Atmospheric Pressure Part Two
Atmospheric Pressure • Sermon • Submitted
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· 104 viewsThe words that we speak and the words that we allow into our lives, create a spiritual atmosphere around us. That atmosphere can suffocate us and hold us down, or it can bring great power of healing and deliverance around us! In part two, we look more into the issue of those words and their effect.
Notes
Transcript
Open in prayer
Well, let me ask everyone at this time to unsheath their swords and prepare to cut through the veil of the enemy this morning! (We all know what our swords are, right?) Absolutely, the Word of God.......the BIBLE.
Well, let me ask everyone at this time to unsheath their swords and prepare to cut through the veil of the enemy this morning! (We all know what our swords are, right?) Absolutely, the Word of God.......the BIBLE.
As I’ve stated before, I never want to assume that everyone is on the same page and then find out someone didn’t know what I was talking about. So, I want to, as much as possible, restate things again and again so that we learn and grow together. AMEN?!)
As I’ve stated before, I never want to assume that everyone is on the same page and then find out someone didn’t know what I was talking about. So, I want to, as much as possible, restate things again and again so that we learn and grow together. AMEN?!)
So, turn with me to Luke’s gospel chapter 5 and we are going to look at one particular verse out of the whole passage that we read from last week.
So, turn with me to Luke’s gospel chapter 5 and we are going to look at one particular verse out of the whole passage that we read from last week.
In this very familiar passage, we find Yeshua healing the paralytic man, who was lowered down through the roof by his four friends.
In this very familiar passage, we find Yeshua healing the paralytic man, who was lowered down through the roof by his four friends.
The passage that I focused on last week and where we will start from today, is Luke 5:17, which reads,
The passage that I focused on last week and where we will start from today, is Luke 5:17, which reads,
17 On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal.
To emphasize a point from last week’s message and something that must be driven home today, look at the opening statement in this verse.
It starts off saying, “On one of those days, as He was teaching”. (Now, let me say this real quickly to you. I know that if you’re reading from a different translation of the bible, other than the ESV, which is what I just read this from, it will read a little differently.)
Yours may read something like, “Now it happened on a certain day”, or “One day He was teaching”, versus the ESV which says, “On one of those days”, right?
If one of those other versions is how yours reads and not as the ESV translates it, then all I can say is...........your version is wrong!
No, seriously though, the reason that I chose to use the ESV’s rendering of this passage here is to make a point.
Luke says that “On one of those days, as He was teaching”, but what was “one of those days” in reference to?
Well, in the verse right before this, Luke tells us something about Yeshua that we find again and again throughout the gospels.
And that something was this. In verse 16, Luke records for us this statement , “But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.”
Now why is this important? Why does it matter that Luke says this, as do multiple other gospel accounts?
It matters, and its recorded for us to make a point. Jesus, everyday and all of the time throughout His life, spent lengthy time in prayer to His Father!
He would go away from EVERYONE and EVERYTHING, to spend time in prayer with His Father.....uninterrupted.
And it was in those times of prayer, that He would learn from the Father what He was to do that day, or at a certain time and a certain place.
As I mentioned to you last week, Yeshua, Himself, said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.”
Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, said NOTHING and did NOTHING, without His Father’s instructing Him to do so...........so that the Father’s will would always be carried out by Yeshua!
And that was the point that I stressed to everyone here last week. Which was this...... that we, (you and I), should always be seeking the will of God for our lives, through intimate times in prayer.
Can you imagine how different our daily lives would be, if we only spoke and did what God told us to say and do, versus doing and saying things that seem right in the flesh?
I would imagine that there would be a lot less controversy and animosity within the Body of Christ alone, not including the world around us, if we lived our lives completely devoted to God’s will for our thoughts, actions and words! AMEN?!
So, the “one of those days” that Luke was referring to, could easily be seen as a typical day in the life of Yeshua. He would go and spend intimate time with His Father in prayer early in the morning time and then go out that day and do whatever the Father said to do and wherever the Father said to do it at!
Jesus was devoted to the will of God, which was found through intimate times of prayer and communication with His Father.
And if the Son of God HAD to spend intimate time with the Father in prayer to do what He was supposed to do, why would we EVER think that we could do otherwise and go at it alone, or at best through shallow, empty parrot prayers (as C.S. Lewis called them) offered up to God?
The thing that I stressed last week and that I will come back to right now is saying that very thing........we MUST devote ourselves to intimate times of prayer with the Lord!
Pushing everything and everyone aside and making time to spend with only you and your heavenly Father in prayer......DAILY!
And throughout the day!
