The Empowered Church

Welcome to this edition of PowerPoint with Jack grand a little later in the program will tell you that you can get a copy of Dr. Graham's evangelism bundle first hears the message. The empowered church that God's word and turn with me to the second chapter of the book of acts and were going to look at the closing passage of the great second chapter of acts the day when 3000 people were born again burst into the kingdom of God and became a part of God's church.

So beginning in verse 42 of acts chapter 2. They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers and all came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles and all who believed were together and had all things in common and they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes. They receive their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people and the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being say, they continue in their walk with God because salvation was just the beginning. It was an amazing beginning when so many came to Christ on the very first day of the church. But now the church continues to know and to grow what they in what they believe and what they are to do for the Lord Jesus Christ Alan Redpath said the salvation of the soul is the miracle of the moment, but the making of a man of God, is the task of a lifetime.

So we see the making of men and women of God as together we grow in Christ. So what does the empowered church look like as we go back centuries and centuries ago to the outset to the originality of the church. What are we to be and to do today. I would you notice several important important factors regarding the empowered church number one. The empowered church is an established congregation and established congregation, for it says in verse 42 and they who is the day will obviously the day is comprised of those who have been born again. Those who have been saved that day and then grow in their faith. In other words, this congregation was established by with a membership in a partnership in the gospel. They were say and that is how you become a member of the church. Now when Simon Peter preached the message of salvation that day.

There was deep conviction of sin part, for they were stabbed to the hard and send brothers what will we do verse 37 says they were cut to the heart.

They were under deep conviction of sin in this is vital and as a result, Peter said repent and be baptized every one of you for the remission of sin and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. So not only was there conviction of sin. When they came face-to-face with their own sinfulness before God and what Christ said done on the cross for us and in the power, the resurrection, then they can receive Christ and have a brand life, so there was conviction of sin.

And then there was conversion of life. Verse 40 of chapter 2 Peter said save yourselves from this perverseness, crooked generation.

This generation that is going nowhere. In other words come out of the world and the direction the world is taking you and follow Christ. Get off the broad road that leads to destruction, and get on the narrow road the way and follow Christ.

Has there been a time or place a definitive moment in your life when you have received Christ. Having repented of your sin. Turning from your sin and trusting in him. This is absolutely vital. It is critical it is essential not only to you but to the church itself noticed that when Peter preached he spoke of those who were called into salvation.

Acts chapter 2, verse 39. The promise is for you and for your children and for all who were afar all know everyone is included. Everyone can come in. Everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself. See there is a divine side. The salvation in which God calls us unto himself, and therefore you cannot be saved just anytime you choose to be. Say God makes the first move.

God takes the purse that God calls us of the salvation God is sovereign salvation is all the Lord, and this is the divine prerogative of God as he calls us unto himself.

This is the divine side when God opens the heart and right now the spirit of God is at work in people's life wooing you bringing you to a place of decision calling you to faith in Jesus Christ. This is why it is very important that you never resist the work of the Holy Spirit in your life that you never blaspheme the spirit of God by saying no and no and no and no. Because what you say no to long enough you get very good at in your heart to become hard and God says, my spirit will not always strive with man, and is possible to say no and no and no and no and so resist the work of the Holy Spirit in your life that finally it would be impossible for you to hear the call of God. That's why the Bible says if you hear his voice today do not harden your heart so there is the divine side, but there's also the human side of this is in perfect balance in the Scripture what God does and what we do.

We are to respond in faith. We are to respond because God has made it possible for all to come in in the blood of Jesus Christ.

