The Coworkers Podcast

Dr. Chuck Lawless is Professor of Evangelism and Missions at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary,  the head of Theological Consultants for the International Mission Board, an author of several books, pastor, and husband (whew!). He also trains new field personnel with the IMB on spiritual warfare and other topics. With one foot in the seminary world and one foot in the mission world, Dr. Lawless has a unique perspective. Listen in as he shares how we need to embrace the tension between deep doctrine and gospel urgency. Dr. Lawless also shares encouragement and honest feedback for how North American churches and field personnel can better work together, and how the mission task can help unite us.

Visit chucklawless.com for his helpful articles and books, and to sign up for his daily emails. 

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In Part 4 of our Heart Work series, we dig into John 15:1-11, the beautiful illustration of a vine and its branches that represents our constant, vital connection to Jesus. Listen in as we discuss the focal point of the passage, abiding in God's unchanging love for us, and our stewardships in abiding in Him- abiding in Christ's love, abiding in the Word, abiding in prayer, abiding through obedience, and abiding through confessing sin. 

This passage teaches us the vital truth that abiding in Jesus—spiritual fellowship with Him—is the key to life, joy, and fruitfulness. Our Lord illustrates this essential truth through the picture of the vine and the branches. Life flows from the vine to the branches through a vital, continuous connection. In the same way, Jesus Christ is the source of all spiritual good for us. We have access to all that He has for us as we stay connected to Him. 

The question is, then, how do we abide in Him? The only command found in the passage is to “abide” in Jesus. What does that mean? We find four elements in the passage that help us to understand what it means to abide in Him. We will also look at 1 John 1 for an additional element in abiding in Jesus.

As we teach through the passage, we will draw a simple visual to help us think through our practice of abiding in Jesus. The finished visual is below.

Draw a large heart. The heart stands for our inner being or the seat of our will and emotions, what the Bible refers to as the “heart.”

We begin in John 15:9, where we read: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.” As we think about abiding in Him, this passage delivers the central truth in abiding: Jesus loves us. He loves as the Father loves Him. That is, for us, unfathomable. For all who are in Jesus Christ through faith, His love cannot be broken. His love for us is the source of our new identity, our new life in Jesus. So, abiding in Jesus is not, at its core, something that we do—it is the result of His love for us. This is the Gospel truth at the center of the teaching on abiding. [Draw a heart within the heart].

Read John 15:7: “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

In this verse we find two elements in abiding, signaled by the “if” at the beginning of the sentence. These are two “ways” we can deepen our abiding in Christ. The first is to have His words abide in us. [Inside the heart, draw the symbol for the Word (a Bible)]. His Word abiding in us is something more than just reading the Bible or listening to preaching. For His Word to abide in us, it needs to make its home in us. We bring the Word in through studying, meditating, listening, reading, memorizing, praying it, and speaking it to others. As it comes into us, it transforms our hearts, our thinking, and our speech.

The second element in verse 7 is to “ask whatever you wish” in prayer. This aspect of asking builds on the previous element of the Word. As our hearts are transformed by the Word, our desires are transformed to be like Christ’s. So when we ask for whatever we wish, our asking is being brought into conformity to Christ’s heart through the Word. Prayer, like the Word, is our way of life—as constant as our breathing. [Draw the symbol for prayer].

Read John 15:10: “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” 

Here we see another element of our stewardship in abiding, again signaled by the “if.” This is to “keep his commandments.” This element is vitally related to the verse before it. Our obedience is rooted in our love relationship with Christ. We obey because we are a part of His family. Our disobedience can strain our abiding and fellowship with Christ, but nothing can separate us from His love. Nothing can change our identity as a part of the family of God. This is the root of our joyful obedience. [Draw the arrow symbol for obedience]. Obedience is mentioned throughout these chapters of John, and Jesus promises that the Spirit will help us to obey (14:15).

Read 1 John 1:6-9. The final element in abiding comes from 1 John, where John calls us to “walk in the light” (v. 7). Walking in the light is a key to our ongoing “fellowship with the Father and with this Son Jesus Christ” (v. 3). This fellowship is another way of speaking of abiding. 

What does it mean to “walk in the light?” Most people think that it means to live a holy life, to live free from sin. While hatred and avoidance of sin is definitely in view (2:1), “walking in the light” means a constant willingness to confess our sins. It is a heart desire not to hide sin in the dark, but to expose it to the light of God’s presence. [Draw the sun symbol in the bottom of the heart].

