Message 6: Freedom

William Wallace – played by Mel Gibson in the movie BRAVEHEART – wanted one thing: To live free. When that freedom was threatened by the tyranny of England, a warrior awoke in Wallace that is still remembered some 700 years after his murder.

FREEDOM is a powerful force. As American’s we know that our country was founded upon the principle of freedom. Wars are fought over freedom. Men and women freely give away their lives in order to protect and defend freedom.

Satan and his demons HATE FREEDOM. He wants you to be ensnared and enslaved in his web of deceit and destruction. He wants you to live captive to sin and death.

But GOD loves freedom. FREEDOM is what brought Jesus to earth. Galatians 5 says…
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is required to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." Galatians 5:1-6

The New Christian gets this message loud and clear: The 21st Century Christian has been SET FREE to put their faith into action!

What does this mean?
1. The 21st Century Christian Has Been Set Free By Christ From The Past!
We all have skeletons in our closet.
We are have things we are ashamed of.
Most of us carry within us that fear that on the Day of Judgment, God will have giant video screens in Heaven showing all of our secret sins. That wouldn’t be Heaven – that’d be Hell!

Are you a Christian? Have you placed your faith in the blood of Jesus Christ?

You see – the 21st Century Christian isn’t held back by his past – because his past has been FOREVER FORGIVEN AND FOREVER FORGOTTEN BY GOD!

"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:13, 14

Your past is not relevant, because you have been changed by the blood of Christ! The 21st Century Christian has been set free by Christ from the past. They do not sit around grieving over their past sins – instead they…
"…walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." 1 John 1:7

The 21st Century Christian has been set free by Christ from the past – will you accept this freedom?
2. The 21st Century Christian Has Been Set Free By Christ From the Religion of Negativity!

The religions of man place a heavy burden of rules, regulations and laws. “Do this, don’t do that.”
The Jews of Jesus day were really into rules and regulations.

The Talmud – a collection of writings with the Laws of Moses included some 613 laws! And get this – 248 were positive laws and 365 were negative laws. Can you imagine waking up everyday trying to remember 613 laws to obey?

For far too long, Christianity has been known more by what we are AGAINST than what we are FOR! Churches have created long lists of “Do’s and Don’t’s” for their people.

But, just because a person keeps rules, doesn’t make them holy! You can take all the negative things out of your life – but what do you replace them with?

Jesus illustrated this in Matthew 12:43-45…
""When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation."" Matthew 12:43-45

You see, it isn’t enough to stop doing evil, you’ve got to replace it with something positive! Way too many Christians today are very proud of how they’ve stopped ‘doing this, or doing that’ but what have they filled their lives with?

The 21st Century Christian can’t be satisfied in simply stopping doing the negative behaviors – they need and depend upon the FILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT to produce SPIRITUAL FRUIT in their lives! WE WILL TALK MORE ABOUT THIS NEXT WEEK.

The 21st Century Christian Has Been Set Free By Christ From the Religion of Negativity!

Now, look again at Galatians 5…
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1

Look at the word ‘freedom’ – or in the King James – ‘liberty’ – The Greek word literally means to ‘live according to design’.

True freedom is when you live according to God’s design for your life! God created you to be the Highest Creation, to rule over the earth, to have dominion and control over all other created beings, to live in true fellowship with Him and with each other. God created your Spirit to rule over your Body and Soul.

But sin crept in and ever since then there has been a power struggle within each and everyone of us. The Flesh wants control. Your emotions want control. Your Intellect demands leadership. You want what you want when you want it.
But this isn’t who you really are. This isn’t your true identity. Which is why Christ came to earth. “It is for FREEDOM that Christ has set us free!”

The word “FREE” means to ‘set at liberty’ or to ‘make us free from sin’s dominion’ over our lives!

The very purpose Christ came to earth to fulfill was to bring you back to place of true freedom! That your life would be restored to ‘pre-sin’ condition.

Freedom is costly. It cost Jesus His life. But, when He looked at you, He decided that you are a good investment. YOU ARE WORTH IT!

Paul writes:
“Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery…”

Freedom can be easily lost. We must stand in our freedom. We must fight for our freedom. Paul says ‘don’t let yourselves be burdened’ – do you get that? You cannot allow anyone or anything to make you a slave again! Christ gave you freedom – now stand in it!

