise Him with our voice. We are to lift up praise to Him; and when we do, He looks at the Father, and the Father looks at Him and calls for everyone to be quite because someone here on earth is praise Him). Than David said; “Let everything that hath breath, praise the Lord, praise ye the Lord!” Everything; men, women, boys, and girls, birds, cows frog and horses, everything is to lift up praise to Him!!!!!!!!
3). The Power of The Tongue (Spoken Word):
I made you shout on the first two, and I hope you can shout on this one also, but the Lord gave me these four things and told me that this is what He wanted me to preach about, so please, don’t get mad at me, take it up with Him.
There is power in the tongue, or the spoken word. When you speak a word, you cannot take it back. Scientist tell us that every word we have ever spoken is still floating around in space. Lincoln’s great Gettysburg address is still floating around in space, so our words or the things we say are powerful.
The Bible tells us that in the tongue is the power of life and death. So I think that we as children of God need to be very careful and choose our words carefully before we speak them.
I was listening to the news the other night and heard a 911 call. It was a mother asking for help from the Police. Her daughter was out of control hitting her and she was as big as her mother, and she need the Police to come and arrest her. The man at the 911 center ask her; “What do you want us to do when we get there, shoot her?” The mother didn’t say anything and the man ask her; Are you there? The mother said; excuse me, and the man told her that was a joke! Once words are spoken, you cannot take them back, weather they are hurtful or not.
Listen how James describes the tongue in James 3:1-8;
“My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.” “For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.” “Behold, we put bits in the horses mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.” “Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.”
“Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!” “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defleth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.” “ For every kind of beast, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:” “But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.”
Those are strong words, but true word from James. We as children of God must check every word that we say to each other and to those we come in contact with in the world……
4). The Power of Unity:
I think this falls among the first two, as being one of the greatest weapons at our disposal. When we bind together as one, there is nothing that Satan can do to tear us apart. ( give example with paper; One sheet is easy to tear, but many are not).
When the disciples were in the upper room, they were as one unit, praying for the same thing, expecting the same thing, and that is when the Holy Ghost fail. When Peter was at the house of Cornelius, they were as one unit, and that is when the Holy Ghost fail.
When we come together as one, no longer many going our own way, but one unit, loving one another, praying for one another, lifting each other up, Friend, I want to tell you we will be able to do great things for the Lord here in Fairdale.
We use to sang a song that says; “Bind us together Lord, Bind us together Lord, with cords that cannot be broken, Bind us together Lord, Bind us together Lord, Bind us together with Love.”………
