Shut Him Up

You say, well, we've not sung yet. Yes, we have.

We sung Power in the Blood. And you sung a little

bit of Leaning on the Everlasting Arms before

I got up here. My heart is stirred today. Just

a little side note. We probably were not going

to do Chili Cook -Off today anyway, had it been

pretty. there's a 98 .3 % chance it would have

been postponed anyway. I've just had a stirring

that we needed to be in the house of the Lord

today. Not that we wouldn't have been, and we

would have screeched a little under the pavilion.

Amen. We'd have had some word. We always do,

don't we? We would have done that, and the Holy

Ghost is just as... Welcome under the pavilion

as he is in this sanctuary. Amen. So he could

do whatever he wants to do with us inside or

outside. But I just felt constrained to the Lord

to be on the inside today. Amen. And so let's

look. I don't know about you, but I'm nervous

as a cat on a hot tin roof. Boy, I've just got

the jitteries all inside, you know. Praying the

Lord just has his way with us today. They're

going to sing us out after a while. Amen. It's

not that we're not going to worship. We're going

to worship. Amen. Revelation 20 beginning at

verse 1 reads, And I saw an angel come down from

heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit

and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold.

On the dragon, that old serpent, which is the

devil. And Satan then bound him a thousand years.

And he cast him into the bottomless pit. And

shut him up. And he set a seal upon him that

he should deceive the nations no more. Till the

thousand years should be fulfilled. And after

that, he must be loosed a little season. I just

feel really good today about preaching on shut

him up. Amen. Shut him up. I'll pray for you

if you pray for me and we'll leave here lifted

in the grace and the glory of God. Father, I

love you this morning. So thank you for your

goodness and your mercy. Thank you for the power

of your rich blessings. I thank you for the power

of your word and not only the power of that word,

but the promise of the word. This great promise,

the time is coming when he will be wrapped in

a chain. Such a great sermon titled years ago

I heard. Somewhere in heaven, there's an angel

polishing a chain. And Lord, that he will take

hold of the old dragon, the old serpent, the

devil, Satan himself, bind him up, cast him in

a pit, and shut him up. Help us today, Father,

in the name of Jesus. We thank you and praise

you for all things. In Christ's name, amen and

amen. You can be seated. There's a lot going

on here and a lot already taking place by the

time you get to the 20th chapter of John's revelation

that he received. Just prior in verse chapter

19, you see the second coming of the Lord. You

see him taking his authority. You see him speaking

and claiming victory just from his voice alone.

You see the declaration of who he is, that new

name written on his vesture, King of Kings and

Lord of Lords. John is seeing a lot of different

things, and he's recording as the Spirit is laying

on his heart. And he's writing these for our

encouragement, for your and my encouragement.

It's a warning. People see Revelation as a scary...

And it can be when you look at it in the apocalyptic

sense and the destruction of the earth. It's

not really the destruction. It's the revamping.

Amen. When it's going to be purged and cleansed

by fire, we see all these things. You read about

trumpets and vials and all these things being.

Unleashed upon the earth, you see scrolls open,

seals being opened, and the staging of the end

of time. And it's very alarming. Amen? It can

be very alarming. But it should not be alarming

for the child of God. It should not scare you.

You should not be afraid. of the words written

in the book of Revelation. If anything, it should

put a smile on our face in knowing that Jesus

is coming. Amen. That that King of kings and

the Lord of lords is coming in glory. Amen. He's

going to be upon the steed of victory, and he's

going to claim that victory for you and I. So

we begin to wonder, are we nearing these times?

And we could say yes, and we could say I don't

know. We could say that the signs of the times

are pointing to the return of the Lord and these

things coming into fulfillment. Because they

are beginning to align. The end times are beginning

to unfold before our very eyes. But what you

and I do not know is when the moment that the

Father is going to say, Son, it's today. Go get

my children and bring them. We don't know. We

don't know how God works in eternity, in the

span of time. We don't know what time means to

God. Matter of fact, it doesn't mean anything

to Him because He moves in the past and the present.

in the future. He is there. God is existent in

all points of what we know and how we have been

refined and defined to what we call time. You

always need to know that. Remind yourself, God

is not restrained by time. He is the author of

time. He is the creator of time. Time is in him,

and that's how we receive what we have. In the

dimension that we live, amen? God is in control.

