Introduction: Several months ago I was reading the words of a college football expert. In this article he said he anticipated certain players, whom he named, to have break out seasons. He described a break out season. A player having a break out season is one who moves to a new level of performance. Such players move toward being stars. Even so, God wants believers to break out. This is not to imply that we should be stars or even that we should perform for God. However, God wants us to rise above the ordinary and become successful in service to him. He wants us to break the yoke of Satan and be successful and happy in our service to Him.
We find an example of this in Acts 8:4. “Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.” The young believers in Jerusalem were not reaching the potential God intended for them. They were confined to Jerusalem. They were not venturing out to share the gospel in other areas. This could be compared to the huddle in a football game. People do not pay good money to watch a football team stay in the huddle. People want to see the action of the game. The church in Jerusalem was staying in the huddle. We know that God ordained that the gospel begin with the Jews. However, at a point in time God desired to scatter the gospel seed throughout the world. God intervened in the lives of those early believers and helped them break out to do His work. He wants to do the same for you. He wants you to become productive. He wants you to be successful in the Christian life. He wants you to break out. How does this happen?
1. The first requirement needed for a break out is to recognize your dependence on God. Living a victorious Christian life is not dependent on you. It is dependent on Him. Many times we pile guilt and pressure on ourselves in living the Christian life. We tell ourselves if we do not fulfill certain functions we are failures. We need to understand, success in the Christian life is not dependent on us, it is dependent on Jesus. Jesus taught Simon Peter this truth in a graphic way. After the resurrection Jesus sought to instill confidence in His disciples. On one occasion Peter gave up, as a disciple, and went fishing. Jesus observed this fishing trip from the bank. After fishing all night Peter came home with an empty boat. Jesus knew Peter had caught no fish. However, he asked him about his fishing trip. Jesus wanted Peter to admit that he had failed. Jesus instructed Peter to go back and fish; however, one thing was different. Peter followed Jesus instructions. Whenever Peter followed Jesus and depended on Him he succeeded. A productive believer is not victorious because of self. He is victorious because of Jesus. A productive believer is a believer who has been changed by Jesus Christ and is dependent on Him. It is not personal motivation. It is not intelligence. It is not Bible knowledge. In fact, a person with an 8th Grade education may accomplish more for God than a college graduate. Why? The school drop out depends on God. The college graduate depends on education.
Illustration: I saw a marvelous illustration of this concept. Someone wrote a hypothetical story about the donkey that carried Jesus into Jerusalem on His royal entry. They imagined the donkeys thoughts, had he been able to define them.
The donkey awakened, his mind still savoring the afterglow of the most exciting day of his life. Never before had he felt such a rush of pleasure and pride.
He walked into town and found a group of people by the well. "I’ll show myself to them," he thought.
But they didn’t notice him. They went on drawing their water and paid him no mind.
"Throw your garments down," he said crossly. "Don’t you know who I am?"
They just looked at him in amazement. Someone slapped him across the tail and ordered him to move.
"Miserable heathens!" he muttered to himself. "I’ll just go to the market where the good people are. They will remember me."
But the same thing happened. No one paid any attention to the donkey as he strutted down the main street in front of the market place.
"The palm branches! Where are the palm branches!" he shouted. "Yesterday, you threw palm branches!"
Hurt and confused, the donkey returned home to his mother.
"Foolish child," she said gently. "Don’t you realize that without Him, you are just an ordinary donkey?"
(SOURCE: Edited from Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks by Wayne Rice. Copyright 1994 by Youth Specialties, Inc. Contributed by: SermonCentral)
2. A second requirement needed for a break out is to trust God to help you overcome barriers. Until the time recorded in Acts 8:4, believers were huddled in Jerusalem. They were not venturing out to share their faith. They were not venturing out on mission endeavors. The end result of the persecution (found in Acts 8:1-3) is that believers were scattered and went everywhere sharing their faith. God used trials to strengthen and build them. John Macarthur said “Satan’s attempt to stamp out the church’s fire merely scattered the embers and started new fires around the world.” (Commentary on Acts)
The church in Jerusalem had to move beyond barriers in order to spread the gospel. There had to be a break out. This is true today. God’s people need to overcome barriers that hinder the gospel. What are some of these?
