The Dangerous Christian Pt 3

Part three of the dangerous Christian this morning.

It's been good, hasn't it? This is meant to be the last one,

but, but might even have a fourth one. We'll see how we go.

But if you haven't heard any of the previous two, then can I encourage you to

jump on our website and there's podcasts of all of our sermons there.

So you can catch up there. I know you guys caught up yesterday, didn't you?

I know you guys have been listening in online when you haven't been here.

So that's great. But Brad, Brad encouraged me this morning with this,

who loves it when they read the Bible and it just sort of gets you, it just hits you.

And it's, you know, you just think, have I ever read that before? And if not, why not?

You know, what my, our desire is to teach you guys and to lead you guys and

to bring instruction and correction perhaps as well.

But have a listen to what Brad's about to share with us because it's powerful, powerful stuff.

I'm getting used to you. Push and hold. That's right. That's it. Got it.

As I was sharing with Tim earlier this morning, Carol and I listened to the

message last night on the lounge together and I was so, so encouraged.

It was just to be a dangerous Christian has a lot more.

I think what Tim's sharing with us will bring a lot more understanding by the

end of the fourth one or whatever. Maybe more.

Maybe more. But Jesus had to combat the enemy many, many times.

And he used the word to do it with. So I was just sharing this scripture in Psalm 94, 12 to 13.

And it says this, Blessed is the man whom you instruct, O Lord,

and teach out of your law, that you may give him rest from the days of his adversity.

Isn't that good? So the word rest there is relief.

Yeah. So he gives us rest from our adversity as he instructs us out of his law.

Isn't that so good? Yeah. That is so good. It's just so powerful.

So, yeah, you might like to meditate on that. That's Psalm 94, 12 to 13.

Yeah. Yeah, really good. Good stuff. Really good. I think it goes along with

what Tim's going to share this morning. Yeah, yeah. So praise God.

Yeah. Yeah, it's just hit me hard.

It hit me hard knowing that, you know, we can sit here and I can encourage you

and I can teach and lead on how to be a dangerous Christian.

You can think, well, I've got a week this week where I really got to put this

into practice. I've got to strive for that.

No, no, it's bringing you rest. You know, we bring instruction to your life.

It's going to bring you rest.

How good is that? What do you reckon, Roy? Roy?

Oh, here endeth the lesson, I reckon.

No, no, I'll share a bit more. I'll share it. Yeah, so thank you, Brad, for that word.

And, you know, sharing with Brad, you know, this week from, this year for my

family hasn't been easy.

It's been tough. There's been some things that have raised their heads.

And, you know, I say it all the time.

When I'm up here preaching, I'm very often preaching. Well, I'm always preaching

to myself and hearing myself and being taught.

And, you know, hearing something like that, it just changes your outlook on life.

You know, there's no need to be worried and striving and pushing and changing yourself.

Well, it's good to change, but just receive rest from it. You know,

that's just so good. So good. So there we go. All right.

Amen. Lord, I just pray this morning, Lord, that what I say will teach and will

instruct, Lord, but will bring rest.

Bring rest to the weary, Lord God.

Just lift that yoke off. Lighten that burden, Lord, by these words in Jesus' name.

Let them be your words in Jesus' name. Amen.

So this is the third installment of our series, and we're going to delve deeper

into what makes a Christian dangerous?

What makes a Christian dangerous? Last week, I emphasized the significance of

knowledge, of knowledge.

And the Bible itself underscores this point in Hosea, where it says that my

people are perishing due to their lack of knowledge.

On the contrary, if people are perishing due to their lack of knowledge,

on the contrary, if we possess this knowledge, it empowers us.

It allows us to overcome rather than being defeated. Okay, I love that.

Let's talk about something else that's important.

We have beyond what we know, okay?

I want to talk about a little bit more beyond what we know because knowledge

is super important. We know that, but our knowledge is brought about by our faith.

By our faith. And that's what I want to talk about.

Jesus emphasized faith when he said, according to your faith,

according to your faith, be it unto you.

I'm so glad that you spoke about the paralytic man this morning,

because I'm going to speak about another paralytic man.

