Lucifer's Leash | Student Pastor Zach Hammond

Praise the Lord this morning. Feel the presence of the Lord so greatly in this house. if you would in honor to the reading of the word of the Lord this morning. If you'd stand to your feet, go to the book of 1 Corinthians, chapter number two and verse number 7 this morning. 1 Corinthians chapter number two and verse number 7. I'm so thankful. What a wonderful, wonderful group of people that have gathered here on this Sunday morning. We are thankful for those that were able to go on fall break and we pray for uh travel safety for all of them and we're just going to continue to have a great time. You don't want to miss tonight. Oh, pastor's uh not letting not letting the cat out of the bag, but you don't want to miss you don't want to miss tonight and I'm honored to uh to be able to stand before you and minister the word of the Lord this morning. I believe God's going to do something great in this place this morning. >> And I believe that that he's brought each and every one of us here for a reason. Um you don't just happen to be here today. If you're a guest today, the Lord has ordered your steps to be right where you are. And uh no matter who who you are today, maybe you've been in the church for many, many years, but I believe the Lord has put us here for such a time as this. And that God is going to help us all today. I just want to build your faith this morning. and I won't be long, but I believe God is going to touch our lives today. Very familiar passage that I hope as you begin to read it with me this morning that it just kind of increases increases your faith. I'm thankful to live uh in in the in the covenant with a good God. So Paul writes to the church at Corenth chapter 2 and verse number 7. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery even the hidden wisdom in which God ordained before the world unto our glory. The hidden wisdom. Notice how he says that. He says that that God ordained before the world unto our glory, which none of the princes of this world knew. For had they known it, >> if they would have known, >> they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. I don't know about you, but I always like to know that God is is he's not only up to something, but not only do I not know, but the devil don't know. None of the adversaries, the principalities, the world, the issues. We can sit here and list all of the problems, but I'm just simply here to preach to you this morning that God is not only in control, but he's working for your good this morning. He's not only in control, but he's moving pieces way out in front of you that you can't see, that you can't understand. And God has plans for us to prosper. I don't know about you, but I'm thankful that I have a God who's looking out for me. But I'm going to preach to you maybe a little bit different angle this morning. Very simple thought, but I'm going to maybe bring it to you from a a side door. Is that all right this morning? Is that okay? Maybe think of it in a different way. My title this morning is Lucifer's Leash. Lucifer's leash. Would you turn to your neighbor, say, tell them, say, "I'm I'm I'm curious to hear what this is this is about this morning." Lucifer's Lucifer's leash. If you love the Lord, why don't you clap your hands to him this morning for the Lord is great greatly to be praised today. Come on, let's say. Go ahead and give him some praise for a moment. Lord, we bless you this Lord, we bless you in this place today. Hallelujah. to be seated this morning. We have three adversaries that are very obvious if we pay any attention to the struggle uh of mankind. We see that many times that uh as human beings that we have been born into a world that pray unto God that most of us here today have been baptized into Christ which makes us in a world that we are not of. Amen. But we live in a place where uh we have three adversaries. two of them are simply by nature. There's nothing really that we can do about it. We are born into uh let's call it mother nature this morning. We would call it the world. We would call it culture. We would call it uh just the the the the place that we live. Not everything and every everything that we experience and every place that we go in and this world that we inhabit is for Christ. In fact, the closer we come to the to the coming of the Lord, we're going to see more that is antirist. And so we live in a world that is just nature around us. And then we have something else that is just nature and that is our fleshly carnal nature that we are uh we were both not only our our carnal nature but the nature that we live in were both cursed in the book of Genesis on the at the onset of sin. Both cursed at the fall of man at the beginning of your Bible. And we see that these these two are not really anything that we can do something about. But there is a third that that you know we we we see that with our with our nature the world just kind of is what it is. We're seeking to try to convert any and everybody we can. We're trying to make sure that we save ourselves from this untoward generation. And we can be as active about those things. But there is a third adversary called the devil. The devil was also cursed in the beginning. But he is kind of this outside third party that decides to come in and attempt to derail us, attempt to uh to kill, to steal, to destroy. He's described as quite the interesting character