Fly High – Acts part 18
Video of Youth Retreat and the Baptisms: Testimonies from the Youth about the retreat and from this last week after coming home.
Scripture Text Acts 20:
The Holy Bible, New International Version. Pradis CD-ROM: Ac 20:1.
Through Macedonia and Greece
Ac 20:1 When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said good-by and set out for Macedonia.
Ac 20:2 He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece,
Ac 20:3 where he stayed three months. Because the Jews made a plot against him just as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia.
Ac 20:4 He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.
Ac 20:5 These men went on ahead and waited for us at Troas.
Ac 20:6 But we sailed from Philippi after the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and five days later joined the others at Troas, where we stayed seven days.
Eutychus Raised From the Dead at Troas
Ac 20:7 On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.
Ac 20:8 There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting.
Ac 20:9 Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead.
Ac 20:10 Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!”
Ac 20:11 Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left.
Ac 20:12 The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.
Paul’s Farewell to the Ephesian Elders
Ac 20:13 We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement because he was going there on foot.
Ac 20:14 When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene.
Ac 20:15 The next day we set sail from there and arrived off Kios. The day after that we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day arrived at Miletus.
Ac 20:16 Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost.
Ac 20:17 From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church.
Ac 20:18 When they arrived, he said to them: “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia.
Ac 20:19 I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, although I was severely tested by the plots of the Jews.
Ac 20:20 You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house.
Ac 20:21 I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.
Ac 20:22 “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.
Ac 20:23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.
Ac 20:24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.
Ac 20:25 “Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again.
Ac 20:26 Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men.
Ac 20:27 For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.
Ac 20:28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
Ac 20:29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.
Ac 20:30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.
Ac 20:31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
Ac 20:32 “Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
Ac 20:33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.
Ac 20:34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions.
Ac 20:35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
Ac 20:36 When he had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed.
Ac 20:37 They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him.
Ac 20:38 What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.
Introduction:
Acts 20 shares how Paul is encouraging the Body of Christ and bidding them all a farewell because he feels that he will never see these dear brothers and sisters again. Whenever any one is sharing their last spiritual thoughts it is good to pay attention to the thoughts and the spiritual lessons. Some of his lessons were: Be humble, don’t hesitate to preach the Word, be bold, be fearless for the cause, be role models, listen to the Holy Spirit, finish the race and complete the task, be on your guard, and it is more blessed to give than to receive. Paul pours his heart out to these fellow believers and shares as much insight as possible before he has to return to Jerusalem – one person listening to Paul falls a sleep in a window and falls to his death and Paul stops his teaching to go down and raise him from the dead. Paul is seen in this chapter pouring out as many thoughts and insights that he can be fore he returns to Jerusalem where the Holy Spirit prepares him to be arrested.
Listen to some other famous farewell excerpts from Famous Farewell speeches. Remember to listen for their last thoughts and their spiritual insights:
George Washington: September 19, 1796
…27 Of all the dispositions and habits, which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men and Citizens. The mere Politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connexions with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked, Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.
28 It is substantially true, that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to every species of free government. Who, that is a sincere friend to it, can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric? …
Dwight D. Eisenhower
…This evening, I come to you with a message of leave-taking and farewell, and to share a few final thoughts with you, my countrymen.
Like every other -- Like every other citizen, I wish the new President, and all who will labor with him, Godspeed. I pray that the coming years will be blessed with peace and prosperity for all.
Our people expect their President and the Congress to find essential agreement on issues of great moment, the wise resolution of which will better shape the future of the nation…
…Throughout America’s adventure in free government, our basic purposes have been to keep the peace, to foster progress in human achievement, and to enhance liberty, dignity, and integrity among peoples and among nations. To strive for less would be unworthy of a free and religious people. Any failure traceable to arrogance, or our lack of comprehension, or readiness to sacrifice would inflict upon us grievous hurt, both at home and abroad…
…But each proposal must be weighed in the light of a broader consideration: the need to maintain balance in and among national programs, balance between the private and the public economy, balance between the cost and hoped for advantages, balance between the clearly necessary and the comfortably desirable, balance between our essential requirements as a nation and the duties imposed by the nation upon the individual, balance between actions of the moment and the national welfare of the future. Good judgment seeks balance and progress. Lack of it eventually finds imbalance and frustration. The record of many decades stands as proof that our people and their Government have, in the main, understood these truths and have responded to them well, in the face of threat and stress…
…Another factor in maintaining balance involves the element of time. As we peer into society’s future, we -- you and I, and our government -- must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering for our own ease and convenience the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow…
… So, in this, my last good night to you as your President, I thank you for the many opportunities you have given me for public service in war and in peace. I trust in that -- in that -- in that service you find some things worthy. As for the rest of it, I know you will find ways to improve performance in the future.