So good. So good. So Jesus said, according to your faith, be it unto you.

Everything related to kingdom functions, it's related to the kingdom functions

through the authority and the presence of faith in our lives. Amen.

The Bible also reminds us that without faith, pleasing God is impossible.

Pleasing God is impossible as we must believe in him and that he rewards those

who diligently seek him.

The message on the dangerous Christians,

these messages on the dangerous Christian arises from a belief and an understanding

that God is urging us to adopt a more assertive approach in our lives,

more assertive approach in our life, differing from the stances that many Christians

may have taken in the past.

God wants us to be assertive in our faith, assertive in our belief,

and assertive with what God gives us to use, okay?

As disciples of Jesus Christ and representatives of God's kingdom,

we must adopt a proactive and confrontational approach to address the issues

that have arisen in our society.

We need to be confrontational about what goes against God's word, okay? Okay.

And our confrontation needs to influence both social and church structures.

Ooh, did you hear that? We need

to be confrontational to certain church structures that are in existence.

We must position ourselves as frontline advocates and vanguards for the church

and God's kingdom on earth. Okay.

This requires a conscious awareness of not just knowledge, but also possession

of what we have as Christians.

So we have knowledge of what we have, but we also must be fully aware of what we have.

Have a listen to this. Another paralyzed man.

Acts 3 verses 1 to 10 says,

Acts 3:1–10

now Peter and john went up together to the temple at the

hour of prayer the ninth hour and a

certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried whom

they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called

beautiful to ask arms from those who

entered the temple who seeing peter and john about

to go into the temple asked for arms and

fixing his eyes on him with john peter with

john peter said look at us look at

us so he gave him his attention expecting to

receive something from him then Peter said

silver and gold I do not have but

what I have I give to you in the

name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk and he took him by the right

hand and lifted him up and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength

so he leaping up stood and walked and entered the temple with them walking and

leaping and praising God.

Walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God.

Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the beautiful gate of

the temple. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Wow. In this message, I want to focus on what makes us a threat to the kingdom of darkness.

Okay. The passage features Peter and John meeting a lame beggar at the temple gate.

This man hopes for financial help as they approach. He wanted money from them.

That's what the man wanted.

However, Peter tells him, silver and gold have I none, or I'm sorry,

but I don't possess what you're asking for.

But he quickly follows up with a statement, but what I have, I give to you.

What I have, I give to you. Peter's declaration of, but what I have,

I give to you is a powerful revelation that I want to talk about this morning.

It reveals two important points. First of all, Peter recognizes that he possesses

something significant in his life.

The awareness allows him to benefit from it personally and access it and enjoy

its blessings in his life.

His possession isn't just an idea, it's a real thing. He possesses something real.

Knowing he has it lets him share it with others.

If you have it, you can share it. Peter knew what he had, he was able to share.

And the reason why he wanted to share it is because he knew that it would have

the same effect on that person as it had on him.

We spoke during the week at our midweek group, and I would love more of you

and many of you to come this Wednesday night. And being a new series that we

start this Wednesday, it's a great opportunity for you to come. What was I going to say?

I don't know either. I'll think of it though. I remember now the series that

John Bevere led us in about drawing near to God and he will draw near to you.

We need to be fully aware of what is inside of us, that the kingdom of God is inside of us.

And if we know that, it's not a matter of hoping that something will come.

It's not a matter of hoping that the presence of God will come.

It's a matter of knowing, knowing and being assured that the presence of God

will come into this place.

So when I'm here, you know, previously I would start a service and think,

gee, I hope the Holy Spirit turns up today.

I hope God turns up today. No, no, no.

He lives in here. He lives in here. And if I'm saying and I'm praying and I'm

asking for the presence of God, then I know that he is going to be showing up in this place today.

Amen. So come along. Come along on Wednesday nights. I just can't encourage you enough.

Okay. So Peter believes if this blessing has produced such glorious results

in his life, it can do the same for others.

Peter knows that it can do the same for others.

This idea reflects Jesus' assertion that out of bellies will flow rivers of living water.

