Time with Jesus
ALL IN • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 11 viewsNotes
Transcript
Review ALL IN series. Purpose for the series: how our discipleship process is just beginning like it was for them…
Review where we are: just finished Peter’s second sermon in Acts 3…
1 As they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them,
2 being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
3 And they laid hands on them and put them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening.
4 But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
5 On the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem;
6 and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent.
7 When they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?”
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people,
9 if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well,
10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health.
11 “He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone.
12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
13 Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.
Pray
Sadducees denied the existence of angels and spirits, and said there was no resurrection (Acts 23:8; Matthew 22:23).
2 being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
Acts Chapter 4
They thought Jesus would stay dead. That would be the end of His teaching and would cause His followers to scatter. But now here were two of the once frightened disciples speaking out boldly, with everyone in the temple court listening to them, just as had been the case when Jesus performed His miracles there.
They weren’t just upset that they were preaching, they were upset that the version of the Messiah they were preaching about didn’t fit in their box…
In every cult since, it’s always the deity or person of Jesus that is put in question…
Mention Jehovah’s Witness and Mormonism as discussed in coffee with the pastors…
People don’t mind that you preach Jesus, so long as it is a version of Jesus that agrees with their delicate sensibilities…
How many times have you heard who Jesus is from someone who only wants the parts of Jesus that agrees with their perspective?
I don’t mind Jesus so long as He’s just about love…
I like to talk about Jesus flipping tables, so long as it’s not my table He’s flipping…
Everyone wants God as love, but conveniently leave out He’s also Holy and Righteous and full of Justice…
Its easier to take what we want and leave what we don’t…
Jefferson Bible:
Using a razer and glue… eliminated the supernatural in the life of Jesus…
Though we may not make our own bible, and we may not even admit it, but how often do we do the same thing with our own beliefs and behaviors…
We say we believe Jesus is Lord of all, but act like He’s a weekend hobby…
We believe He is provider, but refuse to give our first fruits…
We say we love Him, but neglect His bride…
I think this is why so many in the Body of Christ are in an identity crisis…
They don’t know what church is supposed to look like for them, because they aren’t sure who Jesus is to them…
They aren’t sure what Jesus stood for, so they don’t know what they should stand for…
Were we put in this situation, would we have the answer?
7 When they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?”
What would your answer be?
What is your answer daily?
Why do you live this way?
Why do you do the things you do?
Does the way you live give rise to the question? Or would no one ever know you believe?
Acts Chapter 4
4:8. Peter had once cringed before a girl in the courtyard of the high priest. Now there was a difference. As he began to speak, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit. The form of the Greek verb indicates a new, fresh filling.
Acts Chapter 4
This does not mean he had lost any of the power and presence of the Spirit he received on the Day of Pentecost. In view of the pressures of this critical situation, the Lord simply enlarged his capacity and gave him this fresh filling to meet this new need for power to witness.
I think what we need is a fresh filling… an expanded capacity…
Unlike any other religion… Unlike the cults who deny who Jesus is…
We have access to salvation that is offered to us through Him…
12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
The real Jesus… Not a fabricated Jesus or a Jesus of our own making… Not a Jesus that always agrees with us…
But a Jesus that came, declaring the Kingdom of Heaven is near, and it looks different than the broken world we live in…
13 Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.
Expound on this verse.
The only way you can reflect Jesus is to have spent time with Jesus…
You can’t expect that you will reflect what you do not engage…
Spending time with Jesus is not a passive, accidental thing…
4 I sought the Lord, and He answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
I SOUGHT the Lord…
10 The young lions do lack and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing.
Hebrews 11:6 (NASB95)
6 … He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
This isn’t a passive, wondering through life, stumbling on God type of seeking…
Moses stumbled on God while he was out herding sheep, found his calling, and answered the call… All of this was God’s setup…
But what we read in Exodus 33 is that once Moses got a taste of the presence, he couldn’t get enough…
He trekked up the mountain to meet with God and although he found favor with God in that he could be in the presence without fear, he wanted more…
18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
This isn’t a passive, let it happen kind of seeking…
I BESEECH THEE! I beg you Lord.. I can’t do it without you… I need more of you!
