PowerPoint

Jack Graham: God laid down the blueprint for building his church. The question is, will we seize the opportunities that God is giving us as his church in this generation and be an unstoppable force for God, for good, for the gospel in our own times?

Guest (Male): Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham. On today's PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about what Jesus can do through the church. Now, here's Dr. Graham with his message, Unstoppable.

Jack Graham: I want to invite you now to take God's word and turn with me to the book of Acts, chapter 2. Acts is such an important passage of scripture, a book in God's word because it connects what happens in the Gospels to the rest of the New Testament, which is a description and a definition of the Christian faith. If we did not have the book of Acts, we would not know what happened between the resurrection and the rest of the story.

The same author of the Gospel of Luke, Dr. Luke, gave us a continuation of the story in the book of Acts. It describes what Jesus did and now what Jesus is doing through his local body, his eternal body, the church. It describes an unstoppable church. Just as Jesus rose from the dead and defeated death, hell, and the grave, God's church has now risen to accept the assignment of Christ, the mission of Christ, to go into all the world and preach and teach this gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But we don't want just to talk about what happened 2,000 years ago. That's the original, that's the classic church, but the good news is the same spirit filling and infusing his church then is with us now. In my estimation, we are living in the greatest era in the history of the church of Jesus Christ. For one thing, we're nearer to the return of Christ than ever before. The risen Christ is coming again.

We are closer than we've ever been, and many of the signs point to the fulfillment of the promise of the soon return of Christ. But we have so many opportunities. We have so many open doors. As the scripture says, God has opened a door unto us—unprecedented opportunity. The question is, will we seize the opportunities that God has given us as his church in this generation and be an unstoppable force for God, for good, for the gospel in our own times? I pray that we will.

So God laid down the blueprint for building his church. He said, "The gates of hell will not prevail against my church. My church will be unstoppable. We will prevail." So he gave us the priorities, he gave us the pattern, the DNA, if you will, of the blood-bought church of Christ. We find that in Acts chapter 2. In the aftermath of the resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit, this is what happened.

"And they," speaking of the believers, "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 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.

"And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." Three simple priorities, action words, all of them that describe who we are and what we're to be about as the church of Jesus Christ if we're to be an unstoppable church.

First word is believing. We are believing. We are more than a religious club. We're not just people who decide to get together because we like each other or because we have common interests. We are together in Christ and triumphant in Christ because we believe certain truths. Now, the apostle Peter lays out these truths. If you'll note there in the second chapter, when the church is gathering, they stayed together in the apostles' teaching.

The teaching and the preaching of the gospel. We don't have to wonder what that teaching was about. Of course, it was the message of the gospel. Just flip back a passage or two to that same second chapter of Acts and you'll see what this message is. But Peter, standing with the eleven, stood and squared up his shoulders. Now remember, this is the same Simon Peter who cowered at the cross, who fled because he denied Jesus, but now restored, now filled with the Holy Spirit.

He is ignited with spiritual power and passion. And so in the face against all odds, in the face of those who had even crucified Christ or turned him over to those who did crucify him, he says, "Now listen to me. Let this be known to you." I tell preachers that when you stand to preach, you do so with authority—not your own personal authority, but the authority and the anointing of God himself.

That anointing is simply put in the book of Acts. In chapter 5, verse 32, we're told that "we are witnesses of these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit." You want to know what the anointing of the Holy Spirit is, there it is. We are witnesses of these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit. These are not words; this is a witness of the gospel. And the spirit of God empowers us so there is a sense of authority.

The leadership of the church is being established at this point. Apostles, ultimately pastors and teachers and elders would be assigned, and deacons would be given the responsibility of leading and serving the church. But at this point, the apostles, with this man Simon Peter fronting the rest of them, stood in the midst of all of them. They no doubt were all witnessing of the resurrection and the power of Christ.

