Welcome to this edition of PowerPoint with Jack Graham. A little later in the program, we'll tell you how you can get a copy of Dr. Graham's book, Diamonds in the Dark. But first, here's the message. All in.
We have been praying that the Spirit of God would breathe out, pour out His Spirit upon us. And in these days that he would send revival. We're asking for the fire to fall, and that when the fire falls on us, it would spread with. revival power into our church, into our community. And we're a part of something so much bigger than we can possibly imagine.
I've seen a sense of awakening going on among pastors and church leaders today and among Christians. And the way to have revival is to first have life. You have to have vive, which is life, before you can revive. And so, where there is life in Christ, from time to time, we need to be revived. And of course, daily we're renewing our faith and our commitment to Christ, but there are seasons.
In life and seasons in the church, that I believe God wants to do a new work, a special work of revival. And I'm praying that this is the time. I'm praying that God will do it one more time. Before he comes again. Because the only hope for this world, for our country, for your home and my home.
is Jesus Christ. That we know him. And Jesus established churches across the world. In order to advance this message. And that's the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And in Acts chapter 2, in fact, in these early chapters of Acts, we see how the church is birthed. It all began, of course, in Jesus, and you can begin finding Acts chapter 2 if you would turn to your Bibles. But it all began when Jesus ministered for three years, He went to the cross. He paid it all and died on the cross for our sins. All who would believe in him respond to him, receive him.
He promised that the Holy Spirit would come. And after his resurrection on the third day, he appeared with his disciples, and then. After 40 days, he ascended into heaven. Before their very eyes, the angel promised that he would return, and Jesus is coming again. And Jesus said to those disciples, You go and you wait until you are endowed, endued with power from on high, the power of the Holy Spirit.
So in an upper room, on the day of Pentecost. The Spirit came down and baptized them, and they were proclaiming the gospel of Christ in languages that everyone understood who had traveled from all over the world. And the Spirit came down, and the church went out. And Simon Peter stood up there in the corridors of the temple and preached Jesus Christ, and he preached it forth rightly and firmly, and he preached the Lordship of Christ. And when he was done, Preaching the cross, the central message with the resurrection, the hope of the Christ and the church, then he gave an invitation.
It says with many other words. He said, turn to Jesus Christ, repent of your sins, and be baptized. And on that day, the day the church was born, 3,000 were added to the church, were born again, and then baptized into the body of the Christ. That became the first church in Jerusalem. But that wasn't nearly the end.
From there, as they began to gather in homes and families and preaching the gospel publicly and from house to house, In fact, in Acts chapter 5, verse 47, it says, And daily in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease to proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, as Messiah.
So as they began to spread the fire, people were coming to Christ. First, they were added, then they were multiplied, then ultimately there were too many to count. And it was said that they filled the entire city of Jerusalem with the truth about Jesus Christ. It was meant to be an accusation. A criticism.
But what a compliment to the early church, the fire, the fervor of those men and women who saturated the city of Jerusalem with the gospel.
some Bible scholars. Estimate that there were as many as 100, upwards to 200,000 conversions in the first six months of the church's existence in the city of Jerusalem. And from there to the world, Ultimately, it was said of the followers of Jesus in the first century: you have turned the world upside down. They did so much. with so little.
But they had one thing. Fire. The fire of the Holy Spirit. And so they were all in all the time for all the world. And they were defined By Their devotion to Jesus Christ.
Their surrender to Jesus Christ. They were utterly and totally Committed to Christ. And this is our call also. To surrender our lives completely to follow Jesus. Anything less is robbing him of the glory he demands and deserves.
So I'm calling this message all Yeah. All in. Because one of the reoccurring words in the passage we're about to read, which describes The activity and the ministry and the mission of the early church is the word all or the word together. They were ablaze. With the grace and the glory of God.
And we are ablaze when we. When we deny self. And go all in. To live for Jesus. to give ourselves fully to him and I'm telling you it's time to go all in.
