A Place Of Grace
9-1-2019
- Lord I Lift Your Name on High
- 10,000 Reasons
- At the Cross
- O Come to the Altar
- I have hiked multiple mountains, several fourteeners, and one of my favorite things to do at certain points is to pause the step after step of hiking, take a breather, and look back. Looking back at the beauty of where you have been going, seeing the progress, remembering the trail past invigorates me to keep going to the top, where once again I will take time to look and reflect.This morning I want us to take time to reflect where we have come in our studies of Luke and Acts. As we do I hope you are invigorated to press ahead in our studies and have a renewed passion for the Gospel!Who Is Luke?This is a man worth knowing and looking into...We first of all know that he was a brother in ChristWe also know that he was a physician and a gentileHe was a gifted writer, well educated, scholars have often raved about his incredible use of GreekGreek is the language the NT was written inThere are 7957 verses in the NTLuke and Acts comprise 2158 of those verses! (Acts has 28 chapters)Luke wrote over 1/4 of the new testament!We know he partnered with Paul on his missionary journeysLuke had a passion for the Gospel… He began this way in Luke 1:1-4 and he continues this writing in Acts 1:1
Luke 1:1–4 NASB95 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.Acts 1:1 NASB95 The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach,Jesus Is Active!The work of salvation is finished… BUT GOD… is alive and well and working in and through His Church (you and Me)!!!As Luke lays out for us the work of Christ we will see in our studies that Luke pauses to summarize and reflect on the work Jesus is doing in building His church Matthew 16:18Matthew 16:18 NASB95 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.As we look over the first two chapters of Acts we see Luke give a description of the launch of the Gospel, the infant steps of this living breathing bride of Christ called the church!In Acts 1:8 he records the words Jesus spoke before returning to Heaven, where He lays out the course of the gospel spread...Acts 1:8 NASB95 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”Leave it to God to have a plan on that scale!Unity and PowerHave you ever been taught a valuable lesson in life and humbled by it from a child?Home depot, rude guy, to the cashier, his workers and well i was grumbling to myself about himJoseph, about 6 yrs old says yeah he is bad, we should tell him about JesusWe find in the opening chapters of Acts a young churchOnly the Old Testament scripturesThe discussion of Calvary is last months newsNo formal structure or strategyAnd we see a unity like no other! Acts 1:14; 2:1; 46Acts 1:14 NASB95 These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.Acts 2:1 NASB95 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.Acts 2:46 NASB95 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,We see FELLOWSHIP, we observe PRAYER, we experience UNITY (one mind)I feel we have become too busy for our own good...“We are too busy to pray, and so we are too busy to have power. We have a great deal of activity, but we accomplish little; many services but few conversions; much machinery but few results.” R.A. TorreyThis young church is demonstrating for us the power that comes from Unity in fellowship and prayer.We see God do an amazing work through them because of it too… BUT GOD helps Acts 2:4Acts 2:4 NASB95 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.Do you know why unity is so crucial in the church today? Because the same Holy Spirit indwells you and me!And wow! What power! The very Spirit of God indwells you and I as believers. 1 John 4:41 John 4:4 NASB95 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.If God has called you and I to follow Him and to fulfill His commands… Guess what He also has empowered us to do so!THE WORLD? Yeah, and Jesus was just getting started!The World VisionPeter’s first sermon… (there are Ten powerful sermons in Acts) kicks off this plan of God’s...In Acts 2:14 Peter addresses the first two zones of verse 8Acts 2:14 NASB95 But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words.Luke shares with us in Acts 2:5 how God had already orchestrated His message to go forth...Acts 2:5 NASB95 Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven.In Acts 2:8-11 we see a key list of peoples and languages who hear the gospel in their own native tongue!Church God still has a heart for people to hear the Gospel...Share it straight from God’s WordActs 2:37 shows us the power of His WordActs 2:37 NASB95 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”Jesus Has Just StartedAt the end of chapter 2 Luke pauses… Acts 2:46-47Acts 2:46–47 NASB95 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.He allows his readers to reflect on what Jesus has doneWe see the beauty of the beginnings of the early churchUnity, fellowship, gladness of heart!Praising God… Luke loved to record this of the early churchFavor with all the people… what an amazing testimonyAnd the Lord was adding day by day… salvation has been, is and always will be a work of Jesus Christ.Church of Parachute 2019 how are we doing? God is working! My prayer is that we will be invigorated from this pause and begin to take the steps forward again in the progression of the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Luke 1:1–4NASB95
Acts 1:1NASB95
Matthew 16:18NASB95
Acts 1:8NASB95
Acts 1:14NASB95
Acts 2:1NASB95
Acts 2:46NASB95
Acts 2:4NASB95
1 John 4:4NASB95
Acts 2:14NASB95
Acts 2:5NASB95
Acts 2:37NASB95
Acts 2:46–47NASB95
- Our God Reigns
- Jesus Name Above All Names
- We are in the Gospel of Luke… today we are going to tackle most of one of the largest chapters in the Bible (80 verses!) We are going to be looking at the events of a man by the name of Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth:He is a priestThey are said to be considered righteous in the sight of GodI am so glad God is watching!An angel will visit himGod will work a miracleIn the end this priest will prophesy and praise God…BUT FIRST! Let’s rewind and go back 400 years...MalachiHolman- “Malchi rebuked God’s people for specific violations of the covenant, such as laws concerning sacrifices, divorce, and tithes, but he also prophesied the coming of the Messenger who will set things right.”At first glance it would appeared God had been silent or forgotten for 400 years after sending Malachi to the people and declaring His promise...Feelings of forgotten as a nationZacharias forgotten as a priest (will God speak again?)Elizabeth forgotten as she is barren no childrenWhen in reality, God had not forgotten, but was DOING what he promised!& declare what God will do in the coming future...
