INTRO.- Who’s got the power? It depends on the person you’re talking to.
ILL.- In the financial world, it’s Warren Buffet. Mr. "Combover" (Donald Trump) may think he’s got it, but not compared to Warren Buffet whose wealth stands at $62billion dollars. Trump’s wealth is $3 billion. Not too shabby, however.
Who’s got the power? Who’s got the stopping power in life? Who can put the brakes on people? Who can call a halt to people’s lives?
ILL.- A friend and associate of boxers, American writer Wilson Mizner was himself a talented fighter. One night Mizner and boxer "Mysterious" Billy Smith visited a San Francisco bar, where Mizner started a fight with some longshoremen. At the end only one longshoreman was left standing. Although Mizner rained punches at him, he stayed obstinately upright. Suddenly, Smith noticed what was happening. "Leave him alone, Wilson!" he shouted. "I knocked him out five minutes ago."
On investigation it turned out that a punch from Smith had indeed knocked the longshoreman out cold, but had also wedged him vertically between two pieces of furniture.
That could be an accurate picture of our already-defeated but still standing enemy called Satan! His power is somewhat diminished even though he’s still standing. Sad to say, the devil still has SOME power!
I Pet. 5:8-9 "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings."
What’s the evidence of Satan’s work in this world? It’s everywhere: violence, murder, rape, abuse, immorality, drinking, drugs, greed, etc. Satan is a dirty dealer! He’s worse than Al Capone or John Gotti ever thought of being.
ILL.- Two 6 year old boys struggled with the problem of the existence of the devil. One boy said, "Oh, there isn’t any devil." The other, rather upset, said, "What do you mean, there isn’t any devil? It talks about him all the way through the Bible!" the first replied, "Oh that’s not true, you know. It’s just like Santa Clause, the devil turns out to be your dad."
No, Satan is not your daddy, although he is a daddy. He’s the father of lies and murder. (John 8:44) The devil is powerful but not all powerful!
18For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan stopped us.
SATAN STOPPED US. Can he really do that to us? Yes, if we let him.
PROP.- How does Satan stop Christians and the cause of Christ? 1- Supposedly through death 2- Forcefully through sin 3- Briefly through separation
I. SUPPOSEDLY THROUGH DEATH
14 "You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews, 15who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. "They displease God and are hostile to all men 16in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved."
Notice: They killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets. And I think that Satan thought this would put an end to God’s cause in this world by using the Jews to kill Jesus and the prophets.
Death signals "the end" to most people in this world. Most people dread the thought of death as though there is nothing more. Zero. Nothing. Finished. Terminal. The end. OH REALLY?
ILL.- There are many answers posed to the question of Job: “If a man dies, shall he live again?”
- Science says, “He may live again.”
- Philosophy says, “He hopes to live again.”
- Ethics says, “He ought to live again.”
- Atheism says, “He will never live again.”
- Jesus Christ says, “He shall live again.”
ILL.- A few days before his death, Dr. F. B. Meyer wrote a very dear friend these words: "I have just heard, to my great surprise, that I have but a few days to live. It may be that before this reaches you, I shall have entered the palace. Don’t trouble to write. We shall meet in the morning."
The words of Meyer do not sound like he feared death or that he thought death was the end of his life. WHY? Because, no doubt, he believed in the resurrection of Christ and his own resurrection! He believed in John 3:16.
Death will not stop God’s plan! The death of Jesus, as we know, just played into God’s hands. His death wasn’t Satan’s plan, it was God’s plan for man’s redemption! Satan may have thought he was putting an end to Jesus and his band on earth, but that didn’t happen. It is through death that we have life! It is through the death of Jesus that we have life! Eternal life!
And killing the prophets did no good. God always has a line of people waiting to do His work in this world. You and I are not indispensable. One preacher dies another comes along to fill his place.
ILL.- Preacher Ed Bousman said some time ago, "God got along fine before I came into this world and He’ll do fine when I leave."
Death is not the end! Death is not the end of our lives, nor our influence. And death will not stop God’s work in this world. HIS WILL BE DONE! God is not stopped by anyone’s death!
II. FORCEFULLY THROUGH SIN
You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews, 15who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to all men 16in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.
They always heap up their sins to the limit. Sounds bad.
In this text, Paul is saying that the Jews heaped up their sins. Today, it could be anybody who heaps up their sin.
How much is a heap or a heaping? How many sins make a heap? I don’t know but apparently, God has a limit on a heap of sins and when a person gets to that limit, he or she is in trouble. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.
ILL.- Joe Page, the Yankee relief ace (1940’s), said he dreamed one night that he was in heaven, and was assigned the task of forming a baseball team of all the great stars available there. “But who’ll we play against?” he asked.
Just then the Devil telephoned and challenged him to a series. “Four games out of seven,” suggested the Devil, “and no miracles on either side.”
“What chance have you got?” scoffed Page. “Every great ball player goes to heaven when he dies!”
