Part 4 - What Moves You?

"But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God." - Acts 20:24

In our last post we discussed how it seems that a lot of church members and Christians allow almost anything to move them. They seem to not be "rooted" in Christ. In this 4th and final post we are going to look at some ways we can obtain that unshakable faith that the Apostle Paul had that allowed him to say "none of these things move me."

First, we have to make a conscious decision that it is time we are going to make a change. We are going to hold steadfast to the faith. We are going to press toward the mark. We are going to finish our race. One of the first things necessary in order to overcome a problem or an obstacle is to admit that the problem is there. Let's take a deep long look at ourselves and honestly ask, are we being the type of Christian that God wants us to be? It's pretty safe to say that the biggest majority of us will realize that we are falling short in that area.

Second, we have to turn it over to God. We cannot do it on our own. We must approach it with a Biblical and Spiritual perspective. Let's ask ourselves before we set forth to do something, is it Scripturally sound? If we can't back it up with the Bible, it's not good for anything. Spend time in prayer. Meditate on the Scriptures. Converse with God and ask his opinion. Always remember that God will not lead you to do something that is not Scripturally sound. For example, if someone has a drinking problem, the Lord will not direct you to share the bottle with him to witness to him. If someone is going through marital problems he will not direct you to start dating them in order to counsel them. If you are a saved born-again Christian then Christ dwells in your heart and he wants you to be firmly rooted in his love. Look at Eph 3:17-19:

17:That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,



18: May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;


19: And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

So, remember to always seek counsel from God and the Bible. The Bible tells us that we have not because we ask not (James 4:2) but it also warns us if we ask for the wrong reasons (selfish, lustful reasons) that we will not receive (James 4:3). Asking for the faith of Paul in order to be a better person, Christian, disciple for Christ, would be for all the RIGHT reasons! So ask Him!

Third, we have to put into practice what we learn and what God reveals to us. You can read, hear, understand, and agree with everything but unless you put it into practice, it's all for nothing. You can follow the example of the Apostle Paul. He would not allow ANYTHING to move him. We should all strive to be more like Paul. Pray with me today: “Father, I come to you now begging for your mercy. Lord, we fail you in so many ways. We want to be a good and faithful servant. Please Lord, show us how. We ask you today to root our hearts in faith and ground us in your love. Lord we commit ourselves to you today. We are going to stand strong in our faith. We will not be moved! For its in Christ Jesus name we pray. AMEN”
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I hope you have enjoyed this sermon series, What Moves You? This was a 4-part series based on a sermon that God gave me to preach. I found that going back and looking over my outlines and notes that it helped me to break it apart and anylize it and apply it to my own heart. You can read each of the post by following the links below:
Part 1 - What Moves You?
Part 2 - What Moves You?
Part 3 - What Moves You?
Part 4 - What Moves You?

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Part 3 - What Moves You?

"But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God." - Acts 20:24

In our last post we discussed some of the things that Paul would not allow to move him. In this post we are going to look a few things that seems to move the average church goer.

We must realize that when we join a church we are in fact joining a family. We are all part of one big family in the name of Christ. We come here to worship together, to pray together, to share testimonies together, and through it all, we spend a lot of time together. When folks spend a lot of time together they get to know each other. Just like a family, we are going to have our differences. We are not always going to see eye to eye with each other. But, just like our family, it doesn’t mean we are going to abandon our church family. I know feelings get hurt. I understand wanting to be loved and accepted, everybody wants that. But, there comes a time in your life when you have to grow up and quit being a spiritual child.

Another thing we must all realize is that we are all human. We call ourselves Christians because we strive to live our lives as Christ would. Unfortunately there is not a single person on earth that could ever live a perfect, sinless life as Jesus did. We are human. We are going to fail. We don’t always do the things we should. We will say the wrong things. We will act the wrong way. We will unintentionally and intentionally hurt each other. But, where do you draw the line as to what moves you? Do you allow anything to move you? Or are you like that tree that’s planted by the water, “I shall not be moved!” Are you so wrapped up into yourself and thinking about yourself, and worried about yourself, that you quit focusing on Christ and the reason we are here? I think we have forgotten that it’s not about US, it’s about HIM. What moves you?

What would the Apostle Paul think about the church today? All of the pain and suffering that he went through just so we would one day have the opportunity to freely worship Christ. Peter, Paul, John, all persecuted. Was their work all in vain? Was Stephen stoned to death for nothing? Did John the Baptist have his head chopped off for the likes of me and you? Did the Apostle Paul endure 195 lashes with a whip so we could wear our feelings on our sleeves?

What moves you today? Are you deep rooted in Jesus Christ? Are you willing to endure? Are you going to be able to say “I fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith”? Is Christ going to say to you, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” “enter thou into the joy of thy lord”?

