Side Effects

Welcome to the Cross Power Church podcast.

You're listening to a service from our church in Campbell, TX.

We pray this message strengthens your faith and points you to the

cross. Now let's join the service.

How your Bibles this morning? Let's stand in the reading of

the Word of God and second Peter.

Second Peter setting a scripture.

See first Peter. It dealt with problems from the

outside. You know, we're good sometimes

at dealing with problems from the outside, but second Peter

deals with. Problems from the inside.

Peter is warning believers here against false teachers and and

trying to that are trying to peddle damaged doctoring and

doctoring that has been twisted but he he begins this was

telling us to keep a close watch.

On our personal life. A close watch if you haven't

noticed in life, your personal life will affect you and people

around you. But God began to deal with me

about this message several months ago.

When I I. Titled it Side Effects.

Anybody ever had a side effect? Side effects are everywhere

today but in Second Peter chapter 1.

2 Peter 1 · chapter mention

I'm going to begin. Reading here in verse 2 and it

says grace and peace be multiplied.

I like. That not added.

Grace and peace. We need our grace and we need

our peace multiplied today as never before.

We serve a God of multiplication.

He don't just add to, He multiplies.

Grace and peace be multiplied to you and the knowledge of God and

of Jesus. Our Lord as His.

Divine power has given to us all things.

Well, that's powerful. His divine power has given to us

all things, not church doctrine. His divine power has given to us

all things that pertain to life and godliness.

When we look around, we see people looking for things that

God can supply, but many times it doesn't pertain to life and

it doesn't pertain to godliness. It pertains to the next quick

fix of the problem, the next blessing.

He says, I can give you all things that pertain to life and

godliness. How?

Through the knowledge of Him. You got to receive it through

the knowledge of Him. Who called us by glory and

virtue? Isn't that cool?

You know what virtue. Means right there a.

High moral standard it means glory and living right.

We could say right there by which we have been get and

here's why it's important verse 4 by which we have been given to

given to us exceedingly great and precious.

Promises that through. These you may be partakers.

Of the divine nature. So if you had got glory and

virtue, you can partake of the divine nature of Christ, Peter

was saying here, having escaped the corruption that's in the

world through lust. Verse. 5 But also for this very

reason, giving all diligence. Be diligent in your walk, he

says. Be diligent in your walk.

Add to your faith, virtue. Don't just believe, believe what

you believe. Add some holiness, add some

virtue, and the virtue comes knowledge, and to knowledge

comes self-control. See how these work together and

that we need self-control and the self-control, perseverance

and the perseverance godliness. To godliness there will come

brotherly. Kindness and the brotherly.

Kindness. Love.

For if these things, why is it important?

Peter goes on to tell. If these things are yours?

I asked you this morning, Are these things yours?

Do they abound in your life? He said.

Because if they do, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in

the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

There's many Christians that are barren and unfruitful today

because they haven't took on the virtue and the knowledge of

Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is

short sighted. You can't see a head.

You may know about God, but you you're not going to see a head.

You're only going to see the here and now.

You're going to be short sighted.

You're going to be like I am trying to see your face through

these threes this morning. You're short sighted.

Even the blindness, you may not even see it all.

Anybody know anybody like that and has forgotten?

See, when you can't see, you forgot that you was cleansed

from your old sins. Therefore, brother, and be even

more diligent to make your call and election Sure.

Know where you're headed. Know what you're doing.

For if you do these things, well, it's right here.

I see a bunch of Christians walking around looking for a

stumbling block. If you do these things, you'll

never stumble. I didn't say it.

Peter did. And Peter had stumbled, right?

But he might. He can probably go back and say,

hey, I wasn't doing these things when I stumble.

But I learned that there's no good in the stumbling.

So now I'm not going to stumble around anymore.

I'm going to put the knowledge 1st.

I'm going to put the virtue first in my life and quit

worrying about the things of this world.

And I'm not going to stumble anymore.

And look what's cool. About that when you don't

stumble, it says so an entrance will be supplied to you

abundantly into the everlasting. Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ

Father. We thank you for.

Your word this morning. Thank you that your word's.

True, it's real, it's life, it's sharper than A2 edged sword, but

I. Pray today, Father you.

Would just help us to realize that in this life we will have

side effects, we will have things that affect us inside and

out and all around if we don't take the knowledge of the word

of God and apply it to our life and and.

Add to our faith. Virtue and patience and love and

kindness. Father, I pray today you just

get it into our. Heart and our soul and our mind,

in Jesus name, Amen. There was a man named Isaac

Newton. He was far before our time.

He lived from 1643 to 1720. 7 Some of you are almost there,

but not. Quite.

