don't give up sermon outline

I . this sermon encourages not to give up as we are on the brink of a miracle and exhorts us to 1. rest 2. rejoice 3. renew 4. receive 5. request 6. reap 7. race dont give up : you He offered Himself once as the perfect sacrifice forever. Second, Jesus is the Christ. Apparently Paul understood a great deal since it says in Acts 9:21 all who heard were astonished And in verse 22. His education prior to his conversion was extensive, even including instruction in the fine points of Pharisaic understanding at the feet of Gamaliel, a lead rabbi of the day. Later in his ministry when he was on his own in hostile areas of the world, he must have thought of those days and rejoiced that God had made him one in spirit with the other apostles who are back in Jerusalem. For all his earthly achievements, Woody Allen seems to have learned nothing valuable about ultimate reality. When that happens to us, we end up thinking and talking like Woody Allen instead of like Christian believers. Counterfeit Christianity is always safe but true Christianity is always in danger. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day (2 Corinthians 4:16). 1. That is why we never give up. Neither seems plausible to me. But the Christians in Jerusalem did not understand it and were afraid of him. is a FREE sermon outline that will open your churches understanding of how to cause the impossible to become possible. Unless Saul was hallucinating, the appearance of Jesus proved that Jesus was alive and that Jesus was God. He already knows the answer. We see beyond this life to a life to come. Nevertheless Paul knew the Messiah would be the sovereign King because of his knowledge of the Old Testament scriptures. The answer to that question is obviously Moses. When we put the two accounts together we find that the chain of events runs like this: 1) Saul is converted on the Damascus road. A. The police said they would disperse the people but Peter said, They will not listen to you. Deacons said, "Get out, and stay out!". This content is part of a series. You fall apart, is what happens. You come to understand life and accept things. But they were hearing only, He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy. And they glorified God in me. That they could not produce the body was a great embarrassment to them and nevertheless they tried to explain it. Acts 9 contains Lukes account of the conversion of his friend Saul, but the story is told twice more, once in chapter 22, and again in chapter 26. Acts 9 also gives another glimpse into another kind of suffering, not the kind of outright suffering that Paul frequently suffered from overt enemies of Christ, from those who would have killed him if they could. Its easy for all of us to be overwhelmed by the power of death. The priest and early Christians discovered it to have been empty. This is very important to remember especially with the deceptions that are going on a mainstream Christianity today. He said again. But there is another reality at work within us. But life has been let loose through the victorious resurrection of the Son of God. Thats the first reason we never give up. When the Christian life becomes difficult, there are many who will give up when Gods greatest gifts are yet to come. So many things can happen to us. In November 1941 C. S. Lewis preached a sermon on this passage called The Weight of Glory. Gods Idea is inward beauty of the soul untouched and unspoiled by the taint of the world. I. Jesus reminds us that any hardships we endure are only temporary. Were dying all the time. This is exactly the opposite of a person who is religiously unbalanced, which is what this explanation demands. It is one of the curious facts of life that ordinarily we see our own reflection in others and make them what we believe them to be in their own minds. The fact is, we are changed by salvation, 2 Cor. When Jesus offered the bread of life to a crowd with an appetite that only literal bread would appease, many refused to walk with Him another step. Yet during these unknown years God was working in his life teaching him and training him for future service. I like every part of that. In the garden He asked for just one hour (Matthew 26:40). Obviously and rightly Luke considered Sauls conversion to be a watershed event in the history of Christianity. Not just more exceeding. This is not a picture of a crazy man, but rather the picture of a man who says something like: I know that the Bible teaches that there will be a resurrection at the end time and I believe the Bible, but Ive lived a long time, and although there may be a resurrection someday its for the future. It is that important! If this life is all there is, then Woody Allen is right in his grim assessment. Indeed, for the worst things that happen, the terrible betrayals, the breakup of a marriage, the long years of chronic pain, the sadness of seeing our children struggle in their own marriages, none of that seems to have any purpose. It only means that we cannot see it. A. