Embracing God's Grace Through Prayer and Unity

Devotional

Day 1: God's Intimate Knowledge and Love

Description: God sees and knows us deeply, even in our most private spaces. He desires to enter the intimate areas of our lives, where we are truly ourselves, and bring transformation. This is exemplified in Jesus' invitation to Zacchaeus to host Him in his home, symbolizing His desire to meet us where we are most vulnerable. Jesus' encounter with Zacchaeus shows that no matter how others perceive us, God's love and knowledge of us are profound and personal. Zacchaeus' joyful reception of Jesus led to a significant transformation in his life, despite the crowd's murmuring and judgment. This story reminds us that God's love is not based on our circumstances or the opinions of others but on His deep and intimate knowledge of who we are. [09:07]

Bible Passage: "O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways." (Psalm 139:1-3, ESV)

Reflection: Think of a private area of your life where you feel vulnerable or judged. How can you invite Jesus into that space today to experience His transforming love?

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Day 2: Persistent Prayer Produces Power

Description: The early church's commitment to persistent prayer resulted in tangible manifestations of God's power. When we engage in persistent prayer, we access the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, leading to tangible results and transformation in our lives and communities. The early church's experience in Acts 4 shows that their dedication to prayer was not just a ritual but a powerful practice that brought about real change. Their prayers shook the very place they gathered, demonstrating the incredible power that comes from persistent and unified prayer. This teaches us that when we commit to persistent prayer, we can expect to see God's power at work in our lives and communities. [01:01:20]

Bible Passage: "And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness." (Acts 4:31, ESV)

Reflection: Reflect on your current prayer life. What steps can you take to make your prayer time more persistent and powerful, trusting that God will bring tangible results?

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Day 3: Unified Unity Unleashes Uncommon Favor

Description: Unity in the early church was characterized by shared passions and compassion. This unity unleashed uncommon favor and grace among them. When we come together with one heart and one soul, we experience a new level of favor and grace that impacts our lives and communities. The early church's unity was not about everyone being the same but about having a collective purpose and shared pursuit of Christ's will. This kind of unity brings about a powerful move of God's grace and favor, as seen in the early church's experience. It teaches us the importance of coming together in unity, not just in agreement but in shared passion and compassion for one another. [01:04:30]

Bible Passage: "Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common." (Acts 4:32, ESV)

Reflection: Consider a group or community you are part of. How can you contribute to fostering unity and shared purpose within that group to experience God's uncommon favor?

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Day 4: Bold Belief Births Bountiful Grace

Description: Bold belief in the resurrection of Jesus empowers us to witness with great power. This bold belief births bountiful grace, enabling us to operate in new spaces and seasons with divine favor. The early church's example shows us the importance of aligning our hearts and minds with God's will to experience His grace fully. Their boldness in proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus was not just a declaration but a powerful testimony that brought about great grace and favor. This teaches us that when we boldly believe and proclaim the truth of Jesus' resurrection, we open ourselves up to experiencing God's abundant grace in new and powerful ways. [01:14:08]

Bible Passage: "And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all." (Acts 4:33, ESV)

Reflection: Think about an area in your life where you need to exercise bold belief. How can you step out in faith today to witness God's bountiful grace in that area?

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Day 5: The Evolved Church

Description: An evolved church embraces persistent prayer, unified unity, and bold belief. This evolution requires us to move beyond individualism and embrace collective purpose, allowing God's grace to flow through us and impact our communities. The early church's example shows that when we align our hearts and minds with God's will, we experience great power and witness the resurrection of Jesus with boldness. This evolution is about moving from a focus on individual needs to a collective pursuit of God's will, resulting in tangible results and the fullness of His grace in our lives. As we submit to God's will and trust in His power, we will see our communities transformed by His grace. [01:19:29]

Bible Passage: "And they 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." (Acts 2:42-43, ESV)

Reflection: Reflect on your role in the church community. How can you contribute to the church's evolution by embracing persistent prayer, unified unity, and bold belief? What practical steps can you take to move beyond individualism and embrace a collective purpose?

Sermon Summary

### Summary

Today, we explored the profound truth that God sees, knows, and loves us deeply, no matter our circumstances or the perceptions of others. Reflecting on the story of Zacchaeus, we see how Jesus desires to meet us in our most private spaces, the places where we are truly ourselves. Jesus' invitation to Zacchaeus to host Him in his home symbolizes His desire to enter the intimate and often hidden areas of our lives. This encounter with Jesus led to Zacchaeus' joyful reception and transformation, despite the crowd's murmuring and judgment.

We also delved into the early church's experience in Acts 4, emphasizing the importance of persistent prayer, unified unity, and bold belief. The early church's commitment to prayer resulted in tangible manifestations of God's power, shaking the very place they gathered. Their unity, characterized by shared passions and compassion, unleashed uncommon favor and grace among them. This unity was not about sameness but about collective purpose and shared pursuit of Christ's will.

