Full Throttle Part 4 - Living and Walking in the Power of God Part 2

Click here to support Talk About It!

For more information or booking details, visit www.donmsmith.com

Buy us a Sweet Tea and a Little Debbie Snack Cake

We're staying in Second Gear, and today we're learning a game‑changing truth: God's power is released from within you. It's not something you chase—it's something you exude.

Jesus told the disciples to wait for the promise. When you make Christ Lord, the Holy Spirit is deposited inside you. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. But Jesus didn't say, "Just be happy with the deposit." He said, "Make a withdrawal!" Take what's in the bank, let it out, and minister to people. The power is already there—just turn it on. Flip the switch. Put the pedal down.

Mark 16 says signs will accompany those who believe: drive out demons, speak in new tongues, lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. Notice it doesn't say "special people" or "super‑apostles." It says those who believe. That's you.

God's power is based on His Word, not your circumstances. Too many people base their belief on how they feel or what they see. But we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). When you proclaim God's Word, He confirms it with signs and wonders (Mark 16:20).

Here's where we get bold: You have authority. Luke 10:19 says, "I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy." From head to tail, you are dangerous to the devil. He is intimidated by you—not because of you, but because of Jesus in you. When a demon sees you, he sees the One who has all authority (Matthew 28:18). And Jesus said, "All authority is mine... NOW GO!"

So why don't we always see results? Because we don't function in the authority we've been given. Look at the centurion in Matthew 8. He said, "I tell my servants what to do, and they obey. I recognize that sickness has to obey You. Just speak the word." Jesus marveled at his faith. We don't need a special feeling—we need to speak the words of authority in Jesus' name.

The power of agreement (Matthew 18:19) multiplies that authority. When two agree on earth, it's done by the Father. Husbands and wives, pray together. Set your faith in agreement.

Remember this: Nothing can happen through you that hasn't happened to you. The power is already inside. You've been anointed, sealed, and filled. Now let it flow. You are a minister of God's power. Lay hands on the sick. Speak to the situation. You have the authority. Use it.

Key Scriptures: Mark 16:17-20; Luke 10:19; Matthew 8:5-10; Matthew 28:18; Matthew 18:19; 2 Corinthians 5:7; 1 Corinthians 1:21-22; Acts 2:17-21

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Hi everyone, Pastor Don Smith here. Welcome to the Talk About It Podcast, where we take relevant topics with a biblical point of view and we talk about it. You know you want to, so do I. Let's talk about it.

