Neighborhoods & Nations: Nations

This is the manuscript for the sermon I preached at West Bradenton Baptist Southside on Sunday February 2,, 2020.
 
We are five weeks into our series “Neighborhoods and Nations”.  This series has been designed to help us look at and talk about the calling God has placed on us individually and as a church to both our neighborhood and to the nations.  Ultimately, we will continue to discover how we can effectively be a neighborhood church (local) for the nations (global) and what that looks like. 
 
Last week I talked about being salt and light.  I talked about how God calls his people to be the salt by preserving the message he is preaching and sharing his message by letting the light (message of hope and salvation) they have shine brightly and unashamedly.  I concluded with the reality that our job is to...Shine Brightly, Shine Naturally, Shine Openly, Shine Right Where You Are, the light of Christ in our Neighborhoods
 
Today, I am concluding this series as I talk about the church and the nations.  Today’s message will be a nice segue for the next series I will begin next Sunday titled “The Holy Spirit”.  In order for the church to be effective to the nations, it is important that a church be a Spirit-filled church made up of Spirit-filled individuals. Today, I aim to talk about and answer the question what does a Spirit-filled church and life look like?  How do we live the Spirit empowered life? And how does living the Spirit-filled life and being a Spirit-filled church help us reach the nations for the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
 
Overview of Acts 2:1 -13
Before we do this, it is important for us to look at the day we consider the birth of the church in Acts 2: 1 – 13.  This extraordinary event happened day of Pentecost (50 days after Jesus’ resurrection).  In this account we are told about a great sound of wind rushing in the room, tongues of fire appeared above everyone’s head and utterances of praise in foreign languages were all evidence that the Spirit of God had indeed fallen on the disciples this very day.  God fearing Jews who came from all parts of the known world witnessed this event and were amazed at what they saw and more specifically what they heard.  They were so perplexed and amazed that the only conclusion some came to was that the believers were drunk with wine.  We will see in today’s passage as Peter, filled with the Spirit, addresses these accusations and explains exactly what was happening on this strange day.
 
Today I want to park at Acts 2:14 – 21 and look at a part of the passage that has become known as the great sermon of the Apostle Peter.  I am not going to look at the full content of the sermon, but we will look at the amazing result of this Spirit-filled sermon and what we can learn from it today.
 
Verse 14:  This is Peter’s first public sermon and boy was it a doozy.  According to author and pastor R. Kent Hughes this was his greatest sermon because, “Of the place it occupies in history of redemption, greatest by its pure results (there were 3,000 converts), and greatest by virtue of it being a model for apostolic preaching (Gospel oriented and evangelical).”  In this sermon he addresses the onlookers by explaining what was happening at this moment.  He also counters the claim that they were drunk with wine, since it was only 9:00 a.m. 
He begins by quoting the prophet Joel 2:28 – 32 which is a prophesy describing this specific time when the Spirit will be poured out on believers.  Peter informs his listeners that they are witnesses to the coming of, indwelling, empowering and filling of the Holy Spirit in the believe which was prophesied by the Prophet Joel.
 
Vs 17: “And it will be in the last days…”  Peter tells the listeners that the beginning of the end is at hand, because here the Spirit of God is being poured out onto believers.  God will Pour out is derived from the imagery of Israel’s heavy winter rains; it speaks here of abundant provision. [1]  When the Spirit was poured out it represented the beginning of an undisclosed time frame known as “the last days” which concludes with Judgment Day.  We are still living in these last days and we, just like the believers back in the early first century, are anticipating the return of Jesus Christ is near.  The result of God’s outpouring on all people is that sons and daughters will begin prophesying, young men are receiving visions from God and old men dreaming dreams.  All peoples refers to all of Judah and more likely on Jews and Gentiles alike.  This passage could be translated as, “There will be a day when God will pour out an abundant provision of His Spirit on both Jews and Gentiles alike.” 

“Then your sons and daughters will prophesy…”  His Spirit is being poured out and his people will prophesy. Let’s take a moment and pause here for a moment and look at what “sons and daughter will prophesy” means.  When one prophesies, he/she speaks to the people and encourages, consoles, and uplifts “On the other hand, the person who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouragement, and consolation.”  (1 Corinthians 14:3).  Author Steve Thompson writes in his book You May All Prophesy, “Prophecy is not just speaking human encouragement; it is speaking divine encouragement.  In simple terms, prophecy is ‘hearing’ from God and speaking what you hear in order to build, comfort, or encourage someone.  To prophesy is to hear from God and speak to men.”[2]  If I may be so bold to suggest that prophesying is something the Church should be practicing more today.  Now, I am not referring to predicting the future, proclaiming loudly and annoyingly end of the world judgment.  I speak about the type of prophesy that involves the believer listening, seeking and hearing from God and then sharing these words with one another (not to control or get what you want) for the building up of the body of Christ.  The Apostle Paul tells us Prophecy is the greater of the gifts when it comes to edification or building up the church body as a whole.  It is not necessarily a greater gift, but in the church body it is more beneficial. 
 
According to the Prophet Joel there will be no gender or age discrimination, His Spirit will fall on male and female, young and old, Jew and Gentile alike.  Young men will see visions (this is noteworthy since visions were generally reserved for specific people but after God’s pouring of the Spirit it will be available to all).  The Spirit will be active during the last days.  God will reveal his plan, purpose and promises to his people of all ages and it will be for the building and edification of his Church.  Peter tells us that this filling of the Spirit is no longer just reserved for the prophets, but it is now available to all who believe in Jesus Christ.  This includes you and me; we just need to pray for the Spirit of God to fall upon us and be willing to receive it when it does come. 
 
