The Canvas

If you have your Bible with you, you can jump straight into the

book of X. We're going to be in Chapter 2

again, for those of us who were those of you who may be joining

for the first time, we're going through a series.

As you can see, called anything can happen.

And we are picking up on some of the major themes that we see in

the book of Acts and what God does in terms of doing

exceedingly, abundantly above what we could hope were

imagined. And I want to pick up on one of

those specifically are one of the pivotal moments in The book

of Acts, I don't know if you've done yourself a favor and read

through X recently, but you'll notice the awesome big shifts

and pivotal moments through the book of Acts starting from the

very beginning is pouring out of the Holy Spirit, we got the

persecution of the church and the scattering of the Christians

and Saul getting saved and missionary trips that these big

moments. And I want to pick up on one of

them. Because in it, what we see is

something of the seedbed for the New Testament.

Which I'll call it the canvas that God uses to paint his

kingdom on the the canvas he uses to create a community where

anything can happen. I don't know if you know the

artist Carlos Alberto, his canvas is the city.

I've got a photo here one of my favorite photos of his work.

Incredible. He just uses walls and Roads and

buildings and on it. You see his handiwork.

You see 3D full Living Color of his Artistry.

And we're going to see something of that.

When we look at scripture, they 3D living organism known as the

New Testament Church. And I want to look at

specifically what is the canvas that God uses?

So, that's what we're going after.

If you're not accept to basically the backdrop to this,

the Holy Spirit has been poured out.

Out, Peter's gotten up and preached.

Thousands of gotten saved verse 41 actually says, in those who

believed were baptized. And that day, about three

thousand people are added to their number.

So look around. That's like me saying, hey, I'm

going to have laughed group in your picture.

That's that's what's happened. What do we do?

What does the canvas that we use?

What do we put into place? So that this can become the

global movement? That is become.

We're here, we see the secret Source.

The canvas that God uses in verse 42.

They devoted themselves. So they gather together, and

they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching to the

fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to pray.

Now we're looking at what is the canvas that God uses to create a

community where anything can happen?

So that's the canvas. Here's the anything that can

happen actually from verse 43, all the way to chapter 8, we see

this but here's just a few insights, but it's 43.

Everyone was filled with awe and Many Wonders and signs were

being performed through the apostles.

Actually if you look at your Bible, the next page you see a

lame man, given legs you know, Silver and Gold Have, I None

that happens next in this account we see people from the

surrounding Villages, coming bringing their sick and they'll

aim and they blind and they leprous and they get radically

healed. We see the the people putting

their sick on the street so that the apostles could walk past

hoping that this Shadow will fall on them and when it did,

people were getting healed. Talk about anything can happen.

This is it, this is Ground Zero but not just among the apostles.

It goes on to say, all the Believers verse 44 were

together. The held all things in common,

they sold their positions and property and distribute the

proceeds to all as any had need. So there was this radical

generosity a sacrificial living but it talks about miracles

happening among these people they would pray for guys who are

taken into prison as persecution and the angels would arrive and

unlock prison doors. It was like seriously we got to

upgrade our expectations because this is what happens, right?

He goes on to say every day because they keep returning to

this canvas verse 46 every day, they devoted themselves to

meeting together in the temple and broke bread from house to

house. They ate their food with joyful

and sincere Hearts. Verse 47 praising God enjoying

the favor of all the people and every day the Lord added to

their number. Those who are being saved.

Actually, one translation says multitudes of both men and

women. See when, when we stay within

the borders and boundary lines of what God has called us to do

as a community, if we apply. Ourselves to the canvas that he

is using. We see him, do exceedingly,

abundantly above all we can hope or imagine.

And that is what I want to go after this morning because maybe

last week you are stirred with faith, that anything can happen,

anything, anything anything, but then what do we do on Monday?

Let me show you what we do on Monday verse 42, they devoted

themselves to the apostles teaching to the fellowship to

the breaking of bread and to pray.

So whatever the apostles teaching is just a fancy way of

saying, basically, they got stuck in and devoted themselves

to scripture. I don't know if, you know, the

name, John Wickliffe. He was a theologian back in the

1400s, and he devoted himself and his life to taking scripture

out of the clutches of the priests and putting it in the

hands of the common everyday people that His life's demotion

so because back then and the 1400s, only the holiest of

holies had access to scripture. Only a pastor knew what to do

with the word of God. Not not the peasants, you know.

And to make it worse it was written in Latin.