And that's referring to the Holy Spirit, which had yet to be given because Jesus

had not yet been glorified at that stage.

Jesus was speaking about the outpouring and the infilling of the presence and

the power of the Holy Spirit, which guess what? We have available to us today.

Now, water symbolizes life, especially when described as rivers,

okay, which represent movement and refreshment.

Rivers sustain various forms of life, from fish to mammals to birds,

providing the essence of vitality. That's what water does, okay?

Jesus uses the imagery of flowing water to illustrate the Holy Spirit in our lives.

When Peter says, but what I do have, I give to you, he's referring to the presence

of the Holy Spirit within us.

Okay. The Spirit not only dwells within us, offering personal blessings to us

and edification to us, but it also empowers us and flows from us to others.

That's what the Holy Spirit does. Jesus promises that those who drink the water

he provides will have within them a well springing up into everlasting life.

Then from our bellies, rivers of living water will flow.

This signifies the life-giving source within us, which should be extended outwards,

outwards, as a life-giving force providing strength and vitality to others.

Two things. It edifies us, it empowers us, but it does the same for others if we let it out.

The anointing awakens the power, allowing it to flow as personal streams of the Spirit.

Personal streams of the Spirit, not trickles, streams, not stagnant waters,

but flowing waters as life-giving currents of power that nourish,

sustain, strengthen, heal, and deliver.

It's like what Carolyn was saying. She had something to give to us.

She wanted to say thank you to us in a special way.

And she gave what flowed from her life, from her heart.

Did you receive it? Yeah, good. Good.

So, excuse me, be healed in Jesus' name.

Paul demonstrated this fact by sending out anointing cloth, anointed cloths

and aprons from his body.

And as they were laid upon the sick, the disease departed from the people that

they were laid upon and evil spirits went out of the people.

The point being that Paul, like Peter, knew that something that he could,

it was something that he could share in his life.

This is what made Paul a dangerous Christian. He was loaded He was loaded And

he was carrying the presence And the power of God And he knew it Okay So.

This is why Paul says this in 2 Corinthians 4 verse 7.

2 Corinthians 4:7

He says, we now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are

like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.

This makes it clear that our great power is from God and not from ourselves.

Knowledge is important.

Knowledge is very important, as I spoke about last week. But all of the knowledge

in the world doesn't add up to one ounce of Holy Spirit power that we have available to us.

In Acts 1 verse 8, Jesus says you'll receive knowledge or even wisdom when the

Acts 1:8

Holy Spirit comes upon you.

He said, you shall receive power.

You shall receive power. Yes, knowledge makes us dangerous Christians.

That's what I spoke about last week. But only as knowledge is harnessed to power.

Knowledge is the doorway which through

through which power enters i think

um many times the church falls into this category okay we know about the power

we know about the power we can tell you about the power we can show you where

the bible talks about power and we can sing songs about power,

but when the devil comes and he hits us, or he hits our families, or our country.

We're forced to ask the question, do we really have the power,

or do we just have the knowledge of the power?

Do rivers of living water really flow from your innermost being,

or is it just a phrase that we like to quote occasionally?

Can we actually undo and destroy the works of the devil? Or is it just a phrase that we like to quote?

Can we actually undo it? Can we undo the works of the devil? Can we do it? Yes, we can.

Yes, we can. Do we really know how to use the weapons of our warfare?

Yes. Could. It's one of us.

It's one of us. Yeah, come on. Yes, we do. Yes.

One ounce one ounce one one one one one what's what's the uh the the not not

gram yeah thanks dorothy one gram of the i don't know why i said ounce one gram

of the manifest power of god,

outweighs tons t-o-n-n-e-s tons of powerless information yeah the apostle paul

makes this statement as well in 1 Corinthians 2 verses 1 to 5. Excuse me.

1 Corinthians 2:1–5

Sorry, on the podcast. All right. So the Apostle Paul makes this statement in

1 Corinthians 2 verses 1 to 5.

1 Corinthians 2:1–5

He says, And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of

speech or of wisdom, declaring to you the testimony of God.

