Power for Mission

I want to start off by reading Acts 1:8 this evening.

Acts 1:8 NIV

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

This verse right here, spoken by Jesus to His disciples, tells us why we need the baptism in the Holy Spirit. At such time, believers receive power to be witnesses for Christ in their city, their region, and all over the world.

The baptism in the Holy Spirit is the POWER for God’s Mission.

The message of the mission is simple: Jesus saves. The message is the gospel message of what Christ has done for us.

We may not have personally witnessed Jesus’ ministry on earth, but believers have personally experienced Jesus’ ministry in themselves. We have something to testify about. We have a story to tell.

And consider this, your personal testimony is unique… one of a kind. There will NEVER be another one like it.

Some might have similarities but your experience in Jesus is personal… His ministry to your circumstance is personal… testimonies have different backgrounds, different life experiences, and different scenarios, but they all lead to one person who is… JESUS.

The message is simple and the mission is large. In fact, I would call it God-sized. And we see this mission given to believers in Matthew 28:19-20

Matthew 28:19–20 NIV

19 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, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

This mission is for all who follow Jesus. No Christian is exempt. It is our privilege to tell not just our neighborhood, but the whole world that Jesus saves!

The power that comes with the Spirit baptism is what we need to get this mission done. Whether we are reaching one… or one thousand. No matter if we are in a small group or large group, WE NEED THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT AS WE PROCLAIM THE MESSAGE OF JESUS!

There is something we need to understand tonight: Just as the MISSION is for ALL believers, so is the POWER for ALL believers.

According to Scripture everyone who was in the upper room received the baptism in the Spirit in Acts 2. No one was left out.

They were all believers in Christ AND they had obeyed what Jesus told them to do. They were there because they waited as instructed. They were walking in full submission with the Lord.

As we consider what the Lord would have us do personally and corporately regarding the mission He has given us, We need to ask ourselves right out of the box if we have fully submitted ourselves to Him.

How commited are you… to the instruction that Jesus has given us? How dedicated are you… to going and telling? How willing are you… to make disciples?

Maybe you find yourself trying to reason with God or make excuses

God, I’ll go just as soon as I finish this project I’ve got going.

God, I’ll tell just as soon as some time in my schedule opens up.

God, I’ll make disciples as soon as I get more comfortable with teaching.

Church, the time is NOW!!! Look at Jesus’ words in John 4:35

John 4:35 NIV

35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.

TODAY is the day for harvest! Today is the day to go and tell, to make disciples, to teach them the commands of Jesus! The time is right! The power is available… but the workers… are few.

This evening, we are going to pray for Spirit-empowered workers to take to the fields. We are going to look at the mission a little deeper and we are going to cry out for God to empower us as we reach the unreached of the heartland.

The first part of the mission I want to look at is the very first word of Jesus’ Great Commission to His disciples.

Spirit, EMPOWER Your Church to GO.

To go simply means to move on a course… to move with purpose… to move with direction. Jesus commissioned us to go, not to sit idle or motionless. A missional church is NOT a motionless church.

We need to realize that the question is not if God is sending us… the question is are we obedient enough to go?

Pastor… where would I go? The Great Commission says to go into all the world… am I expected to travel abroad and reach the nations?

Before looking at the world… look at your neighborhood. Before crossing borders, cross the street. Before looking at different cultures… look at your community.

Yes… there is an incredible work to be done around the globe and yes… God may call you into full-time missions. Not everyone will receive the call to go overseas… but EVERY BELIEVER has been commissioned to GO.

Our church has the blessing of touching multiple communities right here in the heartland.

Our building is centrally located making it possible for people to come from all over the area to worship.

IT IS GOOD that we come together to worship and hear the Word. Our centralized location helps us with that! BUT… we must also be a mobilized people who will take what we receive from God and invest it in the community that we live in.

HWC has a LARGE immediate mission field. From Norton to Lebanon and all that is between. From Alton to Franklin and Naponee, we cover a large territory with our church attenders!

Look at this map image and you will see just how wide-spread we are!

This second image helps to give a better perspective of how large our potential area of influence is!

Now, look at the numbers (as of 2021):

Norton County - 5,461 in population - 3,013 people need Jesus

Phillips County - 5,026 in population - 2,181 people need Jesus

Smith County - 3,591 in population - 1006 people need Jesus

Osborne County - 3,514 in population - 1,950 people need Jesus

Rooks County - 4,979 in population - 2,838 people need Jesus

Franklin County, NE - 2,932 in population - 1,155 people need Jesus

Harlan County, NE - 3,236 in population - 1,915 people need Jesus

Total population - 28,739 people. Total unreached people - 14,058

These people are within arms reach. These people are within a short driving distance from us. These people live in our neighborhoods, go to our schools, work in the same office, etc. We don’t have to go FAR… we just have to be willing to go!

