New Song Students OKC

19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. 21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

JAMES 1:19-21 

32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

LUKE 6:32-36

“A new study finds nearly one in two people believe they’re the best person they know.”

COMPARED TO WHAT?

32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 

LUKE 6:32-34

NATURAL KINDNESS IS EARNED NICENESS

32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

LUKE 6:32-33

Harshness: the quality of being unpleasantly rough or jarring to the senses; the quality of being cruel or severe.

IF WE SEE KINDNESS AS SOMETHING TO BE EARNED, THEN WE WILL VIEW HARSHNESS AS SOMETHING THAT CAN BE DESERVED

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil[a] has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

JONAH 1:1-3

A pyramid of heads I reared in front of his city. Their youths and maidens I burnt up in flames. 

KING SHALMANESER II 

I pierced his chin with my keen hand dagger. Through his jaw I passed a rope, put a dog chain upon him and made him occupy a kennel. 

KING ASHURBANIPAL

He [Jonah] goes around the city preaching a one-sentence message: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” That’s it. No three-point sermon. No cute story about his kids. No altar call. One sentence: Yahweh is going to kill all of you.

JOHN MARK COMER

1. HARSHNESS CAN BE JUSTIFIED

10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

JONAH 3:10

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly,[a] and he was angry. 2 And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. 3 Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”

5 Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city.

JONAH 4:1-5

2. HARSHNESS ISOLATES US

3. HARSHNESS IS FORGETFUL

10 And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

JONAH 4:10-11

Most of us want mercy for ourselves - and justice for everybody else. But it doesn’t work like that. God shows mercy to all.

JOHN MARK COMER

GOD’S STANDARD OF KINDNESS IS DIFFERENT

Kindness: compassionate, others-centered generosity. 

The writers of scripture defined kindness as the virtue of the person whose neighbor’s good is as dear as his own.

MAXIE DUNNAM

34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

LUKE 6:32-36

1. KINDNESS STARTS WITH GOD AND LOOKS LIKE GOD.

2. KINDNESS RECOGNIZES THE REAL ENEMY 

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 

EPHESIANS 6:12 

3. KINDNESS STEPS INTO THE MESS

The cumulative testimony of the four Gospels is that when Jesus Christ sees the fallenness of the world all about Him, His deepest impulse, His most natural instinct, is to move toward that sin and suffering, not away from it.

DANE ORTLUND

PATIENCE VS. HURRY

2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

JAMES 1:2-4

5-7 Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, but oddly, when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed on where he was for two more days. After the two days, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.”

JOHN 11:5-7 (MSG)

17-20 When Jesus finally got there, he found Lazarus already four days dead. Bethany was near Jerusalem, only a couple of miles away, and many of the Jews were visiting Martha and Mary, sympathizing with them over their brother. Martha heard Jesus was coming and went out to meet him. Mary remained in the house.

21-22 Martha said, “Master, if you’d been here, my brother wouldn’t have died…

JOHN 11:21 (MSG)

“I want a shortcut to life - I was raised on the microwave and VISA and Amazon Prime and instant messaging and TV and on demand. The world at my fingertips. I want it all, and I want it all right now. But there are no shortcuts to life. You can’t microwave character. It’s more like a tree that you grow slowly, one season after another. There are summer-like seasons where you can pluck joy off the limbs, where your life is dripping with growth and abundance. And there are winter seasons, where life feels slow and empty. The best trees are the ones that stay rooted and just keep at it.”

JOHN MARK COMER

OUR CULTURE CELEBRATES HURRY

Hurry Sickness: a behavior pattern characterized by continual rushing and anxiousness. 

2. A malaise in which a person feels chronically short of time, and so tends to perform every task faster and to get flustered when encountering any kind of delay. 

3. A continuous struggle and unremitting attempt to accomplish or achieve more and more things or participate in more and more events in less and less time. 

Burnout: a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands.

• Every single person has to rest. You’ll either rest because you chose to or you’ll be forced to slow down through burnout.

The average age of burnout in America is 32.

GOD IS NOT IN A HURRY.

15 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. 16 But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners.

1TIMOTHY 1:15-16

“God is more concerned with your long-term character than your short-term happiness. And he’s more willing to sacrifice the one to get the other.” 

JOHN MARK COMER

1. HURRY REACTS

1. HURRY BLURS OUR JUDGEMENT

29 Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” 31 Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” 32 Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

GENESIS 25:32-34

“Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day. You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.” 

DALLAS WILLARD

“For many of us, the great danger is not that we will renounce our faith. It is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it. We will just skim our lives instead of actually living them.”