God son is powerful and strong enough to cleanse from every sin. For every one question is, is your life and transform the you know Jesus. This is how the church is instead the church is not a club or a religious organization. The church is the body of believers. The followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Secondly, the empowering church is marked by an enduring dedication. That's why verse 42, says, and they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers. Now what is the apostles teaching will obviously the apostles were instructing believers regarding the Old Testament Scriptures. When you read the message of Simon Peter here in chapter 2. It is chock-full of Scripture and all the messages of the book of acts are full of the Old Testament Scriptures so no doubt they would have been teaching the Old Testament the word of God. But not only that, what did Jesus say to the apostles that they were to make disciples and to teach them what all the things that I have commanded you, so when the apostles were teaching and instructing these believers. They were talking them of Jesus, of his life in and of his teachings of what Jesus commanded them to do. Essentially, the Gospels, and of course this is before the Gospels had been written down so they are telling the Gospels, they are teaching the gospel so there instructing them concerning the Gospels and then of course the apostles were given spiritual illumination and inspiration in order to give the Scriptures and the New Testament, the epistles, the letters of the New Testament were written by the apostles. So in oratorical form in verbal form, they are giving them the New Testament so they are teaching them what just write it down. The word of God. When you read the apostles teaching just just right there.

God's word instruction in the word of God. Now this is vital to the spiritual health of every believer and certainly to the health of the church to know and to grow in the word of God should be the purpose and the passion of your life. It should be the commitment and the devotion of God's church.

I like what Bible teacher and pastor John MacArthur said about this. He said a believer should count a wasted day when he does not learn something new from or is not more deeply in rich by the truth of God's word every day. We should dig deeply into the word of God. They devoted themselves. This is the dedication of the fact is, many are out of church the day I dropped out on the fellowship of the church because they no longer are focused on God's word in their life and church is a casual convenient experience with but look at the difference of these believers then and so many others who claim the name of Christ. Today they were passionate they were fired up. They were committed to the word of God and growing in their faith. I would challenge you to be a student of the word of God continue in the word of God. There is a vast indifference and sometimes England's of the word of God among those who profess the name of Christ commit yourself to the study of the word of God and not just for your head's sake, but for your heart say, I know there's some people to say well I don't need all that doctrine.

I don't need all that teaching you know Jesus is enough for me. Will Jesus is enough, but it is Jesus who taught us to dig deeply into his truth and his word and when so many are coming at us today with vein religion and false philosophies alike. We need to know what we believe and why we believe what we believe. We learned that in the word of God. This is why we are committed to listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and today's message the empowered church you have a God-given calling to take the gospel to the world. That's why we put together a special bundle of resources to help you grow in your letter of the gospel and share it with others. This evangelism bundle includes three of Pastor Jack Graham's books to help an Easter life but in God's promises for doubt filled days. This evangelism bundle is our thanks for your gift today and thanks to a generous matching grant your gift today will be doubled. So call now to request your evangelism bundle when you give call 1-800-795-4627 that's 1-800-795-4627.

You can also text the word PowerPoint to 59789 and don't forget to visit Jack Graham.org where you can shop our E store.

Give the gift online or sign up for Dr. Graham's free daily email devotional our website again is Jack Graham.Ward now it's back. Today's message the empowered church there is the word of God devoting yourself to not only you see, they not only devoted themselves to God's word, knowing growing in God's word but experiencing God's presence in their lives on a daily basis. That's why when you read the second chapter of acts here that verse 42 tells us that the continued in fellowship and the breaking of bread and prayers or the prayers. Now the breaking of bread had to do with eating meals together and often when they would eat meals together in their homes. They would stop also to share in communion and most likely this is illustrative of that experience of communion, of remembering the Lord's death and his resurrection so they committed to that and then there was prayer. Prayer is always a privilege and a priority in the church, not a post if you're talking about power in your life. Spiritual engagement if you're talking about the empowered church, you must consider prayer because prayer invites the presence and the power of God into our lives into our family and into our church.

