Sermon Tone Analysis
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*TEXT:* ACTS 4:31-33
*PRAYER*
*TITLE:* PLUGGING IN
*INTRODUCTION*
ü How many of you know that tomorrow if you want toast in the morning you will not get it unless the toaster is plugged in?
ü Ladies, how many of you realize that if your blow dryer is not plugged in you’ll be leaving your house not looking as good as you would like?
ü To enjoy modern life it is essential that we be plugged in.
ü But there is another perspective to being plugged in.
ü When you think of being plugged in you think of being in control.
ü As Americans we tend to be a people that pride ourselves on our resiliency, our determination and our power.
ü We are often seen as a people that are fiercely independent.
ü Much of the world sees us as mavericks and because of this many do not like us.
ü We are a nation composed of individuals that like being in control and we DO NOT like it when we are not!
ü We are control freaks that like independence and convenience and we simply do not like it when things don’t go our way.
ü So what happens when life goes wrong?
ü What happens when you discover that your resources have played out?
ü What happens when your power source runs
ü What happens when we find out we are NOT plugged in?
ü We find out rather quickly that we aren’t that little energizer bunny we thought we were and it throws our world in chaos.
ü It is then we discover we have some serious limitations.
ü We go about damage control in desperate hopes of fixing things
ü But Clint Eastwood had a unique way of looking at it, he said, “/A man has got to know his limitations”./
ü So if we are truthful we must admit that there are times, maybe even many times that we could use help beyond our own natural resources.
ü All of us who name the name of Christ need the power of God working in our lives.
ü Life can be perplexing and of all the uncertainties of life one thing is certain and that is that life is uncertain!
ü Why is it we do not experience the power of God in our lives?
ü Because many of us have compartmentalized our lives.
à There are some believers who think God should get the Sunday portion while we get the Monday through Saturday portion.
à One of our most important areas of need is having the power of God in our Christian life.
à This is no secret.
We need power to live the Christian life.
à I know of no one who claims to be able to live the Christian life.
Paul certainty didn't!
à It is easy to live the Christian life on Sunday.
It is much more difficult on Monday through Saturday.
à There are many places and many times we need this power.
› We need it at home.
Living the Christian life at home is probably the most difficult of all places.
› The next most difficult place to live the Christian life is at work.
› This is where we meet failure most often.
à There is another area in which we need God's power and that is in our battle to overcome the enemy of our souls.
› The Devil is as a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.
› Listen to what Peter said about this in 1 Pet.
5:8.
/Be sober-minded; be watchful.
Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour./
à There is one final area where we need God's power on a regular basis and that is to reach a lost and dying world.
à The power we need to triumph is ALREADY available.
à We already have the resources to triumph at home.
à We already have the resources to triumph at work.
à We already have the resources to triumph against Satan.
à We already have the resources to win a lost world.
à We can see this promise of power in the Great Commission
/And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
/
à Our authority is based upon the authority that was given to our savior.
We operate under His authority.
à We also find this promise of power in the Resurrection (Phil 3:10).
/That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,/
à This power WILL NOT fall out of heaven and land at your feet!
à The acquisition of the power of God is not automatic!
à It is a process, in fact, there are certain clearly defined steps and there is a method to availing ourselves of God's power.
à This process is clearly outlined in our text here in Acts 4:31-33.
à So, how is it we can get plugged in?
How is it that the great power of God can be ours?
* 1. **FIRST, GOD'S POWER CAN BE OURS BY FIRST PLUGGING INTO THE POWER OF PRAYER.*
a. Let's go back and look again at Acts 4:31.
/And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness./
b. Did you notice when God's power fell?
/“When they had prayed”/.
Don’t miss this one important fact!
i).
Prayer produced some amazing effects.
Prayer still produces amazing effects.
ii).
Nothing has changed in all these years!
1).
The place where they prayed was literally shaken.
2).
If we want this church to shake we must enter into serious prayer!
3).
If our church is to make a difference we must pray!
4).
I am not talking about “Sugar Daddy” prayers!
iii).
Notice also these people were ALL filled with the Holy Spirit in response to their prayers!
1).
The filling was not limited it was for ALL!
(a).
Just as it was for them, it can be ours today!
(b).
God is NO respecter of persons.
He wants you and He wants me filled with His Spirit and power today!
iv).
The message here in Acts 4 is unmistakable.
God's power is unleashed through prayer.
1).
The truth is, you will NOT and you cannot experience the fullness and scope of God's power without it!
v).
The disciples caught a glimpse of this as they saw it at work in the life of Jesus.
1).
That is why they asked the Lord to teach them to pray.
They wanted it for themselves.
Listen to Luke 11:1.
/Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples."/
2).
Most churches are well schooled in programs, organization, doctrine, teaching techniques, etc.
3).
But far too many are illiterates in the school of prayer.
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