COMPLETE SERMON NOTES

Part 1

The Power Matthew 9:32 As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed. 33 And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel!” 34 But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.”

1. Demons can “pester, influence, and oppress” believers.

2. We can open ourselves up to their influence.

3. They can be tied to physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual problems.

Why so much demonic in the N.T.? Jesus exposed them…

“The fact of the matter is that we do not tremble in front of the demons, the demons tremble in front of us” (John MacArthur).

Real Ministry Walks Into The Enemy’s Camp

​MACARTHUR: ​

This is a rare thing. I’ve preached the gospel for a long time and only about three times in my whole life have I ever heard demons speak being confronted. One of them was a few weeks ago, I told you about last week, right down in the front when a demon-possessed person came running down the aisle after I was preaching the gospel, exalting Christ’s power over the kingdom of darkness…came at me and said, “Why are you attacking me? Why are you trying to hurt me?”

ANOTHER INCIDENT: So I came down, I walked in and there was chaos in the office. It was over in the building by the family center, and I walked in and the place was in disarray and it was obvious she had been terrorizing things. She had overturned the desk and poor Jerry who was a boxer in the Navy was having a hard time defending himself against this girl, and this is characteristic of New Testament accounts where there’s a certain level of strength that’s beyond normal. And I’ll never forget the greeting when I walked in the door. I walked in the door and this…out of this girl’s mouth whom I had met and with whom I had spoken because she had been coming to the church came this voice, and I can’t, obviously, replicate it but in my memory…I know what the voice said, it’s something like (in a hoarse voice): “Not him, not him, not him, get him out, get him out…get him out,” to me.

[John MacArthur’s article: http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/42-57]

• The Power of Christ Changes Situations if we Call on Him.

1. Salvation

• Spiritual Disciplines – Word, Worship, Prayer:

• Obedience:

• Holiness:

Demonic influences do not want us worshiping God. They are hell-bent on drawing us away from Him.

• Throughout history, God’s people turn from serving Him to worshiping gods associated with lust, sexual perversion, entertainment, money, greed, power, and so on.

Are we so naive’ to think that we cannot fall prey to this as well?

“They became an abomination like the thing they loved” (Hosea 9:10).

• Spiritual Adultery – I made a covenant with You, but I’m going to…

The power of Christ is an on-going necessity. We are leaky vessels.

Avoid the Pharisee Syndrome

• The religious leaders amaze me: they said that the devil is healing, releasing, restoring, and renewing?

• Same today: powerful moves of God are written off as works of Satan or emotionalism.

The great cry of the conservative church is, “I DON’T FEEL OR EXPERIENCE GOD LIKE THAT; THEREFORE, THESE THINGS ARE NOT VALID.”

• In reading countless biographies of Christian leaders who were filled mightily with the Spirit, it brought about new levels of power and boldness.

⇛Filled with the Spirit is filled with POWERFUL LOVE, INEXPRESSIBLE JOY, INDESCRIBABLE PEACE, IRRESISTIBLE PASSION, and HEART-FELT EMOTION…

          …Could it be that many are missing God’s great gift of being filled mightily with the Spirit because of FEAR, DOUBT, CONFUSION?

BUT The great cry of the emotional church is, “ALLOW ME TO WORSHIP GOD ANYWAY THAT I WANT.”

• It doesn’t matter if they disrupt the service, or distract people from worship, or draw attention to themselves…they must have unrestrained freedom.

Genuine Works of the Spirit cannot go outside the bounds of God’s character. Note: I didn’t say, “Won’t go outside the bounds of preference.”

“We should not interpret Scripture in the light of our experiences, but rather, interpret our experiences in the penetrating light of Scripture” (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones).

• Emotions are primarily a vehicle for expression, not a gauge for Truth.

“Discern the spirits; test the spirits”

As I read the first hand accounts of the First Great Awakening in America, I found that Pastor Jonathan Edward’s words were true. He observed that a true work of the Holy Spirit would be evident: 1) it would elevate the truth, 2) exalt Christ, 3) oppose Satan, 4) point people to the Scriptures, and 5) result in love for God and others.

~Holiness is sought, not hysteria. The result is genuine fruit, not ungodly fanaticism.

Part 2

(See Part II HERE:  https://westsidechristianfellowship.org/videos/5-24-14-the-power-of-christ-part-ii-pastor-shane-idleman/)

The Compassion of Jesus

35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.

3 fold ministry: Teach us how to live, preach to wake us up, and heal our infirmities [mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually].

We often don’t see Jesus as a Preacher [to proclaim]:

Jesus hates the sin [cancer] in us because of His love.

Part 3

The Call of Jesus 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

KEY: We are all laborers to some extent

A few reasons why people send themselves into the ministry:

1. To prove I’m spiritual or important.

2. For validation [low self esteem].

3. As a source of income and an easy job.

4. People told me to do it.

5. I have a desire.

“The greater the preacher the more hesitant he has generally been to preach” (Lloyd-Jones, PREACHING and PREACHERS; pg. 107).

Step out and serve, apply spiritual disciplines. and allow God to open doors

Closing: THE CALL OF SALVATION

• Most don’t serve Him because they don’t really know HIM.

“Whosoever calls…    “Whosoever believes…   “Whosoever​…​

​