Power vs. Authority

Welcome to this week's message from the Church at Chelsea Westover.

Our core values are vibrant worship, intimate fellowship, fulfilling service, and clear biblical truth.

We pray that this message changes your life.

Let's tune in to today's message and see what God has in store for you.

You know, it's my joy.

It is my joy this morning to introduce to you, Randy Spencer, and I can take a look at his preaching time if he's like me.

Wait a minute.

Let's give Eddie Cole a warm welcome right now.

Amen.

Wait a minute.

Where's Jess?

Well, she go get Jess.

She's gonna say go go sit down.

Oh, come on.

Right here in a minute.

We know who's important now, don't we?

No, no, no, I know you're ready.

I want to go hug on Eddie Cole's neck for a minute, okay?

Where's Eddie?

Come up here, Eddie.

Right here.

He's got some gray hair since the last time I seen him.

He's not the young whippersnapper we used to know, is he?

Come here, buddy.

Since Liberty University, I haven't seen this guy to talk to him.

Amen, amen, amen.

He's a good buddy, good friend.

You're still skinny.

Hey, I'm trying to catch you.

You see that?

Trying to.

No, you can't bench as much as I can.

No.

That's awesome, man.

I am so excited.

These two men right here just uh are unbelievable.

We have some good times together, we have, at Liberty University.

I know Jess is gonna kill me too, but I don't care.

I won't.

Jess, where's Jess?

You gotta hear her sing because once you hear her sing, first of all, it's gonna help you to preach it.

I know! Hey, let me tell you, folks, I know when you traveled all the years that I traveled, listen to me.

I took my wife because I knew, and I'd always tell wherever I went to preach, I said, now right before I preach, my wife singing.

I said, don't change anything, just do everything y'all want to do, whoever you want to sing right before I I preach and my wife sing it.

Because I knew sometimes the singing's real good.

Sometimes it's real bad.

And for a preacher, you you want your heart ready.

Come on up here, girl.

You know me, have I lady breaking the free limit?

All right, listen.

Anyway, we're gonna talk about that later.

I want to take this in the moment.

You've had you haven't seen all these new people that's in this church.

They uh hey, let's give them a hand, they're with us.

Dr.

Richardson was a key integral part in helping start this church.

He really was.

And they have been so good to us.

We've partnered together, we love them, they love us, and we're captured.

You see what God's doing on this side.

It's unbelievable.

And it's all about him, it's not about us.

And I told you, I said, look at my age, because we were the oldest church planners he had ever seen, me and David.

I said, in our age, we're not here to try to do anything but what God wants and build a church God's way, a New Testament way, and that's why God's blessing this church.

It's not about people, it's about God.

Amen.

I want you to hear one of the most annoying categories of authority singers that you can ever hear.

You won't have any problems.

He came to save all men from sin and shame we could have walked away.

Take a crown because of love my pay.

He didn't have to go.

How could he love me so?

He called to me, he said, Child, I will set you free, and you'll have life abundantly because of love, he gave unselfishly, he caused my blinded eyes to see.

It was you and me he had in mind on the road to cavalry.

I've never known such perfect love.

I had fallen down, but he picked me up.

He rescued my soul.

Now I want the world to know, yeah.

He's coming back for me, yeah, and I will hear him say because you believed you live eternally, and I'll fall on my knees, and I will pass you a hully.

Holy, holy, holy Jesus, you are the angels bow down in prayer.

Oh creation cries out, you're worthy of all the glory.

Amen.

Praise the Lord.

Actually, while you're standing, I want to continue in worship and I want you to sing along with me.

It's a very, very easy song.

And we've got a little choir to help us out on this song.

And um it just is singing the attributes of God, and that's one of my favorite ways to worship the Lord is to talk and proclaim his name.

So just listen to the choir and you'll learn this song very easily.

Lord you're holy.

Sing along with it if you know it.

We lift you up and we glorify your name.

Oh Lord, you're holy.

You're so holy, Lord, and we lift you up and magnify your name.

Just worship in church.

I look around and I see all the works thy hands have made, the awesomeness of you, and how your love will never fade me.

Words cannot express what I feel inside.

I can't describe your glory, divine, but as a token of my love.

This is what I'll do.

I'll lift my hands and cry, Lord.

You're so holy, Lord.

We lift you up, we magnify, oh Lord, you're holy, you're so holy, Lord, and we lift you up and magnify your name.

There's none enough words that I can say to tell you how much I appreciate all the wonderful things you've given me.

Your love, your kindness, your tender mercy.

I'm gonna praise your love and I love you, you're worthy of all, of all the glory, and you're worthy of all my praise.

See, I don't know why you would love me, why you would show me so much mercy, why you would suffer and die for me.

Way back, way back on Calvary, but I thank you.

Oh I thank you, I thank you, Jesus.

I thank you, I thank you, oh Lord, I thank you, you're worthy of all my past wonderful, glorious, holy and righteous, victorious, taco triumph on a mighty here deliver, chill and defense, strongest friends, omnipotence, omnipotent, soon coming king, you're the elder, the big lord of everything, and wonder holy, holy, holy, holy, you're wonderful, hold on, you're still, my delivery! You're my best friend, hunger presents, hunger peasants to the coming king, loving Lord of everything, the angels right now, don't find holy, holy, holy, holy, wonderful, glorious, holy and righteous victorious, come on the line, give the best, stop, omnipotent, omnipotent coming kids, coming up, don't make up everything, oh it's a privilege, holy, holy, it's not holy, call it There's no one like you love, there's no one like you love holy holy.

Awesome, awesome, awesome.

Praise the Lord.

Wow.

You may be seated.

Wow.

From the time I pulled onto the campus here, I could feel God's presence in this place.

There's something very, very supernatural, dynamic about God's presence on this property here today.

God's anointing is here.

This is not a typical church, it's not a Baptist church.

You don't have a Baptist preacher, amen.

He's not a typical preacher either.

I was, I think it was 1984, and I'm I want to get into the message real quick here, but I've got to tell you a little story.

It was 1984.

We were having camp meetings in Pennsylvania.

