Notes

How many of us daydream about a life that we NEVER actually live?  The community of men & women in the story of Acts did not daydream about what they could do, rather, they trusted God for greater things.

My life is worth nothing to me unless ________________!  How would you fill in the blank?  The Apostle Paul answers this question by saying:  "My life is worthy nothing to me unless I 'use it' for telling others the good news... the good news of God's wonderful grace." 

How might you 'use your life' in view of God's wonderful grace?

#1.  Use your life to help others understand the things of God that they do not understand, but need to understand. (Acts 19:1-7)

#2.  Use your life to be fully where you are and faithful with ONE message!  (Acts 20:18-21)

#3.  Use your life to keep in step with the Spirit of God!  (Acts 20:22-23)

Verses

{But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God. Acts 20:24 NLT}{This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. 1 Timothy 1:15-16 NLT}{While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers. “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” he asked them. “No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. Then what baptism did you experience?” he asked. And they replied, “The baptism of John.” Paul said, “John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.”
Acts 19:1-4 NLT}{As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all. Acts 19:5-7 NLT}{When they arrived he declared, “You know that from the day I set foot in the province of Asia until now I have done the Lord’s work humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews. I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes. I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike—the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus.” Acts 20:18-21 NLT}{Afterward Paul felt compelled by the Spirit to go over to Macedonia and Achaia before going to Jerusalem. “And after that,” he said, “I must go on to Rome!” Acts 19:21 NLT}{And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me, except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. Acts 20:22-23 NLT}

Quotes

Brennan Manning : The gospel of grace calls out: Nothing can ever separate you from the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord. You must be convinced of this, trust it, and never forget to remember. Everything else will pass away, but the love of Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (The Ragamuffin Gospel); Charles Spurgeon : If grace does not make us differ from other men, it is not the grace which God gives. The grace that does not make a man better is a worthless counterfeit. (); John Piper : The people that make a durable difference in the world are not the people who have mastered many things, but who have been mastered by one great thing… one great all-embracing thing – and be set on fire by it. (Don’t Waste Your Life); Neil Cole : Nothing cements the truth of the Gospel in your own life like giving it away to others.
(Journeys To Significance); Oswald Chambers : Joy comes from seeing the complete fulfillment of the specific purpose for which I was created… not from successfully doing something of my own choosing. ();