There was quite a controversy in the early church about whether Greek converts to Christianity needed to become Jews prior to becoming Christians. Circumcision represents the keeping of the Old Testament Law. Paul says: “NO! The Law is of no value! The Law cannot create salvation.
LOOK AT VERSE 2…
"Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is required to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace." Galatians 5:2-4, NIV.

And as we read the next verse…
"But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value.” Galatians 5:5-6a

Righteousness comes through GRACE! God’s grace is all you need. Place your faith in His Grace and you will be FREE! You don’t need to obey the Law – you need to trust God! The Blood of Christ is all you need!

Look at the last part of verse 6:
“The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." Galatians 5:6b

This answers the question:
WHAT IS OUR PART IN THE DEAL? Our part is FAITH that is expressed in love!

Jesus said in Matthew 22…
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew 22:37-40

The 21st Century Christian is FREE to live in FAITH that is expressed in LOVE! My freedom in Christ isn’t so that I can run around sinning like a madman. If I do that, I have missed the point of the Gospel entirely.

Paul wrote: "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law." Romans 13:8, KJV

Faith that is expressed in love in action means that you – the 21st Century Christian rise up and you make an impact on those around you. Your life matters. You are Christ to this world!

Let me illustrate what I’m getting at by reviewing the first four characteristics of the 21st Century Christian:
I. I possess an IDENTITY that is unshakable! (Proverbs 4:23, Romans 1:7, John 14:12, Philippians 1:27, 2 Corinthians 10:5, John 8:32, Philippians 1:27)

When I came to Christ, He gave me a new identity. I am not who I used to be. I have been born again. There is nothing this world can do to me – including take my life – that changes the fact that I belong to God! I am a Child of the King! You can take my life, but you cannot take my identity!

II. I am EMPOWERED to do the impossible! (1 Corinthians 4:20, Matthew 17:14-20, Romans 12:2, 1 John 5:4-5)

No longer do I go through life ‘doing the best I can under the circumstances’. I am filled with the Holy Spirit of God. His power resides in me. It is true that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. It is true that because of my faith in Christ, I will be empowered to do greater things than Christ did! Whatever I may face, by faith, I will be victorious!

III. I have spiritual AUTHORITY over evil and illness! (Matthew 9:35-10:8, Matthew 18:1-4, 2 Corinthians 10:5, Mark 16:15-18)

Evil spirits and illness are no match for God. And because I have the Holy Spirit within me, I, along with my brothers and sisters in Christ, will rebuke Satan and His demons as they seek to destroy me and those Christ loves. Not only that, but I’ll pray believing for this sick, asking God to heal and restore them to fullness of health and live, in order that Christ would be glorified. When I show up on the scene, it is that same thing as Christ showing up! Evil spirits will run! Illness will be healed! I will operate in the authority granted me by Christ to stop Satan and to promote God’s Kingdom!

IV. I take RESPONSIBILITY to reclaim what belongs to God! (Psalms 24:1-2, Ezekiel 22:30-31, Ephesians 4:14-15, Acts 16:18, Romans 10:8-10)

Realizing that I am Christ to this lost and dying world, I will take RESPONSIBILITY to actively seek after that which is lost and to help them find their way back to God. I will speak the truth in love. I will rebuke the liar in Jesus Name. I will speak faith in life. I will bring the priorities of God to the problems of today. In all of this, I desire to be used of God to reclaim what belongs to Him!

V. I am FREE in Christ to express my faith in love towards others! (Galatians 5:1-6, Colossians 1:13-14, 1 John 1:7, Matthew 22:37-40, Romans 6:1-3, 13:8)

Fully rejecting the ‘religion of negativity’ that Satan seeks to impose upon me, I will not be held captive to the rules and laws of man. Instead, I fully appreciate and embrace the freedom that Christ has given me through His blood shed for me on the Cross. And, having been restored to freedom, I will walk in love towards those around me, in faith that they too would be restored to right relationship with God.

CONCLUSION: We are free. The gods of men would hold you back. But, Christ sets you free. And…. "…if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:36

Today is the day of freedom.
Let go of that which holds you captive, and embrace the One who sets you free.
Who here needs freedom? Who here has areas of death that are holding them in chains?

Your new identity and empowerment depend on your willingness to accept your new freedom and run with it. You have to be willing to step out in faith and use your freedom, often at some risk.

