One Family Church Sermons

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him. . . .

I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:7-14

PRESS ON

KNOW YOUR GOAL

I want to know Christ. . . . Philippians 3:10

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. Romans 8:29

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:6-11

AVOID DISTRACTIONS

Whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him. Philippians 3:7-8

PRESS ON FOR THE PRIZE

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14

My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.

They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.

May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity.

Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. John 17:15-23

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.

It is like the precious ointment upon the head. . . . Psalm 133:1-2

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 2 Corinthians 5:16

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 2 Corinthians 5:18

that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. 2 Corinthians 5:19

And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. 2 Corinthians 5:19-20

We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:20

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21

The Long Road to Reconciliation

We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:20

Step 1: Receive the Help You Long to Give.

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. . . . If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17

Step 2: Unite and Conquer.

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12

[God] has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. 2 Corinthians 5:19-20

Step 3: Commit Yourself to the Cause.

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

[T]here is one body and one Spirit, just as we were called to one hope; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:4

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. Mark 12:30-31

All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. Matthew 22:40

[T]here before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. Revelation 7:9

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

I pray . . . for those who will believe in me . . . that all of them may be one, Father . . . that they may be one as we are one . . . so that they may be brought to complete unity. . . so that the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. John 17:20-23

He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him. And by his stripes, we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.

5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. 6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. (Acts 12:1-6)

“The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord” (Acts 11:21).

“He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord” (Acts 11:24).

You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You (Isaiah 26:3).

When a believing person prays, great things happen (James 5:16).

7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.

8 Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision.

10 They passed the first guardpost and the second guardpost and came to the iron gate that led into the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. (Acts 12:7-10)

Refine Your Focus

Decide to Follow

Expand Your Faith

Three Obstacles

Defeat

If I confess my sins, He is faithful and just to forgive me of my sins and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9)

For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart (1 John 3:20)

Discouragement

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4)

Disapproval

So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God (Galatians 4:7)

... you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16)

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. . . . One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”

Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked.

The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. . . . Acts 10:1-5

Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.

He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”

“Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”

The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. Acts 10:10-16

In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Acts 2:17

Old identities have to die.

“I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. Acts 10:34-35

[W]hen Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.” Acts 11:2-3

[I]f God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?” Acts 11:17

A new identity is born.

A divine vision of what is possible

When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.

While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. Acts 7:

All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel. Acts 6:16.

Pressure builds Power through Perseverance.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

hupo-meno

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. James 1:12

Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God . . . Acts 7:55

The power within you is greater than the pressure around you.

I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit. . . . John 14:16

[G]reater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. 1 John 4:4

[M]y yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 28:30

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33

[T]hey all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Acts 7:57-58

Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. Acts 7:58

God always uses the pressure for his ultimate purpose

But Stephen . . . looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Acts 7:55

I lift up my eyes to the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help comes from the Lord. Psalm 121:1

[S]uffering produces perseverance; perseverance produces character; and character produces hope. Romans 5:3-4

My brothers, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians 6:10-13

One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.

When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John.

Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you.

In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk.” Acts 3:1-6

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate. . . . Acts 3:2

Experience shapes expectations.

[H]e was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. Acts 3:2

Expectations shape experience.

When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Acts 3:3

Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Acts 3:4

Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Acts 3:4-5

Silver or gold I do not have. . . . Acts 3:6

but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk. Acts 3:6

If you want to experience the exceptional,

you have to let go of the expected.

Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. Acts 3:7-8

When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. And tongues, like flames of fire that were divided, appeared to them and rested on each one of them. Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages, as the Spirit gave them ability for speech.

There were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. When this sound occurred, a crowd came together and was confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. And they were astounded and amazed, saying, “Look, aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? How is it that each of us can hear in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites; those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking the magnificent acts of God in our own languages.”

God Speaks Your Language

[W]e hear them speaking the magnificent acts of God in our own languages. Acts 2:11

Megas

Power of God

This Jesus the Nazarene was a man pointed out to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs. . . . Acts 2:22

He was delivered up according to God’s determined plan and . . . you used lawless people to nail Him to a cross and kill Him. . . . Acts 2:23

God has resurrected this Jesus. We are all witnesses of this. Acts 2:32

God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah!” Acts 2:36

Person of Jesus

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . And the Word became flesh and lived among us. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. John 1:1, 11, & 4

[Y]ou will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” Acts 2:39-40

Promise for You