Cross Creek Community Church, Pastor Dave Martin April 18, 2010

“Beyond Conversion”

Part 2  Acts 2:41-47

Remember – get your Hot Dog lunch and drop in a generous gift to help the men’s softball ministry!

A police officer pulled a driver aside and asked for his license and registration. "What's wrong, officer," the driver asked. "I didn't go through any red lights, and I certainly wasn't speeding."

"No, you weren't," said the officer, "but I saw you waving your fist as you swerved around the lady driving in the left lane, and I further observed your flushed and angry face as you shouted at the driver of the Hummer who cut you off, and how you pounded your steering wheel when the traffic came to a stop near the bridge."

"Is that a crime, officer?" "No, but when I saw the ‘Jesus loves you and so do I’ bumper sticker on the car, I figured this car had to be stolen."

• After my salvation… then what?  Does God have a perfect plan and purpose for my life? 
• How are we doing spiritually?  Hot, on fire for Christ?  Or do I feel lukewarm, anemic for Him?

On a scale of 1 to 10, where am I Spiritually?

1          2          3          4          5          6          7          8          9          10

Spiritual Stagnation…                                                           …Spiritual Growth

• I won’t ask you to circle the number (neighbor/spouse may see it)… fix the number in your mind…

Hebrews 5:12-14 ¹² In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! ¹³ Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

• God’s desire and perfect will is for His children to be experiencing spiritual growth, not stagnation…
• I read of a young man who dives and catches exotic fish then sells them for aquariums. He said one of the most popular aquarium fish is the shark. He explained that if you catch a small shark and confine it, it will stay a size proportionate to the aquarium. Sharks can be six inches long yet fully matured. But if you turn them loose in the ocean, they grow to their normal length of eight feet.
• Sadly there are those who say they are a Christian… yet they never go beyond their salvation experience
• 6 inch Christians in spiritual stagnation, Stunted in their growth, lacking heaven’s blessings and resources…
• You may have been saved for perhaps 20 years… yet still a spiritual infant in Christ… No spiritual depth
• When you ought to be teachers… you struggle in prayer or teaching God’s Word… you’re stunted…

I read about a man, after 25 years with one company, was still doing the same old job and drawing the same salary. Finally he went to his boss and told him he felt he had been neglected. “After all,” he said, “I’ve had a quarter of a century of experience.”  “My dear fellow,” sighed the boss, “you haven’t had a quarter of a century of experience, you’ve had one experience for a quarter of a century.”

• Sadly, this may describe you this morning… Quite possibly caught up with “busyness”, NOT Hot or Cold…
• Jesus describes this so called “Lukewarm Christian” just before He returns…

 Revelation 3:17 You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

Signs of Being Stunted…

• Ignorance of God’s Word… Immature Ephesians 4:13-15

1. Bible keeps us from sin, cleanses us, instructs us… ignorant of it, anything goes… wing it…

• Listening to Lies from the Enemy… Deceived 2 Corinthians 11:14; Philippians 4:7

1. Not guarding our thoughts… Devils playground… no stability… stunted, deceived

• Proud, Apathetic, Undisciplined… Worldly  James 4:1-6 (God resists the proud… gives grace to the humble)

1. We tend to surround ourselves with spiritually weaker people who validates us… worldly

• Living in Persistent Disobedience… Chastening Hebrews 12:4-11

1. Guaranteed, IF you belong to God, you will be disciplined by Him… many ways…

CAUTION:   CAUTION:   CAUTION:  

Grieving and Quenching the Holy Spirit who Dwells in you

• He is Grieved Because of Sin…

Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

• He is Quenched Because of Disobedience…

 1 Thessalonians 5:19 Do not quench the Spirit.

• Our lives become so far from God’s standard as we substitute my thoughts and desires for His…
• Getting far from the Lord… yet think we are so close and OK… deception from the enemy… SIN…
• We tend to drift through life like a boat without a rudder… moving only when pressured by the winds…
• David flamed out with Bathsheba… over a year later before he was broken in repentance…
• How about us?  As the Psalmist cried out in Ps 51:12, God grant me a “willing spirit”
• As we see the day approaching of Christ’s return… I’m sensing a growing hunger to know God more…

From Last Week…

• Peter preaches God’s Word, the first sermon…
• The Holy Spirit Convicts of sin, righteousness & Judgment…
• 3000 people turn from sin and believe, gloriously saved and baptized…

• In two weeks we’ll have around 18 people who trusted Christ, baptized… that’s awesome!
• Next week, immediately following each service, I would like to meet with those being baptized…
• These individuals are intentionally putting themselves into “position” to soar spiritually!