A group of house church members in China’s Anhui province sensed the leading of the Holy Spirit to go to the hospital and pray for those whom the Doctors had given up on. “You have to take risks for God,” says one believer. “We prayed for 20 days for one patient, and he was only healed at the very last.” A friend added, “We were sweating, because the family was telling us to go away because we were angering the gods. They were beginning to threaten violence against us.” In one year they prayed for 20 terminal cases, and all were healed, mostly of cancer. The church grew from zero to 200 members.

Today – it is time for you to become a 21st Century Christian: Stand - pray this prayer with me: Lift up your hands to Christ:

Jesus – I accept your gift of freedom from the past.
I will no longer be held back by my past.
Jesus – I place your blood over me as a sin offering
and I receive the purity that You give.
I am not who I used to be.
Now, I am yours. Now, I am forgiven. I am clean.
Now, I am a new person thanks to you!
Now, teach me to live in this freedom you’ve given!
Jesus, I give you (Name it)
I no longer want it. I submit it to you.
Instead of clinging to that which I know, I release it to You.
And as I release, I worship You.
For You are far greater and are worthy of my praise.
Jesus – everything I need is found in You.
Jesus – everything I long for comes from You.
Holy Spirit – fill me. Holy Spirit baptize me. Holy Spirit empower me.
Holy Spirit enable me to Worship!
Jesus – Jesus – Jesus – I worship You!

Message 6: Freedom

William Wallace – played by Mel Gibson in the movie BRAVEHEART – wanted one thing: To live free. When that freedom was threatened by the tyranny of England, a warrior awoke in Wallace that is still remembered some 700 years after his murder.

FREEDOM is a powerful force. As American’s we know that our country was founded upon the principle of freedom. Wars are fought over freedom. Men and women freely give away their lives in order to protect and defend freedom.

Satan and his demons HATE FREEDOM. He wants you to be ensnared and enslaved in his web of deceit and destruction. He wants you to live captive to sin and death.

But GOD loves freedom. FREEDOM is what brought Jesus to earth. Galatians 5 says…
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is required to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." Galatians 5:1-6

The New Christian gets this message loud and clear: The 21st Century Christian has been SET FREE to put their faith into action!

What does this mean?
1. The 21st Century Christian Has Been Set Free By Christ From The Past!
We all have skeletons in our closet.
We are have things we are ashamed of.
Most of us carry within us that fear that on the Day of Judgment, God will have giant video screens in Heaven showing all of our secret sins. That wouldn’t be Heaven – that’d be Hell!

Are you a Christian? Have you placed your faith in the blood of Jesus Christ?

You see – the 21st Century Christian isn’t held back by his past – because his past has been FOREVER FORGIVEN AND FOREVER FORGOTTEN BY GOD!

"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:13, 14

Your past is not relevant, because you have been changed by the blood of Christ! The 21st Century Christian has been set free by Christ from the past. They do not sit around grieving over their past sins – instead they…
"…walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." 1 John 1:7

The 21st Century Christian has been set free by Christ from the past – will you accept this freedom?
2. The 21st Century Christian Has Been Set Free By Christ From the Religion of Negativity!

The religions of man place a heavy burden of rules, regulations and laws. “Do this, don’t do that.”
The Jews of Jesus day were really into rules and regulations.

The Talmud – a collection of writings with the Laws of Moses included some 613 laws! And get this – 248 were positive laws and 365 were negative laws. Can you imagine waking up everyday trying to remember 613 laws to obey?

For far too long, Christianity has been known more by what we are AGAINST than what we are FOR! Churches have created long lists of “Do’s and Don’t’s” for their people.

But, just because a person keeps rules, doesn’t make them holy! You can take all the negative things out of your life – but what do you replace them with?

Jesus illustrated this in Matthew 12:43-45…
""When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation."" Matthew 12:43-45

You see, it isn’t enough to stop doing evil, you’ve got to replace it with something positive! Way too many Christians today are very proud of how they’ve stopped ‘doing this, or doing that’ but what have they filled their lives with?

The 21st Century Christian can’t be satisfied in simply stopping doing the negative behaviors – they need and depend upon the FILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT to produce SPIRITUAL FRUIT in their lives! WE WILL TALK MORE ABOUT THIS NEXT WEEK.

The 21st Century Christian Has Been Set Free By Christ From the Religion of Negativity!

Now, look again at Galatians 5…
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1

Look at the word ‘freedom’ – or in the King James – ‘liberty’ – The Greek word literally means to ‘live according to design’.

