Learning from the Life of Peter
What NOT to do or think…
1. Do not think you are stronger than you really are.
2. Don’t compare yourself with others.
3. Do not speak before you have time to think.
4. Be aware of your own weaknesses and slow to jump to conclusions about others.
5. Be careful that you are not challenging the authority of Jesus; you will be acting as an instrument of Satan.
What we CAN do…
1. Be a leader who is determined to follow the Lord.
2. Be willing to speak up to solve problems even when everyone else is silent.
3. Be bold enough to follow Jesus even when it costs you something.
4. Be willing to repent when you fail the Lord.
5. Recognize your desperate need of the Spirit in order to serve in God’s power.
6. Keep your focus on the Lord and help others do the same.
7. Do not quit when the going gets rough.
8. Be willing to break tradition when the Lord asks you to do so.
9. Let your love for and praise of Jesus be evident and central in your life.
Scriptural Reminders regarding the power of God…
The source of our power is the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:8)
2. When we are weak is when God’s power can be released in and through us. (2 Cor.12:9-10)
3. It is God who gives us the power to serve Him. (Ps 68:35)
4. Our responsibility is to cooperate with the power that is within us. (Col 1:28-29)
5. Our responsibility is not to grieve or quench the Spirit, our source of power. (Eph 4:30; I Thess 5:19)
6. The prayers of a righteous person make tremendous power available. (James 5: 16)
7. Our service must be not by our own ability and effort but in the power of the Spirit. (I Cor 2:3-5)
8. God is able to do more than we can ask or imagine by the power that is within us. (Eph 3:20-21)
9. God’s divine power has already given us everything we need for life and godliness. (2 Peter 1:2-4)
Is God’s power still available for the church today?
When is the last time something happened in your church that could only be explained as the power of God??