Acts 8:4-25
Jesus used a word that means CALLED OUT for the church. We are CALLED OUT from our culture, we are CALLED OUT from our peers, from our religion, from our chains of sin and shame. We are CALLED OUT from our comfort zone and from our comfy couches! We are CALLED OUT from our sleep and our slumber and our lazy ways of selfish living. It’s not about you! Church is not about YOU.
In fact, once you are in the doors and you call yourself a Christian, it’s your job to turn right back around and provide the things that we’ve been talking about in this series. It’s your job to testify. It’s your job to gather. It’s your job to heal. It's your job to deliver.
Don't be afraid.
Deliverance is part of the ministry of Jesus, therefore it IS part of our ministry too.
I think, when dealing with demons, a super important piece of it is to not give them the attention they so desire. Don’t make it a bigger deal than it is…and to do that, you have to know just how powerful YOU are, in Jesus.
Stop making the problem SO BIG and God SO SMALL!
Stop glorifying your problem, and glorify the name of Jesus.
It's about Jesus. (Keep the main thing, the main thing.)
This is the best biblical example I can think of, of someone worshiping the gift and not the Giver (Simon the Sorcerer).
Here’s another important thing to know before trying to face down a demon…you have better done your work first. Meaning, if you and Jesus aren’t square…if you aren’t being obedient in a certain area…the demon will know, and won’t take you seriously.
Demons can and will be able to sense your revelation of Jesus is, and your obedience level to Him.
There are some Christians out there right now pursuing only REVIVAL, and what they get, is performance. It’s cheap, it’s fake, it’s gross. When in reality, if you pursue JESUS, you get revival.
It's a gift.
Peter and John weren’t so offended by Simon’s request because they wanted to hoard the power to themselves, or because it’s NOT available to everyone.
They’re so offended by Simon’s request, because the power isn’t bought or earned…it’s GIVEN! And if Simon truly knew Jesus, he would have understood that too.
So that’s my question for you today. Do you truly know Jesus? Do you truly understand the GIFT that He has given us?
That it can never be earned…only given.
That it can never be bought…only received.
That to pursue the gift itself doesn’t make sense, but to pursue Jesus is the only thing that will ever truly make sense. It’s the way the rest of life makes sense!
When you do truly understand that–it’s hard not to be delivered! When you do, the demons WILL flee!
this is what we need to deliver our world from darkness. Maybe it’s not demons that your friends at work are dealing with, but it is loneliness. Maybe it’s depression. Anxiety. Maybe it’s financial burdens. Maybe it’s family stuff.
We may not be able to solve all their problems immediately…but the way that the Acts church lived…sure did solve a lot of those. They lived a life in surrender to Jesus Christ…and that alone will deliver most issues!! They lived a life that allowed the HS to work through them. That’s what our world needs right now.
A church on fire.