“I’m not worried,” the Devil told him. “I’ve got all the umpires.”
The devil certainly has a crew working for him but I’m not so sure he has all the umpires. He appears to have many people in high places to do his deceptive and dirty work.
Consider how many people in Hollywood deny the existence of God and Christ and influence millions at the same time!
ILL.- Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Kelly Preston, Kirstie Alley, Priscilla Presley, and Lisa Marie Presley. What do they have in common? They believe in that Scientology junk. Then there is Madonna and Demi Moore who are doing that Kabbalah thing, which is some kind of Jewish mysticism junk.
All these people and a whole lot more are on the devil’s team and they don’t even know it! Some of them may not even be bad people but they are preaching a bad doctrine, which will lead people to hell!
ILL.- One Haitian preacher illustrated to his congregation the need for total commitment to Christ: A certain man wanted to sell his house for $2,000. Another man wanted very badly to buy it, but because he was poor, he couldn’t afford the full price. After much bargaining, the owner agreed to sell the house for half the original price with just one stipulation: He would retain ownership of one small nail protruding from just over the door.
After several years, the original owner wanted the house back, but the new owner was unwilling to sell. So the first owner went out, found the carcass of a dead dog, and hung it from the single nail he still owned. Soon the house became unlivable, and the family was forced to sell the house to the owner of the nail.
His conclusion: "If we leave the Devil with even one small peg in our life, he will return to hang his rotting garbage on it, making it unfit for Christ dwelling."
ILL.- Bud Robinson, a Holiness preacher, was taken by friends to New York and shown around the city. That night in his prayers he said, “Lord, I thank You for letting me see all the sights of New York. And I thank You most of all that I didn’t see a thing that I wanted!”
Brothers and sisters, if we get too much of this world into us our witness for Christ will be ruined. If something sinful gets a hold on our lives then Satan can hinder the work of God!
Satan can stop us and our witness for Christ through sin!
III. BRIEFLY THROUGH SEPARATION
17But, brothers, when we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. 18For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan stopped us. 19For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? 20Indeed, you are our glory and joy.
We were torn away from you for a short time. We wanted to come to you, but Satan stopped us.
Can Satan stop us or the work of God by separating us from one another? Well, yes, it’s possible.
ILL.- When the cats away, the mice will play. What does this mean? We preachers have always said that when we’re gone on vacation and out of the pulpit, some church members will think, "Ah ha, we’ll be gone too. The preacher will never know that we were absent." NO, HE WON’T BUT GOD WILL!
What gets done when the preacher is gone? Don’t answer that!
ILL.- When I worked for Safeway Grocery store back in the 1960’s there were 5 or 6 of us who stocked shelves at night. We were locked in the store from 10 p.m. until 7 a.m.
Often, as soon as the manager locked us in at 10 p.m., got in his car and drove out of the parking lot, some employees would take a break. They figured that since the boss was gone there was no need to work hard or fast.
Bosses, managers, etc. have often been a motivating force in worker’s lives. Some were gracious in their motivation, while others were threatening. No matter what, it seems that they must be present in order to motivate some people to work hard! And when they separate, the work load goes down. SOUND FAMILIAR?
What if God’s presence were removed from our lives? Have you ever thought what would happen or could happen? There would be utter chaos in our lives and in the world. If you thought it was chaotic now, it’s nothing like what it would be without God at work in this world! SEPARATION FROM HIM WOULD BE A DISASTER! It would be hell!
Some people talk about hell on earth. But it’s not as long as God is present and at work, but if He withdrew Himself. Oh brother, watch out!
ILL.- MEN: When mama leaves home for a few days what do you men do? Do you take it easy? Lay around? Eat anything you want? Watch more TV than usual? Do you go to bed whenever you want? Get up whenever you want? Do whatever you want? Do you pick after yourself or wait til the last minute when you know that mama’s coming home? Do you do your laundry or do you just let it pile up? Do any of these sound familiar?
Separation from those who give us stability and strength can mean weakness. Separation can lead to weakness and failure and irresponsibility.
Brothers and sisters, we need one another! We need one another’s support, encouragement, prayers, etc. We’re in this world together. We’re in this fight together. SO LET’S BAND TOGETHER!
Rom. 15:1-2 "We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up."
Heb. 10:24-25 "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
There is strength in numbers and especially, when those numbers are encouraging one another.
CONCLUSION--------------------
ILL.- An old deacon who used to pray every Wednesday night at prayer meeting always concluded his prayer the same way: “And, Lord, clean all the cobwebs out of my life.” Week after week he prayed that same prayer. Finally, it was too much for one man at the prayer meeting. So when the old deacon offered that prayer again, the other man said, “Lord, Lord, don’t do it! Kill the spider!”
That’s what needs to happen. And the Lord has killed the spider but he still stinks and is spreading his stink everywhere.
Consequently, we still have work to do. We need to clean up the devil’s stink in this world and the only way to do it is by living for Christ.
