Sermon Tone Analysis

*Captured by the Cause** *

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Acts 3:1-4:4 (NIV, NIRV, TNIV, KJV)

Sermon Series: Core Values

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AC 3:1 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer--at \\ three in the afternoon.

2 Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the \\ temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into \\ the temple courts.

3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for \\ money.

4 Peter looked straight at him, as did John.

Then Peter said, "Look at us!" 5 So \\ the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

\\ \\ AC 3:6 Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you.

In \\ the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk."

7 Taking him by the right hand, he \\ helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong.

8 He jumped to \\ his feet and began to walk.

Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking \\ and jumping, and praising God. 9 When all the people saw him walking and praising \\ God, 10 they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple \\ gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had \\ happened to him.

\\ \\ AC 4:1 The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to \\ Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2 They were greatly disturbed \\ because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the \\ resurrection of the dead.

3 They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, \\ they put them in jail until the next day.

4 But many who heard the message believed, \\ and the number of men grew to about five thousand.

\\ \\ This morning I want to continue to talk to you about the church that we find in the early \\ part of Acts, it’s this fledgeling church, it’s just been ignighted on Pentecost through the \\ Holy Spirit, and when I say ignighted, that’s what I mean...... this church is on Fire for \\ Jesus.

3000 people came into the Kingdom in thier first gathering.

\\ \\ What we will discover this morning is that when a People, when a Church, when a Team is \\ Captured By the Cause, When a Team can see the Big Picture, through the power of the \\ Holy Spirit, there is no stopping that team from it’s goals.

\\ \\ I’m going to ask questions of you this morning, Like..... Have you been Captured By the \\ Call that Jesus has given us?

Do you understand the Call?

How did you, in your own life, \\ this week obey the Great Commission?

\\ \\ We will come back to those questions as we dig into the scripture this morning.

\\ \\ First, let me share with you a story that will illustrate what can happen when a people is \\ Captured by a Cause.

\\ \\ Winston Churchill was one of the great leaders in our day.

He understood the Law of the \\ Big Picture.

It is said that during World War II when Britain was experiencing its darkest \\ days, the country had a difficult time keeping men working in the coal mines.

Many \\ wanted to give up their dirty, thankless jobs in the dangerous mines to join the military \\ service, which garnered much public praise and support.

Yet their work in the mines was \\ critical to the success of the war.

Without coal the military and the people at home would \\ be in trouble.

\\ So the prime minister faced thousands of coal miners one day and told them of \\ their importance to the war effort, how their role could make or break the goal of \\ maintaining England’s Freedom.

\\ Churchill painted a picture of what it would be like when the war ended, of the \\ grand parade that would honor the people who fought the war.

First would come the \\ sailors of the navy, he said, the people who continued the Tradition of Trafalgar and the \\ defeat of the Spanish Armada.

Next would come the best and brightest of Britain, the \\ pilots of the Royal Air Force who fended off the German Air Forces.

Following them \\ would be the soldiers who had fought at Dunkirk.

\\ Then last of all would come the coal-dust-covered men in miners’ caps.

And \\ Churchill indicated that someone from the crowd might say, “And where were you during \\ the critical days of the struggle?”

\\ And the voices of 10 thousand men would respond, “We were deep in the earth \\ with our faces to the coal.”

\\ It’s said that tears appeared in the eyes of those hardened men.

And they returned \\ to their inglorious work with steely resolve, having been reminded of the role they were \\ playing in their country’s noble goal of preserving freedom for the Western World.

\\ \\ Those men, on that day knew what it was to be Captured by the Cause of Freedom.

\\ \\ My friends, We have a cause that is for Freedom today!

The Cause of Jesus Christ is to \\ carry out His Great Command, and His Great Commission to set the Captives Free from \\ sin, and give them New Hope for this life, and New Hope for the after life.

Have you been \\ Captured by the Cause this morning?

\\ \\ What does the Great Commission ask us to do you ask? I’m glad you asked.

\\ Very simply there are Four Action words, phrases that we need to pay attention \\ too.

Jesus in His Great Commission that He gave the Church right before he was taken \\ into heaven is found in Matthew 28 starting with verse 16.

Let me share the four actions \\ for the church that we are to follow.

\\ 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been \\ given to me.

19 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, 20 and teaching them to obey \\ everything I have commanded you.

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of \\ the age."

\\ \\ First.

“Go”.

Go into the world and find people who need Jesus, Go into your world and \\ see the hurting people, and share with them the Good News of the Gospel.

The church is \\ suppossed to be a group of people who are continually Going.

Friends, are we going to \\ where the people are, or are we hoping that they will find us?

We need to be captured by \\ that first command to Go.

In our Scripture today we see Peter and John going, being \\ actively going to where the needs are.

\\ Second.

“Make”.

This is a verb, and action on our part as Christians.

We are to make \\ disciples.

In other words, once we find lost people, we are to share, win, and mentor our \\ new brothers and sisters in Christ.

\\ When you make dinner today after church, do you just go and get the ingredients, \\ put them on your kitchen counter and hope they come together for a meal?

I don’t think \\ so, you have to go to action and “Make” that meal so it’s ediable.

\\ As a church, as individule Christians we need to be “making disciples” by winning \\ and mentoring new Christians.

This is not an issue of Gifts.

This is a life action by people \\ captured by the Cause of Christ.

\\ \\ Third.

“Baptize”.

This is simply bringing people to a point in their Christian experience \\ where they make a Public Testimony of what Christ has done for them.

This is a outward \\ sign of the inner Grace.

We need to be a church that practices Baptism, that brings people \\ to a place of descision.

\\ \\ Fourth.

“Teach”.

This is a action word that we know well.

We are called to teach our \\ people the ways of God, and to teach is more than giving words, it’s an action.

We can \\ teach by the way we model Christ in our life.

We teach as we live out this Great \\ Commission in our life.

\\ Do you know the best way to develope Strong Committed Christians in our \\ Church?

BE ONE.

They need to SEE what they are suppossed to Become IN YOU.

It’s \\ hard for young Christians to keep striving to move forward when they don’t see examples \\ of Spiritual Maturity in the church.

\\ What does a Young Christian think when they see two Board Members arguing \\ over things that don’t matter?

What do our young Christians think when constantly worry \\ about tomorrow -- instead of being confident that God has tomorrow already taken care \\ of?

\\ It’s easy for us to accuse our Young Christians of not being committed.

But \\ maybe we need to look at ourselves and ask if these same Young Christians see anything \\ in me that would motivate them, would spur them on, to want to be more committed to \\ this Christian cause.

\\ How do we develope Strong Christian Disciples, BE ONE.

Set the example in \\ your words, in your actions, and in your attitudes.

\\ \\ This morning I want to point out three things in our passage with Peter as he is walking to \\ church, this man who has been Captured by the Cause... what we see is that it affects his \\ everyday life.

\\ \\ read v. 3 & 4 \\ 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money.

4 Peter looked \\ straight at him, as did John.

\\ \\ I. Peter noticed the Need.

Peter was on the “Go”.

Peter was Going into his world \\ looking for the needs of people.

Peter and John as they walked into the temple were not \\ trying to avoid people, they were trying to “see” the need in people.