Secondly, the Great Commission tells us to make disciples. So prayer point two is...

Spirit, EMPOWER Your Church to MAKE DISCIPLES.

This might sound odd at first but hear me out… Jesus didn’t call us just to fill empty seats in these chairs. He didn’t call us to get people in the doors of the church… He called us to make disciples. This means you and me are an ACTIVE part of a person’s growth and walk with the Lord.

I often look to Romans 12:2 when it comes to the topic of making disciples. This verse talks about the change that takes place as a person draws closer to the Lord.

Romans 12:2 NIV

2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Making a disciple or becoming a disciple is becoming more like Jesus, and less like the world. This means a person will STOP conforming with cultural and societal norms and come into alignment with the ways and Word of God.

The Word used is transformed. As the Word of God is presented and applied to a person’s life, it will transform everything about them.

Romans 12:2 says the will of God will become more clear to them. This makes sense as it is through discipleship that we draw closer to the Lord.

Jesus said in Matthew 7 that the applied Word will produce an unshakable foundation for our lives. No longer will the storms of life be able to tear us down. The Word that is our foundation will stand!

I truly believe people are looking to be transformed! They are tired and weary… they are lost and searching for hope. The world has let them down… and it will continue to let them down.

Our hope, purpose, peace, identity, salvation, and freedom can ONLY BE FOUND IN JESUS!

We must Go. We must make disciples. And we must rely upon the power that God pours into us through the baptism in the Spirit.

Jesus gives one last instruction in the Great Commission and I am going to take a different approach to it this evening.

Spirit, EMPOWER Your Church to OBEY Jesus’ Commands.

Now wait a minute… I don’t see it said anywhere in Matthew 28:19-20 an emphasis on obeying the commands of Jesus! I do see where it says to teach others to obey His commands… so where is this point coming from?

Simple… we cannot teach others to obey commands we ourselves do not obey. IF we desire for the lost to live by Jesus’ commands, we must be living within those commands too.

Remember what we said in the introduction… Everyone who was present in the upper room received the baptism in the Spirit because they had OBEYED Jesus’ instruction.

IF we truly want what God wants for us… IT BEGINS by obeying what God has told us to do.

Think of it like this: you go to a fitness trainer with the goal of losing 30 pounds and getting in better shape. He or she gives you instructions to follow for the next two weeks. You go home and don’t do a single one of the instructions.

Two weeks later you return frustrated. You haven’t lost a pound… maybe even gained a few. YOU WANT to lose weight and get in better shape… why didn’t you get what you wanted? YOU DIDN’T FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN!

If we want what God wants for our lives, for His church, and for our community, then we MUST follow the instructions given.

This is NOT an option. This is NOT an elective. Obedience is the key to a move of God in your life.

Faith declares we KNOW God can do it. Obedience places that faith in ACTION according to the will of God for our lives.

James 2:17 tells us plainly that faith without action… is DEAD. Not partially dead, not somewhat alive… but DEAD.

Maybe some of us have not received from God in a while because we have allowed our faith to die.

You might still believe, but you are walking in disobedience to the Lord. You make more excuses than you do examples of living faith.

The Great Commission specifies that we teach others to obey the commands of Jesus… but before we can teach that, we must be living that. Lord, help us to obey Your commands that we might receive what You have for us!

Closing

On this Pentecost Sunday, will you join me in praying for these three needs tonight?

All three needs focus on our need for the EMPOWERMENT of the Spirit. The Baptism in the Spirit is given for this specific reason. The harvest is white… ready to be brought in… and the laborers are few.

We need… GOD NEEDS… every believer to take to the mission field AND every believer needs to be empowered of the Holy Spirit.

His Spirit is for you. His power is for you. He desires for ALL believers to be filled in this way.

Remember - the mission is for ALL believers. Therefore, the POWER for the MISSION is for all believers.

It’s time for the workers of the harvest to take to the field. We don’t have to ask God when… the time is NOW.

Will we go trying to operate under our own power OR will we seek His power first… operate in His power as we reach the lost?

Prayer Point Review:

Spirit, EMPOWER YOUR Church to GO.

Spirit, EMPOWER Your Church to MAKE DISCIPLES.

Spirit, EMPOWER Your Church to OBEY JESUS’ COMMANDS.

Will you join me in prayer this evening? Will you believe for the Lord to pour out His power in this place?