You and I, my fellow citizens, need to be strong in our faith that all nations, under God, will reach the goal of peace with justice. May we be ever unswerving in devotion to principle, confident but humble with power, diligent in pursuit of the Nations’ great goals.
To all the peoples of the world, I once more give expression to America’s prayerful and continuing aspiration: We pray that peoples of all faiths, all races, all nations, may have their great human needs satisfied; that those now denied opportunity shall come to enjoy it to the full; that all who yearn for freedom may experience its few spiritual blessings. Those who have freedom will understand, also, its heavy responsibility; that all who are insensitive to the needs of others will learn charity; and that the sources -- scourges of poverty, disease, and ignorance will be made [to] disappear from the earth; and that in the goodness of time, all peoples will come to live together in a peace guaranteed by the binding force of mutual respect and love…
Lou Gehrig
"Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break I got. Yet today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for 17 years and I have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.
"Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn’t consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day?
"Sure I’m lucky…
…"When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat and vice versa, sends you a gift, that’s something. When everybody down to the groundskeeper and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies, that’s something. When you have a father and mother work all their lives so that you can have an education and build your body, it’s a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed, that’s the finest I know.
"So I close in saying that I might have had a bad break, but I have an awful lot to live for."
General Douglas MacArthur
…I have just left your fighting sons in Korea. They have met all tests there, and I can report to you without reservation that they are splendid in every way.
It was my constant effort to preserve them and end this savage conflict honorably and with the least loss of time and a minimum sacrifice of life. Its growing bloodshed has caused me the deepest anguish and anxiety. Those gallant men will remain often in my thoughts and in my prayers always.
I am closing my fifty-two years of military service. When I joined the army, even before the turn of the century, it was the fulfillment of all my boyish hopes and dreams.
The world has turned over many times since I took the oath on the plain at West Point, and the hopes and dreams have long since vanished, but I still remember the refrain of one of the most popular barracks ballads of that day which proclaimed most proudly that old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
And like the old soldier of that ballad, I now close my military career and just fade away, an old soldier who tried to do his duty as God gave him the light to see that duty. Good-bye.
Ronald Reagan
…An informed patriotism is what we want. And are we doing a good enough job teaching our children what America is and what she represents in the long history of the world? Those of us who are over 35 or so years of age grew up in a different America. We were taught, very directly, what it means to be an American. And we absorbed, almost in the air, a love of country and an appreciation of its institutions. If you didn’t get these things from your family, you got them from the neighborhood, from the father down the street who fought in Korea or the family who lost someone at Anzio. Or you could get a sense of patriotism from school. And if all else failed, you could get a sense of patriotism from popular culture. The movies celebrated democratic values and implicitly reinforced the idea that America was special. TV was like that, too, through the mid-’60s
But now, we’re about to enter the ’90s, and some things have changed. Younger parents aren’t sure that an unambivalent appreciation of America is the right thing to teach modern children. And as for those who create the popular culture, well-grounded patriotism is no longer the style. Our spirit is back, but we haven’t reinstitutionalized it. We’ve got to do a better job of getting across that America is freedom--freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of enterprise. And freedom is special and rare. It’s fragile; it needs protection.
So, we’ve got to teach history based not on what’s in fashion but what’s important: Why the Pilgrims came here, who Jimmy Doolittle was, and what those 30 seconds over Tokyo meant. You know, four years ago on the 40th anniversary of D-Day, I read a letter from a young woman writing of her late father, who’d fought on Omaha Beach. Her name was Lisa Zanatta Henn, and she said, "We will always remember, we will never forget what the boys of Normandy did." Well, let’s help her keep her word. If we forget what we did, we won’t know who we are. I’m warning of an eradication of the American memory that could result, ultimately, in an erosion of the American spirit. Let’s start with some basics: more attention to American history and a greater emphasis on civic ritual. And let me offer lesson No. 1 about America: All great change in America begins at the dinner table. So, tomorrow night in the kitchen I hope the talking begins. And children, if your parents haven’t been teaching you what it means to be an American, let ’em know and nail ’em on it. That would be a very American thing to do.
