SERMONS

Message given at Roosevelt Community Church, Bellingham, WA. Spring 2008

                                    TESTIFY!
                                  Acts 2:22-32


I ___know I've been Changed,
I___ know I've been changed,
I____ Know I've been change, the angels in the heaven done signed my name.

When I was a child in church, they had what was called, and still today called, a Testimony Service. An old saint would stand and would lead off in a song:
Then they would say: Giving honor to God, my Pastor, and my brothers and sisters. I know a man who saved my soul some ____ years ago.

They would tell of their experiences with faith, with Jesus. They would talk about what they were struggling with now, and what they wanted the church family to pray with them about.  They would Testify!

Peter was not drunk when he gave his testimony of Jesus. He was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. Peter spoke to the crowd out of His experience, and He spoke about the testimony of David hundreds of years before about this same Jesus.

Who was he speaking to?  Godly Jews then;  for us today - it is the Church.

V22. What man/Satan means for evil – God means for good. They may have thought they had gotten rid of Jesus, this trouble maker – BUT GOD, had a plan from the beginning of the world. It covered this day, and today. His plan for Jesus covered the sins of the world then, and ours today!
V26. My body rests in hope – Why?
        Because He lives. Because we have the assurance of 
        NEW LIFE today through the
        living Christ.

We have the assurance through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ of Eternal Life; that afterwe die to this physical life our soul lives forever.

V28. You have shown me the way of life, and You will give
me wonderful joy in Your presence.

David testifies of God's direction and God's presence in his life. David testifies of the joy of  knowing that this is not the end, and looking toward the future and predicting the resurrection of the Messiah.

Something has to die to be resurrected. RE= a DOover. REdone, REborn, REvived,  RE grown, REsurrected.

Without the resurrection and the ascention we have no reason to believe in Jesus Christ. The resurrection revealed His power over death and Satan. The ascention of Jesus took Him physically to another dimension of life. He is now in Heaven at the right side of our Father God; but is spirituall living within each one of us today who have accepted Him.

Are you a witness today of what Christ has done in your life?

Are you struggling with something – Give it to HIM!

The Bible says we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. Our testimonies are about life experiences of what the Lord has done.

Sometimes we don't even realize it's the Lord, but we know – We've made it over. 

No Peter and the others were not drunk with wine. They were not toked with smoke, pickled with liquor, or hopped out on smack.
They were all -120, men and women filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in other languages, spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They knew a man who was crucified, dead and buried who walks among the living, and He's still among us through the Holy Spirit who lives in us.  Do You Know HIM?

The witness/prophecy of David went through 42 generations, continuing till now, and it will go on and on... How AWESOME is that?

The POWERFUL witness of Peter who was often quick at the lip, and found himself in the valley of shame, but was FORGIVEN to witness about  the man he knew as the Messiah, the Son of God - His witness still stands.

Our witness TODAY as to how the Lord has delivered, forgiven, protected and changed our lives; It will continue, and touch other lives.

V32.  We TODAY who are alive in Christ are witnesses to HIS POWER!    I know the Man

I know a man from Galilee, if you're in sin
I know He'll set you free, Ohh ohh, ohh,
Do You Know Him?

I know a man who keeps me everyday of my life, who is my shelter (cause I didn't get evicted when my job played out), who is my provider, cause He gave me another, better job.
I know a man who is my healer, my doctor, when by body is wracked with so much pain from arthritis and my shoulders, that I sometimes want to  holler,  BUT,  He touched me and takes away my pain. My physical, emotional and spiritual pain -
                            HE TOUCHED ME!
I know a man who took the taste of alcohol from me after 30 years or more of drinking, and made me a new creation, so I can talk about His Power, His Love, His Amazing Grace.  I know a man – His name is Jesus.
Do you know Him?
Who ARE you?   
What IS IT that you are believing Him for?
How have you been changed?

Because Jesus was born, crucified, shed His blood, died, was buried and ROSE again – We are saved. We are forgiven!
The Lord's Supper which we are about to take is in remembrance of Him. It represents - Deliverance from sin by Christ death. This solemn act of reliving the Lord's Last Supper strengthens us spiritually by remembering that we have a New Covenant in Christ.

What is this new covenant, and what is it to me?
In the Old Testament, only through the priest could people come to God.

The New covenant/New Testament – ALL people can approach God.

The New covenant completes rather than replaces.
The New Covenant fulfills everything the Old covenant looked forward to - the birth,  death and resurrection of Jesus. 
Ask someone to read (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

31: “Behold, the days come says the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them in hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was a husband to them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it upon their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and everyman his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more.”
                Jesus completed this process!

Jesus doesn't require that you get straight first, He only says COME.  He has called Christians to be fishers of men – He'll do the cleaning. He  says come.  If you have never accepted Christ in your your life, you have the opportunity of  Baptism.

Baptism is an example of the death of your sins and resurrection into a NEW LIFE if Christ.

The Bible tells us to go into all the world, make disciples, baptize them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and to teach them. Jesus Assures us that He is with us Always, EVEN unto the end of the age until He returns.

Today is a time of TESTIMONY, to WITNESS about the man Jesus, and what He's done or is doing for you.
So the opportunity is yours to testify, the opportunity is yours to come back to him. 
                    IS THERE ONE?

After Testimonies/Prayer:

Now is the time of Salvation, now is a time of witness.
This bread that that I hold,  represents the body of Jesus,
bruised, beaten, torn  for you and me.
His side was pierced – deeply with a sword.
Yet He said, “Take, eat, this is my body that is broken for you. This do in remembrance of me.”

This cup represents His blood that was spilled for you and me. Jesus said, “This is the New Testament.”
He brings newness and unity with God, and forgiveness.
He gives to us to drink and says, “As often as you do this, Remember Me.”

And let each of us examine ourself. It is not wise to take this sacrament, just because everyone else is, or maybe even because I'm thirsty and feel a cough coming on. The Bible says, he who eats unworthily – not honoring the body of Christ – you are  eating and drinking  damnation upon yourself.

Take this in remembrance of Jesus and what He did for us.
No other can give us total peace. No other can forgive our many sins. No other loves us UNCONDITIONALLY – just because – we are.

No other can make and keep the promise of, I will never leave you or forsake you. He said that He is coming back for us, His Church, His people, His followers.

It's not a matter of  I'm not right yet; none of us will EVER will be right without Christ. It's about reverence. It's about looking into the mirror of your soul, and saying, “I need help, I need You Jesus, and I invite You into me.

              Because He Lives, I can face tomorrow
                Because He lives, All fear is gone
              Because I know He holds the future
              Life is worth the living, just Because
                        MY SAVIOR LIVES!!