Energized for the Lord
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we start out at the day of pentecost, where the Holy Spirit was given to man
Peter preached a great sermon, talked about prophecy being fulfilled, and called people to repentance
prophesies from joel and david were mentioned
Peter preached with great fervor, he was very energized and bold in what he was doing and saying
and so were the rest of the apostles, they were all on a mission
They had just seen something great, Christ told them to wait in Jerusalem for 40 days, and when they did, the Spirit came
they had seen the power of God before their eyes, and we will look at how it affected them
37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
Peter tells these people about the promise that God has made to them in Christ
and to save themselves from the “untoward” generation they were in
now if peter is so energized about speaking to this generation and these people, just imagine if he lived today?
how much energy, how much passion would he have?
we have such a gift in Christ and what He’s done for us, and we live in such a uniquely dark time
we should take some cues from the apostles, how much energy, passion, and everything else that they had
we can think of many stories and situations, like how hard paul worked to spread the gospels, same with the apostles, you had great moments like when the ethiopian eunuch was saved
you have stories like stephens and james, they were so full of passion that they were able to boldly withstand the face of persecution and ridicule from men
41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
three thousand people saved from one message, the power of God is surely amazing
we see that they were all baptized as well, they got right on it, they are ready to roll on getting people going in the faith
When we spread the Word to people, we are not alone, we always have God there helping us and empowering, and we see that a lot through the book of acts
we can be bold, we can be brave, we can be fervent, energized, because we know that God is with us and that we are doing what God wants us to do
42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
every soul became reverent toward God, they respected God and His power
we also see that the apostles continued on diligently in their mission, with God empowering them
the fact that they were doing signs and wonders tells us that they were out there consistently trying to reach people
44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
in v44 firstly we see that they were together
they had fellowship and actually did gather together, they didn’t just stay to themselves
additionally, they all things in common through Christ
Christ was the new guiding force in their life, and they took this extremely seriously
so seriously, in fact, that it was to the point that they had ALL THINGS incommon
they were dedicated, they were energized, they were fervent, and they had the right priorities in the right order
one of the things that’s involved in the Christian life is the love for one another
Christ told us that that is how all men will know that they are His disciples
it is a separating factor, a dividing line between us and the world
they didn’t just love one another by saying it or by just being nice, but they had a selfless love for one another, they sacrificed for one another
sometimes we think about “how should we be as a church, what should we model ourselves after?”
there is no better place to look than the early church that the apostles led and were a part of
love for the brother and love for God being the foundational concepts
this is one of the reasons that fellowship is so important
some of those in the early church may have been destitute, some may have been suffering emotionally, there were a variety of problems
this is just like today, people come from all different situations and ways of life
having this love and this fellowship might be the only times that some people feel loved, or are helped our in some way
but at the same time, they might have a lot to contribute
so having this love for each other, taking care of each other, working together, and so on has a myriad of positive effects
46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
so not only did they continue in fellowship and love, but they continued daily, DAILY, spreading the gospel to the people around them
they remained in the temple for a couple of reasons
they were still jews culturally, this was less than 2 months after Christ
they didn’t have buildings yet either, so there was that aspect as well
secondly, they were going where the people were, they wanted to message to get to the ears of the people around them, DAILY
at the end of the verse it says that they ate their meat with gladness and singleness of heart
gladness - believers can be glad, elated, completely satisfied, EVERY DAY, because we have everything we need in Christ
singleness of heart - they were focused, they were not split between the world and God, or their own personal life and God
they had one thing that they were living for every day and one thing only, and this thing satisfied their longings as nothing else could do
A BIT LATER
After this, they lived their lives for a bit and continued to preach
then Peter and John healed the lame man at the temple
this is where the jews got Peter and John at a type of trial or gathering where they told them to stop preaching in Christ’s name
Peter said that they would rather obey God rather than man, and continued on
23 And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them.
24 And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:
25 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?
26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.
29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,
30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.
31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
we see them here asking God for boldness, even right after being told not to preach in Christ’s name
they weren’t just going to roll over and listen, they had energy, they had passion, they were ready to go spread the Word
but maybe where Peter and John had just gotten themselves in a bit of trouble many of them from the crowds of believers were scared and afraid of getting themselves into trouble
so they did the one and only thing there is to do in that situation, they asked God for help.
they asked God for boldness, they asked Him for help
God certainly delivered, as we see many examples of boldness throughout the rest of the new testament
lets think about some of these things
members of the 12 would continue on with the great commission, doing what’s right in the eyes of God rather than the eyes of man
they did this while enduring much persecution
we end up seeing John end up exiled on the isle of Patmos
we know that Peter wound up being killed
we have so many different examples from Paul, how he was so bold
whether it be beatings, jailings, winding up at trials, shipwrecks, stonings, getting ran out of town, snakebites, and so on
God not only answered Peter and John’s prayer for boldness at the time of these verses, but he gave Paul boldness, and so many in the years of the early church boldness
so if we think about what we have going on, we have a church that is highly energized, fervent and passionate about the things that God has done for them
they had seen the power of God in their lives and the lives of others, they’d seen God’s power before their very eyes
we have seen the same, in our own ways
God has done so much for each and every one of us in our own ways, if we thought about it, we could see the power of God working throughout each and every day
They kept these things on their mind, they had a single priority, were single minded, and were on a mission for God
they made sure to stay close to Him
in this day where love has waxed so cold, we need to be an example out there, showing people passion for something good
when we show people this passion and this love, we reflect to people not only the goodness of God, in a way
but we show them what God has done in our own life, and that the same can be done in theirs
we help show them that they could have a new purpose as well, a new reason to be that is so much higher than their old purpose.
32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
35 And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
36 And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,
37 Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.