More About the Type of Christian the World Needs
(Sermon Outline)
1) The first thing that Jesus said in the gospel of John is a question we all need to answer, “What do you seek.”
a) Deeply connected to this question is the idea of dreams and visions, especially those inspired by the Holy Spirit and guided by the Word of God.
b) The goal is the kingdom of God – the Lord’s prayer.
c) Receiving and becoming a revelation of Jesus Christ.
d) The power of stories and imagination in the direction of our life – bad stories obscure the image of God and the destiny He has on our lives.
e) Here is a worthy vision the creates the type of Christians the world needs:
f) Revelation 12:10–11 (NKJV) — 10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
g) The fear of death
h) An interesting Scripture: Revelation 21:5–8 (NKJV) — 5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” 6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
2) An unashamed plug for Life Group – A story from the life of Jesus that highlights the these ideas.
a) John 2:13–22 (NKJV) — 13 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. 15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. 16 And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” 17 Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.” 18 So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?” 19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22 Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.
3) Becoming a courageous Christian
a) 1 Samuel 17:37 (NKJV) — 37 Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”
i) A life of worship
ii) A history with God
iii) All believers have the same testimony as David, we just need to remember.
4) The goal of raising up Sons of God
a) People who are strong in the Lord and the power of His might.
b) Breaking people out of the things that hold them back.
c) Stephanie is studying counseling and mentioned that one of the goals is to empower people to live well rather than to create dependency.
d) The only dependency is a bold dependency on the character, nature, faithfulness of God and our relationship with him.
e) Courage is a fruit of the life of Christ in the soul of man.
f) Knowing what the kingdom and what a Christian looks like is critical to becoming and discerning. It sets the trajectory of our lives.
g) How do we know in context? By wresting with God.
5) We need courage
a) Courage to break out of our comfort zones and activate the ministry God has given each of us.
b) Courage to change and to grow
c) Courage to take responsibility
d) Courage to build relationships
e) Courage to trust
f) Courage to apologize
g) Courage to forgive
h) Courage to stand on convictions and share the truth in love.
i) Courage to share Christ, the one conviction we can proclaim absolutely.
j)
6) The type of courageous Christians God is looking for today
a) An example from Noah and Abraham.. “God does not deal despotically with His creatures.” If He sought no more than mindless submission to the divine will, He would have created robots, machines, or genetically programmed people who responded automatically to commands as dogs to Pavlov’s bell. God wants us to be mature, deliberative, to do His will because we understand or because we trust Him when we do not understand. He seeks from us something other and greater than obedience, namely responsibility. Noah’s end – drunk, disheveled, an embarrassment to his children – eloquently tells us that if you save yourself while doing nothing to save the world, you do not even save yourself…When it comes to rebuilding the ruins of catastrophe, you do not wait for permission. You take the risk and walk ahead. Faith is more than obedience. It is the courage to create.[1]
b) He was only concerned about escaping the old world but did not engage in creating a new one.
c) The type of Christians the world needs!
[1] Sacks, Jonathan. Genesis: The Book of Beginnings (Covenant & Conversation 1) (p. 48). Kindle Edition.
Transcription
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Right please
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Yeah thank you I think that this is full service
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Good morning Again
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I always prefer to begin with prayer
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because we need to meet Jesus That’s all that really matters If he shows up our lives are changed If he doesn’t show
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up
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I usually wouldn’t want to be at church either You know because we come to meet with Him
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and he is the one that really matters So Lord we just come before you
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and we just ask God that you would visit each and every one of us Lord that your spirit would touch our hearts that we would have a revelation of Jesus that our lives would be transformed to become more like Him who gave his life for us that we would love others as you have loved us and that you would cause us to be the light that you’ve called us to be
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And Lord you have given so many prophetic words over this church over many decades Lord God and we just ask God that we would begin to see all of those words that you have spoke and come to pass through this body of believers Lord
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in Jesus name
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Amen
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Today’s message is called more about the type of Christians the world needs
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You’ll also notice I’m not a great salesman I someday if I trained with Pastor Mike then maybe I’ll learn more about sales So I’m going to be explicit There are little tiny sneaky plugs and sometimes not so tiny giant plugs for life groups on Wednesday night in the message So the very first plug is that in the gospel of John the first thing Jesus said the very first recorded thing that Jesus said was what do you seek
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And that question is such an important question that every one of us has to answer What are you seeking Because we’re all constantly seeking something
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But if you think about that a little bit seeking also is connected to dreams and visions The Holy Spirit will give us dreams and visions
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depending upon our age And I’m not quite sure where the cut off is but we’ll have dreams and visions
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But if you think about a dream and a vision it all has to do with destination doesn’t it It has to do with motivation it has to do with what am I seeking What am I dreaming about What do I envision What do I want to see come to pass So dreams and visions especially those inspired by the Holy Spirit and informed by God’s word are really important to have
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one of the problems I believe in the body of Christ is when we quit dreaming dreams and having visions then we get stuck in their routine and we no longer go anywhere
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Does that make sense
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When our if our vision is just business as usual we’re not going anywhere And sometimes the dreams when you get down to a practical level for many ministers is I want to have a big name a big reputation a big church whatever right And there’s nothing wrong with all of that If it is for the glory of God and that Christ is being glorified and he’s being lifted up it’s not wrong for those things to happen
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But what you actually find is when people are committed to the kingdom of God
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rather than my kingdom or your kingdom When we’re committed to seeing the world reconciled to the Father it brings an instant unity an instant trust an instant cooperation among people because it’s all about Jesus and Jesus being lifted up and Jesus being glorified And when that is the heart and center of the dream and the vision that is in the heart of the people
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then then if God is using somebody powerfully you don’t get jealous You say praise the Lord Our team is winning
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right If God is using somebody else or somebody else has a gift that is really incredible and is touching many people’s lives You go praise the Lord Hallelujah Jesus you’re winning
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and that’s the kind of unity that we that I pray that the Lord would bring into our church and that it would stay in our church and never leave our church It’s all about Him
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because we need to see what God’s word says every member doing their part causing the growth of the body in love And if people are being used by God in powerful ways all we can say is praise the Lord He is good
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But a lot of dreams and visions is really ultimately about receiving a revelation of Jesus Christ and becoming like Him
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It’s about becoming
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and and what I know about scripture is that it is filled with stories wonderful good stories that inspire dreams and visions
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And I would just say that we are always feeding ourselves on stories whether we realize it or not there’s always little stories going on in our head whether we acknowledge it or not sometimes good stories sometimes bad stories
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your story could be wow God is so good and he’s so wonderful and he loves me so much that he sent his son to die for me And God is at work and the people of God and there’s hope for this world because Jesus has been crucified or maybe my story that’s going through my head is God doesn’t love
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me Why doesn’t God care for me God doesn’t answer my prayers or do
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you see what I’m saying That the stories that are going on on our minds and the stories that we hear and the stories that we listen to
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are deeply connected to the dreams and visions and
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what we seek and where we’re going and what we’re becoming Right
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So that being said
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I thought it would be worth
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reading a passage or maybe a bunch of passages of scripture
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that helps us develop
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a dream and a vision
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of the type of Christians this world
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needs
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So we’re gonna start in revelation 12 10 to 11 And and there’s so many things I love about scripture
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And so
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sometimes if you’re not looking at the scripture I just my temptation gets the best of me Then I heard a soft voice say
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no
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it says then I heard a loud voice say in heaven Isn’t that exciting A loud voice says in heaven
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now salvation and strength in the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ has come
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They’re saying it with a loud voice because it’s exciting great news Now salvation in the kingdom of our Christ has come
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But then it says it goes on and says something more for the accuser of our brethren
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has been cast down
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who accuse them before God day and night
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I mean isn’t that awesome And there’s a deep connection here
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Hallelujah praise God The Kingdom of God is manifested Salvation is being manifested is connected with the accuser of the brethren being cast down
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And really understanding that title of the devil is so important
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because accusations
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so mistrust accusations cut out life accusations kill steal and destroy And we have to become wise and discerning to understand the ministry of accusations So we avoid it
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Does that make sense Because it comes in so many different sneaky ways that creates an accusation that robs life and disconnects and separates unity from people
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It’s powerful stuff isn’t it I mean you see it at so many levels Oh God has given me a gift of discernment You stink
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That’s not the gift of discernment That’s the ministry of accusation How do I know the fruit of it If it was a ministry from the Lord It creates a broken heart of compassion and concern and boldness to set people free right And but it’s sneaky how these things get in through self righteousness
Speaker#2:
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right Because really that’s insecurity We put other people down to feel better about ourselves We we often feel like we have we’re spiritual and they’re not spiritual and they’re stinking it up really bad but I’m really good because I’m telling them how much
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they stink
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And then he says
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and then we we don’t realize that we’re saying I thank you God that I’m not like the sinner over here who’s over there going oh God have mercy
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on me a sinner
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and we don’t realize it
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but we find ourselves
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standing on the wrong side of God
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The ministry of accusation Lord give us wisdom and understanding to avoid it at all costs But I love this the accuser of the brethren who accuses him day and night That means there’s accusations coming against you day and night And if you tune into them they’ll kill you
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If you tune into that channel it will rob you of life it will speak lies to you
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And I look at that scripture
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a little more because it’s so interesting
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because then it talks about the type
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of Christians this world needs See
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at one point you see when you read revelation you often start with thinking in the end right But if you look at the passages closely a lot of the passages do not allow you to say in the end
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But it’s talking about a potential
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experience in present time