Furthermore, we discussed the concept of "another grace," a divine favor that empowers us to operate in new spaces and seasons. This grace is evident when we come together in persistent prayer and unified purpose, leading to bold belief that births bountiful grace. The early church's example shows us that when we align our hearts and minds with God's will, we experience great power and witness the resurrection of Jesus with boldness.

In conclusion, we are called to be an evolved church, one that embraces persistent prayer, unified unity, and bold belief. This evolution requires us to move beyond individualism and embrace collective purpose, allowing God's grace to flow through us and impact our communities. As we submit to God's will and trust in His power, we will see tangible results and experience the fullness of His grace in our lives.

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Key Takeaways

1. God's Intimate Knowledge and Love: God sees and knows us deeply, even in our most private spaces. He desires to enter the intimate areas of our lives, where we are truly ourselves, and bring transformation. This is exemplified in Jesus' invitation to Zacchaeus to host Him in his home, symbolizing His desire to meet us where we are most vulnerable. [09:07]
2. Persistent Prayer Produces Power: The early church's commitment to persistent prayer resulted in tangible manifestations of God's power. When we engage in persistent prayer, we access the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, leading to tangible results and transformation in our lives and communities. [61:20]
3. Unified Unity Unleashes Uncommon Favor: Unity in the early church was characterized by shared passions and compassion. This unity unleashed uncommon favor and grace among them. When we come together with one heart and one soul, we experience a new level of favor and grace that impacts our lives and communities. [64:30]
4. Bold Belief Births Bountiful Grace: Bold belief in the resurrection of Jesus empowers us to witness with great power. This bold belief births bountiful grace, enabling us to operate in new spaces and seasons with divine favor. The early church's example shows us the importance of aligning our hearts and minds with God's will to experience His grace fully. [74:08]
5. The Evolved Church: An evolved church embraces persistent prayer, unified unity, and bold belief. This evolution requires us to move beyond individualism and embrace collective purpose, allowing God's grace to flow through us and impact our communities. As we submit to God's will and trust in His power, we will see tangible results and experience the fullness of His grace in our lives. [01:19:29]
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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[09:07] - Jesus' Invitation to Zacchaeus
[10:01] - Zacchaeus' Joyful Reception
[11:58] - The Crowd's Murmuring
[21:05] - Praising Jesus Together
[21:53] - Fellowship and Greetings
[24:41] - Announcements and Celebrations
[28:07] - Upcoming Events and Reminders
[30:04] - Importance of Voting
[33:08] - Gratitude for Support
[36:16] - Trust and Submission in Giving
[48:23] - Reading from Acts 4
[50:02] - The Evolved Church
[61:20] - Persistent Prayer Produces Power
[64:30] - Unified Unity Unleashes Uncommon Favor
[74:08] - Bold Belief Births Bountiful Grace
[79:29] - Embracing Another Grace
[87:18] - Invitation to Accept Jesus
[90:02] - Closing Prayer and Benediction

Bible Study Guide

Observation Questions

What was Jesus' invitation to Zacchaeus, and how did Zacchaeus respond? ([09:07])
How did the crowd react to Jesus' decision to visit Zacchaeus' house? ([11:58])
What were the key characteristics of the early church as described in Acts 4:31-33? ([48:23])
What tangible results did the early church experience as a result of their persistent prayer? ([01:02:43])

Interpretation Questions

Why do you think Jesus chose to meet Zacchaeus in his home rather than in a public place? What does this tell us about Jesus' approach to personal transformation? ([09:07])
How does the crowd's murmuring about Zacchaeus reflect common attitudes in our own communities? ([11:58])
What does it mean for a church to have "unified unity," and how does this differ from mere agreement or sameness? ([01:06:00])
How does bold belief in the resurrection of Jesus empower believers to witness with great power? ([01:14:08])

Application Questions

Reflect on a time when you felt judged by others. How did it affect your relationship with God, and how can you seek Jesus' presence in your most private spaces? ([09:07])
Persistent prayer was a cornerstone for the early church. How can you incorporate more persistent prayer into your daily routine? What specific steps will you take this week? ([01:01:20])
Unity in the early church was characterized by shared passions and compassion. Identify one way you can contribute to fostering unity within your small group or church community. ([01:06:00])
Bold belief births bountiful grace. Think of a situation where you need to exercise bold belief. How can you align your heart and mind with God's will in this situation? ([01:14:08])
The sermon emphasized moving beyond individualism to embrace collective purpose. What is one area in your life where you can shift from an individualistic mindset to a collective one? ([01:19:29])
The early church experienced tangible results from their unity and prayer. What tangible results do you hope to see in your life or community as a result of embracing these principles? ([01:02:43])
How can you support and encourage others in your church to embrace the concept of "another grace" and operate in new spaces and seasons with divine favor? ([01:19:29])

