Sermon Central
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The Life Of John The Beloved Pt 2
Contributed by Charles La Porte on Jun 17, 2008 (message contributor)
Summary: this two part series looks at Johns life and relates how we can begin to live as God intended thru the transforming power of the Holy Spirit
Life Lessons From The Life Of John:
ACTS 3:1-11 Read and Pray…
1. HE HAD A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF HOLY FIRE
The sons of thunder at one point in time wanted to send a consuming fire a fire of destruction on the Samaritan people… now they message of the resurrection had reached them and they began to believe and be saved, what a different turn of events that took place… almost like the Jonah unwillingness to preach to Nineveh (Assyrians) and yet seeing that the word could change even their lives, was the similarities between Jonah and Johns brief moment of unwillingness…
The church in Jerusalem was in a stir as the news about the conversion of the Samaritans spread like wildfire through the Christian community. As Jews they had been raised with a certain understanding about these Samaritan People; they saw them as mongrel people with a false religion.
The Samaritan people we descendants from colonist that the Assyrian King planted in Palestine after the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 722 BC., and they were hated by the Jews because of their mixed gentile blood and their different approach to religion.
When the Apostles heard of their coming to Christ, they decided to send both John and Peter to investigate.
When the disciples in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. Acts 8:14
As John traveled he must have been poor company of Peter as they made this long jurney to Mount Gerizim. He no doubt remembered his early days walking with Jesus through Samaria when these people refused to receive the Master because He was bound for Jerusalem.
John and his brother James (God rest his soul) desired to call down fire from heaven like Elijah and consume these people. And now years later, they had come to the faith. What a horrible mistake he could have made, had it not been for the love of Jesus.
As John and Peter ministered to the new converts in Samaria, the Holy Spirit fell upon them and true fire from Heaven engulfed them. Not the fire resulting from human anger or misunderstanding, but the kind of fire that sets people ablaze for God.
Johns prejudice almost prevented this wonderful miracle. If it had not been for the intervention of Jesus, the fire of hatred would have consumed these newly converted Samaritans. What a lesson John learned about the Kingdom of God verses the kingdom of this world.
Is there any area of your life in which you think differently that the Bible? (giving, lying, cheating, etc) If so give it to the Lord today and watch Him perform a miracle…
perhaps we have seen fire differently than a Holy Fire… lets desire to a Holy Fire set our hearts ablaze, set our church ablaze of Jesus… set our city ablaze for jesus.
2. HE SPOKE WITH A NEW LEASE ON LIFE
Acts 3:1-11 recount the scriptures…
It was about 3:00 in the afternoon when John and Peter went up to the temple for prayer, when they saw a lame man differently than they had ever seen him before. he was always there, begging for alms at the Beautiful Gate, and he had been there as long as John could remember.
But today was different. Today the Holy Spirit prompted John and his companion to give this man something greater that gold or silver
They fixed their gaze on the lame man and commanded him in the name of Jesus to walk, and walk he did. Not only did he walk, he leapt and shouted and praised God as a man with a new lease on life…
Because John and Peter spoke to him as men with a new lease on life with a new outlook on the power of the Holy Spirit…
No longer would this man be for his food, but now he would work, and witness to the miraculous power of God in his life.
Why was this day different in John’s life? Why hadn’t he ever prayed for the man for healing before? It was God’s timing and it was God’s Spirit that was in control, and God received the glory for the miracle.
John’s part was simply obedience to God’s timing and God’s voice. The disciples were just beginning to see themselves as agents and vessels for God’s power and love to flow through.
I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. John 14:12
How many Christians see themselves this way as they drive to work, or as they dine in a restaurant? What would be your reaction if God were to tell you to pray for a crippled man on the street corner?