Abiding in Jesus is the key to a joy-filled, fruitful life in Christ. As He lives his life through us, we are free to follow Him and to bear fruit for His glory. Jesus Himself is the source of our life, our vine. He loves us and we thrive as we abide in that love. Because of His undying love for us, we seek to deepen our fellowship with Him by His Word abiding in us, by asking in prayer, by obeying His commands, and by walking in the light through regular confession of sin. 

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Idolatry: Turning to anything in our life as a substitute for God. It’s not so much the sinfulness of the thing; it’s the position we give it in our lives.

The Bible has much to say on this topic; I’m going to mainly focus on passages from Isaiah for this episode. One of the main themes in the book of Isaiah is that God alone is to be high and lifted up, exalted, and worshipped – above all else – in every area of every person’s life. That position of “above all” is appropriate ONLY for God. God alone is worthy of worship. And likewise, God should never be second place to anything. Anything else that is lifted up must be torn down. 

Central passage/image in Isaiah: Isaiah 6:1-3- “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple…” Isaiah’s response- "holy, holy, holy."

Isaiah 2:11- “The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.”

God alone is to be high and lifted up in our lives, in our hearts. Anything else that we put in that position is offensive to God and will be judged by Him. Could be work, ministry, Netflix, alcohol, or shopping. The offensiveness to God is not only the thing that we are exalting; it’s more about the position we are giving it in our hearts, minds, and lives.

Here’s the big danger – because sometimes these idols can feel like “no big deal” to us. So maybe I watch a bit too much Netflix… or yeah, I tend to be really hard worker, that’s just my personality…. What’s the danger of allowing some seemingly “harmless” idolatry in our hearts?

We miss out on God, which is a HUGE loss. When we go to these things, especially habitually and addictively as a substitute for God, we miss out on GOD meeting us there and providing that need – and He’s the only one who can – AND we train our hearts to keep going after these things that are infinitely inferior to God. 

And God is clear – God hates idolatry and will judge idolatry. So it’s not a “fun” topic to reveal some of our personality. 

The book of Isaiah provides powerful teaching on this topic because it gives us several examples of ways we turn to other things instead of God, which are timeless truths that get to every human heart. So for example, a few “big categories” of ways people turn to and exalt man-made things as a substitute for God are- for help or strength in times of need, for a sense of worth or identity, or for pleasure. 

5 Truths on Idolatry:

1. Idolatry is ultimately about exalting SELF over God. My power, my self-sufficiency, my wisdom, instead of depending on God. 
2:8-17- haughty looks and lofty pride, trusting in own resources, protection, and power, instead of God.
3:16- wanting to impress others with their physical appearance.
9:8-10- trusting in our own strength and self-sufficiency, what we can do, instead of depending on God. Pride and arrogance of heart.
10:12-14- Idolatry of self results in arrogant hearts, arrogant speech, and boastful looks. Because of our pride and self-sufficiency, we take credit for the successes in our life as if we accomplished them instead of giving God credit. “By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I have understanding.” (King of Assyria)

It’s also about turning to man-made sources of help/power, worth/identity, or pleasure. Worldly sources of power, wealth, and security. Worldly sources of wisdom instead of fearing God and trusting Him. 
 

2. Idolatry is the way of the world, of those who do not know God. It is the tendency of every human heart. Isaiah 2:8 says, “Their land is filled with idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their own fingers have made.” John Calvin famously said, “Human hearts are idol factories.” The strongest, most devoted Christians in all of history have had to fight idolatry in their hearts. No one is exempt. And this is how every person apart from Christ is living. This is the philosophy of the world – to exalt man and man’s strength. 

According to Isaiah, when we fall into idolatry, we are making an alliance with worldly sources of power and wisdom instead of honoring God and asking for his help. Isaiah describes it as filling our lives with worldly things and “striking hands with the world” (Is. 2:6; 30:1-2). The wisest of the world’s philosophies are foolishness compared to God Who knows all (Is. 19:11-14). When we go after the idols of the world, we are not only believing the lies of the world and Satan, but actually lying ourselves (Is. 30:9). We rebel against God’s Word, are unwilling to hear the instruction of the Lord, and instead believe the “smooth things” and “illusions” of worldly philosophies and idolatry (Is. 30:9-12).

