Love Worth Finding | Audio Program

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Acts 5:29-32

Being a Christian is a joyous thing. The reason we are not filled with joy in this Christian life could be a matter of disobedience. Adrian Rogers says, “Obedience is the missing ingredient in so many Christians’ lives.”

What does it mean to truly obey Christ? What is the expedience of obedience?

In Acts 5, Peter and the other apostles have caused quite a stir by preaching about Jesus Christ. The religious authorities are trying to stop a revival they began. They command the apostles to stop preaching. Verses 29-32 says:

“Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.”

In this text, we are first given the reason for obedience. When God tells us to do something, we don’t have any other reasonable choice because He is a sovereign God. He has every right to instruct His children, no refusal or rebuttal about it. He is also a saving God, who suffered and died for us. Why do we obey Him? We owe it to Him. What are the requirements for obedience?

Understand first, we can’t obey unless we know what it is that God wants us to do. Once we know God’s will, we must be intentional about obeying it and do so immediately. We will be held accountable for what we know. When He speaks, we must answer Him, regardless of circumstances. Only then can we see the supernatural rewards of our obedience:

-Power in our lives

-Joy in our hearts

-Victory in the church.

When we obey God rather than men, we will see great multitudes of people come to Jesus Christ.

Apply it to your life

Would you like to obey, to be happy in Jesus? Would you like to have victory in your life? Know the will of God for your life and do it immediately, inflexibly, and passionately.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Acts 5:19-20

Acts 5:42 says, “And daily in the temple and in every house they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.” Publicly and privately, the early church did not stop preaching and teaching about Jesus Christ; it was a daily experience.

In our own way and opportunity, each of us is called, ordained, and equipped to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, if you are a Christian, evangelism is supposed to be a lifestyle. Adrian Rogers says, “God has called you to witness. A Christian who is not witnessing is not merely missing a blessing, he is guilty of high treason against heaven’s King.”

If you are not witnessing, you are disobeying God. In the Book of Acts, the conversion of three men reveals why it is so important to witness to others.

In Acts 8, the conversion of the Ethiopian man shows us that all people have a common hunger to know God, even if we don’t understand it yet.

In Acts 9, the conversion of Saul—who later became Paul, apostle of Christ— reminds us that all people have a common heartache. All the intelligence and money in the world couldn’t buy the satisfaction that is found only in Christ.

In Acts 10, the conversion of Cornelius tells us that all people have a common hope—Jesus.

Back-to-back, we are shown by Scripture that the hope of Africa is Jesus, the hope of Asia (Paul the Apostle) is Jesus, the hope of Europe (Cornelius) is Jesus. All people need the same help. The hope of the world is Jesus.

God took Phillip, Annanias, and Peter, with their availability, expendability, adaptability, and used them to share the Gospel with men who would carry it even further, to the uttermost ends of the earth.

We all have the same heartaches and hunger that are only satisfied through our common hope in Jesus Christ. And remember: Jesus will save anybody who is willing to come to Him.

They may not even know that it is God who they are searching for, but each and every man needs to know him. It is our job, as a Christian community to help them.

Apply it to your life

Are you available, expendable, and adaptable, ready to be used by God? There’s somebody who needs you desperately.

All men need the same help—they need somebody to tell them about Jesus and that somebody is you.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Acts 4:36-37-Acts 5:11

In Acts 5, the early church was in the blaze of revival. However, the Devil crafted a new attack from within the church, through Ananias and Sapphira. After seeing another church member receive praise for selling his property and giving everything to the church, Ananias and his wife Sapphira lied about their own offering to receive the same praise. Right on the spot, God struck them both dead.

This is God’s warning to big pretenders about the seriousness of hypocrisy. This lie was rooted in pride. They wanted praise. They pretended to have a devotion to Jesus they did not have; they became hypocrites.

The Holy Spirit gave Peter the gift of discernment and exposed the lie through him. Peter then revealed that this couple didn’t just lie to men, they lied to the Spirit of God. It is unspeakably serious to lie to the Holy Spirit, and it is important to know that we could never fool Him.

There were serious consequences for their pretending. As Christians, we will be judged as sinners, servants, and sons.

Our judgment as sinners was settled at the cross of Jesus Christ. The judgment for our service will be dealt with at the judgment seat of Christ. The judgment of sons is the way God the Father disciplines us and grows us day by day.

