Living Like a Christ-Follower
Acts 19:8-12
Intro: What does it mean to be a Christ follower? How can we live like one? I’d like to show a video clip that might point us in the right direction.
-Here is the main message I want to cover today.
Prop: If we will live like Christ followers, we will see a lasting difference in our homes and in our community.
Int. Sentence: How then can we live like Christ followers?
TS: It is overstating the obvious to say that we must first become one. If we are to live like one, it helps to actually be one. A Christ follower is someone who has asked Jesus to become their forgiver and leader. With Christ as their leader, their most basic task is to simply follow Him and do what He asks. Let’s look at some marks of a Christ follower as seen in the life of Paul the apostle.
I. Christ Followers Learn to Be Boldly Persuasive with the Good News (Acts 19:8)
8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.
-Notice I did not say arrogantly persuasive. Christ followers do not always have to be right! It is sometimes okay to say, “I do not know.” Sometimes we tend to get too dogmatic and arrogant about things we know very little about. However, please don’t miss the importance of being boldly persuasive.
-How does a Christ follower become boldly persuasive? There are a number of things we could talk about here. However, let me just direct your attention to two of them. Christ followers can become boldly persuasive, by 1) becoming diligent students of God’s word. Paul did not wait for some magical or supernatural infusion of knowledge that would cause him to know the Bible. No, Paul was a student of God’s word. Yes, he had studied the OT thoroughly even before receiving Jesus as His forgiver and leader. However, he did not stop studying or digging deeper into the things of God. So, read your Bible! Get to know God’s word and learn to apply it to your life as well as relate it clearly to others. As Peter wrote in 1 Peter 3:15, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” 2) Secondly, stay as full of the HS as you possibly can. You cannot read the book of Acts without seeing that those who were filled with the HS were both bold and persuasive as they shared the good news about Jesus. Look at a few of these verses about boldly sharing the good news:
Acts 1:8 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses…
Acts 4:31 they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Acts 14:3 3 So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders. [They stayed filled with the HS]
-There are several other verses like these that show us how we can become boldly persuasive. Stay in the word, and stay filled with the Spirit. Only God can make you all that you need to be to others. Let Him give you the knowledge, power and boldness you need.
-TS: Secondly, we see that we need to remain flexible as we follow the Lord.
II. Christ Followers May Need to Redirect their Ministry Efforts (Acts 19:9a)
9a But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them.
-There is not a whole lot to say here. Paul faced opposition from his own people almost everywhere he went. He was teaching about Jesus in the Jewish synagogue in Ephesus and some of the Jews who belonged to that synagogue began to hinder his ministry there. I suppose it was no surprise to Paul, but I wonder what mental and emotional processes he went through during this time. People were hearing the word of the Lord and many decided to follow Jesus the Messiah. Could Paul have become discouraged when some of the Jews started spreading damaging rumors about Jesus and those who followed Him? I’m sure he was troubled by it.
-However, as we will see next, Paul redirected his ministry efforts and left the synagogue where he was being slandered. God still used him effectively.
-We may face times when we need to reevaluate our direction. Lord, I’m pretty sure you called me to do this, but things just aren’t working out. Is there something more I should know? Do I need to try something different?
-Sometimes the answer will be no. Just hang in there and keep trusting God as you do your very best to serve Him and help others. However, there are times when God will put something new in your heart and lead you in a new direction.
-Let’s see what happened with Paul’s new direction.
III. Christ Followers Learn to Utilize their Surroundings to Spread God’s Word (Acts 19:9b-10)
9b He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.
-Little is known about this teacher by the name of Tyrannus. The name actually means “tyrant” and may have been a nickname assigned to the teacher by his students. Some manuscripts (from the Western text) add that Paul held discussions from the 5th to 10th hour, or from 11AM to 4PM. Tyrannus likely used the lecture hall in the morning hours. However, it was available in the heat of the day when most people were enjoying lunch and taking a siesta. The Christ followers (or prospective ones) who came to these discussions may have worked in the early morning hours, just as Paul likely did. In fact, his tent making probably enabled him to pay the rental fee for the lecture hall. After working several hours in the morning, Paul’s students were able to engage in religious instruction for a portion of their day. They took their faith very seriously and were willing to give God every waking moment of their lives.
-Every community has a “Lecture Hall of Tyrannus” so to speak. Where in our community can we have daily discussions about the Lord that will help others hear about Him? Just think for a moment. Where can you talk to others about how good God is and what He wants to do in people’s lives? Sometimes your discussion group is over the fence with a neighbor. Sometimes it might be at the coffee shop. Sometimes it might be at the grocery store or post office or some other chance place of meeting people. Wherever it is, I think the Lord is calling us to be more intentional about talking about Him. Do people know who you trust in? Do people know that you live your life for another? Do they have any idea how awesome He is?
