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29th August 2010 - How Do You See Yourself?

1 Timothy 1:15-16 (Message)
God provoke us today! We are all on a journey and may need a prod, whether we are just on the edge of trusting in God, or needing to be full-on passionate for him. Do we have a tendency to stick around the cross? It is false humility to do so. It is not like a car park, a place to stay. Jesus has wonderfully given us entry to all the awesome things we know now, but he is no longer on the cross. He operates out of a control centre in heaven, so we must get a life not keep nailing ourselves to the cross. Now we live with reports everyday of what God is doing. AWESOME!

Paul claims to be "public sinner number one" (v15)! How obvious it is to us that we are not perfect! There is no way we can prove anything to God, no qualification or certification helps. Yet the supernatural cannot be taught - we just have to get it! Bill Johnson says "The Christian life is not found on the cross. It is found because of the cross." The cross is a beginning, but we are charging forward, so secure in what Jesus did. The church must have dynamic power, because God wants to "show off" through us. We are his "show off" productions (v16). How obvious is it that we cannot stay grovelling at the low level as public sinner number one and tell other people "be like me"!!!! That brings hours of depression! We have dealt with all of that depressed stuff to live with hours of joy now, and have only moments of depression.

When God comes with something new, religious people often do not see it. Religious Christians only ever conform, but those with great need do see God. The only way to deal with the supernatural is to remain desperate and to cry HELP! (often)! Jesus did not conform, and neither does his Spirit today. We must take what we have OUTSIDE. Within the 'city' or religious community we may conform, so let's stay outside the gates and live WILD lives.
We don't always understand what is happening but as we work together, desperate for God, wonderful shaped things occur.