and he beguiled Eve and he uh comes to uh he is a liar. He is a thief and he is wanting everybody to feel the curse that he is going to forever feel. eternal bondage is his destiny. And we see that the God of creation uh has never been, we read it in our text, Paul writes it so so well, he has never been and never will be caught off guard by any of those three things. Not the world, not our decisions, and not the the the devil himself. There's never one angle that he can take, not one thing that he can do. There's nothing happening to you right now that is catching God off guard. There's not a diagnosis. There's not anything that has happened in your life. There's not a season that you've been through. In fact, I believe this morning as they begin to sing about a living, breathing, walking testimony that people begin to throw their hands up, tears begin to fall from your eyes. Why? Because God was up to something when you really couldn't see it. God was doing something when we couldn't realize it. But I stand here today as a living testimony that God was working when I couldn't see it. That God was up to something when that divorce didn't seem like he was. God was up to something when I got that pink slip. God was up to something each and every time. And oh, how the wonderful, wonderful cloud of saints here today. The wonderful gathering of people is just a testimony that God is always and will always be good. Amen. >> I know it's simple today, but we have this this adversary and I want to just talk about him today and make sure that you understand that we are to walk and live in victory. There's a story in Luke chapter 8 where Jesus is uh finds himself and you can read it. You can read it later on. I'm going to try to surmise it for you this morning. Luke chapter 8 and verse number 24. You could see that Jesus is asleep in the bottom of a boat and the the disciples are aboard the boat and all of a sudden the storm begins to shake the boat and they are with fear and they are they they're there they're there they're there as as any of us would be if you're you're in a boat and there's a storm and things are happening and it seems uncertain that that they they go down and and again there's so many great points when you begin to preach anything in the gospels because Jesus is present there >> but he's asleep in the midst of the storm. He is not bothered by what bothers us. >> He is there and he's completely comfortable. He's asleep. And they wake him up and he comes out and just to to make the story quick, he comes out and says, "Be still. Calm." And I believe he's not only speaking to the waves. I believe he's speaking to the disciples. Just calm down. He's speaking to the atmosphere, but he's also speaking to the individual. He said, "I need you just to calm down." He is not bothered by whatever is going on in your life. He's sometimes just waiting on you to wake him up. There's times where he's just waiting for you to go get the solution. He's not going to just pop up and work. He wants you to come get him with your prayer. He wants you to come get him with your worship. He wants you to come get him by reading a word that applies to your season. But you can you can wake him up. But he comes up and you see that that there's quite the interesting uh story back and forth and you can read it in a couple of different gospels, but Luke happens to put it all there in one chapter. And uh he calms the storm and all they could say is, "What manner of man is this?" We sing about it that the wind and the sea obey him. They ask a question. Jesus doesn't answer, but he walks off the boat. The disciples leave the boat. And we'll pick up here. I want you to see this in scripture. He says, "They arrived in the country of the Gatherines, which is over against Galilee." We're in Luke chapter 8 if you want to follow along. And he went forth off the boat on the land. And there he met him out of the city, a certain man, which had devils a long time, and wore no clothes. Thanks for throwing that in there, Luke. Neither abode in any house, but he lived in the tombs. Man without a house lives in the tomb, and he ain't got no clothes. He's full of the devil. And when he saw Jesus, he cries out and fell down before him and with a loud voice said, "What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not." >> God forbid. I just go ahead and I'll have to move along because there's too much stuff here. but that the the demonic spirit within him cried out to Jesus. >> Could we just preach that for a moment? >> Huh? Some of us claim to have the Holy Spirit inside of us but won't cry out to it. >> Some of us claim to be full of the Holy Ghost but can't lift up our voice. But he said a demonic spirit rose up and said, "Jesus." >> But here here's here's the point. This is what I want you to want you to see. God in the flesh doesn't answer the question. He lets the devil. I I love this and I don't have enough time to take you through the text today. It is over and over. We can go from Genesis to Revelation. We can probably find at least one occasion in each chapter where it says a spirit moved, an adversary moved, they blocked the road, they stopped the situation, the devil is hindering us. This is caus. But guess what? God says, "I'll use the devil to reveal my nature." You asked the question, but I'll let Satan give the answer. >> You said, "What manner of man is this that the wind and the sea obey