Grace into Action – Living for Jesus
Thoughts
a. God did not ask Jesus to give up for 33 years his heavenly life with all its riches and all that being a part of the trinity in heaven means to be confined in the skin of a man just so that we could sit on our hands and do nothing - just waiting to die and go to heaven!
b. This statement is directed at me. For the first 55 years of my life I lived as if there was nothing God expected me to do until heaven> I was so wrong in my thinking. God has more work planned for me to do than I will ever be able to accomplish.
And I suspect that I m not the only person fails to live for Jesus once he/she is saved.
c. This week we have learned that:
· We are accepted by Jesus – we have God’s love
· We are protected by Jesus – we do not have to fear
· We are saved by Jesus – we have God’s grace and mercy
· We are forgiven by Jesus
d. Tonight the subject is Grace into Action – Living for Jesus.
i. His grace exceeds any problem or obstacle we face.
ii. The Holy Spirit lives within us.
iii. We can be enjoying heaven now.
iv. If we could grasp these three points we would never be the same.
e. The intended audience tonight is those who have already accepted Jesus as savior.
f. A freebie before I get started. Death has been in the news this week.
i. The week began with a sermon by Reverend Pullium, “How to Die”.
ii. On Wednesday night Mary learned during VBS that one of our dear friends in
iii. Then this morning I read about the deaths of Michael Jackson and Farah Faucett. As I thought about the lesson tonight, I realized that physical death is just another transition in living for Jesus. Death is another story for the unsaved person.
- Pre-lecture quiz:
a. How many weekends did Jesus miss going to church?
b. How many charter members were there in the first church?
c. In what year and in what city was the first mega church organized?
d. Where in the Bible is the first specific reference to the Holy Spirit?
- Lesson Resources
a. Ephesians
b. Acts 1-3
c. Memory verse, Ephesians 2:10
We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
a. Ashcraft paraphrase
In the beginning, God planned for the church through the good deeds of its individual members, to reflect His grace to a sinful world
- Investigative Report
· Investigating a rebel group within the Jewish community
· Strange happenings recently;
· Passover festival – crucifixion of carpenter named Jesus who claimed to be God
· Disappeared from tomb but followers claimed He was with them off and on for 40 days
· Pentecost festival --tornado sounding wind – no damage but strangle languages spoken
· Undedicated fisherman who claimed to be a follower spoke and lots of people became members
· Healed people, did good things and preached repentance
Based on Acts1-3
- Acts
· The source for this investigative report is the book of Acts
· Acts of the Apostles or Acts of the Holy Spirit in leading the apostles during the first 40 years of so after the church was established
· History of the church growing from
· Written by Luke who knew all the leaders of the early church because of his friendship with Paul and Peter.
· Luke was a physician
· Luke also wrote the book of Luke
· Acts ends very abruptly
- Living for Jesus – Pieces of the Puzzle
a. Holy Spirit
i. In the beginning was God. .
ii. The third person in the trinity is God the Holy Spirit.
1. He is masculine
2. He has always been
3. He is God as much as Jesus is God and as much as God the Father is God.
iii. Works in the background –
1. We can’t see Him, but we know He is there, and without the work of the Holy Spirit we cannot live the Christian life!
iv. The Day of Pentecost -
1. The beginning of the church age[1] occurred in a great event that the world has not witnessed since.
2. The next great event will end the church age and that is the rapture.
3. Fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus Christ from death and the grave, and ten days after He ascended up into heaven the “day of Pentecost” occurred as recorded in Acts, the Holy Spirit made a unique visit to earth as promised by God, John 14:16-17.
And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth.
John 14:16-17
4. The coming of the Holy Spirit included:
a. Sound
b. Sight
c. Speech
v. Holy Spirit is a grace gift from God
Paul writes extensively of the Holy Spirit – grace and the church. Our verses tonight are just two of these passages. [Ephesians 2:18-22.]
For through him we both have access to the Father through one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives y his Spirit
1. First grace gift from the Holy Spirit - access to the Father.
a. When we accept Jesus as our savior we become children of God, and the Spirit of God begins to live within us.
b. Best illustration of access is Jeanna Bush – TV Show ...don’t remember which show....the host or hostess asked her if she could get in touch with her father. She said, “Sure, I’m his daughter and he will always take my phone call.”
c. God will always take my call – 24 x7. The Holy Spirit can’t leave me until I die and because of this I and you, can go to the Father at any time for anything and not be afraid.
d. I because of the Holy Spirit living in me, am not afraid to access God –even though he is omnipotent, omniscient, all truth, King of Kings, etc
e. Now, that is priceless – beyond priceless.
f. How can I ever say I am bored when I can have fellowship with the God who created the universe and everything in it?
