We have been talking about what it means to be unstoppable.
We began this series by thinking about things that are unstoppable.
I actually did a Facebook poll a few weeks ago:
Name the first three things you think of when you hear the word UNSTOPPABLE. #sermonprep
I got lots of interesting feedback. Several things that were proposed as unstoppable, were actually stoppable. I didn’t call anybody out.
In week 1 we talked about the fact that every athlete or sports team that has been perceived as unstoppable were stopped at some point.
The longest winning streaks in professional sports history, all came to an end.
Whether it was the Lakers, The Giants, The Penguins, or the Patriots, every winning team, in professional sports, was finally stopped.
They may have been unstoppable for a short time,
but that time always comes to an end.
Every unstoppable business, every legendary icon, every diva, every entertainer, every (you name It), they all eventually fade.
None are truly unstoppable.
The only truly unstoppable force in this world COMES FROM GOD.
That theme began to take shape in my non-scientific poll a few weeks ago.
Several said…
• God is unstoppable
• Jesus
• The Holy Spirit
• God’s Love
• God’s Will
Some talked about the wind, or a tornado, or the waves of the see.
These things all come from God.
They are God’s creation.
I would also add that God’s Church is unstoppable.
The church will never disappear from the landscape.
Jesus promised to build the church.
Satan has done everything he can to stop it, but the church has continued even through unbelievable persecution.
God’s church, God’s purpose, God’s power, and God’s people will prevail.
The only truly unstoppable force in this world COMES FROM GOD.
Week 1 - Unstoppable Faith.
In week 1 we talk about the qualities and characteristics of a man who has had the greatest impact on the history of Christianity than any other human being to have ever lived.
His name is Paul.
Paul clearly possessed unstoppable qualities like determination, integrity, and humility.
These qualities enabled him to live an unstoppable life, with an unstoppable faith, which ultimately leads to an unstoppable future for those who are in Christ.
So, what was behind these qualities that Paul possessed?
Was it Paul’s character, grit, or determination?
The thing that made Paul unstoppable was the SPIRIT OF GOD WITHIN HIM.
Week 2 – We talked about the Unstoppable Church.
Since the church is made up of people, we focused on the QUALITIES OF THESE UNSTOPPABLE CHRISTIANS.
They are FILLED WITH GOD’S SPIRIT.
You can’t be an unstoppable Christian in your own strength.
The victorious Christian life isn’t just difficult…
it’s IMPOSSIBLE if the Spirit of God is not living in you.
You can’t do it on your own.
These unstoppable Christians in the NT were people who were COURAGEOUS.
They recognized that people like Peter and John had BEEN WITH JESUS.
Then last week I asked you to consider what it is that might be stopping you from being unstoppable.
I hope you have been thinking about that.
If you haven’t died out to self and decided to allow the Spirit of God to fill you with His powerful presence, you will never reach your full potential in Christ.
The qualities of the Spirit-filled life are what enables a person to live a life that is truly unstoppable.
Today, I want to conclude this series and transition to where we are headed next Sunday, by talking about our Unstoppable Purpose as the church and as followers of Jesus.
God was up to something in the first-century church and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.
It was unstoppable like a tornado, or a tsunami, or a stampede.
It was unstoppable, like the wind, or the waves of the ocean.
Very few things in life are truly unstoppable.
But unstoppable is the word that comes to my mind when attempting to describe the early days of the church.
Conflict and controversy threatened to take out the early church.
But instead of killing it, the challenges seemed to fuel the flame that would spread across the first-century landscape and continues to spread around the world to this day.
Think about the early obstacles the church faced.
Last week we saw how the religious leaders tried to muzzle the message that Peter and John boldly proclaimed.
Several times they were told not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
But Peter and John were filled with the Spirit.
• They wouldn't keep quiet.
• They couldn’t be stopped.
The leaders locked them up.
Look what happened next…
“But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. ‘Go, stand in the temple courts,’ he said, "and tell the people the full message of this new life.’" - Acts 5:19-20 (NIV)
After miraculously freeing them from jail, the angel told Peter and John to go back to the temple and pick up right where they left off.
• Don't soften the message.
• Don’t pull any punches.
• They were to get right back to spreading the good news.
“At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people.” - Acts 5:21 (NIV)
Peter and John went right back to doing what God had called them to do.
Despite the religious leaders' attempts to dampen then enthusiasm, squelch the passion, or shut down the effectiveness of the early church, Acts 6:7 tells us that, "The word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly."
