Acts 12 — God Will Have the Last Laugh

There are two primary purposes

in the life of a believer.

1. To be confirmed into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. -

TO KNOW CHRIST (Acts 12:1-17)

2. To bear witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ and the glory of God. -

TO MAKE HIM KNOWN (Acts 12:24)

There are two essential truths every believer must remember.

1. Like Herod … all of God’s enemies will get what they justly deserve in the end, and all God’s peeople will get what they don’t deserve - grace.

(Acts 12:18-24, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-11)

2. Whether we live or die … we belong to the Lord, and our sorrows will be turned into joy and we will rejoice with Him forever. (Romans 14:8-9)

As We Go …

Learn to see your sufferings as an opportunity to Know Christ and become more like Him, and learn to take advantage of the opportunities you have every single day to make God known!

Prayer and the Sovereignty of God

Bro. John Latimer

I. God’s Sovereignty

Isaiah 46:9-10 9 Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God and there is none like Me

10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,

And I will do all My pleasure,’

Psalm 135:6 Whatever the Lord pleases He does, In heaven and in earth.

2. Prayer

John 14:13-14

13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself also in the Lord,

And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

BUT:

Matthew 6:10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

SO: God answers prayer four ways-

yes, no, wait, better

Matthew 26:39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Ezekiel 36:33-38

3. God’s message was heard clearest during persecution

Antioch - A Model Church for Faithful Stewardship - Acts 11:19-30, 13:1-3

1. The church at Antioch proved faithful with God’s financial resources.

(Acts 11:27-30)

2. The church at Antioch proved faithful with God’s people. (Acts 11:25-26, 15:35)

3. The church at Antioch proved faithful with God’s spiritual gifts. (Acts 13:1-3)

Visit https://spiritualgiftstest.com To Discover Your Spiritual Gifts

4. More than anything else - The church at Antioch proved to be faithful with the gospel of Jesus Christ. (Acts 13:1-3)

The disciples at Antioch were ....

Fearless in their evangelism

Desperate for the presence and power of Holy Spirit

Burdened for the nations as well as their neighbors

Willing to give away their very best

As We Go … Be Faithful with what you have been given starting today. Invest in eternity and in due time God will entrust you with much more.

Antioch: A Model Church for

Diverse Leadership

Acts 11:25-30, 13:1-3

I. God clearly established human leadership over the church, but only with the understanding that Jesus remains the Head of the body. (Acts 11:26, 13:1-3)

II. There are three primary words in the New Testament that describe God-ordained leadership in the church, but they all represent the same office.

(1 Peter 5:1-5)

A. Elder - represents seasoned men with life experience, spiritual maturity, wisdom, and sober judgment

B. Pastor - represents nurturing the church, by protecting, feeding, correcting, and leading

C. Overseer - represents supervision and governance over the church (also one who visits)

III The Bible almost always refers to a plurality of elders to lead a local church. (Acts 13:1-3)

IV. Having a plurality of elders naturally creates more opportunity to have diversity among leadership. (Acts 13:1-3)

6 primary categories where we should see Diversity

1. Race 2. Age 3. Economic Status

4. Education 5. Life Experience/Skills

6. Spiritual Giftedness

3 Critical categories where we Cannot Compromise for the sake of Diversity

1. Sex/Gender

2. Religious Beliefs and Doctrine

3. Sexual Orientation

As We Go … Pray for your leaders. Trust Your leaders. Hold your leaders accountable to Christ and His Word. Submit to your leaders. Bless your leaders as we do the work of the ministry together!

The Church at Antioch

A Model Church for

Intentional Discipleship

Acts 11:25-30, 13:1-3

I. Christian Discipleship isn’t merely a PART of your life … it IS your life.

(Acts 11:25-26)

II. The Body of Christ - THE CHURCH - provides the most effective CONTEXT for intentional discipleship.

(Acts 11:25-30)

Keys to intentional discipleship

KEY #1 - Meeting together FAITHFULLY and CONSISTENTLY (Acts 11:25-26)

KEY #2 - Teaching/Learning the COMMANDMENTS of Christ and the ESSENTIAL DOCTRINES of Scripture (Acts 11:25-26)

KEY #4 - Spiritual REPRODUCTION (Acts 11:25-26, 13:3)

Primary Spiritual Disciplines

______________ ______________

______________ ______________

______________ ______________

______________ ______________

As We Go …

Who is intentionally discipling you?

Who are you Intentionally discipling? What are you waiting for?

The Church at Antioch

A Model Church for Gospel Outreach

and Evangelism

Acts 11:19-24, Acts 13:1-3

I. Gospel outreach and evangelism compels us to move beyond our familiar comfort zones and to engage unreached people groups. (Acts 11:19-21)

UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUPS

IN OUR CITY

Ethnic minorities

The Sick and Poor

Children, youth, and their families

II. Gospel outreach and evangelism cultivates a spirit of enthusiasm and encouragement among believers that becomes contagious. (Acts 11:22-24)

III. Gospel outreach and evangelism frees us from measuring success by man’s standards and leaves the results up to God! (Acts 11:22-24)

AS WE GO … Continue to pray for our elders to find agreement and discernment in the Vision of Christ Church and pray that God will begin to prepare you to fulfill His vision in sharing Jesus with the unreached people groups of our community.

The Church at Antioch:

A Model Church for Gospel Outreach and Evangelism

Acts 11:19-24, Acts 13:1-3

I. Gospel outreach and evangelism compels us to move beyond our familiar comfort zones and to engage unreached people groups. (Acts 11:19-21)

Unreached People Groups in Our City

Ethnic minorities

The Sick and Poor

Children, youth, and their families

II. Gospel outreach and evangelism cultivates a spirit of enthusiasm and encouragement among believers that becomes contagious. (Acts 11:22-24)

II. Gospel outreach and evangelism frees us from measuring success by man’s standards and leaves the results up to God! (Acts 11:22-24)

AS WE GO … Continue to pray for our elders to find agreement and discernment in the Vision of Christ Church and pray that God will begin to prepare you to fulfill His vision in sharing Jesus with the unreached people groups of our community.

2019 - What Kind of People

Ought We to Be?

2 Peter 3

1. We must be people of the Book.

(2 Peter 1:19-21, 2 Peter 3:1-2, 14-18)

2. We must be people of Prayer.

(2 Peter 3:11-14)

3. We must be people of Purity.

(2 Peter 3:10-14)

4. We must be people of Courage. (2 Peter 3:3-7)

5. We must be people of Eternity. (2 Peter 3:8-15, 18)

As We Go …

What kind of person ought you to be in 2019? What changes are you willing to make to become that person?

1 John 1:5-7

John 9:12

Matthew 5:14-16

From the Beginning and Forevermore:

Emmanuel God with Us

I. From the very beginning God declared it was not good for man to be alone. (Genesis 2:18)

II. In the fullness of time, God became a man to save mankind from sin and death. (Galatians 4:4-6)

III. Jesus promised all his disciples that we would never walk through

life alone. (Matthew 28:20)

IV. Jesus promised to give us His Spirit to dwell within us.

(John 16:4-7)

V. Jesus promised to return in the future to ultimately rescue his people and reign as King of kings. (John 14:1-6)

VI. Jesus promised that we would enjoy 1,000 years with Him in His coming kingdom. (Matthew 19:28-29)

VII. Jesus promised that He will create a new heaven and a new earth and that He will dwell with us forevermore. (Rev 21:1-4)

As We Go … Remember the promise of Emmanuel - God with us - and rest in the reality of His presence both now and forevermore.