Now I'm a northern boy, and when Danny called me a couple of weeks ago and said, You coming down and preach revival?

I said, I'd love to.

And then I got thinking about it.

He said, We're gonna do them outside.

Then I got thinking, Alabama, outside, August, a northern boy.

My thermostat doesn't go that high, folks.

I'm telling you what.

So he says, I'll do you a favor, I'll put you inside on the kickoff there.

So thank you.

Air conditioning.

But you know, 1984, Danny uh Lovett's name came up when we were having our big camp meetings up north, and Danny Lovett's name came up, and and I said to uh the other preacher, I said, I want someone next year, I want a romper stomper.

I want a I want a snorter uh and a spitter.

I mean, I want someone that's gonna shuck the corn, drop the plow, and kick the mule, type of preacher.

That's what I wanted.

And and uh this guy says, Oh, I know exactly the perfect person.

He's from Tuscaloosa.

And I said, Tusca, what?

I said, I'm not bringing someone in from a foreign country.

No, no, this is down and out.

I didn't know there was anything below the Mason Dixon line, is what my problem was.

We had Danny come up, and I'm telling you, he uh he and I are like brothers, but I'm telling you what, 35, I believe 34, 35 years, brother.

And we have had some tremendous times together, working together at Liberty and doing camp meetings together.

I preached in his church in Tuscaloosa, and God's all over this man, and I praise God for him and the just the excitement.

I got it, where did I do with it?

Jesus is awesome.

It didn't take me long to get that one right there.

Yes, Jesus is awesome.

Uh I'll tell you someone else is awesome, it's my wife, and I want her to stand up and just turn around.

46 years for stand up, turn around.

Turn around.

You're gonna lose this.

See, she's she's wonderful, but she's not submissive.

I will tell you that.

She's okay.

Sit down then, okay?

I knew you were gonna lose that one.

I lose them all, yes.

46 years we've been married just a couple weeks ago.

46 years, and I praise God for that.

All right, all right, take your Bibles, if you would.

Uh boy, how do you how do you preach after Jessica?

I mean, Danny says that fires him up.

It just I just want to say, does anybody else want to get up and do something after that?

I mean, God's already done some incredible things.

Wow.

Thank you, Jessica.

Thank you, Eddie.

Wow.

X or uh Ephesians chapter 6.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

Would you turn there quickly?

I I I don't want to go into a lot of overtime here.

I'm gonna try to wrap what time do you wrap it up?

I if when I'm through.

All right.

I noticed something about you too.

When you come in here at 5 till, I said, what time does worship service start?

They said 10 o'clock.

I said, it's 5 till and there's hardly anybody here.

You're a Baptist in that way because you all come in at the last minute, you know, and they all fight over the back seats.

Amen.

So you got that part of the Baptist down real good.

Well, I'm gonna try to wrap it up here real quick, but I'll tell you one of the most important things is the preaching of the word of God.

And that's why God's spirit is on this place, because I want to tell you what, when Danny Lovett gets up, he preaches the word of God.

And we're gonna try to do the very best we can with that today.

Finally, my brethren, Ephesians chapter 6, verse 10.

Ephesians 6:10

Be strong in the Lord.

If it was ever a time we needed strength and power, it's today.

God strengthened the church.

God help us in this wicked and vile society and culture that we live, that we can take a stand and be strong.

And Paul writes to the church at Ephesus and says, you all need to understand where you get your strength and where you're gonna get your power.

So finally, my brother, I forgive you.

All this discourse, I want you to understand that you can stand strong.

Notice what it, it's not in our might, it's not in our ability, it's not in our talent, it's strong in who?

In the Lord, in the power of whose might?

Our might, it's not by might nor by power, but why?

By my spirit, says the Lord.

So we're strong in him, praise God.

How do we do that now now?

Verse 11, put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Let me stop for just a moment.

I just went through about, well, before I resigned from my church and took my retirement here.

Oh, that's another story, but um, I haven't preached in three months.

Well, thank you.

Uh Danny said, you could better better blow the rust out of those carburetors tomorrow, man.

Three months.

No, we we've stepped back from our from our church there, but uh right before I left, I gave them a challenge concerning prayer, and I did this whole series on the armor, and I ordered the entire piece of uh of Roman soldiers' armor from the from the girdle of truth, the belt of truth, to the breastplate of righteousness, of great big old heavy steel armor.

And I I put that on the stage, and as I preached each of the pieces, I demonstrated it on the uh on the uh uh uh illustration uh mannequin that I had.

Thank you.

And uh put the breastplate on, put the uh shoes of peace, uh put got got the big old heavy shield and the big old uh sword.

I loved that Sunday when I swung that sword.

I had everyone's attention, man.

I went up and down to the the aisle swinging my my sword.

And uh it I said to them if we're ever gonna be a prayerful church, if we're ever going to be able to be strong in the Lord, it's gonna be through prayer.

We can only get America back.

When we get America on its knees again.

And it's true, we're not looking for a great America.

We're looking for a godly America.

And the only way that's going to happen is when God's people understand that we've got to get the whole armor of God on and fight the devil.

What we're going to talk about here is how to win the victory over the devil.

There's a story told of a young boy that faced a school bully every day when he went out to the school playground.

The school bully demanded the boy 50 cents lunch money.

Week after week, the boy just simply went in and gave his lunch money to this bully.

Well, finally, after weeks, he saw the karate kid and he said, Man, I can do that.

I'll get some karate lessons and I'll go face that bully.

So he went down to the gym and uh got uh and signed up for his karate lessons, and he found out it's gonna cost him five dollars a lesson, so he put out his allowance, and for weeks he put out his five dollars allowance until one day it dawned on him.

It's gonna take me a long time to learn karate, and it's gonna take a lot of effort, and I'm gonna lose a lot of money.

He determined that paying the bully 50 cents lunch money was a whole lot cheaper and a whole lot easier than paying the karate teacher.

There's a story behind that, there's a purpose behind that.

I believe that the church has figured in some ways across this nation that it's a whole lot easier to just let the devil steal our lunch money than to be able to understand the price and the sacrifice that we need to give to be able to learn how to pray battle on our knees.

