29 Sermon Illustrations on Divine Power

Years ago, before we became conscious of ecology, tourists at Yosemite Park were treated to a nightly display that never failed to please the huge crowds that gathered to witness this demonstration. High over the valley floor, the park rangers would set a number of logs on fire and wait downstream near one of those marvelous precipitous waterfalls that grace that magnificent valley. When the hour of darkness had finally arrived, the sonorous voice of a park ranger would ring out from the valley floor: "Let the fire fall!" Then the moment would come which all had waited so patiently to witness; a hail of sparks and flames would appear as the waters carried the burning logs over the brink of the falls and down the steep descent of several hundred feet to the valley floor and the waiting stream. The crowd loved it. The fire fell along with the water. It appeared to happen as if it were solely at the command of one man with a booming and demanding voice-as if he had some special contact with heaven itself. If that is how it appeared to these campers in Yosemite Park, how must if have appeared to those somewhat skeptical Israelite fence-sitters who refused to adopt whole-heartedly Yahweh or Baal as their God? For just as surely as the park ranger called, "Let the fire fall," so this rustic from the backwoods area of Israel called to the living God. He did not rig his demonstration-this was the real thing. It was so real it was terrifying. Anything that would eat up rocks, dust, water, animals, and all has got to be some sort of supernatural display. Accordingly, God gives us three "demonstrations" of His power in 1 Kings 18. He demontrates His power through his messenger Elijah in verses 1-20; in His actions by sending fire to burn the sacrifice (verses 21-40); and in His answers to prayer when he relieves the drought in verses 41-46. Where God Ain't He was just a little lad, And on the week's first day, Was wandering home from Sunday School, And dawdling along the way. He scuffed his shoes into the grass; He found a caterpillar; He found a fluffy milkweed pod, And flew out all the filler. A bird's nest in a tree o'head So wisely placed and high, Was just another wonder That caught his eager eye. A neighbor watched his zigzag course, And hailed him from the lawn; Asked him where he'd been that day, And what was going on. "Oh, I've been to Sunday School. (He carefully turned a sod And found a snail beneath it); I've learned a lot about God." "M'm'm, a very fine way," the neighbor said, "For a boy to spend his time; If you'll tell me where God is, I'll give you a brand new dime." Quick as a flash his answer came! Nor were his accents faint- "I'll give you a dollar, Mister, If you tell me where God ain't."

In an English dock-yard, a great ship was to be launched. An immense multitude assembled to see it glide down the slides that were to carry it into the water. The blocks and wedges were knocked away; but the massive hull did not stir, and there was disappointment. Just then, a little boy ran forward, and began to push the ship with all his might. The crowd broke out into a laugh of ridicule: but it so happened that the vessel was almost ready to move; the few pounds pushed by the lad were only needed to start it, and away it went into the water.

Pompey boasted, that, with one stamp of his foot, he could rouse all Italy to arms; but God, by one word of his mouth, can summon the inhabitants of heaven, earth, and the undiscovered worlds, to his aid, or bring new creatures into being to do his will.

"Now, when the Empress Helena, the mother of Constantine, heard of his conversion to Christianity, she reproached him, and told him it would have been better for him to have followed the God of the Jews than the God of the Christians (for Helena at this time inclined to Judaism). And Constantine wrote to her, that she should bring with her the wisest of the Jewish rabbis, and that they should hold an argument with Sylvester. So she repaired to Rome, bringing with her one hundred and forty of the doctors most learned in the law; and the emperor appointed a day on which to listen to them. He named as arbitrators two famous Greek philosophers, Crato and Zeno; and it was wisely decreed beforehand, that only one should speak at a time, and all the others should keep silence till he had finished. And Sylvester, being inspired by the Holy Ghost, clearly convicted these men out of the Scriptures, and put them to silence. Then the most learned among the doctors, who was also a magician, defied Sylvester to a trial of the power of his God, and said to him with scorn, 'Dost thou know the name of the Omnipotent,—that name which no creature can hear and live? I know it. Let them bring me a wild bull, the fiercest that can be found; and, when I have uttered that name in his ear, he will fall dead.' Then they brought in a fierce bull, which it required a hundred men to restrain. And when Zambri the magician had whispered that terrible name in his ear, he rolled his eyes, and fell dead to the ground. Then the Jews cried out aloud, and threw themselves with fury upon Sylvester. The two philosophers were struck dumb; and even Constantine was staggered. But Sylvester said calmly, 'The name which he has pronounced cannot be that of God, but of Satan; for Christ, who is our Redeemer, does not strike dead the living, but restores life to the dead. The power to kill belongs equally to men and to wild beasts: lions, tigers, serpents, can destroy life. Let Zambri restore with a word the creature he has slain; as it is written, "I will kill, I will make alive."' Therefore the judges desired Zambri to restore the bull to life; but he could not do it. Then Sylvester made the sign of the cross, and commanded the bull to rise and go in peace. And the bull rose up as tame and as gentle as if he had been in the yoke from the hour of his birth. Then the Jews and the doctors, and all others present, being confounded by this miracle, believed and were baptized."

God has power to raise up men in unlikely places and fit them for the work he designs them for. Can use one man to arrest downward movement of a nation and with no weapon but the Word and prayer marvelously provides for them in times of sore testing

Our royal Leader has hidden forces at His command. Sir Walter Scott speaks of the Highland chieftain, in the lone glen, who gave his whistle shrill, and straightway an army arose, where none had been seen before:—

What unused energy still awaits utilization by man is indicated in the following calculation:

The tremendous amount of energy received from the sun may be illustrated in another way. Ordinary steam-engines, whether for railroad or factory use, are rated by their horse-power; a hundred-horse-power engine will drive a small steamer or operate a mill of some two hundred and fifty looms. Now, thirty calories of heat per minute, if completely utilized, would produce 2.8 horse-power. Neglecting atmospheric absorption, therefore, each square meter of the earth’s surface receives from the sun, when directly overhead, sufficient energy to run a 2.8 horse-power engine; or one horse-power is received for every four square feet of surface. The absorption of the air cuts this down about forty per cent, so that on a clear day at sea-level, with the sun directly overhead, sufficient energy to produce one horse-power is received on each six and a half square feet of surface.--CHARLES LANE POOR, “The Solar System.”

Material forces called battleships bulk larger, but the invisible spiritual forces go farther, last longer and make cannon seem contemptible and paltry. In cold countries men sometimes build palaces of ice for some public function. In the hour when beautiful women and brilliant military bands assemble for a winter festival, the water, manifest in blocks of ice, seems very imposing. But would you know the real power of water, wait until it becomes invisible. Then lift your eyes to the western sunset, where colors of gold and rose are revealed by this invisible vapor; watch the rain-drop redden in the purple flow of grape and the crimson drops of pomegranate, or see it tossed by a harvester in sheaves of grain. Then, in what water does through its invisible workings, do we know its place in nature and its contributions to man’s happiness. (Text.)

— N. D. HILLIS

You remember the masonry in Prospect Park (Brooklyn), built to hold that huge bank in its place? Well, when that solid wall was completed, a hidden spring broke out, and the walls moved and cracked. Pulling the masonry down a second time, it was again rebuilt. This time a little drain tube and faucet were put in. But the mouth became stopt up, and a second time the pressure of the hidden waters moved the wall. Then another tube and pipe were put through the wall. What was the power that put such immeasurable pressure upon masonry and moved it? It was the hidden water--silently, steadily, irresistibly, crowding all before it. To-day the hidden waters may manifest themselves through one tube, and to-morrow they may gush through another tube, but the power is in the water and the reservoir behind it, and not in the tube through which it appears. And that power that lifted the Hebrew slaves and swept them forward and buoyed them up, now revealed itself through the lips of Moses, and now speaks through the life of Joshua, transforming the people, is not in Moses, nor in Joshua, it is in God.

— N. D. HILLIS

[Illustration: _Copyright, Funk & Wagnalls Company._]

WEED DESTROYER

Man’s enemies are not by any means confined to those he meets in his daily work. He has soul enemies which he has to reckon with constantly. Just as sure as the farmer can depend on a certain preparation to kill weeds, so can man depend upon a higher power to keep down and destroy our open and secret sins.

