The Disturbing Christ

Well, it's good to be here tonight, friends, and you're not gonna wanna miss my message this evening, as it may pertain to you, as it speaks to your heart about how you will live your life now and where you will spend eternity in either heaven or hell. If I was a deceived individual on my way to hell, I'd sure wanna know about it before I got there, wouldn't you? Don't be caught up in the rat trap, friend, of modern evangelism that gives you a chunk of cheese to ease your conscience that you can chew on. Then it crushes your brain with a metal hammer and deceives you into a false hope of heaven through an empty religious profession.

Most folks in our country today are strangers to vital Christianity, and consequently, fewer saved in America today and in our churches across the land. I don't think we know much today about vital Christianity as it is found in the New Testament. I'll never forget the fight I almost had with my seminary professor while I was taking my oral exam for my PhD, and I said to him that when I read my Bible in the book of Acts, I found a brand of Christianity in there that is vastly dissimilar to the kind found in our churches today.

And my professor rebuked me by saying, in a condescending tone, that that was for that time and not for our time. And it took all my strength, friends, not to rise from my chair and scream, why not? Why not have that vital Christianity here now for today? But I kept my mouth shut because I worked too hard not to graduate by fighting with a seminary professor who was satisfied with a dead religion and a counterfeit Christianity. Over the last 10 years, I've searched in vain to find the reality of God in our churches today.

What I find are professionals who are content with the status quo of what we call church on Sunday morning. And we get folks to listen to our nice little messages that don't disturb a flea, much less get anyone saved, as they make a physical response to an emotional appeal and make a mental flip for Jesus. And we call that salvation.

But when I read my Bible, and when I study Jesus in his earthly ministry, I see he was a disturbing Christ. And that's the title of my message this evening, friends, the disturbing Christ. Jesus created a disturbance wherever he went, as the blind were given sight and the deaf made to hear.

His very first public message delivered in his hometown of Nazareth was so disturbing that it enraged his hearers. And we are told in Luke's gospel that when they heard these things were filled with wrath and rose up and thrust him out of the city and led him onto the brow of the hill where on their city was built that they might cast him down headlong. The title of my message this evening, friends, is the disturbing Christ.

America hasn't seen revival in over 160 years. And we don't know what the disturbing presence of Christ is like in our midst today. We haven't felt the power of God in a meeting in years.

For we have grieved away the presence of God from us through pride and ambition of growing our churches so we can look good in our denominations. We wanted to reach the world. So we let the world into our church and drove God away.

We have grown accustomed to being a self-satisfied religious people, much like the Pharisees in the days of Christ, because of our self-reliance. Hear me now! Because of our self-reliance in that we get more done with money and manpower. We don't need God anymore or holy ghost power.

And we're satisfied with what we have, which is the success of our ministry through brick and mortar, while the souls of men are being damned to hell with a false gospel. And our churches and pulpits are full of the unconverted who are on a religious road to hell. We preach nice little messages that don't disturb anybody.

Why? Why upset the good deacons if we don't have to? But I submit to you, friends, that when Christ was here in his earthly ministry, as he passed through towns and villages, there was a disturbance wherever he went. The demons were disturbed and they cried out. In Matthew 8, 29, we read, And behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? Art thou come hither to torment us before the time? Do you believe, friends, that there are demons out here in this city tonight? Do you believe they are active in the lives of people? Why do you think there's so much hell and destruction going on in our country today? Our cities are filled with the blood of murder.

Why do you think a man goes out and guns down a people, filling them with bullets, and then he says he didn't know why he did it? Demons, brother, demons. Some of you preachers out there, do you disturb demons when you preach? I remember my homiletical mentor, Dr. Stephen Offord, had such a disturbing presence of Christ about him when he preached. I was in a meeting with him when demons started crying out in the man near me.

It took three men to hold him down and to get him out there. The disturbing presence of Christ would shake things up in a meeting. That's what happened when Christ was here.