• Like them, each of us daily must make the right decisions to spiritually grow… getting into position…
• When flying, planes can get backed up on the apron and taxiways trying to depart an airport… a pilot loves to hear the words from ATC “taxi into position…” it means you’re up to bat, you’re ready to taxi your aircraft to the active runway… looking down maybe a 2 mile runway… get ready to fly! Position!
• As Christians we must be in position to fly Spiritually, or we will NEVER get off the ground… stunted…

Acts 2:41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

Now What?... What’s Beyond Conversion…

I.   What characterized the early Christians?  Commitment

“Proskartereo” – (pras-karr-ret-toe)… to be strong towards (used intensively), to continue steadfastly, to persevere in, give oneself continually, fully committed    [loyal, faithful, with conviction]

Acts 2:42-47 ⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³ Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. ⁴⁶ Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

• After conversion the early believers devoted themselves continually to spiritual disciplines …
• They were fully committed… not half way but totally sold out for Christ!

II.   Daily Committing Themselves to…

• Learning the Truth of God’s Word – Doctrine

1. Before the scriptures completed… “Apostles’ teaching”… A love for God’s Word… Faith grows
2. “Doctrine” – to teach and instruct God’s truth with authority and power… changes a person

• Loving God and One Another – Harmony/Unity/Peace

1. All believers were together, in common, together… they had a unity as “one team for Jesus”
2. Fulfilling Great Commandment of Loving God supremely and our neighbor as ourselves…
3. The early believers were in fellowship with their Lord and in fellowship with one another…

• Laboring in Prayer and Ministry – Investment

1. They devoted themselves to prayer… the “work” of prayer… pays off with huge dividends
2. They were devoted to reaching more and more people… “every member a minister”…
3. Prayer and ministry require investing your time… are you willing?  Are you stunted or growing?

Samuel Chadwick said, “The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray.”

• Living in Gratitude with Awe and Praise – Worship

1. To authenticate the early church God empowered the Apostles to work miraculous “signs”
2. The people in thankfulness of being saved… saw God working around them… AWE, Worship!
3. God inhabits the praise and Worship of His people… Do you just stand or do you worship Lord?
4. You can have right doctrine yet still don’t know how to worship… stunted & stagnate…
5. Committed to, “Practicing the presence of God” in worship throughout your day… 

“If worship is not happening among God’s people today, it is because we have shaped our concepts of God to fit our own understanding… We have “worshiped” only when we decided God had lived up to our expectations…  As a tear magnifies grief, as laughter magnifies humor, as a smile magnifies joy, so worship magnifies God. Worship is not so much words as it is an automatic response out of your own utter smallness to a God too big—too big to wrap your mind around, too big to figure out.”

III.  Commitment is Something We Do…

ü  Adjust my Attitude

• There are many instruments in the cockpit of an aircraft… with six basic “primary instruments” which Pilots depend upon… airspeed, altimeter, turn coordinator, heading indicator, vertical speed indicator and the attitude indicator… He constantly scans these and other instruments… 
• The attitude indicator tells the pilot basically the whole situation of the aircraft… very important
• Your attitude will make you or break you… It determines how high you fly spiritually…
• Am I willing to grow (wise) or to remain stunted spiritually (unwise)… living in view of eternity…

ü  Realign my Priorities

• God, family, church, then everything else… this is God’s will after conversion…
• Giving God first place… “Be still and know that I am God” Ps 46:10
• Positioning yourself to fly spiritually… Placing top priority on your primary instruments…
• Priority of the God’s Word, Agape Love, Personal Prayer, Involved Serving and Worship

ü  Make it Happen

• The early church was living in expectation of seeing Jesus soon… in favor with all the people
• They were about the Lord’s business, not their own… stepping up, selling out, soaring high…
• Each individual had to make it happen… personal responsibility, not a hearer only…
• But a doer of the Word! The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved! 

Lives are Changed… God is Glorified!

Let’s Pray…

Remember…

• Short meeting after service next week for those desiring to be baptized!
• Get your Hot Dog lunch and drop in a generous gift to help the men’s softball ministry!

Let’s all stand and worship our Lord together !