The enemy will do everything he can to keep you away from spending time with Jesus…
Just when you thought you would finally find the time, someone calls and needs you…
Just when you go to sit down the timer on the washing machine goes off…
Just when you open your bible, your spouse wants breakfast…
But I find often times it is not the devils, demons, or principalities that keep us from spending time with Jesus…
Often it is the enemy in-a-me that stays busy and distracted, unable to focus on Him…
When you sit down to read the word, all of a sudden every task on your list starts running through your head…
You turn on the worship music while you drive to work, but wind up thinking about what you’re going to eat for lunch instead…
You open the bible in one minute and find yourself waking up the next…
Sometimes it isn’t the devil. Sometimes it is our own unwritten priorities that put spending time with Jesus somewhere down on the list rather than being primary over all.
But the bible says, if we seek Him, we will find Him!
17 “I love those who love me;
And those who diligently seek me will find me.
29 “But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.
13 ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
If you seek Him, you will find Him…
When we purpose in our hearts to spend time with Jesus, He is there waiting on us…
If we will admit, the reason we do not spend time with Him is not because of anything He has or has not done… It is because it takes a commitment from us that we have not conceded.
You know what I notice, even in worship?
There are different kinds of worshippers…
One looks at the worship team and says, “If they do it just right and move me, I’ll get to the place where I can seek Him.”
It’s these same people who always have a complaint about music style, or the volume, or the lighting, or the mix, or the song choice…
And it’s always someone else’s fault that you can’t seek Him…
Then there are those who look for God to move you…
“Well if God wants me to move, He will move me.”
And you can even make it sound spiritual… “He’s a big enough God to make the walls of Jericho fall. If He wants me to move He can do it.”
In this way, you want God to seek you and find you and move you… as if God needs to cater to you…
You’re the center of your own universe, but the scripture says we are to seek Him… Find Him… Worship Him…
IF YOU SEEK HIM, YOU WILL FIND HIM!
Maybe the reason you don’t reflect Jesus is because you don’t spend time with Jesus…
You come in here hoping someone or something will move you out of your apathy, but seeking Him is your responsibility!
He’s empowered you to do it, but He’s not forcing you.. He won’t make you love Him… He won’t make you seek Him…
Just like He won’t make you speak in tongues… He will give you the words and you have to speak them… He will give you the ability to seek Him and it takes a move toward Him to activate it…
13 Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.
You cannot be recognized as having been with Jesus unless you’ve actually BEEN WITH JESUS!
Seek Him! Pursue Him! Spend time with Him!
This is a posture of the heart, to live a life in pursuit of Him, seeking after His face… Looking for His glory!
When we spend time in worship, it’s not about a show… it’s about seeking the face of the Master…
Call Worship Team
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.
Can I say this? You don’t accidentally take up a cross… You don’t accidentally put your flesh on the altar…
Yes He empowers you to do it, but He won’t do it for you… You’ve got to wake up and make the decision for yourself!
This isn’t legalism, it’s desire! You will seek after that which you desire!
If you desire Him, you will seek Him… But if you desire things of the world, you will seek the things of the world…
This isn’t a passive walk…
The very first core value on our list as The Shed is intentional living…
Everything we do expresses the mission and advances the vision…
31 Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
This is not me telling you to earn salvation… This is me saying the bible calls us to a life of intentional surrender to the King of Glory!
We aren’t passively waiting for the second coming… We are on the war path, assaulting the strongholds of Hell on this earth, crying out as the prophet in Joel 2…
1 Blow a trumpet in Zion,
And sound an alarm on My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
For the day of the Lord is coming;
Surely it is near,
Sound the alarm! Posture yourself to receive from Him!
He’s coming back and we have work to do! This is an intentional life of spending time with Jesus, in order that we may reflect Him to the world around us…
Call to worship…
