GOD’S POWER TOOLS
2 Cor. 10:2-4 Msg.
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: PROPER COVID RESPONSE
1. Sherry Campbell told that at the height of the Covid-19 crisis her boss set her and other secretaries down and said, “From now on, when a visitor arrives at our office, they must ring the bell, sign in, be interrogated about their health, take their temperature, and not pass that line over there!”
2. The boss turned to one of the secretaries to see if they got the procedure, “So what do you do when the bell rings?” She said, “That’s my signal to go to the bathroom.”
B. TEXTS: We’re talking about TOOLS – early on
1. ORIGIN OF TOOLS. “Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron” Gen. 4:22. (NIV). 6th generation; Adam, Cain, Enoch, Mehujael, Lamech, Tubal-Cain.
2. THE BIBLE RECOGNIZES OF IMPORTANCE OF TOOLS
The Philistines, the enemies of Israel, kept them from getting tools in order to keep them weak & under their domination. “There wasn't a blacksmith to be found anywhere in Israel lest those Hebrews start making swords and spears." 1 Sam. 13:19.
C. THESIS
We’re going to look this morning at the emergence of power tools, their parallels in the spiritual realm, and point out the urgency of using these to accomplish the work of the kingdom. Title: “God’s Power Tools.”
I. THE EMERGENCE OF POWER TOOLS
A. GENERAL TYPES
1. For thousands of years, humans did their work with the force of their arms or legs (or ‘beasts of burden’), but with the onset of the modern age came steam engines, gasoline motors, and electric motors. These dynamos brought a revolution to how we do our work.
2. It would be impossible to list all of the power tools available today. [DISPLAY TOOLS BY PULPIT]
a. TOOLS THAT CUT & PREPARE THE SHAPE:
Chain saws, miter saws, routers, jigsaws, Sawzall, nibblers, shears, band saws, jack hammers, many types of drills, lasers, etc.
b. TOOLS THAT PREPARE THE SURFACE:
Sanders and polishers, scrapers, belt sanders, orbital sanders, planers, etc.
c. TOOLS THAT FASTEN THINGS TOGETHER:
Impact drills, screw guns, nail guns, staplers, riveters, welders, etc.
d. OTHER POWER TOOLS -- dynamite, explosive agents, nuclear power, earth-moving equipment, cranes to move large objects, etc.
B. VALUE OF POWER TOOLS
1. MAKE JOBS EASIER/ QUICKER. How many of us would ever want to go back to turning screws with a screw driver? It takes a tiny fraction of the time and effort.
2. RELEAVE NEED FOR HUMAN EFFORT. I’m amazed at the grit it takes to put in a dozen screws, let alone assemble an entire ship with screws!
3. DESIGNED FOR SPECIFIC TASKS. Each tool is designed to perform a specific function. It is that specialization that makes tools so efficient.
II. 4 OF GOD’S POWER TOOLS
Just as in the natural world there are tools which expedite our activities, which relieve us of strictly human effort, and are designed to perform specific functions, so are the TOOLS IN THE SPIRITUAL REALM for the same purposes.
The MESSAGE Translation mentions these spiritual tools and some of their uses in the second epistle of Paul to the Corinthians; “The world is unprincipled. It's dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn't fight fair. But we don't live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren't for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity” 2 Cor. 10:2-4.
Let’s look at four specific SPIRITUAL POWER TOOLS GOD HAS ENTRUSTED TO US:
A. THE NAME OF JESUS
1. IS THE BATTLE AX OF CHRISTIANS. The Name of Jesus was the battle ax of Paul as much as the ROD of MOSES was in his hands. If the Egyptians could have stolen the Rod of Moses they could have stripped Moses of His weapon. If the Sanhedrin had succeeded in stopping the Apostles from using the name of Jesus, they would have stripped them of their power! Us as well.
2. SALVATION COMES THROUGH HIS NAME. “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” Jn. 1:12 (Acts 4:12).
3. VAST USES: Mark 16:17; “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well” Mark 16:17.
a. Can Drive out Demons
b. Can cause to Speak with New Tongues
c. Makes Immune from snake poison
d. You can’t be Poisoned
e. Can lay hands on sick people & they recover!
4. KEY OF GRACE. The Name of Jesus is also the KEY OF GRACE to all of God’s store of riches in Christ; “You may ask Me for anything in My Name and I will do it” John 14:13.
B. THE WORD OF GOD
1. LIKE A SAW. The Greek word “dieprionto” used in Acts 5:33 & 7:54 is translated in the King James “cut to the heart,” but it actually means “sawn in two.” That’s the effect of the Word under the anointing of the Holy Spirit!