We want God to move in our life. We must pray. Remember this, that God he invites us and invokes us to pray. Jeremiah 33 three call on the me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know just stop and remember thinking right now that all mighty God invites you into his presence and promises is provision and power when you pray, these believers were given to prayer. You see, they were not only transform by truth but they were tasting they were touching. The presence of God as God to strengthen your prayer life. Even as the disciples came to Jesus and said, Lord, teach us to pray. Notice in the verse 42, it says the prayers the prayers there's a definite article, there now in churches like ours. Our prayers are free-flowing and spontaneous. When we pray. Rarely does someone read a prayer because we are concentrating, of course, always on making sure that our prayers are offered from the heart. But there's a balance to this and I discover that on balance in my life as I have learned not only to write my own prayer as part of my devotional life, but also to read the prayers that others have off the prayers you see these early believers were praying the prayers. Not only that they pray spontaneously and extemporaneously from their hearts with the prayers that were given in the Scripture, God is given us many prayers in the Scripture. Both Old Testament and New Testament and you want your prayer life to be strengthened. Pray the Scriptures pray the prayers of the Bible, pray in the Scriptures themselves and I've also discovered through the years of my own devotional life. The prayers of others. You can go online and just Google in prayers.

Make sure the biblical prayers. Make sure the New Testament prayers make sure their prayers given in Jesus name, but there are many books of prayers and list of prayers and prayers that you can pray that will strengthen your devotional life in your walk with God. There is so much depth and strength in the prayers that are pray. But as you think we may need a little balance. Why we pray from the heart and we pray from our souls, our own words, it is valuable is health to pray the prayers that we've been given. We want to run so fast from ritual that often we miss the blessing of the prayers, so they were praying together, and I would encourage you to enrich your prayer life in every way possible. So you see, there is this enduring dedication in the teaching of God's word and the touching and the tasting of God's presence in the breaking of the bread in the offering of the prayers not only an established congregation established in Jesus Christ by sheer baptized in his name and not only this enduring dedication as they devoted themselves, but there is any reaching participation for verse 42 we read the word fellowship and later on in the same passage we read of the disciples. Verse 44, all who believed were together, look at if they were together and had all things in common.

They continued in the fellowship. Now most people don't know what fellowship is. We think that fellowship is coffee in the hallway after church, but fellowship in the Bible is much other than that is much deeper than it means the whole income.

The word fellowship coin in the means to share life together. And of course our fellowship according to first John is with God the father and his son Jesus Christ. We have fellowship with God and therefore, we have fellowship with one another. We share a common Lord and we share a common life and therefore we are brothers and sisters in Christ, we have fellowship in this family of faith. We are more than a collection of strangers or even a collection of rent we share a common life at common Lord and a common labor because in reality fellowship in the church is a shared mission.

We share the mission of Christ in this fellowship is so critical that we are bonded together that we believe together that we belong together, Satan desires to disrupt and even to destroy the fellowship of his feet. Yet Jesus and we are to be one wanting heart, one in spirit wanting soul wanting faith, the oneness of our participation in noticing this they were willing to give that others may have their needs met and they were willing to serve so that God could reach people in touch people's lives. This was an enriching participation and I want to encourage you, even as the Scriptures in Hebrews 1025 says, not neglecting to meet together is the habit of some body encouraging one another fellowship of the church. There's nothing like it in all the world. But not only that, the final thing I want you to see in this picture of the church in every generation. This is a crossgenerational from generation to generation, experience, see, then an expanding celebration. As you read the rest of the passage here you you read of the church together, sharing Christ worshiping together, but there is a verse here that I want you to note is verse 46 which says and day by day, attending the temple together that is in public forums. They were still there.

The court of the Gentiles. A vast large place where they could worship together, the Lord Jesus Christ, then the breaking of bread this fellowship and this communion there in their homes. They received their food with glad and generous heart. And then he goes on to say that they were praising God and having faith with all of the people I love this with joyful spirit and was sincere hearts that the word that is translated verse 46 and generous is is the only time this word is used in the New Testament and is a word difficult to translate is a word which has its root in the idea of without rocks or without stone is a one on earth does that mean without rocks with a course this was a seafaring community and ships would come in and if it was smooth sailing. It was because they were there were no rocks. They were without rocks so there was smooth sailing without rocks and the idea here is that they were sailing high wind and beautiful for the it was smooth. They were in a groove spiritual.