And it could be today that the trumpet sound,

the archangel shout. The heavens open and Christ

appear and stand with arms open wide saying,

Come home, children. Come home. Come home, sisters.

Come home, brothers. Come unto me. Amen. My Lord,

wouldn't that be wonderful as we begin to think

about that? But I know the alarm comes because

we also understand what's going to be poured

out on the earth. And we also know what's going

to take place in the lives of unbelievers. It's

going to be devastation. It's going to be tragic.

Amen. But for a thousand years, guess where we

came from? get to be we get to be at the marriage

supper with the lamb amen we get to be sitting

with him amen in his presence and and knowing

but during this thousand years when we think

about our text today and the title of this message

shut him up amen i'm ready for the devil to be

shut up Amen. Figuratively, amen. I am ready

for him to be bound up with that chain, and I'm

ready for him to be cast in that bottomless pit

because of the devastation that he wreaks upon

humanity. Are you hearing me? The devastation

that he wreaks upon humanity. You look through

Scripture all the way. You can find the word

shut in many places and used in many various

forms throughout Scripture. But mostly it's a...

material or it's a figurative pattern of speech.

And knowing that in the text that we're looking

at today, it's a future event, it's a future

promise that's what's going to take place on

the devil. And I am one who is looking forward

to that promise. And if we just had that alone,

shouldn't that be grounds for shouting? I don't

know what he says against you, but I'm ready

not only to see him physically shut up, but that

figurative form of just shutting his mouth. I'm

ready. I'm ready to see that angel take a loop

of that big spoke chain and wrap it around his

face and gag him with it. I am tired of hearing

the voice of the enemy. I grow weary, and as

I grow weary, I don't know how you are, but I

kind of get stank -eyed and cross -eyed the tireder

I get, the shorter my fuse. Are you hearing me?

I'm more easily irritated. when I've come to

my limit and my limit is being encroached upon.

