Sermon Tone Analysis

You Are the Gospel

Intro - tie sermon into the Lord’s prayer verse 10. “YOUR Kingdom come, YOUR will be done, on earth as it is in heaven...”

But do we really pray with God’s will in mind?…

Are we so caught up in our wish list that we forget to be changed by our prayer, and by His Spirit?

I am sure that was happening a bit to the early church on this day.

A church that was no doubt struggling with the same question that you and I sometimes struggle with.

A question that rules over us all - What is God’s will for me?

The Irish evangelist Gypsy Smith tries to clear that up for us a bit.

He said that, “There are five Gospels.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and the Christian, and some people will never read the first four.”

In other words, the message is seen before it is heard.

And as we pray for God’s will to be done, in this wonderful prayer, we need to understand that the world will only really see that will come to life - that Gospel - if we live it out for them.

You are that Gospel.

I am that Gospel.

...The Irish evangelist Gypsy Smith once said, “There are five Gospels.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and the Christian, and some people will never read the first four.”

In other words, the message is seen before it is heard.

The Irish evangelist Gypsy Smith once said, “There are five Gospels.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and the Christian, and some people will never read the first four.”

In other words, the message is seen before it is heard:

That is something that we all struggle with.

Even the early church - the disciples and all those who were actively following Jesus - they all struggled with that.

We all struggle to live out the life we have not only been called to live, but church, we have been uniquely equipped by the Holy Spirit to live out that life.

And like the disciples and early church, who we see in the setup for our text today staring into the sky waiting for Jesus to come back (), we wait sometimes too, don’t we?

But there is no more need to wait!

The Spirit has come!

And today reminds us that our lives must be a Gospel for this world - a Gospel fueled by His will and Spirit.

----

Pray

[pic of pentecost]

It is probably wise to make sure we know the context and reason behind the significance of Pentecost.

You see, this was a celebration for the Jewish people.

It is called the festival of weeks, and in particular, the feast of harvest.

This is a time when all the Jewish people would bring into the temple all their firstfruits.

So this is an unbelievably busy time.

There would have been tons of people there!

All of them on the same page, there for the same purpose, to honor their God and to celebrate with kindred Spirits!

[Not unlike being at Carowinds, or a Football game...]

Acts 2:1

You know, this moment really reminds me that God’s Spirit, is a Spirit of change.

It really is.

And when we pray this prayer, and ask for God’s Kingdom and will to become evident in our lives, we are really asking God to start that process of change!

This is a time when all the Jewish people would bring into the temple all their firstfruits.

For these disciples, who no doubt had prayed that, it was evident, right?

So this is an unbelievably busy time.

There would have been tons of people there!

All of them on the same page, there for the same purpose, to honor their God and to celebrate with kindred Spirits!

[pnuema stuff?

change metaphor]

[Every tool we have ever learned (school on up) is a tool that the Holy Spirit can and will use when we pray and live out God’s will…practical examples…for me French]

[pnuema stuff?

wind seems important…change metaphor as well… ]

[Haiti preaching]

[walk through style - expository]

[walk through style - expository]

ak lafwa pa gen anyen enposib - ou ka di nan mòn, ale la!

That wasn’t me talking, that was the Holy Spirit.

Church, everything we experience in life becomes the most powerful tools of the Holy Spirit.

And when we pray to stay in God’s will, it will then be used for His purposes and glory.

And just as important, when we allow Him to use us, we fall behind Christ as He continuously leads us to those who need Him most!

[outline and important take away only.

print out for other side of bible is ok]

[parenting kids…not angry, not yelling, but setting the expectations allows us all to fall in line and do the thing we are supposed to do....WHEN WE PRAY FOR GOD’S SPIRIT, AND FOR HIS KINGDOM AND WILL, WE FALL IN LINE BEHIND CHRIST AS HE LEADS US TO THOSE WHO NEED HIM MOST!]

[Leads us to find others like us, and leads others to us as well.]

That is what happened to these disciples…[read]

This is a powerful moment to me.

Understand that these men came from all over the place…[differences stuff]…BUT GOD’S SPIRIT, AND THOSE FOLLOWING HIS WILL, PUT EVERYONE ON THE SAME PAGE!

IT WAS ALL ABOUT JESUS.

HIS WILL.

HIS SPIRIT.

And church, this is really the moment when all this comes together.

You see, God sent His Spirit to fill that place, and those people.

And when we pray for God’s will, we too will experience that same thing.

God’s will is that we be Spirit-filled.

[not with signs…]

[And that moment, is what this portion of the prayer, and even this day, is all about…God’s will is for us to be Spirit filled...]

That is God’s will, right from His mouth.

And that is what we see being set in motion on this day, and in this text.

His Kingdom.

His will.

A kingdom and will that we don’t always understand.

That is what I see here.

[coming together, people from all nations…]

[moving everything towards the idea that God’s will for us is that we seek Him and His kingdom here on earth ( ) and that we allow ourselves to be amazed at His power and plan (acts 2:12).

God’s will is for us to be Spirit-filled!

Move that idea toward the ending (paraphrase verses 25-28)

ak lafwa pa gen anyen enposib - ou ka di nan mòn, ale la!

…It wasn’t really me talking in that moment.

I was wrapped up in what the Spirit was doing, and in that moment, was something more than myself.

That is what I feel was going on here.

And when I said it, the interpreter, and the people understood that God had something to say to them even through me.

And when that happened we all immediately got on the same page!

When the Spirit takes a hold of us, it leaves us all bewildered and amazed.

It leaves us shaking, at least inside, and church most importantly, it leaves us wanting more!

We

He wants us to be Spirit-filled because we are the example…[read]

[it means that God is with us....it means that…it means that “Your kingdom come, Your will be done…it means that His Kingdom is here in front of us!

His life for us is in us!

As long as we live filled with His Spirit we will not be shaken to the point of destruction!

We will not be moved from His presence and love!

So no matter what your situation looks like, you can rejoice and be glad!