We The Church: Are Spiritually Alive # 3 We The Church Acts 3-4

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1 We The Church: Are Spiritually Alive # 3 We The Church Acts 3-4 Introduction * Wow - what an exciting Football game last night between Edmonton and Toronto. Back and forth action. Toronto entered second ½ 21 points behind Edmonton. They only had 1 point. Came back to win What gets you excited? What gets your motor running? * I ll tell you as much as I love football nothing excites me more than Jesus Christ and nothing impacts my life like Jesus Christ. He is the compelling pursuit of my life. He calls all of us to pursue Him and He promises to infuse us with Rich, Spiritual Vibrancy. - Oh yeh, no one wants a dead, dry, boring religion - but lives focussed on Jesus Christ are rich, vibrant and alive and we want to talk about that this morning. Review: # 1 - Importance Of The Church - Purpose Of The Church take Gospel Christ s body in world - Why You Should Be A Church Member # 2 - Community Of The Redeemed - regenerate church membership - Community Of The Devoted - 4 Practices Of Life Together 1) Apostles Teaching 2) Fellowship 3) Break Bread 4) Prayer Covenant Statement: We shall observe habitually private prayer and the reading of the Scriptures, earnestly seeking therein the help of the Holy Spirit. We, who are the heads of families, shall maintain the worship of God in our homes, and shall endeavour to lead our children, or others committed to our charge, to faith in Christ and to His lordship. * We are to foster and maintain rich, vibrant spiritual lives. Everyone is responsible for their own spiritual vitality, but it cannot be denied that we impact one another. Our Covenant responsibility to one another is that we keep our spiritual lives vibrant - if you let your flame dim or go out, I m a little dimmer. I m a little cooler. I need you to keep spiritually fit. How do we maintain, rich, vibrant spiritual lifes?

2 Five Keys To Spiritual Vitality I. Centred in Christ Jesus Offends A Calgary minister Arthur Pawlowski from Street Church Ministries was taken to court to prevent him and his group from participating in the Calgary Stampede Parade. He and members of his church wanted to ride on their float wearing t-shirts with Jesus Is My King. The organizers said, that the name "Jesus" offends people. * That blows me away, because He s the centre of my being. The one guy, the one religious leader who preaches a gospel of love. The one who gave Himself for me on the cross is offensive. - Yet Jesus Himself said it would happen and they nailed Him to a cross. - Yet if you want Spiritual Vibrancy - Christ must be at the centre Christ Centred We are committed to honouring Jesus Christ and giving Him our sincere worship. He will be the centre of our lives and is the head of our church. Note Context: Everything early believers did and said centred around Christ. Acts 3 - Lame Beggar Acts 3:4-8; 14-16; 4:8-12 Passionate Pursuit Of Christ Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' (Mark 12:29-30) And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. (Col 1:18) Illustrate: Personal Life Statement To pursue God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength, and to do everything possible to help every person possible, pursue Him more completely and consistently. * The satisfaction of your soul and the reality of Christianity is in the passionate pursuit of God Himself. It s a life centred in Christ. * Not an add on Christ Is The Central Compelling Pursuit Of Our Lives * MAKE SURE YOU ARE SAVED? - Do you know Him? Are You Passionate About Him? II. Dependent Upon The Holy Spirit

3 Note How Often The Holy Spirit Shows Up Acts 2; 4:5-8; 4:31 * The Holy Spirit Connects You To Jesus God has promised Him to us In fact lives in you. - He s the one who brings Spiritual vibrancy into our lives * Through the Spirit we commune with God. * The Holy Spirit Empowers You For Life Illustrate: Missionary John Hyde went to India a little over a hundred years ago. John felt a strong calling to the nation of India and began to spend hours in an attempt to learn the local language. Then the day came. It was in 1892 that he boarded a steamer in New York bound for the nation of India. On the ship, John received a telegram from a close family friend. He opened it hurriedly on the deck of the ship. The only words of the telegram were, "John Hyde, are you filled with the Holy Spirit?" John's response was one of heated anger. He crumpled the paper, put it into his pocket and went to bed. Unable to sleep, he tossed and turned all night. He arose from bed in the early morning hours, took the piece of paper and read it again. He thought, "The audacity of somebody to ask me that question, 'Am I filled with the Holy Spirit?' Here I am a missionary, sincere, dedicated, leaving my home and going to another country. How dare they ask me if I am filled with the Holy Spirit?" Wasn't he equipped for his call? After all he had received a B.A. degree, studied the language, was even on the way and was determined to pursue his destiny. Yes, he was on his way, but Hyde's spirit was challenged by the note. After much soul searching, he fell to his knees before the Father. "O God," he cried out, "the audacity of me thinking that I could pray or preach or witness or live or serve or do anything in my own strength and power. Fill me with your strength. Fill me with Your power." John Hyde became one of the great missionary statesmen of all time Two Things You Should Never Do. * Never Quench The Spirit Do not quench the Spirit. (1 Thess 5:19) - quench the Spirit is like throwing water on a fire - you put it out Quenching the Spirit will drown out Spiritual Vibrancy * Obey His promptings walk in His ways - listen to His voice * Live Holy He is the Holy Spirit When you walk in disobedience to God s Word = quench the Spirit Illustrate: Australian aborigine - horses foot in stirrup If you re getting on, I m getting off. * Either He is going to be Lord in your life, or you are. If you decide you are He s getting off. You quench His work in your life.