True freedom is when you live according to God’s design for your life! God created you to be the Highest Creation, to rule over the earth, to have dominion and control over all other created beings, to live in true fellowship with Him and with each other. God created your Spirit to rule over your Body and Soul.

But sin crept in and ever since then there has been a power struggle within each and everyone of us. The Flesh wants control. Your emotions want control. Your Intellect demands leadership. You want what you want when you want it.
But this isn’t who you really are. This isn’t your true identity. Which is why Christ came to earth. “It is for FREEDOM that Christ has set us free!”

The word “FREE” means to ‘set at liberty’ or to ‘make us free from sin’s dominion’ over our lives!

The very purpose Christ came to earth to fulfill was to bring you back to place of true freedom! That your life would be restored to ‘pre-sin’ condition.

Freedom is costly. It cost Jesus His life. But, when He looked at you, He decided that you are a good investment. YOU ARE WORTH IT!

Paul writes:
“Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery…”

Freedom can be easily lost. We must stand in our freedom. We must fight for our freedom. Paul says ‘don’t let yourselves be burdened’ – do you get that? You cannot allow anyone or anything to make you a slave again! Christ gave you freedom – now stand in it!

There was quite a controversy in the early church about whether Greek converts to Christianity needed to become Jews prior to becoming Christians. Circumcision represents the keeping of the Old Testament Law. Paul says: “NO! The Law is of no value! The Law cannot create salvation.
LOOK AT VERSE 2…
"Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is required to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace." Galatians 5:2-4, NIV.

And as we read the next verse…
"But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value.” Galatians 5:5-6a

Righteousness comes through GRACE! God’s grace is all you need. Place your faith in His Grace and you will be FREE! You don’t need to obey the Law – you need to trust God! The Blood of Christ is all you need!

Look at the last part of verse 6:
“The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." Galatians 5:6b

This answers the question:
WHAT IS OUR PART IN THE DEAL? Our part is FAITH that is expressed in love!

Jesus said in Matthew 22…
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew 22:37-40

The 21st Century Christian is FREE to live in FAITH that is expressed in LOVE! My freedom in Christ isn’t so that I can run around sinning like a madman. If I do that, I have missed the point of the Gospel entirely.

Paul wrote: "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law." Romans 13:8, KJV

Faith that is expressed in love in action means that you – the 21st Century Christian rise up and you make an impact on those around you. Your life matters. You are Christ to this world!

Let me illustrate what I’m getting at by reviewing the first four characteristics of the 21st Century Christian:
I. I possess an IDENTITY that is unshakable! (Proverbs 4:23, Romans 1:7, John 14:12, Philippians 1:27, 2 Corinthians 10:5, John 8:32, Philippians 1:27)

When I came to Christ, He gave me a new identity. I am not who I used to be. I have been born again. There is nothing this world can do to me – including take my life – that changes the fact that I belong to God! I am a Child of the King! You can take my life, but you cannot take my identity!

II. I am EMPOWERED to do the impossible! (1 Corinthians 4:20, Matthew 17:14-20, Romans 12:2, 1 John 5:4-5)

No longer do I go through life ‘doing the best I can under the circumstances’. I am filled with the Holy Spirit of God. His power resides in me. It is true that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. It is true that because of my faith in Christ, I will be empowered to do greater things than Christ did! Whatever I may face, by faith, I will be victorious!

III. I have spiritual AUTHORITY over evil and illness! (Matthew 9:35-10:8, Matthew 18:1-4, 2 Corinthians 10:5, Mark 16:15-18)

Evil spirits and illness are no match for God. And because I have the Holy Spirit within me, I, along with my brothers and sisters in Christ, will rebuke Satan and His demons as they seek to destroy me and those Christ loves. Not only that, but I’ll pray believing for this sick, asking God to heal and restore them to fullness of health and live, in order that Christ would be glorified. When I show up on the scene, it is that same thing as Christ showing up! Evil spirits will run! Illness will be healed! I will operate in the authority granted me by Christ to stop Satan and to promote God’s Kingdom!

IV. I take RESPONSIBILITY to reclaim what belongs to God! (Psalms 24:1-2, Ezekiel 22:30-31, Ephesians 4:14-15, Acts 16:18, Romans 10:8-10)

Realizing that I am Christ to this lost and dying world, I will take RESPONSIBILITY to actively seek after that which is lost and to help them find their way back to God. I will speak the truth in love. I will rebuke the liar in Jesus Name. I will speak faith in life. I will bring the priorities of God to the problems of today. In all of this, I desire to be used of God to reclaim what belongs to Him!

