Come On People_Maxwell
| a)for status. The color of your skin; the texture of your hair; the level of your education; the size or your house; the level of your income is no reason to think your opinion ought to carry more weight. 3) There were no scorekeepers. A scorekeeper is someone who can tell you what everybody else has done wrong, but themselves. Peter had denied the Lord, Thomas had doubted, and James and John had argued over who was greatest and what position they would have in Jesus’ kingdom. Jesus’ own family thought he had lost his mind at one time. But, they all prayed together in that upper room. So, come on church let’s pray … Come on church let’s discover God’s purpose … Come on church … let’s look for ways to include; not exclude. When these traits characterize the church … God’s transforming power is on the way. Over in chapter 2, the Bible says power from on high fell on those who were in that upper room. And they began glorifying God in different languages. A church was born and thousands of lives were forever changed. Illustration: The true story is told of how a church was transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. The elders had gone on a retreat with the pastor. After planning the church’s calendar for the next year and fretting over finances, one elder said, “I think we are going about this the wrong way. We are trying to do this using our human ability alone. And it’s not working. I think we need to get right with the Lord and get right with each other before we go any further!” The pastor asked. “Is there anything in any of us that is blocking the flow of power? Folk were reconciled with others with whom they had disagreed in the past. And later on, at a Communion Service they asked for the Holy Spirit to fill them with power both as individuals and as a group of leaders. God answered their prayer and blessed them with power from on high. Isn’t it time to deal with whatever it is that is blocking the flow of power. If you’ve got an issue with another brother or sister in Christ I want you to seek reconciliation with that brother or that sister. |
| (Acts 1:12-14) Come On Church |
| Comedian Bill Cosby and Harvard Psychologist Alvin Poussaint have written a powerful new book titled Come On People. In the book, they address the crises of black people who for one reason or another are stuck and unable to move forward. Cosby and Poussaint were on the Oprah Winfrey show talking about the book and encouraging parents to get more involved with their kids. Cosby said that the inspiration for the title of the book came from his 3 year old granddaughter. They were in the Ray Charles Post Office one day waiting to buy some stamps. The line was long and barely moving. Cosby’s granddaughter grew impatient and asked, “Why is it taking so long?” “Because the people are moving a little too slowly,” Cosby told her. The next thing Cosby knows the little girl cried out, “Come On, People!” I think some of you can identify with Cosby’s granddaughter can’t you? You too have had those moments when you have said, either out loud or under your breath, “Come On, People!” The rise in black-on-black violence is reason enough to say, “Come On, People!” The growing numbers of young black men who are either in jail or headed that way is reason enough to say, “Come On, People!” The swelling ranks of young black children who are dropping out of High School are reason enough to say, “Come on, People”. The senseless sniping of established blacks in the political infrastructure at up-and-comers is reason enough to say, “Come On, People!” But instead of saying, “Come on, People” perhaps we should be saying “Come on, Church!” After all, isn’t it written, (2 Chron 7:14) “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” And isn’t revival just another way of saying, “Come on Church!” In our text, the fledgling church has just come down off the Mount of Olives. The Lord Jesus has just been taken up into heaven. They return to Jerusalem because the Lord has promised, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you!” The text says when they got back to Jerusalem they went up into the upper room. While they were in the upper room, certain traits characterized the church. Traits that I believe ought to characterize the church today. As we unpack verse 14, we will discover some traits that must characterize the church. First of all, unceasing prayer must characterize the church.1) The text says the disciples devoted themselves to prayer. They persisted in prayer. They busied themselves with prayer. They continued in and held fast to prayer. a) Jesus said, my house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves. Jesus is angry because what ought to be conspicuous is conspicuously absent. |
| Illustration: If you dine at IHOP (The International House of Pancakes) there are lots of choices on the menu. But what characterizes IHOP and sets it apart from other restaurant chains is pancakes. Every year IHOP sells over 700 million pancakes. You can order double blueberry pancakes, strawberry banana pancakes, harvest grain pancakes, or regular buttermilk pancakes. Can you imagine going to the House of Pancakes and not being able to get a pancake? If you went to the house of pancakes and couldn’t get a pancake, you would be very upset. So it is with the church, Jesus said, my house shall be called a house of prayer! In His house, prayer will be prominent. In his house, prayer will be conspicuous. In his house the profit motive will not preempt prayer. Because whenever prayer is preempted, the church loses her power. Whenever prayer is preempted the church is unable to impact and influence as God purposes. What a difference it makes when prayer characterizes the house. * When prayer characterizes the house, there is power in the house.
- … healing … deliverance … peace … joy … love!
1 Thess 5:17 pray without ceasing, Jesus said, keep on praying – keep on asking and it shall be given unto you; keep on seeking and you shall find; keep on knocking and the door will be opened. Come On Church, Let’s pray. · There are important decisions to be made – so come on, let’s pray. · souls need saving … communities need reclaiming … · We need direction divine direction … supernatural wisdom … and power from on high. · Let’s pray until we hear from heaven … steps are ordered … until we know that the Hand of our God is good upon us.Secondly, unified purpose must characterize our church.1) Not only must unceasing prayer characterize our church. Unity of purpose must also characterize our church. The text says the disciples continued “with one accord” in prayer. This means more than just being together in one place. This means a spirit of harmony characterized their gatherings. They all had one mind. a) There’s only one way to have one mind. There’s only one way to be on one accord. There is a way that seems right to you. And there is a way that seems right to me. But neither my way nor your way is THE WAY. The only way to be on one accord is to LET GOD HAVE HIS WAY. God’s way is revealed in God’s Word! That’s why David said, (Ps |
| b)119:105) Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. God’s way is in God’s Word. If the church is to have unity of purpose, we must all accept God’s Word as God’s way for the church. All of the confusion about what the church ought to be doing and how she ought to be doing it can be cleared up in the God’s Word. c) God’s way is also revealed by God’s Son! If you let the mind of Christ be in you, and I let the mind of Christ be in me, then the church can have unity of purpose. Phil 2:5-11 describes the kind of mind we should have. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.Come On Church, Let’s let God have His Way.· Letting God have His Way might mean that your pet project might not be top priority just because it’s your pet project. · Letting God have His Way means I might not agree with it but if it lines up with the Word of God I won’t try to shoot it down. I won’t get on the phone and run it down. · Letting God have His Way means I won’t sow seeds of division by trying to win others over to my point of view. Lastly, unbiased involvement must characterize the church.Unceasing Prayer ought to characterize our church. Unified purpose ought to characterize our church. And lastly unbiased involvement ought to characterize our church. 1) According to Warren Wiersbe, a wonderful variety of people made up that first assembly of believers! There were men and women, apostles and “ordinary” people, and even members of the Lord’s earthly family (see Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3).2) There was no superficial criterion for status imposed upon others. Jesus’ family didn’t claim special status just because they were Jesus’ family. The men didn’t claim special status over the women just because they were men. Fracture and fragmentation arise when one group imposes a superficial criterion for status upon others. What family you belong to is a superficial criterion for status. Gender is a superficial criterion |
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