I get very cranky. You say, surely not. Well,

it's one of those flaws that I often remind you

that I have. I'm short. And my patience with

the enemy is worn. Not like it really matters

a lot. I don't know that it matters a lot, but

it does to me. My patience is wearing very thin,

and I'm getting very weary, and I'm tired of

everything that the devil is doing. I am sick

and tired. tired of what he's doing to you, amen,

and what he's saying against you. So not only

am I ready to see him locked up and chained up

in a bottomless pit, but I'm ready for him to

be shut up, amen. I'm tired of hearing him. I'm

tired of that sitting on my shoulder and hearing

that voice speak negativity into my life. I'm

tired of hearing it, amen. Every time we have

prayer requests and I hear what's going on in

your lives, You may think it doesn't move me,

but I'm telling you, I'm deeply moved. Every

time I hear that the devil is getting an upper

hand in your life or in the life of your family

members or your friends, it really just starts

to... My mama used to use this phrase, irk. You

about to irk me to no end, and that's about where

I'm at. I'm about irked to no end. And so I'm

ready to see that the devil is shut up. I am

ready to encounter where we can go about a day

and not hear his antagonizing voice, not hear

his accusations, not hear the intimidation of

the forces of darkness, not hearing how fear

is rising and faith is diminishing. I'm ready

for faith to... I'm ready for the voice of the

enemy to be closed and to be shut down. I am

ready. Understand and know this, from time's

beginning, the devil ain't nothing but a loud

mouth. He's always been a loud mouth and he always

will be a loud mouth. You say, you're getting

brave. Well, the spirit that's in me is greater

than he that's in this world. So yes, I am getting

bold and I am getting brave. Because again, I

am tired of what he's doing against you. I am

sick and tired of how he's coming against your

family. And I, for one, am fed up. And I, for

one, am ready to exercise in the authority that

God has given us through the one. work of his

son Jesus Christ and the power that works in

us if truly greater is he that is in us than

he that is in this world. Aren't you about to

get irked? Aren't you about to get sick and tired

of what the devil is saying against you and how

he's coming in to deceive you? Aren't you about

fed up with everything that he's coming against

you with? I am fed up when he begins to be the

accuser. He stands before God. day and night,

and all he does is accuse the brethren. He is

an accuser, but something you've got to know,

he is a liar according to John's gospel. John

said, you speak of your father who is not only

a liar, but he is a lie, and everything that

proceeds from his voice is a lie. I don't care

if he tries to implement scripture. He'll always

implement it wrong, and when you implement it

wrong and you misquote it, it's a lie. unless

it's directly from the word of truth. The devil

is a lie. What are some of the common names through

Scripture and titles? Satan, the most common

name, meaning adversary or one who opposes. You

do know that, right? The devil means false accuser

or slanderer. Lucifer, his name, the name from

a Latin translation of Isaiah referring to a

fallen day star or sun of the morning. The serpent

refers to Genesis' encounter with the great deceiver.

There's Apollyon from the Greek and Abaddon from

the Hebrew, which means destruction and destroyer.

He is the accuser of the brethren. He is your

adversary. Amen. Know that. Similar to Satan,

adversary meaning opponent or enemy. Beelzebub

meaning the lord of the flies or the ruler of

demons. The dragon, a symbolic name, especially

we read throughout Revelation. The tempter, a

name given to him. when he tempts Jesus in the

wilderness. The evil one, a direct description

of his nature and character. Prince of this world

and the prince of the power of the air. Titles

described to tell you what his influence is.

But what I know today, the one that I prefer,

is he is a liar. Amen? And he is the father of

them. And that's who I see him as, and that's

all I know him to be, and that's all I care to

know him as. And when he comes again, I just

remind him you are a lie. And there's a difference

between a liar and a lie. It's the very root

source. He is a lie. And every accusation he

brings against you and I begins with his mouth.

I told you he is a loud mouth. And all he does

is shoot off his mouth. According to Isaiah 14

and 13, that's exactly what got him kicked out

of heaven. For thou hast said in thine heart.

I will exalt my throne above yours. I'm going

to take dominion in the sides of the north. But

let me tell you, no, you are not. You'll be on

the sides, but you'll be on the sides of the

pits of hell. That's where you are going. God

established him. He said it in his heart. He

said it and he believed it. And therefore, he

was ruled over and cast out of heaven. I love

what Jesus said. He said, I beheld him like lightning.

and fallen to the earth. Come on, somebody. Oh,

when God said get, he had no other option but

to get. Can I tell you that greater is he that's

in you than he that is in this world? And if

you begin to resist the devil and the influence

of the voice of darkness, then you exercise the

authority that's been given to you. You can shut

him up, and you can use the authority that's

been vested in you because greater. Is he that

is in you than he that is in this world? You

can ask Adam and Eve. You can ask Abraham. You

can talk with Lot. You can have a discussion

one day with Moses. You can talk to David. Every

temptation he uses against anyone and everyone

involves his mouth. And I can't wait till he

gets shut up. I know we're raised not to say

that. That's not nice. Oh, don't say that's not

nice. Well, it's a fact. I'm not saying it to

be nice. I am not trying to be polite. I mean

exactly shut. Aren't you about sick and tired

of hearing it? Amen. I'm tired of hearing everything

that he says. You know, he comes against you

with junk like, well, you're sick. Well, you're

tired. No, I'm sick and tired. Come on. You're

hurting. You're in pain. You're weak. You're

scared. Oh, you're just different. No, I can't

get hung up this morning. You're just different.

That's a lie from the pit. You're not different.

You're being deceived from the accuser. He's

trying to drag you to the place he knows in which

he is destined to. He's trying to take you to

hell with him. You're different. No, you need

delivered is what you need. And if you're sick,

you need healed. If you're hurt, he is the one

who is able to apply his good grace. He begins

to say, you're confused. You're struggling. You're

depressed. You're oppressed. You're discouraged.

You're disillusioned. And he begins to feed that

junk to you. Let me tell you something this morning.

You've got to shut him up. up the instant he

begins that. If you are a born again, blood -bought,

child of the living God, then you've got to declare,

no, I am a royal priesthood. I am a chosen generation.

I am the one who has been called in separate.

I've come out of darkness. I'm in his marvelous

light. And by the way you tell him that as he's

on his way out, you resist the devil and he will

flee from you. You've got to shut him up. He

said to Eve in the garden, hath God not said?

