Fight To Win TV with Kurt Owen
How to Be Free: Episode 1
On today's episode of Fight To Win with Pastor Kurt Owen, Pastor Kurt begins a brand new series called How to Be Free. You don't want to miss it!
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- Duration:
- 28m
- Broadcast on:
- 15 Jul 2024
- Audio Format:
- mp3
- Hello, I'm Kurt Owen, today on Fight to Win. I'm starting a brand new series on how to be free. You're not gonna wanna miss this. Also, we're gonna talk about a strike in tactical tips called the hammer fist. - To succeed in life, we have to fight. That's why winners train spirit soul and body. We have to be ready. Not your typical minister, Kurt Owen left a successful career in private investigation and executive protection for the ministry over 20 years ago. His simple practical application of God's word will reveal how much Jesus loves you and give you the ability to fight to win. Now, get ready for a tactical tip from Pastor Kurt. - On today's tactical tip, I wanna talk to you about hammer fist. I actually kinda showed you one the other day when I was talking about an elbow that missed. A lot of times I think about things like that. Like, a kick is a knee that missed. A hammer fist is an elbow that missed. But there are some uses where I wouldn't necessarily use an elbow. And what I'm gonna do with a hammer fist is I'm actually gonna come down just like I'm banging on a door or what we call the cop knock. I don't know if you've ever seen a cop knock. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. That's what I'm trying to do. I just wanna do that to somebody who knows, okay? And so, or come across their eyes and stuff. And it's something good, especially if somebody's taller than me, I can hit 'em. If I wanna come down on something. Now, I can break the collarbone with it and things. But really, it's in for somewhere close where I'll hit 'em with this. And then I'm gonna go to a higher technique. But it does come into contact. Like, when we talked about that side elbow and I miss, I can extend that hand. Or if I didn't judge the distance correctly. Or we talked about the rear elbow. So, I'm coming back, he's further back than I thought. And so, I hit him with the hammer fist. Hammer fist do have a lot of different uses and things like that. They are not one of the strongest techniques. But if you learn how to use 'em, they can save your life. Hope you got a lot out of this. A lot of different hammer fistes, down words. You should study these, they would help. (upbeat music) - Hello, I'm Curdo and welcome back to Fight to Win. We're beginning a new series this week that, quite frankly, you might have a love-hate relationship with, but it is extremely important to your walk. And so, I'm gonna ask you to pay very, very close attention. I'm gonna ask you to go through the scriptures with me. Honestly, you ought to be doing that with every broadcast. The purpose of these broadcasts is to disciple you in the Word of God. And to teach you the Word is simply as we know how to help you. But today we're gonna talk about discipleship. And we're gonna talk about being a disciple. And in particular, the need and benefit of being a disciple. And disciple has the connotation in it of discipline. And so, once people get into that, they don't want that. But there's a lot of people that are missing out in their walk with God because they have not become a disciple. And I know that with me, I can honestly say to be completely transparent, I've been in ministry for 31 years, maybe. And the vast majority of that, I was not a disciple. The vast majority of it. And there were a lot of reasons for that. And I'll talk about it over this week. But I need to be honest with you, I wasn't. And I think still, there's still days from time to time, I am challenged in my discipleship. But I'm gonna help you with some things. But I'm here to tell you, as a person who wasn't a disciple and is now a disciple, it is worth everything to yield and become a disciple. Okay, and I'm gonna teach you that from the Word of God. Now, along with this, this week, we're gonna be offering this new teaching called How to be Free because really, you're saying, what does that have to do with discipleship? A lot, actually. And you're gonna find that out. Also, we're calling it How to be Free because if I entitled it the need to be a disciple, most people wouldn't even request it. But since really the ultimate aim is discipleship by the Lord Jesus Christ is freedom, we decided to call it How to be Free. Now, this is a brand new product and I have no idea how many messages are on here. I honestly, I think it's like 20 or 30 or something. There's a lot in here about discipleship. Now, it's a lot more than what I'm gonna be able to cover. This week really, I'm gonna be covering the benefits of discipleship. This gets in far beyond that. This gets into what does it mean to be a disciple? How to be a disciple? How to implement the decisions you've made as a disciple into your everyday life? So you're not gonna wanna miss this. Not only that, my wife, there's some of these services are my wife and Minister Curtis, who's in charge of all of our ministers. So again, it's absolutely free. The partners of Curt Owen Ministries and I wanna bless you with this. Go to Curt Owen.com and get it. Partners, I hope that you should have received this already, but if you hadn't just requested partners, you obviously, everybody can get in