Malachi 3:1 NASB95 1 “Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts.Malachi 4:4–6 NASB95 4 “Remember the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel. 5 “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. 6 “He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”The world stage had to be set… made ready for His Messenger who would come:Daniel had prophesied the things that would occur before the Messiah would comeAlexander the Great would come in… create one language GreekHis empire would be divided four way among his generalsEventually Rome would take over the world… roads being developed for transportation!God had not forgotten… On the contrary, He was remembering His promise, fulfilling His Word! In fact His promises… THE PROMISE goes all the way back to the beginning!God’s PromiseThe Seed of the woman would deliver a death blow to SatanGenesis 3:15 NASB95 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”We see the three sons of Noah and there is a blessing passed to ShemGenesis 9:25–27 NASB95 25 So he said, “Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brothers.” 26 He also said, “Blessed be the Lord, The God of Shem; And let Canaan be his servant. 27 “May God enlarge Japheth, And let him dwell in the tents of Shem; And let Canaan be his servant.”Through Abraham’s seed all men would be blessed this is made clearer in Genesis 15Genesis 12:3 NASB95 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”Abraham had many sons… Yet Issac is the one God’s blessing was with.Isaac had two sons yet the blessing (Promise) was with Jacob… The God of Abraham, Issac & Jacob.Jacob had 12 sons… Jacobs name is changed by God to Israel (one who wrestles with God)God’s blessing of promise is passed from Jacob to Judah in Indicating the One to come would be royal, a ruler King.Genesis 49:10 NASB95 10 “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.From the line of Judah comes a man who was anointed king by the name of David… in and God Promises this...2 Samuel 7:16 NASB95 16 “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”The Hebrew word: mashiyach, meaning “the anointed” gradually became a title for the Promised Savior-King Messiah!God did NOT forget… He had been working all along in even the smallest of details!NOW… back to Luke.We Can Take God at His Word!Setting:Priest had their turns to serve in the temple… this was Zacharias’ timeSelected to go in and offer incense (prayers) to God… Usually on behalf of the people of IsraelLuke 1:11–17 NASB95 And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. “You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. “And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. “It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”I don’t think this man was praying for a son… too old.Praying for the people, felt forgotten, feeling the oppressions of the Romans, whatever it was GOD HEARD!Wow! the angel states the Zacharias’ son will fulfill the prophecy of MalachiYour son will prepare for the Promised MessiahIt Is Time! The Messiah is coming!!!What God says WILL HAPPEN!Moody- Zacharias ought to have been focusing on the divine “promise” of the message, not the human “problems” of the message.Did you miss it? Do you doubt God due to human limitations?The Promise of the scriptures was being fulfilled and this is Zacharias’ response…Luke 1:18–20 NASB95 Zacharias said to the angel, “How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.” The angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. “And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”Several lessons here:Be careful when you ask God to prove it or for a sign!This was good news, not intended to create a problemThe last words he could hear was the promise, his last words were questioning GodGod has a time table and a plan, He is NEVER late and always stays true to His WordGod’s Hand Working Deserves Praise“ His Name is John”These are the words Zacharias would write on a board for the questioning crowd…Wait a minute… Zacharias, he’s not going to carry your name?NO this baby boy would carry something much greater… the message that the Messiah has come repent!His Faith to obey and listen loosed his tongue… He begins to prophesy for all there to hear and share!Luke 1:67–79 NASB95 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people, And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of David His servant— As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old— Salvation from our enemies, And from the hand of all who hate us; To show mercy toward our fathers, And to remember His holy covenant, The oath which He swore to Abraham our father, To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days. “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; For you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways; To give to His people the knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins, Because of the tender mercy of our God, With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us, To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”Look at the people’s response to all they heard and had seen…Luke 1:65–66 NASB95 Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea. All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.Darrel Bock- The story’s close indicates that the Lord’s hand was with him. Luke is saying, in effect, “Be assured, Theophilus or any other reader of my account, that God was in these most unusual events.” When God’s hand is mentioned, usually an opportunity for deliverance is around the corner!
A Place Of Grace
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