February 10-11, 2007, Acts 2, Selected

LIFE 360!
LIVING LIKE YOU MEAN IT!

*** John 10:10b Jesus said: "I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of." [The Message]

IF YOU WANT TO LIVE LIKE YOU MEAN IT:
- We must decide IT'S NOT ABOUT ME - IT'S ALL ABOUT GOD!

*** Mark 8:34 "Jesus then told the crowd and the disciples to come closer, and he said: If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow me." [Contemporary English Version]

- We must be convinced WE WERE MADE BY GOD AND FOR GOD!

*** 1 Peter 2:5 "And now God is building you, as living stones, into his spiritual temple. What's more, you are God's holy priests, who offer the spiritual sacrifices that please him because of Jesus Christ." [New Living Translation]

PURPOSE #1 - Living a Life Expressing Our Love for God = WORSHIP!

PURPOSE #2 - Living the Same Love for Each Other as God has for Us = FELLOWSHIP!
PURPOSE #3 - Living like Jesus more an more each day! = DISCIPLESHIP!

*** Romans 8:29a "For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son..." [NLT]

AM I MORE LIKE JESUS TODAY THAN YESTERDAY?

1. DO I REALLY WANT TO BE LIKE JESUS?
*** Acts 2:42 "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." [New International Version]
*** Acts 4:13 "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus." [NIV]
*** John 3:19-20 "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, & will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed." [NIV]

CHRISTIAN IN CAMOUFLAGE!

DO I REALLY WANT TO BE LIKE JESUS? ___ YES! ___ No! ___ Not Sure!

*** Phil. 3:7-9a "I once thought all these things were so very important, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ and become one with him." [NLT]

2. AM I WILLING TO BE TRANSFORMED?
*** Acts 2:42, 46 "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and ... prayer. [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..." [NIV]

*** 1 Tim. 4:7b-8 "Spend your time and energy in training yourself for spiritual fitness. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." [NLT]

*** Hebrews 6:1a "We must try to become mature and start thinking about more than just the basic things we were taught about Christ." [Contemporary English Version]

*** Eph. 4:13 "This work must continue until we are all joined together in the same faith and in the same knowledge of the Son of God. We must become like a mature person, growing until we become like Christ and have his perfection." [NCV]

WE FOCUS ON CHANGE FROM THE OUTSIDE - IN!
GOD WANTS US TO FOCUS ON CHANGE FROM THE INSIDE - OUT!

*** Romans 12:2 "Do not change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but be changed within by a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to decide what God wants for you; you will know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect." [New Century Version]

*** 1 Cor. 11:1 "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." [NIV]

AM I WILLING TO BE TRANSFORMED? ___ YES! ___ No! ___ Not Sure!

3. WILL I ACCEPT THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF DISCIPLESHIP?
*** Hebrews 5:12, 6:1 "By now you should have been teachers, but once again you need to be taught the simplest things about what God has said. You need milk instead of solid food. [6:1] We must try to become mature and start thinking about more than just the basic things we were taught about Christ." [CEV]

ARRESTED SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT!

*** 2 Tim. 2:15 "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved…and who correctly handles the word of truth." [NIV]
*** 2 Tim. 2:2 "You have heard me teach many things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Teach these great truths to trustworthy people who are able to pass them on to others." [NLT]

DISCIPLE-MAKING IS THE INDICATION OF DISCIPLESHIP!

WILL I ACCEPT THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF DISCIPLESHIP?
___ YES! ___ No! ___ Not Sure!

*** 2 Tim. 3:16-17 "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God's way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do." [NIV]

*** Col. 1:10 "We pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God..." [NIV]

"God loves us the way we are. He loves us too much to leave us the way we are. He wants us to be Just Like Jesus." – Max Lucado, "Just Like Jesus!"