3. Our idols are worthless, empty, and will not help or profit us (Isaiah 30). We must be sure of this. How can this be true, when some of our idols are good gifts from God, like good food or work or health or even family? Because – when we put that thing in the position of GOD in our lives, it ceases to be beneficial for us and becomes destructive. It cannot be in that position. It is not worthy of that position; it cannot provide what only God can provide. Work and the admiration of others will never be enough to satisfy our need for worth and identity; instead it will become a destructive addiction in our lives. These good gifts go from being profitable to destructive when we make them gods. 

4. Idolatry is addictive, deceptive, and after our utmost devotion. We keep falling for the same old things, thinking they will satisfy, and they never do. Isaiah says idols bring neither help nor profit; they are worthless and empty (Is. 30:3-7), yet we continue to pursue them. Isaiah 5:11- “Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them.” We are addicted to our idols. We sacrifice for them and go to great lengths to get them. We want them daily. We are like Smeagol, cherishing them as “our precious.” They lie to us, they promise to give us what we want, and they never do. We actually often require more and more of them. We shouldn’t be surprised by this because our flesh wants instant pleasure from tangible things we can see and feel. Our idols are quick fixes. They make us feel good! And turning to God is inherently harder for our flesh. It takes some effort and time and faith. 

5. God has designed our hearts to worship. We are worshippers. Every day, we will be worshipping something. Our hearts will exalt something, will look to something to fill us up. If we are not training our hearts to turn to God, they will ALWAYS turn to something else. That is why it is not enough to try to remove false idols from our lives; we simultaneously need to be training our hearts to worship God. 

Worshipping God through singing is clearly commanded over and over in the Psalms. It is not optional. Just like a lack of prayer in our lives is sin, a lack of worship in our lives is sin. Why is God so serious about us singing songs of praise to Him? God gives us this command for our good – because God knows if we don’t worship Him, we will worship something that is unworthy of worship. Our only hope of fighting idolatry is to believe and experience that God is better than anything else. He is always the better source of help and power, worth and identity, and pleasure. So much better that it makes our idols look disgusting. This reminds me of our youngest child’s security blanket. It is stained and ragged and looks disgusting to everyone else, but she loves it and if she had her way, would have it with her every second of the day. She especially wants it when she feels sad or stressed. She doesn’t see how ugly and gross it actually is. Our idols are like that – in comparison to God they are so ugly and inferior that it’s just silly!

So, because our hearts are designed to worship, this is not only a matter of identifying and trying to tear down idols; also a matter of proactively worshipping God and focusing on prayer and the Word. 

A few tips to identify and fight idolatry-

-Spend time in reflection and prayer on where we turn for help/power, worth/identity, and pleasure. What do I need daily? What do I get frustrated about if I don’t get? How do I respond to stress? At the most basic level, it’s like, what can I not live without? Or need for my happiness? Ask the Holy Spirit for help in being really honest and allow Him to shine lights on idols in our hearts. He only shine lights on areas that He wants to give us the power to tear down and be set free from. 

-Determine to fight these. Some may be things you need to be done with forever or for a short time. For instance, we fast from caffeine for one month every year. Take fasts from Netflix/social media sometimes. Many of our idols are good gifts, like work or health. Need Holy Spirit’s help and power in keeping those as good gifts that lead us to God, not substitute for God. 

Whatever the thing is, ask yourself, “As I’m experiencing this gift, will it bring me closer to God, or will it serve as a substitute for God?”

If you have a few things you are really fighting, maybe get some post it notes on your mirror that remind you daily, “God is always better than______.” 
Try a fast from the thing you love. Are you willing to give it up for a week? A month?
Sabbath – whatever your views are on sabbath – I think a question we need to ask is, “If I’m not willing to give up a day weekly or even monthly to stop working, hmm… maybe work is an idol in my life!” That to me is more of a red flag for idolatry than just a theology issue on sabbath. 
Before watching a movie or show, if you aren’t sure, can you pray and ask God to be there with you and use it to make you closer to him?
Tell a couple trusted friends. Confess it to them and tell them you’re committed to fight it. There is SUCH power in open confession and your friends being in on the fight with you! God did not design us to fight sin and idolatry on our own! Use the resources- fellowship- He has provided for you!