everything for free, but we try to send all of our partners everything right away. Now, you can buy this stuff. It is a blessing when you buy it, but do not let finances keep you from receiving the answers that you need. It's called how to be free. So, now, the way we're gonna start this off is something that Jesus talked about. I'm actually not gonna go to the Great Commission first. Most of the time when we start talking about disciples, we go to the Great Commission first, and I think it's important we see it from a different direction. And this is in John chapter eight. And we're gonna start in, let's see. Let's start in verse 28. Then Jesus said to them, so we're in John eight, 28. Then John said to them, "When you lift up the Son of man, "then you will know that I am He, "and that I do nothing of myself, "but as my Father taught me, I speak these things. "He who sent me is with me. "The Father has not left me alone, "and I always do those things that please Him." Now, we're just going through a little bit. You can see some other things He said about Himself. He said things like this, "You are from beneath. "I am from above. "You are of this world. "I am not of this world." He said this, "Therefore I said to you that if you will die," this is, that was 23, this is 24. "Therefore I said to you that if you will die in your sins, "for if you do not believe that I am He, "you will die in your sins." So He's talking about being the Savior. He's talking about the Father commissioning Him. He's talking about being lifted up. I mean, there's some pretty heavy things that He's ministering here, some very important things. But if you're sitting there hearing it, I mean, this is the difference between salvation and not. So then, now look at verse 30. After He says these very weighty things, these very heavy things, these very things that no one had ever said before, things that when He said it at other times, people wanted to kill Him just for having said it. Okay? In verse 30, it says this, and He spoke, and as He spoke these words, many believed in Him, okay? So He's saying these things. People are hearing Him, and they, when they hear even these heavy things, He says, they say, I believe in Him. I believe what He's saying is true. I believe that He is from above, that we are from beneath and He is from above. I believe that these guys are of this world and He is not of this world. I believe that when the Father has sent Him, I believe that the Father has commissioned Him. I believe these things, okay? So I want you to get that. They believe it. These are not the Jews that are against Him, that hate Him, that just want Him dead normally. These are people that hear what He is saying and they believe Him, okay? It says in verse 30, as He spoke these words, many believed in Him. Verse 31, then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, now okay, so now He's specifically only talking to those that believe Him, okay? If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. Now He has just made really a huge thing that we don't major on enough in the body of Christ, okay? And I'll prove that to you in a little bit different way later. He's just said it is not enough to be a believer. He is talking to people who are believers, but they are not disciples. They believe, but they need to take a step forward. Now in particular, Jesus is addressing the fact that just because you believe doesn't mean you're going to be free. Just because you believe doesn't mean you'll walk in freedom. If you want to walk in freedom, you have to move from being a believer to a disciple. That ultimately it is the disciples that walk in freedom. Again, don't take my word for it, let's read it again. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, believers. If you, now I understand they're not believers in the same way we're believers, right? They're not born again, child, children of God. They have not passed from death and the life. I get it, I get it, but they still believe. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed." If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed. In other words, you might be believing, but unless you make the choice to be, unless you make the choice to literally live and abide in my word, you are not a disciple. Then he goes on here and he says this, and talking about those people that become disciples, those people that abide in the word and become disciples, and you shall know the truth, those people who abide in the word, who become disciples, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Now this freedom is not coming to them on the basis of the fact they believe Him. This freedom is coming to them. They're walking in this freedom on the basis of that they abide in His word and become disciples. Now, let's go back to what I said at the beginning, okay? I've been in ministry for 31 years, going on 32 years. For the vast majority of that, I was not a disciple. Now, what I mean by that was, is I was a believer, but I was not a disciple. Now, I can't say that I didn't really, I abided in the word, I believe in the majority of the time, I've spent time reading my Bible, feeding on the word of God, but there was a bit of a disconnect because I would argue with the word. Ultimately, I would argue with God about my life, my calling, and I was not, I was not following Him as a disciple, follows their master. And even today, the word master has a, you know, and honestly, one