You know how he starts off putting words in God's

mouth. Huh? Hath God not said? No, that ain't

what he said. And the old serpent deceives and

pulls you aside and drags you under. Job 1 and

9, Satan said unto the Lord. Doth Job fear God

for naught? No, Job feared God for a reason.

Just like I do. I don't fear God for naught.

I'm not in awe and revere of God for naught.

I got good reason. Amen, I got good reason. Why?

But what did Jesus say? Don't fear man who can

destroy the body, but you better have an awe

and a revere and fear of God who can destroy

both the body and the soul and the spirit. That's

who you better have reverence to. There are people

who are more reverent to the devil than they

ever thought they would be to God. They are more

polite to him. They're afraid they're going to

hurt his feelings. That's my main goal in life

is to hurt his feelings. Amen. That is my main

modus operandi that every day that I walk in

victory, I hope it gags him when he sees me get

out of the bed in the morning and get up with

a smile and beginning to sing, I see Jesus coming

in the clouds. I hear trumpets sounding so loud.

I hope he gets sick on it every day that I get

up with the victory when he tries to discredit

me, when he tries to diminish my faith, when

he tries to tell me that God don't care. Devil,

you are a lie. Get out of here. I long to see

Jesus coming in the clouds. I'm going to lift

my voice until he gets here. My God, it's time

to shut him up. It seems as though I have the

same struggle, fat or skinny. I can't keep my,

that don't go out. I can't seem to keep my britches

where they belong. When I was fat, y 'all would

say, you need some spenders, pastor. I was holding

out, I figured somebody would bring me a couple

pair. But I've lost weight and I still can't

keep up. My main goal is to offend the devil.

That's why I'm here this morning. That's why

we started with this first. I don't care what

he thinks. Amen. I don't care what his opinion

of what we do this morning in the house of God

is. It's none. Of his business. Amen. It's nunya.

What's that? Nunya business devil. Why we're

proclaiming the word of God. Before we enter

into worship. Amen. We're going to worship. We're

going to pray. We're going to anoint with what

oil we got left in the jug down here. Because

I'm sick and tired. And I'm telling you, if you

go home today without getting anointed, it's

your own fault. You deserve what the devil tells

you. You deserve everything that he brings against

you. If you walk out and leave your help and

your hope in this altar today. I'm here to tell

you this morning, there's been a stirring in

the atmosphere where praise has been going up.

Prayer has been going on. People have been fasting.

And because they need God to move, we need God

to invoke his power and to enter into our situation.

We need God to set us free and deliver us from

the voice of the enemy. So since he's been kicked

out of heaven, all he's been doing is running

his mouth everywhere he goes. Everywhere he goes,

everywhere he shows up, he just runs his mouth.

It's time that we take authority over that. Your

sanity is not a welcome mat for his spewing of

doubt, disbelief, and fear. There's not a place

for that. Your mind is to be concentrated and

concentrated on the Lord. But he keeps coming

and reminding you of everything that's going

wrong. Let me tell you something. There's something

going to be going wrong all the time anyway.

That's just the nature of the life in which we

live in this sin -filled world. Something's going

to transpire. Something's not going to go the

way that it should go. You're going to mess up.

I'm going to mess up. Something is going to mess

up the status quo of things and life's smooth

sailing. Something's going to go wrong. We're

going to make a mistake. Amen? That's just in

our fleshly nature. The devil doesn't have to

actually do much. We're going to take care of

doing some stuff by ourself. Hello? We're going

to take care of doing enough on our own without

him. He's going to jump on board when you do.

He's going to magnify every issue. But let me

tell you one more time. He is a lie. He's going

to tell you, oh, God will never forgive you.

Right there is lie number one. Unless you've

blasphemed against the Holy Ghost, and if you've

done that, you wouldn't even be here this morning.

Hello? If you've done that, this is the last

place you'd want to be, hearing what I've got

to say. You wouldn't be anywhere around. Your

conscience would be turned over, be seared with

that hot iron. No compassion, no drawing, no

quickening of the spirit. God would forsake you.

