Finding Yourself in the Book of Acts - Part 7

5:20 - Acts 1:8 "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

7:45 - 2 Timothy 3:1 "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days."

9:05 - Philippians 3:20 "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,"

9:22 - James 4:4 "You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God."

13:28 - Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,"

14:15 - 1 Peter 4:7 "The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray."

14:30 - Matthew 24:7-8 "7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains."

14:49 - Luke 21:28 "When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

15:23 - 2 Timothy 3:1 "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days."

18:05 - 2 Timothy 3:5 "having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people."

23:15 - Ephesians 1:19-20 "19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,"

25:01 - Romans 1:25a "They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator"

25:59 - Genesis 3:5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

32:34 - Romans 8:29a "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son,"

33:44 - Acts 3:6b "...In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

34:31 - Acts 4:10b "It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed."

38:09 - Ephesians 4:27 "and do not give the devil a foothold."

39:34 - John 8:32 "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

40:27 - Romans 1:25 "They exchanged the truth about God for a lie,"

Finding Yourself in the Book of Acts - Part 7

16:00 - Acts 1:8 "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

17:58 - This was a Church of Power

18:29 - Power = Greek dynamis (doo-nam-is) ... ability - power, strength, force - force miraculous

20:32 - Luke 1:35 "The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God."

24:26 - Acts 3:6b "“Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

26:22 - "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?

30:06 - Acts 4:10b "...It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed."

37:18 - John 14:26 "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."

39:32 - 2 Peter 1:3 "His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness."

Finding yourself in the book of Acts - Part 6

Guest speaker Dr. Steve Lennox joins us to discuss how to "Run Through Chaos".

Join guest speaker Matthew McCullough as he discusses the work that God is doing through Celebrate Recovery

Finding Yourself in the book of Acts - Part 4

The Early Church was a Church of Joy, they had glad hearts.

5:50 - Acts 2:46 "Every day they continues to meet together in the temple courts.  They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts."

God's kingdom is a spiritual kingdom 

9:03 - Romans 14:17 "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."

When the Holy Spirit came, there was joy!  There was joy, unity, fellowship, oneness, and power.

12:56 - Acts 4:12 - "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

The early church was a group of people bound together by love.  They needed to have some organization, but the love, joy and filling with power came FIRST.

The call of salvation is a call to embrace Christ, not an organization.

16:39 - Mark 10:15 - "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

How does a child receive the Kingdom?  Through faith, innocence and joy.

Joy sustained the early church in difficulties 

______ - Romans 5:3 "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Their joy was contagious (effective witnessing)

_______ - Acts 2:47 "Praising God and enjoying he favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

Joy created an atmosphere of true fellowship

_____ - Acts 2:46 "Every day they continues to meet together in the temple courts."

Joy brings delight to the heart of God

_____ - Psalms 147:11 "The Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.

_____ - Psalms 100:4 "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to hime and praise his name."

The early Church was filled with Joy!  Why joy?  It was because of the Holy Spirit, Salvation, Obedience, Fellowship, and the Hope of Heaven.  They were in the Holy Spirit and the Holy Sprit was in them.

_____ - Romans 14:17 - "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."

The ultimate joy factor...INTIMACY.  They were experiencing intimacy with God through His Holy Spirit, and therefore a deeper intiacy with one another through that same Spirit.

_____ - Matthew 5:6 - "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."

Think about Paul's prayer for the Ephesian Church...

____ - Ephesians 3:14-19 - "For this reason I kneel before the Father, from who his whole famil in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses the knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

Intimacy - (In-to-me-see) - loved by God, known by God, accepted by God.  This is the life in the Holy Spirit, this is how we overcome sin!

Finding Yourself in the Book of Acts - Part 3

This week, we continue to explore the book of Acts.  It contains the DNA of our history and our mission to fulfill.  It is our empowerment to fulfill the mission.  Acts is the story of the expansion of the gospel.

We need God! 

10:15 - Revelation 3:17-18  "You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see."

13:10 - Acts 1:4 - "On one occasion, while he was eating with them he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about."

The early church - They waited on the gift from God.

13:29 - Acts 1:14 - "they all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers."

Why were they a praying Church? They prayed until the Holy Spirit came, then the Holy Spirit came, and then they continued to pray after the Holy Spirit came.

14:40 - Acts 2:42 - "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."

Why did they pray? 

19:08 - Luke 18:35-43 - "As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36  When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening.  37  They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. 38  He called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told hi to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" 40  Jesus stopped and order the man to be brought to him.  When he came near, Jesus asked him "What do you want me to do for you?" 41 "Lord, I want to see," he replied.  42 Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight' your faith has healed you."  43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God.  When all the people saw it, they also praised God."

How did they know they needed Jesus?

24:18 - John 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

Prayer is birthed the moment we realize we can't, but He can!

33:28 - Revelation 22:20 - "He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon" Amen Come, Lord Jesus."

Why did they pray?

Prayer was their connection to the spiritual world (the real world), prayer was their investment in the eternal, prayer reinforced the reality of their treasure in heaven.

We are called to pray. 

Ask God how we can become a praying church and recognize our need for God.

Join us as we continue looking at the book of Acts.

Guest speaker Dr. Stephen Elliott joins us to discuss "But God".

The Book of Acts is vital in understanding why we are here today as a Church!

Acts is a wild, moving, action-packed story.

Called the “The Acts of the Apostles”

Acts is:

Acts is about what Jesus continued to do in His “body” the Church.  These 28 Chapters follow the The First Prophesy in the book to its fulfillment.

Acts 1:8 - "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

This prophesy would be the framework for the story of the church for the next 30 years & beyond

Acts is an important model for the church of every generation.

This New Church was:

Six Movements in Acts

Acts is about the spreading of the gospel

Jesus told the disciples to “Go into all the world” Then He said, “Wait” - for the gift my father promised.

We must find our place in Acts: