Breaking Out and Releasing the God Inside Us
II Corinthians 6:11 - Your life and who you are not defined by what you have or what you do in the natural. “Your life is not small, but you are living it in a small way.”
We want to go to new places. We want to go into new things with God that we have never seen before. We are all at different levels, and some of us are moving from being part time Christians to living for God full time. Some people just fit God into their lives, but they don’t understand that their lives are minute compared to the big life God has for them when they commit full time. It’s moving from dial up Christianity to permanently connected. Always in a sense and posture of alertness to God. Developing a full time sensitivity to the Spirit. Being comfortable in the Word, and being able to navigate it and apply it. Praying without ceasing instead of just when we need something.
Doing God part time fences God in and fences our lives in. It puts God in a box and says “This is where God is.” A full bold life is sensing where God is and what He is doing all the time. It is a life that doesn’t limit God’s power in our lives. One of the misconceptions we need to get rid of is the “man of God syndrome”, which is “the man of God is more in touch with God, has his prayers answered more and is more in tune with God.” It is the misconception that pastors have more access or more rights as Christians.This isn’t true.
I am on a journey to release God’s people and see them have the life that God wants to give them - a full life in Him. When you see someone break free and realize what God has for them, it is like fuel to keep you going. When people start their journey with Jesus, they have no idea who God is and no conception of right or wrong. But as we continue on the journey, we get revelations and move into a bigger and bigger life in God. It’s easy to get jaded, and just go through the motions after awhile. But when you see someone discover Jesus and come out of the messes of their lives, it is the most amazing feeling. I never want to lose that feeling that we have when we see people’s lives being changed by the hand of God.
The problem with the man of God syndrome is that we think “that is only for some people.” But one of my biggest dreams is to see the body of Christ released into full time ministry. We are never going to get too busy that we aren’t reaching out and helping people. There is so much potential inside of people - so much of God just sitting there waiting to be unlocked and released. I want to unlock the God in people. It’s not hard - you believe in people. Encouragement is a spiritual gift that we can all operate in. It isn’t a specific gift or talent. Demonstrating the love of Jesus is something we can all do.
Acts 7: The first church - Church happened at the Temple, but it didn’t stop at the Temple. If the modern church has missed anything from the first church it is this: church doesn’t stop at the Temple. In modern culture - predominantly - church is based only around the Temple. In the first church, they would come to worship and then “they would break bread house to house”. There were twelve apostles. Those in the upper room were leaders. At this point the church was over 10,000 people. So they were teaching and ordaining and raising up and releasing as fast as they could to meet the needs of a church that large. When the persecution came, they couldn’t meet in the Temple so it was only house to house - no big meetings. They started getting together in small groups, reading the Word, worshiping God and having church - no man of God needed.
Acts 7 is a message, preached by Stephen. He was one of the serving members of the church. He was one of the seven chosen to distribute food to the poor and the widows. He was out on the streets helping people, but he also seemed to know his Bible. He was taught well and preached very eloquently - how the prophets of old were pointing to Jesus as the Messiah - even though he wasn’t an apostle. The servants of the church can be as knowledgeable as the ordained. In fact, the anointing that was on Stephen was one of the most powerful in the Bible. A servant’s heart opens up the door for God to take you to the next level. Servanthood unlocks our destiny in God. We can consume God, or we can serve God and let him do something through us.
v54: The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen, but Stephen stood steadfastly, and looked to Heaven and saw the glory of God - saw Jesus. But the leaders became enraged and drug him out of the city and stoned him. Why is it that a little servant boy could be sensitive to the presence of God - see Jesus at the right hand of God - but the religious leaders couldn’t (who argued that they were ordained) couldn’t see God when He was in their midst? They stoned Stephen, but he says “Forgive them Lord,” as Jesus did on the cross. Being fenced in, locked up in fear and not reaching our potential is the greatest sin we can walk in our life. Not being prepared to forsake all, forsake our pride, forsake our reputation. We aren’t talking about being crazy or alienating the people we are trying to reach. We are talking about being a servant and letting the light of God shine through us.
The launch of the church in Jerusalem happens because of Stephen’s message - not Peter, not John. It was Stephen’s message that brought the Persecution and the explosion of the church - His servant’s heart took the church to a whole new level. He acted with no fear, not caring about the repercussions or what people were going to think or say. That’s where God is. Being passionate about helping people. Being passionate about injustice in the world. Being passionate about what the love of Jesus and the power of God can do in people’s lives. The big life - not being trapped - is about discovering the potential in all of us and then moving forward boldly, in faith, in fast forward and allowing God to do something through us. It may just start with making a new friend. Step out. Do something crazy.
Big life. Big opportunity. Big God. It’s not about things, it’s about doing something for God.
