Today, we continue getting back to the small things which are the big things to God. We’re getting back to the elemental parts of this amazing thing that Jesus created called church from the book of Acts.
Church Elements.
So far, we learned about the first two foundational church elements that often bond together and even flow in and out of each other; prayer and praise. Prayer invites God’s Presence into our lives and situations, God’s Kingdom come and His will be done here on the earth. Praise builds a throne or a place in our lives for God’s Presence to dwell and inhabit.
There is no doubt that God’s desire has always been to dwell among us. In the beginning of Genesis, God was walking with mankind in the garden. In the end of Revelation, Jesus declares:
Revelation 21:3-4
3 “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
We love and value and desire the Presence of God! We crave it in an ever-increasing measure! However, God has a purpose behind even filling our lives with His Presence. It isn’t just for us; that we feel uplifted and comforted and not alone. The even greater purpose lies beyond us!
Today, we’re moving on to two other elements that often combine together as well. These two elements are only possible because of God’s Presence within us.
Persuasion and Power.
Persuasion not a malicious or manipulative sense, but persuasion in a positive sense of allowing our lives to be the evidence for people to see the transforming reality of God’s Presence. Persuasion not based on us masquerading as a Godly person, but as an authentic person broken by sin whose life has been saved, healed, and redeemed!
Persuasion that points people not to us, but to Jesus and what He can do in and through a life surrendered to Him!
The goal of our persuasion is lead people to Jesus and to encourage them to be saved by placing their faith in Him. It isn’t for any personal gain for ourselves, but for their ultimate gain.
We call this evangelism. Sharing the good news about Jesus and inviting others to accept His free but priceless gift of salvation.
The book of Acts begins with Jesus, resurrected from death, but not yet ascended back to Heaven. While He was eating with His disciples, He told them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait until they had received a gift from the Heavenly Father; the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The primary purpose for this infilling of God’s rich Presence within their lives that He stated was:
Acts 1:8
…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
God’s Presence provides us with power to be witnesses. Witnesses to experience and encounter God’s power personally as well as to be living examples for everyone else to witness as well. Living sacrifices.
There is a time and place for using words for persuasion. As we’ll later read, we are reminded to always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks about that hope that we possess. How do people know that we have hope before we tell them about it? By our actions!
1 Corinthians 4:20
…the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.
Jesus likened evangelism to fishing:
Matthew 4:19
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”
We can stand on the shore all day and say, “Here fishy, fishy, fishy.” and go home with an empty stringer blaming the fish. Or, we can cast out the right bait in the right place at the right time and go home with such a catch that our nets and strings can’t contain it! You just gotta keep an eye out for the fish commission on your way home… 🙂
There is no such thing in the Kingdom of God of, “If you build it, they will come.” Jesus said:
Luke 14:23
…Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.
Nothing is more persuasive than God’s power in action that can actually leave us speechless. I go again to one of my favorite miracles that happened shortly after Pentecost. Peter and John were on their way to the temple to pray and encountered a beggar who was lame.
They told him that they had no money, but that they would give him what they did have. Peter reached out his hand and told him to walk – and he did! After being arrested for telling the people about Jesus and when put on trial, they said that:
Acts 4:12-14
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.
God’s power working through us can be so persuasive that it leaves people speechless!
The Old Testament contains lots of words. It contains lots of prophecies that could be used to persuade people about a coming savior. However, it wasn’t until the word was wrapped in flesh and dwelt among us, incarnation, that salvation was actually a reality!
People came to hear the teachings of Jesus, but far more people came because of the miracles of Jesus! He and the Father being one through close and intimate times of prayer enabled Jesus to act with authority.
It wasn’t merely His teaching and words, but the authority that Jesus possessed that caught the attention of the crowds.
People came to hear the teachings of Jesus, but far more people came because of the miracles of Jesus!
We can tell people and try to use our words to persuade them that Jesus will forgive their sins, but they will have even more faith to be convinced of that when the see the power of God do something tangible!
Luke 5:17-26
17 One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. 18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19 When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
21 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
22 Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 25 Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”
Our lives preach the gospel louder and with more authority than our words ever will!
Our lives reveal our faith far more than any argument of ours ever will!
Jesus taught:
Matthew 5:14-16 (NLT)
14 “You are the light of the world – like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.
James reiterated this reality:
James 2:17-18 (NLT)
17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”
Actions BEFORE words. Actions that lead to conversations about Jesus and His salvation!
Colossians 4:5-6
5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Paul reminded the church in Corinth:
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 (NLT)
1 When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. 2 For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness – timid and trembling. 4 And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. 5 I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.
Peter wrote:
1 Peter 3:13-16
13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” 15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
Paul described one of the keys to how he was able to be so effective at church planting and evangelism:
1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (NLT)
19 Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. 20 When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. 21 When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ.
22 When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. 23 I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.
This is all about action. Finding, and even creating, common ground with lost people so that we do everything that we can to save some of them. Laying down our own lives to reach people with the good news about Jesus.
Paul wasn’t meaning that we become fake and pretend that we’re something that we’re not. He meant that we should find common ground and do all that we can to relate to people.
Jesus did the same thing. He didn’t change who He was and never compromised His faith or His identity. He never sinned. However, He spent time with people and spoke deep revelations about the Kingdom of God through very understandable and relatable parables.
He was a friend of sinners. He went into their homes and ate with them. He was able to share His life with them without ever sharing in their sin. He brought God’s Kingdom to them and invited them in. He is our example.
Not only should we live in such a way that we are unashamed of the gospel’s work in our lives, we should also live such lives that we are completely unashamed for those around us to know that we are believers. Our salvation should be obvious to anyone who knows us.
Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes
We live in this world, but we don’t live like the world does. We live like Jesus lived. We live the way that God’s word calls us to live. We live by faith lead by Holy Spirit within.
We’re unashamed of the gospel. We are fully persuaded that it is the power of God bringing salvation to us and to anyone else willing to receive it!
Church elements. Persuasion and power.
We are compelled to invite everyone to accept the free gift of God’s salvation.
We have been transformed by the power of God and want everyone to have this same amazing experience.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Let our lives be the proof of God’s power to rebirth anyone into a new creation! With our lives and with our words, we implore everyone to persuade them to be reconciled to God.