JOHN ORTBERG 

Patience: the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.

Hypomone (patience): steadfastness, constancy, and endurance; in the NT, it is the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings

BIBLICAL PATIENCE IS NOT WAITING, IT’S TRAINING.

I waited patiently for the Lord;

    he inclined to me and heard my cry.

2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction,

    out of the miry bog,

and set my feet upon a rock,

    making my steps secure.

3 He put a new song in my mouth,

    a song of praise to our God.

1. PATIENCE RESPONDS PRAYFULLY

19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.

JOHN 5:19

1. PATIENCE TRUSTS THERE’S A PURPOSE

4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

JAMES 1:4

1. PATIENCE SEES PEOPLE

• Because God will never be able to use people who are too busy for people. 

Galatians 5:16-26

THE WAY OF LOVE VS. THE WAY OF SELFISHNESS

LOVE VS. SELFISHNESS, JOY VS. DESPAIR, PEACE VS. ANXIETY, PATIENCE VS. HURRY, KINDNESS VS. HARSHNESS, GOODNESS VS. BROKENNESS, FAITHFULNESS VS. COMPROMISE, GENTLENESS VS. ROUGHNESS, AND SELF-CONTROL VS. APPETITES.

DANGER O1: THE FRUIT OF A GOOD PEOPLE

DANGER 02: THE FRUIT OF GOOD PEOPLE AND THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT ARE THE SAME

FRUIT GROWS

18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident:

GALATIANS 5:18-19

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is…

GALATIANS 5:22

Fruit isn’t achieved by working, but is birthed by abiding, and sustained through connection.

David Guzik

5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

MATTHEW 15:5

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

ROMANS 8:5

FRUIT SHOWS

Fruit shows US what/who were are connected to and shows OTHERS what/who we are connected to.

FRUIT FEEDS

This fruit is grown IN US, but it’s grown FOR OTHERS.

WORLD-SHAPED LOVE

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self,

2 TIMOTHY 3:1-5

THE FRUIT OF WORLD-SHAPED LOVE IS SELFISHNESS

“We don’t worship Satan, we worship ourselves using the metaphorical representation of the qualities of Satan. Satan is the name used by Christians for that force of individuality and pride within us.”

ANTON LAVEY (Founder of the Church of Satan)

THE ROOT OF A WORLD-SHAPED LOVE: “I NEED LOVE.”

Back in the thirteenth century, the king of Sicily, Frederick II, conducted a diabolical experiment intended to discover what language children would naturally grow up to speak if never spoken to. He thought it would be either Hebrew, Greek, Latin or Arabic. Some things are just obvious, right? So King Frederick the Great took babies from their mothers at birth and placed them in the care of nurses who were forbidden to speak in their hearing. But a second rule was imposed, as well: the nurses were not allowed to touch the infants. To his great dismay, Frederick’s experiment was cut short, but not before something tragically significant regarding human nature was revealed. As you may have guessed, the babies grew up to speak no language at all because they died. In the year 1248, an Italian historian named Salimbene di Adam recorded, with an air of scientific observation, “They could not live without petting.” The babies literally died for want of touch.

Astounding! Modern medicine calls this phenomenon, “failure to thrive.” For some reason, we humans flourish under the influence of love and we gradually die without it.

Modern science is now proving through controlled studies that human beings are literally engineered for love. We are made for love, as if our DNA contains the message, “You must love and be loved in order to survive.”

THE FREDERICK EXPERIMENT

CHRIST-SHAPED LOVE

To love well in a time of selfishness, we have to be loved well.

JON TYSON

THE ROOT OF CHRIST-SHAPED LOVE: “I AM LOVED.”

8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 

1 JOHN 4:8-10

Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.

EPHESIANS 3:17-19 

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

ROMANS 5:8

THE FRUIT OF A CHRIST-SHAPED LOVE IS SELFLESSNESS

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

EPHESIANS 5:1-2

“The Biblical concept of agape love involves giving of yourself for the benefit of another, even at your own expense. Biblical love is defined by passionately and righteously seeking the well-being of another. Biblical love is an act of the will and not just a fuzzy feeling in the stomach. That’s why God can command us to love one another. Love really has nothing to do with whether you feel loving at a particular moment. It has to do with the need of the person being loved, not the feelings of the one doing the loving.” 