He came up with some pretty neat things.

You couldn't Google it. You had to try it out.

Then you had to use objects. You had to use things, but he

came up with some laws. I believe there were three of

them. Not going to touch on them all,

but he came up with what was called laws of motion.

Laws of motion. Christians need some motion

today. Not just emotion, but motion.

You know, you can have emotion and never go anywhere and do

anything. You can just be an emotional

being that's all torn up from the floor up, that's always cry,

that's always snotting, that's always letting things.

We can be emotional and not be effective, right?

I'm talking about motion moving. But Newton said this, he he came

up with this with these things and he tried them out.

But it was called the laws of motion, which relate an object's

motion to the forces that act upon it.

I related this to spiritual things today.

Can I say that again, we relate an object's motion, how it's

moving to forces that act upon it in the first law?

An object, he said, will not change its motion unless a force

acts upon it. You know, there's many people in

the body of Christ, many Christians, including you.

You would have never changed your motion, your direction, had

God not have acted something upon you.

Sometimes it's an old heavy trial.

Sometimes it's a loss of a loved one.

Sometimes it could be a divorce, it could be financial calamity.

It could be so many things. But yet God can be working in it

because had He not ever acted upon the motion that you were

in, many wouldn't be alive today.

Can I get a witness Are still headed for a devil's hell.

So see, in his first law, an object will not change its

motion unless a force acts upon it.

In the second law, the force on an object is equal to the mass

times the acceleration. You educated people can go

figure that out. I'm not explaining it, but many

people, God's children and those that have never been born again,

they fall under Newtons first law.

I'm going to read it again. And object will not change its

motion unless a force acts upon it.

Sometimes God's moves upon us in ways that we do not understand.

Can I get a witness? We don't understand the trial.

We don't know. But we have to trust that God

does, and He's moving up on us, right?

We did not. Jesus didn't understand the

cross and the outside circumstances that surrounded

the cross, but inside it was working a far it far heavier,

eternal weight of glory. But an object will not change

its motion unless a force. Acts upon it what?

Is God trying to tell us? Today.

Don't get down in your maybe in 25 there were some side effects

that came your way from the trial that you went into.

We're about to turn the page. I love turning the pages to a

new year. I don't look back at what

happened there because this is a new year.

If I keep looking back, the enemies coming with something

new to attack me with that I got to be aware of.

But see many will leave 25 and enter into 26, never looking for

change, never expecting anything to happen.

Come on, stay with me this morning.

Their motion, the way they live, the way they move, the way they

react to certain situations never changes.

We can't react to situations the same way and expect a different

outcome. As Newton states, a body remains

at rest, are in motion at a constant speed in a straight

line unless it's acted upon. As this will be the last sermon

that many here in 25, I begin to look back and think about.

So many people that I knew that come through.

The doors of the. Church that I don't.

See anymore that were in motion for the Kingdom, they got moving

a little bit. Come on somebody they seen God

move in their life and maybe move in their situation a little

bit and they got their faith kind of stirring.

But something called Satan, which is a roaring lie.

He began to roar. They begin to hear the roar and

with the roar came the force that hit them right?

It hit them when the force of the roaring lion hits you, and

it will anybody got hit this year.

When the enemy hits you, there will be side effects.

Physically, spiritually, financially, mentally,

emotionally, the list goes on. And on.

But see side effects amaze me I I heard this little commercial.

Talking about side effects, that's where I got this message.

It amaze. Me at all the side effects the

enemy has. I mean, the side effects of sin

are everywhere, everywhere, everywhere.

People talk, you know, a lot of. People say, well, if it wasn't

for my. Wife I could live for God, the

one for my. Husband.

I could live for God, someone warned you.

About that side effect. Hello, I don't know about y'all.

But I checked my wife out before I.

Married her. Hey man, she was a deep water

Baptist. I could worship in a deep water

Baptist Church. I like to cut it loose a little

bit. Hey, man, I said.

We can get married, but we're going over here, right?

That stuff's important, right? Very important.

We see the side effects of sin. They're everywhere.

Like the little boy he got asked one.

Time, he said. They, he had been to a wedding

and he attended this wedding and and they, he heard the preacher

up there preaching. Evidently he was listening

because later on in class they had a discussion.

A few months later they said how many times can people get

married? He said that's easy.

He just said. What do you mean?

It's easy? It's a law, He said.

No, it's 16. He said 16 times.

He said. Yeah, he said he says it right

there. For richer or poorer, for better

or worse, for sickness and in health, it's 16 times.

Some people took that to heart. You don't believe their side

effects of sin? Go to the Metroplex.