him?" Well, here comes a naked man out of the tombs comes running. It's Jesus. >> Jesus. It's the son of God. Yeah. Some of us now have a whole book and a naked devil's got more sense than some folks. It's Jesus, the son of God. It's It's God in flesh. It's the man Christ Jesus. The disciples are walking in the miracles and the signs and the wonders, but who is he? Huh? And here comes streaking Satan ready to announce. Satan didn't need a sermon. Satan didn't need a Bible study. Satan didn't need an off. He already knew who had stepped onto the land. >> He knew when he stepped onto the land that dominion had stepped. Could I tell a child of God that's full of the Holy Ghost today that he says wherever your foot shall tread wherever you step and all of a sudden demons have to flee at the name of Jes. I was baptized in his name. I'm talking to you this morning. You got the Holy Ghost. You've got the power of the name of Jesus that when I step into a room, something should shift and things have to change and people. Jesus, thou son of God. Don't don't don't torment me. >> Huh? Don't torment me. Could I just play with this? Beckham, come here. Ain't but one person I could put on a leash and get away with it this morning. I'll be all over the internet. Come here. Could you see this this morning? Come here. You got a belt on today. Thank God. Huh? It's as if he just lets the devil kind of do what he wants to do. Huh? I believe that there's times where he may even kind of let him off the leash. Hey, run over and tell them people how good I am. Huh? He He may say, "Hey, hey, hey, run over there. Explain." I tell you, there's some stories where I believe that Jesus shows up in certain cities. And you may be thinking I'm crazy because here's the here's the thing. When when I read it, he says that the name of Jesus has dominion over him. That if I can speak it and they have to flee, surely to God. Jesus walking. They're just like scattering. Could you see it? Jesus walks into a city. If you want to just know, come on over here. You're on a leash. Huh? Luke chapter 13. If you want to read it later. Luke chapter 13. There's a a lady. Jesus is there and there's a lady and I believe the lady is just close enough >> and Jesus shows up and he looks over. He's got the Pharisees and religious folks. He shows up to church, but he brought a woman that's just close enough. This is this is unique. Most of the time Jesus walks on the outskirts of town and lepers are yelling at him. The the lady with a a grievously vexed daughter, which I don't know what that means, but some of you may have one. I don't know. Grievously vexed daughter. He said, she's yelling at him. Jesus, I'll take the breadcrumbs. Just give me a second. Just call whatever you got to do. Huh? But in this situation, he says,"Woman." She didn't call out to him. He called out to her. You know why? Cuz he got that devil on a leash. >> He said, "Come over. Come over here. She has a spirit of infirmity." >> All right. >> A spirit >> of infirmity. >> She's got issues and probably a different issue every time you see her. >> A spirit for years. He says she's had a spirit. >> It's a spirit of infirmity. You you may not have a bone broken, but you're spiritually >> broken. Spiritually depressed, spiritually down. There's a devil on this lady. And Jesus shows up on the scene. He looks over and says, "Hey, come here. Come here. Come here. Come here. She didn't want healing." The healer was in the room. The healer was standing there. But Jesus says, "I got this I got this devil on a leash. Let me use the devil to show them what I can do on the Sabbath day. >> He says,"Woman, she's all bowed over." Bible said, "All bowed over." Comes over. I can just imagine she comes up. Huh? Says she's been bowed over a long, long time. Long time. And Jesus brings her on the scene to let these spiritual folks know. And this is the all the famous the famous quote. He says,"Woman, thou art loose." >> And he uses Lucifer. >> He got Lucifer on a leash, but he looses her of the spirit that had her bound. And the Bible says she straightened up. Cuz when you get the spirit right, you'll straighten up. Amen. When you get the spirit right, you'll straight. You get rid of that old devilish spirit, you get rid of all that carnal flesh, you'll straighten up. Could I show you something? Everybody just been questioning everything, you look like a question mark walking around. You just question everything pastor says, question everything. And everybody, no, no. When the spirit gets right, you turn into an exclamation point. You all of a sudden you say, "I believe that, pastor. I get with that preaching. I'll show up to the prayer room. I'll lift my hands in worship. When the spirit gets right, it's easy to submit. When the spirit I don't have time to preach all this this morning, but he uses the devil. Come on. Uses him. Sometimes we go back into the Old Testament and we see where he really he he really showed his hand. Story of Job. You've heard it preached. The devil desired Job. The devil wanted Job. He said, "I I I have you considered my servant Job that the Satan's looking for somebody to tempt." And God says, "Hey, what about Job?" A perfect and upright man. He says, "Job, I tell you what, Job's so good, I'll let you off the leash." Literally, what he said, "I'll let the hedge down." He said, "I'll let you go and torment Job. I'll let you go and do everything." Look, look at look at look at this. I want you to understand. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. He says, "Hast thou considered my servant Job? There's none like him in the earth, perfect and an upright man, one that fearth God and assureth evil." S Satan answered the Lord and says, "Do Job fear God for not? Hast thou made a hedge about him and about his house and about all that he hath on every side? Could I just preach to somebody that's going through something this morning and let you know that when you get volunteered for a test?" >> It's God saying that you are upright, >> that you are righteous, that you are, >> you fear the Lord. Huh? Perhaps something showed up. He says, "But you've got a hedge about him and his house and everything on his side." >> Notice Job's Job has has all these blessings, but he's he's continually he's continually serving God, and his substance is increased in the land. But he said, "Put forth thy hand now and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face." And the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, all that he hath is in thy power. I'll let you off the leash for a moment, only upon himself. put not forth thine hand. You can do it, but don't touch it. So, Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. Again, notice by Job's choice, God built a hedge around him. You say, "Where'd the hedge come from?" That hedge is holiness. That hedge is righteous living. The reason there's a hedge that the devil can see is how God described him. >> God didn't grow the hedge. Job drew the hedge with the verses earlier where he said that he had a well-worn path to prayer. So if you're wondering while the devil has full access to your life, perhaps there needs to be some hedges that you build up in consecration, that you build up in prayer, that you build up in separation, that you build up in a lifestyle that says, "Hey, not just anything can come in my house, not just anything can come in my mind, not just anything." What what does it do? What does the prayer life do? This is what Job tells us. This is what we see in the book of Job that we we understand it. He shows his hand. >> When we pray, we put him back on the leash. >> When we serve God, when we separate ourselves, when we dress a certain way, when we act a certain way, we don't do certain things. Our consecration puts him right where he needs to be. >> Then we know when he shows up, he only shows up because God's given him jurisdiction. Right? >> But some of us, some of us, the devil is just simply off his leash all the time >> because there's no consecration. There's nothing there. There's no prayer. There's no separation. There's nothing. There's no hedge. The hedge is not grown by anything other than you. And I see this. In this case, the Lord allowed the hedge to come down. Why God? Although the Lord allowed a gap in the hedge to come down, if you will, I'm here to report to you today that the man did not. Although he let the hedge down, God used Satan to reveal a greater job. God used Satan to reveal that he was not only upright and he was not only holy and he was not only just the perfect man in all of his ways, but he could do those things in the midst of a trial. Nothing will spread the gospel, the good news, the hope, and the mercy of God faster than the saint of God growing through something and standing firm and standing strong and their faith not failing. And they testify, "No matter what comes, God's good. No matter what I'm dealing with, God's good. No matter how uncertain it is, God is still good. He uses the devil. What the enemy called a curse, God was using as a witness. What the enemy meant for evil, God turns into a testimony. Job lost everything that he could count just to remind him more than ever before that he had a God that he could count on. Paul is the New Testament example for us of the Old Testament. Job 2 Corinthians 12 and verse number 7, Paul writes with his own words, "And lest I should be exalted above measure." Notice that. Notice that line. Lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh. the messenger of Satan to buffet me. Now, he's going to copy and paste because I want to make sure you know that in the with the thorn in the middle, the two other parts that sandwich that thorn thought, he says, "Lest I should be exalted above measure." He starts with lest I should be exalted above measure. And after he to let you know that I got a thorn, it's so that I won't be exalted above measure. For this thing I have besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me. He asked the Lord three times, Lord, would you take this from me? And he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee. That's where we read that. Oh, we quote that verse, but we forget there's a thorn that makes him say what he says. Amen. We can quote, "My grace is sufficient for thee, and his for my strength is made perfect in in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmity, that the power of Christ may be rest upon me. The thorn in Paul is what put the glory on Paul >> that says that he says to rest upon me. That literally means to pitch a tent over. It's the Old Testament term in the New Testament language that translates to tabernacle over me. He said, "Because of this thorn, I've got the glory over my head. Because of this thorn, I've got a presence that's there. The thorn is nestled between the same statements, lest I should