-We often talk about how important it is to simply live a Christian life and let people see Jesus in us. That is very true, and I don’t want to minimize how important it is. However, at some point in time, people also need to hear the word of the Lord. V.10 says that all the Jews and Greeks in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord. Yes, they saw the Lord in Paul’s life, as we see in vv. 11-12, but that was to confirm God’s word, not replace it.
-Now, let me propose another idea in relation to using our surroundings to spread God’s word. I believe God is using some of our churches and homes to serve the purpose of these lecture halls for discussion. However, they can only be as successful as church people are open and accepting of people who may not meet their religious expectations.
-Think about it. We want people to come into this church and sit and listen to words about God, but sometimes the church environment is so foreign to them that they just don’t want to be here. So that leaves us with some choices. Either expect them to become like us before we will ever accept them, OR accept them as they are and try to remove any obstacles that would hinder them from coming and hearing about the Lord.
-Some Christ-followers have been successful in using their homes to facilitate these discussion groups. There are so many creative ideas just waiting to be used. Some people have started Bible studies in their homes or rented other buildings, using whatever they have available to get the good news about Jesus out. Some people have had block parties, where they throw a big BBQ and invite all the people on their block to come. This can be done by networking with other friends or neighbors and asking them to help with certain things. Maybe that would be too big for you, but you would feel comfortable inviting someone over for dinner or a small BBQ. Food is very spiritual – I’m telling you. We can be real with one another when we are sitting around a table. We can relax and be ourselves as we live out and speak out what Christ has done in us and for us.
-So, evaluate your surroundings. What can you do to more effectively spread the good news about Jesus? You’ve got the best message there is! There is hope in this life and the life that is to come. Let’s get the word out in a relevant way that reaches the people of our day and age. Let’s be as wise as serpents, and as harmless as doves as we show and tell people that Jesus can make all the difference in the world and in their lives.
-TS: Well, one of the ways God wants to use to let people know about Him is found in this final point.
IV. Christ Followers Can Be Used to Do Extraordinary Miracles (Acts 19:11-12)
11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
-I’ve been in church most of my life, and I still long to see extraordinary miracles being done through ordinary people by an extraordinary God! We’ve seen so many flash in the pan preachers and evangelists! Some have turned the power of God into a sideshow or a freakshow. Some of them forget who is supposed to receive the glory and the honor and the applause.
-I love to hear of miracles that happen when a child prays. You know why? Because it does not go to their heads! They just go on with their simple trust, just knowing that their Daddy in heaven will take care of things.
-I believe that God wants to do extraordinary miracles right here at Christian Life Center. However, I think He wants us to always remember who gets the glory. And we can be bold and pray with the authority God has given us without trying to be somebody we are not! God wants to use YOU to pray for people to be healed! Therefore, you do not have to act like a TV preacher when you pray for someone. Just be yourself!
-Take the authority God has given you (just as Jesus gave His disciples authority over evil spirits), and be all that He wants you to be and you minister for Him.
-Remember, it is not us, it is Him! V.11 does not say that Paul did extraordinary miracles. It says that God did extraordinary miracles through Paul. And what was the result? People were healed and delivered from evil spirits that had been tormenting them. If we will allow God to work through us and are careful to give Him all the credit, we will see more of the miraculous flow through our lives. Miracles are God’s grace in action. People need to know that God is real and that He can indeed change their lives. That is why God wants to do more miracles than ever through those who follow Him.
Conclusion: As we close, I hope that you are a Christ follower. I hope that you have asked Jesus to forgive you for all the wrong things you’ve done in your past and that you have trusted Him enough to receive His forgiveness. I hope that you have made Him the leader of your life and that your one desire is to follow Him and obey His words. If you haven’t done so, I hope you will real soon. Maybe today is the day you need to get right with God. Maybe today is the day you will become a true Christ follower. If you wish to talk to someone about this, I’d love to chat with you after we pray, or anytime this week. The life God has given us is good, but the life we give God can become awesome, as we get to know our Creator.
-So, Christ followers, let’s Learn to Be Boldly Persuasive with the Good News. Let’s be flexible enough to Redirect our Ministry Efforts when needed. Let’s Learn to Utilize our Surroundings to Spread God’s Word. And let’s allow God to Do Extraordinary Miracles through us as we help people see who Jesus really is.
