A Picture Of Revival

When taking a picture

You must take steps in a certain order

1. set up and focus

2. click the trigger

3. a flash goes off at just the right time

4. the shutter opens and exposes the film

5. The film is not any good until it is developed

6. The film is then made into a negative

a. A negative is not very pretty

7. The negative is placed in an enlarger

8. printed on a piece of paper

9. the paper is then developed into a permanent artifact

The same thing develops in these passages for those people of the first church

1. the Focus

a. They centered their focus

b. V 40 Be saved from this perverse generation.

i. The problem with today’s generation is we have got out of Focus

ii. We are looking to wrong things.

1. The material things

2. It is all about me

a. Popular Secular songs point this out

iii. The Adjective “perverse”

iv. Greek word σκολιός skolios – Skolios _ same context of The curvature of the spine

v. Paul wrote to the Philippians concerning this matter as he built them up in their faith.

Philippians 2:12-18

2. The exposure

a. When a picture is taken it is turned into a negative

i. The picture of our lives are not very pretty

ii. It is a negative when exposed to the light of God’s word

b. Every translation uses the word “Then”

i. A conjunctive participle

1. It sets the stage for a scene change

2. Then Greek word is “men”

c. The exposure causes a change.

i. Change comes by Conviction

d. Baptism is a beautiful picture of how the exposure to The gospel changes a person

i. Sinful

ii. Dead to old – perverse generation

iii. Die to old self

iv. Raised in the likeness of Jesus Christ

3. The change must be developed

a. Verse 42 – They continued steadfast

i. When a person leaves the Baptistery, I think about them continuing steadfast along the way

b. I found film that has never been developed when we moved

i. Maybe 30 years old

ii. It is of no good

c. The word steadfast – Greek Word prŏskartĕrĕō, pros-kar-ter-eh´-o; - to give themselves

d. It is easy to do verse 41 – Baptize

i. We must committed to following through and seeking a greater understanding of God

ii. Note the apostle’s doctrine; where is the apostle’s Doctrine found? Bible and Bible teaching

Martin Luther

“The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold on me.”

The popular Contemporary Christian song says: “Light of the world you came into the darkness ….”

That light exposes and develops in the lives of His people.

e. Another Key word of verse 42 – fellowship

i. Greek word -koinonia /koy•nohn•ee•ah

ii. The set up for the communion serves we celebrate today

1. They all worked together

2. We could say that a well beautifully taken picture had Koinonia

a. Everything came together and worked with every part of the camera and the process

f. Verse 43 – Fear - Greek – phobos We get Phobia

i. The beginning of knowledge is… The fear of God

1. Without the wrath of God there is no love of God

g. Verse 44 All things had come together

i. They developed into a people God could use

1. The Light could not stay in the lenses

2. the focus did not just remain in the eyepiece

3. All things came together

4. Many Prints can be made from one negative

a. Verse 41 – 3000 souls were saved

i. When this exposure took place God used Peter’s sermon to change lives

1. This was only the beginning

John Wesley wrote:

There is nothing more unchristian than a solitary Christian

b. Verse 44 – Can you imagine?

i. What if the Southern Baptist convention came together under the apostles doctrine – All things working together - Koinonia

ii. FBC Gantt

c. Many of those attending had traveled a long distance just to be there for Pentecost

i. Daily did not just happen in Jerusalem – they went home and spread the Good News –The Gospel

d. They sold their possessions Verse 45 - They gave up ownership of themselves

i. They deeded it to God