Now, I can I can I can understand that a little bit different at my age.

You know, is it worth the effort?

If I drop a quarter, sometimes I gotta stand there and think, is it worth the effort going all the way down there with the aches and pains to pick it up?

Now you now I drop a dollar and I'll say to myself, it's worth the journey.

And sometimes when I'm down there picking the dollar up, I say, while I'm down there, is there anything else that needs done while I'm here so I don't have to make another trip?

See, sometimes we have to value, pull the socks up or tie the shoestring, get it all done at one trip.

You know what we have to determine with our lifetime is is the devil worth fighting?

Is the battle worth going against?

Can we be victorious?

Is it worth putting all the pieces of armor on and standing mighty and strong in this last day in which we live?

And I say, yes, it is, because one reason.

It's not a battle for me.

The battle's already been fought at Calvary.

Jesus already won the victory, the devil's already been defeated.

And the good news about this is that the Bible says all we have to do, I don't find a whole lot of fighting in this passage of Scripture.

You know what I find?

I find things like stand.

If you have your Bibles, look at the passages here.

About four or five times.

It just simply says to stand.

In verse 10, be strong in the power of his might.

In Ephesians chapter 11, it says stand.

In the in in or excuse me, verse 11.

In verse 13, withstand.

In verse 14, stand, therefore.

I want to tell you what, it's not hard to fight when all you have to do is stand.

Stand how?

Stand with the armor of God on.

It's not standing.

God says, all the victory has been won at Calvary.

And if you would just take your stand with the whole armor of God, all you have to do is resist.

I don't find a whole lot of fighting the devil.

I find the Bible saying resist the devil and he'll flee from you.

He already knows he's a defeated person of being.

He already knows he lost the battle.

He just wants to bully you.

He wants to cheat you.

He wants to deceive you.

He wants to lie to you and strip you of your authority.

And we need to say, God, help me every morning.

This is what I taught our folks.

I said, every morning when you get up, pray that prayer.

God, give me the girdle of truth.

The devil can't stand truth.

Put a breastplate of righteousness on me.

The devil can't stand the righteousness of Jesus.

Give me shoes of peace.

Allow me to pick up the shield of faith.

Allow me to take the sword of the word of God.

When Jesus fought the devil in the wilderness, I don't see him punching and biting and scratching.

All I find Jesus doing is standing for who he was.

He was the Son of God.

And he used the word of God and he combated the devil because he took a stand.

Praise God for the stand.

We're not wrestling flesh and blood.

We're coming against the powers of darkness.

I want to show you two things this morning.

I don't question the devil's power.

The Bible says here, there's the wiles of the devil.

He's tricky.

He also says in here that there's a host of spiritual wickedness.

I want to tell you, it is a host of wicked, evil battle going on out there today.

And if we just need to be able to understand it, he's not an easy force.

The Bible says he's called powers.

The Bible says he's the ruler of the darkness.

And he's fighting in spiritual wickedness in high places.

But I want to share something.

When I discovered this truth, I've about come unglued.

The devil has power.

I don't question that.

But praise God, I've got authority.

And the authority of God outrules and outtrumps the devil's power every time.

When you put the armor of God on and you stand, you're going to be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Oh, he's tricky.

And even in Ephesians, Paul said he's called the prince and power of the air.

You know what I call that?

He's got a he's a big bag of wind, is what I call it.

He's the power of the air.

I call it stinky breath.

He'll try to deceive you, he'll try to lie to you, and he'll try to trip you up and pull the very armor that God has placed upon you.

We just need to stand equipped.

Moses knew what it was like to stand.

Jesus, or God said, just stand still and watch.

He had the armor of God on.

Joshua knew what it was like when he stood at the at the Jordan.

And the seas rolled back because he just stood and watched God.

Hezekiah knew what it was like to stand, because while he was on his knees, and someone said, How do you stand?

The best way for a Christian to stand is on your knees.

Get on your knees and fight like a man.

Amen.

Get on your knees.

Hezekiah took the thread and went to the altar and put it before God.

And while he was praying, 186,000 Assyrians of the army was slain by the angel of the Lord.

That's where the fighting takes place, folks.

God's already won the battle.

All we got to do, put the armor on and stand.

Oh God help us to be able to understand the battle that we're against.

We have authority.

Let me try to explain these two things.

We get them confused.

We sometimes kind of uh relate power and authority is the same, but they're different, totally different.

Authority is delegated power.

Power is something that can be self-generated.

They're not interchangeable.

Oh, we have when you have the authority delegated to you, you have all power in heaven and earth.

You have God's power, divine power, sovereign power when it's given to you by God.

But power is more influence or control.

Power, on the other hand, is something that we can earn or achieve or master by self-effort.

We'll talk about that in just a moment.

But authority is what?

It's the Greek word exusia.

Exousia means simply it flows out of a source.

It has a head, it has a main source or means of outflow.

And that main source, listen to me, is God in heaven.

The sovereign Lord has authority over everything.

Romans chapter 13 and verse 1 says this.

Romans 13 · chapter mention

Where do they get their authority?

Where he goes on to explain.

For there's no authority except from God.

Could I say that again?

Because some of you missed it.

There is no authority.

The devil doesn't have authority.

He may have power, but there's no authority other than the authority from God.

So when God delegates authority, He passes it down, and we have that same authority that God has because it's delegated to us.

You say, How do you know that?

Well, Genesis chapter 1.

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

When God created man, he gave them dominion, he gave them authority.

They had authority over the world that God placed them in.

What happened to it?

They lost it because they submitted to the trickery or the wiles of the devil.

So they lost the authority.

So God wanted to reclaim that authority back again.

So what did he do?

He sent his only begotten son, Jesus.

And when Jesus came to this earth, he came, listen to me, he came with authority.

He came with the authority of the sovereign God of the universe.

For God gave it to him in the scriptures, it tells us Luke chapter 9, verse 1.

Luke 9:1

And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and in earth is given to me.

I want to show you all the places in the Bible where authority is given.

It's not earned, it's not built up, it's not strength building, it's not accumulating.