But you're here, so you're in good shape. Well,

you don't know what I've done. You're still in

good shape if you hadn't done that because everything

else is covered by the blood. That's the reason

I declared there's power, wonder -working power

in the blood. Everything, everything else. So

when the devil jumps up on your shoulder with

the weight of condemnation and begins to declare

to you how sorry you are, how low life you are,

how pitiful you are, how hopeless you are, you

can't get over it. I've got you where I want

you. Are you hearing this preacher this morning?

That is a lie. He knows that he is subject to

the power of Jesus Christ. He knows it better

than we know it. But all authority has been given

unto him in heaven and in earth. And he displays

that authority in your life as he made that declaration.

It is expedient that I go away so that when I

go away, the comforter can come. Comforter has

come. Greater works than I do shall you do also.

Why? Because you're going to receive power. And

after that, the Holy Ghost has come upon you.

You shall receive power of me that you may be

witnesses of me in every place you go. And on

the day of Pentecost, when it was fully come,

there was a sound from heaven as of a rushing

mighty wind. And the Holy Ghost descended with

tongues like of cloven fire. And he sat upon

each of them. They begin to speak and glorify

God. It was one thing to exercise power while

Christ was still on the earth. He sent the 70

out and they came back rejoicing. Why? Because

they'd been into the far reaches of the stronghold

to the enemy. They had laid hands on the sick,

and they were healed. They had cast out devils

in Jesus' name, and they fled from them. But

let me give you a little secret. They weren't

running from not one disciple. They were running

because of the authority that existed. in the

name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. And when a

faith -filled, spirit -filled believer stands

boldly with their faith rising like a wrought

iron up their spine and look the devil in the

eye and say, shut up in the name of Jesus, I

rebuke you, and you flee. Do you know what he

has to do when you resist him with every effort

in grace and in the spirit? He has to. You flee.

There's no, it's not optional. It's not an option

for him. Well, they couldn't even pass him in

the street without screaming. Right? He'd just

be walking down the street. Devils go to crying

out. What are you here for? What are you here

to do? Shut up. He would put it more politely,

hold thy peace. Amen. He's more polite than I

am. I'd say, shut up. Would you please just shut

up? Hush only goes so far. My children really

didn't know I was serious about them being quiet

until I said, would you please shut up? After

I've asked them to hush a time or two. No, I'm

serious when I say shut up. Next time it's going

to be the palm or the back of the hand coming

your way. Don't open. Let me tell you parents

something while I'm just right here. When you

tell one to shut up, it's not optional. That's

the way you got to be with the devil. Look here.

Quit messing around. He ain't just going to hush.

You've got to shut him up. And you do that by

not giving heed to those seducing spirits that

are coming to your mind and deceiving you with

truth and lie. You know the truth, and it's the

truth that sets you free. And the authority of

the power that's in the Word of God, that's the

reason you've got to read the Bible. Keep your

nose in the pages and your mind meditating upon

the fruit of it every day. And then when the

devil comes like he did against Jesus and tempted

him on those occasions, he declared, it is written.

Conversation over. It's over. It is written.

It ceases the conversation. 2 Corinthians 2 and

11 tells us, lest Satan should get an advantage

of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Too many, I won't say Christians, but that's

a broad stroke of the brush. Let's say churchgoers.

Too many churchgoers. Folks, give way too much

attention and lend way too much weight to the

validity of the voice of the enemy. Now, don't

get me wrong. He is a formidable enemy, and you

can't mess around with the devil. He's going

to get the best of you. He's been at it for thousands

of years, and you're no whooper -dooper. You're

no super duper saint. Hello? And so you have

nothing to say to him but what God has already

declared. That's all you need. The moment you

enter into conversation with him, you lose. Unless

it's a one -sided conversation on your part,

when he becomes in and he arrives and starts

his deceiving and tempting and planting, you

resist him and declare it is written. And you

shut down that situation right there. James 4,

7, and 8 says, Submit yourselves therefore to

God, resist the devil. He will, not maybe, not

might, not possibly. He will flee from you. Revelation

12, 10. The accuser of our brethren is cast down,

which accused them before our God day and night.

Cast down. Removed from his little perch. Hello?

1 and 18 of Revelation. John said, I am he, as

he records it, that liveth and was dead. And

behold, I am alive and forevermore. Amen. And

have the keys. Of hell. And death. Colossians

2 .15 says. Having disarmed principalities and

powers. He made a open spoil. A public spectacle

of them. Triumphing over them. In it. You. Have

the upper hand in this situation. Because you

are not standing in your authority. You stand

in the blood -covered authority of Jesus Christ.