TONY EVANS

Spiritual Integrity: is the quality of being honest and having strong biblical principles, or biblical uprightness. It is a personal choice to hold oneself to consistent biblical standards.1.  Spiritual Integrity is Foundational to the call on our life.
Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.2.  Spiritual Integrity is whole and complete.
Proverbs 11:3 The Integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.3. Integrity protects transparency over image.
1 Samuel 16:7 Man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the Heart.
Proverbs 10:9 Whoever walks in Integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths gets found out.1.   Have an up-to-date personal walk with God.
Hebrews 4:12- For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Romans 12:2- And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, that you may prove what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God.2.  Be accountable to the authority over your life.
Hebrews 13:17- “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not grief, for that would be unprofitable to you.

Daniel 4:37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in pride.

Do YOU Know?

39 Now from that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to [m]Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41 Many more believed because of His word; 42 and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One truly is the Savior of the world.”

JOHN 4:39-42

“We’re no longer taking this on your say-so. We’ve heard it for ourselves and know it for sure.

JOHN 4:42

“There is a difference between believing in Jesus based off of what someone has told you about Him, and you experiencing a relationship with Jesus for yourself.”

42 and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One truly is the Savior of the world.”

JOHN 4:42

God is not interested in a relationship with you based off of what OTHERS HAVE SAID

DO YOU KNOW JESUS FOR YOURSELF

MYTH #1: JESUS CAME TO MAKE MY LIFE EASIER.

13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again; 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never be thirsty; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.”

15 The woman *said to Him, “[d]Sir, give me this water so that I will not be thirsty, nor come all the way here to draw water.

JOHN 4:13-14

The response of the Samaritan woman was logical, yet not spiritual. She wanted to avoid the work of coming to the well every day. It was as if she responded, “Jesus, if you want to make my life easier and more convenient, then I’m all for it. Give it to me!”

DAVID GUZIK

MYTH #2: JESUS DOESN’T HAVE STANDARDS

15 “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.” 16 “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her. 17 “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.

Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— 18 for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”

JOHN 4:15-18

MYTH #3: I NEED TO CLEAN UP MY LIFE FIRST

JESUS SEEKS YOU

JESUS EXPOSES SIN

JESUS COVERS ALL SIN

JESUS ASKS FOR ALL OF YOU

2 CHRONICLES 2:14, “Then if my people who are called 

by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek 

my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear 

from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their 

land.”

POINT 1: HUMILITY IS THE FIRST STEP IN HEALING

•

1 Peter 5:5, “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the 

humble.”

POINT 2: REPENTANCE IS THE SECOND STEP TO HEALING

De

fi

nition of

repentance

intransitive verb

:

to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one’s life

:

to feel regret or contrition

:

to change one’s mind

•

Acts 3:19, “Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that 

your sins may be wiped away.”

•

John 16:23-24, “At that time you won’t need to ask me for 

anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, 

and he will grant your request because you use my name.

You 

haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will 

receive, and you will have abundant joy.

WHEN YOU PRAY AND ASK IN JESUS NAME, YOU GET INSTANT 

ACCESS TO THE THROWN OF JESUS, THE THROWN OF OUR 

HEAVENLY FATHER!

POINT 3: GETTING OTHERS TO PRAY WITH YOU IS THE THIRD 

STEP IN HEALING.

•

Matthew 18:19,

“I also tell you this: If two of you agree here 

on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven 

will do it for you.”

POINT 4: THE FOURTH STEP IN PRAYING FOR HEALING IS 

HAVING FAITH THAT JESUS HEALS!

•

Matthew 4:23, Jesus traveled throughout the region of 

Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the 

Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind 

of disease and illness.

•

Psalms 103:3, “He forgives all my sins and heals all my 

diseases.”

•

Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and 

forever.”

•

GOD DOESN’T MAKE US SICK, BUT HE DOES USE OUR 

SICKNESS TO GET OUR ATTENTION AND REDIRECT US, TO 

GET US BACK ON THE PATH. 

•

John 11:4, But when Jesus heard about it he said,

“Lazarus’s 

sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory 

of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.”

•

Genesis 50:20, “You intended to harm me, but God 

intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I 

could save the lives of many people.”

•

Philippians 1:12, “And I want you to know, my dear brothers 

and sisters,

that everything that has happened to me here 

has helped to spread the Good News.”

7 The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. 

1 PETER 4:7

As Disciples of Jesus we are called to fill the gaps we see in life through prayer.

7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 

MATTHEW 6:7-8

“The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply.

MATTHEW 6:7-8(MSG) 

LEARNING TO LISTEN

“Prayer is conversing, communicating with God.”

