Our name | Mission | Vision | Leaders Ministries | Schedule | Directions | Contact Home   Gateway Church gathers for worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Location: 6425 Jefferson Rd. (Hwy. 129) in Athens, Georgia. For directions, click here. Ministry of the Word: Recent sermons Our quarterly e-magazine Gateway Today For the Gateway family Pastor Jerry's Weekly E-Mail A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY AUDIO Ten convictions of the early church - 2 Jerry Varnado, pastor Gateway Church, Athens GA June 13, 2004 Main Scripture text: Acts 4:23-31. 225,000 attend a service in Warri, Nigeria in Dec. 2003 Ten Convictions Sermon Series June 6, 2004 • Part One June 13, 2004 • Part Two June 27, 2004 • Part Three A conviction is a fixed or strong belief -- something one is convinced of. Our convictions shape who we are, how we think, how we relate to others, and how we spend our time. Last week I covered four convictions held by the early Church: 1) Jesus was alive; 2) Jesus was present with them; 3) The outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was the culmination of the "Christ event" -- i.e. His birth, life, death, and resurrection all set the stage for the coming of the Spirit; 4) What happened at Pentecost was the fulfillment of a promise Of God. Shortly after Pentecost, some of the apostles are arrested because they're stirring up the city with their preaching and healing in the name of Jesus. After their release, they pray the prayer recorded in Acts 4:23-31. From this prayer, we learn about three more convictions of the early Church. First, God is sovereign. They believed that nothing happens in this world that is beyond God's knowledge and control. This does not mean that we have no power of choice. It means that everything is within the scope of God's authority and power. Jesus had to choose to submit His will to the Father's plan. He could not have done so without a deep, abiding trust in the sovereignty of God. The early church had the same conviction, and they followed Jesus in power -- and many followed Him to death. Flowing out of God's sovereignty is the conviction that God brings good from evil. In God's hands all things -- even bad thing -- become the raw material for our sanctification, if we'll endure and trust the Lord. The last conviction I'll cover today: The early Church believed that what God was doing among them was of cosmic scope and importance. They began to see that they were involved in something much bigger than themselves. At one point in Paul's missionary journeys, the residents of Thessalonica complained to the magistrate that: "These who have turned the world upside down have come here too" (Acts 17:6). Here's the application for us: What is happening in our church is not just about us. It is part of what is God doing in the world; namely, the process of reconciling the world to Himself through Jesus Christ. Do you have the conviction that what God is doing here is of cosmic proportion? Are you going to let the passing pleasures of this world occupy your time so that you miss what God's doing -- or will you drop your nets and follow Jesus? I'm talking about working your life around God, instead of working God around your life. The decision is yours. What happens here is so important! Don't miss the opportunity to be involved! Supporting texts: Acts 4:5-22 | Luke 22:42 | John 18:11 | Matthew 26:53-54 | Romans 8:28-39 | Psalm 2:1-2 | Acts 17:6 A mp3 audio file of this sermon is here. (Download to a PC by right clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." Mac users: click, hold, and choose "Download Link to Disk." Depending on your connection speed, the file may take several minutes to download.) An audio tape of the sermon summarized above is available free of charge (U.S. requests only). Request a tape by calling or writing the Gateway Church office. Please specify tape number 040613a: Ten Convictions of the Early Church-2. © 2004 Gerald R. Varnado To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us