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. Ten thousand came. In the chapter immediately before this, we have been told about Phillip and the Ethiopian and how the gospel was spreading to the south. He will subdue the peoples under us, and the nations under our feet. Barnabas was a man who never held anyones past against them, as far as we know. III. 1. All the doubt, If ever there was an unconvertible enemy it was Saul. But Ananias did not say that. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day (2 Corinthians 4:16). Its literally true in the physical realm. All the confusion, Which is greater? Satan wants us to grow weary in well doing when we dont see immediate results. Enter your email address and we will send you a link to reset your password. Description: ( show) Even as we may have wanted to give up from our deluge In the version of the story found in Acts 26, the Lord is quoted as having said to Saul: Acts 26:14 And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? If the Christians are saying that Jesus rose from the dead they must be trying to deceive people.. They must have remembered that years ago there was a man who was very active in persecuting them. Jesus has promised us a reward worth far more than we deserve. Its literally true. This means that Saul was bothered in his conscience. Truth is truth, regardless of my personal feelings about it. Numerous times the idea of Hebrews 11:36-39 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. Saul was concerned that the religion called the way was spreading. "Sir! C. All suffering will have an end (Matthew 24:9-13). Do not give up praying for other people and do not give up on yourself. 1) I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better (Ephesians 1:17 NIV). Lewis. Now since Paul was now back in Gentile territory one would think that he began his missionary activity at once, but as a matter of fact he did not. 4) He returns and preaches in Damascus for a period of three years (Galatians 1:18). This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content. This is the way the Christians during Sauls and the Jews persecution must have felt at times, as they or their brethren were pursued, captured, and murdered by the zealous Saul. At this time the disciples were born from above by the Holy Spirit marking the beginning of the New Testament church of God. Sing praises to our King, sing praises! Paul would have closely read and studied all these kingly Old Testament scriptures and more. And thats the second reason we never give up. Paul's Conversion. When Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached on this text, he said the greatest need of the church today is for Christians to live as though these things are true. Later he was the most influential man in the New Testament period, if not of all Western history. So the Christians found themselves saying, Well it is true that God saved us and no doubt we were all difficult cases, but how could He possibly save a person like Saul? II Peter 3:15-16 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvationas also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his [Pauls] epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. That is what I want to talk about this morning. Therefore true Christians are called His followers. Here, we also find the beginning of something else Jesus spoke of, Paul sufferings for Jesus sake. A leper came to Jesus and said "If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean". As he died he repeated the words of his Master. As a matter of fact, it was his last night of freedom on the earth before being arrested and voluntarily giving up Saul was trying to stamp out Christianity in one direction while God was advancing it rapidly in the other. They pass away but all true conversion is the result of the work of the same Jesus Christ who knows His sheep. Psalm 47:6-8 Sing praises to God, sing praises! When God spoke to him, Ananias was strong enough to believe God and do what He said. Why? Even though I had driven by that Starbucks a hundred times, it had never registered in my brain. His kingdom is forever. It is God's {y>G=N8os,1(5e#e]>r #+`@L0t|Gqu"5>Ey{(Z[EQWwm+f;7u^AfY"G(u.NV$. And then add it all up, total it up to whatever fantastic sum it may come to, and then add to that the sadness of every funeral youve attended for the death of someone you loved, think about all that death has taken from you, meditate on it, make that sum as large as you can, and place it on one side of the ledger. He was so unanswerable that the Jews, helpless in debate, resorted to violence. II. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. If God said Saul was converted, Ananias was willing to believe it, so he went. If they dont, he still wins! is a FREE sermon outline that will open your churches understanding of how to cause the impossible to become possible. "Sir. The conversion of the apostle Paul was one of the great foundational occurrences in the history of Christianity, however intending to discredit Christianity, secular critics and even liberal theologians argue that Pauls conversion to Christianity never really happened. Jesus is Lord whether I believe it or not. Without that foundation we rush around doing things that appeal to us, things that seem good to us but are not necessarily God's plan for us. Stephen also made his points clear. he fears that she will wear him out with her persistence. He was not ashamed of the gospel and he was determined to make it known to those who best knew him. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My names sake. And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.. Acts 9:5-6 And he said, Who are You, Lord? Then the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. My body doesnt move as fast as it did twenty years ago. Every Christian in Jerusalem knew who Saul was. At one time Paul's idea of the Messiah would have been the same as that of the majority of the Jewish people of his day. Rather it seems that our troubles will never end and that we will be crushed completely. Scientists use the term apoptosis to describe this programmed cell death. In the average human adult between 50 and 70 billion cells die each day. Some of the people whom we might have given up on early in life we now see some change. It must be a trick.. Newsprint keeps getting smaller and smaller! Years ago I served on staff with someone who loved to drink coffee. "Please, sir!" God knew what Pharaoh would do and every move he would make. The kindness of God, Parallel accounts are generally not quite identical and the variations usually shed light on one another or on the meaning of the passage in which each occurs. The same is true of all spiritual reality. I suppose most of us, at one time or another, have felt like giving up. It is remarkable, but not surprising, because more than any other individual in these early years, Saul of Tarsus promoted the gospel of Jesus Christ and the coming of Kingdom of God throughout the Roman Empire. Dont Give Up, Back Up, Or Shut Up! A. The traditional explanation is the one reflected at the end of Matthews gospel, namely that the disciples came and stole the body which is record and Matthew 28:11-15. The promises of God, Christ talked to him with power and authority. The door on which we have been knocking all our lives will open at last. Like many people, she loved a cup of coffee in the morning and in the afternoon. For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with understanding. You'll write powerful and fresh messages every week with our preparation tools on a number of sermon topics, including expository preaching. Thats all I had to tell you--- (1) if you find yourself in a storm because you failed to listen; and (2) you launched out to soon; and (3) the storm is lasting to long; dont give up in the storm but hold Deacons called special meeting, and said I couldnt return. Now let us get back to whether Pauls conversion happened the way Acts 9 describes. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Fathers hand.. Text: Ex.14:13-28esp. Saul was so sure of himself. But he has no answer for it, no hope beyond his own coming death. Problems we pray about earlier are being resolved. Sometimes when people are talking about their conversion they say things like well Im converted but I want to be inconspicuous about it, I want to be a silent Christian. Is that really possible, to be a silent Christian? Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? And he said, Who are You, Lord? Then the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. He said. People try and put a nice varnish on it, and say, well, you mellow. As we reach Acts 9:23, Paul is only at the gateway of his adventures for Christ. All the misunderstanding, All the perplexity, Luke was Pauls friend and wrote the book of Acts, as you well know. If he did not then why would we be Christians? [laughs] I think it has nothing to recommend it. Saul did learn the traditions of Israel but it was not a truly spiritual education, per se. As you know the word Christ is the same word as the Messiah. When the wickedness of the wicked grieves and distresses the Christian.. 3. Many people approach Christianity on the basis of the second question only and they want to know what to do, so they become great activists and rush around doing many good things and this is not necessarily true Christianity. Was blind but now I see. Now one of the most delightful things about the Christian life is getting to know the kind of people God calls and saves because they are generally not the kind you would expect. United Methodist. That was not the case with Paul. You can make it all the way without giving up, backing up, or shutting up. The next conclusion to Paul would have been that Jesus was also a King. Jesus must be a prophet, the last and greatest of the prophets. Its hard to bury a body in the ground, knowing that you wont see that person tomorrow or the next day or the day after that. The so-called mainstream Christianity has redefined the term Son of God to mean merely that everyone is made in God's image, meaning that we are all sons of God and daughters of God. And if we insist on believing in a person we will end up compelling him to justify that belief. It is impossible to figure out what God is going to do because God does not do what we might expect. We understand that no matter what we endure now, there awaits for us an eternal glory that far outweighs what happens to us in this life. We tend not to see what were not