All authority comes in one neat package.

When God gives it to someone, he gave it to Jesus.

Number two, then, Jesus delegates the authority to his twelve.

It wasn't long until Jesus gathered the twelve, said, God the Father gave me authority.

And he also gave me the right, since I'm not going to be here, to give that and pass that authority on to you.

So he gave to the disciples that authority.

Here's the scripture.

And Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and earth I give to you.

Matthew chapter 28, verse 18, he called the twelve together and gave them the authority over all the demons to cure the sickness.

Matthew 28:18

And then later he passed it on to the 70, just to show us that that passing of authority, that delegation, moves down the channel.

Now it comes at the 70 in Luke chapter 10, verse 19.

Luke 10:19

Behold, I have given you, there's that word again, I've given to you.

You didn't earn it, you don't deserve it, but I give the authority to you to tread upon serpents and upon scorpions.

Now, listen to me, before you start going out picking up snakes, he's not talking about the literal snakes that crawl on the ground.

He's talking about old Sleofwood himself, the old devil that started the trouble from the beginning.

And he said, You have power over the devil.

You can pick him up and you can cast him aside.

I give you that authority.

You didn't earn it, you didn't deserve it.

I give it to you.

Later in Matthew chapter 16, verse 18 and 19.

Matthew 16:18

Where was the authority passed?

It was passed on.

This is good, man.

It was passed to the church.

It was passed to us.

You and I have it.

It wasn't didn't stop with the disciples.

It didn't stop with the 70.

It didn't stop with just the followers of Jesus while he's on earth, because Jesus said with his own mouth, Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

I will give you the keys to the kingdom.

And whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven.

Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed on heaven.

That's the authority that you and I have.

Turn to your neighbor and say, I got some authority.

I got some authority.

And then Paul writes to the church in 2 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 8.

2 Corinthians 10:8

He says, For even I, if I should boast somewhat more about our authority, it's not a prideful thing.

Paul said, I'm not gonna, I got authority, but I'm not about to start bragging.

I'm not gonna be boasting about it because I realized where I got it.

It wasn't something that I earned, wasn't something I deserved.

It's something that God has given to me.

That's what he says, which the Lord gave me.

Praise God, it is given to us.

What is power then?

Power then is the ability to get someone to do things that maybe they don't want to do.

It's building the strength up.

It doesn't have anything to do with rank or or or title or authorization.

It's uh what bullies do to try to build themselves up, to outmaster someone.

You take a bodybuilder, he can work and he can achieve and he can get powerful arms and he can try to override people or or try to boss people because of his sheer power.

The mind power, the psychic.

You can have someone that can twist the mind by sheer ability to be able to control the mind.

You can have a spiritist take control of spirits.

Yes, there's a power of the body, power of the mind, power of the spirit, but God says there is something stronger and greater than all these things.

It's the authority of Almighty God that will override that.

There wasn't something you worked up or attained.

It was given.

Let me give you an illustration.

Every place has electric company.

Praise God for electric.

Amen.

And there's they're not called uh electric authority companies, they're called electrical power companies.

The power, Dominion Power and Shenandoah power and Chelsea power or whatever.

It's electric companies generate power.

Alabama power.

Who Alabama power generates the power, and then they author.

The reason we have this in here is because they've authorized us.

Because they're the source, they generate it, and they send it out and they give it to us as customers.

Oh, you have to pay for it.

There's a sacrifice involved.

There's some conditions behind this.

Same with your authority from God.

But He authorized us to use it.

And praise God for power that's sent here, generated somewhere else, sent here and given to us.

But I wonder what would happen when all this power was sent to this building, and we'd call the power company up and say, Man, we're in the dark.

Man, can you can you do something?

I mean, we we we we can't get our sound system up, we can't get our televisions on, we can't, we, we, we can't, well, God forbid, we can't start the coffee pot till we get some power.

We can't have our Krispy Kreme or Locky Lickum or whatever they are.

Licking good.

We we can't have them till we get some power.

And the electric company will say, There's no pro there's no problem here, there's a switch on the wall.

Go and turn the switch on, and you'll have all the power you want.

But oh, would you come and do that?

Would you come?

Because I just I don't know.

I just I don't know if it'll work.

Would you they're not gonna come and turn the switch on, folks.

God has designated the power to the church.

And if we sit in darkness, it's our own stinking fault.

Could someone say amen?

If we don't want to take the the energy to go and turn the switch on, that the power's been generated, the power's been sent to us, and if we don't take the the sacrifice to go flip a switch and use it, we sit in darkness.

America is in darkness today.

We have all the power, all the light, all the energy from God given to us, and we sit without using it.

And why to go, oh God, why don't you take care of the terrorists?

Oh God, why don't you why don't you send the light, smash some holes in this darkened world?

And God's saying, I've done all I could do at the cross.

It's everything, I've generated the power, I've defeated the enemy.

It's up to you to turn the switch on, turn the lights on.

Do something.

It's in our control.

You don't have to you don't have to ask God.

He's already granted permission.

It's ours.

Access it.

Jesus' blood is sufficient when he died on the cross.

Listen to me.

It is sufficient to save every lost sinner that ever was and ever will be.

His blood of Jesus is sufficient to heal every disease of every person that's ever had a disease.

His blood of Jesus, this blood of Jesus is sufficient to be able to set every door open of a prison.

It's all done, it's all accomplished.

All we have to do is take that authority and go out and start saving souls.

Go out and start getting people out of prison.

Going out and start setting the people free that we've had the right and the command of God to go.

And God said, There's no more that I can do.

He can't generate any more power than he's already generated.

He can't give any more than he's already given.

He gave it all, he laid it all at the cross.

This tremendous Paul said in Ephesians chapter 1 that you might know this this verse.

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

Oh, that you might know the exceeding greatness of his power toward us toward us who believe.

That power is toward us who believe.

According to the working of his mighty power that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him in his right hand in heavenly places, far above all prince.

Listen to it.

Where is he seated?

Far above all principalities and powers and might and dominion and every name that's named, both in this age and the age to come.

And he put all things under his feet and made him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness that fills all in all.

