Spiritually Speaking: Become Extraordinary and Dangerous

As our generation grows older, there is a need for the body of Christ in America to step up and become dangerous.

In today’s church, there are safety rules: Don’t offend anyone, don’t talk about anything controversial, don’t challenge anybody to do anything they’re uncomfortable with and don’t talk about money. These are rules that churches have accepted so that they won’t alienate those who attend.

As Christians, we are called to be like Christ. He was a dangerous man. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines dangerous as “able or likely to inflict injury or harm.” There are three ways that we, as Christians, can transform our lives to become more dangerous.

First, we need to go from being ordinary to extraordinary. Are Christians today causing danger to the enemy through our lives? An extraordinary person is one who never gives up.

A great example of this is the fictional character Rocky, the boxer. He was an ordinary guy who grew up in Philadelphia and was too small to fight, but he never gave up. In a scene from one of the “rocky” movies, Apollo Creed’s trainer talks to Apollo about Rocky. He says that Apollo shouldn’t fight Rocky because the last time they fought, Rocky kept getting up and never backed down.

When you wake up, does a demon tell Satan that he shouldn’t mess with you because you’re not going to back down? We need to become a generation that doesn’t back down from the Truth. We need to go from being ordinary people to being used by God.

Acts 19:11-12: God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out.

God did miracles through Paul, who was just an ordinary, sinful man. If God can use a man who persecuted numerous Christians before he repented, then he can use the youth of today to show a failing culture the way back to life.

Second, we need to go from being consumers into contributors.

Acts 2:44-45: And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.

Acts 20:35: [Paul said,] “In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

We need to learn that the church is not here for us, because we are the church. We should be here for the world, to show them the way. The easiest way to look at how much you are contributing is to look at how you spend your time. How much time are you are in deep community with other Christians? As iron sharpens iron, we build each other’s faith and help maintain accountability in each other’s lives. When was the last time you made a commitment to go to church every week? As Christians, the church isn’t here to meet all our needs. Jesus is. We need to begin to realize that faith without works is dead.

Lastly, we need to go from living to death.

Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

We need to give up our lives for Christ. This is one of the hardest areas that most Christians struggle with. We have a need in our lives that can be satisfied only by laying our lives down to Christ.

Alex Bridgeforth is a senior communications major at Grand Canyon University. He is in the Army ROTC program and played for the lacrosse team in 2008 and 2009. After graduation, he will begin his career as an Army officer. Contact Alex @ twitter.com/dctalk007