2. A second grace gift is the church.
a. Age of Grace
o Smart seminarians divide time into various periods or dispensations.
o The identifier for our age is grace [2] – also called the church age.
b. We show God’s grace through individual actions as a part of the church through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us.
c. The work of the Holy Spirit makes the church different from all other organizations.
d. The country club, garden club, alumni association….These organizations do not have the Holy Spirit living within the membership.
e. When Jesus lived on the earth, he promised, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
i. Notice the future tense of “will”
ii. Note the adjective “my.”
iii. Note the promise of protection
f. After his resurrection, Jesus spoke what we today call the Great Commission,
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you and surely I will be with you always to the very end of the age.
Matthew 28:19-20
i. This is the mission for the church He said he would build.
g. Jesus is still building his church and he using each of us to help in that building process.
h. When we are saved we become a part of the family of God. We are all fellow citizens – not aliens.
i. We are members of God’s royal household – his church.
j. The church in the Bible
i. Body of Christ with Jesus as the head.
ii. Bride of Christ, Jesus as the bridegroom.
iii. Came into existence on the day of Pentecost. Did not exist before Jesus died. Jesus never went to church a day in his life!
iv. Will exist until Jesus has completed his promise, “I will build my church” and the church is raptured.
v. Church is to reflect God’s grace to others.
vi. Church is to do good works.
vii. Its members are given diverse talents.
viii. All actions of the church should glorify God.
k. Characteristics of the early church include:
i. Preaching – sometimes long sermons
ii. Jesus was exalted
iii. People were convicted and converted
iv. The church grew
v. People fellowshipped together.
vi. They worshipped together.
vii. They prayed together.
viii. Studied scriptures together.
ix. Disagreed together.
x. Took care of the needy together.
xi. Sent missionaries to “
xii. Members gave money to support the church.
xiii. Elected deacons to solve a dispute between the Greeks and the Jewish members.
xiv. Its members were persecuted.
3. Holy Spirit blesses with the permanence of God – the Bible.
a. Foundation of the church built on the teachings of the apostles and prophets. 2 Timothy 3:16-17:
All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be complete thoroughly equipped for every good work.
b. God expects us to reflect his grace through good works and not accumulate, not hoard.
i. It doesn’t matter if I can quote every verse in the Bible and pray 4 hours each day, if I don’t’ do good works – don’t help in the building of God’s church, I am squandering God’s grace. And this is from Paul and not from me.
c. Consider the authors of the books in the New Testament and the foundation they laid for us
i. Teachings of the apostles recorded in the Bible.
ii. Men wrote as inspired by the Holy Spirit – all scripture is god breathed – Holy Spirit, etc
d. Holy Spirit encourages us as we read the Bible; He helps us apply it to our lives by interpreting it for us. [Ever wonder why non Christians have a difficult time understanding the Bible?].
- Living for Jesus - Example of Doing Good – In Acts 3 Peter and John healed the lame man because of faith in Jesus.
a. Jesus walked by the man many times and never healed him.
b. Apostles had walked by him many times and never healed him.
c. The time was right in Acts 3.
d. At the right time, in God’ time . . . .important for us to know and discern the right time = God’s time.
e. Healing brought glory to God and allowed Peter to gather a crowd to preach his second sermon.
- Application to
a. God is preparing our church to do something big!
i. I have only been a member here for three years. The first Sunday we visited, we sensed something and that something was the Holy Spirit of God at work.
1. I didn’t know then that Mark would God would move Mark to another church within tow years.
2. I didn’t know that we would be opening a family life center two years later.
3. I didn’t know then that I would serve on a pastor search committee with six other wonderful people – two of whom I did not know at all.
ii. I don’t know what God has planned for this church, but it is bigger than we can imagine because God’s plan is always impossible for us to accomplish without the power of the Holy Spirit.
1. I still have to be reminded that the Holy Spirit is ready to help – worried about preparing for tonight – mentioned this to Susan----Janora – helped the jack ass speak in the Old Testament He can do it again.
2. This afternoon a quite inner voice said, “Don’t worry. I can handle it. That voice was the Holy Spirit.
b. New Beginning –
i. Vision from church as crafted by PSC - preeminent church preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in our community (
ii. New building that will bring many prospects to us.
1. Diverse ages
2. Diverse races
3. Diverse income levels
iii. New pastor who will lead us to follow God’s will.
c. God has the plan, but we have to implement it. If we don’t, we will miss the blessing and someone will carry out the plan – “I will build my church.”
- Last point – is most difficult because it is personal – me and you.
a. I am excited but apprehensive.
b. I have not lived for Jesus to the extent that I should.
c. I often ignore the prompting of the Holy Spirit to do something.
d. I commit to God with you as witnesses that I am ready to embrace the grace of God as encouraged by Peter:
Now the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will personally restore, establish, strengthen and support you. I have written firefly encouraging you and testifying that his is the true grace of God. Embrace it with both arms!
e. I intend to follow Paul’s advice :
Companions as we are in this work with you, we beg you, please don’t squander one bit of this marvelous life God has given us.
2 Corinthians 6:1