In our 4th and final post, we will look at a few things that will help us in our walk with Christ. Some things we can do to insure that nothing will move us!

You can read each of the post by following the links below:
Part 1 - What Moves You?
Part 2 - What Moves You?
Part 3 - What Moves You?
Part 4 - What Moves You?

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Part 2 - What Moves You?

"But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God." - Acts 20:24

Oh, how I desire Paul's passion. How I pray that God would instill in me the kind of desire that Paul had for other people and for the ministry. I find myself falling short in so many areas.

Let's look for a moment at what Paul is talking about when he makes the statement, "none of these things move me."

Turn with me please to 2 Corinthians 11:23-27

23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.


24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.


25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;


26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;


27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.

Paul suffered for the cause of Christ as much as anyone mentioned in the Bible. When he says he received five times forty stripes save one, this meant that he had suffered beatings with whips. History tells us that in practice among the Hebrews, the number of blows inflicted was limited to 39, just in case there was an accident in counting, the criminal should receive more than the number prescribed in the Law, which only allowed 40 stripes (see Deuteronomy 25:3). They would use whips consisting of 3, 6, or 9 lashes with pieces of metal, bone, or glass attached to the ends that would literally rip flesh from the bodies of those being beaten. (For a good understanding of what these whips may have been like, look here.) This was the same type of beating (scourging) that the Lord Jesus Christ had to endure before he was crucified. Here Paul tells us that he had endured such beatings on 5 different occasions. That would amount to 195 brutal lashings of the worst kind. If you were to look upon the Apostle Paul's back you would be appalled at the scars that he must have had.

Not only was Paul beaten but he suffered many hardships on his journeys; shipwrecks, robbers, hunger, thirst, pain, nakedness, he suffered greatly in order to spread the Gospel. Yet, he says, "none of these things move me."

How many of us sitting in church today in our nice padded pews in a nice air conditioned building with our nice full stomachs, can honestly say we know what it is like to suffer for the cause of Christ? Sunday after Sunday we see church members enter the church with chips on their shoulders just begging for someone to knock it off. Being offended at the least little thing said to them. Somebody looked at me wrong. Somebody said something about me. Somebody thinks something about me. Anything and Everything will move them! I've seen people give up their ministries over the silliest little things. I've even seen people quit coming to church because somebody else got their feelings hurt. It reminds me of a 9-year old child getting mad at their parent’s because they made them mind. “I’ll show them, I’ll just pack up my things and run away!” We’ve got too many 9-year old adults in church today.

In part 3 we will look closer at things that move people today and what the Apostle Paul may think of our modern church.

You can read each of the post by following the links below:
Part 1 - What Moves You?
Part 2 - What Moves You?
Part 3 - What Moves You?
Part 4 - What Moves You?

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Part 1 - What Moves You?

"But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God." - Acts 20:24

Our opening text sums up the character and purpose of Paul. If you took this one passage of Scripture without knowing a single thing of his life, you may not be impressed. But, study the life of this man and you will be astounded.

I've spent many hours studying the Apostle Paul. I have bookshelves filled with books of his life and ministry. I've often wondered what it would have been like to know him personally. What would it have been like to sit in on one of his sermons?

Paul was addressing the elders of the church at Ephesus. He had been with them for 3-years, preaching in the Synagogue, going from house to house teaching about Jesus Christ. The Ephesians had come to know and love Paul. If you read this entire chapter you will find a very touching goodbye. As Paul is poised to board a ship they all join together to pray and weep as they bid him farewell. They thought they would never see their beloved preacher ever again.

As I look at this event I can't help but be stricken with how much passion the Apostle Paul had for people. A man that once had a deep seeded hatred for these same types of people. A man that chapter 9 of the book of Acts says was so full of rage that he was breathing out threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord. He was once eat up with hate! But, here in chapter 20 we see a completely different man. A man that was totally given over to Christ. A man who's heart had done a 180 degree turn. This same man that once was causing others to cry in fear at his presence is now causing men to cry in sadness of his departure. My friend, this is a testimony to the power of Jesus!

Paul, not knowing what the future held for him assumed that this would be the last time he would see his friends. He tells them that he leaves not knowing the things that will befall him. He assumes that he will be killed for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He wanted to make sure that the church would be able to carry on without him. He warns them of false teachers that would slip into their church, trying to sway them from their beliefs. He tells them to hold fast to the faith. He is more worried about the church than he is his own life. He says that he doesn't count his life dear but his only desire is to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

In Part 2 we will look at Paul's passion and what he is talking about when he says, "none of these things move me."

You can read each of the post by following the links below:
Part 1 - What Moves You?
Part 2 - What Moves You?
Part 3 - What Moves You?
Part 4 - What Moves You?

Read more...