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and they overcame him
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It’s these over
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commers that this world
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is waiting for They overcame the devil the accuser of the brethren they overcame him by the blood of the lamb
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and by the word of their testimony
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and they did not love their lives so much to shrink from death
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We need
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these kind of Christians to arise today But today our focus is really only going to be on They did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death
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The fear of death
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The fear of death is what Robs the church from having radical impact in the world today
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The fear of death is what Robs people of their ministry of their calling of their anointing of their fruitfulness their fear their fear of being rejected their fear of being slandered their fear of being accused
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there a fear of it being worthless The fear of death is not just the fear of physically dying
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It’s the fear of the unknown the fear of insecurity the fear of lack of provision It’s a multitude of fears is fearing death
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Most of the cataclysmic language of prophets in the Old Testament when it talks about the sun shall be darkened and the moon turned to blood or all these great cataclysmic things in the old prophets When you read them closely they’re usually talking about the destruction of a little nation
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What what are you talking about It’s because for those people it’s like the end of the world
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it’s a form of death and it’s the fear of death that binds so many people up But the kind of Christians this world needs is a Christian that is not afraid of death They’re not afraid of being misunderstood They’re not afraid of people lashing out they’re not afraid to step out of their comfort zone They’re not afraid they’re not ashamed
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because they’ve received
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the life of Jesus Christ and it’s changed them from the inside out I’m getting
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way ahead of myself because the first thing is what are the what is the type of Christian the world needs But then the next question that falls on the heels of that is how do
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we become that Right
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Because if we look at this more and more so I am getting way ahead of myself If that happens the more we look at it the more we realize we need him
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we need his presence we need his the Holy Spirit We need
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power from on high
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but it’s available to us and we can have it
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It’s that simple It’s not our human will It’s not our human strength It’s not our carnal ability that prevails It’s his life in us There’s no other way
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Another interesting scripture that ties into the part that I wanna focus on today is revelation 21 5 through eight Then he who sat on the throne said behold I make all things new
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And he said to me right For these words are true and faithful And he said to me it is done I am the alpha and the omega the beginning and the end I will give the fountain of
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water of life freely to him who thirsts
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wonderful Isn’t it wonderful
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Wonderful
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promises from God
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He who overcomes
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shall inherit all things Whoa whoa whoa whoa wait a minute
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She would Jesus
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You were giving me all these good things and now you’re putting a little
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sneaky word in there
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What do you mean I give
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you all things I make all things
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new He who overcomes
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But it’s only for those
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who overcome
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because you can be overcome
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or you can be an overcomer And so many Christians are being overcome and they don’t understand
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that the life of the overcomer lives in us And until that life of the overcomer
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takes possession of us in a sense we are overcome When we’re listening to the wrong voices we are overcome But when we submit to him and his life is manifested in us we overcome
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He who overcomes shall inherit all things and I will be his God and he shall be my son I mean these promises are awesome but he ties it with overcoming in a Christianity that doesn’t speak that we need to overcome through many trials and tribulations we will enter the kingdom that doesn’t prepare people for a war for a battle
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And I don’t just mean because what’s happening culturally in America I mean throughout all ages the Christian life has been a life of
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warfare
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against the flesh the devil and a sinful world
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And the closer we come to Christ the more that warfare is because the things of this world and the things of darkness
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do not want that light to prevail
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And we have the incredible privilege
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an opportunity
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to be over commers
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We all can be over commers We are all called to be many are called few are chosen We are all called to
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be over commers
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But the unbelieving abominable murders sexually immoral sorcerers and idolaters and all liars Shall have their part in the lake of fire which burns with brimstone which is the second
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death
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And I just broke
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the warning of the Book
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of Revelation because I took away from God’s Word
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because all those things I just said make total sense don’t they Oh yeah All those people aren’t going to get baked to the heaven because they cause pain and suffering in eternity Nothing that can cause pain and suffering and can harm others will be