4 * Never Grieve The Spirit And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Eph 4:30) - Never want to grieve the God who redeemed me- who pursued me III. Rooted In Scripture Context Note: - Repeatedly quote O.T. Scriptures Bible Based We are committed to the Bible as the foundation of our faith and practice both corporately and individually. Because the Bible is foundational, we will be faithful to teach it both accurately and relevant to the culture in which we live. * If you are not in the Scriptures on a regular basis, you re faking it. - not real - genuine - vibrant * Search The Scriptures To See Jesus Break Thou the bread of life, dear Lord, to me, As Thou didst break the loaves beside the sea; Beyond the sacred page I seek Thee, Lord; My spirit pants for Thee, O Living Word! * The Scriptures Always Point You To Jesus As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby (1 Peter 2:2) Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds (Eph 4:22-23) * You Are Daily Spoon Fed -Earthly - Secular - Humanistic thinking Non-biblical world view ** Need To Develop Biblical World View - this is God s revelation of the way things really are. * Unless You Have A Regular Intake Of The Word Of God, You Will Never Have A Vibrant Spiritual Life. Positively: A Regular Intake Of The Word Of God Will Feed A Rich Vibrant Spiritual Life. IV. Bathed In Prayer Context Notes: Upper Room 120 Days also 4: Prayer Recognizes Our Utter Dependence upon God

5 2. Prayer Empowers Us to Fulfill God's Purposes - Not our purpose - God's purpose -- gospel centered prayers -- God has not promised to fulfill our every desire but rather that when we pray in His name for His purposes we can expect Him to move 3. Prayer Puts Us in Vital Relationship with God Jesus told us to worship in spirit and in truth. In spirit includes our emotions. It's relational. This is where you and God meet and He imparts vibrant spiritual life into your soul. I can guarantee you if your s is a prayerless life or mostly prayerless life, you're not in vital relationship with God. Regardless of how many times darken the door at the church, or how spiritual you talk, or how loud you protest, you do not have a vibrant Spiritual life. Spiritual vitality is borne out of intimacy with God. It is forged in the deep recesses of your soul as you commune with God who releases the power of the Holy Spirit in you to live supernatural life's unlike anything the world or your flesh and self effort can produce. V. Passion For The Lost See Acts 4:23-31 I have said it before and I will say it again; if you are passionate about Christ, you will be passionate about the things with which He is passionate and He is passionate about the souls of lost people. He came into the world to seek and to save that which was lost. When your heart beats with his heart beat, you also will be passionate about the souls of lost people. Outreach Focused We are committed to being a present and active positive influence in our neighbourhood city and world. We will intentionally seek to be part of our neighbourhood where we will demonstrate the love and light of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. We will love our neighbours in practical ways and seek to bring people at home and abroad into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Paul Little in his book "How to Give Away Your Faith" defines witnessing: "Witnessing is that deep-seated conviction that the greatest favour I can do for others is to introduce them to Jesus Christ." Elton Trueblood, the Quaker scholar, once compared evangelism to fire. Evangelism occurs, he said, when Christians are so ignited by their contact with Christ that they in turn set other fires. It is easy to determine when something is aflame. It ignites other material. Any fire that does not spread will eventually go out. A church without evangelism is a contradiction in terms, just as fire that does not burn is a contradiction. * When You Are Filled With The Holy Spirit You Will Be Passionate About Lost People. (4:29-31)

6 Know Your Neighbour Alpha Neighbours - Friends - Family Personal Witness Conclusion Testimony - Meet with Jesus in my little 3 rd floor room at 65 Bloomfield Ave. - Troubled times - times alone, feeling lonely - (One Thanksgiving - sandwich, but o so sweet to be with Jesus) Ministry hard times -- times of failure disappointment frustration etc. * Seeking the face of Jesus has always been part of journey. I have not always done it well, but I know that the joy of my Christian life - is not found in burying myself in ministry not in religious activity or darkening the door of the church not in theological discussion and arguments. * A Rich, Vibrant, Christian Life Comes From Pursuing God Himself With All Your Heart, Soul, Mind And Strength. Jesus is the sweetest name I know, And Hes just the same as His lovely name, And thats the reason why I love Him so; Oh, Jesus is the sweetest name I know. Note: Acts 4:13 Noted They Had Been With Jesus - May it be noted of us That We Have Been With Jesus Spiritual Vitality is not something you do, it is something that you have when you build intimacy with Jesus Christ, and as members of the body of Christ, we owe that to each other.