These New Testament church/believers were unstoppable!
You just can't stop what God wants done.
His will, His plan, and His purposes will prevail.
When the Church of Jesus Christ is what God designed it to be, it is an UNSTOPPABLE force for God bringing HOPE to the world!
As Spirit-filled believers, we want God’s will to be accomplished in this world
In fact, you and I become instruments in the hand of God.
As Jesus followers, we are a conduit through which God’s Spirit will flow.
Any Christian, who is filled with God’s Spirit, is UNSTOPPABLE when it comes to accomplishing God’s purpose.
The power of God flows freely through a submitted and surrendered vessel.
We see it again and again in scripture.
Examples of UNSTOPPABLE:
JOSEPH was unstoppable.
We did a three-week series on Joseph’s story back in March.
Joseph had 10 older brothers who were ruthless.
He had a boss who had an immoral and vindictive wife.
His life was like a roller coaster.
Lots of peaks and valleys.
Somehow Joseph was able to maintain this incredible faith in God.
Ten angry, jealous brothers, a pit, a ship, a vindictive woman, and years in prison could not stop Joseph.
Joseph had a dream.
And 20 years later, his dream came to pass.
Joseph told his brothers that God had taken what they planned for evil and turned it around for good.
Joseph was unstoppable.
DAVID was unstoppable.
An angry king with a cold-blooded army couldn’t stop David.
Time after time Saul attempted to have David killed, but God protected David for His Divine purpose.
After 13 years, the words God had spoken through the prophet Samuel came to pass and David became king.
He was unstoppable.
GIDEON was unstoppable.
125,000 Soldiers could not stop Gideon and his 300 fighting men.
It wasn’t a fair fight, not because Gideon was outnumbered, but because God was on Gideon’s side.
One + God = VICTORY, every time!
God caused Gideon’s enemies to turn on themselves and kill each other,
all because Gideon was doing what God called him to do.
He was unstoppable.
PAUL was unstoppable.
We talked about Paul in week 1 of this series.
Floggings, stonings, shipwrecks and imprisonments could not stop Paul.
His attitude was, “For me to live is Christ. To die is gain.”
It’s like the enemy said, “Okay Paul, if you say ‘To live is Christ,” then we are going to kill you.”
Paul said, “That’s okay, because for me, to die is gain.”
“In that case, we are not going to kill you, but we will never let you live in peace.”
To which Paul said, “That’s okay too! The sufferings of this present time are nothing compared to the glory that awaits me in Heaven.”
In other words, Paul said,
• “If you let me live, I’ll serve the Lord.
• If you kill me, I’ll go on to heaven.
• If you make me suffer, I’ll have a bigger crown when I get there.
Paul is basically saying, there’s nothing you can do to stop me!”
He was unstoppable.
JESUS was unstoppable.
Satan could not stop Jesus.
The Bible tells us that if the princes of this world would have known what they were doing they would have never crucified the Lord of Glory.
When they were killing Jesus, they thought they were winning,
but they were actually losing.
Because when the first drop of Jesus’ blood hit the ground, satan’s fate was sealed.
Jesus was on an unstoppable mission to save the world.
Here is the point of the series. I hope you get it.
YOU ARE/I AM unstoppable.
If satan knew any better, he would leave you alone.
He can’t stop God’s purpose.
Satan cannot stop a man or woman of God who is living out their Divine purpose.
That’s why he wants to get you frustrated.
If he can get you frustrated, YOU MIGHT QUIT.
Satan can’t stop me, but I can STOP MYSELF.
You stop yourself when you QUIT.
The only way you can lose is if you quit.
That’s why my message to you is…
• NEVER GIVE UP!
• NEVER CAVE IN!
• NEVER QUIT!
As God’s child, you will never lose, if you refuse to quit!
YOU ARE UNSTOPPABLE!
God made plans for you before the world began.
Along with those plans, He will also make provision for everything you need to accomplish whatever He has called you to do.
We struggle when we step outside our assignment.
But when I am walking in step with His Spirit,
I may face opposition, but I can face it with grace.
He empowers us to overcome every attack and still love every attacker.
The enemy has no authority in your life as a follower of Jesus.
You can walk daily in God’s love, His peace, and His purpose.
As you do, you can declare by faith, that because of the power of God at work in my life, I am UNSTOPPABLE!
The enemy cannot stop us when we are walking in our purpose.