Look under the bridges. Look at the side.

Effects of sin. Look at the rehabs, look at the

rehabs, look at the divorce rates in America, look at the

homeless and and many when we look at these situations,

they've they've gotten so down so far, so low that unless.

God Almighty and they. Get a hold of the knowledge and

the truth of God. There's no way out for many

other than. That hit.

By the side effects. Of a decision anybody ever hit.

Been hit by the side? Effects of a decision, the side

effects of sin are everywhere we look at it, you know.

It amazes me but. Sin is like medicine.

The enemy convinces people that they can't.

Live without it. I'm not sure our doctors are

doing the same thing today. I came by to tell you in John 10

and 10 that the thief comes to kill, steal and destroy.

But Jesus. Came that we might have life and

have it more. Abundantly.

Let's look at this. Word side effects.

I like the definition, Webster says.

It's a secondary, typically undesirable effect, a secondary.

So it tells me a side effect is not really how I'm supposed to

feel, right? It's a side effect of what I

have done or what I have ingested into my body or even

what I have put in my mind and I believe can cause a side effect,

right? But yet all across America, as I

said, we are sheep. And as I said, sheep are dumb,

right? They need a shepherd.

They don't know, come here from Sikkim, they just wander around.

But yet we don't worry about the side.

Effects It's a. Secondary typical undesirable

effect. And this.

Says of a drug or a medical treatment.

It's a secondary effect but wait a minute, Jesus said I can have

life more abundantly, but I don't like the secondary effect.

Many people do evidently because see a secondary effect can

become a way that I'm not created.

Therefore, I am walking around in a body and I'm a person that

God did He created me, but my actions.

Due to the side. Effects are not of God.

We're not created in the image of a secondary effect.

We were. Created in the not created to

live. On the side effects.

But many people do. In Matthew 4, three and four

Jesus said when tempted by Satan, he said man cannot live

by bread alone. Can I tell you today man is

still trying to live on bread alone instead of every word that

proceeds out of the mouth of God?

Jesus said it cannot happen. Why?

Because you were created in the. Image of El Shaddai.

They want a true God, the Almighty God.

So side effects are a secondary condition to the child of God.

And yes, sin causes. Them.

So many live under. That rule.

So many lives. Ruined.

Think about it. I'm going to.

Preach it this morning. I'm not a preacher that's afraid

to tell you that. Drugs and alcohol.

Have side effects? Amen.

If you're an addict this morning.

You have side effects. See, seeing all this stuff sit

from Satan is is nothing unless I'm just it unless I and take it

he can attack me tomorrow and you know.

What it? Absolutely means it means.

Nothing. Unless I begin to chew upon it,

unless I begin to pull it down and put it in my mind and begin

to accept what Satan said, that's a lie, because he's the

author of confusion and I begin to put it in my mind.

And if I and I stir it around in my mind.

Enough it gets here. It becomes a side effect.

It becomes a secondary condition of who I am created to be all

this. Stuff is sent from Satan.

And it cannot affect me, but when I take it in then I.

Become a side effect. See.

The label's worn. Anybody here?

My God doctor's going to give me something one day and he told me

all this, he said cause a rash. I said I don't want a rash.

You go to the doctor. Well, I got this rash.

Take this, but it might cause a rash.

I've already got a rash. It causes anxiety man.

I'll meet up with. Anxiety.

I don't need no more anxiety, the doctor says.

I know what bud. It it might cause.

And then you know that they get, there's so many side effects of.

Everything you know but me and my wife.

Have had this conversation. Though the doctor gave.

It to you said. Take it that don't mean I got to

take it. If it don't work, I ain't taking

it. If my head's hurting and I take

some, it helps my head lookout, I might take it again.

So when they say take this and it's going to change that and I

wake up in the morning and it didn't change, I'm done.

I don't care what the prescription was, I'll try it.

I'm not against doctors, but I am against taking it if it don't

work and I am against taking it if the side effects are worse

than what I got. Hey man, just because the man

told me to take it, I don't need anxiety, digestive woes, easing

his headaches, drowsies, dry mouth, sleepless hallucinations,

heart problems, jaundice, rash, itching, watering eyes, unwanted

bowel movements, stomach problems, even suicidal

thoughts. They say it's a fact.

They just go on and on and you know what they're talking about.

A side effect. A side effect.

If it don't work, don't take it. Doctors don't know.

Everything that's in this body. But yet people take them by the.

Cupfuls. Why?

Because the doctor said I understand some things do help.

I'm not against that, but it better work.

Or I don't need it in my body? Here's what.

I'm saying this morning, all these side effects.