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allowed to abide
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in heaven
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and in the new creation
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But I really twisted God’s
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word a little bit because I left
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out the very first thing
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cowards
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00:17:29.01 – 00:17:30.68
but cowards
Speaker#1:
00:17:31.369 – 00:17:34.15
will have their place in the lake of fire
Speaker#1:
00:17:36.819 – 00:17:39.079
Isn’t that a big wow cowards
Speaker#2:
00:17:39.63 – 00:17:48.829
I mean you don’t really think of cowards as the worst kind of center and yet it’s the first one listed Now I’ll tell you I believe that these are fruits
Speaker#2:
00:17:49.3 – 00:18:06.91
Does that make sense It’s not to be hypocritically judgmental It’s fruit the fruit of Christ in our life creates the opposite of that list We become not that because of what he has done for us on the cross and the power of his grace and spirit in our life
Speaker#2:
00:18:07.9 – 00:18:15.92
Does that make sense It’s not to be hypocritically judgmental but it’s showing you that all of these things are things that Christ saves us from
Speaker#2:
00:18:17.03 – 00:18:24.089
And if we really have the spirit of Christ if we really have the Holy spirit There’s no cowardice in the Holy Ghost
Speaker#2:
00:18:25.199 – 00:18:44.54
But that word cowardice is so important because it ties in to you know the gospel was very much about to those who dwelt in darkness and under the shadow of death who all And then it talks about who all their lives were subject to bondage through the fear of death
Speaker#2:
00:18:45.989 – 00:18:47.719
It takes courage
Speaker#2:
00:18:49.03 – 00:18:50.969
to live the Christian life
Speaker#2:
00:18:51.75 – 00:18:52.949
but that courage comes
Speaker#1:
00:18:52.959 – 00:18:54.77
by God’s grace and Holy Spirit
Speaker#1:
00:18:58.91 – 00:19:02.329
So here is my unashamed major plug for the life group
Speaker#2:
00:19:03.26 – 00:19:19.04
I just I knew that I had this in my heart to preach on Sunday And then on Wednesday because I I prefer not to look at the Bible study before we do the Bible study because I’m always so excited to figure out what’s gonna come through the body when we’re doing Bible study Does that make sense
Speaker#2:
00:19:20.329 – 00:19:24.449
And so we read a story that just blew me away
Speaker#2:
00:19:25.13 – 00:19:35.76
I couldn’t believe it And so I’m gonna read it now John 2 13 through 22 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand and Jesus went up to Jerusalem
Speaker#2:
00:19:36.77 – 00:19:41.65
Now the even every clause in scripture is so important none of it is
Speaker#2:
00:19:42.42 – 00:19:52.819
unimportant So Jesus Jesus had a plan He knew what he was going to do and he waited until there was a giant crowd there for the Passover
Speaker#2:
00:19:53.339 – 00:19:56.599
I don’t want to do it when there’s a few people I want millions there
Speaker#2:
00:19:57.66 – 00:19:58.959
And then it says that
Speaker#2:
00:19:59.5 – 00:20:07.01
then he found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves and the money changers doing business
Speaker#2:
00:20:08.13 – 00:20:23.859
But that doesn’t mean I mean if you read it in English it kind of sounds like he went up to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover like any good Jew And like oh my gosh what a surprise There’s people money changers here No they he already knew they were there They had been there for a long time
Speaker#2:
00:20:24.829 – 00:20:48.92
As a matter of fact it’s very interesting because where they were was what is called the court of the Gentiles And it was a place that was made because all of this was a shadow of what was to come in Christ And it was meant to teach people what God’s heart is and what God wanted in that area was a place that taught the people of God You’re not the only ones
Speaker#2:
00:20:49.75 – 00:20:52.489
This is the cord of the gentiles
Speaker#2:
00:20:53.42 – 00:21:05.8
But the thing is is that Israel that was meant to be a priest to the nations That was meant to be a light to the nations never was able to reach the Nations So the court of the gentiles was always empty
Speaker#2:
00:21:07.709 – 00:21:10.739
Well what are we going to do with all this unused real estate
Speaker#2:
00:21:11.829 – 00:21:12.829
Right
Speaker#2:
00:21:13.569 – 00:21:26.16
Well I got a good idea because people come from all over to celebrate the Passover you know and it’s they can’t really bring their livestock from very far So we’re gonna provide a good and a service for them
Speaker#2:
00:21:27.209 – 00:21:30.189
What are you going to do We’ll let them purchase what they need
Speaker#1:
00:21:30.199 – 00:21:31.689
for the sacrifices here
Speaker#2:
00:21:32.109 – 00:21:36.949
Great Oh and it turns out that they also have different forms of courtesy
Speaker#1:
00:21:36.959 – 00:21:37.719
Great
Speaker#2:
00:21:38.18 – 00:21:45.199
But then what was not so great on top of it was that they were charging crazy rates and
Speaker#1:
00:21:45.209 – 00:21:47.03
fleecing the people from it
Speaker#1:
00:21:47.869 – 00:21:49.349
ripping them off
Speaker#2:
00:21:50.14 – 00:21:52.04
But you have to see the bigger problem
Speaker#1:
00:21:52.05 – 00:21:53.119
was that they
Speaker#2:
00:21:53.13 – 00:21:53.77
had
Speaker#1:
00:21:54.06 – 00:21:58.599
eliminated the image or the dream or the vision
Speaker#1:
00:21:59.31 – 00:22:00.949
that was meant to proclaim
Speaker#2:
00:22:01.329 – 00:22:03.209
and cause sorrow in their heart
Speaker#1:
00:22:03.219 – 00:22:06.469
This is meant to mean the gentiles are coming in
Speaker#1:
00:22:07.719 – 00:22:08.9
You see how how
Speaker#2:
00:22:08.91 – 00:22:09.54
deeply
Speaker#1:
00:22:09.55 – 00:22:11.03
significant that is
Speaker#1:
00:22:11.88 – 00:22:17.359
We’ve eliminated that whole message of God’s temple or of God’s word
Speaker#1:
00:22:17.88 – 00:22:18.959
by doing this
Speaker#2:
00:22:19.199 – 00:22:27.93
But the people year by year would flock to Jerusalem for the Passover because they were they were faithful Jews But they all knew that this was
Speaker#1:
00:22:27.939 – 00:22:30.459
corrupt behavior and yet
Speaker#2:
00:22:30.469 – 00:22:37.66
nobody nobody did anything about it Nobody nobody stood up against it What can we do It’s the powers that
Speaker#1:
00:22:37.67 – 00:22:38.319
be
Speaker#1:
00:22:38.839 – 00:22:43.14
and they are powerful and they are dangerous
Speaker#2:
00:22:43.79 – 00:22:44.359
right
Speaker#2:
00:22:47.38 – 00:22:49.66
And then it says then when he had made
Speaker#1:
00:22:49.67 – 00:22:50.329
a whip of
Speaker#2:
00:22:50.339 – 00:22:51.3
cords
Speaker#2:
00:22:51.93 – 00:22:54.479
in other words Jesus
Speaker#2:
00:22:55.28 – 00:22:56.38
did I read it wrong
Speaker#2:
00:22:57.589 – 00:22:58.239
What’s that
Speaker#2:
00:22:59.869 – 00:23:08.839
Oh Yeah Yeah Jesus make him out Yeah that’s a really good point there Chuck that a lot of times we have images of Jesus that are not according to scripture
Speaker#2:
00:23:09.439 – 00:23:11.29
And the more we feed on scripture we
Speaker#1:
00:23:11.3 – 00:23:13.52
see all of who he is
Speaker#1:
00:23:14.06 – 00:23:17.219
to be conformed into his image But when he had made
Speaker#2:
00:23:17.229 – 00:23:21.939
a whip of chords that means you don’t just make a whip of chords in 20 seconds
Speaker#2:
00:23:22.66 – 00:23:26.79
he literally was doing a prophetic gesture He was kind
Speaker#1:
00:23:26.8 – 00:23:29.829
of giving them a warning He was giving them time to repent
Speaker#1:
00:23:30.369 – 00:23:31.369
in a sense
Speaker#2:
00:23:31.38 – 00:23:34.31
Right He sat and made a whip of cord
Speaker#1:
00:23:34.319 – 00:23:39.189
So he wasn’t just irate and flying off the hook suddenly because you saw these people
Speaker#2:
00:23:39.199 – 00:23:40.359
doing bad
Speaker#1:
00:23:41.0 – 00:23:47.719
