Too Good To Be True

And the discussion turned toward Christianity.

It is kind of hard not to when people know you are a pastor.

But I will never forget what they said to Dondra and me, because it was one of the finest compliments we ever received.

They said, “We usually don’t like born again Christians, but you we like. You are real.”

We must remember that our lives may lead others to wanting what we have, namely a relationship with Jesus.

We must never forget that…

6. The church’s primary goal is reproduction.

We see in the text that this early church was a supremely effective church.

They were growing.

They were growing because they were a worshipping church.

They were growing because they were a purified and holy church.

They were growing because they were a church that walked their talk.

And…

7. The power of God was bursting forth.

Miracles and healings were happening all over the place.

And it did not matter if you were rich (they had the cots) or poor (they had the mats), God was bringing healing to their lives.

Luke reports that what was going on was so fantastic, that people believed that Peter’s shadow would heal them.

Now the text doesn’t say that his shadow did, just that people believed it to be so.

But perhaps they were being healed, not unlike the woman touching the hem of Jesus’ garment.

Nevertheless, God was at work powerfully in the early church.

He was judging the church, and the consequences were devastating.

He was also bringing wholeness to the church by healing the sick.

And because of this, the influence of the believers spread.

The message was getting out.

It was spreading, going beyond Jerusalem.

The good news about Jesus was at work.

8. The influence of believers should spread.

The same should be true of us.

APPLICATION:

ILL Salvation

Survivor Eva Hart re¬members the night, April 15, 1912, on which the Titanic plunged 12,000 feet to the Atlantic floor, some two hours and forty minutes after an ice¬berg tore a 300-foot gash in her starboard side: "I saw all the horror of its sinking, and I heard, even more dreadful, the cries of drowning people."

Although twenty life¬boats and rafts were launched - too few and only partly filled - most of the passengers ended up struggling in the icy seas while those in the boats waited a safe dis¬tance away.

Lifeboat No. 14 did row back to the scene after the "unsinkable" ship slipped from sight at 2:20 A.M.. Alone, it chased cries in the darkness, seeking and saving a precious few. In¬credibly, no other boat joined it. Some were al¬ready overloaded, but in virtually every other boat, those already saved rowed their half-filled boats aim¬lessly in the night, listen¬ing to the cries of the lost. Each feared a crush of un¬known swimmers would cling to their craft, even¬tually swamping it.

"I came to seek and to save the lost," our Savior said.

And he commis¬sioned us to do the same, but we face a large obsta¬cle: fear.

While people drown in the treacherous waters around us, we are tempted to stay dry and make certain no one rocks the boat.

Yet the boat is not ours, and our safety came only at the expense of the One who overcame fear with love - and saved us.