Captured By The Cause Series

AC 3:1 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer--at

three in the afternoon. 2 Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the

temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into

the temple courts. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for

money. 4 Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" 5 So

the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

AC 3:6 Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In

the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." 7 Taking him by the right hand, he

helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8 He jumped to

his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking

and jumping, and praising God. 9 When all the people saw him walking and praising

God, 10 they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple

gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had

happened to him.

AC 4:1 The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to

Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2 They were greatly disturbed

because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the

resurrection of the dead. 3 They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening,

they put them in jail until the next day. 4 But many who heard the message believed,

and the number of men grew to about five thousand.

This morning I want to continue to talk to you about the church that we find in the early

part of Acts, it’s this fledgeling church, it’s just been ignighted on Pentecost through the

Holy Spirit, and when I say ignighted, that’s what I mean...... this church is on Fire for

Jesus. 3000 people came into the Kingdom in thier first gathering.

What we will discover this morning is that when a People, when a Church, when a Team is

Captured By the Cause, When a Team can see the Big Picture, through the power of the

Holy Spirit, there is no stopping that team from it’s goals.

I’m going to ask questions of you this morning, Like..... Have you been Captured By the

Call that Jesus has given us? Do you understand the Call? How did you, in your own life,

this week obey the Great Commission?

We will come back to those questions as we dig into the scripture this morning.

First, let me share with you a story that will illustrate what can happen when a people is

Captured by a Cause.

Winston Churchill was one of the great leaders in our day. He understood the Law of the

Big Picture. It is said that during World War II when Britain was experiencing its darkest

days, the country had a difficult time keeping men working in the coal mines. Many

wanted to give up their dirty, thankless jobs in the dangerous mines to join the military

service, which garnered much public praise and support. Yet their work in the mines was

critical to the success of the war. Without coal the military and the people at home would

be in trouble.

So the prime minister faced thousands of coal miners one day and told them of

their importance to the war effort, how their role could make or break the goal of

maintaining England’s Freedom.

Churchill painted a picture of what it would be like when the war ended, of the

grand parade that would honor the people who fought the war. First would come the

sailors of the navy, he said, the people who continued the Tradition of Trafalgar and the

defeat of the Spanish Armada. Next would come the best and brightest of Britain, the

pilots of the Royal Air Force who fended off the German Air Forces. Following them

would be the soldiers who had fought at Dunkirk.

Then last of all would come the coal-dust-covered men in miners’ caps. And

Churchill indicated that someone from the crowd might say, “And where were you during

the critical days of the struggle?”

And the voices of 10 thousand men would respond, “We were deep in the earth

with our faces to the coal.”

It’s said that tears appeared in the eyes of those hardened men. And they returned

to their inglorious work with steely resolve, having been reminded of the role they were

playing in their country’s noble goal of preserving freedom for the Western World.