be exalted above measure." Paul, he says three times, "God, would you take this? Satan is tormenting me. Christ. He He said He said, "I wish you would just take this away." But he said, "My strength is made perfect in my weakness. Satan is buffeting." And the whole time God is building. Satan is just pricking. But God is there developing. Satan thought he was winning. Satan thought by buffering when this is not, you can study your Bible. This is not some sickness. This is not some disease. Jesus is not something it literally it means the spear that would pro he said I'm just being prodded I'm being pricricked I'm being tormented he said doesn't matter which way I turn the devil the adversary is just pricking at me he says it's just coming at me anyway I try to turn this way and he puts a prick in my side I turn this way puts a thought in my mind and he says the whole time that the devil is doing this God knows that as he buffets him >> all right >> Paul sitt sitting in prisons. >> Paul is writing, "I believe with all of my heart this morning that without the thorn, you don't get half the New Testament." without the thorn. Oh, we we read it and and know if if you you you you've listened to sermons and you you turned about any book and it says Paul writes, Paul writes, Paul writes, Paul declares, Paul says this, Paul says this, all the famous quotes, all the things that get preached, all the things that get posted, all the things that put us into our proper place. And we understand that Paul the whole time had a thorn. Paul says, "But we have this treasure in earth and vessel." How do you write that? I wrote it with a I wrote it with a thorn in my side. He said, "I've got this treasure in earth and vessel that the excellency excellency of the power may be of God and not of us." How does he write that? You know how he writes it? He's got a pricking in his side. He's got a thorn in the flesh that's reminding him, >> it's not about me. It's not about my flesh. >> It's not about who chooses me. It's not about what opport says I am crucified. He says to the church of Galatia, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And with and the life which I live now in the flesh, I live by faith of the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. If Satan had known, he would not have buffeted him. If Satan had known, he would have never pricricked Paul. what he thought he was doing was tormenting a man when in the whole time that his pricking was pinning the entire New Testament letters Philippians 1:6 being confident of this very thing Paul said that he that which began a good work in me >> could I preach to Somebody, I know you feel the pain. I know you feel the ache. I know you feel the hurt. I know you've got worry in your mind. But I'm here to tell you, being confident of one very thing I can preach to you this morning, that he who had began began a work in you, a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. You are not forgotten. You are not forsaken. You are not I'm telling you, the Lord's just using you. He's using you to do something in the kingdom of God. But you better know if you feel the adversary, he's using him, too. >> Oh, we could stand up today and we could all probably raise our hands say, "I want to be used of God. I want to be used of God. If you can use anything, Lord, you can use me." Huh? >> We sing it. We pray it. We talk about it. >> But you better be careful. In order to write that story, >> there's coming a thorn. >> We search and strive and seek to do anything within our power to eliminate all the unrest, to eliminate all the uncertainty, to eliminate any kind of thorn, to eliminate any kind of adversary, to eliminate any kind of problem. Could I preach to you this morning? Although it's not very encouraging, there is no such thing because that would be heaven. >> Even the promised land we sing about that Canaan land ain't promised land because it's got giants in it. >> Even the promised land had problems. Why? He said, I got to teach them to war. I got to teach them that there's a struggle. I got to teach them if they're going to have a story. There's going to be a thorn. There's going to be an issue. There's going to be things that you're going to face. And so, don't try to create a fairy tale land. This false narrative that everything is always going to be great. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall, knowing this, that the trying of your faith workketh patience, but patience having her perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. The mess is not the absence of God. The mess is often proof that God refused to leave the mess in you. Because anytime there's mess, I believe that there is progress. Anytime there is mess, I believe that there's progress. Everything inside of me, Brother Perry, when I show up down there on the work site, I want to just start cleaning everything up. But sometimes I have people like Brother Perry says, "Hey, you don't have to sweep that up. We fix to cut another board. Don't pull that paper up yet. And they still got to finish that sheetrock. >> Yeah. >> Don't you clean up just yet because we still got some things to do before we establish the new building. We're still under construction. Could I preach to somebody today that just because there's some sawdust on the ground? Just because there's some things in your life that look messy, you can't miss the fact that there's