I quoted last week from the late, E.M. Bounds about prayer. Allow me to add a couple of more quotes of his right now on this subject matter.
“A revival of real praying would produce a spiritual revolution.”
“When prayer fails, the world prevails.”
Now, if you look at the end of verse 17 that we just read a few minutes ago, you will notice the effect of this lifestyle that Yeshua lived.
Now, if you look at the end of verse 17 that we just read a few minutes ago, you will notice the effect of this lifestyle that Yeshua lived.
Verse 17 says, “And the power of the Lord was with him to heal.”
Verse 17 says, “And the power of the Lord was with him to heal.”
By His spending time with the Father in prayer and moving in accordance with the will of God, the power of Yahweh for healing was there that day and in that place and for a particular miracle that God desired to happen through Yeshua!
By His spending time with the Father in prayer and moving in accordance with the will of God, the power of Yahweh for healing was there that day and in that place and for a particular miracle that God desired to happen through Yeshua!
No miracle takes place, regardless of what kind of miracle it is, unless it is the will of God. Miracles don’t happen as a result of us and our willing them to come into being, but rather, they take place because we allow the power of Holy Spirit to work through us, in accordance to the will of God for our lives and in that particular situation!
No miracle takes place, regardless of what kind of miracle it is, unless it is the will of God. Miracles don’t happen as a result of us and our willing them to come into being, but rather, they take place because we allow the power of Holy Spirit to work through us, in accordance to the will of God for our lives and in that particular situation!
We are but agents on this earth of the Holy Spirit of God and servants of His will.
And it is when we are living our lives in accordance to His will and by His grace and power, that the very thing happens which I am talking about today!
When the verse says, “And the power of the Lord was with Him to heal”, you could look at it in this manner. There was a supernatural presence in the air around Yeshua and around the people there that day, that was drawing people for something prime to happen! The crowd was huge and even the religious zealots from all over the region, had come there that day to see and hear this Jesus of Nazareth!
When the verse says, “And the power of the Lord was with Him to heal”, you could look at it in this manner. There was a supernatural presence in the air around Yeshua and around the people there that day, that was drawing people for something prime to happen! The crowd was huge and even the religious zealots from all over the region, had come there that day to see and hear this Jesus of Nazareth!
There was an “atmosphere” around them that was about to explode with the supernatural power of God in one man’s life and before the eyes of the masses; the critics and the curious alike!
There was an “atmosphere” around them that was about to explode with the supernatural power of God in one man’s life and before the eyes of the masses; the critics and the curious alike!
And this “atmosphere” of the power of God for healing that was present that day, was in place because Yeshua had already spent time with His Father in prayer and He already knew what the Father’s will was for Him on that day!
And this “atmosphere” of the power of God for healing that was present that day, was in place because Yeshua had already spent time with His Father in prayer and He already knew what the Father’s will was for Him on that day!
Thus, the topic of “atmosphere” became my focus for last week and it continues over into today’s message as well!
Thus, the topic of “atmosphere” became my focus for last week and it continues over into today’s message as well!
There was a shift in the “spiritual atmosphere” on that day, as the power of God was present and moved in healing and deliverance and forever changed the lives of one man in particular and no doubt others who were present to witness it!
The atmosphere, in the natural, is basically, just a mixture of gases that form a protective barrier around our planet and allows for and sustains life as we know it.
And as I mentioned to you last week, “the weight of the atmosphere is so great that its pressure upon a man of ordinary size has been computed to be about fourteen or fifteen tons.”
“But because the air's pressure is lateral as well as vertical, and equal upon all sides and parts of every body, it not only does not crush or injure the frailest flower, but it actually feeds and nourishes it.”
And as I mentioned to you last week, every time that you and I take a breath, we are breathing in about 3/4 of the nourishment that our bodies need to live, with the other 1/4 coming from the solids and liquids that we take in.
The atmosphere nourishes our bodies, even though its potential is there is crush us!
And so it is with the “spiritual atmosphere” that exists around us at all times!
This atmosphere has the potential to crush us, and yet it is there to nourish and strengthen and sustain life to the believer!
Just because you, or I may say that we are saved through the Christ and thus we are in the kingdom of God here on earth, does not remove us from the presence of the other side of the “spiritual atmosphere” that exists at all times!
As we read from last week in Ephesians 6:12 and also II Corinthians 10:3-5, where the Apostle Paul says to us,
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
This present darkness is around us at all times. It’s the domain of our spiritual enemy and it is a very real presence in our lives.
And the “spiritual atmosphere” that you and I live in and that is around us at all times is one that we can control and have dominion over!
