GODtalks "The Holy Spirit Power for Mission

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

                                                -Acts 1:8-

I opened our Sunday message with these remarks…

“We are gathered, in the same place this morning, but spiritually we are in different places.”

 Jesus ministry on earth reveals the different spiritual circles we can find ourselves in. Jesus ministered to the crowds or as the Bible often refers to the multitude. The multitude were large gatherings of the curious, the interested, the religious, the as of yet, “uncommitted”. They were for the most part not yet followers.

 Even among this great group of people there were different positions they found themselves in spiritually. Their position in the gathering often mimicked their spiritual location. Some arrived very early to the gathering to get a front row view to be as close to Jesus as humanly possible. Some were more comfortable in the middle. Still a great viewing position and easy to hear His teaching but a bit safer distance position wise.Then there were those in the back, possibly because they arrived late, or perhaps they saw the crowd and were curious. Their position in the crowd made it a bit more challenging to hear and see what was going on. Still, they were there, and they had easy access to be first chariots out of the parking lot when it was all over.

 

Jesus also ministered to a group we know from scripture as the 70. From what we see of them in scripture this circle group were eager to get closer to Jesus. They set aside a great deal of their time to be where Jesus was. They were serving, helping, and listening. From all appearances they were truly disciples. But in many respects they were cautious to fully commit. So when difficulty came many of these disciples walked away.

  • Close  in  proximity to Jesus

  • Committed  to the movement

  • Engaged in ministry

  • Cautious

 

“Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again? 63 The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But some of you do not believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.)65 Then he said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.”66 At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. 67 Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?”                                                                                     

-John 6:61-66-

The next circle was made up of the 12 disciples. These men had left their careers, and friends and families to follow Jesus wherever He went. They were learning day by day from Jesus firsthand. They were eyewitnesses to miracles Jesus preformed. They participated in the ministry of Jesus daily. They believed in Jesus and trusted Him and so they were able to stick with Him when others walked away.

 

  • Fully Committed to Jesus

  • With Jesus daily

  • In Ministry full time

  • Obedient to Jesus

 

“Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

-John 6:67-69-

 These were not perfect men, and they did fail Jesus. One even betrayed Jesus. Something incredible happened at Pentecost that radically changed the eleven. The religious leaders recognized this in Acts 17:6 referring to the disciples as..

…”These that have turned the world upside down” 

The Ascension is twice narrated by Luke at the end of the book of Luke and the beginning of the book of Acts.

 The life begun by the supernatural birth ends with the supernatural Ascension, which sets the seal of Heaven on Christ’s claims and work. Therefore, the Gospel ends with it. But it is also the starting point of the Holy Spirits empowerment in launching Christs church!

 “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

-Luke 24:49-

 

Powerless Christianity…

  •   No threat to satan

  • Offers no hope for humanity

  • Turns worship into a concert

  • The preaching into a self-help lesson

  • Prayer into good thoughts and memorized poetry

  • Giving into charity for tax purposes

 

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you…”

 The primary outward expression of that power is evident in the Believer on Mission for God.

 “ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth”

 Let that sink in for just a moment.


Are you feeling powerless in your Christian walk? What circle are you living in?

  •  THE CROWD BACKSEAT: Cautiously curious/easy to escape

  • THE CROWD MIDDLE: Interested enough to listen but uncommitted.

  • THE CROWD FRONT: Close enough to get good photo but not be a disciple.

  • THE LIGHTLY COMMITTED: Jesus twice a month easily offended

  • FULLY COMMITTED: Jesus is Lord

 This is why I opened with the observation that although we are all in the same room, we are not all in the same place in our walk with the Lord. The Holy Spirit is our teacher, our guide and the one who empowers us to live a Christ like life.

 POWER

  •  You don’t need the power of God to obtain more material possessions.

  •  You don’t need the power of God for the trophies of the world.

  •  You don’t need the power of God for discovering yourself.

  •  You don’t need the power of God for building your own kingdom

 

YOU NEED THE POWER OF GOD TO COMPLETE THE MISSION FOR WHICH YOU WERE CREATED!

 You need the Power of God to overcome temptation and live a victorious life! We are created for community, fashioned for fellowship, and formed for a family, and are empowered for Mission!

 

 At the close of the service I reminded our church family…Here we are in the same room together. Here we are in different places in our walk with the Lord. The Holy Spirit is urging you to take the next step.

  •   Spiritually at the back of the crowd…Move to the middle.

  • Spiritually in the middle of the crowd…Move to the front.

  • Spiritually in the front of the crowd…Move to a first level commitment.

  • Spiritually at a first level commitment…Move to fully committed.

 

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