16 | Jesus Continued

Acts 9:32-43 | Jesus Continued

Theme: Jesus continues to work through His followers, by the power of the Spirit, to draw people to Himself.

Peter was looking for an opportunity to glorify Christ.

- Are you?

Mark 2:10-12 

But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--he said to the paralytic-- "I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home." And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

Mark 5:40-41 

…But he put them all outside and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. Taking her by the hand he said to her, "Talitha cumi," which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise."

"The trouble with too many of us is that we think God called us to be manufacturers when He really called us to be distributors." -Wiersbe

"If God was a single, independent person, independence would be the godly thing. That would be how to be like him. But as the Son always depends on the Father, that is the nature of Christian godliness. Being a Christian is first and foremost all about receiving, asking and depending. It’s when you don’t feel needy (and so when you don’t pray much) that you lose your grip on reality and think or act in an unchristian manner. In fact, as you grow as a Christian, you should feel, not more self-sufficient, but ever more needy. If you don’t, I’m not sure you’re growing spiritually. Prayer, then, is enjoying the care of a powerful Father, instead of being left to a frightening loneliness where everything is all down to you. Prayer is the antithesis of self-dependence." - Reeves

Ephesians 2:1,4-6

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, ... But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him…

Takeaways:

- Desire to be used, but don’t get discouraged.

- What we win them with, we win them to.

- This is discipleship.

- Christ works.