No he knew exactly what he was doing and he did it intentionally patiently
Speaker#1:
00:23:48.56 – 00:23:49.839
like a surgeon
Speaker#2:
00:23:51.06 – 00:24:01.88
When he made a whip of cords he drove them all out of the temple with the sheep in the oxen and poured out the changers money and overturned their tables
Speaker#2:
00:24:03.67 – 00:24:10.91
I mean think of this They’ve got their temple guard they’re the wealthy they’re the powerful and this guy makes a whip of cords
Speaker#1:
00:24:12.56 – 00:24:16.569
man No man That that that hurts too much We’re out of here and he’s
Speaker#2:
00:24:16.579 – 00:24:24.689
throwing out their money everywhere and overturning their tables I mean do you think that might get you in trouble
Speaker#2:
00:24:25.38 – 00:24:28.3
Could there be a little fear of death here
Speaker#1:
00:24:28.849 – 00:24:29.739
Right
Speaker#1:
00:24:30.729 – 00:24:33.599
Don’t you know that is a foolish thing to do Jesus
Speaker#2:
00:24:33.609 – 00:24:38.4
You’re gonna get you end your ministry right now because you have just poked the
Speaker#1:
00:24:38.41 – 00:24:40.349
bear Right
Speaker#2:
00:24:40.979 – 00:24:49.17
I mean he’s like I’m not done poking the bear either Because he didn’t just do that Then he went on and he said he said to those who sold doves
Speaker#2:
00:24:50.18 – 00:25:00.319
take these things away do not make my father’s house a house of merchandise Then his disciples remembered that it was written zeal for your house has eaten
Speaker#1:
00:25:00.329 – 00:25:01.16
me up
Speaker#2:
00:25:02.199 – 00:25:06.14
Now the Jews now they’re like ok now we’ve regrouped after we were just
Speaker#1:
00:25:06.15 – 00:25:08.28
taken off guard and we’re shocked totally
Speaker#1:
00:25:08.8 – 00:25:09.829
And they said
Speaker#2:
00:25:10.949 – 00:25:13.709
what sign do you do
Speaker#2:
00:25:14.619 – 00:25:17.439
Can you show us since you do these things
Speaker#2:
00:25:18.349 – 00:25:22.089
So the Jews are ready to start their counter attack
Speaker#2:
00:25:23.189 – 00:25:33.03
And so they put him on the spot Basically What by what authority are you doing What sign do you have to show that Guarantee you the authority to do these things
Speaker#2:
00:25:34.91 – 00:25:36.839
You want a sign I’ll give you a sign
Speaker#2:
00:25:38.01 – 00:25:40.16
and you’re going to play a role in this sign
Speaker#2:
00:25:40.959 – 00:25:53.03
You go and destroy this temple and I will raise it up in three days That’s what they heard He said you want to sign I’ll give you a sign you go destroy this temple and I’ll raise it up in three days
Speaker#2:
00:25:54.229 – 00:26:02.55
because that’s the literal what they heard from the mouth of Jesus I’ll read it to you He says um
Speaker#2:
00:26:05.55 – 00:26:17.25
destroy this temple and in three days I’ll raise it up and the Jews because this this is how they understood it It has taken 46 years to build this temple and you will raise it up in three days
Speaker#2:
00:26:17.869 – 00:26:21.68
Heck no we’re not going to destroy this temple right
Speaker#2:
00:26:22.609 – 00:26:31.089
But he was really getting at the heart of their identity the heart of their security the heart even of their rebellion against God
Speaker#2:
00:26:32.53 – 00:26:33.729
Isn’t that interesting
Speaker#2:
00:26:34.75 – 00:26:39.64
But Jesus the the the depth of the of what Jesus does is so amazing
Speaker#2:
00:26:40.93 – 00:26:46.189
But he was speaking of the temple of his body Therefore when he had risen from the dead
Speaker#2:
00:26:47.599 – 00:26:52.54
his disciples remembered that he said this to them and they believed the scriptures
Speaker#1:
00:26:52.55 – 00:26:54.209
and the word that Jesus has said
Speaker#1:
00:26:55.18 – 00:26:55.81
I mean the
Speaker#2:
00:26:55.819 – 00:27:03.689
layers and the beauty and the creativity and the glory of God is so incredible isn’t it
Speaker#2:
00:27:04.589 – 00:27:12.209
Because he told he said destroy this temple and they’re thinking this temple as they would in that context right
Speaker#2:
00:27:13.3 – 00:27:16.449
And they don’t destroy that temple
Speaker#2:
00:27:18.319 – 00:27:19.42
but they did
Speaker#1:
00:27:19.829 – 00:27:24.869
obey the command of Jesus and they destroyed that temple
Speaker#1:
00:27:26.079 – 00:27:28.739
and he raised it up in three days
Speaker#1:
00:27:31.209 – 00:27:38.459
I mean it’s so powerful and amazing and glorious the levels of glory And Jesus
Speaker#2:
00:27:38.469 – 00:27:42.26
knew exactly what he was saying and he knew exactly how they would hear it
Speaker#2:
00:27:44.579 – 00:27:47.39
And he he told them what to do
Speaker#1:
00:27:47.54 – 00:27:48.53
and they did it
Speaker#1:
00:27:50.5 – 00:27:51.859
It’s just wild
Speaker#1:
00:27:53.18 – 00:28:00.67
But everything in that story is an image of he did not love his life so much as to shrink from death
Speaker#1:
00:28:02.939 – 00:28:05.479
See if we just think of martyrdom
Speaker#1:
00:28:06.39 – 00:28:15.069
the path to martyred is walked through a life of being delivered from the fear of death
Speaker#1:
00:28:16.469 – 00:28:18.069
in that fear of death
Speaker#1:
00:28:18.979 – 00:28:24.17
confronts us almost daily In many in multitude of ways
Speaker#1:
00:28:24.88 – 00:28:27.319
Sit down shut up
Speaker#1:
00:28:28.479 – 00:28:30.01
Don’t rock the boat
Speaker#1:
00:28:31.729 – 00:28:33.43
Don’t take the risk
Speaker#1:
00:28:34.14 – 00:28:36.069
Don’t get out of your comfort zone
Speaker#1:
00:28:38.119 – 00:28:39.3
Don’t put your
Speaker#1:
00:28:40.339 – 00:28:42.52
your income at risk
Speaker#1:
00:28:43.439 – 00:28:48.18
Don’t put your life at risk Don’t put your reputation at risk
Speaker#1:
00:28:49.939 – 00:28:54.39
And I would ask what would you not give to the Lord Jesus Christ
Speaker#1:
00:28:55.209 – 00:28:56.729
What would you not offer him
Speaker#1:
00:28:58.27 – 00:28:59.219
Oh the heart
Speaker#1:
00:28:59.739 – 00:29:04.56
make me a living sacrifice Let me be willing to surrender all
Speaker#1:
00:29:05.63 – 00:29:06.979
because you are worthy
Speaker#1:
00:29:08.079 – 00:29:09.4
because you are good
Speaker#2:
00:29:11.359 – 00:29:12.959
and you feel the weight of it
Speaker#2:
00:29:13.51 – 00:29:16.579
But every time we shrink from death
Speaker#1:
00:29:20.31 – 00:29:21.359
what are we saying
Speaker#1:
00:29:22.619 – 00:29:26.939
Whenever we let fear govern us and rule over us
Speaker#1:
00:29:30.39 – 00:29:31.599
Look at what we’re doing
Speaker#1:
00:29:34.26 – 00:29:39.569
You say oh who’s up to the task I said Lord let your love so be shed abroad into my heart
Speaker#2:
00:29:41.93 – 00:29:44.069
Let me taste and see how good
Speaker#1:
00:29:44.079 – 00:29:44.75
you are
Speaker#1:
00:29:45.3 – 00:29:47.969
Let me remember how much I’ve been forgiven
Speaker#1:
00:29:49.089 – 00:29:53.9
that if I was to give my life for love I would count it as nothing
Speaker#1:
00:29:55.209 – 00:30:00.16
like many of the heroes of faith of old and many in the world today
Speaker#1:
00:30:04.859 – 00:30:10.979
We can only do that when we’ve been captured by the depth of his love and mercy and grace and forgiveness
Speaker#1:
00:30:11.91 – 00:30:14.92
and our com and are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit
Speaker#1:
00:30:18.569 – 00:30:20.92
becoming a courageous Christian
Speaker#1:
00:30:23.4 – 00:30:24.26
I really thought it was
Speaker#2:
00:30:24.27 – 00:30:26.41
interesting and pastor Mike didn’t have
Speaker#1:
00:30:26.42 – 00:30:27.43
time to tell the whole
Speaker#2:
00:30:27.439 – 00:30:28.16
story
Speaker#2:
00:30:28.81 – 00:30:30.839
But I found it interesting because I was talking with
Speaker#1:
00:30:30.849 – 00:30:32.67
Wayne and others throughout the week
Speaker#2:
00:30:33.52 – 00:30:48.459
About this passage first Samuel said how to become a courageous Christian first Samuel 17 37 moreover David said the Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear he will deliver me from the
Speaker#1:
00:30:48.469 – 00:30:49.709
hand of the Philistine
Speaker#1:
00:30:51.8 – 00:30:54.38
And Saul said to David go and the Lord be with you
Speaker#2:
00:30:55.26 – 00:30:59.17
David in an extraordinary circumstance
Speaker#2:
00:31:00.92 – 00:31:03.02
His life had been prepared
Speaker#1:
00:31:03.03 – 00:31:04.959
for the extraordinary
Speaker#1:
00:31:06.619 – 00:31:07.63
because he had walked
Speaker#2:
00:31:07.64 – 00:31:08.329
with God
Speaker#2:
00:31:10.689 – 00:31:17.91
the God who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear And he even told the stories when I was a shepherd
Speaker#2:
00:31:19.0 – 00:31:24.14
and they came to destroy the sheep I went and fought them to protect those sheep
Speaker#2:
00:31:25.4 – 00:31:26.54
And I and I was
Speaker#1:
00:31:26.55 – 00:31:29.27
not afraid to risk my life for those sheep
Speaker#1:
00:31:29.839 – 00:31:30.65
because that’s what he
Speaker#2:
00:31:30.66 – 00:31:33.01
did But I didn’t but I wasn’t
Speaker#1:
00:31:33.02 – 00:31:41.03
naive either And I went after those bears and those lines going oh God please deliver me from the paw of the line
Speaker#2:
00:31:41.04 – 00:31:45.469
and the paw of the bear Lord let me prevail against my enemies And he did it
Speaker#2:
00:31:47.369 – 00:31:48.64
That was his
Speaker#1:
00:31:48.65 – 00:31:50.78
history with God
Speaker#1:
00:31:51.359 – 00:31:52.06
and it was his
Speaker#2:
00:31:52.069 – 00:31:53.02
history with
Speaker#1:
00:31:53.03 – 00:31:53.839
God
Speaker#1:
00:31:54.41 – 00:31:55.38
that brought him to a
Speaker#2:
00:31:55.39 – 00:32:08.469
place when he was confronted with an extraordinary situation in the presence of a multitude of witnesses in the presence of a whole nation that was cowering in the fear of
Speaker#1:
00:32:08.479 – 00:32:09.339
death
Speaker#1:
00:32:10.55 – 00:32:16.13
to stand out like a light in the midst of darkness to be a counter voice
Speaker#2:
00:32:16.43 – 00:32:18.51
to be a different spirit
Speaker#1:
00:32:18.52 – 00:32:21.28
than the whole army of Israel
Speaker#1:
00:32:22.38 – 00:32:24.699
It’s because he remembered
Speaker#1:
00:32:25.579 – 00:32:30.219
the faithfulness of God and the salvation of God in his life
Speaker#1:
00:32:31.42 – 00:32:36.26
and sharing that with people throughout the week Because every Christian has that same
Speaker#2:
00:32:36.27 – 00:32:37.069
testimony
Speaker#2:
00:32:38.099 – 00:32:40.109
Every Christian if
Speaker#1:
00:32:40.119 – 00:32:41.28
our eyes are open
Speaker#2:
00:32:41.29 – 00:32:55.0
and our hearts are open has that same testimony And if you don’t think you have that testimony then get down on your face And I’m telling you today you have that testimony but your eyes need to be
Speaker#1:
00:32:55.01 – 00:32:58.16
open to see it if you don’t see it and say Lord
Speaker#2:
00:32:58.17 – 00:33:00.229
open my eyes to see how I have
Speaker#1:
00:33:00.239 – 00:33:01.319
this testimony
Speaker#2:
00:33:02.619 – 00:33:03.359
because He has
Speaker#1:
00:33:03.369 – 00:33:07.65
delivered all of us from death again and again and
Speaker#2:
00:33:07.66 – 00:33:19.29
again He’s delivered us from trials and tribulations and from enemies He has answered prayer He has been faithful and he has been good and he has been faithful and good in ways that none of us
Speaker#1:
00:33:19.3 – 00:33:21.16
none of us have ever seen
Speaker#1:
00:33:22.199 – 00:33:32.51
But if we owe every one of us could say Lord open my eyes even more to know how much this is true in my life and and he could take that veil back
Speaker#2:
00:33:32.52 – 00:33:39.339
and you’ll start to see all the ways that God has been faithful and God has protected you and God has delivered
Speaker#1:
00:33:39.349 – 00:33:42.4
you even when you didn’t even pray and ask for it
Speaker#1:
00:33:45.969 – 00:33:48.619
And when your eyes are open to see that
Speaker#1:
00:33:49.42 – 00:33:52.63
then you start to have that same kind of vision
Speaker#1:
00:33:53.369 – 00:33:54.68
that same kind of
Speaker#1:
00:33:55.55 – 00:33:59.13
confidence that same kind of courage
Speaker#1:
00:33:59.739 – 00:34:01.91
If God did it for me then
Speaker#1:
00:34:02.739 – 00:34:11.199
why would he not do it for me now and again I can trust Him He is good He is faithful He does not disappoint
Speaker#1:
00:34:12.648 – 00:34:15.388
We all have that same testimony as David
Speaker#1:
00:34:16.02 – 00:34:18.878
And it’s that opening of our eyes
Speaker#1:
00:34:20.55 – 00:34:22.378
to our history with God
Speaker#1:
00:34:23.489 – 00:34:26.26
that is part of what makes us a courageous Christian
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You see the series of these messages is about raising up sons and daughters of God
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who are up to the task of what God is putting ahead of us in these days
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People who know their God and are strong and do exploits people who are mighty in God People that have broken out of the status quo People who have broken out of the bondage to fear people who are not cowards people who are strong in the Lord and in the power of His might
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It’s about breaking people out of the things that hold them back
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Because if we say oh you see you keep giving into the fear of death you’re a crummy Christian that only makes them worse
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But that’s why we tell these stories because these stories inspire us If God did that for them he can do it for me
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If he did it for them He can do it for me This is who I’m called to be and his grace will if I will dare to believe that this is what he’s called me to be his grace and power is there for me to become
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what he’s called me to be
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You see
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but so many people are are are are even in the church of Jesus Christ Even people who have walked with God for many years have many things that have held them back
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when Christ has set us free
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And a lot of these things have to do with the stories that we tell ourselves that I don’t know if I can trust God
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I don’t know if he’s faithful
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I don’t know if he cares I don’t know if he cares about me I don’t know if he really loves me
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or we look back on our lives and we see you know Stephanie has been studying you know starting to be a licensed professional counselor And it’s really interesting some of the conversations because one of the common things with people who grew up with abusive parents for example is they start to realize what they were robbed of robbed of of being accepted and being loved and all these different things And then they see how it affected their lives and then they think of what they could have been
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But then I think of Amistad
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because the journey of believers is so different
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the the worst thing you can imagine for that man in that time he was sold into slavery
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But he said this was the journey that brought me to Jesus
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And in that pearl of great price I count all of that as nothing
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compared to the exceeding great riches
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of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and being found in him not having a righteousness of my own but that which comes by faith It’s that remembering the preciousness of that pearl of great price what would it profit me if I gained the whole world but never came to know Him
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And God is faithful in the lives of even unbelievers He’s faithful in the lives of those who don’t know Him He is active in the life of every human being If their eyes were just open to see