-Pursue God in worship. Try to get happy in God every day! Prioritize prayer, worship, Bible study, service! Put it in the schedule, so you do it when you don’t feel like it. Don’t expect it to come easy. Netflix gives us a quick fix with no effort on our part. Prayer and worship are work. They require us to put in some commitment, some grit, before we get the reward of satisfaction and happiness in God. 

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Listen to part 2 of our summer series on "heart work-" common issues for those in ministry. What keeps us motivated and excited for disciple-making? Listen in as we share three biblical "why's" to motivate us for this work, and some practical tips for renewing our motivation.

Three "big picture," biblical "why's" for missions and disciple-making:

1- God's Glory.
2- The reality of lostness.
3- Simple obedience to the Great Commission.

Practical tips for renewing our motivation regularly-
1- Daily time in the Word and in prayer.
2- Fellowship with like-minded colaborers.
3- Time in the harvest, sharing God's love with the lost.

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This is the first episode in a summer series on "heart work," addressing common heart issues for those in ministry. Selfish ambition is the inner desire to be better than others at everything that's important to us. Listen in as we share biblical truth on this topic, with bits of our stories woven throughout.

This is actually a biblical word – the Greek word erithiean – and is in two major places in the New Testament-

Phil. 2:3-8- “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

James 3:14-18- “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.”

Selfish ambition, fear of man, and comparison all go together.

There is another “root” issue in our hearts that often is a factor and needs to be intentionally addressed as we fight against selfish ambition: insecurity.

Insecurity is in many ways a root of selfish ambition, fear of man, and comparison. To be insecure is to be open to threat or danger. To be secure is to be free from threat or danger. 

When we are truly secure in Christ- in what He has done for us on the cross, in His character, and in His love and approval personally over our us, then that is what sets us free from needing to prove our worth by performing or by being the best at everything. That security in Christ truly sets us FREE from the threat of danger. We are no longer open to threat or danger. Our success or failure, or how someone might perceive us in a meeting or at work or in a conversation – these things don’t have that power any longer. It’s ok if they don’t think we’re awesome. We no longer need that. 

3 last words of encouragement for those who feel acutely aware of this struggle in your life:

1. Desperation leads to change. “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil.” Jer. 13:23
2. Face your fear.
3. The Holy Spirit is the Wonderful Counselor.

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Susan Lafferty has served with her husband Todd in missions leadership for several years in South Asia, and currently Todd is the EVP with one of the largest missions organizations in the world. Listen in as Susan shares from the Word and her life experience how she has fought spiritual battles in family life and ministry.

Susan and I talk about fighting spiritual warfare through prayer, the role of spiritual gifts in leadership, cultivating a passionate marriage, dealing with the suffering of our children on the field, and what Susan wishes she would have known before moving overseas. 

Follow Susan's blog to hear more of her teaching and experience: https://susanlafferty.com/

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Our 4th and final NT norm is the centrality of prayer in the life of the early church. Listen in as we share 4 "P" observations on prayer - It was a Priority; It Preceded the filling and work of the Spirit; It was the church's response to Persecution; and it was Personal and Persistent.

4 P’s:

1-Priority. Begins the book of Acts—“All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers" (1:14). 

In Ch. 2, the church was praying when the Holy Spirit filled them. 
Acts 2:42- he church was devoted to prayer. It was one of the first things that marked them out—alongside the apostle’s teaching, breaking the bread, and fellowship.

Acts 6: We see the priority of prayer even more strikingly when the apostles single out prayer alongside of the ministry of the Word as their primary responsibility. “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

“I stand here to confess frankly that from my inmost heart I attribute the large prosperity which God has given to this Church vastly more to the prayers of the people than to anything that God may have given to me. I know it is so.” - Charles Spurgeon

2-Precedes the filling and work of the Spirit. 

Acts 2 begins with the believers all together in one place, praying. And we know what happened next—the sound from heaven like a mighty rushing wind, filling the house where they were. 

Acts 4- The believers are gathered together praying in the midst of persecution—praying specifically for boldness. “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness" (4:31).

Acts 13- The prophets and teachers of the church in Antioch were gathered and they were worshipping the Lord and fasting. Just then the Holy Spirit calls out Barnabas and Saul. And after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. 

These are pretty pivotal moments in the history of the gospel—especially in Chapters 2 and 13. And we see that God’s people had been devoting themselves to prayer in the time leading up to these great events—these experiences of the Spirit’s work. Prayer had paved the way for these people to respond when the Spirit showed up. 

