Sunday thoughts...
Another stand alone sermon this Sunday from Acts 1:1-11. I titled it in my mind - What's in my Back Pocket? When it comes to going forward with the Great Commission, what does the Christian and the church have in its back pocket to rely on. I came up with 6 points.
1. We have the message of Jesus. The Bible is our source for the information that we have about our Savior. It is not hidden nor hard to get a hold of (especially in America). We have it in so many forms today and so many tools to study it that we can rest on the availability of the message of Whom we are talking about.
2. We have the confidence of the evidence of Jesus. We have our own conversion experience and the transformation that is happening in our lives. We can chart ourselves from being blind to now seeing. Not only that but we can have confidence in other brothers and sisters in Christ that we have seen take the same journey.
3. We have the power of the Holy Spirit. The disciples were told to wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon them and it did. This was another evidence of the credibility of Jesus and what He says. The Bible tells us that we have the Holy Spirit if we are in Christ. That our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are not alone when going forward with this task. The Third Person of the Trinity will remind us and guide us in truth.
4. We can lean on the One (God) who knows all. Our part is to reach out, God's part is to accomplish the task. I don't have to stress about that person making that step, I am just to be obedient to share the love of God with them. I scatter the seed but God is the one who gathers up what is to mature.
5. We have the ability to be credible and reliable witnesses of Jesus. It takes effort and maybe a better term would be "holiness" in our living to continue to be more credible and more reliable for Him. Knowing Him and worshiping Him and praying to Him and obeying His commandments.
6. We have the motive of Jesus' return. Just as He ascended into heaven, He will also return someday. He will come to judge the earth but He will also come to take His faithful home. There is a time line that is Father fixed so we need to take advantage of every opportunity that God gives us to share the message with others.
My emotions have been very near to the surface lately. I think this week I need to spend some time just alone with God. I need some scheduled time to stop and think about Him.
Adam
1. We have the message of Jesus. The Bible is our source for the information that we have about our Savior. It is not hidden nor hard to get a hold of (especially in America). We have it in so many forms today and so many tools to study it that we can rest on the availability of the message of Whom we are talking about.
2. We have the confidence of the evidence of Jesus. We have our own conversion experience and the transformation that is happening in our lives. We can chart ourselves from being blind to now seeing. Not only that but we can have confidence in other brothers and sisters in Christ that we have seen take the same journey.
3. We have the power of the Holy Spirit. The disciples were told to wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon them and it did. This was another evidence of the credibility of Jesus and what He says. The Bible tells us that we have the Holy Spirit if we are in Christ. That our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are not alone when going forward with this task. The Third Person of the Trinity will remind us and guide us in truth.
4. We can lean on the One (God) who knows all. Our part is to reach out, God's part is to accomplish the task. I don't have to stress about that person making that step, I am just to be obedient to share the love of God with them. I scatter the seed but God is the one who gathers up what is to mature.
5. We have the ability to be credible and reliable witnesses of Jesus. It takes effort and maybe a better term would be "holiness" in our living to continue to be more credible and more reliable for Him. Knowing Him and worshiping Him and praying to Him and obeying His commandments.
6. We have the motive of Jesus' return. Just as He ascended into heaven, He will also return someday. He will come to judge the earth but He will also come to take His faithful home. There is a time line that is Father fixed so we need to take advantage of every opportunity that God gives us to share the message with others.
My emotions have been very near to the surface lately. I think this week I need to spend some time just alone with God. I need some scheduled time to stop and think about Him.
Adam
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