Approved of God
Scripture Reading: Acts 2:14-24
Scripture Text: Acts 2:22; I Thess. 4:1
Acts 2:22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
Introduction:
The phrase “approved of God”, in the original Greek, literally means “to show off, i.e. exhibit; figurative to demonstrate, i.e. accredit :- (ap-) prove, set forth, shew.” In other words, God demonstrated (showed off) His approval of Christ “by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by Him.....”. How wonderful it would be if Christians today would live in such a way that God Himself would “show off” His approval of us by manifesting His
Divine Power in our lives as He did in the life of Jesus Christ! I believe that it is His will to do so in these last days. May God bring it to pass in His Church today!!
1 Thes. 4:1 Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.
1 Thes. 4:1 [GW] Now then, brothers and sisters, because of the Lord Jesus we ask and encourage you to excel in living a God-pleasing life even more than you already do. Do this the way we taught you.
1 Thes. 4:1 [Living] Let me add this, dear brothers: You already know how to please God in your daily living, for you know the commands we gave you from the Lord Jesus himself. Now we beg you--yes, we demand of you in the name of the Lord Jesus--that you live more and more closely to that ideal.
We have many Scriptural examples of men who had the approval of God on their lives. Let us take a look at some of them and follow their example.
To have God’s approval upon our lives......
I. We Must Meet The Basic Requirements.
A. Believe on Jesus Christ and be born again.
John 3:17-18 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. [18] He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
John 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
B. We must forsake sin.
Isaiah 55:7 [Living] Let men cast off their wicked deeds; let them banish from their minds the very thought of doing wrong! Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy upon them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon!
Luke 13:3 [Living] And don’t you realize that you also will perish unless you leave your evil ways and turn to God?
2 Cor. 7:1 [Living] Having such great promises as these, dear friends, let us turn away from everything wrong, whether of body or spirit, and purify ourselves, living in the wholesome fear of God, giving ourselves to him alone.
Hebrews 12:1 ......let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us....
Hebrews 12:1 [Living] ....let us strip off anything that slows us down or holds us back, and especially those sins that wrap themselves so tightly around our feet and trip us up....
II. We Must Live A Godly Life.
A. As Enoch.
Hebrews 11:5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
Titus 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
2 Peter 3:11 [NRSV] Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness,
1. A godly life will bring God’s approval.
III. We Must Live A Life Of Faith.
A. As Abraham.
Genesis 15:6 And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
Romans 4:20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
B. As Caleb.
Joshua 14:12 [GW] Now give me this mountain region which the Lord spoke of that day. You heard that the people of Anak are still there and that they have large, fortified cities. If the Lord is with me, I can force them out, as he promised."
1. Trusting God for all our needs will bring His approval on us.
C. As David, who drew strength from past victories.
1 Samuel 17:37 David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.
1. Remembering how the Lord has delivered us in the past will help us to trust Him for victory now and in the future.
D. As Jehoshaphat, when he did not know what to do.
2 Chron. 20:12 O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.
2 Chron. 32:8 With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
IV. We Must Live Courageously.
A. As Joshua and Caleb, who dared to give a true report when others doubted.
Joshua 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Numbers 13:30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
1. Notice what the doubters had to say.
Numbers 13:31-33 But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. [32] And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. [33] And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
2. When we see ourselves as defeated, so does the devil.
V. We Must Live A Life Of Patience.
A. As Job, in tribulations.
Job 2:3 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.
James 5:11 [Living] We know how happy they are now because they stayed true to him then, even though they suffered greatly for it. Job is an example of a man who continued to trust the Lord in sorrow; from his experiences we can see how the Lord’s plan finally ended in good, for he is full of tenderness and mercy.
Hebrews 10:36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
James 1:4 [Living] So let it [patience] grow, and don’t try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete.
James 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
Conclusion:
When we live the kind of life outlined above, then we can say with the Apostle Paul........
Ephes. 1:3-8 [Living] How we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every blessing in heaven because we belong to Christ. [4] Long ago, even before he made the world, God chose us to be his very own through what Christ would do for us; he decided then to make us holy in his eyes, without a single fault--we who stand before him covered with his love. [5] His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by sending Jesus Christ to die for us. And he did this because he wanted to! [6] Now all praise to God for his wonderful kindness to us and his favor that he has poured out upon us because we belong to his dearly loved Son. [7] So overflowing is his kindness toward us that he took away all our sins through the blood of his Son, by whom we are saved; [8] and he has showered down upon us the richness of his grace--for how well he understands us and knows what is best for us at all times.
