The Power of the Gospel
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Men’s Chili Cook Off
Events Card
Men’s discipleship class,
Step 2 Lunch : Connect, Communicate, Commit
We want to be a multi cultural, multi generational church but we have a vision
I have the opportunity to dialogue with, listen to and read books written by different men around the country and around the world.
Al Mohler - What is a worldview? How do we view all of life and how should we seek to understand what is happening in our world?
Four inescapable questions
Al Mohler - What is a worldview? Four inescepable questions
Why is there something rather than nothing? materialism and darwinism
What’s gone wrong in the cosmos? oppression of poor by the rich
Is there any hope? a revolution that creates unity
How does history end? it ends with communism, no after life
Hegel's dialectic - thesis, antithesis, synthesis
Kurt Gebhards - we gather to glory in the person of Jesus, the acts of Jesus and the words of Jesus
Do you know about Mount Rushmore? Has anyone been there?
The Mount Rushmore of biblical passages
Five kinds of people who demonstrate the magnificent grace and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ
(1) The zealous persecutor
(2) The Spirit led preacher
(3) The unshackled prisoners
(4) The deceiving pretender
(5) The searching politician
(4) The deceiving pretender
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Is anyone beyond the power of the gospel? NO!
(1) The zealous persecutor: Acts 8:1-3
(1) The zealous persecutor: Acts 8:1-3
And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.
as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
Acts 8:1
Can this man be saved? Even the most evil of individuals can be reached with the gospel.
Philippians 3:6
Can this man be saved? Even the most evil of individuals can be reached with the gospel.
(2) The Spirit led preacher: Acts 8:4-5
(2) The Spirit led preacher: Acts 8:4-5
(2) The Spirit led preacher
(2) The Spirit led preacher
4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.
Seed needs to be sown - scattered that’s what this word means
Preaching the word - to preach the gospel to evangelize
Proclaiming the Christ - to announce as a herald
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Eight: A Church on the Move ()
The Samaritans were ... a mixture of Jew and Gentile. The nation originated when the Assyrians captured the ten northern tribes in 732 B.C., deported many of the people, and then imported others who intermarried with the Jews. The Samaritans had their own temple and priesthood and openly opposed fraternization with the Jews ().
Nowhere does the bible forbid interracial marriage. The bible always speaks against interfaith marriage
Acts 8:
Philip was part of the seven in . Godly character, full of faith, willing to distribute bread to widows
Philip was part of the seven
Are we telling people about Jesus? Are we proclaiming in our circles of influence that Jesus offers new life, new hope, forgiveness?
(3) The unshackled prisoners:
(3) The unshackled prisoners:
6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city.
When God works there is biblical unity - with one accord
14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.
Acts 2:
13 and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord), and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the Lord, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever,” the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, 14 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.
What happened at Pentecost is now happening in Samaria
Philip not only declared God’s word, he also demonstrated God’s power
They paid attention to the word
They were saved by the word, not the miracles
- the good Samaritan He’s called good because they were not considered good
- the Samaritan woman
13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
John 4:13-
39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”
John 4:
How did Jesus’ ministry prepare Samaria for the ministry of Philip?
The Samaritans represent people who are in that quasi religious world of believing in God, having a religion that present a moral framework BUT they do not know Jesus as a personal, life giving, he is not a man he is God, he is to not only be believed in but also obeyed Savior and Lord. And there are a lot of people like that today. Churches all over the Bay area are filled with people who are searching for happiness, who are seeking to live a life based on a moral foundation but Jesus is a figure head and not the risen Lord who calls us to complete surrender, complete obedience, and complete denial of anything that would become an idol and be worshiped instead of Jesus.
Why the term “prisoners”
Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.
and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Prisoners captive to sin
They paid attention to the word
They were saved by the word, not the miracles
Prisoners captive to sin
Prisoners who were set free from spiritual bondage
Prisoners who were unshackled from demons and disease
Great persecution led to Great preaching that led to Great salvations that led to Great Joy
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Eight: A Church on the Move ()Both in his Gospel and in the Book of Acts, Luke emphasizes the joy of salvation (; , ; ; ; ; ). The people of Samaria who heard the Gospel and believed were delivered from physical affliction, demonic control, and, most important, from their sins. No wonder there was great joy!
How is your joy?The message had gone to the Jews, then to those who were half Jew half Gentile. He had brought unity and made them one in Christ. Philip was a bridge builder. Across cultures, across ages we need to build bridges.
When God truly appears: lives are changed. people are delivered, there is healing - he heals the broken hearted
What can we definitely say salvation produces? Joy. And the outfall of joy is hope and peace and security and the will to continue.
What can we definitely say salvation produces? Joy. And the outfall of joy is hope and peace and security and the will to continue.
The Acts of the Apostles In Samaria (Acts 8:5–13)
We must note what Christianity brought to these people. (1) It brought the story of Jesus, the message of the love of God in Jesus Christ. (2) It brought healing. Christianity has never been a matter of words only. (3) It brought, as a natural consequence, a joy that the Samaritans had never known before. It is a false Christianity which brings an atmosphere of gloom; true Christianity radiates joy.
(4) The deceiving pretender
(4) The deceiving pretender
The first cult
Simon the holy god - the first gnostic
Seeking ministry to have power
Doing what is necessary to climb the ladder
You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
James 2:19
Was Simon saved? Luke did not specify this clearly, so it is difficult to be dogmatic. But seven facts suggest that Simon probably was not born again: (1) The verb “believe” (pisteuō) does not always refer to saving faith. Simon’s faith could have been like that of the demons in James 2:19, merely intellectual assent. (2) Furthermore, faith based on signs is not a trustworthy faith (cf. John 2:23–25; 4:48). (3) In addition, Luke never stated that Simon received the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:17–18). (4) Simon continued to have a self-centered interest in the display of miraculous power (vv. 18–19). (5) The verb “repent” (metanoeō) used in verse 22 is normally addressed to lost people. (6) The word “perish” (eis apōleian) employed in verse 20 is strong. It is related to the word “perish” in John 3:16. (7) The description of Simon in Acts 8:23 is a better description of a lost man than of one who is saved (cf. Deut. 29:18). Still one cannot be dogmatic on this point. The Lord knows those who are His (2 Tim. 2:19).
Min
God’s plan is greater than our pleasures. If God needs you to wait, you wait.
(5) The searching politician
(5) The searching politician