Notes from a recent sermon on Acts 2:14-41:
Looking into the story of the apostle Peter, what was it that turned him from cowardly yet impulsive to bold and patient?
If you look at the backstory of Walter White in the series, Breaking Bad, it is clear what lead to his breaking point and the new life he lives as a Meth producer. His wife's unexpected pregnancy, his son's cerebral palsy, and finally his own lung cancer.
The Apostle Peter experienced a breaking point as result of Jesus's arrest and his our denial of Jesus. After the resurrection of Jesus, Peter rejoins the little launch team of the church. But no one would have expected to see the power God work so effectively through Peter as we see in Acts 2.
"41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."
What might it look like if God worked powerfully like this in your life? Most of us have not seen anything quite like this in anyone we know, let alone ourselves!
But what if we:
1. Repented like Peter's hearers did? (repentance means to change your mind about your need for God)
2. Waited in prayer like the first group of believers did after Jesus' ascension.
3. Witnessed like Peter did when we find an opportunity
I know for certain that at any time in history (since Pentecost, including now!) and at any place in the world (including where you live), when people look to Jesus Christ as their life and their Lord, by repenting, waiting, and witnessing, God still does powerful, powerful things!
Jeremiah Lanphier was a businessman in New York at a time with the inner city population was changing and growing rapidly. He had a surprising conversion to faith as an adult through hearing the gospel at a lunch time meeting. Lanphier's new faith was so compelling that his church asked him to sell his business and join the church as a non-clergy missionary to Lower Manhattan. His mission was to reach the newly arrived masses of people who did not yet believe in Christ. First, he started going door to door, inviting the people to church. Seeing little fruit from his efforts, he resigned himself to pray.
But he would not be satisfied to pray alone. Instead, he invited everyone he could, especially employess in nearby businesses to spend part of their lunch break in a dedicated meeting to pray for God to pour out His Spirit for the sake of those who did not yet know Christ in lower Manhattan. The time came for the prayer gathering, not one showed up at first. Finally, five people arrived and prayed for about 30 minutes. The following week 25 people prayed. The day after that a sever financial panic struck the city. The next day hundreds gathered and the prayer meetings multiplied.
As a result of their repentance, waiting in prayer, and faithful witnessing in the next days, 80,000 people in lower Manhattan would come to faith in Christ!
What this might mean for us:
Are we willing to get ready for God to work powerfully through us today? If not, why not? What do we really want that is better than a powerful experience of the Holy Spirit working through us?
What ideas, visions, is God giving you for waiting for Him through extraordinary prayer? What might we be missing out on because we are too busy to pray?
What doors might God be opening for you enter as his witness? Is our love for God and for our neighbor powerful enough to overcome our fear of failure or rejection?
Looking into the story of the apostle Peter, what was it that turned him from cowardly yet impulsive to bold and patient?
If you look at the backstory of Walter White in the series, Breaking Bad, it is clear what lead to his breaking point and the new life he lives as a Meth producer. His wife's unexpected pregnancy, his son's cerebral palsy, and finally his own lung cancer.
The Apostle Peter experienced a breaking point as result of Jesus's arrest and his our denial of Jesus. After the resurrection of Jesus, Peter rejoins the little launch team of the church. But no one would have expected to see the power God work so effectively through Peter as we see in Acts 2.
"41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."
What might it look like if God worked powerfully like this in your life? Most of us have not seen anything quite like this in anyone we know, let alone ourselves!
But what if we:
1. Repented like Peter's hearers did? (repentance means to change your mind about your need for God)
2. Waited in prayer like the first group of believers did after Jesus' ascension.
3. Witnessed like Peter did when we find an opportunity
I know for certain that at any time in history (since Pentecost, including now!) and at any place in the world (including where you live), when people look to Jesus Christ as their life and their Lord, by repenting, waiting, and witnessing, God still does powerful, powerful things!
Jeremiah Lanphier was a businessman in New York at a time with the inner city population was changing and growing rapidly. He had a surprising conversion to faith as an adult through hearing the gospel at a lunch time meeting. Lanphier's new faith was so compelling that his church asked him to sell his business and join the church as a non-clergy missionary to Lower Manhattan. His mission was to reach the newly arrived masses of people who did not yet believe in Christ. First, he started going door to door, inviting the people to church. Seeing little fruit from his efforts, he resigned himself to pray.
But he would not be satisfied to pray alone. Instead, he invited everyone he could, especially employess in nearby businesses to spend part of their lunch break in a dedicated meeting to pray for God to pour out His Spirit for the sake of those who did not yet know Christ in lower Manhattan. The time came for the prayer gathering, not one showed up at first. Finally, five people arrived and prayed for about 30 minutes. The following week 25 people prayed. The day after that a sever financial panic struck the city. The next day hundreds gathered and the prayer meetings multiplied.
As a result of their repentance, waiting in prayer, and faithful witnessing in the next days, 80,000 people in lower Manhattan would come to faith in Christ!
What this might mean for us:
Are we willing to get ready for God to work powerfully through us today? If not, why not? What do we really want that is better than a powerful experience of the Holy Spirit working through us?
What ideas, visions, is God giving you for waiting for Him through extraordinary prayer? What might we be missing out on because we are too busy to pray?
What doors might God be opening for you enter as his witness? Is our love for God and for our neighbor powerful enough to overcome our fear of failure or rejection?
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