So many are willing. To deal with the side effect.

Hoping. That there might be a change.

Hello. There's a lot of.

Christians go to church hoping. And trying church that there

might be a change. But see, God doesn't work that

way. See, the change is up to you.

Somebody grab their ear. And say that God's not.

Setting up and. God will not come down and

change you. Hey man, you can cry till till

Jesus comes and God's not. Just going to come.

Down here and change you, but He's giving you His written word

and when you begin to open the pages and let God speak to you,

His word is A2 edged sword that will change your life.

And then you begin to commune with Him a little bit every day,

and He begins to drop the anointing of the Holy Ghost upon

you. And it begins to make you feel

different on the inside. And you realize that trial, that

temptation that I just went through, I couldn't do that

before, but now I can. And God begins to give you some

of his side effects, right? Think about the first shot of

whiskey and alcohol that. Become a side effect that lasted

the rest of the life caused them to.

Get in a car. And drive and kill some innocent

person and end up in prison. That is a side effect.

That is a side effect. Causes many to beat their

spouse, to beat their children, their kids and and and all these

things they have warning labels all.

Over them, but yet we're just not scared of the side effects.

We're willing. To take the side effect for a

moment of pleasure. Come on, preach with me.

Then it ends up something that you have to have more than love.

See, there's an important thing about love in your life because

God is love. He may come in the form of a

person. He may come that way.

But we have to have it. They have to have it more than.

Food. They have to have it more than a

roof over there. What am I talking about?

A side effect. And then what affected them on

the inside now is affecting them on the outside.

And not only them, but it's affecting their children and

their children's children. Side effects are.

Very real. When we have to have it more

than the things of God, we look at adultery and fornication.

Let's go to 1st Corinthians chapter 6.

Not a lot of people. Like to lead this to live this

today and read it. Why?

Because we've come really bad at getting.

It in the church First Corinthians 6 and verse 9 I

want. You to go.

Home Read the rest of this it says do you not?

Know that the. Unrighteous.

You know there's. A lot of people don't know this.

I hear a lot of. Preachers that don't know this.

If they do, they ain't preaching.

It. Do you not know that the

unrighteous. Will not inherit the Kingdom of

God. Is that not powerful?

So what does? That tell me.

I got to be righteous. Do not be deceived, neither

fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals.

Does the Bible really say that? Nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor

covenants, nor drunkards. Nor revilers nor extortioners

will inherit the Kingdom of God. And I like what he does right

here. But such you were, some of you.

But you were washed. But you were sanctified.

But you were. Justified in the name of the.

Lord Jesus Christ, so you got a hold of Jesus.

And it was a side effect. Hey man, his side.

Effects are never bad, but see, we were washed in the blood.

We've all, we've all been guilty of those.

Things, but that's not us anymore, right?

Yet so. Many never really think.

About the side effect, until they hit, until they hit.

I have a good illustration of a boat.

Anybody ever been fishing with a boat in the water and you're out

in the middle of the lake and you can't see the seashore and

you anchor down, the fish are biting and you're going to fish

right there? And I was doing that one day and

not paying any attention. But the rope and the anchor that

I had stuck down in the water had somehow come loose.

And I looked up and I didn't begin to recognize anything that

I saw. I had drifted so about a mile

and didn't even know it. See, the enemy's good at that

when you begin to get. Away from God.

It's not just a fast, it's a slow.

It's a little bitty slow drift that you don't even recognize.

Many times, don't even recognize it, don't even recognize it.

And we're farther. And we're farther.

It's a slow drift, Hebrews. 10 and 23 talks about talks about

this Hebrews 10. Go home and read the rest of

that too. It's really good, especially

over 26. It'll change your life.

But in Hebrews 10 and 23. It says let us hold fast the

confession of our hope without wavering.

For he who promises say that with me is faithful.

So what I got to do I to get the side effects of Christ.

I got to hold fast to the confession that I'm born again

to the hope that I have an eternal home in heaven without

wavering because He promised and He's faithful and let us

consider one another in order to stir up the love and the good

works. Not forsaking.

You know that people say, well, the Bible says you don't say you

got to go to church. Sure it does right here.

It says not forsaking the assembling of yourselves

together, together. You know, every time in my life

I've found when I didn't want to go to church, there was

something bad wrong within me. It wasn't the church, it was me.

But I found when I was in tune with God and when I was doing

what I was supposed to do, there's something in me.

Want to run to the church? Hey, man.

To. Stir up the love to stir up the

good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves

together, as in the matter of some, but exhorting one another.

And he even said this and. So much more as we.

See the day approaching. I see the day.