progress going on and the latter house is going to be greater than the former house. what's coming is going to be greater than where I'm at or where I was. And so, don't allow the devil to cause you to look at the mess and say, "Oh, this is just terrible. This is just a mess. I better get on Facebook and post something about my mess." No, you better focus on the fact that there's some progress coming. It's not all about the mess. It's that I have a God who's working on a finished work. I have a God who's trying to he's trying to work through me and he just might be using the devil >> to do it. I want to get to where we're going this morning. I promise you I will have you out of here shortly. Luke chapter number 22. Popular story that perhaps I could bring some light to. >> >> Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired you. He's desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I prayed for thee. That's nice. It's one thing to have somebody praying for you. It's another thing to have Jesus praying for you. I don't know how you take that. Either that's really good or really bad. had one man tell me one time we were they were trying to teach us how to preach which I don't know that any of it worked. He said Jesus never preached the sermon over 20 minutes. He said, "You shouldn't be preaching real long." I said, "No, that's because he was God." You know, you could always take that comment whichever way. He says, "I'm praying for you." Oh, thanks. Yeah. His prayer was that thy faith fail not. And when you're converted, strengthen thy brother. Simon, I'm sorry, but the second sentence has me pondering many things. You got Jesus praying for you. I don't think you're converted. quite yet, but when you are, you need to be strength to your brethren. What does this tell me? It tells me you can be chosen and still be in a mess. You can be called and still be under construction. Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired you. Now, I want you to look at this real quick, and then we'll dissect the rest of this real quickly. Strengthen thy brethren. Well, here's here's old Simon Peter. And he said unto them, Lord, I'm ready to go with thee both to prison and to death. Watch your words. And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the shall crow this day before thou shalt thrice deny that thou shalt knowest me. There seems to always be that three. Paul asked three times for God to remove that thorn. Here's going to be three reminders. And you'll notice here in a minute we get to Gethsemane, Jesus asked three times, "Let this cup pass from me." Because you just want to make sure, I don't know about you, but just want to make sure that if God's willing to take it away, would you take it away? He says three times. Peter talks like a finished product. Peter talks with all the confidence in the world. Be careful when you start acting like you got it all together. Jesus is hours from the cross. Judas is already on the move. The 12 are about to scatter. And Jesus does not start with a pep talk. He comes out with a warning. Satan asks for you. I wonder if Satan ever requested any of us. He asked for Job. He asked for Simon Peter. He says, "Satan asked for you and he asked to sift you. Satan has desired to have you that he may sift you." Brother Nolan, could you hand me that bowl right there? I'm going to make a slight mess this morning, but I hope that it brings a little bit of clarity to a simple thought today. Simon, Satan wants to violently shake your life. He wants to test every part of you. The sifting the grain is thrown around in the sea and shaken. Removing the unnecessary, removing the unneeded. Sounds a lot like an altar. Removing the fleshing. removing. I want to keep what's biggest. I want to keep what doesn't fall through. >> I want to keep what is what is what is of a certain size. Satan's goal is not to clean Peter or straighten Peter up. Satan's goal is to prove that Peter is only shack. He's just a lot of talk. Peter's just bumping them gums. Got it all together. Watch it now. He'll be cussing in a minute. The enemy always ask for someone. God's got this hedge about Job. He's got this this place. If the devil is requesting you, there must be wheat in you worth attacking. The question of this message is not how do I avoid the sifting is that what is it that go that God is trying to get out of me? What is it that God is trying to get out of your life because you're going through what you're going through? What is it that God's trying to work? Patience, fleshly pride, selfishness. He's trying to sift. Jesus said, "I'm praying for you, Peter." But listen to Jesus' prayer. His prayer is not that you don't go through the sifting. >> His prayer is not even I pray Peter don't cuss. I pray Peter don't fail. No. is that your faith >> fell not in the midst of all that is going on in the life that we are living today. I'm asking you, can you be sifted and stay strong? When God uses the devil, will you reveal his nature in your life? All right. >> Cuz when we look at Peter, we always look at Pentecost. But could I tell you, just like I don't think you'd have over half the New Testament without a thorn, I don't know if you'd have Peter without a sifter. I don't know if Peter would have been the one standing up with the 11 without a sifter. So what's h what's happened? God uses Satan >> to produce >> a Pentecostal preacher. >> Could Could you He says, "Huh? I'll