Growing Gracefully: Training
Awake Us Now
Despite the most rigorous physical exercise and training regimen, our bodies will age and, eventually, die. But there is a training - training in godliness - that lasts into eternity. The spiritual diet we eat, the spiritual exercise we do and the spiritual training we choose affects our ability to grow graceful as Jesus’ disciples. Training ourselves for godliness has benefits for today, tomorrow and for eternity. Spiritual training is timeless. Train to be godly - Christianity is not a spectator sport. We can’t be a couch potato. We must be in training to be godly. This is training with...
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Growing Gracefully: Contentment
Awake Us Now
Even in the most difficult of times, believers such as the apostle Paul have known contentment, an inner peace, a certainty that God is in control. Because of what Jesus has done for us, we know that, through faith in Him, we will live forever. That certainty brings true contentment!
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Growing Gracefully: Humility
Awake Us Now
The humility modeled for us by Jesus is not only refreshing, it is life-changing and God-pleasing! Pride, on the other hand, makes us nauseating not only to others, but to God as well.
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Dig Deeper - Acts Chapter 11: The Origin of "Christian"
Awake Us Now
In Acts 11:26 we read that the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. “Disciple” is the most used word in the New Testament to describe followers of Jesus. It is used 261 times. The word “Christian” is used only 3 times in the New Testament. Brothers and sisters, believers, followers are also used but “disciples” is Jesus’ favorite word to describe His followers. Matthew 29:19-20 - the Great Commission - Jesus says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching...
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Growing Gracefully: Freedom
Awake Us Now
True freedom is living the full life that God always intended us to possess. In Jesus, we are freed from bondage to sin and are now free to please God!
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Growing Gracefully: Thankfulness
Awake Us Now
Some Biblical virtues mirror God's character, but this one -- thankfulness -- exalts God's character. Thankfulness promotes humility in us and strengthens our faith. ThankLESSness, by contrast, is an exceptionally dangerous sin.
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GOD ACTS! (Chapter 11) - The Disciples Were Called Christians
Awake Us Now
God’s Gospel Goes Global After Peter told the story of his vision and going to Joppa to the home of Cornelius, we read in Acts 11:18 that “… the believers in Jerusalem had no further objections and praised God saying, ‘So even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.’” And now the barriers that had existed between the Jewish world and the non-Jewish world are down in a single moment. The believers in Jerusalem that had grown up as devout Jewish people had their eyes opened to understand the new age that God promised had arrived. AND God’s Gospel Goes...
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Armor of God #11 - Full Armor
Awake Us Now
We are to be strong in the Lord (with His strength), and to put on the full armor of God (His equipment), so that we are both prepared and equipped for spiritual warfare!
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Growing Gracefully: Kindness
Awake Us Now
Kindness is not weakness. Kindness reflects the character and strength of God, and is seen throughout the ministry of Jesus Christ. Followers of Jesus should show that same character in their lives!
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Growing Gracefully: Forgiveness
Awake Us Now
Jesus not only taught the importance of forgiveness, He practiced it, even from the cross (Luke 23:43). The example of Jesus and the magnitude of His love changes people and gives them the power to forgive even the most bitter of enemies!
info_outlineIn Chapter 5 we see three types of individuals.
- Hypocrites
- Disciples
- Religionists
Scene 1 - (Acts 5:1-11)
Hypocrites - (“an actor” appearances matter most)
Then:
Ananias and Sapphira sold property to give to the group and made it look like they gave it all to the apostles’. But without letting the group know Ananias and Sapphira held back a portion of the sale for themselves. (This wasn’t wrong - but what was wrong was making everyone thing they had given it all) Somehow Peter knew Ananias and his wife had lied about giving it all to the group and Peter tells Ananias that he has lied not just to the group but to the Holy Spirit, which is the same as lying to God. And then suddenly Ananias dies.
Three hours later…
Peter asks Sapphira if she and Ananias had given all precedes to the group and she says yes and she dies too. Great fear seized the whole “church” (the people of God) when they heard about Ananias and Sapphira.
Now:
God is saying we are to take Him seriously. Not that we are perfect, but that we walk with Him. We see the danger of hypocrisy from this story. God is asking us to be genuine in our faith, to be humble before Him, to focus on Him and not in how we appear to others.
Scene 2 - (Acts 5:12-16)
Disciples - (followers of Jesus - following Jesus matters most)
Then:
The apostles performed many signs and wonders and the believers met together in Solomon’s Colonnade. More and more men and women believed and were added to their numbers. People brought the sick into the streets for healing.
Now:
We see there is power in the name of Jesus, there is power in the Jesus movement and power in the Holy Spirit. We are to follow Jesus wholeheartedly, to be committed to the Lord Jesus.
Scene 3 - (Acts 5:17-42)
Religionists - what matters most is power and position regardless of what God says.
Then:
We see the Sadducees are filled with jealousy and arrested the apostles. Then during the night an angel of the Lord opens the doors of the jail and tells the apostles to go and stand in the temple courts and tell the people all about new life in Christ. They go to the temple courts and began to teach the people and that set in motion a series of events:
- People reported that the apostles had escaped
- The captain of the temple guard and his officers did not use force to re-arrest the apostles as they didn’t want to anger the crowds. All 12 apostles are brought before the Sanhedrin to be questioned.
- The Sanhedrin had told them earlier they could not teach in the name of Jesus
- Peter and others respond that they must obey God rather than human beings and that God raised Jesus from the dead - who they had killed by putting Him on a cross. They told that God’s plan was repentance and forgiveness of sin. They tell how they were witnesses just as the Holy Spirit is, and that the Spirit was given by God to those who obey Him.
- Then when the Sanhedrin hear all this they want to put the apostles to death.
- But Gamaliel (Pharisee who was respected by the people) speaks up - giving an impassioned address encouraging the Sanhedrin not to act precipitously, giving previous examples of rebels and outcomes. Gamaliel’s speech persuades the Sanhedrin.
- Instead of being killed the apostles were flogged (this is a brutal beating) and were told to no longer speak in Jesus’ name.
- Yet they left the beatings rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering for the Name of Jesus.
- They continued day after day to preach in the temple courts and homes and never stopped proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.
Now:
This tells us the importance of following Jesus. Pastor gives a personal testimony of great opposition that he experienced and how he and others were told to stop talking about the Holy Spirit. He concludes with sharing that the group resigned their positions, and were more concerned about obeying God than obeying people. The result was Awake Us Now and God’s blessing is reaching more people than ever thought possible from around the world. He share how he and the ministry continue to rejoice as we see the incredible power of the risen Jesus, the power of the Holy Spirit and the amazing love of the Father. Pastor ends with stating God’s desire Is that all people be saved and come to the knowledge of the Truth in Christ Jesus.
This week’s READING ASSIGNMENT:
Acts chapter 5-6 (read and reflect on these two chapters together
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