Most people didn't understand Latin anymore.

At least not the uneducated and so he wanted to get it into

English and through this hard work, unfortunately it cost him

his life. He was excommunicated from the

church. They actually burned his body

and his life's work and Scattered his ashes and his

Works ashes in the river, talk about not being devoted to the

apostles teachings. That was back in the 1400s, But

as God would have it, it didn't stay there as ashes in the

river. This revolution became the

Reformation with Luther and then there was a printing press and

eventually the English King James Bible.

Until finally 1953, there was a young lady who is crowned Queen

Elizabeth and she was handed a Bible.

One of the Wickliffe Bibles with this declaration, they said this

to, they said, we present you with this book, the most

valuable thing that World affords.

Here is wisdom. This is Royal law and these are

the Lively Oracles of God. What a Shifty, the very powers

that be that had poor old Wickliffe Burns along with his

life's work. And now handing her, this Bible

and saying this is the most valuable thing.

The world can afford Live Your Life by it.

Similans are being devoted to the apostles teaching, starting

to come back into history. That was 1953, pause forward to

2023 and we have the king being ordained.

I don't know if you watched it, but once again, we find the

scripture being taken and put it back into the hands of only the

holiest of holies dressed in the Royal robes and the Archbishop

of the Archbishop of the only they have access to scripture

again and it's like with the pendulum has swung.

They say that only nine percent of people who had who own Bibles

read their Bibles regularly. Only nine percent of people who

own a Bible reader Boggle. One of you part of the non

percent. Because the Bible says, the

canvas that God uses to do exceedingly abundantly above the

community that he forms, where anything can happen, all those

who devote themselves to the apostles teaching.

I don't know if you've heard the name, hind fan, hon, fam, lived

in Vietnam and the 70s. And when the Americans came

through, with touring evangelist and what have you he operated as

a translator. And unfortunately, when the

Toronto when the evangelists left, this poor translator was

arrested thrown into prison and tortured for his faith by this

communist government brutally tortured for years.

Apparently, they would try and sort of brainwash him with

Marxist ideology and force him to recant, his faith and deny

his faith. And, and they tried to crush him

in every way possible for years. And eventually, as I can,

Imagine anyone would he got to his end?

In a prison all alone? No one even knew that he was

there being brutally torture day after day after day.

Eventually got to the point. We said, God, I can't do this

anymore. I don't know where you are.

My faith has been crushed. I know that if I just deny my

faith once all of this will go away.

So, you woke up the next morning was the first morning is in

years that he never had a quiet time.

Never sensitives Hot Sun. God, never did anything related

to the any possibility of the existence of God and that's how

he started his day. Expecting the bank to come on

the door and for him to say, listen, this is little girls.

Again, I deny my faith. You can let me go now but

instead they didn't do that, they came and they said, listen,

we've changed. Aging your shift, you no longer

serving here. Now you're going to go clean,

toilets and people like what's the chances typical?

And not only do you abandon me in prison, but now in our Bend

and you hand me over to toilet Duty, But he tells the story of

how he's busy cleaning, toilets on that.

Very first day of denying his faith in just saying, thanks.

God. But I don't want you anymore and

he's in the loo. He'll be with me on my pictures

person. I'll be gentle.

But he says, he seizes it looks like a piece of newspaper, some

English writing and he's just so desperate for news of the

outdoors because he hasn't heard anything for years, they've sort

of puts his hand, in the toilet, pulls out this piece of paper

washes, it a little bit, and he opens it.

And it says, and we know that in all things, God works for the

good of those who love him, who have been called, according to

his purpose has for. I am convinced that neither

death, nor life, neither angels, nor demons, neither the present,

nor the future, nor anything else.

In all creation, will be able to separate us from Love of God and

he said, he looked at that piece of paper and you realized the

day he gave up on God. So day, he realized God would

never give up on him. The power of scripture.

And for the next 17 years, he endured brutal.

Torture and brainwashing because every day he had discovered that

certain prisoners and one part of the Concentration.

Camp were only given baubles as toilet paper.

That was how they were trying to undermine him and every morning

he'd go and he'd fish scripture heart.

And love on God and allow God to love on him.

And the most horrendous situation was horrendous

conditions and when he came out of jail, no one knew where you

they all thought he was dead 17 years later.

They discovered This Together. How on Earth did you survive?

When he told them, the story said only survived through the

word. It was it was my refuge.

It was my lifeline, it was my safe place.