Approaching. You having trouble?

Doing these things, go home and read Hebrews 10/26.

I can quote it. You need to be.

Able to quote it too, because it's very.

Powerful. But side effects are.

Real. It's a secondary undesirable

effect. You can't live there as a child.

Of God get. Up in 26, get up and get out.

Yet people for years. Live in a secondary state.

It will kill you, it will cause you.

It will cause so many things to happen in your life.

Just keep going for God. Why not?

Have God's side effects. There's some great side effects

of the cross. And they never fade away.

Galatians 522 and 23. It says but the fruit of the

Spirit is Lovejoy, peace, long-suffering, kindness,

goodness, faithfulness, self-control.

Just think, if we had self-control it'd take us around

so many obstacles in our life if we could control self against

such thing. There is no law.

And the side effects of these things will please.

Your heavenly Father, that's the cool thing.

When God's pleased. With you, it opens up some great

doors for you and ultimately it will land you in heaven.

Verse 20. Four, it says, those who are

Christ. Have crucified the flesh with

its passions and it desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us

also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceit,

provoking one another. See Jacob.

When I think of. Him.

What did he do? He had a side effect.

Jacob was a slindler, a liar at times, but yet God said, I'm

going to call something. I'm going to.

I'm going to change emotion, Jacob, I'm fixing to roll

something your way. You think you can wrestle with

me? You may wrestle, but you're

going to walk away a little different.

You might have a limp, but every time.

You take that step. You'll remember the night you

wrestled. And you'll remember.

That I brought you through, and not only did I bring you through

limping, but I brought you through with a new life and a

new attitude. I think of the Apostle Paul,

that that was blinded on the road.

What was that? That was a side effect of.

God Almighty coming down. And changing his life and

rearranging his. World and he's still.

Writing and still his writings are still leading people and

guiding us today. I think of the cross that had

the greatest side effect, deliverance.

Eternal hope and eternal. Home, a hope and a future.

I challenge you in 2026. Get out from under the side

effects of the world. Get out from under the side

effects of things that are holding you and binding you and

pulling you down. And and just.

Just get out from under it because see, we're not we're not

created to live in a secondary place.

Are your side of this, I ask you this in closing today.

Are your side effects pleasing to the Lord?

We worry about pleasing so many people.

I heard no man say I ain't got to please nobody but God.

My wife and the older I get is true.

Well, they say if Mama ain't happy, that's the greatest thing

is a relationship to teach you self-control because you open

that mouth that you want to open and say that thing you really

want to say. Unless you plan on leaving each

other, you got to hang out with each other.

I used to never get to see my wife.

Now it's like, man, we've been around here a few days.

She likes to get away from me more.

I do her thing. But you open that mouth, there's

some side effects. Y'all come on, preach with me.

You going? To do it this week, you going to

want to say how many can't say it side effects.

But if you don't say it, you ain't got to live under it,

right? But I want you, I want to ask

you, are your side effects of this life pleasing to your

heavenly Father? I heard a story as I close of

the violinist. He he came to this big place to

play and they had invited lots of people and the violin is very

hard to play. And they said he played this

concert. And he said there was a standing

as you stand your feet this morning.

He said there was a standing ovation.

Everybody was clapping, everybody, everybody was on

their feet. And the violinist sat down over

here in a chair and he just sat there kind of with his head down

like this. And he was sitting there and the

guy that was producing the deal, the production manager, he walks

over and he says, son, he said, what's wrong?

He said, why aren't you? Why aren't you taking this in,

man? Nobody's ever came to this

Symphony hall and got a standing ovation.

They're standing there clapping. And he said, yeah, but that one

man over there sitting down, he said, that's all you see is that

one man is the sitting down there and you can't jump and you

can't clap. He said, no, I can't because

he's my teacher. What would happen if we was like

that with God? It doesn't matter what happens

in this life. Who's jumping?

Come on, would you bow your heads and.

Worship with it doesn't. Matter who's jumping, it doesn't

matter who's praying. If you're all tore up from the

side effects of this life, it doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter. Don't that bring it home?

I said. It doesn't matter if your

Heavenly Father's not pleased, not pleased, he said.

Well, pastor, that's a high place to aim.

I'm not in this thing for half heartedness.

I'm not in this thing just to slip into heaven, Amen.

I've done a lot of work on this earth.

I want to rule and reign with my Heavenly Father in heaven.

Amen. Thanks for listening to the

Cross Powered Church podcast. May you know that true hope,

peace, and salvation can only be found in Jesus.

If you're near Campbell, TX, we would love for you to join us in

person. You can find service times at

crosspoweredchurch.com.