They were focused and they were favored by God. They had it all together and it was all working together. This is the church a spirit filled church empowered, which is growing and joyous and winsome in their witness and sharing and caring and and loving and and living for Christ, full of Jesus and full of his spirit, there is liberty in worship. There is a loving fellowship and there is a life dealing with. There is powerful worship in this church worship that is joyous and celebrate. And yet filled with all in reference that's always the balance we need to maintain in our worship. There are times that we can't move. We are so deeply touched by the spirit of God, just as Mary sat at the feet of Jesus and worship him and his sometimes we just sit at his feet and worshiped him there. Other times we rise in celebration.

We stand in honor of his glory of his power in our lives.

There's a time to stand. There's a time to sit the styles of worship are not nearly as important as the heart of worship. If our hearts are joyous and him. We must make sure that in our worship that is not not all about self absorption in my personal worship experience. But that is always about Jesus and honoring him and let me remind you that worship is preparation for heaven.

We when we worship God here and now are getting ourselves ready for the celebration of heaven is the church and there's joy in this there is excitement in this is a result because this church was healthy. It was we produce because the Scripture says they were adding daily those who should be saved. This was a soul winning church their witness was positive and productive in the world. It was with faith in the community see how they love one another. Just look at how much they love God's grimacing PowerPoint with Jack Graham in today's message empowered church 3.2 billion people in our world still no access to the good news of Jesus, and we must do what ever it takes to reach the lost, but the hope of Christ. That's why were excited to tell you about a matching grant that will double when ever you give today to help reach more people to PowerPoint your support will help broadcast the gospel into some of the most spiritually dark corners of the earth will say thanks for your gift by sending you three of Pastor Graham's books Tempe share the gospel right where you are. This evangelism bundle includes the help of Easter life and God's promises for doubt filled days so call now to have your gift doubled by the max and request your evangelism bundle: 800-795-4627 that's 1-800-795-4627. You can also text word PowerPoint to 59789 that's PowerPoint to 59789 and don't forget to visit Jack Graham.org where you can shop our E store. Give a gift online or sign up for Dr. Graham's free daily email devotional our website again is Jack Graham.Margie*what is your PowerPoint for today were talking about the power spiritual engagement. So let me ask you a question. Do you want to be fully engaged and empowered to live the Christian life. I really believe you do. And yet I find so many professed believers in Christ today are disconnected from one of the main sources of encouragement empowerment, which is the local church. The reason for this could be many. But the fact is, many, many Christians aren't having an impact on the world for Christ because they're trying to live the Christian life on their own, in isolation, cut off from a local group of other learning, growing, worshiping Christians. So what about you are you actively involved in a local church where Jesus is Lord, where the word of God is taught where you can learn and grow in your faith where you can develop as a disciple where there you can share your witness with others. I'm not asking whether or not you attend church but are you spiritually engaged in the life of that church are you doing more than just showing up on Sunday mornings. What I'm asking you is whether or not you are connected to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ and are you a part of making a difference in your community and in the world for Jesus just like a balled up fist has more power than one little finger. So do you and I have more powers Christians when we stand in unity together in the name of Christ.

The church United is a force to be reckoned with in our generation. In the book of acts we read about people who were fully engaged and committed to each other and therefore they were encouraged and empowered to live the Christian life.

And then they turn the world upside down. That's the church of the first century and I'm praying that the church of the 21st century will be like that church empowered and making a difference until Jesus And that is today's power. Remember when you give a gift to PowerPoint your gift will be doubled by a matching grant call 1800-7954 six 761-800-7954 627. You can also text the word PowerPoint 259789. Join us again next time. When Dr. Graham brings a message about how the power of Jesus transform slide and how it can change your that's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint ministries