“THE POWER COMES FROM GOD!”
Matthew 17:14-21
14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying,
15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.
16 “So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”
17 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.”
18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”
20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
21 “However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
Thomas Edward (T.E.) Lawrence was born on August 16, 1888 in Wales. Popularly known as Lawrence of Arabia, Lawrence became famous for his exploits as British Military liason to the Arab Revolt during the First World War.
The desert raids of British officer T.E. Lawrence and his Arab rebels tied down many Turkish troops who could have been fighting the main British armies in the Middle East.
Lawrence of Arabia’s struggle against the Turks during World War I was a classic of guerrilla warfare, and his personal account has become a classic of world literature.
And, of course, many of you have seen the movie about the life of Lawrence of Arabia.
Lawrence wrote about his Arabian adventures in The Seven Pillars of Wisdom.
During the war, Lawrence formed close friendships with many of the Sheiks of Arabia.
After the war, he brought some of these Sheiks back to England to show his appreciation for their support against the Turkish domination.
They had a wonderful visit, appeared before the Joint House of Commons and Parliament, had an audience with the Queen.
On the last night of their visit, Lawrence offered them anything they wanted to take back with them to their desert homes.
They led him up to the hotel room, into the bathroom, and pointed to the faucets in the bathtub and said that they wanted to take faucets with them that would provide them with running water in the deserts.
They didn’t realize that the faucets were superficial.
Behind them was plumbing, a hot water heater, an energy source that heated the water, a city main that supplied the water, and from the city main went a line to an outside source of water!
The magic is not in the faucet!
It is what is behind the faucet that gives the water!
The faucet can be 24 carat gold, but if it’s not attached to a water supply, its useless!
The magic is not in the faucet, the power comes from what is behind the faucet!
Things that are not visible to the human eye, but are there nonetheless!
If the pump, or the plumbing, or the reservoir ever to out of service, the faucet is useless!
It’s what’s behind the faucet that gives it its power!
THE FIRST THING I WANT TO SAY THIS MORNING IS THIS;
THE FAUCET IS NECESSARY TO GET THE WATER TO WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE.
I don’t want to minimize the importance of a vessel!
God needs faucets!
God has always worked through human vessels.
In fact, most of the time, God works through the most unlikely vessels!
God Can Use Anyone
Moses stuttered.
David’s armour didn’t fit.
John Mark was rejected by Paul.
Timothy had ulcers.
Amos’ only training was in the school of fig-tree pruning.
Jacob was a liar.
David had an affair.
Solomon was too rich.
Abraham was too old.
David was too young.
Peter was afraid of death.
Lazarus was dead.
John was self-righteous.
Naomi was a widow.
Paul was a murderer.
So was Moses.
Jonah ran from God.
Miriam was a gossip.
Gideon and Thomas both doubted.
Jeremiah was a bullfrog;
Just kidding -- he was depressed and suicidal.
Elijah was burned out.
Martha was a worry-wart.
Mary may have been lazy.
Samson had long hair.
Noah got drunk, and that’s not all.
Did I mention that Moses had a short fuse?
But God doesn’t require a job interview.
He doesn’t hire and fire like most bosses, because He’s more our Dad than our Boss.
He doesn’t look at financial gain or loss.
He’s not prejudiced or partial, not judging, grudging,
sassy, or brassy, not deaf to our cry, not blind to our need.
A Christian minister once said,
“I was never of any use until I found out that God did not intend me to be a great man.”
God needs us to be faucets! John 7:38
38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow, rivers of living water.”
God can have all the plumbing in place, have the pump hooked up, ready to pour out blessings on His people, on the world, but He needs us to be vessels!
He needs a faucet!
In many cases, the only thing that stops a move of God is the lack of a vessel.
When Elisha was performing the miracle for the prophet’s widow, and the oil was flowing freely, the Bible says:
2 Kings 4:6
6 Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased.
The only thing that stopped the flow of oil was the lack of a vessel!
Now, don’t ask me to explain why God decided to use imperfect vessels to accomplish His work.
It doesn’t make sense to me that this God who can do all things would choose to restrict Himself to moving through imperfect, flawed, inconsistent humanity!
I don’t know why the Creator chooses to move through His creation!
But God is always seeking for men and women through which to move!
At the day of Pentecost, God poured out His spirit upon all “FLESH”! He Was filling vessels!
God needs a vessel through which to work!
Ezekiel said that God was seeking a MAN to stand in the gap and make up the hedge!
When the Lord struck Saul from his horse on the road to Damascus, He then told Saul,
“Go see Ananias, he will tell you what to do!”
GOD USED A HUMAN VESSEL!
In the Book of Revelation, John says that God wept because He could find no MAN to open the book of salvation, so God Himself took on the form of man to bring redemption!