SPEAKER_01 0:23

Well, welcome back, everyone. Season 10, episode 4 of the Talk About It Podcast. I am Don, your host for the podcast today. Thank you so much for being here. I am excited about today's episode. I hope you are as well. We we just kind of left off last week. We're gonna just pick it right back up where we left off. Before we do that, though, I just want to thank you guys for who you are, all of you supporters, all your encouragement. Uh the text messages this week were really, really inspiring uh and encouraging. Just even my conversations. Um thank you so much for your input. I appreciate uh the way you're uh re replying and the input you're putting into the podcast. It it's uh very, very encouraging to me. And so I want to ask you to keep it up. You can send me a message right there in your show notes if you just go right down, push uh text the show, it comes right to me. Uh it's not a robot, it's not somebody else, it's just little old me, Pastor Don. And uh I'm gonna get back to you, right? So if you're a longtime listener, you know that. And I just want to thank you for doing that. Send me an email. You can email the podcast at talkaboutitp at gmail.com. The PD stands for Pastor Don. That's who I am. This is what we do. We take a relevant topic with a biblical perspective here on the Talk About It program, and we just talk about it. So today I'm excited about uh part four here of uh our season 10. Uh here we we're we've been talking about what it looks like to live wide open for Jesus. You know, out in the in the open, not hidden uh within the four walls of the church or hidden uh within our private kind of ideas of faith. I want to really just have a conversation about what it means to live out loud for Jesus, full throttle, pedal to the metal. And if you are a first-time listener to the podcast, I'm so glad you're here today. Thanks so much for joining us. Uh, do us a favor, though, just push pause, go back to the beginning of season 10, episode 1, uh, push play there, and we will be here waiting for you when you get to episode 4. I promise you that. I promise you that. Uh also, if you're a first-time listener, check out the show notes, all the links, everything that's going on there. If you've been listening to the podcast for a while, uh maybe you didn't know, maybe you've never checked the show notes. It's really good. Uh, if you want to know a little bit more about me and what I do and leadership and the things like that, you can go to uh donmsmith.com uh and check out legacy leadership there. It's uh it's an interesting thing as we're doing some church consulting and uh some leadership training and things like that, not only in the church world, but in the secular world as well. Uh and so uh just go over there and check that out. You can send me a message even through that page. You'll learn a little bit more about PD and uh what what makes me get up in the morning, right? Uh the things that make me think and uh cause me to keep going. I just believe that uh, you know, when we lead well, the world's a better place. And so I'm enjoying that. And of course, Talk About It Podcast is just an offshoot of that, to be honest with you. Uh so uh love you all. Thank you so much for your support today. Everybody say today. Today, let's get right back into it. Let's pick up where we left off. Uh last week I left off with this statement every minister by everyday believers. That's it. Here's what we believe at FFM. Okay, here's what we believe at Talk About It. Everyday ministry by everyday believers. Everybody's a minister. Every minister, every ministry by everyday believers, like you are filled and flowing with the power of God, and you just gotta walk in it, you know. And I just want you to grab a hold of that idea. Now, today I'm gonna just really hit three areas that I think is gonna encourage us in a very powerful way. The first area that I want to start with is just a continuation on last week, is that God's power is released from within us. Okay. Now, Jesus said that the kingdom of God is within you, okay? Uh, so we got to realize what is happening and what God wants to do. Um, I love that God has called us into partnership, that he wants to work through us into a lost and dying world. So God's power is released from within the born-again believer. And in Mark chapter 16, uh verses 17 through 18, these powers will accompany those who believe in my name. They'll drive out demons, they'll speak in new tongues, they'll pick up snakes uh with their hands, and they'll drink deadly poison, and it will not hurt them at all. They will place their hands on sick people and they will get well. Wow, what an incredible statement, right? There's a lot we could do with those two verses of scripture. But let me do this with it today for the sake of our podcast, for the sake of our conversation. Let me just say this God's power is released from within us, and so Jesus is telling us, right? You got to wait for the promise. It is coming. The Spirit of God is going to come upon you, right? And when you make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, the Spirit of God is deposited within sight of each and every believer. What does that mean, Pastor Don? Well, I'm glad you asked. Okay, it means that he abides within you, right? It it says that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. That's what the Bible says when it talks about our bodies. And so Jesus says this. He says, Don't just take the deposit, okay, of the Spirit of God. He's saying make a withdrawal. Don't just be happy with what you have in the bank. Take what's in the bank and let it out and minister to people, okay? So the power of God is not something we pursue. Oh boy. That might be contrary to a little bit of what you've heard, believed, okay, or been taught. No, the power of God is not something we pursue, it is something we exude. Too many people say, I want the power of God. I want the power of God to flow through me. It's already in you. Just turn it on. Just turn up the power, just flip the switch, just put the pedal down. The kingdom of God is within you. The power of God is within you. If you're a born-again believer and the Spirit of God lives inside of you, that means the power of God is within