But Simon Peter wasn't saying, "I hope so, I think so, I maybe so, this could be, or it seems to me." But listen to me, this is not an egomaniac, this is not an arrogant somebody standing there forcing attention upon himself, but he stands and he proclaims Christ and the gospel. When you read this very first sermon of the church, it is a Christ-centered gospel message. He describes the death of Christ, crucified for our sins, and his resurrection, that Christ is alive.

Then he demanded with an invitation that people respond—that we respond with a repentance. And that is to affirm the fact that we have sinned against God and broken God's commandments and we need to be forgiven. And then the cross forgives us and the resurrection gives us new life. So we affirm the resurrection, that we believe in Christ, and then we accept, as Peter would say, receive the gift of the spirit.

This is not just adopting a religion, but accepting a living Lord into your life. So the people of the church, first and foremost, were saved people. Now, you would think that would be obvious, but the fact is that there are multitudes of people in churches who are not saved. They join the church, accepted their parents' religion, decided to meet new friends, got involved in a program, maybe were baptized, but are not saved.

Some are listening to me right now. You don't know Christ as your Lord and Savior. That's what's wrong with many churches today—filled up with people who don't know Christ. May God help us to trust in him and to know him. But something happened beyond their original conversion, and that's when we read there in Acts chapter 2 at verse 42, "And they devoted themselves." That's a key word. They devoted themselves.

It means they were passionate about something. They were totally committed to do something. They were steadfast and faithful in one thing, and that was the teaching and the preaching and the living of God's word. They couldn't wait. They had an appetite for God's word. The mark of a genuine believer, the mark of a genuine Christian, is someone who continues in the faith.

John the apostle addressed this very issue in 1 John chapter 2, verse 19, I believe. He said, "They went out from us," talking about some who had abandoned the church and walked away from their responsibility. He said, "They went out from us because they were not of us. For had they been of us, they would have no doubt continued with us. But they went out that it might be made evident that they were not with us at the beginning." They continued because they genuinely knew Christ. They couldn't wait to get under the teaching and the preaching of God's word. Nobody had to beg them or entertain them. It was the solid teaching and preaching of the gospel.

Guest (Male): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, Unstoppable. Easter is just around the corner, and we want to help you prepare your heart for the season. When you sign up, we will send you a video devotional every day until Easter to remind you of the sacrifice Jesus made so that we can be forgiven of our sins and reconciled to God. Dr. Graham will share a short devotional about the final words that Jesus spoke from the cross and what they mean to us today. To sign up, just text CROSS to 59789. Again, text CROSS to 59789.

Right now, you have the incredible opportunity to help others experience the unshakable hope and abundant life found only in Jesus Christ. Your support of PowerPoint Ministries makes a real and lasting difference, changing lives for eternity as people encounter God's word. And because your partnership matters so deeply, we'd love to send you Dr. Graham's new book, *Living Hope in a Hostile World*, as our thanks for your gift of $10 or more.

This book explores the bold truths of 1 Peter and offers strength, courage, and hope for whatever you may face. To give your gift, text FEB to 59789. Text FEB to 59789. Now, let's get back to today's message, Unstoppable.

Jack Graham: They were believing together. But not only that, they were belonging together. Did you notice that back in Acts chapter 2? It says they believed together. Verse 44, they were together and had all things in common. They were together. How did they get together? Well, for one thing, when they were saved, they were baptized. Acts 2:38, Peter preached giving the invitation that a person should follow Christ and then in obedience because of eternal life and salvation be baptized as a testimony of faith in Christ.

Baptism is the outward evidence of the inward experience of knowing Christ. This is why we baptize people here who are believers. Not just dipping donuts a little bit, but immersion, as the New Testament teaches, signifying the death and the burial and the resurrection of Christ. Baptism is by immersion only for believers only. And when you are baptized, you're not baptized just in water, in thin air; you're baptized into the faith and the fellowship of the Lord Jesus Christ, into his church.

