Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20051030.htm

JESUS CHRIST'S DISCIPLING OF SIMON PETER
Part III: Getting Peter To Forsake Himself To Follow Jesus At The Same Time
C. Productivity In Ministry In Simultaneously Forsaking Self To Follow Jesus
(Acts 2:14ff; 3:1ff)
  1. Introduction
    1. The route to becoming a productive servant of God in Christian service may be a long one that is marked occasionally by trials and trouble, but it is well worth the journey!
    2. Peter painfully came to forsake himself and follow Jesus at the same time with great results (as follows):
  2. Productivity In Ministry In Simultaneously Forsaking Self To Follow Jesus, Acts 2:14ff; 3:1ff.
    1. The Scenario: In both Acts chapter 2 and Acts 3, Peter was used of God mightily to bring the Word of God to large crowds of people. People in both events were deeply moved to obey the Word he spoke, and, in all, over 8,000 people made decisions to follow Jesus Christ.
    2. Studying the elements of Peter's ministry in these events, we note just HOW Peter's denial of himself and his decision to follow Christ in God's power produced these results (as follows):
      1. In both events, prayer preceded the message Peter delivered, cf. Acts 1:12-14; 2:1 for the Day of Pentecost and Acts 3:1 where Peter and John were preparing to pray in the temple service:
        1. Since Peter was in a state of or in preparation for prayer in both cases before these events, he was in an attitude of dependence upon the Lord.
        2. Accordingly, the Lord used Peter as he simultaneously forsook reliance on himself to trust in God.
      2. In both events, Peter did not preach after initiating the gathering of the people of his own planning or manipulation; rather, he preached after God had arranged for the crowds to gather together:
        1. The crowd gathered in Acts 2 as the result of being attracted by the coming of the Holy Spirit on the 120 and their consequent ministry of testifying miraculously in other languages about the wonderful works of God, Acts 1:12-15; 2:1-8.
        2. In Acts 3, the crowd gathered as the result of the healing of the lame man, which healing had come by God's power as Peter and John simply addressed a need that had presented itself to them, 3:1-12.
      3. In both events, Peter exalted God's power and grace and demeaned human prowess and merit:
        1. In Acts 2:13-17, Peter explained the gift of tongues was due to God, not human effort.
        2. In Acts 3:2-6, Peter told the lame man that he and John had no riches, but they had the spiritual power of God to heal him.
      4. In both cases, Peter identified himself as belonging to the Church of Christ's followers:
        1. In Acts 2:14, Peter identified with the believers who spoke in other tongues by defending them.
        2. In Acts 3:4 and 12-20, Peter referred to John and himself as "us," and exalted Christ as his Lord.
      5. In both cases, Peter sought to meet the needs of God's flock:
        1. In Acts 2:13-14, Peter tried to defend the reputation of slandered fellow Christians.
        2. In Acts 3:2-9, he tried to heal a lame man who, by way of his eventual praise of God for his healing, evidently had been a God-fearing or God-believing man, cf. Acts 2:8.
      6. In both cases, Peter's message centered on the Person and Work of Christ in reference to salvation:
        1. In Acts 2:22-37, Peter pointed the people who marveled at the miraculous demonstrations of tongues speaking to the cause behind it, the power of God that sought to signal Israel's need to repent in regards to believing in Christ whom they had just crucified!
        2. In Acts 3:13-18, Peter pointed the people to their same need to repent regarding Christ Whom they had recently rejected under the leadership of their religious leaders.
      7. In both cases, Peter's message led his listeners to make a decision about Christ, Acts 2:37-40; 3:19-20.
Lesson Application: By FORSAKING HIMSELF to FOLLOW CHRIST at the SAME TIME in the HOLY SPIRIT'S POWER, (1) Peter prayerfully trusted in God; (2) he relied on God to create opportunities to minister unto others; (3) he exalted God's grace, not human power in the ministry; (4) he identified with the local church in his ministry; (5) he aimed to meet the needs of God's flock in ministry; (6) he centered his ministry message on Christ's Person and Work and (7) he led his listeners in his ministry endeavors to believe in Christ. May we go and do likewise!