Secrets of
How to Shine in 2009
Text:
Acts 8: 25-39
Intro:
God's Formula for shining in 2009:
1) Exercise your faith (trade
a mustardseed for a mountain)
2) Enlist the facts (trade
skepticism for the scriptures)
3) Embrace the formula(trade
passiveness for performance)
God is looking for some saints to shine in 2009.
If you:
just survived in 2005
missed a few ticks in 2006
didn't touch heaven in 2007
were late in 2008
You can shine in 2009
Here is how:
I.
LISTEN TO THE WILL OF GOD
(stop
listening to the will of self, ways of the world, wiles of the devil)
A)
His will is clear (vs 26)
It is
God's job to make his will clear. (Ps 32:8 "I will instruct thee
and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go")
We have too many people worrying and fretting about the "where"
of God's will and missing the "what" of God's will.
1) There was a clear
command to "get up" ("arise")
cannot go to the backside of the desert when you are sitting
on your backside in the church.
The word "arise" means
"to come into existence"
2) There was a clear
command to "go" ("go")
The gospel is not passive, it is performing.
The gospel works,
wonders, and wins. This is a
"giddyup go" command.
B)
His will is complete (vs 25)
There is:
1)
The Worker ("they")
2)
The witness ("preached")
3) The Word ("word of the
Lord")
C)
His will can be contrary
Phillip
was catching fish by the truckloads in Samaria.
One right
after the other. But God told
him to go to the back side of the
desert, where there was only one fish, and nobody knew whether
that fish would even bite!
The secret to understanding God's will
is not whether it makes sense, but that God said it!
II.
LEARN ABOUT THE WAYS OF GOD
Ps 103:7
"He made known his ways unto Moses"
Is
44:18 "they have not known nor understood"
Phil
3; 10 "that i might know him"
When
you become familiar with the ways of a person, then you can
know
the what, when, and where of their actions.
A)
God seeks a man - The Sinner (vs 27 "a man")
Paul said,
"Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of
whom I am chief". If God can
save the chief, then he can save the
Indians too. Notice the
ingredients of this scene: the
sinner and
the scriptures. It is the
same plan God uses today.
B)
God sends a man - The Servant (vs 31 "some man")
This some man was a preacher. ("How can
they hear without a
preacher...How can they preach unless they be sent").
Phillip was
a "sent servant for the sinner".
He didn't go down there just to be
"present", he went down there to "preach".
C)
God saves by a man - The Saviour (vs 39 "some other man")
the
charismatic movement preaches about the spirit
the calvinistic movement preaches about the sovereignty
the commercial movement preaches about the Sensual
the correct movement preaches about the Saviour.
Here are the
three elements of preaching or witnessing:(vs 35)
1) Proclaim with your
mouth ("Phillip opened his mouth")
2)
Proclaim the Word ('began at the same scripture")
3)
Proclaim Jesus ("preached unto him Jesus")
III. LOVE
THE WORK OF GOD
A)
His Work is about Salvation (John 3:16)
1)
has a purpose
("For God so loved...that he gave")
2)
has a promise ("that whosoever")
3)
has a product ("everlasting life")
B)
His Work is about Service
without going, there will be no glory
without giving, there will be no gain
without serving there will be no shining
with consecration there will be no crown
without running the race there will be no reward
without witnessing, there will be no winning