This now or never. It's time. Too often, we have made American Christianity into a consumer religion. Studies indicate that most people go to church in America today not to commune with God but to consume religious experiences and services. Not to worship God, but to experience something for themselves.
We want Christianity with options. I'll take a little bit of this and a little bit of that, but not any of this and not some of that. But we're to be all in all the time. Why does the church exist? A group of 1,000 church attenders were asked that question.
Recently, and 89% of those surveyed indicated that. The church exists in order to take care of my family and my spiritual needs. That is religious. Consumerism. Only 11%.
Said the purpose and the mission of the church is to glorify God. by proclaiming Jesus Christ. to the world.
So what is the church and why do we exist? Verse 42 of Acts chapter 2. and they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship. to the breaking of bread and prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.
That means miracles at the hands of the Lord. of the Apostles of Jesus. And all who believed were together and had all things in common, and they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. Notice the word all showing up. And day by day, every day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they receive their food with glad and generous heart.
Praising God and having favor with all the people. And watch this: the Lord added to their number day by day. those who were being saved. There was life. The life of God the life of our Lord.
in this church and therefore the church was alive and ablaze. And what I see in this passage of Scripture A life-giving church. This passage is so filled with generosity and gladness and celebration. They were a Happy and a joyful group as they were all in for Christ and His Word. All in for one another, to love God, to love people.
They were a life-giving church.
So let me use the acrostic. L-I-F-E Life to show you who we are and what the church is all about. Why does the church exist? Who are we? What is our identity?
All right, first. to lift up Jesus Christ. In worship, Praise and adoration. To exalt Jesus. Before we go outward or inward, we must go upward.
In the exaltation of Christ. Notice in verse 47, it says they were praising God and having favor with all the people. They were together in fellowship and in prayers. That is worship. It includes pray.
It includes personal worship and obviously corporate worship as they were together in this. Bringing our hearts together. Our lives together. Incorporate praise of the Lord Jesus Christ. I love Psalm 34 verses 1 through 3.
For it says, I will bless the Lord. I will bless the Lord at all times.
So that's personal. His praise will continually be in my mouth. The humble, my soul makes it boast in the Lord. Let the humble hear it and be glad. And watch this.
Let's say this one together. Oh, magnify, say it. Oh, magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together.
So we worship the Lord, we bring our worship with us, and together we glorify his name. And yes, we do that with singing and with music of all kinds. I'm not all necessarily interested in just one kind or one style of music. New Testament worship, spirit-filled worship, according to Ephesians 5, is all kinds of psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. And there have been all kinds of songs written through the generations and classic hymns, along with wonderful choruses of praise and new songs of worship.
And the bottom line is: regardless of the style, when the worship is exalting Jesus Christ, we need to be all in. Because you're Worship is a testimony. To people sitting all around you, including People who may not know Jesus. And that's why the scripture says here. that they were praising God and having favor with all the people.
Worship Gave them favor. Because people, when they see genuine worship, you know, the world has artificial music, and that's the best the world can do. But music belongs to God, worship belongs to God. And if people get in and see genuine worship, it's in the atmosphere.
Something special, even I dare say supernatural, happens when we worship and exalt Jesus Christ together. And a person who may not know Jesus looks around and says, I don't know if I believe this stuff or not, but I guarantee you these people believe it. They believe it.
So let me just ask you, what is What is your worship? Telling people around you. Because your worship is your witness. What does your worship say about your faith? Does it say, I love the Lord Jesus Christ with all my heart, my soul, my mind, my strength?
Or does it say, I really don't care that much? I'm just sort of here. They worship Jesus Christ. With all their hearts. That's why there was life.
You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message all in. If you're walking through a tough season, Diamonds in the Dark is a message you need to hear. In this honest and hope-filled book, Dr. Graham shows you how God uses grief, loss, and hardship to reveal spiritual treasures you'd never discover otherwise. We want to send you Diamonds in the Dark as a thanks for your gift of $10 or more.
Call now to request your copy? Call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627. Or text the word DIAMOND to 59-789. Don't let stress rob you of peace.