Amen? So you don't have to placate to him. You

don't have to entertain him. You look at him

with the authority of Christ and say, shut up.

And meditate on his words no more. Move yourself

on. You and I make more mountains out of molehills

than the devil has time to muster up mud. This

life is as simple as, this life of faith is as

simple as repent and move on. You've got to understand

there's always repercussions for sin. There'll

always be a kickback with sin. And if you've

done it, deal with it and move on. Don't whine

about it. Don't mope about it. Don't drag your

lip around about it. If you've done it, repent

and let's go on. The only reason we feel bad

is because the condemner of your soul ushers

into you condemnation. But there is therefore

now. It is written. There is therefore now no

condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

When the blood covers, the blood washes. And

when the blood washes, he purifies and cleanses.

Now, it would be wonderful if he would take the

repercussion for sin with it. But he doesn't.

I always equate it to like shooting a shotgun.

When you pull the trigger on a shotgun, you're

going to get kicked. How many has ever done that?

How many has never shot a shotgun? How many would

like to? I mean, it's okay. I know this woke

world out here wants to get in, but it's all

right. We may just set up a skeet day. And that

way, next time the pastor preaches about the

kick of sin, you'll say, I remember that. That

illustration I finally got. You know what you

do? You rub your shoulder and you move on. Because

I assure us. I'm putting me in. I started to

say you, but it's us. I assure us there's going

to be ample time for another mistake. All we

need is about two minutes to make another mistake.

But you know the good thing? It is written. That

if a man sins, he has an advocate with the Father,

Christ Jesus the righteous. If a man sins, if

we have an advocate with the Father, so shut

him up. You know that's the way he does when

you make mistakes. He just piles on. Then we

begin to believe that mess. Shut him up. Move

along. Amen? Does that rain? Thank you, Lord.

Everybody say that with us. Thank you, Lord.

We need to rain. He is a lion. He is a father

of every lies. And some of the lies he begins

to tell us is, first one he'll tell you is this.

Now you see, I don't have to worry about getting

past 12. You see why I wanted to go first. I

get my say in without you ready to go. The first

lie he's going to tell you is there's no harm.

There's no harm in it. Amen. Everybody else is

doing it. Just go ahead. There's no harm. That's

a lie. It won't hurt just once. The overdose

crack addict heard when his friends shamed him

into hitting the pipe the first time. And you

become an instant addict. Isn't that the devil?

One time. Everybody else is doing it here. We

have to know our limits, people. And yes, there's

harm in it. The harm is this. The wages of sin

is death. But the gift of God is eternal life.

And that eternal life is received through Jesus

Christ. Another lie. You know, one of the strongest

figures in Scripture was so easily deceived.

Samson. Samson, I mean, I haven't read of any

others that were any stronger than Samson. He

was so easily deceived. He couldn't withstand

the pressure. Pressure would get to him. You

remember in Judges when he's put the riddle out

at the wedding feast and his wife just, they

went to her and said, well, we got to know. Surely

you didn't just bring him here to take everything

we own. And so she went to leaning on him hard,

put the pressure to him. And because of that

pressure, he gave in. And that wasn't the only

time that that pressure got to him. Laying his

head in the lap of Delilah. Oh, just tell me.

Tell me your secret. What's your secret? What

is the secret to your strength? He held out about

like the time before, about as long as he could.

And the pressure. He said, I have taken a Nazarite

vow. No wine has crossed my lip and no razor

has touched my head. And the anointing of God.

Then he hears the alarm. Samson, the Philistines

are upon you. And he stirs himself. He awakens.

He said, I will stand and shake myself as times

before. But he shook and no anointing. There

is harm. Don't give in. Next lie, he's going

to tell you there's no hope. Some of you in here

may have actually heard this one lately. There's

no hope. Your situation is hopeless. And when

we hear no hope and hopeless, we begin to feel

helpless. But you are not helpless. Neither are

you hopeless. Amen. The hope you have is in God.

