A Modern Day Book Of Acts Church Iii Series

Acts 3:13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up… 16 And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong,

They were a people of the name, that when they called upon that name, realized that they were calling upon all the power of heaven.

They more than just a Jesus name people, they were a people that believed in and applied the power of that name.

They were a church that believed that when they breathed the name of Jesus that situations were changed, that the supernatural was poised to happen at the mention of that name

They were a people that firmly believed that by the name of Jesus, anything was possible.

And they never hesitated to declare the power of that name.

On another occasion in Acts 4:10 Peter declared, “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. 11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. 12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

It’s high time we exercised the power of the name of Jesus.

It has become the most common curse word in Hollywood, but it remains a power to be yielded by a Book of Acts Church!

It is high time we called upon that name, expecting God to do wonderful things.

That name is yours, you took it on you in water baptism.

If anyone has the right to speak it with power and authority, you do!

When you speak that name, all of heaven listens.

When you speak that name all of hell trembles

At the mention of that name, sickness has flee, demons have to surrender ther trophies, when that name is spoken power and authority is loosed.

There is, within that name the power to bind and to loose!

The power of that name that worked in a first century church still works in the church today!

It still has power in the 21at century, it still has the power to set at liberty them that are bound, the power to heal a sin sick soul

There’s power in that name, it’s high time we put it to use in our lives.

When we call upon that name, we should expect god to move!

A people of prayer.

The first century church was a church of prayer.

They were people of prayer.

When Peter and John stood before the elders and scribes and the High Priest in Acts 4, the bible tells us that when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated common men they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

They were a church that spent time with Jesus.

They invested themselves in prayer and fasting, walking with God, spending time in His presence, and it showed!

In Acts 4:31 they prayed until they moved heaven which shook the earth!

They prayed until the holy Ghost fell!

When James was killed with the sword and Peter was imprisoned, they didn’t incite a riot and storm the prisons, instead they gathered together and went to their knees in prayer!

They realized, our warfare is not with flesh and blood, but we do war with powers and principalities.

We win our victories on our knees.

We win our battles not in courts of law, but in the courts of the King of all Kings!

A 21st Century Book of Acts church will be a church of prayer!

It will be a church that recognizes much more can be accomplished by an hour shut away in the presence of God than could ever be accomplished by the mere might of mortal men.

There are so many other principles of the first century church that need to be applied to a 21st Century church.

They were a people of unity.

- Acts 4:31 says that those who believed were of one heart and soul.

- They were a church that understood that if one can set a thousand to flight and two can set ten thousand to flight, to unified body of believers nothing is impossible.

- A 21at Century Book of Acts church will be a Church that is united for the cause of Christ!

They were a giving people.

- They sold what they had to contribute to the work of God.

- I believe that there is a 21st Century application here, I don’t believe we have to return to communal living to see it fulfilled.