you. First Corinthians chapter 1. Paul's talking to the Corinthians here. And I think it's verse 21. He says, Um, it now it is to God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his spirit in our hearts as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come. Wow. Okay, Acts chapter 2. Let's just combine this, right? Let's contextualize the scripture. Does the Bibles have a particular message through the scriptures? See, that's the problem with taking one scripture and making a doctrine or some kind of theology out of it. No, we want to contextualize the scripture. We want to move through the message the scripture continues to repeat. Acts chapter 2, uh verse 17. In the last days, God said, I'll pour my spirit out on all people. Your sons of daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even all my servants, both men and women, I'll pour out my spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heavens above the signs and on the earth, blood and fire, billows of smoke, the sun will be turned to darkness, the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. God's power is released within us, okay? And that's what I want us to understand. How do I live for God? I I gotta find, I gotta search for some kind of outside power in order to do what God has called me to do. And God is saying, no, no, you have to understand the kingdom of God is within you, the spirit of God is within you. Your body is a temple. And most of the time when we talk about our body being a temple, it's just in reference that we should take care of it or we should be careful what we put in it, and those type of things. But I want you to grab a hold of the full concept of this idea, okay? Because when a when a an a Hebrew person or a Jewish person would have heard that statement, instantly their minds would have gone back to the temple where God dwelt. And they would have understood it completely. That's where the power of God lives, is in the temple. And so now Paul is saying, no, you're a living temple. The power of God lives inside of you. And so, in order for that power to be released on planet earth, it has to be released from within the temple, which is you, which is me, which is the body of Christ. Wow. How about this? Number two, God's power is based upon his word and not our circumstances. So I'm gonna touch some people right here today now, because a lot of times, let's just be honest, talk about it. It's amen or oh me, and it's always hello somebody. Come on, talk about it. Let's be honest with ourselves. More times than not, our circumstances are what we allow to dictate our direction. You just need to sit for a minute. Don't be all violated, just receive it. Think about it. Most of the time we let our circumstances, our situations, dictate direction. God's power flowing through us is based upon the authority written in the Word of God, not our circumstances, not our feelings, not our perceptions. See, too many people base their belief system off of circumstances and not off of the written word of God. The word of God is the absolute truth. Talk about it is never going to apologize for that statement. The word of God is absolute truth. We either believe it, that it is written, it is authentic word of God, or we just throw it out. Now I choose to believe that it's the word of God written for humanity that demonstrates his love and tells us and shares with us what we have rightfully received as sons and daughters of the Most High God. What does the Bible tell us? Talk about it. First Corinthians chapter 5, verse 7, I think. For we walk by faith, not by sight. Did you memorize that scripture? You should. Luke chapter 11, verse 28. Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it. Mark chapter 16, I think it's around verse 19, after the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and set at the right hand of God. And then the disciples went out and preached everywhere. And the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it. That accompanied what? The preaching of the word of God. So when you proclaim God's word, come on, talk about it. When you speak God's word, when you live God's word, he will confirm it. Somebody say amen. He will confirm it with signs, he will confirm it with miracles, he will confirm it with wonders. It always accompanies the word of God, not the other way around. Okay? Pay attention to the scripture. Every time that the word of God was preached in the book of Acts, it was always accompanied by signs and wonders, not the other way around. It wasn't like signs and wonders happened, and then that gave them an opportunity to preach the word of God. No, they preached the word of God first, then signs and wonders happened. Why? Because God's power is based on his word, not our circumstances. If it was the other way around, then we would say, well, our circumstances are too big for the word of God. But when it's the word of God first, our circumstances don't have a say. Oh my. It's so good, right? I mean, when you just process it for a moment. You know what? The third thing I want to share with you real quick here, and I'm gonna spend a minute or two on this, if that's all right. God's power has the greatest result when authority is given to impart it. Okay. Now I'm I'm so glad that as I, you know, when I became a Christian, the greatest gift that God gave me was incredible Bible teachers in my life. Now, many of you know my testimony that when I got saved at 20 years old, I I couldn't reference the Bible. My my family wasn't a bad family. We just didn't go to church, and so I had no experience with that. So that day that I got saved, if you'd have given me the Bible and said, okay, turn to John 3.16, I I mean, I couldn't have done it. I just didn't know how. Uh, I was that ignorant. Uh, and that's not, I'm not saying that derogatory. I'm I'm being that's a reality. Okay. And that maybe that's a reality to some of you who are listening to this. Okay, and that was in 1992. And at the time of the recording of this podcast, it is um, it's like June of 2026. So that was a long time ago. But I had some great Bible teachers, and and they wanted me to understand that God's power has the greatest results, not only in my life, but in the world around me, when authority