What happened to Ananias and Sapphira was their judgment as children of God. This punishment can sometimes be very severe. But the judgment of God can save us, too. God doesn’t take vengeance on his own children. God, in mercy, took Ananias and Sapphira to keep them from further sin.

It was a saving judgment for the church, as well. Through this example, the church saw how God felt about sin. This hypocrisy did not stop the revival; in fact, revival only increased. It didn’t stop this early church; it shouldn’t stop us today.

Hypocrites come and go, but the church of the Lord Jesus marches on.

Apply it to your life

We are saved by grace, but one of these days we will face the judgment seat of Christ and give an account for how we stewarded our lives.

If you’re a child of God, sin in your life is more serious than sin in the life of an unsaved person. Be careful that you do not lie to the Holy Spirit.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Acts 4:23-33

The need of the hour is power in prayer—not merely to pray, but to pray with power.

In Acts 4, there was trouble in the early church. There was opposition against the Gospel of Jesus. Christians’ lives were being threatened. This was the catalyst for this great prayer meeting. It was not just any prayer that they needed. No rhetoric, eloquence, music or beauty would do. They needed power; and they received it. How do we put power in our prayers?

First, we must understand the confidence of their mighty prayer.

Acts 4:24 says, “...they lifted up their voice to God with one accord and said, Lord thou art God which hath made heaven and earth and the sea and all that in them is...” When facing opposition, it’s necessary to gain the right perspective: to look beyond the visible to the Invisible. To look beyond the creature to the Creator. We will find that nothing has happened that God does not control. We will find the conquering God still on His throne. We can be confident that we are praying to a God who is the creator, controller, and conqueror of all things.

Notice also the commitment of a mighty prayer.

The reason that many of our prayers are not answered is that we’ve not made that commitment to the Lord. Prayer is the means of bringing the power of heaven into our lives. As servants of God, we must express His Word, extend His hand, and exalt His Son. When we commit to doing so, then we will see power in our prayers.

Finally, we must be ready for the consequences of a mighty prayer.

The Spirit is received—a fresh filling of God’s Holy Spirit.

Unity is achieved; Adrian Rogers says, “Prayer, more than anything else, unites the church.”

Then, the Gospel is believed.

Adrian Rogers tells us, ”Our first duty is not to preach the gospel, but to be ready and worthy to preach it through prayer.”

Apply it to your life

Do you want to put power in your prayer? Have you made yourself available to Jesus, a vessel for Him to work through and accomplish His mighty works? Submit totally to God.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Acts 4:1-3, 4:13

Many of us want to share our faith, but we’ve been intimidated out of doing so. Acts 4:13 says, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.”

We need an epidemic of holy boldness, the same one that transformed Peter and John. What is the secret of their holy boldness?

If we are going to be bold witnesses for Jesus Christ, we can expect persecution.

Peter and John were persecuted. The persecution was not against them, it was against Jesus. If the resurrected Christ dwells in us, the same world that hated Jesus will hate us. But we are to rejoice and be exceedingly glad. Why? Adrian Rogers says, “The church persecuted is always the church powerful.”

When you have a holy boldness, you can express persuasion.

No one has ever been argued into Heaven. Witnessing is about sharing your personal encounter with the living Christ with others. Adrian Rogers says, “I can preach truth, but only He can impart truth.”

Another secret of holy boldness is the presence we will experience.

The disciples were bold because they had been with Jesus. They had seen Christ alive and resurrected and now Christ lives in them. Nothing could intimidate them. The Enemy could not shut them up or hold them back. They were filled with the Spirit of God and the presence of Jesus.

The final secret to holy boldness is the person we will exalt.

Again, Adrian Rogers says, “You cannot be convinced that Jesus Christ came out of that grave and that He’s the only hope of a sin-cursed world and be silent; you cannot!”

Understand that holy boldness is not human courage. It is not arrogance or presumption. Holy boldness is saying, “Lord Jesus. If You are for me, who can be against me?”

Apply it to your life

Do you wish to have more courage when you share your faith in Jesus with others? Pray for an epidemic of holy boldness. Be a good steward of the faith you have been given.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Acts 3:1-10

Acts 3 tells the story of Peter and John healing the crippled man at the gate of the temple in Jesus’ name. As a result, perhaps twenty thousand people came to know and follow Jesus Christ. In this passage, we can identify three keys to a beautiful life.