A. God’s people can get out of touch with the heart of God. The believers in Jerusalem allowed themselves to be trapped behind a geographical barrier. They did not see the world which God saw. They limited the message to the city of Jerusalem and to the people of Israel. Some people still do this today. They limit the gospel message to the city or town where they live.
Illustration: William Carey, who is considered the father of the modern mission movement, learned a painful lesson about cultural barriers. When he was preparing to go to India as a missionary he encountered opposition from ministers who thought it not proper to go overseas. At one ministers conference Carey proposed that they discuss “Whether or not the Great Commission is binding upon us” (the people of their day). One older minister rebuked him saying, “Sit down, young man, when God is pleased to convert the heathen he will do it without your aid or mine!” (adapted from illustration 3495 in Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations.
B. A second barrier that must be overcome is the comfort barrier. Sometimes we get comfortable in our air conditioned churches and forget there are lost, hurting and confused people in our world. We get comfortable in our environment but also in ourselves. Sometimes we allow ourselves to settle into a comfort zone. This is normal human behavior but it can cripple our effectiveness for God.
Illustration: A somewhat sad but realistic story comes from the book of Jonah. God had called Jonah to go to the city of Ninevah and preach. Jonah rebelled and God had to send him on a three day cruise to bring him to his senses. Finally, Jonah submitted to God’s will and went to Ninevah. As he preached God brought about a city wide revival. Jonah was irritated that God would convert those heathen people. God used an illustration to teach Jonah a valuable lesson. Jonah went out into a field and sat under a vine that sheltered him from the sun. The Bible indicates Jonah was comfortable and pleased with his shelter. The Lord killed the vine which offered Jonah shelter. Jonah was angry with God for killing his shelter. The Lord said “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. Should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons.” (Jonah 4:10-11)
C. A third barrier is complacency and apathy. If the believers in Jerusalem had cared about other people they would have done something about there apathy. God had to help them overcome their complacency and apathy.
Illustration: I picked up a poem, while serving at my first church, which I hope does not describe any of us.
He made no mistakes, took no wrong road,
He never fumbled the ball.
He never went down neath the weight of a load—
He simply did nothing at all.
He lost no hard fight in defense of the right.
Never bled with his back to the wall.
He never fell faint in his climb to the light.
He simple did nothing at all.
So death came nigh, for life slipped by,
And he feared for the judgment hall.
When they asked him why, he said with a sigh,
I simply did nothing at all. (Anonymous)
3. A third requirement needed for a break out is a willing heart. As God changes our hearts through the gospel and inspires us through the work of the Holy Spirit he gives us a passion for our world. All of this happens as a result of a willing heart. Notice what happened in our text.
A. Common ordinary people shared their faith. God uses ordinary people. A good example of this is found in Acts 4. Peter and John, two of the leaders in the early church, were used of God in a mighty way. People were being saved. The gospel was being proclaimed. The people who listened to their preaching were amazed and took notice that they were untrained and uneducated men. God can and will use ordinary people like you and me. Abraham Lincoln once said “God must love ordinary people, because he made so many of them.
B. Passionate people are passionate about sharing the gospel and seeing lives changed. In Acts 8:4-6 we find a layman named Phillip sharing his faith. Phillip was passionate about his faith. A person who has experienced a break out will be passionate about sharing his faith and will desire to support mission work with his life and money.
Illustration: There was an inspiring story in the Alabama Baptist this week that illustrates the effects of passion. There was a story about a group of Arab believers who were passionate about sharing Jesus. The story read “How’s this for a mission trip: three months on camels in the scorching Sahara. No contact with family members. Beaten with metal rods. Kidnapped by renegade soldiers. All to bring Jesus to isolated oasis camps inhabited by nomads—hostile strangers who might not give you water during your journey, much less listen to your message.” (week of October 25) What passion!
God desires to help you break the barriers that are hindering you and be fruitful in His service. He wants you to make a difference in your church, community and world. It requires a willing heart. God used the believers in Jerusalem because they were willing.