And that’s about all I have to say tonight. Except for one thing. The past few days when I’ve been at that window upstairs, I’ve thought a bit of the "shining city upon a hill." The phrase comes from John Winthrop, who wrote it to describe the America he imagined. What he imagined was important because he was an early Pilgrim, an early freedom man. He journeyed here on what today we’d call a little wooden boat; and like the other Pilgrims, he was looking for a home that would be free.
I’ve spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don’t know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace, a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity, and if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That’s how I saw it and see it still.
And how stands the city on this winter night? More prosperous, more secure, and happier than it was eight years ago. But more than that; after 200 years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And she’s still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home.
We’ve done our part. And as I walk off into the city streets, a final word to the men and women of the Reagan revolution, the men and women across America who for eight years did the work that brought America back. My friends: We did it. We weren’t just marking time. We made a difference. We made the city stronger. We made the city freer, and we left her in good hands. All in all, not bad, not bad at all.
And so, good-bye, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.
These famous farewell speeches seem to ring and resonate in our hearts as we read them many years later. When men and women get up to share their last farewells to others they usually share from their hearts. Paul does the same in our text today and he wants us to take the lessons that he has learned and apply them to our hearts and our lives.
Thesis: The farewell teachings of Paul to many churches in this chapter are filled with great spiritual insight and are very meaningful and impacting to the listeners because Paul expresses that he will never see these brothers and sisters again. He shares his heart and focuses on the essentials for living a Christian life and the importance of Biblical leadership.
T.S. - Let’s look at these famous last words and gather the spiritual insight we need from them.
Meditative thought: What matters most in life is what you leave behind when you depart and Paul leaves the following words of wisdom behind for all of us and today they resonate on and on by the Holy Spirit!
I. Serve the Lord with great humility – remember the motto “No Pride!”!
a. Acts 20:18-19: Paul said, “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, although I was severely tested by the plots of the Jews.”
b. Humility - The state or quality of being humble; freedom from pride and arrogance; lowliness of mind; a modest estimate of one’s own worth; a sense of one’s own unworthiness through imperfection and sinfulness; self-abasement; humbleness. An act of submission or courtesy. Brainy Dictionary
c. Quote: “Humility is an essential attitude for success in the spiritual life. Any self-conceit, whether nurtured by superior intelligence, wealth, a high position, or the praise of others, is an obstacle on the path. Genuine humility is not posturing. It requires a constant willing-ness to deny oneself, to be critical of oneself, and to be open to Heaven’s guidance even when it differs from one’s own preconceived concepts.” (http://www.unification.net/ws/theme128.htm).
d. Jesus is our example of the importance of humility: "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." - Philippians 2:3-8
e. Quote: “Reflect upon three things, and you will not come within the power of sin: know from where you came, to where you are going, and before whom you will in future have to give account and reckoning. From where you came--from a fetid drop; to where are you going--to a place of dust, worms, and maggots; and before whom you will in future have to give account and reckoning--before the Supreme King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He.” Judaism. Mishnah, Abot 3.1
f. Quote: “The truth is this - pride must die in you, or nothing of heaven can live in you. Under the banner of the truth, give yourself up to the meek and humble spirit of the holy Jesus. Humility must sow the seed, or there can be no reaping in heaven. Do not look at pride as only an unbecoming temper, nor at humility as only a decent virtue. The one is death, and the other is life; the one is all hell, the other is all heaven....” (Jason Engwer).
T.S. – Not only are we to be humble but bold enough to preach God’s Word to the lost.
II. Do not hesitate to preach and share the Word with the lost!
a. Paul, Acts 20:20, 21: “You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.”
i. Paul did not pause or withdraw from preaching the word. His witness and determination, fearlessness to the message produced many converted souls for the Kingdom. It also planted several new churches for the Kingdom of God.
1. Paul goes on in his explanation of how determined he was to get the word out to the lost and to face any danger that accompanied the preaching of the Good News: Ac 20:22 “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. Ac 20:23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. Ac 20:24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace. Ac 20:25 “Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. Ac 20:26 Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men. Ac 20:27 For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.
