Expect and Attempt Great Things From God

The sermon exhorted the freedom we have in Jesus Christ and living boldly in the Holy Spirit for God’s Kingdom.

Here is a summary of the sermon:

Since Pentecost, we’ve been looking at Acts and we now reach the end of this great adventure in the early church. Through trials and tribulations, we see God’s unceasing will to push forward and His people who live boldly and without hindrance preaching the Kingdom of God and Lord Jesus Christ.

First in Acts 28:11-16, Paul finally reaches Rome, a place he burned with passion to preach the Gospel. This former persecutor of Christians saw through Deacon Stephen, how stuck he was in Jewish temple. But in receiving Jesus, his perspective changed to the bigger world. We are stuck in our own temples of money, career, status – stuck like this in a cycle of sin and depression. But Jesus frees us from this confinement and allowed us a new tension in love for God. What more is that we realize that we are not alone, just as Paul had visitors welcoming him to Rome from afar, the new life I live is with others at church.

Next, in Acts 28:17-29, we see Paul preaching to the Jews, the prepared ones. Some opened their hearts, while others did not, with Paul saying the Word will unceasingly be preached even to Gentiles. At church, we see the same thing happen with capable, brilliant people – stuck in their own temple not receiving the Word. But God’s work does not stop, God’s blessing finds the ones with open hearts and that is who we are. The ones with open heart, do not think of ourselves highly as “good” people, but we confess our sins and rely only on our savior Jesus Christ. The only thing we had was an open heart, that is the definition of humble. That is the Gospel and walking the truth path. Walking in truth is not dominating with power and success like the world, but the true path of the Kingdom is self-emptying and serving.

Finally, in Acts 28:30-31, we see Paul who continues forth preaching boldly and without hindrance about the Kingdom of God and Lord Jesus Christ. For the disciples, the cross of Jesus was not a failure, for the resurrection was a fundamental change and victory for this world and all of us. The Holy Spirit’s power wasn’t a fading one, but it was overflowing love producing an eternal tension in us. The cross becomes the tension, the motivation in us to live beyond what we would normally expect of ourselves. Just as Dr. Ralph D. Winter said, “Do not pray for easy lives,” we should not live for stability in this world, but live for the dynamic tension of love of cross in our life.

Another great missionary William Carey told us to expect and attempt great things from God. We should set a big frame of our life, boldly and without hindrance for Him. God won’t just bless us on a 1 to 1 basis, but will pour down His love and grace overflowing – that is the qualitative difference in living for God living for God.