It is possible to break the destructive grip of stress on your life and enjoy the peace and abundance God desires for you. That's what Dr. Graham helps you do in his booklet, Breaking Free from Stress. We'll send you a digital download of Breaking Free from Stress when you sign up for email updates from PowerPoint today. Just go to powerpoint.org/slash stress and sign up today.
Now, let's get back to today's message: all in. I is for instructing believers in the Word of God. That's verse 42. Instructing believers in the Word of God. They were all in.
worship and they were all in the word. We believe that God only wrote one book. And it's called the Bible. And this Bible, this book, written by God. Is inerrant, that is, there are no errors, and it is infallible.
I love that word, they devoted themselves. The King James says they devoted themselves continually to the Word of God, to the Apostles' doctrine, and to teaching. And so the Apostles, they were in a position of authority. They were teaching the Word of God. They were preaching Jesus Christ.
And the people were showing up in record numbers because they had a hunger, an insatiable desire, a new appetite to know more and more about Jesus and the faith that they confess. These believers were defined by their devotion. to Jesus Christ. And the indicator that you are a true believer is that you keep following Jesus. There's a verse of scripture in 1 John 2:19, 1 John 2:19 that says, concerning some who came in and left.
They started but didn't finish. It says, they went out from us. They went out from us because they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would have no doubt continued with us. But they went out from us that it might become plain that they were not at all of us.
If you don't have a desire to know and to grow in your faith in Jesus Christ, and you absent yourself continually from the teaching and the preaching and the fellowship around God's Word, that's a sign that you don't know the first thing about Jesus. They were devoted together. They continued in this. Jesus said, Abide in me and my word if you're my disciples, John 15.
So they were in the church. They were in the church. They were devoted to Christ in the church. There's a difference between being at church and being in the church. Everyone is welcome in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you are an unbeliever, then you are welcome to anything and everything we do, with a couple of exceptions. You must be in the church to be baptized as a believer in Christ. We're told in Acts 2 when the gospel was preached, and they said, What should we do? They were convicted. Peter said, repent and be baptized because of the remission of sins.
And so on that day, 3,000 were believing and baptized. On that day. What a day that must have been. And because they believed and were baptized. having already believed They were in the church.
They were in the body of believers. They were born into the family of God. Because the church is not some organization or club or social service activity that you join. The church is a family in which you live. And so You're in the family.
You're in the church. When you believe repenting of your sin receiving Christ as your Savior believing that Christ died for you and rose again, that you might have eternal life. Calling on the name of the Lord. And then, when communion is shared, you must be in the church. Not at the church.
In The church. in order to receive the cup of communion. Sharing and symbolizing his blood that was shed for you. and his body which was given for you.
So they were all in. They were all in in their worship. Lifting up Jesus Christ, they were all in. In the instruction and the devotion. to learning and growing in their faith.
And this is a living legacy that you should share with your family. Studies show that if you don't go to church for a month, The odds are almost 2 to 1 that you won't go for more than a year. And That vital involvement in the fellowship of the local church is essential to your family's well-being and whether or not you're going to pass your faith along to your children. Look at this: if both mom and dad attend church regularly, 72% of their children remain faithful in attendance. If only dad attends regularly, 55% remain faithful.
If only mom attends regularly, 15% remain faithful. And if neither attend regularly, only 6% remain faithful to Christ and His church.
Sobering Statistics. What kind of legacy are you living and leaving? for your children and your grandchildren. Hebrews 10, 24 and 25. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.
Not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day. drawing near. The more the darkness encroaches, the more We approach the end of time, the end of the age, the more we need to be together because it's going to get more difficult. It's darker and darker and more difficult as we go. And we need to be grounded solidly in the teaching and the preaching and the fellowship of God's Word.
F is for fellowshipping. in the community of faith. A life-giving church, fellowships in the community of faith. There is both diversity and unity. They were all together.