3-Persecution- Prayer was the church's consistent response to persecution.

Acts 4- Peter and John have just been threatened by the high-priestly council. "When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord. . .” (4:23-24). Their immediate reaction to the threat of violence from the ruling authorities was to pray. And hear what they prayed: “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 

Acts 12- Peter is in prison and miraculously rescued by an angel of the Lord. When he is rescued, it says “he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.” Again, the response of the church to the persecution of her people is to pray. 

Acts 16- Paul and Silas in prison. “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” In the midst of persecution, we find these two workers praying and singing hymns. 

Prayer is what we do when we are persecuted. It is the response of God’s church to the threats and persecutions. In each of these moments, God miraculously answered.

4-Personal and Persistent.

In Acts, we don’t get much details about the personal prayer lives of the apostles. Many references are to the church praying corporately. However in Paul’s epistles, we find Paul talking about his own prayer life all over the place – way too many to reference, will just name a few-

Eph. 1:16- "I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers…" and we see his personal prayer for the Ephesian believers. 
Eph. 3:14-19.
Paul's prayers were important enough for him to write out for them and for us.

A few examples from 1st Thessalonians:

1 Thess. 1:2- "We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers."
1 Thess. 5:17- "Pray without ceasing."
1 Thess. 5:25- "Brothers, pray for us." 

Paul was not voicing prayers for believers every moment of every day. He was sometimes preaching the gospel; he was sometimes sleeping; he was sometimes eating or traveling. But he had such a habit of prayer that he described it as day and night, constant. 

Eph. 6:10-20- Paul teaches us that we are in a spiritual battle and prayer is an essential weapon. Paul commands us to take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.
The Word, The Spirit, and constant prayer. As we’ve found these 4 NT norms, we have seen in a new way for us how intertwined they are. The Word bears fruit by the power of the Spirit. The Spirit honors and responds to the preaching of the Word and obedience to the Word and prayer. Prayer is what invites the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, and there is no real prayer without the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Prayer was seen as part of the work of the church. It was at the center of their ministry. We have a saying among our teams here that prayer is the greater work. We believe that because we ultimately believe that this work we’re doing is His work. It doesn’t move forward unless He moves and the Spirit grants repentance and life. Paul said, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gives the growth.” Prayer is an admission of our helplessness and a plea for God to do what only He can do. That’s why we see the early church devoting themselves to it. Prayer was necessary to them—it was just a part of their lives, and of their gathering together.

If you are listening and feel like you’re a terrible pray-er, don’t give into discouragement or paralysis or accusations --- just start! Read a good book on prayer. Make sure you’re spending daily time with God alone in the Word and in prayer. Use your drive or shower to pray. Post a prayer list by your bathroom mirror and pray as you brush your teeth. Set a timer for a certain time each day. 12:12, 3:10. And ask God for help! 

This concludes our series on NT norms – daily ministry, the Word, the Spirit, and prayer.

We continue our series on norms in the early church with "The Word." The Word (or a synonym for the Word) is mentioned at least once in every chapter in Acts 1-20. The Word was increasing; the Word was preached boldly, broadly, and consistently; preaching the Word was the main work of sent-out-ones. Whatever we are doing, let's saturate it with the Word. 

Three Themes on the Word in Acts: 

• The Word of God increased and multiplied – in and out of Jerusalem, Samaria, Ephesus, and surrounding regions. The Word is powerful and has a power of its own, almost like the HS. Examples:

Acts 6:7: And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem . . . (Jerusalem)

Acts 12:24: But the word of God increased and multiplied. (Samaria and beyond)

Acts 19:20: So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily. (Ephesus)

This should encourage us and build up our faith in the inherent power of the Word, apart from our own abilities!

• The Word went out broadly and boldly, publicly, and consistently. Many examples of public, bold proclamation (4:13, 29, 31; 9:27, 28; 13:46; 14:3; 18:26; 19:8; 26:26; 28:31).
• Paul and his teammates (missionaries) had an extremely high level of commitment to preaching and explaining the Word. This is what Paul did in every place, day after day, for hours, in different contexts. It's very clear in Acts 13-20 – preaching the Word was the work that Paul did. He was persuading and proving that Christ was Lord. He explained the Word with the goal of people responding.