Demons were disturbed. And when Christ preached to the religious leaders of his day, there was a continual disturbance among the Pharisees and the scribes as they grinded their teeth and rage and sought ways to get rid of him. And wherever Jesus went, there was a disturbance in the very creation.

For God had come to the very world he had created. In beginning in Matthew 27 50, we read, Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And behold, the veil of the temple was ranting twain from top to the bottom.

And the earth did quake, and the rocks did rant, and the graves were opened. And many bodies of the saints which slept arose and came out of the graves after his resurrection and went to the holy city and appeared unto many. Don't you think, friends, that when those Jews saw those graves open up and those bodies crawl out there and walk about, that it caused a great disturbance? You bet it did.

We're not talking about zombies here, but the bodies of the saints. That heavy veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom by a disturbing, unseen hand. Listen, friend, when Christ shows up in your life and manifests himself to you, and you are confronted with his disturbing presence, then you will be disturbed from your head to your toes and cry out either in amnesty against his holiness and authority and rule and fight him and just go on to hell.

Or you'd be so disturbed in your very core that you will find no peace and no rest to where your stubborn will begins to break and your black heart throws up the white flag of surrender and you become hungry for God and so thirsty for Christ that you'll be so disturbed in your soul that you won't be able to sleep at night or be calm in the day because you've been awakened to the reality of your lost condition, good church member that you are, that you will become a seeker of God. Prayer will be your meat and drink. The Bible, the Word of God will be your lifeline, your life preserver, and you get to the place of desperation where you begin to strive to enter in to take heaven by violence and to come to the place at the foot of the cross and throw down every shotgun of rebellion you've had pointed up at God and say in your heart and mean it, I can resist him no longer.

Then you come in repentance to a bloodstained savior from sin and submit surrender to his utter lordship and by faith believe on him to save even you to rule and reign in your life no matter the cost or consequence. Then maybe, just maybe, you'll know something of what I'm talking about, what it's like to have a new heart and a new disposition for holiness implanted in you to where you have power with God and men and then you go to prayer in authority and from on high bring heaven on down when you pray. Begin to pull down the devil's strongholds in your community and as you witness to the lost with an authority that brings conviction to sin as you go about your town with the disturbing presence of Christ within you so that demons flee and gross evil shrinks back into the shadows.

Then you have a taste of New Testament Christianity that the early church knew about and we have forgotten. When the disturbing Christ shows up in your town, he can disturb the biggest sinner in this town tonight to cry out and anguish a soul. Oh what must that do to be saved? He's a disturbing Christ as he disturbed you friend.

Are you a guilty rebel? Are you in need of a savior from sin? Jesus said if the son therefore shall make you free you should be free indeed. You want to be free friend? Are you weary of your sins? Are you sick of sinning and are you scared of dying? The gospel is for the hungry, the weary, and the thirsty, the thirsty sinner. Jesus said if any man thirst and that means you friend.

Jesus says if any man thirst let him come unto me and drink he that believeth on me as the scripture hath said out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. That means a vital flowing river, one that has force, one that has a dynamic, a dynamic change in a person's life with a vital Christianity that will turn the world upside down. Why don't you have faith to believe it friend? Where's your faith? Why aren't you turning the world upside down? The bible says you can.

I'm gonna sing a hymn friend and as I sing it I want you to come to this Christ for forgiveness of sin. If you've been disturbed in your spirit from this message and God has spoken to your heart then I want you to come to Christ, the Christ of the bible who is a risen Lord. Listen to me friend.

Jesus is a sovereign Lord of absolute authority. He must be Lord of your life friend. If you want him there must be a willing surrender and an utter committal to Christ as Lord.

You must come to him in repentance confessing you are a sinner and you need him for pardon of sin. He can transform your very life on the spot friend. If you surrender all you are to all he is and own him as your savior and Lord.

Well I'm gonna sing that hymn now friend and I want you to come as I sing. He is Lord. He is Lord.

He has risen from the dead and he is Lord. Every knee shall bow. Every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.