The liar against mankind attempts. and tries

to put this lie into the mind of all who believe

and trust in God. The psalmist said in 38, 16,

I am troubled. I am bowed down greatly. I go

mourning all the day long. 77 and 4, the psalmist

says, I am so troubled that I cannot speak. 2

Corinthians, Paul says, we are troubled on every

side. Looks like we're surrounded in no hope.

39 and 7, the psalmist says, and now, Lord, what

wait I for? My hope is in thee. Paul didn't just

leave the Corinthians in trouble in that 8th

verse and that 4th chapter. He said, yet not

distressed. We are perplexed. but not in despair.

Ooh. You feel hope beginning to rise. You feel

help beginning to show itself up. Persecuted,

but not forsaken. Right? Cast down, but not destroyed.

One of my favorite verses of the Minor Prophets

is in Micah 7 and 8. You've heard me quote it

many times and you'll hear it many more times

before the Lord's done with me. Rejoice not over

me, O mine enemy, when I fall, for I shall arise.

And when I sit in the dark places, Jehovah shall

be my light. And that's what, shut up. That's

what I'm saying. Devil, you better not stand

over me gloating when you're down. It's not that

you're never going to be knocked down, people,

because we're going to get knocked down. Isn't

that what the psalmist said? Oh, my soul, why

art thou cast down within me? Hope thou in God.

Amen. Hope in the power of his word. Why? Because

somehow, someway, the psalmist understood that

it was written. That psalm that everybody knows,

the shepherd's psalm. Have you ever just kind

of broken that down a little bit? It's been taught,

preached, I don't know how many different ways

from Sunday, a bunch. But to simplify it, it's

simply this. He leads me. He restores me. He

guides me. He comforts me. He anoints me. And

he keeps me. The Lord is my shepherd. Is he your

shepherd? Well, tell the devil, just shut up.

Shut him up. The Lord is on your side. The last

lie that he's going to tell you, there'll be

many others, but the last one I'll cover today

is he's going to tell you there's no reason for

your praise. What do you have to praise God for?

All the preacher wants you all to do is praise

and worship. What do you have to praise God over?

Doesn't he know all hell's breaking loose in

you, around you, and everything you touch? Don't

that preacher know that I've got you by the throat?

Don't he know that? Yeah, he knows. Yeah, he

knows. I know that. Why do you think I'm trying

to get you to praise your way out of your bondage?

Huh? Because, look here, you can't praise God

and remain bound by the hand of the enemy. A

child of God cannot bow himself in worship and

not expect God to show up. Are you starting to

get the correlation here? If I could just get

you to praise past the garbage that he's hammered

you with all week. If I could just get you to

sacrifice some praise. Amen. There's days that

it's a sacrifice. I know you've cried all week.

I know you've been in fear and shudder hiding

in a closet all week because the devil is out

to get you. I know that our adversary is as a

roaring lion and he goes about seeking whom he

may devour. But I also know the Lord is your

shepherd. And I know he leads you. And I know

he guides you. And I know he restores you. And

I know he comforts you. And I also know he anoints

you for the battle that you're looking at. When

you stand before your Goliath and he begins to

spew his poison, I also know that greater is

Christ in you than in a devil. in this world.

I know that. Yes, you're sick. Got folks sitting

in here been diagnosed with cancer. I don't care

what the doctors say. There's nothing insignificant

when they cast out the C word, Brother Randy.

No. You tell me that, we got problems. Yeah,

it may be curable. Yes, it may be in the right

point. It may be finding it at the right moment.

But you already told me I got that junk. Right?

So then you've got options. I'm just going to

toot his horn. He won't. So you have options.

Such a small place for it to be. And they go

take 13 little plugs out of it to test them all.

Where was he at? That happened on a Wednesday.

So where was he? About right here. For about

50 minutes. Teaching about the goodness of God.

Having faith in God. God being your strength.

Was he hurting? Sure he was. Right? We're going

to anoint him in just a minute. If God heals

him, we'll shout. If he doesn't, Brother Randy,

you know what we're going to do? We're going

to keep on shouting. We're going to shout anyway.

Well, that's easy for you to say, oh, is it really?

Is it? Is it? No, no, I beg to differ with you.