These twenty thousand people who were saved were first confronted with a miracle. The man who would be healed by Jesus’ disciples had been crippled since birth. He resides at the gate of the temple (actually called ‘Beautiful’). Day after day, he lived on the outside of a beautiful life. Until one day, Peter and John approached him, offering him the healing power of Jesus Christ. The man was healed, free to leap, dance, and praise God. He entered through a gate called Beautiful, into the temple of God. This was a miracle that could not be reasonably denied or humanly explained, and it comes with a message for us all. This man represents those of us who are spiritually and morally crippled by birth. When Jesus—through the apostles—healed this man, His actions said this: “A touch from God leads to a beautiful life of serving, worshiping, and walking with God.”

Secondly, Peter tells the crowd of the murder that condemned them. More than likely, the people in Act chapter 3 didn’t literally nail Jesus to the cross, but Peter said, “If you’re not with Him, you’re against Him. If you don’t crown Him, you crucify Him.” We learn from Peter’s accusations that it was our sin that nailed Jesus Christ to the cross. We’re implicated in His murder.

Thirdly, there was a message that converted them. After the miracle grabbed the crowd’s attention, the stage was set for one of the greatest evangelistic messages ever preached.

Peter’s message was, “Jesus is the risen Lord. We are witnesses. He is alive and He is present, even today. He redeems those who repent.”

This message still rings true today, for us. Adrian Rogers says, “When you repent, Christ comes in and He gives you the power to live the life that you could not live.”

Apply it to your life

Do you want a beautiful life? Do you want to be spiritually healed? Repent! Change your mind about yourself, about sin, and about the Savior. And watch Him make something beautiful out of your life.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Acts 2:1-13

In Acts 2, nearly a million Jews were in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. However, 120 disciples of Jesus Christ were at the center of attention as they received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. They were a church aflame; an early Christian church that made an impact on their community in a mighty way. What are the ingredients of a church aflame?

The first is Supernatural Power.

God demonstrated the power He had promised the disciples in Acts 1:8. This power was visualized by wind and fire. John 3:8 explains that the wind symbolizes the Holy Spirit because it “bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth.” The sight of fire over each of the disciples’ heads also symbolizes the Holy Spirit, as fire spreads and consumes, just like our Lord wants to consume our lives for His glory. This power was vocalized by the speaking of tongues and vitalized by the Holy Spirit. When we become Christians, we are baptized by the Holy Ghost, indwelled by the Holy Spirit, and sealed into Christ. From there, we can choose to be filled with the Holy Spirit through surrender and faith. Then, there’s the anointing of the Spirit: the special touch for a specific task.

The second ingredient of a church aflame is the spiritual preaching.

Peter preached the Word of God to the disciples with boldness.

The third ingredient of a church aflame is a saved people; those who understand what salvation truly is.

Adrian Rogers says, “Real salvation is not merely a crisis act that you look back to, it is a present experience.”

The last ingredient of a church aflame is the spiritual program.

The church must study the Bible together in fellowship and worship as one Body. Each member must participate as they should.

When each member is active in the church, the church will grow and catch the flame of the Spirit.

Apply it to your life

Are you an active member of a church aflame? Remember, as Adrian Rogers said, “God doesn’t want us to do anything for Him, He wants to do something through us.” Let Him use you in your local church.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Acts 1:1-9

The Book of Acts is the success story of a small group of uncultured people—with no seminaries, radio, television, internet, newspapers, and very little resources—who told the world about Jesus. They went out against great obstacles and turned that world inside out and upside down for Jesus Christ. They did so much with so little! And we need to understand today what they did and how they did it, so that we can walk on the pathway to power, making much use of the resources God has given us.

First, we must recognize the presence of Jesus in our lives.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus was here in His physical body. In the Book of Acts (also written by Luke), He is here in His mystical body. Jesus is still alive and active through us. Adrian Rogers says, “Jesus doesn’t want us to do anything for Him. He wants to do something through us.” The reason this early church did what they did with such power is because it really wasn’t them doing it. It was Jesus doing it through them.

Second, we must receive His promise of power.

God made a promise, and that promise to us is the spiritual power through the Holy Spirit to accomplish far more than we believe could be done. When we are filled with the Spirit of God, we’re filled with the Power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enlightens us toward the path we should take. He enables us to take it because we can’t do it on our own. And the Spirit encourages us in our moments of hardship.