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that he is good
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and he is awesome
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But another conversation we had is that
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one of the goals one of one of the major operating systems of good Christian counseling
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is to include do not create dependency
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but empower people
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to go free
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And I remember when I was working at for academy and sometimes parents would come and they need to find counseling for their kids And I’d put my friend on the phone and he would give them here’s the different approaches to counseling And I said to him listen not all counselors are created equal and I go you need to vet them You really need to vet them know what they’re using know their approach and then tell them what’s going on and say how long do you if I’m fully committed to how you’re going to treat this how long will it take
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And if they say one year give them 18 months and 18 months they don’t set you it doesn’t work then you go find another one What in the world are you doing Going to a counselor for 5 to 10 years If you haven’t been gone free they’re creating dependency and they’re not setting you free and they’re not empowering you
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But so much of Christian ministry and so much of the way things are in this world we create dependency out of our own need to be importance and it becomes also a need in the person to feed the carnal nature Does that make sense And we really should be about him and the sunsets free is free Indeed And you can go free Sometimes you need help Sometimes you need a counselor That’s why he is studying this But there should be a limited time frame
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But I also will tell you today’s plug your Stephanie
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You the the art of wrestling with God is a lost art
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because you can wrestle with God and wrestle with God’s Word and you can go free
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you can get the holy ghost you can believe God’s Word and you can go free
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Maybe you need help but I’m telling you Jesus is all the help that you need And God’s word it contains everything you need to go free Sometimes it’s hard for people because there’s tons of pain and a life of hurt and distrust But I’m telling you you can go free If you need a professional counselor you can go free But you can also do it with a good old wrestling with God and you can go free You were created for liberty not bondage
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Courage is courage is the fruit of the life of Christ and the soul of man
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That’s it
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Courage is the fruit of the life of Christ and the soul of man It’s his spirit that gives us a boldness and courage because my name is written in the Lamb’s book of Life
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What can they do All they can do is kill my body kill my reputation kill my money kill my finances job Yet though he slay me yet I will praise him
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because He is worthy
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This life is but a breath
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It is just a preparation for eternity
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and all that There’s times in my life where I’ve literally said to God when I saw the possibilities of where my life could land
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from walking with Him
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And I said God if this is where it lands bless it be your name
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If this is what brings you glory and honor if this is what I need to become more like you bless it be your name But I know one thing I know is that you are good
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and you are faithful and you can be trusted and you are worthy of worship and you are worthy of praise And I can tell you on the back end of every trial I’ve been through I look back and I see God was faithful He is true He is good He can be trusted He delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear and he does continue continually deliver us daily
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He is good
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knowing what the kingdom
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knowing what the kingdom and what a Christian looks like is critical to becoming
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and to discerning it sets the trajectory of our lives This idea I really want to drive home when I know what Christ’s Kingdom looks like because I’ve fed on God’s word and I’ve spent time with him in prayer I’ve experienced his presence and I’m looking to pay attention the more I know about his kingdom and what it looks like
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then it starts to set a trajectory and the more I know what a normal Christian life looks like then I start to seek after it I answer that question What do you seek I seek your kingdom and I seek to become like you and I seek to empower others to become like you And that’s pretty much the big vision That’s pretty much the big vision But I want to get in and look at every detail of your kingdom and the glories of your kingdom and most importantly the glories of the king
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and to see his goodness to see his character to see his love to see who he is in the word When he he’s not afraid to whoop him out
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and be courageous
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We really have to understand the
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power of dreams
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and visions and of imagination
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and really but when when I think about
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reading scriptural passages
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like that Yeah
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Look at out Jesus got him out of the temple right with the whip of cords I’m gonna go do that today
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Yeah I’m gonna I’m gonna go find a place where they’re doing what they shouldn’t do and I’m going to go in there and I’m going to make a big old
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fat mess
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How do I know
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when I shouldn’t when I shouldn’t
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how do I know it should bring great fear and humility to us Oh
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God I need to know when to speak to the rock and when to strike the rock and it only comes with wrestling with God
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because the fear of God should be in us Lord don’t let me misrepresent You don’t let me whoop them out when they need to be just show them mercy and grace And don’t let me show mercy and grace when they need to be whooped out
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You see what I’m saying
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Oh how do you get that So many things in scripture Lead us to a place of wrestling
