GO with Power
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But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
INTRO—
INTRO—
[VIDEO: “Evangelism Linebacker” - Derwin Gray]
A humorous attempt to show our challenges in our witnessing…and a really bad idea on how to fix/discourage ourselves from what ‘freaks us out’ regarding evangelism...
…BUT, now I want to turn our attention to a good kind of freaking out. Gospel-inspired freaking out. We find it in Acts 17. Here Paul is newly arrived in Athens and waiting on the next step in his journey. He takes a look around the city, and in verse 16 we read...
Acts 17.16 “While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply distressed when he saw that the city was full of idols.”
He freaked out…and set out to engage the Gospel need of the people of the city in that ‘moment.’ He did such, GOing with POWER!
So can we!!!
POWER & Our Mission
POWER & Our Mission
Power for the Mission = The Holy Spirit
Acts 1.8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
[Without belaboring the point, we are not waiting for an Acts 2/Day of Pentecost moment so that we can then go witness. We are enable by the Holy Spirit to live the Christian life at the very moment we surrender to Jesus as our Savior and Lord.]
Power of the Mission = The Gospel Itself
Romans 1.16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.”
[The truth of the Gospel message is the power of our message. it is NOT, however, a magic formula you say to someone who is lost and they ‘miraculously/incredibly/inexplicably’ just are changed]
POWER Reboot
POWER Reboot
Ever had to reboot your computer, phone, tablet to get it to work again. It locked up. It couldn’t find the file. It just kept doing something unexpected. SO, you hit the reset button…restart…turn off, wait, turn back on...
Throughout our time studying the habit of evangelism, I am going to pass along what I have found to be encouraging principles for my life in getting refocused to strengthen my witnessing. Here’s the first one:
PRINCIPLE 1 — God created you for his glory, to advance his Gospel with the gifts, talents, and opportunities he has given you.
Our personal and corporate reboot (strengthening our commitment to growing in healthy habits for spiritual strength) will open (reopen, further open) the doors for us to...
Matthew 5.14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
[Martin Luther once noted: “God does not need our good works (our reflected light of his truth; God is light and in him is no darkness at all), but our neighbor does.”]
To reboot… repent and resume fulfilling our call.
Psalm 51.10-13 “God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore the joy of your salvation to me, and sustain me by giving me a willing spirit. Then I will teach the rebellious your ways, and sinners will return to you.”
POWER Stoked
POWER Stoked
When camping…in cold weather…one highly important job is tending the fire. The fire is important for cooking…and for warmth. After the fire starts burning it will eventually begin to wane in its production of heat…unless it is stoked...
stoked; stok•ing [Dutch stoken; akin to Middle Dutch stuken to push] verb transitive 1683
1: to poke or stir up (as a fire): supply with fuel
2: to feed abundantly
3: to increase the activity, intensity, or amount of
We are like campfires…with one exception—the source of fuel for our fire is never in question, never in short supply. Our challenge is our openness to the source. Often we could use (actually, quite often we could use) a reminder of the significance of the fuel for the fire of our lives as Christ followers…and for a healthy, biblical emphasis fueling our mission, the habit of evangelism. Here comes another important principle for us regarding our witness(ing):
PRINCIPLE 2 — In order to share Jesus confidently and consistently with others, first share him confidently and consistently with yourself, and with other brothers and sisters in Christ.
A biblical example of what I’m talking about comes from the Apostle Paul as he corresponds with Christians in Corinth. As he is helping them out with the various challenges they face to living faithfully, he writes these words in 1 Corinthians 15...
1 Corinthians 15.1-4 “Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel I preached to you, which you received, on which you have taken your stand and by which you are being saved, if you hold to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,”
While emphasizing the essential nature of the Gospel message (vv. 3-4), notice the astounding (maybe) implications of the important applications for the message of the Good News of Jesus:
A message to be recieved (to hear and to herald!)
A message of salvation (completely…justification, sanctification, glorification)
A message on which to keep standing (histemi; hestekate = Perfect, Active, Indicative, 2nd Person, Plural…to stand, maintain, set, remain)
We need not ever tire of hearing the message. It’s like the treasured hymn declares:
[1] I love to tell the story of unseen things above, of Jesus and his glory, of Jesus and his love. I love to tell the story because I know it's true; it satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.
[2] I love to tell the story, ’tis pleasant to repeat, What seems each time I tell it more wonderfully sweet; I love to tell the story, for some have never heard The message of salvation from God’s own holy Word.
[3] I love to tell the story, for those who know it best Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest; And when in scenes of glory I sing the new, new song, ’Twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long.
[Chorus] I love to tell the story, ’Twill be my theme in glory, To tell the old, old story Of Jesus and His love.
CONCL—
CONCL—
Jesus promises us…
Matthew 4.19 “Follow me,” he told them, “and I will make you fish for people.”
If he has promised (said he will), then let’s take him at his word. Committed to being a Jesus follower, I am ready to be (become) a fisher of people.
Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel I preached to you, which you received, on which you have taken your stand and by which you are being saved, if you hold to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,