As I noted earlier, when you read this passage, it's all together. You don't see one perpendicular pronoun in here. There's no I, me, or my in this passage. Why? Because there's no Lone Ranger Christianity.
Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto. And we need each other. We are stronger together. We are better together. There's power in partnership in the gospel.
And they shared everything together. They were giving their funds and giving away everything in order that the gospel would advance, in order that people would be loved. This fellowship is not just cookies and pizza or Coke after church. Fellowship is sharing life together. It is sharing the Lord together.
It is sharing love together. We are together because we love God with all our hearts and we love one another. And this is the real mark of discipleship, that you love one another. Amen. brings people when we get to heaven We're going to see people from all kindreds and colors and nations and cultures and languages.
And the church on earth, until we get to heaven, ought to be a taste of heaven. And I'm grateful that we're looking a little more like heaven. In that we're seeing people of other languages and tribes and nations and cultures. and colors. to form this Beautiful panorama of faith together.
We are celebrating together. We are experiencing the Lord together.
So we're all in because we love Jesus and because we love one another. And the Jesus in me loves the Jesus in you. And the Jesus in you loves the Jesus in me. We're all in on Jesus. And one final thing.
Lifting up Jesus, instructing one another in the word of God. Fellowshipping in the Lord Jesus Christ. Fellowshipping together, all together in Christ, and then evangelizing the world. Look at verse 47 of chapter 2. It says, And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Every day, people were getting saved in every way, all over the place. Later on, they stopped adding and started multiplying. The church was growing so fast. And before you knew it, They couldn't multiply fast enough, and they just said a multitude. And finally, they said, the whole city.
Is saturated with the message of Jesus Christ. And they took the gospel to the world. The church earned an audience. because they gained favor. with the people.
their love, their devotion. They're sacrifice. Their surrender.
So they had favor with the people. They were ministering, serving, giving. No wonder so many were coming to Christ. They decided they would Not just leave the gospel inside the church walls, but they would get out and get into the homes and families. They didn't have enough room to house the church in one building, so.
They were meeting in homes everywhere. That's what it says. daily in the temple and in house to house. They were sharing Jesus Christ. And that is a life-giving church.
You are listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and The Message. All in. Life doesn't always unfold the way we hope. There are setbacks, losses, and seasons that leave us asking: where is God in all of this? In his honest and encouraging book, Diamonds in the Dark, Dr.
Graham shares how God is not absent in our pain, He is present. and he is at work. This powerful resource walks you through some of life's hardest places to reveal spiritual treasures God plants along the way. If you or someone you love is facing grief, Fear or uncertainty, this message will help you find strength, clarity, and hope right where you are. And when you give a gift of $10 or more, we'll send you a copy of Diamonds in the Dark as our thanks.
Call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627. Or just text DIAMOND to 59-789. And don't forget to visit jackgraham.org, where you can shop our e-store, give a gift online, or sign up for Dr. Graham's free daily email devotional.
Our website again is jackgraham.org. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today? Too often, we've made American Christianity into a consumer religion. Studies indicate that most people go to church in America today not to worship, but to experience something for themselves. That is a consumer mentality.
A group of 1,000 church attenders were recently asked why the church exists. And 89% of those surveyed indicate that it exists in order to take care of, quote, my family and my needs.
Now that is religious consumerism. Only 11% said the purpose and the mission of the Church is to glorify God by proclaiming Jesus to the world. The 11% actually got it right because the church exists to lift up Jesus in worship, to instruct believers in the word, to provide ministry for fellowship, to reach the world with the gospel of Christ. I pray that you will be encouraged to be totally and completely in, all in for Jesus and in your church from this day forward. That it won't be about you, but it will be all about him.
That you will go onward and upward, building the kingdom of God by the power of God's Spirit as we discover in God's Word. God bless you and thank you for joining us today. And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember, when you give a gift of $10 or more to PowerPoint, we'll send you Dr. Graham's book, Diamonds in the Dark, as our thanks.
Call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627. You can also text the word Diamond to 59-789. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about how you can help people find healing in Jesus.
That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.