let him sit there cuz I can see." Then Peter said unto them, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ." Because Peter had been sifted of all the things that he could stand up and say, "Hey, I've experienced something where I know it didn't feel good at the time, but that altar is the most freeing thing that you'll ever feel when you get the sifting of the Stop trying to dodge the sifting and learn to grow because God's got a Pentecost for you. God's got a demonstration for you. God wants the tabernacle over you. Being sifted is wheat. >> Can't be that bad. >> Why? Puts him right there with Jesus. The hour is come where the Son of man should be glorified. Verily I say, except the corn of wheat fall unto the ground and die and abide alone. But if I die, it bringeth forth much fruit. So when he said, Simon, to be sifted as wheat, hours before he was about to be sifted himself, >> just before he steps into the garden of Gethsemane, he lets the Pentecostal preacher who's going to preach what he's about to do. The gospel is about to happen. and the death, burial, and resurrection. The person who's going to speak it has to go through the sifting the same time that the sifting of the savior is hap >> because had the devil known, he wouldn't have touch touched Peter or Jesus. But at the same time, almost in correlation, happening prior to the death barrel and the resurrection, God's preparing a preacher. Look at him over there cussing. Look at him over there denying. Look at him over there. The the the stone crow three times and Peter, he's just went back to fishing. But all the while, Jesus knew, I'm getting the flesh. I'm getting the pride. I'm getting the selfishness. I'm getting the idea that he's a finished work out of his mind so that I could put a message in his mouth and I could declare it at the birth of the church. >> Had Satan known, he would have never sifted Peter. He would have never buffeted Paul. And he sure wouldn't have crucified Jesus. But he's always been on a leash. And he gets used and abused long before he ever gets to the saint of God. Long before he ever gets to the church who will bruise his head, crush his head, who has authority and power. He's been on this leash of the Lord for all of eternity. Stand to your feet this morning. I want to close with this as the musicians come thing about the sifter is it can be extremely it can be extremely painful in life. Some of you if you closed your eyes right now and thought back to those moments where you thought it was all over. You thought that everything in life, it couldn't get any worse. It couldn't go any more wrong. That perhaps that is the moment in life that made you who you are today. >> That's right. >> But here's the thing about the sifter. The sifter is all about finding out what remains. Sadly, you don't even want to preach it, but there's people that aren't here this morning because they didn't survive the sifting. When they got to the bottom of the sifter, there was more of them than there was of God. Instead of let going of letting go of their flesh and surrendering to God, they held on to everything worldly. >> And they let go of church. >> They let go of their prayer life. >> The things that were falling through is the things that was going to hold them together. And so at the end they're left with hopelessness, despair, problems, and they look down thinking. So I ask you, as God sifts, what are you going to let fall through? Because what is greater is what's going to be left. That's why Paul said, that's why the writers throughout the New Testament have this cadence. James, Timothy, that he must increase and I why I got to decrease enough this morning that I'll fall through. I got to get my flesh out of the way. I got to get my plans out of the way. I got to get my ideas out of the way. I got to get He's shaking your life. Every day there's an opportunity. less of me and more of you. So Matthew 3:12, he said the fan is in his hand. He will thoroughly purge gather purge it and gather the wheat. He says he'll gather the wheat up and he'll burn up this chaff with unquenchable fire. What are you saying? I'm saying when it's all said and done, it's all just going to come down to another day of shifting. >> So, as David wrote in his song, "Purge me now. Stir me now. Show me today. Reveal it at an altar on a Sunday morning so that I don't stand before God. Because what I want I want more than ever before for everybody in this room and everybody in this county and everybody in this world is when when the Lord begins to shift on that that final shifting on that final day when he separates the wheat from the te when he separates the sheep from the goat when he separates those that are in Christ from those that are in the world it's all just going to be a sifting and what's left is going to be the bride of Christ. Yeah. >> And I'm sorry to tell you, but the Bible tells us there's going to be a lot of peoples whose flesh is what's left. They walked after the flesh. They walked after the things of this world. They walked after their own lust. They walked after their own desires. They walked after their own pride. And they never let the sifter get the sin and self out of them. So, here's my question and this is my altar call. This is all I got for you this morning. Lucifer is on a leash. He's going to be used by God. He don't have a choice. But God's not going to put you on a leash. That's why