There is no dispute that we must meet the weed question with a certainty of success and at the same time it must be done in a very economical manner. In addition to what we may do with our cultivators and weeders and the growing of such crops as rye and winter wheat, by which we can destroy a certain class of weeds before they mature seed, we can also add that there is a system of weed destruction which is found in spraying. This is a matter which has come to the knowledge of men during the past few years. I learn from my reading that the first step in this direction was taken by a party in France. From that beginning it was taken up by men here in America, and it has now assumed a very practical form. The first spray was copper sulfate, or blue-stone, but this would be somewhat difficult to obtain. The present material which is largely used is a by-product turned out by the steel-mills. This is called sulfate of iron. This by product has been thrown away, but now it can be used for the destruction of weeds by making a solution of it and spraying fields that are infested with a certain class of weeds.--O. C. GREGG, _The Northwestern Agriculturist_.

A well-known minister of Austin, Texas, retells a story which was related to him by a friend living in Lawrence, Massachusetts:

“He raised a dog, crossed with hound and pointer, and littered in Lawrence. When a year old he took the young dog to Boston, got on board of a sailing-vessel, went by sea and river to Bangor, Maine, drove forty miles into the woods at Cleveland’s Camp and hunted there two weeks, the dog proving to be a great success for quick, fast runs and returns to camp.

“After the hunting was over and while on his back trip to Bangor, the dog jumped from the wagon into the bushes, having heard or smelled a deer, and went off on a hot chase. The boats ran only once in two weeks, so that, much as he valued the dog, it was necessary to go on. He took the boat at Bangor, returned by river and sea to Boston and back to Lawrence. About two weeks afterward the dog crawled into his yard, footsore and half-starved, but safe at home and glad to get back.” (Text.)--_Harper’s Weekly._

The use of powerful electromagnets for lifting pieces of iron in foundries is increasing. In _The American Machinist_, E. F. Lake gives some particulars of recent applications of electromagnetism to lifting, and discusses the economies effected thereby. He says:

“At the West Allis works of the Allis-Chalmers Company, lifting magnets are prest into service for saving the small pieces and even minute particles of iron and steel which have heretofore been allowed to go to waste without thought of the possibility of recovery.

“This is done periodically by hitching the magnets to traveling-cranes and allowing them to sweep over every inch of ground area, both in and around the works. It is a never-failing source of wonder to the shops’ management how much lost metal the magnets can find.” (Text.)

The effect of rotation in changing the shape of plastic bodies can readily be shown in simple experiments. A light metal ring is mounted on a vertical axis about which it can be rotated with great rapidity. When the ring is at rest it is circular in shape, but when it is rotated it becomes flattened along the axis, bulging out at what we may call the equator. The faster the ring is rotated the greater and greater becomes its departure from circular shape.--CHARLES LANE POOR, “The Solar System.”

There is nothing absolutely stable in the universe. From the ultimate eon to the largest world in space everything is moving. If we believe in progress we shall say that everything is moving on. If anything should actually stop it would be instantly destroyed. If a man could go to the top of a high tower, or a mountain, and there could come to absolute rest, the atmosphere of our earth, light as it seems, but traveling about nineteen miles in a second, would by its friction probably reduce him in a second to a patch of flame and dissipate him as a fiery gas in every direction.

So, if in our life progress we should try to stop and live in a dead past, or turn back to old conditions, the world’s rush of progress would leave us behind, or its frictions would wear our spirits out.

God is eternally radiating His life into the universe as the sun from its glowing center rays forth heat:

The most recent estimates place the effective temperature of the sun’s radiating surface at about 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

This vast globe of gases and vapors is radiating heat into space, is cooling off. The intensely heated particles of the interior rise to the surface, give off their heat, and sink back again, just as do the bubbles of steam in a kettle of boiling water. This circulation from within outward takes place over the whole of the sun and, as a rule, it proceeds steadily and quietly, without any marked disturbance.--CHARLES LANE POOR, “The Solar System.”