That is, you can choose to live under the crushing weight of the atmosphere of the domain of darkness, or you can choose to live under the nourishing and protective “spiritual atmosphere” of the kingdom of God!
You and I set the very atmosphere that exists around us at all times!
STOP giving glory to the enemy of your soul by constantly singing your woes, and START glorifying your Father in Heaven by allowing His Holy Spirit to prevail in your life and thus effectively dismantle the grip of the enemy on you.
CHANGE THE ATMOSPHERE AROUND YOU AT ALL TIMES!
Now, as we have already heard and seen through the life of our Lord and Savior, Yeshua, PRAYER is a very critical part in establishing the spiritual atmosphere that exists around you at all times!
Now, as we have already heard and seen through the life of our Lord and Savior, Yeshua, PRAYER is a very critical part in establishing the spiritual atmosphere that exists around you at all times!
As I just quoted to you a few minutes ago, “When prayer fails, the world prevails.” Meaning, that if you and I are not in prayer to the Lord, daily and throughout the day, AND I MEAN ACTUALLY PRAYING AND NOT JUST UTTERING A FEW DEMANDS AND COMPLAINTS TO GOD, BUT GENUINELY TALKING WITH HIM, then there is no way that we can live under and within the atmosphere of the kingdom of Heaven!
As I just quoted to you a few minutes ago, “When prayer fails, the world prevails.” Meaning, that if you and I are not in prayer to the Lord, daily and throughout the day, AND I MEAN ACTUALLY PRAYING AND NOT JUST UTTERING A FEW DEMANDS AND COMPLAINTS TO GOD, BUT GENUINELY TALKING WITH HIM, then there is no way that we can live under and within the atmosphere of the kingdom of Heaven!
A healthy prayer life to the Lord God, is absolutely critical for bringing the atmosphere of heaven around you, at all times!
A healthy prayer life to the Lord God, is absolutely critical for bringing the atmosphere of heaven around you, at all times!
Do you understand what I mean in saying that we can choose to live with the atmosphere of either, the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of darkness around us at all times?
Like last week, I asked you the question along the lines of, “Have you ever walked into a room, or a building, and as soon as you enter it, your affect changes? Your emotional status changes upon entering that place and you feel the change, whether positive or negative?”
That happens because there is a spiritual shift in the atmospheric pressure in that room!
Meaning, that the presence, or prevalence of either the kingdom of light, or the kingdom of darkness has gained control within that place!
And we, as humans, are like spiritual barometers that can detect the shift in the atmospheric pressure change of a place.
BUT................that shift does not mean that you, or I are bound to stay under the negative effects of the atmosphere of darkness in that place.
We are to be walking in and living within the atmosphere of the kingdom of God at all times!
Wherever we go, that atmosphere should be around us at all times!
And it should most definitely affect the atmosphere of those around us!
Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth” and “You are the light of the world”!
He didn’t say that you are to strive to become those things, but rather, if you belong to Him, then you ARE those things!
Everyone say, “I am the salt and I am the light”!
This means, that wherever you go, you are to affect the atmosphere around you.
Just like salt changes the food it is introduced to and light changes the visibility as soon as it enters the darkness, so to are you and I to CHANGE the spiritual atmosphere of wherever we are!
And PRAYER is absolutely quintessential to our being able to do this!
Spending time in prayer to God and devoting yourself to the reading of His Word, is like breathing in oxygen to your spiritual body. It is absolutely necessary, otherwise, you will suffocate and struggle to breath under the heaviness of the crushing weight of the atmosphere of the kingdom of darkness all around you!
Now, you can fake it for a time and a season and act like you are Mr., or Mrs. Good Christian and that you have it all together. It’s easy to do this when you are around other devout believers, because there is more spiritual oxygen in the atmosphere around them.
BUT..........eventually, the real you will manifest. If you are not continually breathing in the breath of life, which comes from the Word of God and you are not exercising your spiritual lungs in prayer time, then you will suffer from spiritual hypoxemia, that is, lack of oxygen to the blood.
And when hypoxemia begins, there are invariably signs and symptoms that will manifest!
You cannot hide low oxygen for long in your natural body and you cannot hide it in your spiritual body either!
You are either breathing in the Words of Life from the Word of God and exhaling back out in prayer to God, or you are suffering from spiritual hypoxemia!
So, we must pray and we must be reading the Word of God, daily, to become vessels that carries the atmosphere of heaven around us at all times!
But there is something that I want to mention to you, or to remind you of this morning, that can dramatically alter and change the atmosphere of heaven that exists around us.
But there is something that I want to mention to you, or to remind you of this morning, that can dramatically alter and change the atmosphere of heaven that exists around us.