V. I am FREE in Christ to express my faith in love towards others! (Galatians 5:1-6, Colossians 1:13-14, 1 John 1:7, Matthew 22:37-40, Romans 6:1-3, 13:8)

Fully rejecting the ‘religion of negativity’ that Satan seeks to impose upon me, I will not be held captive to the rules and laws of man. Instead, I fully appreciate and embrace the freedom that Christ has given me through His blood shed for me on the Cross. And, having been restored to freedom, I will walk in love towards those around me, in faith that they too would be restored to right relationship with God.

CONCLUSION: We are free. The gods of men would hold you back. But, Christ sets you free. And…. "…if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:36

Today is the day of freedom.
Let go of that which holds you captive, and embrace the One who sets you free.
Who here needs freedom? Who here has areas of death that are holding them in chains?

Your new identity and empowerment depend on your willingness to accept your new freedom and run with it. You have to be willing to step out in faith and use your freedom, often at some risk.

A group of house church members in China’s Anhui province sensed the leading of the Holy Spirit to go to the hospital and pray for those whom the Doctors had given up on. “You have to take risks for God,” says one believer. “We prayed for 20 days for one patient, and he was only healed at the very last.” A friend added, “We were sweating, because the family was telling us to go away because we were angering the gods. They were beginning to threaten violence against us.” In one year they prayed for 20 terminal cases, and all were healed, mostly of cancer. The church grew from zero to 200 members.

Today – it is time for you to become a 21st Century Christian: Stand - pray this prayer with me: Lift up your hands to Christ:

Jesus – I accept your gift of freedom from the past.
I will no longer be held back by my past.
Jesus – I place your blood over me as a sin offering
and I receive the purity that You give.
I am not who I used to be.
Now, I am yours. Now, I am forgiven. I am clean.
Now, I am a new person thanks to you!
Now, teach me to live in this freedom you’ve given!
Jesus, I give you (Name it)
I no longer want it. I submit it to you.
Instead of clinging to that which I know, I release it to You.
And as I release, I worship You.
For You are far greater and are worthy of my praise.
Jesus – everything I need is found in You.
Jesus – everything I long for comes from You.
Holy Spirit – fill me. Holy Spirit baptize me. Holy Spirit empower me.
Holy Spirit enable me to Worship!
Jesus – Jesus – Jesus – I worship You!

Message 5: Responsibility

Throughout the world today God is raising up a NEW Christian:

• IDENTITY that is not based upon culture, race, gender, socio-economic status or income – rather they view themselves as members of the Kingdom of God! Therefore, they are not SINNERS SAVED BY GRACE – but are THE CHOSEN PEOPLE OF GOD – SAINTS CALLED TO A HIGHER PURPOSE!

• POWER FOR LIVING that doesn’t come from self, rather they are walking in the power of the Holy Spirit empower to do the impossible in Jesus Name! Therefore, because ‘all things are possible to those who believe,’ they are exercising their God-given AUTHORITY to raise the dead, heal the sick and bring freedom to the captives!

These two truths: Identity and Power – give you the ABILITY to do whatever Christ calls you to do!

The question isn’t whether you have the ability – the question is what will your RESPONSE be! I want you to put RESPONSE and ABILITY together – and they form the word: RESPONSIBILITY.

• RESPONSIBILITY to be Christ to a sick and dying world! Because I am a child of God, walking in His power and authority, I will bring Christ’s Presence into wherever He sends me! My response is the say “Yes, I am able to do the impossible in Christ’s power!”

This RESPONSIBILITY takes Psalms 24:1-2 seriously:
“The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters." Psalms 24:1, 2

And because God owns everything, the 21st Century Christian takes back that which has been wrongfully stolen from Him!

Here’s an example from George Otis’ book God’s Trademarks. Otis speaks of a time when his father, a longtime but former employee of Lear Jet felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit to call his former boss, William Lear. Here’s the story:

“My father had worked for Lear in the late 1950s as his corporate general manager. Despite Lear’s reputation as a hard-living eccentric, my father retained a fondness for him. Years after leaving Lear’s employ, my father was prompted by the Lord to call Bill. Although the two had not spoken for many years, he still knew how to reach his home in Reno, Nevada.

Bill Lear answered the phone.

“Bill, this is George Otis. I know this may sound odd, but the Lord placed you on my heart this morning. I just had to call and find out what’s happening in your life. God’s thinking about you, Bill.”

There was a long silence on the other end of the line.

“It’s good to hear from you,” Lear said tersely. “But could you call back in ten or fifteen minutes?”

The second time Bill’s voice sounded brighter.

“I need to share something with you, George. Something amazing. When you called a few minutes ago, I was sitting at my desk preparing to take my own life. I haven’t been well and I thought my revolver was the answer.”

Lear invited Otis to fly to Reno. With Otis’s help, he found Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord. He died shortly afterward, at peace, a son of the King.” (As quoted by James Rutz in MEGASHIFT)

That is what I mean by taking responsibility. The Lord placed Lear on Otis’s heart. And Otis took responsibility and picked up the phone. Eternity shook.

How many times does the Holy Spirit put something or someone on your heart and you do nothing. Eternity lies in the balance – and we must take responsibility for our part.

In the early part of Ezekiel 22, God declares His intention to destroy Israel because of this corruption and evil deeds. In verse 30-31 He searches for just one man who will rise up to fight for Israel, to be used of God to restore the people of Israel to right living. And – as we are about to read – there is no one in all the land who will take responsibility. God is looking for a warrior, and all He finds is passivity!

"I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so that I would not have to destroy it, but I found none. So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD." Ezekiel 22:30, 31

In our world today, God is looking to raise up a new kind of Christian who will stand before Him in the gap and take responsibility – a Spirit lead determination to reclaim that which has been stolen by the enemy and what belongs to God.

These new saints of God understand God’s highest desires and they are willing to stand up and fight – tooth and nail, with fiery passion – to make sure that He doesn’t have to settle for anything less!

Walking in our new identity, empowered by the Holy Spirit, moving in Spiritual authority – we stand up to the bully, and in Jesus Name we fight the good fight of faith!

Someone has said that “talk is cheap” – but today, I’m going to disagree with that nugget of convention wisdom.

"The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."" Romans 10:8-11

You are responsible to speak up! And what you say – has power!

I. The 21st Century Christian takes responsibility to speak the truth! – Ephesians 4:14-15

"Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ." Ephesians 4:14, 15, NIV.

As a Christian you’ve got two choices – believe the lies and get tossed like a toy boat in the ocean – or speak the truth and become like Jesus!

But God knows we need help with this. It’s easy to get caught up in the devil’s lies. It’s easy to get sucked into the vortex of his distortions! We need each other. We need to count on each other to ‘speak the truth in love…’ so that we can be free!

Let’s say you’ve got a Christian friend who is really depressed. They feel like giving up. Things are not going well for them. There vocabulary is changing – “I quit” “What’s the use” – become their mantra. What do they need?

They need you to come along side of them, and lovingly speak the truth. They need the truth. Why? Because Jesus said that the truth sets people free! And they need to be set free from Satan’s snare!

So, you come along – and appeal to their true identity. They are a Saint of God. They are Chosen and Precious to Him. So you remind them of that truth: “When I look at you, I see that you belong to Christ! I see that you love Him. I want to remind you that you are His. Nothing can separate you – even this discouraging time – from Him and from His love. You are His and He is yours.”

And you help them see, with gentleness of heart and compassion, that the sinful attitude, or behavior they are adopting doesn’t reflect who they really are. “This isn’t you. You are His. You love truth. This is leading you away from who you really are!”

And you remind them of the battle: “God wants you to experience abundant life. Real joy. Healing. Purpose, meaning and confidence. But you have a enemy who is doing everything that he can to take your eyes off of Christ and to kill you. Satan wants to kill you and everything you really stand for! And if you stay on this path, it only has one destination: death. But, when you turn back to Christ and trust Him with your life, He’ll lead you out of this mess and bring you to real life.”

And what is so cool about this – when you speak the truth in love this way – Jesus says in Matthew 18:15 that you will have…. ‘won your brother over!”

You are responsible to speak the truth in love!

But -
II. The 21st Century Christian takes responsibility to rebuke the liar!

You see, your friend who is struggling is doing so – not because they are bad, or somehow not truly saved – they are struggling because Satan is a liar and he is out to get them! So someone needs to stand up against the liar and put him in his place. Which, by the way, is hell.

Speak to the liar! He can’t hear what you are thinking. He is real and he can hear you. So stand up, gather your faith, open your mouth and rebuke Him in Jesus Name!

