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It's Not Easy To Wait - 1:6-7
Jesus command to His disciples, after His resurrection, was "Wait!"
After they had seen their risen Lord, they undoubtedly wanted to get back to Galilee....
Jerusalem was the last place in the world they wanted to be.
The city was filled with their enemies....
It was not easy to wait in Jerusalem.
But, it is never easy to wait....
Most of us usually want to be doing something.
This trait, sometimes called drive or ambition, is usually commendable.
It is sinful for a Christian to drag his feet when God says, " Go!"
It is also equally sinful for us to rush ahead of God.
To act prematurely is to invite failure....
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When the Spirit Comes- 1:8
After the Holy Spirit came and filled God's people, the Jews marveled at their boldness.
The people who had been frightened like a flock of sheep without a shepherd;
the people who had met timidly behind closed doors for fear of the Jews;
now feared no one, for the living Christ was with them.
Spiritual power is the endowment of the Holy Spirit.
We are equipped to witness for Christ when we are quickened by the Holy Spirit...
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The Secret Of Pentecost- 1:8
Think of it – only seven weeks separated the resurrection from the coming of the Holy Spirit,
but what a tremendous change had taken place in these men!
The Holy Spirit came upon the early disciples and transformed them!
The Holy Spirit filled their lives with an unchanging and unbounded love like that of Jesus.
That love surged into their beings, sending them forth into a hostile world to proclaim
the good news with fearlessness and power.
Christ's promise was abundantly fulfilled, and through the power given to them,
the church was launched in its world-transforming mission....
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The Ascension- 1:9
The ascension was an absolute necessity.
Telling of the ascension was Luke's way of saying that the resurrection appearances of Jesus
were ended.
It was necessary that there should be one final moment when Jesus is seen going back
to the glory that was His before the world was.
It was of tremendous importance that our Lord's final departure from earth should not be
a mere vanishing out of their sight.
If He left this way, there would be an uncertainty as to whether or not
He might appear again....
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This Same Jesus - 1:1-10
This same Jesus is still the only Saviour.
"There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
This same Jesus is the only Saviour for lost souls.
His precious blood is still the only possible agency for salvation.
You do not have to explain Jesus!
You do not have to apologize for Him!
All you have to do is to lift Him up! He will do the rest!
It is the same cross, the same gospel, and the same message.
This same Jesus is still the only Saviour. ...
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Jesus Is Coming Again- 1:10-11
The promise of His return (verse 11) is beyond any words we could ever say to describe
that great event.
The angelic visitors are saying that at a point in time and place, Jesus will again break
from that other world into this world of time and history.
The angels tell us that Christ's return is certain.
We can count on it!
" This same Jesus will come back again."
He will step back again into visibility.
Suddenly!
He will be back! ...
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The Day Of Pentecost- 2:1
The Book Of Acts literally explodes with power.
Before Jesus ascended, He promised, " Ye shall receive power..." (Acts 1:8)
With every turn of the page in Acts there is an explosion of power.
What strange dynamic turned the disappointed, disspirited disciples
into powerful dynamos overnight?
What was it that caught busy old Jerusalem in the midst of a holy feast
and shook it with tornadic power?
What was it that caused 3,000 people to embrace Christ with an abandoned faith
in a few minutes after a simple sermon?
When you read the Book Of Acts, you know what it was!...
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Sight And Sound- 2:2-3
The disciples were brought completely under the control of the Holy Spirit.
For the disciples, that was the essential miracle and experience of Pentecost.
That experience was repeated again and again in the days which followed.
It is an experience which is normal and natural for all followers
of the Lord Jesus.
His precious Spirit never leaves a believer, but again and again as a believer
surrenders even more to the will of the Lord, he is absolutely dominated
by the Holy Spirit of Christ. ...
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Filled With The Spirit- 2:4
As a believer surrenders more of himself to the will of the Lord he is absolutely
dominated and monopolize by the Holy Spirit.
"Filled" can mean nothing less than that the whole capacity of each
person was occupied and all his being was under the influence of God's Spirit.
Possibly, the degree of receptivity varied, but the lesser and the larger vessels
were all full.
The whole nature was influenced because that Divine Spirit entered into
every part of the soul of those believers...
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Same Mission -- Need Same Power -- 2:1-4
God has placed this church and this congregation here, not to be satisfied,
but to hunger and thirst, and to reach others who are lost and dying without Jesus.
I believe that we have a generation that does not know how to love,
and does not know right from wrong, and who are desperately in need of knowing
the God who created them, and the Saviour who died for them.
Thousands of evils attack our children, our neighborhoods, our schools,
our communities, and our cities.
We have become a nation of tolerance and in the process we have lost
our moral backbone and our ability to love.
Our urgent mission is to proclaim the love of Christ and the good news
of the gospel to every family, every neighborhood, every town, every city,
and every country of the world.
God is looking for people through whom He can do the impossible.
What a pity that we plan to do only the things that we can do by ourselves....
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Preaching Jesus- 2:14-23
The presence and power of the Holy Spirit gave new courage and boldness
to Peter who only a few days earlier had denied his Lord with cowardice.
Now he stands before a multitude in the streets of Jerusalem boldly
rebuking a nation for its unbelief and crime.
Also astonishing are the skills and the wisdom shown by this unschooled
fisherman as he presents his Master's message....
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A Living Saviour- 2:22-26
The greatest news the world has ever heard is that the tomb is empty!