he hates you. You got more freedom and your free will than he ever has. He's not going to put you on a leash and pull you over here and say, "Woman, thou art loose. You'll continue to walk in the spirit of infirmity until you say, "God, I need freedom. I can't keep being depressed. I can't be in the spirit. I can't keep walking in sin. I got to repent today. I got to get this flesh out of me. I got to Lord, I don't want my faith to fail. God, I don't want to do anything that's not pleasing to you. God, I want to live a life, Lord. I know the sifting's coming. I know there's a day coming. I know there's a day coming where the trumpet's going to sound, God. And I want to be ready. I don't want there to be any flesh in me. I don't want there to be any pride in me. I don't want there to be anything in me that would keep me from spending eternity with you. Stir me, God. God, shift the church this morning. I wonder if there's a young person that would lift your voice up this morning. Say, "God, stir me that I may be used in your kingdom." I wonder if there's a dad this morning that would say, "Shift me, Lord. Stir my heart today. Make me more like you." Come on. God wants to use you, but it's got to be less of me and more of him. It's got to be about him. >> >> Come on, church. Come on, church. God wants to use this church for an end time revival. Can he trust us? God wants to use us to be a beacon and a light, a demonstration. God wants to use us. God wants to use us. But it's got to be about him. It's got to be about him. >> >> Come on. It's all about him. It's all about him. Come on, young people. Pray. Come on. Let the Lord shift you this morning. Come on, let it shake you today. Come on. God wants to deliver every person in this room today. But you got to cry out to him. Jesus. Jesus, have mercy upon me. Jesus, I need you. Jesus, deliver me from my deliver me, oh God. Deliver me, oh God. Lord, deliver me from my own thoughts. Deliver me from my own bondage. Lord, deliver me from I feel the Holy Ghost in this place this morning. I feel the Holy Ghost in this place this morning. >> [bell] >> Come on, for the next few moments, be the body of Christ. Nobody praying by themselves. Come on, find somebody. For the next few moments, the Lord's looking for a spotless bride. And if we're going to be spotless, that means we're going to have to be sifted. We're going to have to be shaken. We're going to have to be stirred. God, get those thoughts out of my mind. God, I surrender that addiction this morning. God, I surrender those things, God, that I put before you, oh God. Come on. Nobody praying alone this morning. Come on, find somebody. God, help us. God help us. God help us. Oh God. Hallelujah. Heat. Heat. >> >> Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Come on, be encouraged this morning. Come on. If you're going through something, God's just preparing you. God's preparing you. God's making you into what he needs you to be for the next season of your life. God's preparing you, Dad. God's preparing you, Mom. God's preparing a young person to fulfill that calling and that dream. The only way you got to do it is you got to be simp. You got to be simple. You got to be simp. Oh, the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. Come on. He's producing a this morning. He's producing a Yeah. Heat. >> >> Heat. Heat. >> >> Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Oh Jesus, Jesus. You are good in your Oh Jesus. Jesus. >> >> You are in. All my trust is in you. We love you, Jesus. This morning, Lord, we love you today. Lord, we love you today. Lord, we honor you today. I wonder if we could just have a a little bit of a shift in this room this morning before we leave because I want to leave here letting the devil know and let God know that we see him working. >> We hear it this morning in the scripture. We see it. And I wish that we could just leave here praising the Lord this morning knowing if you're in the middle of a trial or you've been through a trial or there's a trial on the way, we fall into one of the three categories. God, you know that what I've been through, had the devil known, he would have never put me through what I've been through. Had the devil known, he would have never put me through that trial. Had the devil known, I would have never experienced that sickness. Had the devil, I believe there's a I believe there's a rising up in this room this morning. How the devil knows. Oh, I believe it this morning. There's a cloud of witnesses in this room. There's a cloud of witnesses in this room. Had it not been. Come on. Can we praise him for a moment? Can we praise him for a moment? I want to be who God's called me to be. >> >> I feel we want to see you. We want to see you. >> >> Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. I want to see. We want to see. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. >> >> We want to see you. We want to see you. I want to see you. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. We want to see. We want to see all the glory. All the glory. We want to see you because you want to see. >> >> We want to see. We want to see. We want to see you. We want to see you. We want to see you. I want to see you. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. I can't I can't I can't I can't Oh, we want to see you. You are worthy. You are worthy. Heat. Heat. Hallelujah. We want to see you. We want to see you.