You’ve been given authority to tell Satan where to stick it! Paul was being troubled by a demonized girl and he finally spoke up…

"In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!" At that moment the spirit left her.” Acts 16:18

Listen to me: When you – or when people you love – are being told lies and are struggling spiritually, it’s time to stand up, to step up and speak out: “Satan, in the Name of Jesus Christ, I command you to leave me alone!” And when you do that, he has no choice but to flee!

How much of our suffering, temptation, struggle, and failure is directly the result of demons doing their very best to lead you away from Christ? All of it.

When your friend is struggling, help them see the warfare dimension and to gather up the faith to rebuke satan!

Take responsibility and tell him where to go – in Jesus Name!

Now there is a third dimension to spiritual speech…
III. The 21st Century Christian takes responsibility to speak faith! – Romans 10:8-11

"The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."" Romans 10:8-11

Speaking faith is taking what you believe to be true about God and His plans – and opening your mouth and declaring them!

There is great power in spoken faith! Declaring what you believe with your mouth! Opening your mouth and making a verbal stand! Vital!

I’m not talking about emotional hype.
I’m not talking about positive thinking.

I am talking about taking a stand – declaring your faith. Confessing out loud what you believe and what you are believing God to do.

So, you are sitting down with your discouraged friend, and you begin to lovingly speak faith.
“God wants to heal you. God wants to restore you. God wants for you to feel His power. God wants you to trust Him. God will take care of all our your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus!”

Is that hopeful wishing? NO! It is taking God at His Word! “God, you said it. I am choosing to believe. I am believing that you will accomplish what you’ve promised!”

God is looking – far and wide – for a people who will stand up and take their place in the battle. Is there anyone here who will respond?

“The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters." Psalms 24:1, 2

Let’s take responsibility to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in recovering what belongs to God!

Take action…

• What truth do you need to speak today?
• What lie do you need to rebuke today?
• What faith needs expressing today?

Message 4: Authority

God has always had a game plan to reclaim that which was taken from Him. And the game plan was always this:
• He’d send Jesus to the earth – to become a man and live amongst us – demonstrating to us what a non-sin-stained human life could be like – and then, Jesus would take on the guilt and responsibility of our sin, pay the debt we cannot pay, resurrect from the dead and return to His Father’s side in heaven.
• But then, He’d send the Holy Spirit to live within those who believe. The Holy Spirit would serve to comfort and guide us through life, but also to empower us to live like Jesus.

We are Christ to this dark, dying world. We are called to be His People and to invade the earth seeking those who are lost and helping them to find their way back home. And we’ve been given everything we need to accomplish this. We lack nothing.

“Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” Matthew 9:35-10:8

I want you to notice two important truths:
1. Christ bestows spiritual authority upon those who believe.
10:1 says that those who are His disciples are given authority! Authority over evil spirits and authority to heal. There is no getting around this verse.

2. Spiritual authority is God’s will for your life.
Are you a disciple of Christ? If so, it is God’s will that you exercise the authority He has bestowed upon you. Period.

Turn to Genesis 1:27:
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”” Genesis 1:27, 28

As the image bearer of God – you have been given an assignment:
1. Be fruitful and increase in number. (Don’t sit back and simply enjoy being an image-bearer – increase!)
2. Subdue the earth. ‘Subdue’ means… “to bring into subjection, under control, to conquer by force or by superior power.’
3. Rule over every living creature. ‘Rule’ means… ‘to control or direct, to exercise authority or power over, to play a dominant role in or exert a controlling influence over, and to hold preeminence in (as in abilility, strength or position).

Another was of expressing this is that God intended you to have power and dominance over the Creation.
• But that rule was lost when man sinned.
• Satan took what belonged to us and became ruler of the earth.
• When Christ died on the cross and rose again, he not only redeemed us from sin and removed the barrier between us and Him, but he also enabled us to become children of God. In so doing, he took the authority away from Satan and put it back where it belonged – in our hands!

Now get this: When we assume our spiritual authority by faith, we are equipped to exert authority over all the demonic forces and over illnesses and disease – just as Matthew 10:1 tells us…
“…and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness…”

A young man from a very poor family was granted a scholarship to a prestigious university far from home. Even though his tuition and board were paid in full, he had very little spending money. As part of the scholarship, the university agreed to pay his airfare to and from home three times a year. On each flight he’d bring a brown bag meal, and when the flight attendant would ask him if he’d like a drink or a meal, he’d politely decline. This went on for four years. And when he graduated, he received some very generous cash gifts. On his final flight home, he thought that he’d splurge, so he ate and drank to his heart’s content. At the conclusion of the flight he asked the attendant for his bill. The attendant smiled and said: “There is no bill, the food and drink is included in the price of your ticket.” The young man was astonished – he’d never been able to enjoy any of the meals because he didn’t know that they were free!