It's not easy. No. But it's beneficial. It's

beneficial to what? My victory. It's beneficial

to your victory. You give the devil more credit

than you should, people. And then so we walk

about in defeat. You do know it is written, there

is a sickness unto death. Unless the Lord comes

and changes us, we all going by the way of the

grave. Something going to get us. Now, I know

we don't like to talk about my pops, my dad.

He's about turning 86, and I reckon he's thinking

he's going to cheat death. I said, pops, we need

to go down and get arrangements made. I ain't

going down there. No business down there until

I have to go. I said, well, let's make it easy

on us. I don't care. That's just kind of the

way he feels about it. After about the third

time, now I say, Pop, you still got that money

put up for us to bury you? It's put up, son.

Okay. I wish you got enough to cover you up.

I say, do you want me to just cremate you? Now

look here. That's the way Mama says, Son, I have

lived my entire life since she was in her early

20s. To keep from burning. And so help me if

you burn me when I die. I said, Mom, it's cheaper.

Well, they don't care. I said, Mother, it doesn't

matter. You're going to dust just a little quicker.

Dust to dust. I give her all that stuff, but

she ain't have it. And we changed the subject

real quick. We're all going to go by the way

of the grave if the Lord doesn't come before

our time. Right? But here's the thing, folks.

We do not know our time. So that is the important

part of not allowing the enemy to dominate your

life. Yes, we're perplexed. Yes, we're troubled.

Right? But we're not distressed. Yes, we get

knocked down in life. We get cast down. But we're

not destroyed. Why? Because there's a line that

God puts on how far the devil can come against

you. It's called the bloodline. And when God

said no, that's it. No more. And in the process

of that time, you can put him to flight. Amen?

Until the Lord comes, he's going to depart. He'll

depart for a season. But then guess what? Like

a bad nickel. How many of you ever got a Canadian

quarter back in the day when you could get a

Coke for a quarter? It's a small crowd. I just

shrunk it down to a few of us. You found one

of them machines? And somehow in your change,

somebody gave you a Canadian quarter. And that's

the only quarter you had in your pocket. You

couldn't get a great knee high. It'd fall through

that thing like a dose of salsa with a woman.

And you're standing there pulling on that little

door. Some of you are like, what door? You push

the button, Pastor. No, no, the little door.

You had to jerk that thing out of quick. That's

where the devil is. He just falls out the bottom

and you put it back in your pocket and directly

he'll show back up. But there is a reprieve,

church. You can shut him up. You can shut him

up. Y 'all might already come on and do something,

I don't know what, but we're about to pray. Stand

with me all over the house. Friends of mine,

I call them friends. They like to razz me a little

bit because I'm longer winded than most all of

them. They said, well, if I preach that long,

my people would leave. I said, well, that's the

reason mine come. I don't know what your problem

is. Work on it's all I can say. Time to shut

the devil up. My heart has been moved for us.

All of us. Because I know, I know what the enemy

says to us. We know, we know all too well what

his voice says. Right? So it's a constant. Every

day I put him to flight. Every day. I know when

we get up in the morning what he's going to whisper

in my ear. Because the last thing I do every

night. Before my head slumbers to sleep, I'll

turn on my pillow and I'll put my hand right

here. Because he anoints our head. And so I pray

every day. Amen. That's what we do. And we praise

the Lord every day in spite of what's going on.

And I know if we can do it, I'm no super whooper

duper either. If we can do it in our dilemma,

in our situation, you can do it in yours. You

can. You can do like I do when I mess up. When

I'm tired and my temper gets short and I flare

a little bit. I repent to her and the Lord. So

if I can do it. You can do it. You can make it.

Shut him up. Life's not over. We're still here.

We're still here, devil. Until the Lord deems

it not so, you're still here. Well, I'm sick.

It is written, come to the elders of the church

and they'll anoint you with oil and the prayer

of faith shall heal the sick. Listen to this

one. And if you've committed any sins, they'll

be forgiven. Right? Are you weary? Here's what

the book says. It is written, come unto me all

you that labor and are heavy laden and I will

give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. It's easy.

I'll swap you. My grace for your burden. Who's

in a trading mode today? Come on down. Come on.

Who wants to trade? Who's ready to trade? Sister

Stella, why don't you come stand with Sister

Kathy for me if you could. Who's ready to swap?