For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.

And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom,

but in demonstration of the spirit and of power, that your faith should not

be in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God.

Friends, friends, you're all my friends. It is not wrong to desire to see the

power of God manifested.

It's not wrong. In fact, there is something very deficient, very deficient in

the Christian who has no desire to see or experience the manifest power of God.

One of the most important things about the God we serve is that he makes his

presence and his mighty power tangibly known. God does.

In other words, you can feel his presence and you can see visible manifestations

of his presence and power at work.

Yep. Again, I say that there is something very deficient in a church or a Christian

that can be satisfied with nothing more than a literary message of Jesus.

We should never be satisfied with just a history of what Jesus did.

We never should be satisfied with that.

There should be something within every Christian that cries out for his tangible

presence and visible manifestation in his powers and signs and wonders and miracles

and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

We should be desiring after that.

And that's not extremism. and

that's not radicalism. That's just plain old everyday normal Christianity.

Normal Christianity is experiencing the supernatural.

It's experiencing this. It has to embrace miracles, signs, and wonders.

It has to embrace healing and deliverance, or it's not biblical Christianity.

Paul told the Corinthian church, I'm not here just to talk about Jesus.

I'm here to manifest his power.

I'm here to give you something to believe in, not just words or information,

but the manifestation of the power of God.

1 Thessalonians 1 verse 5 says, For when we bought you the good news,

1 Thessalonians 1:5

It was not only with words, but also with power.

For the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true.

And you know of our concern for you from the way we lived when you were with

us, when we were there with you.

Somebody said, somebody's saying, well, Pastor Tim, I don't think that I have

to believe in or experience miracles to be saved, do I? No.

Okay, let me walk down that road. I'm glad you asked that question.

Let me walk down that road with you a little way. I agree you don't have to

see miracles and signs and wonders and manifestations of the power of God to

be saved and to go to heaven. You don't need to, okay?

Because the blood of Jesus is enough to save your soul.

That's true. There's no doubt about that. right now, there are some churches

that will say, well, there you go.

That's all I need. I just need the blood of Jesus. And that is all we need is the blood of Jesus.

I don't have to go that supernatural miracle signs and wonders and Holy Spirit

and talking in tongues road.

I'll just stay within the blood and that's all that I need.

Okay. So I'll walk that far with you. Okay.

There's power in the blood, no doubt about it. We've spoken about it this morning.

There's power in the blood.

So when you say, okay, we're in agreement, I don't have all that supernatural

miracle faith stuff, right?

I'll say, just wait a minute. Just wait a minute. Hear me out.

I didn't say that. Okay, what I said was, I agree that the blood of Jesus is enough to save you.

And you don't have to see a miracle or be

filled with the Spirit or speak in tongues to be saved but

what you need to know is this whether you ever see a miracle or you ever experience

the baptism of the holy spirit and speaking your tongue or speaking in tongues

or not do you know what you are all miracles you are all miracles your salvation is a miracle.

By the power of the Holy Spirit. Yes, the blood redeemed you from sin's power,

but the Holy Spirit who regenerates your spirit, it's the Holy Spirit who makes

you a new creation when you are set free.

Your birth is a miracle. Have you ever looked at that? Your birth is a miracle.

You were drawn by a force that you couldn't see and you were saved by a blood

you say covers you, but no one else can see it.

But no one, and you received all of this by the supernatural spiritual force

called faith, called faith.

So what I'm saying is this, you're already in the door. Yes,

you're saved by the blood of Jesus.

You're already in the realm of the miraculous.

You might as well just jump in the deep end. You might as well just jump in the deep end with me.

You might as well stop holding on to the edge. You might as well stop holding

on to the edge and just go off the high dive cliff and drop into everything

God has for you because there is so much that God has for you.

Jesus said, I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly. Okay.

The abundant life is found in only one place.

It's in the person and the power of the Holy Spirit. Okay.

John says, John the Baptist said, I baptize you with water for salvation from sin.

But one is coming who is mightier than I.

When he comes, he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. And with fire.

Acts 2, here's another couple. Acts 2 verses 1 to 4.