is given to impart it. Okay, let me vet this out for us for just a few minutes, because I think we we really need to do that. And I hope that whatever you're doing allows you to give your attention to this for a few minutes, okay? Sometimes we listen to a podcast and it's just on in the background. Uh, but if if you can, right where you're at at this moment, would you just give me your full attention? God's power is within us. And God wants to work through ordinary people. That's me and you. God's spirit is upon us. He has anointed us, his power flows through us. Okay? We're not we're not moved by what we see. We operate by faith, talk about it. Let me let me let me put it to you this way. Have you ever prayed for somebody? Come on, raise your hand if you have. Well, uh, you know, if you're driving, keep your hands on the steering wheel. You like you prayed for them and you you didn't feel a thing. Well, let me tell you something. You don't have to feel it. When we operate an authority that Jesus has given us, it's by faith that we function in that authority. Let me let me show you, share with you what the what the word of God declares, okay? Luke chapter 10, verse 19. He says, I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all. Everybody say all. All the power of the enemy, nothing will harm you. Now, from the head to the tail, you have authority. Let me put it to you this way. You are dangerous to the devil. Come on, somebody. We buy, I want you to pay attention here. Let me say it again. You are dangerous to the devil. You intimidate the devil. He is in fear of you. A man or a woman that knows their rights and their authority in the name of Jesus Christ is what intimidates the devil. Now you say, Pastor Don, okay, come on. I get it that you're trying to just, you know, you're trying to keep us listening. And so you would say, maybe that's for other people, but not me. No, yes, you. When you show up knowing who you are in Christ, you intimidate the devil. Remember when Jesus was was going to cast the demons out of all of those pigs, right? You remember that story? And they and and he spoke to the man and and who are legion. They said, Don't send us away, send us out. And you know, he's speaking to this man who's who's demon-possessed, and my name is Legion, and I got all these demons, and don't send us out. And you know what? Bid us to go into uh the pigs, and and so he bid them to go, and and the pigs all ran off the cliffs and went into the water and drowned. And why? They were in fear of Jesus. See, when a devil or a demon or Satan himself sees you, he doesn't see you talk about it. If you're a born-again Christian, he sees Jesus that empowers you and he's intimidated by that. And some of you say, Well, I don't feel it. Well, I don't care what you feel, I go by what the word of God says. And when you walk in that authority, notice what Matthew chapter 28, verse 18 says, then Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, and I give it to you. Jesus said, All authority is mine. And then look what he said. Go. Two letters. Geo, go. What was he really saying? Go without power? Go without authority? No. He said, All authority has been given to me. Now you go and make disciples. You go and do the work that I did. You go lay hands on the sick, you go cast out demons, you go raise people from the dead. Hello, somebody. Come on, talk about it. Go, make it happen. See, if we will see, if we if we see it in the book of Acts, it's alive today. Now I know there there are some there's a group of uh a section of Christianity that we call sensationalist. And that means it's not a derogatory term, it's just a way of describing people who believe that all the signs and wonders and and those type of things passed away with the apostles, and so they had sis they had ceased. Okay. But Paul is teaching the churches, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, literally how to live and operate and flow in the power, the miracles, the sign working wonder of God, knowing he's the last apostle. Now, why would he do all of that if all of that has ceased? Jesus said, All authority is mine, I'm giving it to you, so go. So I believe that when we see it in the book of Acts, that it's still alive today. I actually believe that the book of Acts doesn't have an ending, and we're actually still living in it. Hello, somebody. There's a concept for you. He said, All authority is given to me. Now you go make disciples. You go do the work that I did, lay hands on the sick, cast out the demons, raise people from the go make it happen. In the book of Acts, it's all there. The Bible is just as real today, talk about it, as it was 2,000 years ago. You should really read this book sometime. God didn't favor those people. He that they they weren't a particular people who got something special, and the rest of us just have to bide our time until Jesus decides to come back again. Here's the key, talk about it. And I want to show you how to minister to people and why we sometimes don't see the answers that we want. It's because we're not functioning in the correct authority. Okay, and Matthew chapter 8, there's this interaction with Jesus and the centurion. You know the story, probably, right? He's a ruler. Here's the faith of people in real faith in a moment of crisis and situation. And so this centurion comes up to Jesus and he says, Look, I tell my servants to do, and they they have to obey. There's no question. Here's what he was saying: I'm a man of authority, and men must obey me. I recognize, Jesus, that you're a man of authority, and I've seen and can testify that sickness has to obey you. Remember, the centurion's uh servant was sick unto death. And so what he's saying, Jesus, is I don't need you to come and pray for my servant. I understand authority. All I need you to do is speak the words of authority, and that thing will happen. And the Bible says the man was healed, the man was made whole, the man was made well. All we have to do, talk about it, is understand the authority that we have in Jesus' name. But see, here's what it is. Okay? We've got to grab a hold of this. God's empowered you and me. Let me let me speak to husbands and dads right now, okay? Because you're struggling to lead your family, you're