How Not to Stand in God’s Way
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Jeff Liou
- Acts 11:1
- The Breakthrough
- 44 mins 12 secs
- Views: 1313
Pastor's Letter
How NOT to Stand in God's Way - Week 16
Is it possible to stand in God's way? For every saying like, "Let go, and let God," there's an affirmation of God's incomparably great power like, "Our God is unstoppable." So, which is it?
Is it possible to stand in God's way? For every saying like, "Let go, and let God," there's an affirmation of God's incomparably great power like, "Our God is unstoppable." So, which is it?
I've been talking with the young adults for the last two weeks about the passage that will be preached today. I asked them this central question about standing in God's way that arises from this passage. In the Acts community, there were some who could not understand how uncircumcised people, Gentiles, could possibly become an integral part of the Jewish community. How could Peter cross over the barrier that God's law had itself set up? Last week and this week, we explore the barriers that exist between us. I asked the young adults, "Who lives on the other side of the barriers that you can think of?" The most haunting answer: "Anyone not like us." They very quickly and easily came up with a long list. This collective voice of the next generation of leaders in the church ought to haunt us and spur us onward.
Thanks be to God, God's word ought to encourage us! It certainly encouraged the young adults. In fact, I'll be sharing many of the insights that they had while we studied the passage together. Many of these young adults believe that they have seen God at work, crossing the barriers with which they've grown up. I will share some of these encouraging happenings. It seems to me that this – crossing barriers – is the business of God. Though we know this to be true, it can still be difficult to understand when and how God is working by his Spirit, and how to go and be where the Spirit is. This passage helps us discern the Spirit's work so that we can follow him wherever he goes. Pray for the Spirit to work among us this weekend!
Jeff Liou
Pastor of College and Young Adult Ministries
Study Guide
How NOT to Stand in God's Way - Week 16 - Study Guide
1. Today, words are cheap. But in Luke's day, books were expensive to produce. Why repeat the story from Acts 10? Luke's second telling of the story is in somewhat of a different order. Can you spot the differences? Does it feel different as you read the two accounts?
HOW NOT TO "STAND IN GOD'S WAY"
ACTS 11:1-21
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Today, words are cheap. But in Luke's day, books were expensive to produce. Why repeat the story from Acts 10? Luke's second telling of the story is in somewhat of a different order. Can you spot the differences? Does it feel different as you read the two accounts?
- This section begins and ends with the response of the "circumcision party" to God's work among the Gentiles. They are satisfied when Peter reports that the Holy Spirit was at work among the Gentiles. How do you know when/where the Spirit is at work?
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Peter says something intriguing in verse 17. How can someone "stand in God's way"? (For your consideration, there is a strong connection in verse 17 to what happened in Acts 10:47.)
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In verse 21, Luke makes it seem like "the hand of the Lord" was with those who went to the Greek speaking world in a special way. Why do you think this might be? What might this say about God's mission today?
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Take some time to pray for the places where you see the Spirit at work. Make yourself and/or your family available to follow the Spirit where he leads.
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