More Than Bread

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The connection between the Spirit of God and the Word of God and the prayers of God’s people is profound. In fact, my favorite metaphor for this three-way connection is breathing deeply.  The Spirit of God is the breath of God. So we breathe in the Word; and we breathe out prayer. Soak your soul in the Word and then lift up your heart to God in prayer, all shaped by the Spirit. This might be the most important rhythm of life. Prayer gets all the press when it comes to God at work, but it always begins with listening. We breathe in the Word of God we breathe out prayer. 

So we are starting a series called "Praying Scripture." Each episode will look at a Biblical prayer and with a bit of explanation, in each episode we will pray that scriptural prayer! This episode brings a focus to listening... God give us ears to hear!

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The people in Acts were devoted to prayer, not just as a means to an end, but they were devoted to being with God, with Jesus in prayer. The early church prayed like prayer really mattered. They saw prayer as a necessary preparation for God's Work. (In fact you might argue that they saw prayer as the work, not just preparation for work.) They were constantly together and constantly in prayer. Prayer was not an afterthought or a whispered moment in the midst of the day. It was an intentional, sustained, unified, passionately devoted effort.  

Is prayer our first response or our last resort?

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You could say that the book of Acts is the story of a people standing at a crossroads of decision. Their next step would set the direction of their lives. They had to make a decision. It was a decision of devotion. To what or whom would their first devotion be given? They had a conviction that they needed to give their hearts to Jesus, all-in. That kind of conviction only comes about when the  dangerous combination of the Spirit and the Word saturates our hearts and minds. 

Listen, if you've never felt that kind of conviction from the Spirit to take a particular path of devotion. You can just skip this one... but if you have had a moment where you stood at a crossroads of decision, as to where to place your devotion. Listen in... I think this is an important one.

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Don't miss this, though the book of Acts has been shown time and time again to contain an accurate historical survey, this is not an historical dissertation for Dr. Luke.  He's writing to a person, possibly a friend and I want you to picture, his hand shaking with emotion, with excitement, joy, and deep longing as he writes. Because more than anything, he simply wants Theopholis to know Jesus.

And if we want to know Jesus, if we want others to know Jesus, that doesn't happen without the Spirit! You have a mission. It's all about Jesus, but it won't happen without the power of the Spirit!

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When you read Paul's story in the book of Acts, you find that he had a dream, a  compelling vision.  He wanted to live for Christ.  He wanted to bring Jesus to the whole world and for Paul the whole world was at Rome. He wanted to witness to Caesar. So God brought him to Rome. Probably not the way Paul envisioned. no mass-crusade in the Coliseum, no miraculous signs and wonders in Caesar's court.  
Some might look at the last years of Paul's life, the world's greatest missionary stuck in a Roman prison and say, "What a waste." But maybe not. When you live your life for Christ with no reserves, no retreats and no regrets, amazing things happen! What was true for him, could also be true for you!

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In Acts 27, we see that Paul had a deep, deep confidence in God’s power to accomplish God’s purpose through God’s plan. God's power, purposes and plan. What is God's purpose? He's taking the gospel global. The Kingdom of God and the good news of Jesus is going global. That’s always been God’s plan, and can I tell you something? In spite of what we think we see, or don't see, we can have confidence in God’s power accomplishing God’s purposes through God’s plan.

That's what was happening in Acts 27 and listen...it never stopped happening and it never will stop happening. All around the world, God is at work. That encourages me, but it also keeps me crying out, "God please do it again, here!"

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Acts 26 is the culmination of the love story that started in Acts 25, the love story between God and the family of Herod Agrippa. It’s also about evangelism. And let’s be honest, many of us have a love/hate/worry/guilt relationship with evangelism. Maybe that's because we've defined evangelism as, "Getting the hard sell from someone who acts like they're my best friend but has never taken the time to get to know me." But that’s not really evangelism. Literally evangelism means proclaiming good news. It’s not about persuading people you are right about the Bible. It’s proclaiming good news. What’s the good news? God loves you. He sent Jesus to die for you. You are proclaiming the love story of God. 

What if evangelism is nothing less than inviting people into the world's greatest love story?

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I want to talk to you about seed-planters and soul revolutions. Seed-planters are people with vision.  They are people with the patience, the faith and the courage necessary to strive hard for a future they may or may not see.  Without seed-planters there is no fruit, no life.  Seed-planters are people who love to serve.  Seed-planters are people who will leave a legacy by what they invest, what they give. Jesus was a seed-planter; a revolutionary who found great joy in producing the kind of fruit that would turn the world upside down.

I don't think politics will make our communities great again. It requires more then economics. It requires a soul revolution that comes from the seeds of the Spirit producing the fruit of the Spirit. That's what we need, we need a soul revolution!

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Acts 25 contains one of my favorite love stories in all of scripture. I’ll never forget the first time it hit me, it settled into my heart. The passionate relentless love of God is so great. The love of Christ is so great, His pursuit so relentless that he would throw his #1 spokesman in jail for two years so that his #1 enemy might have one more chance to know that love?  Such relentless love. 

And He relentlessly loves you too! You are relentlessly pursued by a lavishly gracious, greatly merciful, fiercely loyal, patiently loving God. You are part of a great epic love story!

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ACTS 24 is a beautiful description of Paul being faithful. Embracing opportunities to share his faith, to talk about Jesus, even when it might make his life miserable.  Not watering down the message to someone who has the power of life and death in his hands. Giving the full truth even if it might be controversial. Paul was faithful over and over again. Over two years, he continued to speak about Christ to Felix. Paul knew that his faith in Jesus was the very reason he was in custody. But he didn't downplay it or hide it. He boldly proclaimed it. He was faithful.

What if God doesn't judge the success of our lives based on outputs and outcomes, but rather on our faithfulness? Jesus help us to be faithful!