March 5, 2023 - There is Power

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Switching Sides

Introduction: When I say the name Benedict Arnold, the name brings disgust to our ears, sadly enough in our society we have so many just as bad if not worse then Benedict Arnold in control of our country. However even worse then this is there are many Benedict Arnold's in our churches serving as Elders and Pastors.

Link: The reason that so many in their positions of power weather in our country or in the church is b/c of spiritual warfare. Saul had so much success in his persecution was b/c of the power that was behind him and his works. Satan and the Demonic realm is a strong power source.

Illustration: Thinking of the children of Israel back in Joshua 5. Israel goes to defeat AI and fails b/c their was a problem w/ their connection to God’s power. The disconnect was Achan. The sin of Achan disconnected the power from God to Israel and thus 36 men of Israel died. God dealt w/ this as He removed Achan from the story. This happened over and over, when the children of Israel came into the promise land, they didn't have success one time again the iron chariots. It wasn't b/c of the iron chariots, but it was b/c of their lack of faith that God could move that mountain.

Imagine with me if you will. You have a large tractor but you just don’t believe it will pull a large plow. So you don’t connect with the tractor, you don’t get in it, start it up, etc. So the job is never done to remove the weeds etc. So the normal process of things happen, the weeds grow up, eventually trees are planted by the birds and a forest is born. All b/c you didn’t believe in the power source at your disposal

At the same time, weather you got into that tractor or not, you would be up against the power of the natural cycle of weeds and birds… But for the farmer who got into the tractor, He has success over the weeds and birds.

As we move forward in Acts 9:20-31, we see a transition, a man who like Benedict Arnold, switched teams, but this man chose the right army to switch to. As my simile goes, Saul here, decided to stop fighting the tractor and to get in it.

Acts 9:20–31 (NKJV)

20 Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.

This later drove Saul to say this in 1 Corinthians 9:16 “16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!”

Boldness, Zeal are two words here that I think of when I read this verse.

When you realize how powerful your power source is, who your God is, you can be unstoppable, not b/c of who you are but because of who your connected to.

ILLUSTRATION: Listen to what one said in regards to the church:

The church has buildings but little boldness.

The church has numbers but little nerve.

The church has comfort but little courage.

The church has status but little spirit.

The church has prestige but little power. G. Curtis Jones, 1000 Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1986), 65.

21 Then all who heard were amazed, and said, “Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?”

The Greed word astonished or amazed here literally means “They Were beside themselves; They were struck out of their senses.”

Folks recognized that he was different.

When you got saved was there a difference in your life?

22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.

Notice it says, “he increased in strength.” Like exercise, the more you do it, the stronger you become. Spiritual strength is similar. The more you exercise your faith and your obedience to God, the more unstoppable you become.

Thinking of this in relation to multiplication, when one of us is powerful and growing in our spiritual strength and then another joins us and so on, we can become an unstoppable regiment for the Lord.

23 Now after many days were past, the Jews plotted to kill him.

Saul's zeal and boldness and faithfulness to God, by recognizing the strength of the Lord ended up putting a death sentence upon His head.

One problem here, like with Jesus, when they plotted to kill him was that their plan would fail b/c Gods ways prevail.

Psalm 139:16 tells us “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.” God has your days numbered so, no man or Satan can change that. In this we can trust that our lives are in the hands of God.

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24 But their plot became known to Saul. And they watched the gates day and night, to kill him.

25 Then the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket.

Jameson Faucet Brown states that even to this day you can still see windows (2 Cor. 11:33 “33 but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands.”) in the walls where Saul would have been let out of in the basket. These were large woven baskets used to carry heavy loads such as hay, straw or bales of wool. Perhaps to get things in and out of their houses that were built into the walls.

Even with this kind of pressure upon Saul, he still did not hesitate to travel and preach, entrusting his protection and care to the sovereign hand of God. - Nelsons Bible Commentary

Satan, the demonic realm is powerful but not beyond what God will allow either. Satan tried to have Saul killed here but God would not let him do this. It wasn't Saul's time and God had much to accomplish through him yet. God will never get caught off guard.

