2. Committed To The Lord
“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36).

3. First Converted To The Lord
Committed To The Lord
First Converted To The Lord

4. First Converted To The Lord
1) People can be converted to:
(a) Other people
(b) A church
(c) A cause
(d) A doctrine
(e) A building
(f) Emotions, etc.

5. First Converted To The Lord
2) Peter’s sermon was about Christ.
“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death” (Acts 2:22-23).

6. First Converted To The Lord
3) Preaching effort of the disciples.
“Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him” (Acts 8:35).
“Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God” (Acts 9:20).
“The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all” (Acts 10:36).
“But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus” (Acts 11:20).

7. First Converted To The Lord
4) The reason for preaching Jesus.
“but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:23-24).
“And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:4-5).

8. First Converted To The Lord
Committed To The Lord
First Converted To The Lord
Willing To Change

9. Willing To Change 1) Those in Acts 2.
“Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them” (Acts 2:37-41).

10. Willing To Change 2) The example of Paul.
“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1:12-15).

11. Willing To Change 3) This involves growth.
“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5-8).

12. Willing To Change 4) John’s growth and change.
“James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17).
“My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18).

13. First Converted To The Lord
Committed To The Lord
First Converted To The Lord
Willing To Change
Willing To Sacrifice

14. Willing To Sacrifice 1) They were willing to help one another.
“Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need” (Acts 2:44-45).

15. Willing To Sacrifice 2) The reason for their steadfastness.
“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42).

16. Willing To Sacrifice 3) Willingness to go preach.
“Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles…Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word” (Acts 8:1,4).

17. Willing To Sacrifice 4) Now the Lord comes first.
“Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God” (2 Corinthians 8:1-5).

18. First Converted To The Lord
Committed To The Lord
First Converted To The Lord
Willing To Change
Willing To Sacrifice
Willing To Endure

19. Willing To Endure 1) Persecuted – continued to preach.
“Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening” (Acts 4:1-3).
“For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20).

20. Willing To Endure 2) Facing physical hardships.
“And in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea. This they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul” (Acts 11:28-30).

21. Willing To Endure 3) Dealing with internal problems.
“Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And the saying pleased the whole multitude…” (Acts 6:1-5).

22. Willing To Endure 4) Facing doctrinal issues.
“Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.” Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren” (Acts 15:19- 22).

23. First Converted To The Lord
Committed To The Lord
First Converted To The Lord
Willing To Change
Willing To Sacrifice
Willing To Endure