It was my hope the power of scripture now, I don't know what

your rhythms are. And what your recent

relationship is when it comes to scripture, maybe, maybe it's

like the king or Pomp and ceremony, but it doesn't really

carry much weight in your life or maybe like the queen.

You know, the most valuable thing.

This world affords. When we look at scripture, if we

are sitting there going, father, I want you to break out numbers.

We long for Revival to break out in our city.

We long for president to be radically changed and for

corruption to be rooted out. Father, what is the canvas that

you're going to use to do this? It begins with the people of

God. Begin to devote themselves to

the word of God. Put it in his rightful place.

I said, I said a few weeks ago, I was left speechless one

morning, quiet time, opening my Bible in Genesis where God says,

let there be light I discovered in English is forwards.

But in Hebrews 2 it's basically God says light be to it.

And a hundred billion galaxies and stars and planets and suns

are put into place. The power of two words.

What could happen when we open scripture and God speaks into

your life and to your marriage and your situation into your

prison cell? and that is why they devoted

themselves to the apostles teaching, because they knew when

they open scripture, Anything Could Happen, and that is what I

want to invite you back to. Maybe is a young person.

You new to the faith, you don't know.

The Lord is speaking. Maybe you're a young person.

You don't know where to start this way, you start.

This is where you start X 240 to devote themselves to the

apostles, teaching to the fellowship, to the breaking of

bread and to pray the fellowship.

Maybe this is for those of you who have been here for a while

being around the block, you've seen some things you know you've

got your seats that you always sit in.

You know, what's going to happen on this Sunday, people know you

by name Fellowship. John Solomon, says the longer we

spend in the field, the less grateful, we are for the

treasure. We have found and the more

focused we become on the dirt around it.

The longer we spend in the field, the less grateful, we are

for the treasure. We have found in the more

focused. We become on the dirt around it.

I remember when 3cr was new to me, I remember when you and you

to me, I remember telling my wife.

It's like, I've never been in a room full of so many good

humans. Before in my life, I remember

telling others they don't call them pastor and then I'm

preaching on the stage. It's the weirdest thing.

But God is there, you gotta come with me.

Actually, I lead my own church is fine.

I'm busy on a Sunday. I can't come with you.

I used to drag people kicking screaming sharing about what God

is doing here. But are finding me that the

longer you've known about this treasure in the field, the more

Focus to get on the dirt around it.

Ray Johnson tells most remarkable story, but the value

of community is he had a Ray Johnson leads the church in the

US. And he was sharing about a young

man in this church, who hated church, he hated Christianity.

He sort of came from a very hypocritical home.

So what happened on a Sunday, didn't happen on a Monday, so he

waited to get his driver's license and to be of age where

he I have to go to church anymore.

And so he turned 18, got his license, got a car and he denied

his faith. He said, Mom Dad, I'm an

atheist. I'm not coming to you to church

with you ever again. And he was telling his

therapist, this because he thought this was quite an

achievement. You know, he's really growing up

in the ways of the world and his therapist is going to be very

tough because the therapist wasn't a Believer.

Either nothing to do with Christianity and the therapist

said to him, said listen, yeah, I'm all for you.

You know, I'm here for you. I'm here for your best.

I love the That you abandoning your faith, you know you do you

but I really have a problem with you abandoning Church.

Like I said, I'm an atheist. Why would I want to go to

church? Is it ordered the hold your

horses? He's it.

The therapist said the statistics for the benefits of

just going to church or unprecedented is it that the

amount of studies and he went to his filing cabinet and brought

at 42 different studies from from Pittsburgh medical from the

Journal of Health Psychology from MIT, you name it like 42 of

them. Began reading through some of

the things. So listen, you just got

understand before you make this decision not to go to church

said of these 42 studies is found that those who attend

church regularly live longer. Hey Dennis.

There's a benefit right there. That this is comparable to

exercising every single day. Going to church regularly.

Those are go to church regularly, lower divorce rates

better sleep. Because you sleeping through my

sermon right now. Experience less depression, and

those married couples who go to church most regularly or most

sexually satisfied. His words, not mine.

I believe in science. You sit down, you use, when you

say same to this young guys, they listen, but if you go to

church, you will live longer healthier life be less depressed

been asleep. It is 6 since all things

considered, that is a dumb decision to not go to church.

This is an unsaved, man, talking to a self-proclaimed atheist.

This is, but okay, I respect the fact that you are an atheist.

So let me give you some counsel from another atheist.