Do you understand how important you are to the work of God!
God will not move without a vessel!
God will not pour out His spirit without a faucet for it to flow through –
You are that faucet!
God needs you and He needs me!
NOW, THE SECOND THING I WANT TO TALK ABOUT IS THIS:
EVEN THOUGH GOD NEEDS US,
WE CANNOT AFFORD TO TAKE THE GLORY FOR WHAT ONLY GOD CAN DO!
I am a faucet, but I must remember that there is no magic in the faucet!
It’s what is behind the faucet that counts!
If the power supply ever gets shut off behind the wall, this faucet is useless!
I may still look good, may still say the same things, may still appear to be the same,
but if my power supply is shut off, I am of no use to anyone!
Let’s read in Romans 7:14-25
14 The law is good, then. The trouble is not with the law but with me, because I am sold into slavery, with sin as my master.
15 I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate.
16 I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience shows that I agree that the law is good.
17 But I can’t help myself, because it is sin inside me that makes me do these evil things.
18 I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn, I can’t make myself do right. I want to, but I can’t.
19 When I want to do good, I don’t. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway.
20 But if I am doing what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing it; the sin within me is doing it.
21 It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.
22 I love God’s law with all my heart.
23 But there is another law at work within me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.
24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin?
25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
I must understand that I am only the vessel, the conduit, the faucet!
2 Corinthians 4:7
7 But this precious treasure—this light and power that now shine within us—is held in perishable containers, that is, in our weak bodies. So everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and is not our own.
The power is God’s, I am only the earthen vessel!
I can’t sing well enough, I can’t preach well enough to duplicate what God can only do!
Romans 12:3
3 As God’s messenger, I give each of you this warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you.
No matter how much God moves through us, remember it is God and not us!
No matter how many prophecies we give, no matter how much anointed preaching and teaching comes forth from us, we must never forget that it is what’s behind the faucet that makes all the difference!
No matter how many good things happen through me, I am only the faucet, there is a power supply behind me, and if that is ever cut off I am useless!
IN OUR TEXT THIS MORNING, JESUS IS TEACHING HIS DISCIPLES THIS
VERY IMPORTANT LESSON.
They had most likely watched Him cast out devils many times before.
They had heard Him teach about going into the Strongman’s house and taking his armor.
They had probably watched as he sent the legion of devils into a herd of swine.
Numerous times the scripture speaks of Jesus casting out devils, and it is probable that the disciples were witnesses to these events.
So, now they come across a situation that they feel very confident that they can handle!
They have watched Jesus do this, they have observed His hand motions, listened to what He said, and how he said it!
They have the words, actions, motions, and everything else down pat, but there is one thing missing!
They have no power!
There is nothing behind the faucet, and they fail miserably at the task at hand.
And Jesus takes this opportunity to tell them that there is no magic in the faucet!
In other words, if there is no prayer and fasting, there will be no power!
There is no magic in the faucet, its what is behind the faucet that makes the difference!
I can:
Say all the right words
Do all the right hand motions
Use the right tone of voice
But, if there is no prayer and fasting that has taken place behind the wall, there will be no power coming from the faucet!
This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting!
THE DANGER WE FACE, IS WHEN WE TRY TO DUPLICATE THROUGH MERE HUMAN EFFORTS,
WHAT CAN ONLY BE PRODUCED BY GOD!
Preachers get into trouble when they learn how to preach!
Singers get into trouble when they learn how to sing!
Teachers get into trouble when they learn how to teach!
We must never reach the point where we learn how to do what only God can do!
I am never going to become so smart that I don’t need God!
In the year 1847, a doctor from Edinburgh, Sir James Simpson, discovered that chloroform could be used as an anesthetic to render people insensible to the pain of surgery.
From his early experiments, Dr. Simpson made it possible for people to go through the most dangerous operations without fear of pain and suffering.
Some people even claim that his was one of the most significant discoveries of modern medicine.
Some years later, while lecturing at the University of Edinburgh, Dr. Simpson was asked by one of his students, “What do you consider to be the most valuable discovery of your lifetime?”
To the surprise of his students, who had expected him to refer to chloroform, Dr. Simpson replied,
“My most valuable discovery was when I discovered myself a sinner and that Jesus Christ was my Saviour.”
The most valuable discovery that you and I can make this morning is this:
No matter how smart I am,
No matter how well I can preach,
No matter how well I can organize
I am still just a sinner saved by grace!
There is no power in me, I am just the faucet, the conduit, the vessel through which His power moves!
There is no magic in the faucet –
I NEED JESUS!
YOU NEED JESUS!
Who would like to come and check their water source this morning?
Who would like to come and make sure that the pipes are not clogged?
That the supply has not been shut off!
