Life-giving Influence | Acts 3:1-4:3 – DFBC

Life-giving Influence | Acts 3:1-4:3

Dr. Miguel Lopez

May 10, 2026

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We often assume that if we’re doing God’s will, things will go smoothly. But in Acts, obedience doesn’t lead to ease—it leads to opposition. And yet, the church doesn’t shrink back. When pressure rises, their witness becomes clearer, not quieter. What if opposition isn’t an obstacle to mission—but the very arena where it thrives?

How does God use the intentional influence of his life-giving people to bring a harvest of those who are not his yet?

God’s life-givers intentionally leverage their life-giving influence to…

I. Display God’s power to meet the deepest and most personal needs of people who are not his yet (Acts 3:1-10).
a. The life-giver’s missional mindset: blessed to be a blessing – discernment.
b. The purpose of signs and wonders: to bear witness to the authenticity of God’s words by his works (Heb. 2:1-4).
c. God’s power and people’s needs: The Jesus way (cf. Luke 5:17-26).
APP: Who are the “invisibles” in your life?

II. Apply God’s word to transform the eternal destiny of people who are not his yet (Acts 3:11-4:4).
a. The life-giver’s missional mindset: All eyes on Jesus (witness 1 Peter 2:9-10) 3:11-13.
b. The life-giver’s missional message: the death and resurrection of Christ, our faith and repentance (3:13-26).
c. The harvest (4:4).
APP: Who are the “unreachables” in your life?

Life-givers reach everyone, one by one,
when our small life-giving works
connect people with God’s big, life-transforming words.

1. Can you think on anyone whose deep need has become invisible to the world but visible to you? Perhaps God has made you aware of such need to display his power to meet that person’s need. Are you willing to connect that person’s need with God’s power in the name of Jesus? You can start praying for that person. Praying is where the connections are made before game time.
2. Never underestimate the power of the gospel to change a life! Who is someone who God has used to invest by displaying kindness in good works that needs to be connected with the explicit message of God’s word? When does God want you to present the gospel to that person?

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