struggling to do what you're supposed to do. Every man who listens to this podcast right now, I I would dare to say, every man, uh especially a Christian man, uh, that I would be able to say, okay, you know the Bible says that you're the head of the house. And they're like, Yep, I'm the head of the house. Well, tell me what that means. I have no idea. I I bet that I bet that's exactly what they would say. I have no idea what that means in function. I have no idea what that means in exercise. I have no idea what that means in day-to-day living. I just know that I'm the head of the house. And even when we do try to walk in it, a lot of times we try to walk in it in a tyrannical way instead of a servanthood way. Listen to me, husbands. Listen to me, dads. God has empowered you, He's equipped you. And I'm going to say it again: the number one area for the power and the presence of God to flow in and through us starts first and foremost in our homes. We ought to be discipling our children at home. That's why the Bible says that it's the dad's job, the husband's job to lead his family spiritually. It ought to start right there because that's where government flows. Okay? And I'm not anti-women. I love women. I married one. I've been happily married for almost 35 years now. I'm not anti-women. I just understand that God has called me to headship and He's called me to authority, but He's also called me to understand what biblical authority looks like. Not so that I can exude some kind of power over people, but so that I can understand that through servanthood and the Word of God with the authority of the kingdom of God, I can serve and lead everyone around me. And when I serve and lead well, people's lives are better. I'm going to say this wide open, full power, pedal to the metal, right? When men lead well, the world is a better place. When men don't lead well, the world is a miserable place. Amen. Oh me. And always hello, somebody. Come on, talk about it. I'm not going to apologize for that. When men lead well, the world's a better place. When men don't lead well, the world's a miserable place. And what we need is men of God to stand up and understand who they are and begin to live out loud for Jesus. We've got to understand what the centurion understood. Authority is something that we use to serve other people, not to crush other people. Watch this. Matthew 18. And again, Jesus says, and again, truly I tell you that if two on earth agree about anything that they ask, it'll be done for them by my Father which is in heaven. Wow. Mark chapter 3. If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. So here's the power of agreement. Let me can I share it with you? When my wife and I come into agreement and into unity, when we put our faith in agreement, we direct our authority in the same direction. Oh my. To parent, to be married, to exercise our finances, to lead at work and at home, in church, to do all the things in our community. When my wife and I join in agreement, in unity, and our faith comes together, then we can direct our authority that lies within us in a way that helps life come from that authority. And then power takes place, unity takes place. And that is the time when we can say, you know what, as husbands, honey, let me pray for you. What do you want me to pray for? Let me pray that pain goes away. Or wives can say, Let me pray for you. What how can I cover you today as you seek to lead us well? And see, then we set our faith in agreement with each other. Hello, talk about it. Oh my goodness. This is this is such a great concept. Okay. But I realize that maybe it's a concept that some of you are gonna have to chew on, and that's why I wanted to spend a little bit of time right here at the end. Okay, about what God is doing. Here is something that I want to give you in today's podcast. Remember, nothing can happen through you that doesn't happen to you. That's the kingdom. Nothing can happen through you that hasn't happened to you. And so what I want to do is realize that if I'm going to carry the authority of the kingdom of God, I have to learn to submit myself to the authority of the kingdom of God. And then I become a carrier. I understand. Well, the centurion understood. Then I can live wide open, then I can live pedal to the metal. Come on, talk about it. Do you understand today what I'm talking about? Man, I hope I hope this conversation has blessed you. Now, listen, you're like, okay, wait, what are we doing? Well, you're gonna have to be back next week because you're gonna pick it right up, right here, right? But let me tell you what I'm gonna do next week. I'm gonna challenge you about generosity. I'm gonna challenge you when we live out loud. And we've talked about authority today, okay? So next week, I'm gonna challenge you about generosity. You're not gonna want to miss it, okay? Because I think that God-fearing, spirit-filled people who love Jesus are to be the most generous people on planet Earth. And I believe that with my whole heart, and I want to talk about how we can live that way out loud. Okay, pedal to the metal, right? How we can learn to fight uh stinginess or self-umcus and those types of things. How we live out loud, and uh how we keep from being a consumer of everything that comes into our life when we learn to use some of the things that come in our life to be generous and watch the world around us change. You're not gonna want to miss it. It's going to be an epic conversation that I cannot wait to talk about. Until then, listen, listen, listen, talk about it. Love you guys. You guys are amazing. You encourage me each and every week. I am so thankful that you come back here each week. Do me a favor, will you share this on your social media, right? It's busy, it's summertime, and I know that podcast streams are down all over the place. But there's some messages that we need to focus on and continue to hear no matter what seasons happening in our life, especially if we're busy, we can get distracted. So share this, let everybody get involved. It'll be great. I love you. Go down to the show notes, send me a message, think about being a supporter. We love you, but I need you to realize this as much as I love you. Jesus loves you more. I'll see you next week.