2. I want you to notice what Paul said in verse 26 “I am innocent of the blood of all men.”
a. Paul knows as I know that everyone of us will be held accountable for whether or not we shared the truth with those who God sent across our path.
b. As a Christian we have a responsibility to the Lord to share the message with those who are lost.
b. Evangelism is the fire that ignites a church for the Lord and when this fire starts to blaze it spreads rapidly through a society and changes it focus and direction:
i. Quote: Elton Trueblood, the Quaker scholar, once compared evangelism to fire. Evangelism occurs, he said, when Christians are so ignited by their contact with Christ that they in turn set other fires. It is easy to determine when something is aflame. It ignites other material. Any fire that does not spread will eventually go out. A church without evangelism is a contradiction in terms, just as fire that does not burn is a contradiction. Christian Theology in Plain Language, 162
c. Paul is telling the believers in his farewell address that they must become bold and fearless in their witness for Jesus Christ.
i. Paul Harvey said, "Too many Christians are no longer fishers of men but keepers of the aquarium."
1. Paul Harvey is right to many just want to maintain their little Christian bubble and not reach to those who need Christ.
2. They want a church that smells good and looks good. They don’t want un-cleaned and smelly fish in their aquarium.
ii. I am excited about what the Lord is doing in Youth group: Listen to some of the stories about what the Lord is doing through the youth of New Life:
1. The Youth went on a Youth retreat to Spin listen to what happened as Angie reports the scene:
a. Spin 2006 in Madison - 56 BAPTISMS… the Kalahari was SOLD OUT which meant that about 2000 people were in the hotel. They have a huge indoor water park and it was packed. During Saturday’s morning session, Ed talked about water baptism and its power.
b. God was moving, and Pastor Derrick and Pastor Shannon said, if you want to publicly be baptized - we are going to do a service in the middle of the wave pool at the Kalahari!! Most of us couldn’t wait for lunch to be over (and you know food is a very big deal to teenagers!) and 3:00 to come. There were about 180 students at the conference and 56 teens proclaimed their love and dedication to Jesus!! If you go to the Kalahari, watch out for the dead young men and women in the wave pool... ha ha. I was standing at the back for part of it and got to share what we were doing with passersby.. oh the love of God!
c. THE MOST UNCIVILIZED, BARBARIC ALTAR CALL I’VE EVER SEEN... He’s never done it this way before.. but after preaching and challenging us to live our faith in radical ways, love Jesus regardless of circumstance, He asked the students to one at a time, stand up on their chairs and tell their name, how much they loved Jesus and what they were going to do when they went home.. WOW! Here’s a few of the responses!!! (without their names, mostly)
i. "I’m going to go home and not be afraid to take out my Bible at school."
ii. "I’m going to go home and see my whole family come to know Jesus Christ."
iii. "I’m going to go home and make things right with my parents and then share Jesus with my little brother." (So, I cried through the whole thing, but this one REALLY made me bawl!)
iv. "I’m going to go home and start a Bible Club in my school."
v. "I’m going to go home and be the spiritual leader in my family."
vi. "I’m going to go home and stay away from some of my friends, and I’m going to give up doing drugs and partying."
vii. “I’m going to go home and win my friends to Jesus.”
d. Seriously, I could go on and on and on, with all the amazing things that were said, but there is one more thing I really want to share.
2. These where the testimonies from the retreat now here is the rest of the story – What happened when our kids came home to Polk County Wisconsin?
a. Listen to another report by Angie: On Monday, Pastor Brian gets a call from one of our youth, Tom. Tom’s art teacher asked how his weekend was, and this was their conversation...Tom said, "Pretty good... so what’s going on in your room on Wednesdays at 7:30 a.m.?" His teacher said, "Nothing." and Tom says, "So, how about we have a Bible study in your room?" So, 3 days after our return, on Wednesday morning, several young people met at Amery High School to pray and read the word!
i. Monday, DJ wears the pink toothbrush t-shirt of Ed’s and explains it to about 30 people. What an opportunity to witness!! These teens are amazed as this young woman has CHANGED. One of the people she shares with wants to know more... goes for a drive with her and decides she wants to follow Jesus and turn her life around too! She starts throwing something out the window of DJ’s car and when DJ gives her a funny look, the friend says, "What, you think God would be mad at me for littering? I’m throwing out all my cigarettes! And I want to share this with my cousin, cuz she needs God too!"