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with God in the fear of the Lord that God I want to faithful represent you And I can only truly discern these things out of a relationship with you And that primarily comes by reading the word in prayer
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That’s how it primarily comes
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So I’m gonna speed up really fast We need courage we need courage to break out of our comfort zones and activate the ministry God has given each of us I’m gonna just read these
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and not talk about them all right
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But think about them because they are important We need courage to change and to grow We need courage to take responsibility We need courage to build relationships
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We need courage to trust others
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But don’t you know what’s in man but if the world is being destroyed because of lack of trust so
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you might get hurt So what I’m
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doing it for Him
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we need courage to apologize courage to forgive We need courage to stand on convictions and share the truth and love We need courage to share Christ the one conviction that we can proclaim absolutely without any fear at all
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One thing I know Christ and Him crucified is the salvation and reconciliation of all things to God that put your trust in Him and you will not be put ashamed to shame He has the power and He will save you and He will set you free and he’ll change your life forever That he is that pearl of great price He is that treasure hid in the field I can proclaim that with boldness with confidence without holding back one little bit because I know that is true
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But I’m gonna I’m gonna read
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something that I’ve been hanging on to is for several weeks
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because the type of courageous Christians the world is looking for today
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can start to shift into another vision and another dream inspired by scripture
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that comes from reading rabbi sacks and the rabbis were wrestling with Noah
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Noah was obedient in his generation Noah was delivered from a sinful world in New York But the end of Noah was ugly
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and these rabbis are like what in the world is going on there because I don’t want to end up like him It’s a good healthy way to go to scripture but it teaches us from many different directions and angles right And so they really wrestled with what in the world was going on with No Noah And they actually contrasted it with Abraham which we can’t get into today But but the essentially they said Noah took Abraham took initiative
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to recreate the world to deliver to set people free He didn’t wait for God
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He didn’t only act in obedience For example They also noticed that when the flood had ended Noah could have left the Ark and got ready and excited about building the new world that he had He didn’t come out of the ark until God finally told him to come out
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They notice these little things right Rabbi Sacks writes this God does not deal despotically with his creatures If he sought no more than mindless submission to the divine will he would have created robots machines or genetically programmed people who responded automatically to the commands as dogs to Pavlov’s Bell God wants us to be mature deliberative and to do his will because we understand
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stand or because we trust him When we do not understand he seeks from us something other and greater than obedience namely responsibility Noah’s end drunk disheveled and embarrassment to his Children eloquently tells us that if you save yourself while doing nothing to save the world you do not even save yourself
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I know I’m reading this but this is a powerful word for today
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When it comes to rebuilding the ruins of catastrophe you do not wait for permission You take the risk and walk ahead Faith is more than obedience It’s the courage to create
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You see why this connects the kind of Christian the world’s need World needs are those who do not wait but they take initiative to recreate the world or to recon to the Ministry of Reconciliation He doesn’t know that because he’s a Jew but
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it’s the Ministry of Reconciliation through the blood of
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Jesus to the father
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Isn’t that exciting
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And the picture there is he says that Noah did not engage reconciling the new world He did not engage to recreate it
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He he saved himself But the message is is if you’re focused only on saving yourself in the end you do not save yourself And so many Christians today are saying the world is going down and going down in ashes and they’re seeking to go into the ark
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instead of go make disciples go in boldness go and be courageous go and dare to believe he can and is able to save all things Wherever Christ is proclaimed people flee their idols and every bondage is broken and people are set free and lives are transformed and that he can break through
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here Feel the weight of this courageous Christianity that this world needs
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so many Christians right now are falling in the place of those cowards and don’t even realize it
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We have to have the courage to dare to believe that proclaiming the gospel through at any age in any generation in any culture Has the power to bring revival has the power to bring transformation Has the power to set free has the power to turn the world upside down
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because that’s the truth
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And that word from Rabbi Sacks is a piercing word for today
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If all you do is to seek to save yourself And that’s we just want to get people to heaven and we just want to get people to Christ We just want to get we need a holy bubble the world is going down in ashes and we need to get as far away from it as possible
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If all we do is seek to save ourselves in the end we don’t even do that
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Cowards will have their place in a lake of fire
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It takes courage
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to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ is the answer
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when the whole world has fallen
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to the fear of death
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Those are the type of Christians that we need today
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Amen
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Amen
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Hallelujah