Sermon Clips

1. "I'm so glad that no matter what I go through, God sees me. That no matter what I may experience in life, God knows me. And as A.W. Tozer says, I'm so glad today that God loves me the most. That it does not matter what you might have known about me. It does not even matter what you see right now on me. But I'm so glad that God, God knows the most about me, and he loves me, loves me the most." [09:07] (36 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

2. "I know you see the mic in my head I know you saw the collars on the deacons but we're all sinners saved by grace and at the end of the day it does not matter where we may sit at you got sin I got sin all God's children all of us are sinning but I'm so glad that the text teaches us that the crowd that was praising before can be the same crowd that murmurs a little bit later don't ever get bogged down by the crowds in your life that same friend circle may be praising you before that same friend circle may be with you before but a few verses later they'll be murmuring about you" [11:58] (60 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

3. "And while you're putting your hands together, can you help me put our hands together collectively for our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Come on. He's worthy of all the glory and the honor. I'm telling you, I don't know about you, but I woke up excited about being able to come into the house of the Lord today. Not to preach, but I just came to give God the glory and the honor and the praise because he's certainly worthy of all of it. And I'm telling you, we praise a whole lot of things, but I said, Lord, I just want to praise you with everybody in the family today." [21:05] (39 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

4. "My dear brothers and sisters, a while ago, I shared with you that God's given every one of us a gift. He's given us a grace. And he's given us a genius. A I shared probably in the beginning of the year. That. In the creation of man. That God gave all of us a genius. Help me out. Say genius. Genius. That's your mind. You have a mind that is unique to you. Braylon, it's your own. It's yours. Kinsley. You have your own mind. And within your mind is God's fingerprints and God's DNA of constructing your mind. And your genius in such a way that can't nobody think like you." [50:57] (50 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

5. "Some of us are gifted to sing. Some of us are gifted to preach. Some of us are gifted to be hospitable. Some of us are gifted to talk. Some of us are gifted. Just downright gifted with faith. We just got faithfulness. We're gifted like nobody else. Some of us are gifted with prophecy. We're gifted with tongues. We're gifted with all these various gifts. Some of us can draw and paint. And some of us can put plans together. Some of us can engineer. Some of us can even manage and lead like others. Like none other. We're gifted. We all have our own individual gifts." [52:06] (41 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

6. "But then God also gives all of us our own gifts. Then, then, then, then, then, God, then. Mm-hmm. Gives us a grace. Woo! Oh, God gives us a grace. He gives us a genius, a brain. He gives us a soul. He gives us a mind that is ours. Then he gives us the gifts. The gifts that are more than talents to work out what's in our brain. But then he gives us a grace. The grace is the environment that is then given, check this out, unmerited favor. Mm. To operate. To operate with your genius and with your gifts." [52:41] (41 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

7. "Persistent prayer to produce power i grew up in an old school church and they used to say much prayer much power little prayer little power and as i look at the climate that our world is in and the church in this world now sits stands and operates in it seems as if we are now some saints with little power but i need you to understand that we have access to the power come here paul paul says that we have the same power that raised jesus from the dead to quicken our mortal bodies you mean to tell me the same power that got jesus up out of a grave is inside of you and me" [01:00:35] (50 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

8. "We've got to go back to a place of prayer and i know i know it's cliche it's old school it's what we used to say but for real we got to go back to on our knees kind of prayer like when we got burned up kneecaps y'all remember them kind of prayer just been there so long my knees and got dark we got to go back to praying for real i can hear my mom now i know she watching but she said matt it's praying times it is praying times i was in i was in new orleans and then and i got a call about something and i was like oh my god i'm in new orleans and then i got a call about something and i was like oh my god" [01:01:20] (33 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

9. "Can we stop telling god about our problems and tell our problems about our god i'm just wondering can we can we really get beyond the place of always spending so much time on our knees talking about who did and what did why we don't have and say lord what would you have me to do today i want to throw this mic lord have your way today lord what do you want accomplished today today today they had a foundation of prayer but their foundation of prayer led to tangible results and the tangible results allowed the people to be unified" [01:05:00] (42 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

10. "I know it's not the new year. But I feel like telling you, happy new year. It may not be January, but God's giving you another grace, another grace to handle what you couldn't handle on your own. Because we're now together. We're now together. We're now together. The evolved church, the evolved church has bold belief that births bountiful grace. And the unmerited favor that's on one person. Now doubles when two come together. And it triples when three come together. And it quadruples when four come together. And it intensifies when five come together." [01:19:29] (48 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

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