ii. Tuesday, one of our students who admitted to taking her Bible to school but never taking it out of her backpack... takes it out at lunch and reads the Bible with a friend.
iii. Wednesday, we found out even more!! We had testimony and worship time and had to STOP our youth from giving testimonies cuz we ran way over our time!! And there’s Liza who said, "I realized this weekend that I have a huge mission field before me. Pastor Brian can’t come in and preach, neither can our teachers. But we can preach and no one can stop us. I’m not going to be afraid of what people think anymore!" And there’s Aaron, Thia, Lexi, Michelle, Danni, Josh, and so many more testimonies I haven’t shared
iv. THE YOUTH WHO DIDN’T GO were even giving TESTIMONIES!!! "Every youth conference is great and we get changed and come back and on Monday... well, I’m going to live it out tomorrow… and then tomorrow comes and we push it off until tomorrow again... and there’s too many tomorrows.. We lose what God did within a few days. But it is almost the next weekend, and it’s still like you all just came back!"
v. "I was so disappointed cuz I had to take the ACT TEST and I couldn’t go..... the best youth convention and I missed it.... but God showed me that I don’t have to miss it. I can get it from all of you!"
vi. The fire, the love and the power of God is catching. And we are SHARING it with our world. Nothing can stop the youth of this generation when they put their minds to something! I feel like the apostle John when he wrote at the end of the book of John about Jesus doing so many great things that all the books in the world couldn’t tell of them all! “Cuz there’s so much to tell and I could type and share for hours more about the ACTION our youth are taking.. and us leaders too! This THING that is happening is so much bigger than US. This wasn’t a youth conference to encourage our youth. It was one to CHALLENGE them to live the REAL LOVE of Jesus and to live it regardless of circumstance!!
iii. Paul Little in his book "How to Give Away Your Faith" defines witnessing: "Witnessing is that deep-seated conviction that the greatest favor I can do for others is to introduce them to Jesus Christ."
1. Let me ask you a question today “Do you feel that the best gift that you could ever give anyone is “Jesus?”
2. Do you want to give something to someone that will change their life? Then let’s as adults get busy like the youth and start giving Jesus away in Polk County!
d. Can you see know why Paul addresses this topic in his farewell address to this church?
i. He knew what would happen if people caught the fire of the Holy Spirit!
T.S. – We need to be bold enough to preach the word to the lost and in the process guard our hearts from deception.
III. Keep watch over your hearts and over the hearts of others!
a. Paul states this about the importance of guarding our hearts from the web of deception:
i. Ac 20:28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. Ac 20:29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Ac 20:30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. Ac 20:31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
ii. Paul knew that the enemy would attack upon his departure so he sought to warn and to prepare the church for battle.
1. He did not want them to scatter but to stand and fight.
2. To stand and guard the church and its message of the Word.
T.S. – We need to guard our hearts from deception and sacrifice our lives and finances to His work.
IV. Give – because it is more blessed to give than to receive.
a. Paul said, Ac 20:32 “Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. Ac 20:33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. Ac 20:34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. Ac 20:35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ “ Ac 20:36 When he had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. Ac 20:37 They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. Ac 20:38 What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.
b. Illustration: Giving is at the heart beat of the Lord and The Lord wants his church to begin giving – extravagantly! If we do this he will open up the flood gates of Heaven and it will be spectacular. I read an article where a pastor told about a woman who fainted in church one Sunday while he was preaching. She fell over and struck her head on the end of the pew. Immediately, an EMT in the congregation called an ambulance. As they strapped the elderly woman to a stretcher and got ready to head out the door, the she motioned for her daughter to come near. The daughter leaned close to hear what her mother had to say. Her mother whispered to her: “My offering is in my purse.”
Now there’s a woman who came to church with a heartfelt desire to GIVE to the Lord. Contributed by: K. Edward Skidmore
The prophetic message to share to New Life Community Church for Nov. 5, 2006:
Illustration: SAVING THE SHIP, REMEMBERING THE PAST
"Their hair is gray, their shoulders are slumped and they walk with the shuffle of the aged. Their ship, a rusty antique, wallowed through the Atlantic, battered by a winter storm. For the elderly crew of LST-325, a creaking World War II troop ship that had been taken out of service in 1946, it was the last chance to recapture their youth--and to preserve their exploits for future generations. Ironically, the U.S. Coast Guard deemed the voyage from Greece to Mobile, Alabama unsafe. The same daring that lead these men to ignore deadly enemy fire lead them to ignore the Coast Guard warnings. The ship, now safe at harbor in Alabama, will be the first memorial to the heroism of the amphibious land craft crews. The crew of WWII battled ancient equipment, 110 degree heat, cockroaches, governmental regulations and the death of a crewmember to secure the old vessel and make it seaworthy. ’They tried to stop us at times, but we knew that we could do it.’ LST-325 will serve as a double-memorial to the men who served bravely under fire during the war, and then fought once again to reclaim her from the scrap heap."
