How to Be Jesus Incarnate Everywhere You Go!

Living a Jesus Kind of Life
How to Be Jesus Incarnate Everywhere You Go!

I. Introduction

A. is present with us!

B. Acts 1:8 (NAS) “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

1. In the year 40 A.D., about 1/1000^th of 1% of the of the Roman Empire were followers of Jesus!

2. By 350 A.D.—just a few centuries later—% of the entire Roman Empire were followers of Jesus!

3. It was because the Presence of was in their midst!

C. Acts 2:42-47 (NLT) ⁴²All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. ⁴³A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. ⁴⁴And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. ⁴⁵They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. ⁴⁶They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—⁴⁷all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

D. People were divided quite rigidly into “.” It was a “caste” system.

1. There was the Roman .

2. The Equestrian class

3. The Decurion class

4. The

5. “ people”

6.

E. The caste system was:

1. Roman Senate

2. Equestrians

3. Decurions

4. Citizens

5. Free people

6. Slaves

F. The you wore showed what “class” you were in.

G. Mark 10:45 (NAS) “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

1. “Exposure of unwanted female infants—was legal, morally accepted, and widely practiced by all social classes in the Greco-Roman world.”

2. (females) were really looked down upon in the 1^st century!

H. Mark 12:29-31 (NLT) ²⁹“The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. ³⁰And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ ³¹The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

I. James 1:27 (NAS) Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

J. Galatians 3:28 (NLT) There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.

1. “They pushed sufferers away, and fled from their dearest—throwing them into roads before they were dead. And they treated unburied corpses as dirt—hoping to avert disease themselves.” (Dionysius)

2. The changed the world!

K. Proverbs 11:10a (NAS) When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices.

L. “Righteous” (“Tsaddikim”) – “Those people who are willing to themselves in order to the community. They are willing to disadvantage themselves to bless the community.”

M. II Corinthians 8:9 (NLT) You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.

N. Matthew 5:13a, 14a (NLT) ¹³“You are the salt of the earth.” ¹⁴“You are the light of the world.”

1. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not, “I’m going to tell you the requirements for getting into heaven when you die.”

2. “The Kingdom of God has come to earth through . And I want you to join in! I want to be Good News everywhere you go.”

3. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is Good News !

4. One of the saddest things in the world is when the Church forgets its calling and begins to focus on itself!

O. The plan that Jesus had when He ascended to heaven was to turn the !

1. When you go into a restaurant—and it’s good news for the people who there—then it’s not good news!

2. Let’s change the world— at a time!

II. Conclusion