looking for. We pray for people and nothing seems to happen, but that does not mean that nothing is happening. Scriptures: I have a grim, scientific assessment of it. Dont Give UP Daniel prayed morning noon and night and God delivered from the mouth of lions, Try again; you have millions of alternatives. But their plot became known to Saul. Three years Paul needed to be prepared for what God was having him do. Sunday A.M., May 26: Preached on street. Think about that. Some days are dark and desperate. I know youve been able to convert many people but you havent converted Saul. You cant escape the aging process. Sunday A.M., June 2: Preached at the edge of town. That was a pretty bold move and he was courageous about it but God gave him the guidance and the strength to carry it out. B. Tagged: faithfulness, perseverance, suffering, reward, All Rights Reserved 2012-2021 by Elizabethton Church of ChristDesign by Moiss Pinedo. I think I begin to see what it means. That is the case with the stories of Pauls conversion. As we strolled through the exhibit area, we saw a booth for a company that offers benefits to adults over the age of 55. Thats what my friend Pastor Peter told me when we talked a few days ago. I like that. And all these [speaking of the saints], having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise. No wonder were all feeling worn out. . Dont give up and dont stop praying. Keep believing and keep on praying. You never know what God will do. And all Gods people said Amen! (If you believe what I just wrote, say Amen! out loud. It will do your heart good and will probably startle the people around you.) The two things needed to reach the lost is (1) compassion, and (2) persistent effort. Paul suffered mentally because of the suspicions of the early Christians. There was also the way in which Stephen died. But the religious leaders hated Paul even more than they had hated Steven and tried to kill him. We never give up. In this passage Paul reveals the secret of Christian endurance. They love doctrine but they are not very interested in practical matters. Obviously if each of these other explanations has to be discarded the only remaining possibility is that the story is true, that there was a genuine appearance of Jesus to Saul followed by an authentic conversion. 5:13-16 (Ill. Thermostat and thermometer) Ill. God wants us to be diligent in our lifting of requests to the Lord. No matter how hard that would be, let us not lose heart, but be strengthened instead. It is an insane mindset. It was to these same synagogues that Paul had received his letters of credit as an official agent of the Sanhedrin. She was a widow and she had no husband to speak for her. Jesus has promised that He is coming back. He was Pharisee of the Pharisees. When we read Acts 9:5, we find Paul asking Jesus, who are You, Lord? In response Jesus told him. She was a woman and women were not allowed to speak in court. But to be reduced to importunity in order to be heard, gosh - that's humiliating Was he just continuing his tendency of being virtually out of his mind, an off-the-wall fanatic? God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne. A. Satan wants you to believe that there's no way out and the walls are closing in (v. 3). Furthermore this Jesus, who was God, was identifying himself with the very people Saul was persecuting. He sees Gods hand in all that has happened. In Luke 18, Jesus tells the story of an widow who refuses to give up. If they kill the body, it matters not. Having this background, he naturally found the emerging sect of Christianity deceptive and totally incompatible with Judaism. It is a possibility that Paul was probably trying to make up for his role in Stephens death. X, Copyright 2022 PreachIt.org All Rights Reserved | SITE MAP. But the sweetness of Jesus may be seen in his goodness to us in the midst of our trials. He was on his way when God called and began to convert him. And I dont seem to hear quite as well as I did ten years ago. Paul had a bright future and that bright future was not with the persecuted Christians and he had been doing very well in Judaism. All the evil we encounter, Any one of us would have been terrified to go do that. Peter answered them in front of the congregation that the church would not disperse. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. The only thing that could account for it is that it was accomplished by the power of God. but God saves his children in stages, not all at once. It is that important. Acts 18:9-11. All the sleepless nights, Now they had some memory of him. A flock follows its shepherd to pastures and streams, true Christians not only obey Christ but we imitate Him. SermonSearch.com is an online resource for sermon outlines and preaching ideas. And I daresay that as long as we gaze upon our trials, they will serve only to perplex us more and more. Are the speculative ones, the sermon image pack and much more 1:21! Kicking against goads, he naturally found the emerging sect of Christianity then Saul spent some days with Christian Mind with what Stephen had to take the game winning shot and missed 50 billion die. 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