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Conway Church of Christ

Sermon Highlights from June 8, 2008
Brother Ramdeo Ramdeen
(followed by the June 1 sermon from Brother Barr)
Acts 17:6 “And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also.”
The Missing Link
Our bible says in today’s reading that the apostles turned the world upside down. Why are we not able to do that today? What is the missing link that they had the we don’t?
Look in Acts 2:1-5, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.” Verse 36 says, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Verses 41 & 42 say, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” They heard the good news and they believed it! That is what made them excited – they obeyed the message God gave. Look in Acts 8:35-39, “Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.” There’s where excitement starts in your life. Those of you who are Christians today, remember how excited you were on your baptism? They were excited because they had the only saving message of the world. Romans 1:16-17 says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”
We’ve got to get this excitement back into the church. Look in Acts 4:32, “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.” There was an atmosphere of family and unity. We need to bring that back.
Philippians 2:13 says, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” We don’t need a piano to get excited! We don’t need to shout and dance to get excited! In 1 John 2:1-2, the Bible says, “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” Jesus not only satisfies us but He shelters us from the wrath of God. In 1 John 1:7 the Bible says, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” In Romans 1:18 it says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.” Those of us who are Christians know we’re gong to make mistakes but we have an umbrella sheltering us. Hebrews 7:25 says, “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”

People who used to serve have lost that excitement. People who used to teach have quit teaching. They’ve lost that excitement. If we’re not excited, what is the point of having a Gospel meeting?
Acts 11:23 says, “Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.”

Sermon from June 1, 2008
Brother Joseph Barr

Matthew 28:18-20 “18And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

We’ve been on a theme for the past 3 or 4 Sundays and we’re still on that theme, of the Great Commission. I want to remind you that todays’ reading is after Jesus’ resurrection and before his ascension. I want t make sure that this applies to me and you and not just the apostles. Jesus wants us to know that He has all authority in the world and in heaven. So when you go out on this commission, no one has the power to shut you up. There’ll be other people coming along, claiming to be saviors, like Mohammed. Jesus wants everyone to know that Mohammed might claim it, but he has not authority, because Christ has ALL of it. And He’s not sharing it. Confucius, the Dali Lama, all these people claim to have authority but Jesus says they’re liars because they don’t have any authority. Jesus has it all.
I want everyone to understand that we all have a job to do. We have a commission. Let’s look at Acts 5:28: “28Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. We ought to obey God rather than men. Our families might not like it, our coworkers might not like it. Find opportunities to talk with your coworkers. Verse 42 says, “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.” Now look at Acts 8:1: “And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.” At this time there was great persecution against the church. Paul (Saul) had consented to the death of Stephen. Stephen had just been stoned. There was such a great persecution, family members were turning on family members.

Saul started going from house to house. He had been given the authority to drag out people who had confessed Christ and they were stoned, just like Stephen. So the church members became scattered abroad. They were running for their lives. But instead of going quietly, they went everywhere, preaching the Word. That’s how I know the Great Commission is for me, because in Acts 8:4 it says, “Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.” They had received the Word of God and now they were preaching. Who’s chasing us? Who’s running us from our homes? Who’s looking to put us into prison? Is it because we’re not being persecuted that we’re not going out preaching the Word everywhere? We’ve ALL got a job. We can’t stand by and see our loved ones lost forever. Is there anybody in this church interested in mission work in Africa? South America? Is there anybody here interested in saving souls? Jesus has taught me how to be a good husband, a good father, how to speak to people, how to be a friend. Isn’t your life better because you know Jesus now? I hope that’s ‘yes.’ That’s what your family members need.
You’ve got to be excited about this church! You ought to tell everybody about it! It ought to be so wonderful when you hear the truth. This is the plan where Jesus Christ is Lord. I want my friends here. I want my family members to see this. In Acts 4:32, the Bible says, “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.” I want to be in a church where the church members don’t covet everything they own. Where “what’s mine is yours,” and “what’s yours is mine.” I’m willing to share. I’m not talking about mooching off of me, but if there’s a need, I’ll be willing to share.
You don’t hear about a church like that from these TV. evangelists. They’re constantly begging for money.

For more information:
Conway Church of Christ
Email: bobcon@sccoast.net

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