SOURCE: Bruce Howell. Citation: Newsweek, January 22, 2001, p. 12. Contributed by: Sermon Central
I read this story and the anointing of the Holy Spirit came over me in my office and revealed the following prophetic word to me. The Lord impressed in to my heart that I must share this with New Life’s community of believers:
* Mike God is going to restore the ship - New life - and those who said it needed to be scrapped will see the ship put out to sea mightly and used by God.
*The church crew is being called to restore the rusty old ship – New Life has been called a rusty old ship but God is sending the crew to restore it as memorial to Jesus Christ.
* The ships is going to be put out into the sea to save the one’s drowning from the storms of life.
*The ship will require a lot of hard work to restore it for its mission to this county.
*The crew will be criticized for restoring the ship and putting it out to sea but do it any way.
* Some will die from the churches mission but it is the best way to go.
*But the ship will succeed in its mission and it will become a living memorial to the cause of Jesus Christ.
Here is more of what the Lord burned into my heart for New Life -- Nov. 5th 2006.
Mike the church must remember the past – this deals with the importance of Communion and its vital meaning – You must remember all the battles that were fought for the cause of Christ from the past! The Lord’s Supper performed by Jesus should take us to the past and remind us of the ultimate battle and its victory – (Note to congregation) “We have been reading about all the battles revealed in the book of Acts!” – The Lord reminds us that we must be willing to get into the ship and put it out into the sea so as to rescue those who are drowning from the storms of life. We must at New Life go to war against the enemy of Polk County and its people and see this county ignited for the cause of Jesus Christ.
The Lord is prompting my heart to say the following thoughts today: I believe this is what the Spirit of the Lord is saying to New Life Community Church today: I am going to speak as if the Lord is saying this because I really believe He is – so be prayerful and thoughtful to the messages and open up your hearts!
• I will help you save 1,000 of people from drowning in the flood of sin- if you keep a Spirit of humility and boldly share my Word with them.
• I will see to it that they are delivered from the bondages of drugs and alcohol.
This will be done by my power and by my Spirit.
This will be done not by human wisdom and understanding but by my delivering power.
For this to keep happening my name must be called the “The cure!”
• I will rise up men and women who will be my faithful witnesses in Polk County.
If you submit and resist the lies of the enemy 100’s will be raised up and sent out.
Stand for the truth and resist “The Bait of Satan” the spirit of offense.
• The schools in Polk County will experience the fire of my Holy Spirit.
It will burn through them like a wild fire! It will jump and cross over to all the schools saving many young people and delivering them from sexual immorality, suicide, drugs, alcohol, depression, sin filled lives and hopelessness.
As my young people share about me this will happen - if you remain silent then the fire will go out.
• Places of work will experience the consuming fire of the Holy Spirit as you my people share the power and the truth of my Word with your fellow workers.
You are to share the testimonies that will be birthed over the next year through this outpouring with your co-workers and it will melt their hard hearts.
My Word will flow from your mouths as you surrender it to me and speak for me.
My Spirit will empower you to start new Bible Studies and Prayer groups in these places of work.
• I will speak through my Word to their hearts and minds.
• I will answer their prayers as a testimony to my power.
You will say that as a testimony to all who ask - “The Lord Jesus has brought this renewal of lives to Polk County.” Yes, your places of work will be transformed and they will be revived for my cause and for my Kingdom.
If you refuse to share about what I am doing then my fire will go out!
• I will save 1,000 through this church and it will explode with new converts and with new people seeking and wanting more of my Spirit.
New Life will be filled with the power of my Holy Spirit.
• Services will be awe inspiring – my presence will be tangible!
People will come from far and wide and from other countries to have power encounters with me in these services – I the great “I AM!” will be touching – filling and empowering them as they come.