It can't get any better than that.

The power of Almighty God generating, sending it to us.

It is finished when he cried on the cross.

You've got it.

Will you use it?

Authority.

Authority.

I'll tell you what.

Yeah, let me tell you a story.

I love stories.

I love stories.

I last spring I went to the tractor supply.

Do you have tractor supply down here?

Hey, does anybody does anybody farm in the south?

That's our plantations got to the beginning, amen.

They're the big farming industry.

Well, uh, I went to tractor supply.

And I saw these cute little pee pee pee chicken, little kicky chick chicks.

And they were just running around in there, and I thought to myself, I live out in the country, and I want to go to a barn down back, and I can build me a chicken coop.

I'm gonna give me some chicken.

I picked out, I handpicked 12.

They're my disciples.

The 12 apostle chicks.

I picked out 12.

I put them in a box and I took them home.

And while they were in my garage, while I was feeding them and caring for them and giving them water, oh, they were, by the way, guaranteed that they were laying hands.

I didn't get the mix kind, uh-uh.

I wanted the laying hands.

So I I chose.

I uh the lady was pulling them out and I said, No, I don't want that one, I want that one over there.

It looks more female than the other one.

I want that one.

I I like the I like the the the the uh hair on this one here, or the pee-pee fuzz, or I like the way the foot shape.

I want this one.

I I selected everyone.

She was kind of getting disgusted because she just wanted to reach in and throw them in a box.

I said, No, these are mine, hand-picked peeps.

I've chosen them before the before the foundation of the barn.

I chose the chicks.

They're mine.

I'm gonna take them home, I'm gonna feed them, I'm gonna care for them, I'm gonna build them a nest, I'm gonna build them a pen, I'm gonna protect them from the predators.

They're mine.

And I took them home and I built a chicken house.

As they grew, one of them in particular, I noticed the voice changing.

And I noticed that this one later wasn't laying any eggs.

And all of a sudden I woke up in the morning and heard the cockadoodle-doo.

And I thought to myself, there's one traitor of the 12th.

I called him Judas.

Judas was okay, Judas was okay.

I went to Judas one day and I said, You ain't what I picked.

I didn't choose you.

I looked him right in the beak.

I said, I didn't choose you, Mr.

Rooster, but I'll let you stay, and you can have limited power to watch over the hen house.

One day, I'll make it sure.

One day I walked down to get the eggs, and that rooster now is about this big, ten pound with big old spurs and a big old big beak.

And that thing came after me as soon as I stepped inside that hen house.

And he hit me right about in here, and you know, I thought to myself, that's cute.

I just kind of whacked him.

He rolled a few times and rustled his feathers up, and he looked at me, and that crazy thing took after me the second time.

And the second time, one time, okay, second time, I reared back a little harder and I slammed him against the side of the barn door.

He picked up at that time, rustled those feathers again, looked at me with the meanest old look on his face, and he started charging the third time.

And I'm saying, Mr.

Rooster, it's about time you learn a lesson.

I'm gonna teach you a difference between your power and my authority.

I hauled back with those big old number 12 size boot and I slammed that turkey or chicken rooster.

Judas went flying.

I'm telling you what, there was an NFL 50-yard field goal with that bird.

I'm telling you what.

He took off first rooster to the moon.

When he landed, he shook himself again, looked at me, turned away, and never gave me another lick of problems.

I mean, he learned that day what the difference was between his power and my authority.

I said to Mr.

Rooster, you ain't taking over this barn, fella.

I mean, I but I hand picked this uh uh chickens, I I buy the feed, I built the pens, I cleaned the coops, and you have no right, no authority.

If we do that to the devil, the devil would have to submit by the power and authority of God.

Simply give him a kick and say, You're not in.

This thing.

We are in this thing.

This world is given to us.

We are overcomers.

We're conquerors, not beggars.

We need to stand up in America that the church would come alive as it is in Chelsea here.

And I think that's where we're at.

Westover.

Danny called me yesterday when I was traveling in.

He said, Where are you?

And I said, I don't know.

He said, in town.

I said, I think there's a Birmingham around here someplace.

How did you get here?

I listened to a little voice on a GPS that turn down here, turn there.

I didn't have a clue where I was, I'll be honest with you.

If I had that much faith in the voice of God, I could probably get someplace.

Amen.

Just listen to the voice and follow it.

And it doesn't matter where you're.

If we listen to the voice of God and we'd put on the whole armor of God and we'd take our stand, folks, we would be able to conquer the devil and all of its darkness, and we'd be able to get the old deceiver and launch him into outer space.

That's the power that you have.

Tell yourself right now, I have the authority and power of a sovereign God living inside of me.

Tell yourself that.

Every morning, I have power and authority inside of me given to me by the sovereign God of the universe.

It's mine.

Did God create Satan?

No.

He created Lucifer.

And Lucifer was a beautiful angel.

And God gave to Lucifer authority.

But Lucifer threw that aside when he came against God.

I'll tell you, folks, the church, if we start coming against God, if our nation starts coming against God, we're going to have the authority that God has given to us stripped from us.

You can't redefine the sacred institutions of God.

He sacredly instituted marriage and family and the church.

And I want to tell you what, I love the marriage.

46 years to prove it.

I love that little woman there.

46 years.

I love the family.

I got three children involved in full-time Christian service today, serving God.

Matter of fact, my son today is in the movie theater, the church plant.

He has two services going on today simultaneously and packing both theaters out, Danny.

And he and his associate pastor have a they're ringing a bell today and they're changing pulpits.

When the bell rings, they run across and they preach on this side.

When the bell rings, they switch places and they slap high five on the way through the door.

On the streets in Stanton, Virginia.

Yes, he's taken authority over the devil.

I love my family.

It's a God-instituted, God sacred.

It's a holy institution.

And folks, when our government starts trying to redefine our church, starts trying to redefine our families and redefine our marriages, we're going to lose our authority.

It's time the church says, God help us to stand in this way.

What let me let me God is saying to us, Satan has a plan.

He is systematically, he doesn't have authority, but I'm going to tell you what, he knows how to steal it.

He'll take it from you.