Many years ago, before the days of Saul even, Satan had a strong hold. These days predate the TOWER OF BABEL even. When people turned from God and became wicked, they opened the door to the Demonic Realm. At the point of the TOWER OF BABEL, God the Trinity all came down to deal with this problem. The people scattered and took their false religious ideas with them and the realm of the daemons or “the gods” continued on.

Illustration: Kings bowed down before them, priests sang their praises and performed their rituals, armies set off to war and laid cities to waste in their names, and children, the rich and the poor, the free and the slave alike exalted them, worshipped them, entreated their favor, invoked their powers, danced to the drumbeat of their festivals, dreamed of them, loved them, served them, dreaded them, became entranced and seized by them. - Cahn, Jonathan. The Return of the Gods (p. 4). Charisma House. Kindle Edition.

Today we may not recognize the veracity of the possibilities of the Demonic realm coexisting with our realm. However it is becoming more so in current times, even on our own doorstep and in our own homes perhaps.

Demons are welcomed in via our actions and involvements, to spending time with fiends and even family that mess around with occultic things such as Wicca, taro cards, Ouija board, to even yoga. Did you know that each yoga pose represents a false god a daemon?

Saul as an unbeliever had a lot of power to do wrong b/c he was connected to the power of satan.

WARNING, don't mess with these listed things, or you’ll be harassed and oppressed by satan, you’ll invite a fight into your life.

If you experienced beings in your home

a fellow christian lashing out at you

you and your christian kids or spouse arguing and you cant tell why - These are all demonic oppressions.

Get to the root cause, eliminate your involvement with demonic things that involve witchcraft like Harry Potter, Casting spells in Mine-craft, Yoga, and yes, spending time with family and friends that are involved in the occult.

These demonic, return of the gods, is coming back strong b/c our culture is letting it happen, they are begin invited back. END TIMES says this will happen and it is happening before our very eyes. WE MUST STAY STRONG AGAINST IT AND FIGHT!

26 And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple.

27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.

Thank God for Godly men who stand up for God, His plan and His men. Saul had credibility with the church, thus giving him credibility with the church.

28 So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out.

29 And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him.

30 When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus.

We see two things, no matter where you go, if your on Gods side:

Satan wants you defeated and or dead.

God wont let satan get you. Psalm 18:1-2 “I will love You, O Lord, my strength. 2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

31 Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.

2 things contributed to the peace in the churches

Saul's conversion - When a man of God realizes the power of His God, THINGS HAPPEN!

Political changes contributed to the rest also. A stricter Roman governor and the expansion of Herod Agrippa’s authority restricted the persecution. - John MacArthur

Challenge: If you know Jesus as your savior, do you recognize the power of God?

Illustration: In one of his essays, Robert Louis Stevenson wrote that as a young man he sailed out into the ocean to see the founding of a lighthouse. Nothing would satisfy him until he put on a diving suit and went down where the men were working. When they stood on the floor of the sea, his companions signaled for him to spring up on a great rock which towered above his head. Young Stevenson thought they were joking, but again they repeated the signal. He obeyed and, to his surprise, he landed on top of the rock. He had forgotten that the water was buoyant and that the force of the ocean would support his body. Just so, the Holy Spirit supports and enlarges our feeble efforts. - G. Curtis Jones, 1000 Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1986), 164.

Likewise, if you know Jesus as Savior, recognize that with God all things are possible and He is inviting you to do something big with Him

Saved:

This week, will you recognize God’s Power and what He wants you to do? Climb in the tractor and recognize what it can do, not only for you, but for your family and community.

I want to encourage you to also

recognize the power of Satan and what he uses as doors to oppress you and your family.

Take some time to seriously think and pray about what and or who is in your home, who your kids spend time with, who you spend time with.

If there is anything related to the demonic realm, get it out! Pray over your home, invite me to come and pray over your home.

If it isn't explainable and its not right, deal with it spiritually.

Unsaved: Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”