Finally, we must respond to His program through us.

We are to be witnesses. Adrian Rogers tells us, “We must get our heads out of the clouds of prophecy and got our feet on the sidewalks of soul winning to tell others.” When we make ourselves available to His program through us, we become witnesses of the Gospel.

And seeing what He accomplished through His early witnesses, there is no estimation of how powerful our witness to Jesus’ transformational love can be.

Apply it to your life

You don’t know what you may do when you bring a soul to Jesus Christ. Recognize His presence in you. Receive His promise to you. And respond to His program through you.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Reference: Matthew 5:17-18

In His day, the Bible Jesus knew was the Old Testament. Jesus’ unwavering devotion to it reminds us why we put our faith in the Word of God, cover to cover.

In Matthew 5:17-18, Jesus says, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.”

This passage reveals three things concerning Jesus and His Bible.

First, Jesus fulfills the Old Testament in its predictions.

Old Testament Scripture identifies the Savior as the Son of a mother from a specific family, belonging to a certain tribe, of a designated nation, of a specific section of the human race. Jesus meets the exact criteria; He is the fulfillment of every prophecy.

Adrian Rogers said, “The key to understanding the Bible is to look for Jesus in the Bible. If you read the Bible and you don’t find Jesus, re-read it!” God has no plan or purpose that does not ultimately center on Jesus Christ; He is in all of the Bible. What a testimony to the character of the Bible and of Jesus, how they rise and stand together.

Second, Jesus fulfills the Old Testament in its perfection.

Jesus holds the highest view of the Bible. He tells us that the Bible is verbally inspired: not just as a thought, but Word for Word. Every piece of it, every jot and tittle, is plenarily inspired.

Finally, Jesus fulfills the Old Testament in its purposes.

God demanded a perfect, sinless sacrifice—born of a virgin, with no Adamic nature in Him, and living a sinless life. Jesus Christ meets every standard and requirement of the law.

Adrian Rogers said, “Jesus fulfilled the law for us, that grace might fulfill it in us.”

The Old Testament law is there to remind us that we are sinners; we are lost and cannot save ourselves. However, Jesus came to save sinners; He suffered, bled, and died to pay every debt we owe—to fulfill the law in its prediction, perfection, and purpose.

Apply it to your life

Have you put your trust in Jesus, the fulfillment of the law? Repent, confess, and pray for His grace to fulfill the law in you.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Reference: Ephesians 4

A biblically unified church is a wonderful thing. Because this unity comes from the Spirit, we do not produce it; we merely preserve it.

Ephesians 4 tells us that we, as Christians, are to be, “...endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:2-3).

We preserve this sacred unity by recognizing three important concepts from this passage.

First, we must see that the ground of our unity is doctrinal and spiritual.

Unity does not mean unison or uniformity. It means we are in agreement on the basic truths of Scripture.

Ephesians 4:4-6 tells us the seven pillars of truth that hold us up and hold us together.

1. One Body: the Church, which began in the New Testament and has been kept alive and active to this day.

2. One Spirit: the Holy Spirit, the substance of our life, secret of our strength, and source of our unity.

3. One Hope: the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

4. One Lord: Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church, always.

5. One Faith: God’s revealed Word, which we are to earnestly contend for.

6. One Baptism: baptized by the Holy Spirit at salvation and brought into the body of Christ.

7. One God: The Father, who is above all, through all, and in all.

Once we are unified as a church, then we can see the glory of our diversity.

Adrian Rogers says, “Sameness is not unity; unity comes from diversity.” God gives us different spiritual gifts that are meant to unite us, not to divide us; they are not toys, they are tools. Though we are unified in our doctrine, our spiritual gifts do not have to march in lock step.

Finally, we recognize that the goal of our unity is maturity.

-We are meant to mature in stature, in how we look more and more like Jesus every day.

-We are to mature in stability, not being swayed by false teachings.

-We are to mature in speech, speaking truth in love without stutter, stammer, or apology.

And we mature in service toward one another, edifying the body as we grow, ourselves.

Unity, diversity, and maturity—all three are necessary for peace among the brethren. We learn how to get along despite our differences when we work together in harmony.

Apply it to your life

Are you a part of a unified church? Do you serve the body with your spiritual gifts?