What's happening today?

It started years ago when Satan stole the authority of the parents.

Parents have no more authority.

You spank your child today, you're going to end up in prison.

There's no parents that have kids are running our nation.

Are you okay with me right now?

Maybe I'm getting a little touchy here.

But uh hey.

Satan stole the authority out of our families.

He stole the authority of our marriages.

Husbands are no longer head of their wives.

Whoa.

See, I've got a car.

I can leave for the north anytime you want me to, but I'm just simply saying, I am just a news carrier, man.

I I don't make the mail, I just deliver it.

And the Bible says men are the head of the of the home.

And men are no longer head of the home.

They're the tail and not the head.

And we need to say, Satan stole that from the men.

Satan stole that authority from the home, from the parents.

He also stole it from our schools.

Teachers don't have the power or authority to spank a child anymore.

Over in Georgia, they still have corporal punishment.

Did you see do you see what happened here?

I shouldn't go here, but I'm going to anyway.

They had on the news this teacher, a young boy, five, six, seven, eight-year-old boy, I'm not sure, spit on a teacher and kick the teacher.

Well, in Georgia, there's corporal punishment, but they had but there's a protocol that they follow.

What they do if a child is out of order, they call the parents and say, We want you to come in the principal's office.

And when the parent gets into the principal's office, they sit down, they sat down with the parent and they got the child, vice presidental and the principal, and said to the child, You were naughty.

You don't spit in the teacher's face.

You don't kick the teacher.

What we're going to do for punishment is we're going to have the paddle and we're going to give you one SWAT.

And the mother's sitting there and she knows what's going on, and this kid goes ballistic, screaming and hollering.

So the vice principal picks the child up and holds the child, bends them over, and the principal gives him one SWAT.

On national news, I don't know if it hit here.

On national news, the news broadcaster said, You may have to turn away.

This is going to be a graphic scene.

You may not be able to handle the sight of this, so you may want to.

I'm telling you the truth.

National news.

What happened?

The mother was recording it on her cell phone so that she could sue the school district.

And hit national news said, This is a graphic scene.

You may want to turn your your away and not be, you you might not be able to look at this.

What in the world is going on in our country?

I mean, talk about graphic.

When I grew up in, I spit in my teacher's face.

I'll tell you, that's graphic what happened there.

I mean, a hardened criminal would have to turn away from what happened in the principal's office if they caught me spitting in the teacher's face.

I mean, I understood the power of authority.

I understood respect.

And when I walked into the school and a principal came down the um, I would I would submit to that principle.

My heart would start pounding, my blood pressure would go up.

There's an authority.

When the teacher spoke, you listened to it.

When parents, I know what it's like to have a dad.

When my mom says, wait till your father gets home, I know what was coming.

I'm telling you, those are the longest hours I've ever spent waiting for my dad to come home from the B and O railroad.

I knew what was done, and when my mom got mad, I'm telling you what, I you want to talk about graphic.

Anything within her sight, she would pick up from a shovel to a broom handle to a spatula.

Praise God we put all the knives up when Mama got mad.

If we were outside, my mom could pick up the garden hose 25 foot and she can wield that thing like Indiana Jones, man.

You couldn't run fast enough.

She'd lay a whooping on me if I ever spat my mother's face or I'm disrespectful.

But I'm gonna tell you what, authority is gone from our homes.

Authority's gone from our marriages, authority's out of our school district right now.

Listen to me, this is a touchy issue.

This authority's taken away from our police department.

They try to stand up for what's right and they risk their lives every day out there.

And they wanted Satan wants to steal the authority of the police department.

God help us if we don't get back to the basics and understand.

God's taken the authority of our church.

Go to a church where there's church discipline.

It just doesn't happen today, folks.

We've had to, we've had, we've had recently to issue discipline within our church, and I'll tell you it's one of the biggest battles we've ever had to fight with law and and all the suing and all the discrimination and all this that goes down the line.

But I'll tell you what, God gave to the church authority.

And don't you dare lose that.

You're a group of people that love each other, but when someone gets out of line loving, they bring them back in and call sin sin and tell someone when they're not walking right.

That's our responsibility, that's our covenant together to be able to keep that authority that God has placed upon us.

God help us so Satan doesn't keep stealing our authority and robbing us blindly.

I'm gonna close.

I'm I'm I'm gonna give you three things.

I say I'm gonna close.

I do this three times, but this is the first one, okay?

I'm gonna give you three things that'll help you because I know what you're saying is what do you mean?

How do I exercise my authority?

Three things that'll help you.

If you want to write them down, probably the I probably should have started with this, maybe, you know.

First thing, how do we exercise authority?

Number one, we have to use our voice.

That's what prayer is.

Someone said, I I mentioned that as we start.

How do we exercise authority?

Folks, I want to tell you when Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus, he said, you exercise authority by becoming equipped.

Get the armor on.

And when you have the full armor on, you're I told my people prayer isn't preparing for the battle, prayer is the battle.

And we need to fight it on our knees.

I I I want to bring my son back up because it just came to mind.

But 21 days ago, my son came to me.

He's pastor of the church downtown, the church plant, running probably three, four hundred uh in a movie theater.

They take their offerings up in a popcorn bucket, you know.

And everybody comes in, they get popcorn, they want it, you know.

They that's that's fine.

Uh my my son came to me and said, I don't like what the pastorate is making me.

What I'm becoming as a pastor.

I said, What do you mean?

He said, I feel like a Christian cruise uh ship director.

All I do is set programs and make sure everybody's fed and happy, and the buffets set out on Sunday morning.

Um I'm not I'm not talking about physical food, I'm talking about spiritual.

They came in hungry for spiritual food.

And he said, I feel like every all my week is running around making this purse, putting this fire out, and making sure everybody's comfortable and fluffing pillows for the congregation.

He said, When I went into the ministry, I gave myself to prayer and to the ministry of the word.

And he's taught his people and said this.

I'll tell you, I'll tell you another person that has taught that, and that's that man right down here.

If you send him out and doing all the work of the church, what I saw when I came in here is like a beehive of activity.

And and I said, I said to someone, What what are you doing here?