The sermon Peter preaches is an amazing display of the Holy Spirit empowering a believer to preach the Gospel because we he preaches with boldness and conviction about Jesus Christ.  Remember, only fifty days earlier this same man denied three times the same Jesus he is boldly proclaiming.   He feared for his own life just fifty days previous and now he stands before over 3,000 people publicly speaking about Jesus Christ.  Another way we see evidence of Peter being empowered by the Spirit is by looking at the results of his sermon.  Over 3,000 people became Christians on this day.  Only the Spirit of God can pull this one off.  Had Peter given this sermon in his abilities and power, it would have fallen on deaf ears and the result could have ended in a riot or death.  As we see here, when the Spirit of God is actively present, great things happen.
 
If you are a student of history look at some of the great revivals and you will see a common thread in all of them…. Spirit-filled preaching.  Look at the first Great Awakening in America which happened in the mid 1700’s when a man by the name of Jonathan Edwards gave a sermon entitled “Sinner’s the Hands of an Angry God”. Edwards stood behind a pulpit and solemnly read from his notes a sermon that could (and in many cases does) push someone farther away from God.  But, the Holy Spirit was at work and the second time he gave this sermon the result was met with people weeping and crying out in repentance to God.  It is even said that the bars were closed because there was no business because people were getting save.  This led to the first Great Awakening and is one of many events in history where the Spirit of God did remarkable things.  This revival was a result of the Holy Spirit as were all revivals in history.  Many people today try or have tried to usher in revivals but are usually met with little to no response as a result.  Why?  Because we as humans cannot bring forth revival!  This is the Spirit’s job and we must allow Him to do His work.
 
Application
So, how does living the Spirit-filled life enable us to become a Spirit-filled church that brings the hope of salvation to the nations?  Here are some suggestions…

1.  Be a Church that moves
   1.  Our purpose is, “To glorify God in everything we do.”  (Read Romans 8:5 - 11) A flesh-driven life and church cannot bring glory to God.  We are given life through the Spirit and a life and church that has the Spirit is a church that is active, moving, and seeking to do the will of God. 
   2. Go to Matthew 28:18 – 21… All authority has been given to Jesus to commission the disciples to GO (not sit around and wait for people to come to them).  Our first job is to be open and willing to Go wherever God sends.  Jesus did not tell his disciples to sit around and wait and meet for church and lunch every week, He said “GO”.
   3. Where do we go?  We go to our neighborhoods, we go to our families, we go to the cities, and we go to the nations.
   4. Going is very important if we want to see the Kingdom of God grow.  Missions works is so important in taking the Gospel to the nations. 
   5. My family and I have a love for missions and missionaries.  In 2018 we traveled as a family to the Philippines to support our friends in their mission’s work.  In the Philippines we were able to encourage believers and share the love of Jesus Christ.  Some day we will share our experience with you, and we are praying about going back next year.  In March my daughter will be traveling the Netherlands to bring the Gospel to the people Amsterdam (please be praying for her). 
   6. How about you?  Is God calling you to Go?  Maybe your going will only send you down the street, or to your workplace, or to your neighborhood.  But are you willing to Go, when God calls you to go?
2. Be a church that evangelizes
   1. In our going we are called to evangelism.  The more appropriate translation in Matthew 28:19 is “As you are going…”  While we move, we are called to evangelize.  We are to share the Good News with people.  We are to go and as we are going share the Good News (tell of what Jesus has done).”  Go out and encourage others to walk with Jesus and when they become believers take them under your wing and teach them about Jesus’ commands. 
   2. Martin Luther said, “Every Christian must become Christ to their neighbor” and according to R.C. Sproul this meant that our unbelieving neighbors “don’t see the cross, the empty tomb, or the transfigured Jesus.  They don’t see Him in His ascended glory, and they don’t see Him at the right hand of the Father.  All they see is you and me – and in seeing us, they must see Christ.”
3. Be a church that values discipleship
   1. We were created by God for God (for his own pleasure) to walk with God.  The Gospels show us this truth.  Jesus became human and walked among us.  He chose 12 men to walk with him and show them the way to the Kingdom of God.  Certainly, God could have just programmed the “how to of following him” in our brains and been done with it, but instead he sent his son Jesus to walk among his people and physically touch and interact them. 
   2. We are called to walk with Jesus in discipleship.  There is a misnomer that discipleship is a program intended only for those who really want to grow in their faith.  Being a disciple is not a program, it is who you are.  We are ALL called to discipleship.  We are Christ’s representatives in this world.  We are light bearers (as John 12:36 implies).  A disciple of Christ means following Jesus’ teachings and living in obedience to his word.  At the core a disciple is someone who has devoted his life to serving King Jesus in all areas of his life.  This entails obedience and submission.  We are to obey and submit the commands of Jesus (which can be broken down into the irreducible core…. Love God, Love others, and as you go make disciples of all nations.)

   
[1]Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1997). The Nelson study Bible : New King James  Version. Includes index. (Joe 2:30). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.

[2] Thompson, Steve. (2001). You May All Prophesy p. 9  Charlotte, NC: MorningStar Fellowship Church