The only way we can lose is if we quit,
and I don’t know about you, but I am NO QUITTER!
Too much is at stake.
One of these days, I want to hear my commander and Chief say to me,
“Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
How could we give Him anything less than our best, when He has given so much to us?
When the Spirit of God is ON me, IN me, WITH me, and FOR me, how can I lose? How can I fail? How can I be stopped?
REMEMBER:
God’s Spirit living in me and through me –
that is what makes me UNSTOPPABLE!
This is why we do a series like this.
There is truth to proclaim.
There is a message to be heard.
Do you believe it?
What better way to transition from a series called Unstoppable, to a purposeful series like At The Movies, than to take a look at a clip from a movie called Unstoppable.
After the clip, I want to provide a little insight into why we are doing this upcoming series. Then I want to talk to you about how you can help leverage this series to make a difference in the lives of your unchurched family and friends.
UNSTOPPABLE TRAILER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyuoIqeL-bc
00:36 BEGIN with: “Inspired by Ture Events”
END with: “The only way to stop that kind of power is to grab it by the tail and gun it in the opposite direction.” 01:36 END with the crash.
Wait a minute!
I thought trains were unstoppable.
Denzel had an idea about how to stop that train.
It took the entire movie to get it done, but ultimately, the train was stopped.
and many lives were saved.
Unstoppable is a great movie.
I love to go to the movies.
We all love a good story.
I especially love movies that are inspired by a true story.
UNSTOPPABLE is one of those high-intensity movies that keep you on the edge of your seat.
That 60-second clip will cause some of you to want to see that movie if you haven’t already, and some who have seen it will want to see it again.
That is because we all love a good story.
Jesus taught using stories and the common imagery of His day to illustrate deep, spiritual truths.
Jesus talked about things like seeds, sheep, and vineyards to help people understand the Kingdom of God.
We have been asking, what if we were to leverage contemporary culture’s interest in movies to communicate and make application of the message of the Bible?
Movies are just modern-day parables.
We can use these stories that people already connect with
to teach them about God, the Bible, and the message of hope in Jesus Christ.
You have unchurched family members and friends who will be interested in this upcoming series.
Some of these individuals won’t think twice about darkening the doors of a church, but they would love a good discussion about their favorite movie.
This series is going to meet people right where they live.
It is about helping them hear from God as we help them apply principles from the Word of God to the media they consume.
Far too often the church is answering questions no one is asking.
We’re talking about things that no one else is talking about.
People need to know how the Christian faith relates to their world.
CULTURE does not inform the BIBLE,
but we can use the BIBLE to inform CULTURE.
When we address culture in the church, we communicate the importance of viewing everything through the story of Jesus.
At The Movies is 100% about pointing men and women, boys and girls, and teenagers to Jesus.
People are already seeing movies.
They are talking about them and they are sharing them with their friends.
At The Movies is a great opportunity to take something people are already talking about and point them back to the Bible, and back to Jesus.
The moral dilemmas, the relationships, the ideologies, the emotions, and the tension we see and feel at the movies has already been addressed by the Word of God.
I want to ask you…
Will you help us get the word to others who need to know the unstoppable love and hope that is found in Jesus Christ?
That is our purpose as Christians. We are to spread the good news.
We are Christ’s Ambassadors.
As we have discovered in this series,
when Christians live like they are supposed to live,
and when the church loves like it is supposed to love,
the church is truly unstoppable.
God has a purpose for you and He has a purpose for the church.
Our goal is to glorify God through obedience to His Word and His will for our lives.
Our mission is to continue what Jesus started when He was on this earth.
One way to do that is by doing what He has called us to do.
It is about fulfilling our purpose as Christ-followers.
Just before Jesus ascended to the Father, this is what He said…
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." - Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)
In this upcoming series, you get to be a part of God’s Unstoppable Mission to reach our world.
Will you help us get the word to others who need to know the unstoppable hope that is found in Jesus Christ?
You can get involved just by inviting and bringing your unchurched family and friends. Social Media (Share, Message), eCard, Word of Mouth
Our MISSION is to be unstoppable!
I believe souls will be saved and lives will be changed in these next four weeks.
I would ask you to join me in praying it will be so.
This series will NOT be available online, or DVD, etc.
Copyright restrictions will prevent us from posting this series.
Big QUESTION - What movies we are going to be talking about?
That is a closely guarded secret. I wish I could tell you, but you will have to come and see.
Prayer