Acts 2:1–4

On the day of Pentecost, all of the believers were meeting together in one place.

Suddenly there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm

and it filled the house where they were sitting.

Then what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled upon each of them.

And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other

languages as the Holy Spirit gave them his ability.

Then Acts 1 verse 8, Jesus said, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.

Acts 1:8

And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere in Jerusalem,

throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Speaking with other tongues is not the power.

Let me make this clear to you. Speaking with other tongues is not the power.

It's always been the initial evidence that one has been baptized by the Holy Spirit.

It's the ministry and the operation

of the Holy Spirit to bring us into possession of our inheritance.

It's the Holy Spirit that takes us from knowing to having. It's the Holy Spirit.

And you know what? That's what the devil fears.

He's not afraid of clouds without water. He's not afraid of guns without bullets.

He's not afraid of a big head with an empty heart, and he's not afraid of a

furnace without a fire in it.

As important as knowledge is, and I spent a whole message last week speaking

about knowledge, as important as knowledge is, the devil doesn't back up one inch or millimeter.

He doesn't back up one millimeter for what you think.

Did you hear that? What you think doesn't make the devil back up one millimeter, okay?

It's what you have that puts him on his heels and puts him under your feet. It's what you have.

When you walk out those doors today, I want you to leave knowing what you have, what you have.

You should be as certain of spiritual realities as you are about physical realities.

Okay, 1 John 4 verse 4 says, you are of God, little children,

1 John 4:4

and I have overcome them because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

We need to walk out of here with that knowledge. Remember Paul's words from earlier?

We have treasure in earthly clay vessels.

Okay, do you know what you have?

Do you know what you have? If you have the Spirit of Christ in you,

then I can tell you what you have. Here we go.

You have eternal life abiding in you.

You have salvation through a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit.

You have the Spirit of Christ abiding in you.

You have an anointing from God upon you.

You have an inner source of spiritual peace, strength, and joy.

Inside you. You have a position in Christ far above the devil and his demons.

You have an inheritance in Christ that is not in heaven waiting for you to die. Did you hear that?

You have an inheritance from Christ that's not waiting in heaven for you to

die, but it's in you. It's in him.

Christ is in you, the hope of glory.

You have an abiding presence of Jesus. For he said, I will not leave you or

forsake you. He said that.

We need to know that. We need to believe that.

Josh, come on up for me. You have a power in you that is greater than all the

power of the devil. We need to know that.

For it is written, greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. I read that earlier.

You have a living faith that can access all of the blessings of the kingdom

of God because you cannot be saved without faith.

You have a heavenly Father who is with you every day, watching over you,

protecting you and blessing you all along the way.

You have as your weapons, the blood of Jesus. You have the name of Jesus as

your weapon, the power of praise, and you have the Word of God.

You have the helmet of salvation. You have the breastplate of righteousness.

You have the girdle of truth,

the shield of faith you have it the sword of the spirit the shoes of peace you have all of those things,

you say oh pastor now I get it you're talking spiritual yeah I am yes sir I

am now you get it you get it everything I'm talking about is spiritual.

Music.

They are spiritual realities in our lives they are you know what they're as

real as the ground we walk on they're as real as the ground you walk on and

they're as real as the air that you breathe,

they are recognized in heaven and in earth on earth if you want to be a dangerous christian,

you're going to have to be a spiritual Christian because these things only work in the spirit.

That's why I said when you leave here later today or in a little while,

when you leave here you're not just leaving here I don't want you just to leave here with knowledge.

Music.

I want you to walk out of here with the reality of knowing that you have the

power of the spirituality in you as well the Holy Spirit in you as well.

Yes, we walk in the flesh we walk in the flesh but we do not war in the flesh

for the weapons of our warfare are not worldly but mighty through God,

for the pulling down of strongholds and the casting down of arguments and very

high things that exalt itself above the knowledge of God,

here's the bit I want you to do with me right now I want you to turn to your

neighbour you'll love it when I do this turn to your neighbour and say I'm ready,

I'm armed and I'm dangerous.

Music.