God At Work In Spirit Filled People

God at work through Spirit-filled People

Text: Acts 2:37-42

Introduction:

1. After watching the Upwards Sports film last Sunday morning, I wanted to follow this with a sermon and I want to ask you some serious questions:

Why should we bother with the families of this area?

Why should we do anything that is going to cost us more money and cause us more stress?

What’s in it for us anyway?

Why would we want to be involved in reaching out to Moms and Dads and boys and girls in this community and surrounding communities?

2. Let me take you back to Matthew chapter 18 and gives us the foundation of what Jesus taught His disciples and this same teaching is relevant for our understanding also:

Matthew 18:2ff

2 “Jesus called a small child over to Him and put the child among them.

3 Then He said, ‘I assure you, unless you turn from your sins and become as little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.

4 Therefore, anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

5 And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on My behalf is welcoming Me.

6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who trusts in Me to lose faith, it would be better for that person to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck.”

14 “In the same way, it is not My Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.”

Statistics show us that the highest percentage of people who come to profess Jesus Christ as their personal Savior is the children up to the age of 12 years old.

After that the percentage of people coming to the Savior drops drastically.

Every year on Thursday night during VBS I am given the opportunity to preach a salvation message to children and I am literally astounded how many of those kids seriously pray and accept Jesus so readily.

During these years the church has maintained a vibrant witness in the surrounding communities.

The Key to the effectiveness of any church has been a willingness to change and adjust in ways that best minister and reach the lost for Jesus.

This is a rare and wonderful characteristic of a church family.

As we continue to prepare for the future ministry this church, once again I approach you with our Mission and purpose for being here.

In Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

“GO!”

1) A Simple Command

a) It’s pretty straight forward – isn’t it?

b) We have two common ways of responding:

First, we respond by Waiting!

We build our church buildings, put ads in the paper, announce our service times and then we wait for people to come to us.

And Yet – Jesus says we aren’t to wait for people to come to us – He says – “Go to them!”

Just recently I heard someone say, “If people won’t come to church, then we have to take the church to them.”

Secondly – we respond by sending others.

One of the most common approaches is to hire

“full-time and part-time ministers” so they can go and win the lost and build the church.

But this is not the Biblical approach – this is not the biblical concept.

In Ephesians 4:11-12 it reads, “It was he, (Jesus), who gave some to be apostles some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until all reach unity in the faith…”

In my pastoral role and my staff’s role is more clear today than ever before: It is to Equip believers for the ministry.

Example:

? Much of our ministry in the church should be much like a football team.

? Each week the coaches work to prepare the team.

? They study films, design plays, push the players to get in the best physical shape possible.

What would happen if this were reversed?

? What if on game day, the players stood on the sidelines and the coaches went out on the field to play?

? The coaches would get creamed/defeated.

? When the others were substituting freely the coaches would be exhausted.

? They would be at a severe disadvantage and no matter how hard they worked they would not be able to overcome the opposition.