This is the same as many of us are experiencing – We are not enjoying the spiritual authority that is rightfully ours because we don’t know about it!

PREPARATION FOR SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY
God has this church in a season of preparation. One of the vital lessons we must learn is that we’ve been empowered by God with His authority!

Where do we begin?
“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:1-4

Spiritual authority comes through childlike faith. Children accept and believe with total innocence. They don’t have preconceived ideas that prevent them from believing.

It’s time for you and I to take our preconceived ideas that hold us back from believing and to repent of them!

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5

If you are going to walk in spiritual authority – you’ve got to stop believing lies and begin to believe the truth.

Many try to understand the things of the Spirit through the intellect, but you won’t be able to! Jesus said in Luke 10:21…
“At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.” Luke 10:21

Do you want to walk in spiritual authority? Let go of your best ideas – and allow God’s Spirit to reveal the truth to you! You see, when I hold on to what I know and what I understand, it eliminates me from walking in the supernatural.

Let me give you an illustration of this from Argentine Evangelist Carlos Annacondia. They were holding an evangelistic meeting in a large city in the north of Argentina. They set up a large tent and filled it with wooden benches. A crowd gathered – and so did a swarm of mosquitoes. Everyone was slapping them and chaos was fast approaching. Here’s what Annacondia says happened next:
“God told me throw the mosquitoes out of the tent. Here is where supernatural faith was going to start working. But I said, “Lord, how do You expect me to do that? If I throw them out and they don’t go, I will be the one who will have to go.” But since He insisted, I responded, “All right, if You give me the faith to do it, I will throw them out.” I stood up and suddenly a supernatural faith came over me. Like David, face to face with Goliath, I had no doubts about victory. I said, “Brothers and sisters, stand up and let us pray and cast these mosquitoes out in the name of Jesus! Now! Right now!” In seconds all the mosquitoes were gone. The people were in awe and God’s name was glorified!” (Carlos Annacondia, LISTEN TO ME, SATAN!)

Last week we talked about how faith moves mountains – and here’s a story of how faith moves mosquitoes!

Being prepared for spiritual authority requires that we stop telling God what He cannot do and that we begin to operate in a supernatural faith that moves.

WHY DO WE NEED TO OPERATE IN SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY? Mark 16:15-18

Because signs and wonders are a sign for unbelievers!
“He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”” Mark 16:15-18

Christ tells us to go out and preach the gospel. And as we do so, we are to demonstrate the reality of His Word, His Kingdom and His Message through signs and wonders! The signs are a testimony to the reality of the message!
• Drive out demons
• Speak in new tongues
• Dodge death
• Heal the sick

Only God can do these things! And God gets the glory through them!

God has always spoken to people through signs and wonders:
• Moses’ staff becoming a snake – Exodus 4:2-9
• Israel in the desert through a cloud by day and a fire by night – Exodus 13:21
• Gideon’s fleece – Judges 6:36-40
• Jesus’ numerous healings in Israel – John 3:2, Luke 7:18-22
• Tongues at Pentecost – Acts 2:4

And God has not changed.

God uses signs and wonders – done by people exercising supernatural faith in spiritual authority – so that people would come to know Jesus as Lord and be reclaimed into the Kingdom of God!

The New Christian is EMPOWERED to do the impossible by believing that ‘nothing is impossible with God’

Christ gave you spiritual authority.

Where there is illness – take your spiritual authority and go up against it!
Where there is evil – take your spiritual authority and defeat it!

We are in a season of preparation – and we now know that we have all the spiritual authority we need to live out our faith and to take back that which belongs to Christ!

It’s time to accept it and use it. And we’ve been given everything we need to accomplish this. We lack nothing. Say it outloud: “I lack nothing!” Say it outloud: “I have everything I need in Christ Jesus!” Say it outloud: “Satan, I’m coming in Jesus name to take back what it his!”

The future of this church is dependant upon you and I taking God at His Word and putting His Word into action! You have people in your life that need what you have!

What needs reclaiming today? Let’s practice what’s been preached – let’s exercise spiritual authority over the enemy and over illness. Will you believe with me? Will you put your faith into action?