3 Suggestions for application:

• Make sure everything we do is saturated with the Word.
• Always make the Word of God your main content! Not your own experience. Yes, you need to connect with your audience and teach in a way that they understand, but you don’t have to be super creative. Get them connected to God’s Word.
• Tools: We have tools now that put God’s Word into people’s hands more easily than at any other time in history.
• Do a heart check. Paul’s heart was very involved.  Is my goal to just share the gospel so I can feel like I’m doing my job? Or is my heart’s desire to see people believe? To convince them to completely change their minds? Am I content to just walk away after a 3-minute conversation? When I have the opportunity, am I willing to share with a nonbeliever daily? Or for a complete hour?
• How do we get the gospel out more? We must always be asking this question. This is not only or even mainly a pulpit ministry. How do we get the gospel out boldly, broadly, publicly, and consistently? How many people in my city are hearing the gospel today? How often am I preaching the Word? What opportunities are right in front of me? Spirit-filling results in bold proclamation. If you want Spirit-filling, then put yourself in positions of preaching the Word, and the Holy Spirit will be more likely to show up!
  
  Book referenced in this episode: Paul's Understanding of the Church's Mission by Robert L. Plummer.

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Listen in as we continue our series on norms in the early church according to the book of Acts. The filling of the Holy Spirit is a prominent theme in the early church and the advance of the gospel. In this episode, we share insights from Acts into how to be filled with the Spirit. 

Spirit-filling is mentioned at least 10 times in Acts. These instances fall into two categories: 

- A general character trait about a person. Examples: The 7 chosen to serve (Acts 6:3-5); Stephen (Acts 6:8); Barnabas (Acts 11:23-24).
- A special filling at a specific moment in time that resulted in special power – often boldness in gospel proclamation.  Examples:

*Acts 2- Believers spoke in tongues, testifying to mighty acts of God; 3000 saved.
*Acts 4:8-12- Peter, filled with the Spirit, preaches with boldness.
*Acts 4:29-31- All believers praying for boldness and signs and wonders; place shaken and they were all filled with Spirit and continued to speak the word with boldness. 
*Acts 7:55- Stephen, full of Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God.
*Acts 13:9- Paul and Barnabas on Cyprus during the first missionary journey, proclaiming the word of God, and this magician/false prophet was opposing them and trying to keep the proconsul from believing. Paul made Elymas blind, resulting in the proconsul believing when he saw what occurred.
*Acts 13:52- Disciples filled with joy and Holy Spirit.

-Eph. 5:18 – “Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.”

Books Referenced:

The Ministry of Intercession by Andrew Murray.
The Baptism and Gifts of the Spirit by D. Martin Lloyd-Jones.

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Today, we are sharing a new lesson God has been teaching us about living in light of the Great Commission as God’s people. God has increased our desire to really LIVE in light of eternity and to be willing to change maybe old habits and comfortable routines to line up with what we see in the New Testament. 

So, we are looking at the Scriptures and asking the question- what was normal life like for the early church? What characterized their lives? 

In this episode, we highlight one important theme that we have found. Listen to these 9 Scriptures and see what theme emerges:

9 examples in the book of Acts:

Acts 2:46: “day by day, attending the temple and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts.” 

Acts 2:47: “praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

Acts 5:42: “And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.”

Acts 6:1: “Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.” 

Acts 16:5: “So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.”

Acts 17:11: “…they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”

Acts 17:17: “So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.”

Acts 19:9: “…he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrranus.”

Acts 20:31: “Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.”

In the New Testament church, there was:

1. Daily outreach (proclamation, reasoning with others)
2. Daily time in the Word (teaching, examining)
3. Daily fellowship (breaking bread in homes)
4. Daily ministry (distribution for the widows)
5. Daily increase

A few ideas for your own action steps:
1- Every morning surrender your day to God and ask for opportunities to share the gospel and serve and encourage others.
2- Pray for the lost daily. Our team in our city prays for the lost in our city every day at 12:12 pm – if you want to join us, please email us.

3- If you’re not already reading the Word daily, there are plenty of great daily reading plans online, or you can use the YouVersion app.
4- How often are you getting real Christian fellowship? Not just tuning into an online church service, but having real conversations about God and how you're doing.
5- Use your online presence to share biblical encouragement! Think about the people who follow you and how you can use that platform to speak about Christ and give people hope. 

Find the full study on our webpage.

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Email: [email protected]