If this church becomes prideful or arrogant then my Spirit will depart this place because “I Am” the one doing the power encounters not you!
• I am to be the focus not individuals!
• I will open the door to the professionals in your community.
They too will be touched and set free.
• Their intellectual mindset will be infused with my truth and my love and my grace.
They will have heart transforming encounters with me and my holy fire will be set ablaze with in them.
They will be purified and empowered to serve for my Kingdom.
They will serve me and give from there abundance to finance this mighty move of my Spirit.
• All who give will be blessed in abundance and I will open up the flood gates of Heaven in their lives as they give sacrificially.
If this church fails to share the truth of my message with the professional community then the finances will dry up and the revival will burn out.
• Get ready New Life Community Church for I am going to unleash my Spirit through all of you today – it is coming as a mighty wind and as a fire from the Heavens – Open your hearts and receive it. Close your hearts and you will miss it!
• Today is the beginning of the NW Wisconsin Revival prophesied for this region for years at IHOP and at other places of worship and prayer --- this is the Day!
You are my witnesses!
You are the Acts New Testament Church!
Receive the Fire and the Wind of the Spirit!
• The Lord told me to pause here and say “Prepare your hearts for His outpouring it will happen during communion – get ready!”
o Some need to repent of their sins.
o Some need to confess their unbelief.
o Some need to crucify the flesh.
o Some need to repent of the “Spirit of offense.”
o Some need to die to their pride.
o Some need to forgive others.
o Some need to go to others to clear the offense away and embrace the way of forgiveness.
• Now when you are ignited you must go and boldly tell others that I love them and I have died for their sins. They must repent from there wicked ways and ask for forgiveness and I will heal them and this land of Polk County. Tell the officials, the newspapers, the media that I will do the following as a sign of my power:
Marriages will be healed and restored.
Men will return to their families to serve as Godly leaders to their families.
Divorce will be driven back in this county.
Suicide will be driven back in this county.
Families will be baptized and transformed together in the 100’s.
Those with criminal records and with a heart toward crime will be delivered and turned into model citizens of the Kingdom of God and of this society.
I am coming today as a flood into this county and I am rushing in like a mighty flood over the young, the middle aged and the old.
Churches will be planted trough this ministry and many planted throughout this county.
Godly leaders will be raised up in this county from this chosen ministry and sent to all regions of the world.
This will come to pass starting today and over the next year so get ready now – guard your hearts with my Word and with humility and surrender your life and your way to me this day.
Today I am pouring out my Spirit on you and I will give you the promised land of Polk County.
If you want more -- open your hearts and invite me to take root and to take control!
• You must invite me into you life and into your family for me to come in this new way. I am only coming in if I am invited!
• So ask me now to come to restore to heal and to deliver!
Congregational Prayer and reflection time: This is the time to confess, repent, ask for forgiveness, invite God to have free reign in your lives, and it’s the time to yield to God.
Then we will take communion together in reverence to the Lord as the Body of Christ once our hearts are in the right place.
CD: Played in the Back Ground during Communion. Mark is to pick it out!
Scripture text to read about the Lord’s Supper and the importance of remembrance -- I Corinthians 11:17-34:
The Holy Bible, New International Version.
The Lord’s Supper
I Cor. 11:23-29:
1Co 11:23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread,
1Co 11:24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
1Co 11:25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
1Co 11:26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
1Co 11:27 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.
1Co 11:28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.
1Co 11:29 For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.
The Lord implanted into me and said that, “His Spirit is going to rush in like it did in Acts 2:1-13 on the Day of Pentecost”: Let’s be reminded of what this text says:
The Holy Bible, New International Version. Acts 2
Ac 2:1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
Ac 2:2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
Ac 2:3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.
Ac 2:4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Ac 2:5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.
Ac 2:6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
Ac 2:7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?
Ac 2:8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?
Ac 2:9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
Ac 2:10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome
Ac 2:11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”
Ac 2:12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
Ac 2:13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine. ’”
The Lord told me to tell this congregation that we are to do what He said in Acts 1:8:
The Holy Bible, New International Version. Acts 1:8.
Ac 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
We have His power and we must use if for His glory and for the advancement of the Kingdom of God. We have been praying to be the Acts New Testament Church and we are so let’s go out this week and bring in the Harvest for Jesus! Let’s add to the church daily those who are being saved.