The church is established by these ordinances. In Acts chapter 2, verse 42, once again, it mentions there the breaking of bread. The breaking of bread is no doubt indicative of the Lord's Supper, the Communion supper. So you have two ordinances of the church: baptism and the Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper being an illustration of the body and the blood of our Lord given for us. And we're to do this as often as we do it in remembrance of him.

Now, there's something important to remember in the ordinance of baptism and the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. These are to take place within the life and the heart and the authority of the local church. Just to take somebody out here in the river on your own and baptize them, that doesn't work. That's not New Testament baptism. It's always in the context of the local church.

Lord's Supper, same way. You can go drink some grape juice and eat some crackers and call that the Lord's Supper, but the Lord's Supper is in the context, in the commonality, in the commitment together of the local church. You see, in its embryonic form, all the DNA is being placed into the church so that we would know how to do what Christ wants us to do.

The baby church, the infant church, everything that we read about in the infant church was a pattern for the maturing of the church and the growing of the church. What we see in the book of Acts is a beautiful illustration and example for us in the church in our own generation. We must just preach the gospel, be God's church. You don't need to add or subtract from the gospel. You don't need to soft-pedal the gospel.

You don't need to make it hard or make it soft. Just preach the gospel and stand back in the power of God's spirit and watch God work. The gospel, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. So you see, they were continuing steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and they were believing together.

And then they were belonging together. They sold their possessions to support one another. They were keeping the command of Christ to love one another, and they gave themselves unconditionally to one another. They made sure that everyone, if you had a need, your need was met. And I just love the fact that they were belonging together in spite of the fact that they had come already from many countries there for the day of Pentecost, some longtime residents of Jerusalem.

They came from different backgrounds, different ages. There's a kind of new wave of church today which says what we need to do is to find our little niche market and figure out what age group we're going to go after and we're going to do a 20-something church, we're going to do a Gen X church, or we're going to do a millennial church, or we're going to do a cowboy church or something like that. I'm not against venues for the church, but let me tell you what I believe.

I believe the church of Jesus Christ is cross-generational. I believe the church is for every generation. We are together for one reason: God has given us a fellowship. They continued together, belonging together in a fellowship. Now, that's not cookies after church. Fellowship is the common life, the common Lord, the common love that we share together. And though we are very different in many ways, what brings us together in unity—not uniformity, but unity—what brings us together is our love for Christ and the spirit of God that draws us together.

I love that Peanuts cartoon when Linus is watching television and Lucy comes in. Lucy says, "Change the channel, Linus." Linus says, "Well, why should I do that?" She says, "I'll give you five reasons: one, two, three, four, five." Individually, they're not much, but together they can do something awesome. Now, he changed the channel. Just imagine if we got together—the church of Jesus Christ across this country, across the world—got together, the difference that we could make for Christ.

We're believing together, we're belonging together, and I want to say we're battling together because we are. When you read the book of Acts, we discover that Satan opposed the church, but they stood boldly. We should never be intimidated by the powers of evil because the power of God is greater. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. We are in a spiritual battle. It is insidious and it is invisible, but it is powerful and it is real.

We have a powerful foe, but greater is our God than any opposition that we face. We're battling together. Stay in the battle, Christian. Because when we do, we're becoming together the church of Jesus Christ. And I want you to notice what happened. Acts chapter 2 tells us in verse 41, "So those who received the word were baptized, and there were added to this day about 3,000 souls." What were they added to? The church.

There were 3,000. It started with 120. The spirit came down, the church went out, and the lost began to come in. And notice what began to happen later on. Turn over to Acts chapter 5, verse 14, "And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes, both men and women." More are added. Now it's a multitude. Check out over in chapter 5 and verse 42, "And every day in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus Christ."