He says, I'm I'm I'm I'm getting involved.

I said, Why do you get involved?

He said, Because everybody gets involved.

Listen to me, the work of the church is uh is in the body.

It's not up to the pastor to make you comfortable, it's not up to the pastor to fluff your pillow, it's not up to the pastor to feed you and to nurture you and to burp you and change your diapers when you're angry.

Listen to the pastor's job is to pray and to minister the word of God.

Go out on the streets and preach.

Set this man free, which I know you've already done.

Set him free to do what God's called him to do and make that's why this church is doing what it's doing, because there's a dynamic man of God that's able to spend time in prayer and able, he he he he likes to eat the donuts, but he doesn't have to set them out, amen.

He's a crispy cream king, and I guess it's changed over to Lucky Lickham or whatever they call it.

But God, God, God, my my son, my son said to me this he said, 21 days I'm gonna preach to my people that I'm a pastor, not a Christian cruise ship director.

It's up to someone else to make y'all comfortable.

Uh I'll do what I'll do what I can.

I'll I'll feed you and I'll pray for you, but it's the body's ministry.

And he said 20, I th I believe this is close to it.

I believe the first he just went through a 40-day fast not too long ago, but this one was a 21-day fast he called his church to, and he drank water for the first 10 days.

And then the next 10 days uh he was on a vegetable.

Oh the next day he introduced a little bit of juice and coffee the next 10 days, and the final leg was uh some vegetables.

21 days that that young man said, It's time the church gets back on its knees.

And every for 21 days, at six o'clock every morning, he was in the church and said to the people, Come and meet with me for an hour.

I'm praying in the church, getting on his knees and praying for an hour at Calvary Baptist Church.

And then he went from there with the pastoral staff down to the house that we lived in out in the country where the chicken coop was.

They went down there in a log home out in the country and they prayed another hour.

Rob spent four hours a day, every day for 21 days, in prayer and fasting.

And I'm gonna tell you, today is a result of that.

Today, today, the Spirit of the Lord is gonna fill both of those auditoriums up, and people are gonna get saved today.

Why?

Because we get back to business.

We get back to what the church is all about.

We need to speak.

What is it?

Prayer is speech.

Jesus overcome the devil because he spoke to it.

He said such things.

He said in Mark chapter 14, or 13, verse 34, for the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey and left his house and gave authority to his servants and to every man his work and commanded the porter to watch.

Mark 14 · chapter mention

What does that mean?

You get on your knees and you become vigilant.

You watch.

You don't know authority doesn't beg, authority doesn't ask, authority doesn't command, authority cast out.

Jesus said, You don't ask the demon to come out.

You cast the demon out, you cast the evil one out, and we don't ask the devil to leave.

We command the devil to leave.

In the name of Jesus, we command you to leave us alone and get out of the church and get out of our nation.

We set, we need God to set us free from all the satanic oppression.

Matthew chapter 8, verse 8 and 9, it says the centurion answered and said to the Lord, Remember that account?

Matthew 8:8

I am not worthy that you would come under my roof.

But what does he say?

But speak the word only.

Folks, if we would just start using our voice, if we just start commanding and saying, Be thou remove this mountain, speak to the mountain, speak to the dead.

I had a man come into my office and his marriage was a wreck.

He was a member of our church, a leader in our church, and he said, Would you pray for me after he gave me the sad story of what took place?

He said, Would you pray for me?

I walked over to him and I put my hand on him, and he later told me, he said, I didn't know anybody could pray like that.

It didn't sound like a prayer, it sounded like a battle cry.

And I got put my hand on that man and put my other hand on his head, and I didn't I didn't ask the devil to leave.

I said, devil, you stinking foul force, you deceptive devil from the pit of hell, you have no right to this man.

I command you in the name of Jesus to get out of him, leave his family alone, leave his wife alone, leave his kids alone.

I command you to leave in the name of Jesus.

Stop this ridiculous battle against this man.

He's not yours.

He's the property of Almighty God.

And God delivered, and God touched that man.

He said, I've never felt the power of God.

Why?

Because listen, folks, it's commanding the devil.

There's some things in your life this morning.

You need to stand up and command the devil to get his hands off your family.

Get your hands off the devil off my finances.

Get your hands off my kids.

Get your hands off my government.

Get your hands off of my country.

Get your hands off my community.

We command it in the name of Jesus to take our stand.

Stand with the whole armor of God.

Fall on our knees and fight like a man.

Power of death and life is in the power of the tongue.

Let's start praying.

Let's start preaching.

Let's start proclaiming what God says will set us free.

Use your voice.

Command that authority.

Mark chapter 1, verse 27.

Mark 1:27

And they were all amazed as they gathered around Jesus and they questioned among themselves, saying, What is this?

What new doctrine is this?

For this man with authority commands even the unclean spirits that they and they obey him.

If we'd start commanding folks, the devil will start listening.

He has power.

You've got authority.

Cast him out of your church.

Cast him out of your marriage.

Cast him out of your children.

Cast him out of our country.

Take the charge.

Pray.

Number two, use the name of Jesus.

He gave his name to you.

The most beautiful name.

The name of Jesus.

The most powerful name.

The name of Jesus.

It's like a millionaire coming up to me and writing me a check.

It's no good unless he's got that little bottom line signed.

And what that little bottom line is, is his name.

He can write anything he wants on that hand to me.

If there's no signature on it, there ain't no action.

Jesus said, Use my name.

Go boldly to the throne of God.

Use my name.

Here we are.

The last one has to be exercised by faith.

Faith.

In other words, the more you do it, the more comfortable you get with it.

Use it daily.

Understand when you see, I'll I'll tell you what, when you see the power uh of God or power of the devil diminish and the authority of God exercise, and you see miracles take place and you see things happening, you'll you'll have more courage to do it the next time.

And the next time, and the next time.

Oh, Danny and I could go back through our history and we could talk to you about miracles.

Things that we have seen only God can do.

And the more you see God work, the more bold you get.

Here's how we're gonna close today.

Listen, I know in a group this size that there's people that are hurting.

I'm in hurting.