And that something is WORDS! The words that you speak and the words that you allow into your mind and that you meditate upon, will dramatically change the course of the atmosphere that exists around you!
And that something is WORDS! The words that you speak and the words that you allow into your mind and that you meditate upon, will dramatically change the course of the atmosphere that exists around you!
Now, as I just said, if your are filling your heart with the Words of Life as found within the Word of God and spending time in prayer to God, then your heart and mind and soul are being filled with the goodness of God, amen?!
Now, as I just said, if your are filling your heart with the Words of Life as found within the Word of God and spending time in prayer to God, then your heart and mind and soul are being filled with the goodness of God, amen?!
Remember what Yeshua said to the devil in the wilderness, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God”.
God’s Words are life to the you and I!
But if you allow negative words, profane words, hurtful words into your life and you don’t guard your heart and mind against these things, they will ultimately begin to manifest in your life........they will ultimately change the spiritual atmosphere around you!
But if you allow negative words, profane words, hurtful words into your life and you don’t guard your heart and mind against these things, they will ultimately begin to manifest in your life........they will ultimately change the spiritual atmosphere around you!
Jesus told us in Luke 6:45,
Jesus told us in Luke 6:45,
45 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.
Did everyone catch that? Do you understand what Yeshua is saying in this passage? You and I cannot hide what is truly inside of us. That is, the prevalence of the words and the predominance of the words that we allow to enter our hearts and minds, will eventually manifest and come out!
Did everyone catch that? Do you understand what Yeshua is saying in this passage? You and I cannot hide what is truly inside of us. That is, the prevalence of the words and the predominance of the words that we allow to enter our hearts and minds, will eventually manifest and come out!
And whatever you or I speak out into the open, completely changes the spiritual atmosphere that exists around us, wherever we go!
And whatever you or I speak out into the open, completely changes the spiritual atmosphere that exists around us, wherever we go!
Like, let me give you an example. I have shared with you before that when I get into a car and someone does something irresponsible, inconsiderate and just plain stupid, I was notorious to yell out something.
Now, they never heard me, but I did it none the less, because it seemed to make me feel better. Like I had made a point to them!
My wife would get on to me for doing it!
I would say something like, “Well thank you for being so stupid today!”
And in my mind, it didn’t do anything, because the other person had no clue that I had said anything to them, or about them.
BUT...........my choosing to yell out anything negative in anger against them, was giving glory to the enemy and not to God and in doing so, it was changing the spiritual atmosphere around me, wherever I went after that!
Not just right there in my car!
The words that we speak out of our mouths have power! Power to either glorify God, or power to glorify the enemy! Proverbs 18:21 tells us,
The words that we speak out of our mouths have power! Power to either glorify God, or power to glorify the enemy! Proverbs 18:21 tells us,
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.
Proverbs 12:6,
6 The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the mouth of the upright delivers them.
Proverbs 15:1,
1 A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Proverbs 16:24,
24 Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.
Would anyone like to take a guess as to why Proverbs has so much about to say about the use of the tongue and the words that we speak?
Could it be that the wisest man to ever live, Solomon, who was blessed by God with wisdom beyond compare, wrote this book and that via Holy Spirit, he was directed to point out the power of the words that we speak?
Hmmmmm?
Do you remember what James, the half-brother of Yeshua, as directed by Holy Spirit, wrote in his epistle about the tongue?
James 1:26 and James 3:8-10 tell us,
26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.
8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.
10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
The words that you speak have power! And you and I are responsible for those words that we speak. I get it, trust me, I get it, when we get angry and our mouths go to spewing out venom to the person who is inciting the anger in us!
The words that you speak have power! And you and I are responsible for those words that we speak. I get it, trust me, I get it, when we get angry and our mouths go to spewing out venom to the person who is inciting the anger in us!
But understand this, we are held accountable for every one of those hurtful words that come out of our mouths in anger! We may try and excuse them by saying, “Well, I was just angry and didn’t mean what I said”, but let me remind you of what Yeshua said about this in Matthew 12:36-37,
But understand this, we are held accountable for every one of those hurtful words that come out of our mouths in anger! We may try and excuse them by saying, “Well, I was just angry and didn’t mean what I said”, but let me remind you of what Yeshua said about this in Matthew 12:36-37,
36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,
37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
The Lord doesn’t make exceptions for the words spoken in anger and frustration from a believer!
We are called to represent Him at all times to the world around us.
And the words that we speak and the words that we allow into our hearts and minds, will most definitely affect us and the spiritual atmosphere that is around us!