Christ has risen from the dead.
Jesus demonstrated His great power over death.
Easter is about His victory over sin and death and hell.
Easter is about the sacrifice that the Son of God made on our behalf.
A generation of young people, even young adults, do not know anything of sacrifice.
They know about inconvenience, but a very, very few know about sacrifice.
When we talk about the sacrifice of Jesus, they have no clue what that means.
We should be so thankful that Jesus Christ was victorious over death!...
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Jesus Is Lord- 2:33-36
Whether men know it or not -- Jesus Christ is Lord!
The very forces that control our lives are dependent upon Him.
There is no way to avoid Him.
The whole world will have to deal with Jesus Christ.
There is no option!
He is Lord -- the Sovereign One -- He is supreme.
Simon Peter says, "God hath made Him, this Jesus, both Lord and Christ."
That is the Christian message to the world. ...
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Whats Next?
Acts 2:36-47
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Repent - Baptism - Remission - 2:37-38
Peter's sermon stirred the hearers to such an extent that they quickly inquired:
"What shall we do?"
They had rejected, refused, mistreated, and killed Him in whom all their hope
of salvation rested; what hope of salvation could they possibly have?
No wonder they cried out in anguish of heart, "Brethren, what shall we do?"
They were brought under conviction. They were "cut to the heart."
They were compelled to look back upon their deed, and now they began to see it
in its true picture....
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Prepare for Discipleship
Acts 2:42
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Prepared and Ready
Acts 2:42
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Results of Evangelism
Acts 2:47
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More Than Money- 3:1-10
This man lame from birth and lame for 40 years ask for money, but he received
so much more.
He received a miracle.
It is no wonder that it had such an amazing affect upon the people:
"And all the people saw him walking and praising God and recognized him
as the one who sat for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple,
and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him."
(Acts 3: 9, 10)
The people were immediately convinced beyond the shadow of doubt
that God was at work....
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Solution To Sin
Acts 3:19-20
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People Need The Lord
Acts 4:12
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Courageous Christians
Acts 4:19,20
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We Can Have Revival - 4:31
What is revival?
Revival is the movement of the Holy Spirit among Christian people.
The result is an awakening of Christians.
Revival is that which makes people God conscious.
Revival causes people to repent of their sins, clean up their lives,
enjoy their religion, and share it with others.
WE NEED REVIVAL! ...
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The Sin Of Living A Lie- 5:1-5
Ananias' sin was not primarily in withholding a part of the money, but in pretending
that he was giving it all.
He was implying his own complete dedication to God, when his real dedication
was to himself.
Ananias and Sapphira were not required to sell.
They could, if they wanted to.
The issue is -- they lied!
They brought the money and pretended it was the whole amount received
from the sale of the land.
The basic sin of Ananias and Sapphira was that of hypocrisy; they were living a lie!
It is an overconcern for self which causes a person to lie....
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Go! Stand! Speak!- 5:19-20
"Go... stand ... and speak to the people all the words of life."
They were instructed to teach the people all the words of life.
They were to speak all those words which tell the good news of Jesus Christ
to their fellow-citizens.
They were to speak on the great subject of the new life, the spiritual life
which they had been living in Christ.
Stand and speak!
Stand and speak all the words of this new life in Christ – not your own opinions,
and not your own message.
Stand and proclaim of that life that is free from death....
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We Are Witnesses!
Acts 5:32
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Bad Advice -- Good News- 5:33-42
Gamaliel's advice is faulty.
In essence he was saying that the determining factor of whether something
is of God is seen in its visible success. If it succeeds, then it is of God,
but if not then it isn't of God.
Gamaliel wasn't concerned if it was true or if it was right.
His advice was to sit on the fence and see if it survives.
Gamaliel's advice was, "If this is of men it will come to nothing, but if it is of God,
you cannot overthrow it, lest you even be found to fight against God."
His advice was that of a compromising spirit. ...
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Evangelize - Acts 5:42
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Resisting The Holy Spirit - Acts 7:51
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Not For Sale - Acts 8:9-20
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Duty of Every Christian - Acts 8:26-40
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Jesus - The Only Answer - Acts 8:35
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The Christian That God Uses
Acts 9:10-17
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Was The First Time
Acts 11:20-21
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Our Real Mission- 15:26
Our mission is the Great Commission.
Our goal is not necessarily to build big churches.
That goal in itself would be self-seeking and unworthy of the gospel.
Our goal should be to reap the maximum yield from our field.
It is to do the best we can with what we have, where we are, for Jesus' sake.
We must be busy witnessing, baptizing, and teaching people God's word.
We must continually do those things until Jesus comes again or calls us to come home.
We fulfill our mission by doing three things.
We must bring people in. We must build them up. We must send them out. ...
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What Must I Do To Be Saved?
Acts 16:30-31
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Creative Spiritual Leadership- 20:19-32
If we truly know that we can lead our people into hell and back.
We can also lead them to the heights of heaven.
But we must lead them!
People are as they are led.
Paul has much to teach us about leadership in his teachings and in his actions.
When we look at Paul and the other disciples, we notice that their focus was always
on the message, not the messengers.
Their focus was on the Treasure, not on the earthen vessel carrying it.
When people looked at Paul, they saw Christ.
As a leader, Paul demonstrated love by affection, by teaching, by giving,
by persistence, by concern, and by availability....
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Stand By Me!
Acts 23:11
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Are You A Fanatic?
Acts 26:24-25; 28
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