Right now, you don't know if you have the breath to take another day.

You don't you feel like you're drowning.

There's some of you today that your finances are total shambles.

The devil has lied to you, robbed you, stolen from you, and taken things that he does not have right to.

And you can have that restored if you just trust God.

It's not easy.

Sometimes we would rather just throw our hands up like the cat like the little boy in the cat in the playground.

And I'll tell you what, we're not on a playground with the devil.

We're on battleground.

And folks, right now, right now, he wants to rule and he wants to take over.

If we just step up and say, I have the authority.

It was given to me, it was given to the church, it was given to me.

If you're part of the church, it's given to you.

Your kids are a mess.

Would you give it to Jesus?

What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna pray as you come forward.

I want you to come and I'm gonna pray the armor of God on you, and then I'm gonna ask a challenge.

Every morning you get up, before you do warfare against the devil, you start with the girdle of truth.

Truth.

Then you go to the breastplate of righteousness.

It's not your righteousness, it's Christ's righteousness.

Thank you, God.

Thank you, God, for your righteousness.

Thank you, Jesus.

That I'm clothed in the righteous robe of Jesus.

Put that robe on.

I mean, clothe yourself.

Get the helmet of salvation.

Say, thank you, Lord.

I'm saved.

I'm a child of God.

And listen to me, some of you here this morning, you don't have that confidence that you're even a child of God.

Today could be a turning point right now.

If you want authority, it's not gonna come by you working it up and mastering anything.

It's just coming and falling before God and say, God, I need to be saved.

I want to be part of that authority.

I want Jesus.

And then you take shoes of peace.

You just start dressing yourself.

Then you then you get that old shield that's able to quench the fiery darts of the wicked one and pick up the sword of the spirit.

You're ready for battle then.

When you do that, then fall to your knees.

And I'm gonna tell you what, all you gotta do is stand.

Stand.

I don't maybe someone will prove me wrong.

I don't see a whole lot of fighting.

Matter of fact, Paul said, We're not fighting against flesh, but don't try to compare it.

Don't try to compare it to punching and biting and scratching.

All you gotta do is stand with the right armor on.

You're totally protected and you have authority through that armor.

Uh right now, get up out of your seat, would you?

I know many, many right now.

Get up out of your seat.

Come on down here.

Let me pray this prayer with you.

Come kneel at the altar, stand with me, take hands of someone next to you.

I believe God wants to do something incredible to launch this service, launch these meetings, and it's gonna happen by God's people.

Just we need the armor of God before we go any further today, folks.

Before this revival do anything else, we need to be properly equipped, we need properly positioned.

Oh, come crowd this way.

First step sometimes for us is just a step of faith.

Just to step out and say, God, I need you.

We're drowning.

God, my heart breaks for my my country.

God, there's no more joy.

There's no more peace.

There's no more power.

God, I feel the devil has stripped me of what I rightfully should have.

I'm experienced defeat.

I'm just experiencing discouragement.

The devil has me bullied and beaten and battered to the point I don't have any victory.

God, I'm tired of it.

I want to stand.

I want you to take control of my finances, God.

I want you to take control of my health.

Heal me, dear God.

Give me a healthy body that I can serve you.

God, take control of my family.

Take control of my marriage.

God, I want to be dressed for success.

God, I want to be dressed for success.

Clothe me right now in the sweet armor of God.

From the top of my head, from the very helmet of salvation to the very soles of my feet with the shoes of peace.

God, put that on me.

Right now, would you just pray this prayer?

Dear God, I stand in truth.

Put that girdle about me, that belt about me.

God, I thank you for the righteousness of Jesus.

Put that righteousness upon me.

I can't go anywhere without it.

I need to be declared righteous and clean in the blood of Jesus.

Oh God, if you would, that helmet of salvation.

If I'm not saved, Lord, I want to be saved.

I call upon you right now, Jesus, save me.

I'm a wretched sinner.

I don't deserve the gift of God, but I ask, God, right now, you'd give me the helmet of salvation.

And I want you right now where your heads are bowed and your eyes are closed.

Is there anyone here right now that just prayed for that helmet of salvation?

I'm not going to embarrass you.

I just want to rejoice with you.

Anyone here?

You're not saved.

You weren't saved, but you prayed that prayer.

You need the helmet of salvation.

Anyone here or back in the seat that prayed that?

Praise God for that hand there.

Praise God.

Thank you.

God bless you.

God bless you back there.

Boy, you can't go any further until you have that.

Be saved.

Become property of God.

Give your life to Jesus.

Give your life to the Lord.

Surrender.

Say, God, I know I'm a sinner.

I want you to save me.

I want to be part of your family.

Come into my heart.

And then as we leave that part of the armor, go to that shield and say, God, I need your protection.

I need to be able to ward off those fiery darts of the enemy.

Dear God, protect me, surround me, put a hedge about me, protect me from the enemy's fire, and then take the sword.

And every time in your prayer life, when you pick up this sword, open the Bible and say, God, show me a verse just for me today.

Put that armor on, clothe yourself.

And God says, when you get properly equipped, when you get properly dressed, you're ready for success.

It is a victory waiting for you.

Would y'all look up at me for just a moment?

I'm going to continue for this group right here, and I know there's some back there, but this group right here, we're we're going to I I'm going to pray for this particular group.

I don't know you by name, but throughout the time that we're here, I'm going to pray that God gives you a victory to the point where you could stand up sometime during this revival and share what victory God has given to you.

You won a victory, you've got the battle, and Jesus did something very special.

Put on the armor.

You promise me, shake your head.

Every morning you're going to get up, put the armor of God on.

Dress yourself.

Don't go out there without getting dressed.

You're going to get shot.

Get dressed.

Put it on.

Spiritually.

Put it on.

And then claim that victory and watch God work.

I want to hear testimony this week of what God, dozens of testimonies of what God has done simply because we were obedient to Him.

Praise God.

Would you just give Jesus a hand clap today?

Praise God.

Thank you, Lord.

Thanks again for tuning into this week's message.

We pray that your life has been changed.

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We hope you have a wonderful day and again, God bless you.