of the reasons I didn't follow Him, one of the reasons I did not get saved earlier on is I didn't wanna turn my life over to Him. The reason that I got saved ultimately is because in a very real sense, I felt as though I had to. Now, I did believe as long as I can remember, I believe that Jesus was the Son of God, but He was not my Lord. I did not want Him to be my Lord because I thought what He would do would take away my fun. That all the things that I enjoyed, like shooting, fighting, all this other stuff, I would have to give that up, movies. I would have to give that up if I made Him my Lord. I thought I would have to give up my plan, well, I did have to give up my plan for my life, my plan has always been to one form or another to be somebody that protected people, like I wasn't protected when I was a child. I wanted to be that protector. And so when people would talk to me about Jesus, I believe that He was the Son of God, but I did not want Him to be Lord because I did not want Him telling me what He wanted me to do with my life. I wanted to make my own plan. I was smart, I was intelligent, I was a hard worker. I got this, I don't need His input. Now, again, then there comes the day that I accept Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. Now, why did I do it? Now, again, I didn't understand salvation, but why did I do it? I did it because they told me that I was dying of a terminal disease and that I could still die. And at the time there were some people that wanted to help me die. And I got out of bed and I declared that, and I didn't know what I was doing. Everybody, I admire these people who can say, I got saved on this day and this year and stuff. I can't do that because I can tell what year it was, it was 1989. But it was in January, but I don't know the day because I didn't know what I was getting into. I didn't know the significance of the step that I was taking. I did not know that I would literally be recreated on the inside and that I would change completely on the inside. I didn't know that. I mean, little by little I found it out later on, but even then, so I'm pretty sure I'm gonna die. And so I don't wanna go to hell and I know that if you don't accept Jesus, you go to hell, which is true, and I don't wanna go. So I accept Jesus. Now again, it's funny, I allowed him to be my savior. I still didn't want him to be my Lord. I still had plans, you feel me? I still have ways of doing things. Now, I'd like to say that after I went in ministry, that that changed, but it didn't. God and I have always, well, not always, recently we've had a change in relationship from the fact that I always argued with him. I always argue with him about calling me. I would not have chosen me. I would not have chosen somebody like me with my history, a man that lied, deceived, hurt people. I wouldn't have chosen me. And I thought it was wrong. And then he starts telling me about what he wants to do with the ministry. And well, then he tells me I'm going into ministry and I don't like that idea at all. And then he tells me the size that he eventually that we will one day be. And I really didn't like that. And then he starts talking about going on television and I definitely didn't want to do that. Because one, I'm not shy, that wouldn't be the word. I'd spent most of my life trying to be in the shadows and now I'm stepping firmly and not just into the light, but into a spotlight. And I was always afraid that I knew I could screw up. I knew I could make mistakes. And quite frankly, I didn't want to screw up and hurt you. That somehow or another, you would begin to allow me to speak into your life and then I'd do something stupid and I'd end up hurting you. I didn't want that. I didn't want to be that person. And I pretty much figured I would be that person. So when God would begin to talk to me, again, we're talking about disciples yet. I believed in him. But when he is the master would say, I want you to do this. It's like, no, no, I'm not doing that. I'm not doing that. I'm not taking that step. I'm not doing this thing. I'm not going to do that. Because I wasn't a disciple. Disciples, one of the things you'll notice about people that the difference between disciples and non-cycles is they want to argue with God. Right? Well, here, let's look on here, just a minute, okay? Let's go back to verse 31. "Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed him again, "they're believers. "If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed, "and you shall know the truth, "and the truth shall make you free." Let me bring up this again since it is our first day offering this product, how to be free. Part of the reason my partners and I, and partners, I want you to think about this for a second. If the Word of God is the sort of the Spirit and it is, then partners you and I are giving people a means to protect themselves. You as a partner are literally a sword sower. Today, partners, not only by your partnership, am I able to put a sword in your hand today, to give you the Word of God by means you can protect yourself and your family. But those of you that are partners, you're also empowering every other person that we are putting a sword into their hand. In a very real way partners, we're spiritual arms dealers. That's what we do. We equip people. And the reason that we, this does cost money even to send it to you digitally, it does cost money. The reason we never charge for it is because we