Colossians 4:6 says,
6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
When someone says to you, “You should watch this movie, or this show it’s really good. You just need to overlook the “F bomb” being dropped multiple times in it. But other than that, it is really good!”
When someone says to you, “You should watch this movie, or this show it’s really good. You just need to overlook the “F bomb” being dropped multiple times in it. But other than that, it is really good!”
You’re kidding me, right? Why do we say something like that to another person? Is it because we know that those words are wrong and that they Lord doesn’t want us allowing them access to our hearts and minds?
You’re kidding me, right? Why do we say something like that to another person? Is it because we know that those words are wrong and that they Lord doesn’t want us allowing them access to our hearts and minds?
If the Lord were literally, physically sitting next to you in the room, would you say that to Him? “Lord, if you can just overlook the “F bomb” being dropped throughout this movie, it’s really good”!
If the Lord were literally, physically sitting next to you in the room, would you say that to Him? “Lord, if you can just overlook the “F bomb” being dropped throughout this movie, it’s really good”!
No, in fact, you wouldn’t have the audacity to even think of playing that same movie if He were present!
No, in fact, you wouldn’t have the audacity to even think of playing that same movie if He were present!
Well, here’s a news flash for you..........He’s present........He’s there with you and in you, if you truly belong to Him!
Well, here’s a news flash for you..........He’s present........He’s there with you and in you, if you truly belong to Him!
Invariably, what you’re really saying to that other person is, “If you could just ask the Lord to shut His ears for a minute and let you watch this, you’ll really enjoy it!”
Invariably, what you’re really saying to that other person is, “If you could just ask the Lord to shut His ears for a minute and let you watch this, you’ll really enjoy it!”
So, whatever you are allowing into your heart and mind, affects, greatly affects the spiritual atmosphere that is around you!
If you allow negative thoughts and things dealing with fear into your heart and mind, then guess what, the atmosphere around you begins to change!
If you listen to the fake news that this nation is pumping out all of the time, then your heart and mind is being flooded with a deluge of fear and uneasiness!
Everyday this week, including this morning, the first thing that the news pumps out to us, is the Covid-19 scare and its newest variant!
We are now on the Omicron variant: we’ve gone from the Alpha to the beta, to the gamma to the delta and the lambda and mu, to the new Omicron variant!
Before we are done, we will have one from the beginning to the end, that is, from the alpha to the omega in the Greek alphabet and even beyond that!
It’s going to get so bad, that talking about the Covid-19 virus’ spread will sound rush week at the Greek houses on campus!!
“I’ve had the alpha delta chi version, what about you?”
“Oh, well, I just got over the new delta sigma omicron variant and even bought the t-shirt to prove it!”
STOP FEEDING ON FEAR and START FEEDING ON THE WORD!!
The spiritual atmosphere of this nation started shifting years ago! And because the enemy went, basically unchecked, look at where we are now!
The spiritual atmosphere of this nation started shifting years ago! And because the enemy went, basically unchecked, look at where we are now!
I watched last night about how many states are currently reporting record highs in violent crimes and murders!
I watched last night about how many states are currently reporting record highs in violent crimes and murders!
And when you pair this up with the record number of people who are stressed, depressed and anxious all of the time right now, you can see that spiritual atmosphere of heaven is not the predominant atmosphere that exists all around us!
And when you pair this up with the record number of people who are stressed, depressed and anxious all of the time right now, you can see that spiritual atmosphere of heaven is not the predominant atmosphere that exists all around us!
I watched and listened to this week, about the new Meta-verse that technology is pushing hard to make a reality in our nation and around the world! It is basically a virtual world that want us to begin to live in and engage in. This will become the devil’s playground and the undoing of our society!
I watched and listened to this week, about the new Meta-verse that technology is pushing hard to make a reality in our nation and around the world! It is basically a virtual world that want us to begin to live in and engage in. This will become the devil’s playground and the undoing of our society!
The god of this world wants us to become more isolated and removed from each other’s company, but that is not who we are called to be and what we are called to do!
If we are going to change the spiritual atmosphere of this nation and of our own homes and neighborhoods, then we are going to have to get out and engage the world around us and be the salt and the light to them!
The prayers that you and I send up to the Father and the words that we speak to others here on this earth have GREAT POWER to change lives and to to change the atmosphere around us!
The prayers that you and I send up to the Father and the words that we speak to others here on this earth have GREAT POWER to change lives and to to change the atmosphere around us!
Let me close with two examples of those very things that I just mentioned.......our prayers and our words!
Mention the story from “Sticks and Stones by Ace Collins page 207
Mention the story of Addy and the young lady “Melody” last night
PLAY video “Here As In Heaven”