He pulls out a study by Matthew Parris.

You can find it on the Overrated this week, it's De Paris with

two r's. It's a paper on the effects of

Christianity. And Matthew Paris, Paris is a

self-proclaimed, Fierce atheist. And he says this, he says it

confounds my ideological beliefs stubbornly, refuses to fit my

worldview as an atheist and is embarrassed my belief that there

is no God. So now I confirmed atheist, I've

become convinced Christianity changes, people's hearts, it

brings a spiritual transformation, The rebirth is

real. An atheist.

The rebirth is real. The change is good.

Far from having cows are confined, its converts.

Their faith appears to have liberated them and relax them

Christianity, which is a teaching of a direct personal

two-way link between the individual and God

insubordinate, any other human being actually liberates people

and then he has this kainga. There's something about the

people of God, connecting around the word of God that Deuces is

something about the people of God, connecting around the word

of God that produces and this is what this atheist.

Matthew Parris is saying to fellow atheists.

It's what the therapist was saying to.

What to that young man. It's what scripture says to you

this morning. There's something about the

people of God connecting around the word of God that produces

which is why Rory tells a story. All those years back when he was

in the Me and he had two mates who didn't know his left from

his right. And every time they turned, he

would turn the wrong way and the parade was an absolute shambles

and the Lieutenant's grabbed him and put him right in the middle

of the platoon. So now you don't worry about

left or right, you just follow those around you and you'll come

good. And so this is what at Luke is

saying index to this, take your marriage, put it in the middle

of the people of God and watch it, produced, take your

finances, put it in the mist of those who have A great financial

Acumen your business and your business decisions and you're

raising of children and you're trusting in God, and the fact

that he just doesn't seem to make, you just put it in the

middle of this community and watch it produce. y'all look at

this quote, and I thought to myself, For those of us here,

who come from broken homes, how different would your childhood

have been if your mom and dad went to laugh group together?

you know, that they say those who come from a broken home with

me, like 70% more, likely to produce a broken Home of Their

Own, Imagine what that statistic would look like.

If you had simply had parents who went to life group

surrounded themselves by the people of God, because there's

something about the people of God, connecting around the work

of God, the word of God, that produces It's not a flippant

announcement. Hey, by the way, we have live

groups on Tuesday. We are fighting for your future.

And this is the canvas, when they devote themselves to the

apostles teaching to the fellowship, breaking of bread,

and to prayer, I find that anything can happen.

The breaking of bread. Now, we look at that and I think

a lot of us christianese we think of of communion but it's a

lot more than that as you as you read through from x 2 to x 8,

it's basically feasting together.

So what this verse is act 2242, says that if we prioritize meals

together, anything can happen. You know?

Where we started 2023 feasts. We started with feasting What's

the chances that out of that? The God would begin to whisper

hey, Anything Can Happen. Prepare yourself.

And we shouldn't be surprised because that's what happens over

and over and over again, in scripture.

Jesus ministry, began at a meal. At awaiting, the banquet

afterwards. That's what Jesus ministry

began. And he does it continuously

through scripture, the woman with the alabaster jar.

She gets radically set free a lady with one of the most broken

pasts in scripture, radically set free at a meal.

Pharisees rebuked religion, put in its place at a meal,

Zacchaeus a corrupt tax collector and Incredibly

influential man gets saved and restored and Emile, they are

healings. The gospel is preached.

My favorite is Peter denies. God, you might be here and

you've denied God, like that young man.

Hard never going to church. Again, I'm an atheist Peter

denies. God, three times, Jesus.

Restores him at a meal. Because there's something about

the Gathering Together of the Saints, around him, at dinner

table around a meal. Ellen, Kreider, he wrote a book

called the patient fermenting of the early church.

And he asks this question, he says the growth of the early

church is the most remarkable sociological movement in world

history in 80/40. They were roughly 1,000

Christians in the Roman Empire by 83 30 almost 50 million had a

chance to at 53% of the population.

He asks, this question, how is it possible for this obscure

sect Become the greatest movement in the world.

Well, of course, they had Evangelistic Crusades and and

big church, Gatherings. No.

I don't know if you know this, but for the first two or three

hundred years, Christians didn't invite non-christians to church.

Because if they came and word spread and the Imperial Guard

found out that not only kill you but they're slaughtered the

entire community and all their friends and family.

So for the first two or three hundred years, the only way that

the unsaved world had access to the Christians.

Was that a meal table? They public laughs.

