The Hope Valley Podcast

The book of Acts is the story of the early church obeying Jesus’ command to “go into all the world and preach the gospel.” In this lesson, we will explore this command and be challenged to take the Good News to those around us. As followers of Christ, we are called to be people of prayer and people of action. So we must shift our mindset and take time to pray, asking God to reveal the mission-field He is calling each of us to.

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While we were going through the 28 chapters of Acts, God revealed so many things through the examples of the First Church. The one we will be discussing in this lesson is the theme we see regarding earnest prayer. We must challenge ourselves with the question, as we reflect on our own prayer life (attitude, boldness, passion, eagerness, etc.): Are we praying for each other and for ourselves like we really believe in miracles?

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The Book of Acts is not just another one of sixty-six books of the Bible, but a book that highlights and describes how God established His divine kingdom on earth, through humanity. In fact, God has been guiding and interacting with the human race since creation. Throughout the Book of Acts, we see how the Spirit of Christ inhabits our lives and implements His plan for our lives. God continues to “partner” with people - with us - to carry out His mission of redemption. When we dedicate ourselves to the spread of God’s Kingdom, by living in the power of the Holy Spirit, we can be sure that the fruit of our efforts will withstand and survive the final day of Judgement (1 Corinthians 3:12-15)

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We don’t have to work to find peace. It has already been provided to us in Jesus. Jesus provides Peace before things “work out,” not after. By humbling ourselves and receiving the Peace that comes from Him, we can experience peace in any circumstance, and engage problems and struggles from a place of stability and security.

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Joy is something we always want, but don’t always have. This is because we look in the wrong place. There is no greater source of Joy than Jesus Himself. When we understand the depth of His compassion, the blessings in His promises, and the faithfulness of His Heart, we will find a Joy that rises above all circumstances and seasons.

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Faith is always about action. It is accompanied by the readiness to act on what God says. We cannot have the kind of faith where we say we believe things about God - but don’t really live like they are true. That kind of Christianity is a false religion. If we’re going to receive from God, we must prepare our hearts to act on whatever He says - having confidence also that He will go with us and make a way for us when we step forward in faith.

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Placing our Hope in Jesus will change everything about the way we live and experience life. When we truly expect Him to return and fulfill every one of His promises, it will give us the confidence to face any uncertainty and the desire to live in a way that we can be proud of when we finally see Him face to face.

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A generous heart is the true evidence of a grateful heart. So cultivating gratefulness in ourselves not only improves our life, but results in blessings to others and stronger, supportive relationships.

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In our first lesson, we looked at how gratitude comes from valuing what we already have (contentment), rather than receiving what we want (satisfaction). In this lesson, we will see how gratitude is characterized by joy, and how joy differs from mere happiness. When you appreciate the value of what God has given you, you possess a gratitude that produces a well of joy that you can draw from even in the unhappiest circumstances.

We must learn to change our focus from getting what we want to valuing what we already have. By learning to value what God has already given us, we learn “the secret of being content” and are able to flourish in any circumstance.