want to make sure no matter what, you have the weapons to protect yourself. That's the reason every Friday I ask people to become partners because we've got to get more swords in people's hands. And then once we give them the sword, we got to teach them how to sharpen it. And so I strongly encourage you, especially in this area, since there's so much to say, there's hours upon hours of teaching, please go to kurtowen.com and get this absolutely free. Get this sword into your hand, okay? And that's our part of helping you to abide in the Word to become a disciple. Now, notice what happens next and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free, 33. Then they answered him and said, we are Abraham's descendants and we have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say you will be made free? Okay, again, let's get this picture 'cause this is really a perfect picture of kurtowen. He says some things, I believe it. Then he says, okay, this is what I want you to do. I want you to move from being a disciple, from being a believer to being a disciple so that you can walk in freedom. And then immediately these people who are believers and not disciples begin to argue with him. What are you talking about? We are free. What are you talking about? We've never been in bondage. We are Abraham's seed. We've never been in bondage to anyone. They are arguing with a man that they believe is from above. They are arguing with a man that they believe that the Father sent him. They are arguing with a man that does miracles and instead of yielding their own thought processes, the way they think and the way they feel and the way they've been taught, instead of setting all of that aside and saying, you're the master, I'm the disciple. It is the way you say it is, but I don't see it. They're like, that's not true. That is not true. We're Abraham's seed. We've never been in bondage to anyone. Let me ask you that. Is what they're saying accurate? Have they never been in bondage to anyone? Okay, let's think about it. We've got Abraham, right? Yes, he walked in freedom. We have Isaac, he walked in freedom. We have Ishmael and the guy, we're all Jacob, Jacob, right? Then we have Ishmael and Jacob. They walked in freedom. Jacob, son, Joseph, gets sold into slavery by his brothers and ends up being the second in command ruler of Egypt, right? The next time we see these Israelites, they are the slaves of Pharaoh. So we're not too many generations past Abraham and I can share with you, you have been in bondage. It is part of your history. They teach it in Sabbath school. They teach it in all, they teach it in, every time you go to synagogue, the heroes, you know, that hero Moses you got? You know, why you got the arrow? Because he led the people out of what? What was the reason Moses got called? We're Abraham, see, we've never been in bondage to anyone because believers argue and disciples follow. They're sitting there literally with all of their heritage being ministered to them. They're sitting there, arguing with a man that they know is from above. They know is from the Father. They believe him. And the first thing out of his mouth, after he says you need to become a disciple, is dude, you don't know what you're talking about. What does the matter with you? How can you say such a thing? Now I'm gonna pick up on here tomorrow. One of the benefits of following the Lord Jesus Christ is that he is a miracle worker and a wonder worker. And why not start your week off right by receiving a miracle from the Lord Jesus Christ? Right now, in just a moment, I'm gonna let you go and then I'm gonna come back and you're gonna pray, we're gonna pray together. But I want you to think about what's going on in your life. And I want you to think about what miracle you need. And what I want you to do is I want you to see yourself standing in front of the Lord Jesus. And he's looking at you and he's smiling. His eyes are pools of liquid love the way somebody. And he says, what can I help you with? And you tell him what it is, that miracle that you need. And then I want you to see him saying, of course, of course. Now come back in just a minute, I'm gonna release that miracle into your life. - Are you walking in true freedom? Learn to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and walk in freedom by knowing the truth that sets you free in this powerful teaching series from Pastor Kurt Owen. We're offering this series on USB as our free gift to you or yours today on our website, Kurt Owen.com or by calling 1-800-215-0428. Have you gone on your favorite podcast platform and subscribe to our podcast? Please do that today. It'll give you access to a lot of different material, even this show and our newsletters. So right where you are, we're gonna start your week off right with a miracle in your life. I want you to just close your eyes and see Jesus there. And in just a moment, I'm gonna pray. And when I say receive your miracle, just accept and see Jesus just minister in that miracle to you. A father in the name of Jesus, I've told them that you're a wonder worker. Lord, I thank you. Right where they are, your power is present to deliver them. And in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, receive your miracle right now. I just say thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Father. My miracle is mine. In Jesus' name, amen. I'm Kurt Owen reminding you, Jesus' risen and victory is assured. (upbeat music)