They accused them of saturating the entire city with the gospel. They captured that city with the gospel. They started with their neighbors; they went to the nations. Persecution fires began to flame; the church spread out and was unstoppable. They tried to stamp it out with persecution and martyrdom; the church is unstoppable. Why? We have a living Lord. We have a living savior who is in us and therefore we are unstoppable.

Someone gave me what I'm about to give you years ago. The author is really unknown, but whoever wrote it, wrote it for us. Listen. "I am a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast; the decision has been made. I have stepped over the line. I am a disciple of his and I won't look back, let up, slow down, or back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure.

"I'm done and finished with low living and sidewalking and small planning and smooth knees and colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap giving, and dwarf goals. I no longer need preeminence or prosperity or position or plaudits of popularity. I don't have to fight or I don't have to be right. I don't have to be first or tops or recognized or praised or regarded or rewarded.

"I now live by faith, lean on his presence, walk with patience, live by prayer, and labor by the Holy Spirit's power. My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, but my guide is reliable. My mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, or turned back, diluted or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

"I won't give up, shut up, let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go till he comes, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until he stops me. My banner is clear: I am a part of the fellowship of the unashamed."

Guest (Male): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, Unstoppable. Your support of PowerPoint Ministries makes a profound impact, helping more people discover the truth and hope of Jesus Christ. And to thank you for your generous gift today, we'd love to send you Dr. Jack Graham's new book, *Living Hope in a Hostile World*. It's a timely resource that reminds you how to stand firm in faith, cling to God's grace, and live with courage even in your most challenging times.

As you grow in your walk with the Lord through this resource, may you be encouraged to know that your generous support is helping others do the same. Text FEB to 59789. Again, text FEB as in February to 59789. Easter is just around the corner, and we want to help you prepare your heart for the season. When you sign up, we will send you a video devotional every day until Easter to remind you of the sacrifice Jesus made so that we can be forgiven of our sins and reconciled to God.

Dr. Graham will share a short devotional about the final words that Jesus spoke from the cross and what they mean to us today. To sign up, just text CROSS to 59789. Again, text CROSS to 59789. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today?

Jack Graham: When I look at the church in the New Testament, I really see a church that was unstoppable—relentless in the pursuit of the glory of God by sharing the gospel of Christ around the world. And it truly is amazing when you read the book of Acts, when you read the stories of scripture, those early years of the church, the vibrancy, the relevancy, the dynamic of that church filled with the spirit of God.

Right now, we are living in another time, another epoch in history that really is one of the greatest times to preach the gospel that I've ever seen. With the use of technology, with the opportunities that we have with media, whether it be radio, television, online, every means that we have, we should be sharing the gospel of Christ right here, right now.

And so I believe that because the time is near when Christ comes again, it's like the end of a ball game. The urgency in a football game, for example, you have the two-minute warning and everything picks up, the pace picks up. So should we be picking up the pace right now and getting the message of Christ to as many people as we can. That's what I'm talking about when I say that the church is unstoppable.

When we believe together, when we are strong in our faith believing the gospel, the testimony of Christ, the word of God. When we belong together, when we are bonded together in Christlike love, when we are in unity, committed together, communing together in Christ. When we are battling together against the enemy and winning victory after victory, this means that we are unstoppable.

And the only reason we're unstoppable is because the spirit of God has given us victory in Christ every single day. I want to encourage you to be a part of the conversation and the connection here at PowerPoint by joining me on Twitter or Facebook and on jackgraham.org. I love connecting through Twitter; my address is @jackngraham.

So look forward to getting to know you better. Our Facebook and jackgraham.org is also an opportunity for you to connect with us and for us to connect with you. The PowerPoint family loves you. We want to pray with you and for you and for your loved ones and friends. So please send us a note as to how we can pray for you. God bless you and have a wonderful day.

Guest (Male): And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember, when you give a gift of $10 or more to PowerPoint, we will send you Dr. Graham's book, *Living Hope in a Hostile World*. Just text FEB to 59789. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about passing our faith to others. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.