2. LIKE A SCALPEL. “His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon's scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God's Word. We can't get away from it—no matter what” Heb. 4:12 (Msg Ver.).
3. A SWORD. “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” Eph. 6:17.
4. LIKE A HAMMER. "Is not My Word … like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” Jer. 23:29.
C. THE HOLY SPIRIT
1. JOINS TOGETHER. Generally speaking, He joins people together. The Unity of the Spirit. "As I prophesied, the bones came together;" "we were all baptized into One Spirit."
2. BUILDS THINGS. The Gifts of the Spirit are to build up the Body in love, individually to increase of materials you have a corporately, to assemble the parts into a greater whole. 1 Cor. 14:3,4 – KJV – “edify.”
3. The Holy Spirit GUIDES like a Compass (Jn. 16:13); QUICKENS or “Jump Starts” like a Defibulator (John 6:63); and REGENERATES, to renew us (Tit. 3:5).
D. THE BLOOD OF JESUS
1. Is the FORCE FIELD the enemy can’t penetrate (the death angel in Egypt had to “pass over” the houses with the Blood on them);
2. FREES US FROM THE CURSE. 13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." That redemption is “THROUGH HIS BLOOD” Col. 1:14.
3. ENABLES US TO OVERCOME SATAN. “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” Rev. 12:11. The Blood of Jesus stops the enemy in his tracks. It’s like an electro-magnetic pulse, (EMP) that disables all electrical machines. The Blood removes the cause of the devil’s power – SIN – so all his works and efforts collapse powerless!
E. HUMOR
1. The Bible talks a lot about the fact that we all have gifts from God, and our gifts are different from each other.
2. One day Sugar Ray Leonard, the boxer, was discussing this topic with a preacher and said, “We’ve all been blessed with God-given talents. You have yours andI have mine. Mine just happens to be beating people up!”
3. The preacher said, “It would be kind of a hard sell to convince me that “beating people up” is a gift from God!”
III. URGENCY OF USING GOD’S POWER TOOLS
A. WORKS OF THE FLESH CANNOT ENDURE
1. “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh” 2 Cor. 10:3.
2. “Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” Gal. 3:3.
B. ONLY SPIRITUAL WARFARE WILL PREVAIL
1. To try to battle against spiritual forces by human means is like the SEVEN SONS OF SCEVA trying to cast out spirits in the natural.
2. Or the Israelites fighting the Amalekites with Joshua in the valley. As long as they relied on the natural, they were losing, but when Moses got up on the hill and lifted the rod (of spiritual power), they began to win.
C. HOW TO BE READY TO USE GOD’S POWER TOOLS?
1. Read the Word daily and memorize scriptures to do with spiritual warfare. (Mt. 4, “It is written!”)
2. Pray and intercede in the power of the Spirit.
3. Put on the full armor of God- emulating Jesus. Eph. 6.
4. Be filled with the Holy Spirit and stay filled.
5. Know your authority as a believer: the Name of Jesus and the power of the Blood of Jesus.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: THE WORD MAKES YOU SHARPER
Eccles. 10:10; “If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success.”
1. There's an old story told about two woodcutters who were in a forest, who were paid a commission for each tree they chopped down and took the limbs off. Both of them were ambitious and wanted to outdo the other. One of the woodcutters spent all day chopping logs, without taking a break. He supposed his non-stop working would get him more logs than his rival.
2. The second woodcutter took a break every hour for five minutes. At the end of the day, he had taken ten breaks. The first woodcutter believed he had outpaced his rival, but when it came to tallying the amount of logs, the second woodcutter had the largest pile and earned more commission.
3. The first woodcutter asked, "How did you manage to chop more logs than me, with all those breaks?"
4. "Each time, I took a break, " answered the second woodcutter, " I sharpened my axe. It meant I could chop more logs than you in the latter part of the day."
5. The same applies to what we do with our spirituality. If we're not taking time to sharpen our souls with prayer, Bible reading, and worship, then our connection to God becomes blunt, and our faith is almost useless in times of trial. In midst of all our busy-ness, we need to take time out to be with God, to focus on Christ, and to be re-sharpened by the Holy Spirit.
B. ALTAR CALL
1. How many of you want to enlist to be spiritual warriors for the Kingdom; You want to get in the fight?
2. How many of you know that sin has hindered you being effective for God and you want to change that?
3. How many of you want to surrender your life to Christ and make a new start for God today? Prayer.
