1
The Real Fanatics

• Is it possible to be too excited about
  Jesus?

2

• Fanatic Defined Marked by excessive
  enthusiasm extreme
• It really isnt that fanatical to believe that
• God created the world/universe in six days?
• Bible is the infallible word of God, for a loving
  God to communicate to man?
• Bible is free from error?
• God instituted marriage?

3

• Acts 2624 Festus said with a loud voice,
  Paul, thou art beside thyself much learning doth
  make thee mad.
• Matt. 1118 He hath a demon.
• God Reminds Us That Christians are NOT the CRAZY
  ones, rather
• Anyone who denies Gods existence. Psalms 141
• Anyone who is unprepared for death eternity.
  Luke 1220
• Anyone who lives for the moment puts earthly
  pleasures ahead of what is good true. Luke
  1517
• Anyone who elevates his/her feelings over the
  scriptures and the all-wise God. Proverbs 2826

4

• Joyful Fanatics?
• Is it possible to be too excited about Jesus?!
• Am I personally in danger of that?!
• Is it possible to go off the deep end and think
  about Him too much?!
• To rejoice beyond?!
• To talk about Him as freely as a football game?!
• To pray for a deeper life with Him?!
• To be overly preoccupied?!

5

• Overly Righteous?!
• Ecclesiastes 716 - "Do not be excessively
  righteous, and do not be overly wise. Why should
  you ruin yourself?
• The passage does NOT mean for Gods people to
  tone down their enthusiasm Consider Matt. 2337
• Excessive righteousness is the same as boasted
  over-confident wisdom.
• That is, both have ceased to be true
  righteousness true wisdom.

6

• No Limit?!
• Not only does the Bible command a love for God
  that transcends and surpasses all other loves, to
  the point that those loves really pale in
  comparison (Luke 1426), it equally teaches the
  unlimited nature of other virtues and acts as
  well
• Prayer Pray without ceasing 1 Thess. 517
• Joy Rejoice Always 1 Thess. 516
• Gratitude In everything give thanks 1 Thess.
  518
• Spiritual Discernment Prove ALL things 1
  Thess. 521
• Morality Abstain from all appearance of evil.
  1 Thess. 522

7

• Avoid Redefining Lowering Our Standards?!
• "Because I never had real joy. I have learned to
  redefine "joy" in the Bible as an abstraction.
• Because I had no real faith, I took "faith" in
  the Bible as poetic, metaphorical.
• I had no real "abundant life" to speak of, and so
  was forced to make the term a figure of speech"
• In life we will meet many people who instead of
  simply trusting what God has said, opted to
  settle for either a faint image of the real thing
  or a complete counterfeit.

8

• The Pearl Merchant
• Matthew 1345,46 - "45Again, the kingdom of
  heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking
  goodly pearls 46Who, when he had found one pearl
  of great price, went and sold all that he had,
  and bought it.
• Some might view this man as a "fanatic" yet one
  crucial difference between the wise man and a
  foolish man is what you purchase when you sell
  all.
• Christ, who is our life Col. 34
• For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is
  gain. Phil. 121
• Buy the truth and sell it not Prov. 2323

9

• Catching The Fever
• Understand how much you have been forgiven. The
  person who realizes they have been forgiven much,
  will love much (Luke 747).
• Spend more time dwelling on Gods great love for
  you. Spend more time at the foot of the cross (2
  Corinthians 514-15).
• Contemplate the eternal glory that God is wanting
  to give you, "And though you have not seen Him,
  you love Him, and though you do not see Him now,
  but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy
  inexpressible and full of glory" (1 Peter 18).
• Inexpressible joy is a joy that one can never
  exhaust. One might have greatly rejoiced
  yesterday but the joy isn't spent, one still has
  a tremendous reserve.