And the meal table is they say the most intimate moments within

a family. I mean, just think about it.

Even architecture has changed. We used to have a step up front

and used to watch the kids playing and the streets.

Now we've taken a ride behind the how Wars at the back of the

house by the pool. Where no one can see us.

It's the most private of most intimate space in your family

rhythms. And he says it was not Christian

worship that Drew them. Min it was Christians that Drew

them in not a well curated Instagram feed.

It was their way of life together in community.

They love for one another, they thick web of care and

compassion, they joy and suffering.

Generosity sacrifice. Peace, Serenity, wisdom, and

perseverance, and boys will answer the moment around a

dining room table. and we have spent weeks on this, but I want

to ask you, would you say that your devoted To breaking bread

with one another. You see because if we get this,

if we live this, if this is a canvas, it should influence the

houses that we buy. Does it open itself up to

community to people coming and joining us?

It should influence our budgets. How much we spend on taking

people out for meals or sending food to dinners and any You

know, it should literally have its way into our Sunday lunch.

The house that we live in at the moment, we bought the thing.

That was the deal breaker for me, was the fact that I

calculated you, we could park 12 cars in our driveway behind a

security gate and that was I thought, okay, that's a good

start. It's like this property was made

for Laughs group was made to have people over.

And we renovated, we broke. Open our kitchen.

Made it open plans, that ran from the kitchen into the

lounge. Into the garden.

Put a deck, and we covered it. And we bought chairs had ladies

make these pillows. So we could have people sit

comfortably and we could enjoy company.

And we, we put a bow Marin and a pizza oven and a fireplace and a

bra and the swimming pool and often, we would have one of

these impromptu you after church on Sunday morning, when you come

over, bring your kids and they'd be in the pool.

We'd be making pizzas, we be connecting devoting themselves

to the breaking of bread and then we decided we were going to

do an open house and I'm an introvert.

So that, yeah, I've needed my medication for something like

this, big and dangerous. All the weird and wonderful in

their home, but we said no, it once a month, let's have an open

house. Like, anyone can come And as

being the introvert that I am, I lost the most extrovert friend

of month, that I knew Matt, good.

I said you got invite people and by people say he'd invite 30

people, I'd invite three. And we I stopped counting when

we had had 250 people unique people through our homes.

Many would get wind of the next one and just pitch.

But 250 people within three sad was is almost half of the church

that we had through a Hermitage through an introvert home

because we bought a place that was devoted to Breaking Bread

together and the moments that we had were unbelievable.

I never came there with a Bible study and three points and an

offering basket. It was like, we're doing

Mexican. Come, we had a lady arrived.

Like, who brought you never met her before my whole entire life

and I've lived long and like, yo, who brought you know, she

heard from someone at who work about this open night and she

decides she's going to come, but then the someone fell sick, so

she came anywhere. Well, we talked about to

properly Stranger in a place in our home.

Got to meet their Spindler and we've done weddings on the back

of people meeting. We've walked Journey.

We've been on that speed dial at 3:00 a.m. from those who've come

through. Remember the one time we

actually I said, listen, we're going to go around the.

We are sitting at the bottom of the middle of winter and how

thing I tell you making a fire outside.

The smoke just goes straight up with magnificent.

We sitting there. So let's go around the circle

here about 25 of us to say, okay, answer this.

If you really knew me you would know Fill in the Gap.

And like the first one that I was caught skinny-dipping by the

principal and other one. As I have a tattoo of my first

boyfriend, or my bum or whatever it was really funny Reynolds.

Like, okay, we really knew now we know, but the second time we

went around all of a sudden is hot.

So open, remember the first person say I struggle with

chronic depression and I've been on a suicide watch for the last

month. I just I just don't know when

the next person their sickness and the next Personally, family,

laughing was unbelievable. Just Heaven touching Earth.

And we've had young and old rich and poor educated uneducated

everyone and everything in between through our front door

lot starts, that's not. We had a very first bodyguards

which I thought was interesting, friends of ours, go everywhere

with these two bodyguards, invited them and then my wife

said, do we feed the bodyguards? What do you what do you do with?

Yeah. Do they come early with sniffer

dogs that are no babes and I'm from the bluff but God's been

King in me, you know he's doesn't have to be afraid and we

had these bodyguards reversing in with access control and they

said Nicole they watching? Yeah.

It's like not such a bad neighborhood.

