03.07.2021 | FOCUS ON JESUS
FOCUS ON JESUS
1. Focus on Jesus – The Source of Grace and Power
Acts 6:8 (NLT) – “Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people.”
Acts 6:3b (NLT) – “…men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility.”
Matthew 10:8 (NLT) – “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!”
Matthew 28:19-20 – “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Acts 6:9-10 – “But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia. None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke.
Acts 6:11-12 – “So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, ‘We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.’ This roused the people, the elders, and the teachers of religious law. So, they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council.”
2. Focus on Jesus – Share the Gospel!
Romans 1:16 – “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”
Galatians 5:11b (NLT) – “If I were no longer preaching salvation through the cross of Christ, no one would be offended.”
Acts 6:15 (NLT) – “At this point everyone in the high council stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel’s.”
Acts 7:51 (NLT) – “’You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you!’”
Acts 7:52-53 (NLT) – “Name one prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One—the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered. You deliberately disobeyed God’s law, even though you received it from the hands of angels.”
3. Focus on Jesus – Be Empowered to Forgive
Acts 7:54-56 (NLT) – “The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen’s accusation, and they shook their fists at him in rage. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand. And he told them, ‘Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand!’”
Acts 7:57-58 (NLT) – “Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting. They rushed at him and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. His accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul.”
Acts 7:59-60 (NLT) – “As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ He fell to his knees, shouting, ‘Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!’ And with that, he died.”
Acts 7:60 (AMP) – “Then falling on his knees [in worship], he cried out loudly, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them [do not charge them]!’ When he had said this, he fell asleep [in death].”
Luke 23:34a (NLT) – “Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.’”
Discussion Questions:
1. Do you believe that you could be used of God to heal someone? Why or why not?
2. What would need to change in your life for you to stop and pray for someone to be healed at Walmart?
3. What would be likely to stop you from sharing the Gospel with someone?
4. Why is it difficult for us to forgive at times?
5. Why was Jesus standing at the Father’s right hand when Stephen saw Him?