DALLAS WILLARD

PRAYER GOES BOTH WAYS

So Jesus explained himself at length. “I’m telling you this straight. The Son can’t independently do a thing, only what he sees the Father doing. What the Father does, the Son does. The Father loves the Son and includes him in everything he is doing.

JOHN 5:19-20

GOD TALKS TOO

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

JOHN 10:27 

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. 

PSALM 32:8

25 And in the fourth watch of the night[d] he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 

MATTHEW 14:25-28 

FOUR VOICES

1. My voice
2. The enemy’s voice 
3. People’s voices
4. God’s voice

HOW TO DISCERN THE VOICE OF GOD

1. GOD’S WRITTEN WORD

• If you want to become familiar with the voice of God in your life then you MUST become familiar with God’s word.

1. GOD’S SPIRIT

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

JOHN 14:16-17

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

JOHN 16:13 

LOGOS: the written word of God

RHEMA: the specific word of God for you

When you are reading the bible on your own, you are reading Logos, or the sayings of Jesus. At times, you get much more than the mere words. This is when you get the Rhema word. This is like Eureka for the scientist involved in an experiment or discovery. It is not that a Rhema word can come to you only when you are reading the bible. It can come to you as a revelation while driving the car, walking in the garden, or even while sleeping and dreaming. This is like God talking to you directly. This could be the word giving you a direction and peace of mind. A Rhema word brings joy and excitement along with it.

“Just then three men showed up at the house where I was staying, sent from Caesarea to get me. The Spirit told me to go with them, no questions asked. So I went with them

ACTS 11:11

1. GOD’S WISDOM

“You don’t always need to know the mind of God when you know the heart of God.”

1. GOD’S PEACE

 And let the peace from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds

COLOSSIANS 3:15

1. LOWER THE NOISE

“It’s not legalism; it’s love.” 

It [silence] allows us to hear the gentle God whose only Son “shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice above the street noise” (Matt. 12:19). It is this God who tells us that “in quietness and trust is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15).

DALLAS WILLARD

1. UNMUTE GOD

“When you stop obeying, you put God on mute.”

1. FOLLOW THE SIGNS 

1. OTHER PEOPLE

The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.

1 PETER 4:7

SEEKING GOD FOR REVIVAL

After his death, he presented himself alive to them in many different settings over a period of forty days. In face-to-face meetings, he talked to them about things concerning the kingdom of God. As they met and ate meals together, he told them that they were on no account to leave Jerusalem but “must wait for what the Father promised: the promise you heard from me.

He told them, “You don’t get to know the time. Timing is the Father’s business. What you’ll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.”

ACTS 1:2-5, 7-8

These were his last words. As they watched, he was taken up and disappeared in a cloud. They stood there, staring into the empty sky.

ACTS 1:9-11

When the Feast of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force—no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them.

ACTS 2:1-4

38-39 Peter said, “Change your life. Turn to God and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so your sins are forgiven. Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is targeted to you and your children, but also to all who are far away—whomever, in fact, our Master God invites.”

40 He went on in this vein for a long time, urging them over and over, “Get out while you can; get out of this sick and stupid culture!”

41-42 That day about three thousand took him at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.

ACTS 2:38-42 

They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.

ACTS 2:46-47 

18-20 They called them back and warned them that they were on no account ever again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John spoke right back, “Whether it’s right in God’s eyes to listen to you rather than to God, you decide. As for us, there’s no question—we can’t keep quiet about what we’ve seen and heard.”

ACTS 4:18-20 

Through the work of the apostles, many God-signs were set up among the people, many wonderful things done. They all met regularly and in remarkable harmony on the Temple porch named after Solomon. But even though people admired them a lot, outsiders were wary about joining them. On the other hand, those who put their trust in the Master were added right and left, men and women both. They even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on stretchers and bedrolls, hoping they would be touched by Peter’s shadow when he walked by. They came from the villages surrounding Jerusalem, throngs of them, bringing the sick and bedeviled. And they all were healed.

ACTS 5:12-16 

“We don’t have to talk God into wanting to move. He’s waiting for us.” - Jon Tyson 

WHAT IS GOD WAITING FOR?

US TO WANT HIM

“Most people view Jesus as the step ladder into their destiny. He wants to kill YOUR destiny and He wants to resurrect HIS through you. You are going to discover your calling through HIS calling.” - Corey Russel

US TO KNOW WHAT HE WANTS

3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of David his father

2 Chronicles 34:3 

US TO TRUST HE CAN DO IT THROUGH US