But everyone and anyone in between, This Is How They went

from 1000 people to more than 50% of the, of civilization at

this stage. Essentially, we Christianity was

illegal But fifty three percent of the population.

I see what I could do in our city if we devote ourselves to

Apostles, teaching fellowships and breaking of bread and to

pray you all have so much I can say on this last point, but let

me let me touch on the side. I love to pray through the

Psalms and I was praying through some 128 and says so lavish

blessing Psalm, but it ends with this one.

It says may you live to see your children's children.

Your grandkids, may you live too.

So in the ancient near East that was a novelty often didn't get

to see your children's children and and so I looked at them and

may you live to see your children's children.

My grandkids, I wonder what they'd call me.

And I'm sort of wondering and hoping they wouldn't call me

Oppa. Your granddad.

Is it just makes you feel old? And then my mind is, like, it

always does like proper Rabbit Hole.

This is me having quiet. I'm here on my knees praying.

Like, hmm. Let me Google.

Yeah, list of what grandkids call their grandparents.

And I found some good ones that I'm sort of steering over.

I've got some time, you know? I thought Gramps was cool but

might be a bit grumpy granddaddy.

Yeah, I could. Oh, gee dog.

They had red ones, Daddy-o Bou Bou, Bou Bou, bi ba boo.

I thought if I start identifying as a fire engine, that could

call me one of those big chief. Big Chief.

Oh Big Daddy, I'm a viking. The senso grand kids used to

call their Viking grandparents. Olaf problem with that.

Is that every time they think of me, they thinking of a singing

snowman. So that might not work.

And I know that that can be a problem because in our home, my

wife's grandmother is called Bob on.

It's Belgian Bob on my kids got it wrong for many years used to

call their biltong. They weren't far off.

She's 99. Okay, but here's here's the

thing. A name.

A name represents something, a name represents a relationship.

So if I'm sir, it's very different to Olaf.

Orgy dog. And so, my final decision will

probably revolve around what I want my grandkids to see me, as

who I want my grandkids to see me as when I think of me.

The same applies to our Heavenly Father.

Who does he want you to know him as he could have chosen over 250

plus names in the New Testament alone?

But you know what? He chose, he chose father far

and above. I want you to know me as father.

And you need to know that because when we look at the fact

that they devoted themselves to prayer and know what you're

thinking, you're thinking prayer lists and early mornings, and

daily devotionals and learning. The original Greek and

memorizing, the president's parliamentary staff names and

interceding on their behalf and pulling down strongholds, in

Frankfurt. Know, when they devoted

themselves to pray, they simply recognized that God was there.

A father. And he longs to spend time with

you. He longs to weave his day into

yours. It is his sheer Delight to be

with you, you mountaintops and your values to share and carry

the weight of your day. That's what it means.

To devote ourselves to pray. And so I want to close with this

in Revelation, 8 is a beautiful picture on prey.

And it says, I'll just read it to you as his then, an angel who

had a golden censer came and stood at the altar, the golden

censer in Revelation 5 is is a bowl like this.

It's the Golden Bowl and in Revelation 5, this is it's

filled with the prayers of the Saints.

So, in heaven, there's an angel carrying a bowl with your

prayers in it. He was given much incense to

offer with the praise of all God's people and the golden

altar in front of the throne, the smoke of the incense

together with a prayers of God's people went up before God, from

the Angels hand, then the angel took the censer the gods with

our prayers, filled it with fire from The Altar, and hurled it

onto the Earth. And they came peals of Thunder

rumbling flashes of lightning and an earthquake.

What a beautiful picture of answered prayer.

But they were devoted to pray, because sometimes it's not just

a drop or two. Sometimes it's days, or weeks or

months or years of devoting ourselves to pray to bringing

that situation, that marriage, that relationship that the

business department to God and pray, but it's in that place.

We can truly say anything can happen.

They devoted themselves to the apostles, teaching to the

fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to pray and close

with us. It says they devoted themselves.

It's like I said this morning and I saw pre-service

pre-meeting made an incredible statement.

You said the name of the series is anything can happen.

Not anything will happen. It's anything can happen because

it comes with an invitation. It's like, God is part of the

Red Sea and he's standing on the other side is saying, well, you

crossed with me and come into your inheritance.

Come with me to the promised land.

They devoted themselves which basically means the measure to

which God creates a canvas and we're uses this community for

anything can happen as a measure to which we all found devoting

ourselves to the apostles, teaching and fellowship, the

breaking of bread and to prayer. Thanks Chris.