TAKING POWER FROM HELL
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. There was a poor woman who lived next door to an atheist. He often mocked her faith and derided her as misguided and having an “imaginary friend.”
2. One day he overheard her praying for some groceries. He went out and bought a couple of sacks of groceries and put them on her porch first thing in the morning, and stood nearby.
3. She opened the door, saw the groceries, and exclaimed, “Praise God, He’s answered my prayers!”
4. He stepped out and said smugly, “It wasn’t God that overheard you and bought those groceries, it was me that did that! Ha!” She said, “Then I praise God even more!” “What for,” he said?
5. “Because not only did He provide me groceries but that He made the devil pay for them!”
B. THE DEVIL’S GARAGE SALE
1. The Devil decided to have a garage sale. On the day of sale, his tools were placed on public inspection, each being marked with its sale price.
2. There were a treacherous lot of implements: hatred, envy, jealousy, deceit, lust lying, pride, and so on.
3. Set apart from the rest was a harmless looking tool. It was quite worn and had a very high price on it. The price had been marked through and replaced with the words, “NOT FOR SALE.”
4. One of the customers asked, “What’s the name of this tool?” “That is discouragement.” The customer asked, “Why is it not for sale?”
5. Satan replied, “I can spare my other tools, but I can’t spare this one. With it I can work my way into hearts otherwise inaccessible. When I get this tool into a man’s heart, the way is open there to plant anything I may desire.”
C. KEY TEXT: Eph. 5:20 “In everything give thanks.”
I. WHEN YOU FEEL DISCOURAGED
A. MANY BIBLE CHARACTERS BECAME DISCOURAGED
B. WHAT IS DISCOURAGEMENT?
1. Robs you of faith
2. Beats you down
3. Destroys your effectiveness for God; Makes you give up
4. Blinds our eyes to the grace of God and makes perceive only the unfavorable circumstances.
C. SOME OF YOU FEEL LIKE:
1. I just don’t see any hope for my situation.
2. God has forsaken me; doesn’t care about me.
3. I can’t face these circumstances any more.
4. I feel like quitting.
D. IT MAY COMFORT YOU TO KNOW:
1. Many of the greatest Bible characters became discouraged.
a. Moses - In Sinai desert
b. Elijah – when Jezebel sought his life
c. David – When Absalom rebelled against him.
2. The same feelings you feel they also experienced.
a. Paul – Acts 27:20; “We gave up all hope of being saved.”
b. Isa. 49:14; “Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me”
c. Elijah – “O Lord, Take away my life, for I am no better than my Fathers” 1 Kgs. 19:4
There are certain principles of Scripture that are God’s weapons to turn back the Enemy’s assaults. When these truths are in your life they take away hell’s ability to torment:
II. PRINCIPLES FOR VICTORY
A. IT IS A LIGHT AFFLICTION
TEXT: 2 Cor. 4:16-17 “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
1. Revelation in the inner man withstands the outward events and circumstances. How? It’s a revelation.
2. God only has to flip a switch in your spirit so that you look at things differently than you did before – the afflictions are temporary. And because you perceive it differently, it is to you.
3. [Let every man be a liar but God be true. Who shall we believe? Man or God? God! Even if it defies all our senses.]
B. AFFLICTIONS…THEY ARE “WORKING FOR YOU”! 2 Cor. 4:17, KJV.
1. It may look bad, smell bad, etc., but God says it’s “working for you”.
2. That takes the sting away.
C. GOD IS FAITHFUL
1. I’ve been to the edge of the cliff so many times…thus I can attest that “God is faithful”.
2. A guy’s car got wrecked; He said, “I took it to the body shop. The body man beat on it. He poked a long pick into the dint, punched a hole, and pulled it out. “Hey, don’t do that, you’re hurting my car!” He, like God, answers, “Son, I know what I’m doing”. (Us and God)
3. You know how to become more thankful for something? Lose it! Lose your job, lose your old junker car, break your hip, lose a loved one, etc. God knows how to improve our attitude about the things we complain about.
4. Joyce Meyers has a book entitled, “Enjoying where you are on the way to where you’re going.”
D. ILLUS.: THE LOST FOB
1. Burt (my son-on-law)borrowed my wife’s car and since she was about to leave her house and go to her car, he left her fob on top of her car. (It’s a car that has keyless ignition.) When she asked him where the fob was, he said, “On top of the car.” She thought he said, “In the car.” So they went in two cars to a restaurant. She asked him again where the fob was and he said, “It was on top of the car!”
2. They immediately knew that it must have fallen off the top of the car some distance from the house.
Replacing a fob with remotes costs in excess of $250, so this was a costly loss. Plus the other fob had quit working, so the car couldn’t be moved.
3. They called my son to bring his car over so they could get everybody back home. Meanwhile, Burt never ate, but began walking the streets near our house looking for the fob. He searched diligently for an hour, until dark, scouring the streets and adjacent yards. Then he drove to the restaurant to pick up his family.
4. On the way home, a great distance from our house, a glint of something in a dark drive caught his eye. He immediately stopped and found the fob. Everything was back to normal. So some of them drove back and got Angela’s car, but they still had Joel’s car.
5. In the middle of the night Burt’s dad had to be rushed to the hospital and almost died. Because we had the extra car at our house Burt had a car to immediately leave with.
6. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
E. WHEN YOU FEEL OVERWHELMED BY LIFE’S CIRCUMSTANCES
“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” 1 Cor. 10:13
F. WHEN YOU FEEL YOUR LABORS ARE IN VAIN
1. 1 Cor. 15:58 “Your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
2. Gal. 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. A boy was walking down a street with a stick. A vicious dog came charging up behind a fence, barking and snarling, going wild as the boy was walking by. When the boy saw the reaction of the dog, he walked back by and purposefully drug his stick across the bars of the fence. The dog went berserk with fury. The boy liked the ridiculous response, so he walked down the fence again dragging his stick.
2. Similarly, when we respond to tribulation with terror, hell will pour it on even more.
B. EXHORTATION
1. Let’s take power away from hell. “Let’s torment Paul!” “How?” “We’ll torment him either in life or by death! But Paul said, “To live is Christ and to die is gain.” In either situation, power was taken away from hell!
2. He delivers you from 6, yeah 7….
3. What began with a purpose to harm, will conclude with a purpose of good. Romans 8:28.
4. When you remove the tools the enemy can use against you, you take power away from hell.
C. THE CALL
1. How many of you have been going through a battle? Let’s get victory over it tonight! Come to the front. We’re going to pray for you.
2. How many of you have had some discouragements? Let us pray for you! The Bible says that those who are strong should pray for those who are week. Next Sunday the shoe could be on the other foot, and those week today be strong for us!
3. Prayer for those in need.
