It's Go Time!

Good morning Harmony!

Welcome to the first Sunday of the new year!

As we begin this new journey of 2024, I am excited for what God has in store for Harmony.

And I think the very first thing that we need to do is that we need to be reminded of our mission statement.

It’s there in your bulletins and up on the screens, but let’s all read that together:

Our mission is:

…to develop authentic believers who strive to connect people to Jesus, teach them to engage in discipleship, and multiply the Kingdom in the process.

And the primary place in Scripture that we look to for that mission statement is from Matthew 28:19-20

Matthew 28:19–20 CSB

19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

That is our mission, that is what defines who we are as Harmony and how we function as a church.

Now underneath all of that, we have these vision statements for how all that works.

For instance under authentic we have this vision statement that says:

We desire to be authentic in our walk with Christ, following His example to the church.

and under connect we have:

We desire to connect others to Jesus.

and engage is:

We desire to engage every person through discipleship.

Now we’ve been actively pursuing all of those, that was part of the purpose behind when we changed our Sunday school curriculum, and we modified the Wednesday night program to be a family affair rather than just our children. We’ve made strides towards authentic and connecting and engaging, but what God has laid on my heart is the next steps for our church - and our community and our state.

Today and this upcoming year we are going to focus on the multiply part of our mission statement.

We’re going to lean in some more on connect as well, but our vision or our direction for Harmony Baptist Church this upcoming year is going to be focused on taking the next step in our Mission statement.

Today’s main point is that:

Main Point: The next step to being a healthy, growing church is to multiply alongside others locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally.

Or, as our message this morning is titled, it’s go time!

Our vision statement for Multiply says this:

We desire to multiply the Kingdom in our community, state, country, and world.

That means that whether it be at Harmony, another church in our community, or somewhere outside our local community, every effort we make will be for the purpose of expanding God’s Kingdom.

And each one of these vision statements have a passage or so of Scripture that is the defining passage or verse that points to why we do these things or why this vision is so important to our church.

And so our passage today comes from the book of Acts, chapter one, and we are going to begin in verse 4.

As you are turning there, the book of Acts was written by Luke, and what Luke starts off the chapter with is the final moments just before Christ ascends into Heaven. The work of calvary is complete, and here in chapter 1 in our passage today is the key verse or the driving command of Jesus for the entire mission of the early church.

And so that is where we pick up today in verse four, Jesus is delivering this command. And beginning in verse 4 we read:

Acts 1:4–8 CSB

4 While he was with them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. “Which,” he said, “you have heard me speak about; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days.” 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 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.”

Prayer.

From our passage today we are going to see these three ideas about the Holy Spirit and how that should shape our ideas about going and obeying the call to go and be Christ’s witnesses to all places.

The first thing that we see is that Christ will not leave us alone. Christ gives us a promise.

The first thing that we see is:

1. The crucial PROMISE of the Holy Spirit, vv. 4-5.

In verses four and five, we see that the very first command of Christ is to stay.

Christ is still present with them, and He commands them not to leave Jerusalem.

He says wait. Wait for the Father’s promise. Jesus says ”I’ve told you about this promise that is going to come.” John Baptized with water, but as believers in Christ you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit, He says.

Now here in this part of our passage it sounds like believers have to wait for the Holy Spirit, but we need to understand that that was for a brief period. It says in a few days this is going to happen because at that time for the Apostles and the Disciples then it wasn’t time. Later in Acts we see that that happens and we see the flaming tongues and how everyone heard the gospel in their own language.

Today we have the immediate indwelling of the Holy Spirit upon those that are saved.

Acts 2:38 tells us that that is the promise:

Acts 2:38 CSB

38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Today the moment you repent and turn to God, you receive the Holy Spirit. Baptism is the first act of obedience, as in when you have repented the very first thing that you should do is be baptized as a public profession of faith to the church. It doesn’t save you, it’s just the first thing a new believer should do is confess Christ to others.

Now, does that mean that it’s wrong to wait after you have received the Holy Spirit?

For some things yes. The moment you have received the Holy Spirit, the moment that you have accepted Christ as Lord, you are God’s witness. You have a mission, to go and make more disciples. You just need to do that locally as you are learning the Word of God and being equipped by the local church.

And a lot of people think that requires some sort of degree or some sort of extra learning to go and witness to others, but that is the simplest part of the Christian mission that you can do. It doesn’t require any additional stuff to tell others what God has done for you.

And so it would be wrong to assume that you cannot be a faithful witness without training. It’s already go time as a new believer, because you are commanded from the moment you receive Christ to go and make disciples.

Now, that isn’t to say that you are prepared to teach the Bible in depth, it just means that you are capable of sharing your story, what happened when you met Jesus, with others.

The purpose of the time that you spend in your local church is so that you can be equipped for the ministry. So you can learn and be prepared as the hard questions start to surface from others. It shouldn’t be idle time, you should be encouraged to grow in your faith and to go and do the work of the ministry, which eventually becomes equipping others as you grow in discipleship and begin to grow others in discipleship. There is never a time that you should stop growing in discipleship.

I have not reached a point where I have stopped growing in discipleship. I begin my doctorate this upcoming Fall, but even when that is complete I still cannot stop growing in discipleship.

And oh, by the way, my education is not discipleship, or at least it’s not the whole package. I have previous pastors that I call and local chaplains and pastors that I communicate with to continue to grow in the Word of God.

There is not a point where that stops.

The crucial promise of the Holy Spirit though drives us to desire to grow in the Word of God and to be faithful to His command. That crucial promise draws us close to God and initiates the relationship that we have with God.

The Holy Spirit initiates the change in our lives, draws us close to God, and calls out to us to know Christ.

The problem is that many of us have the wrong idea of what the promise of God is. We just assume that it is just Heaven and so that is what we are most interested in. That’s the second idea about the Holy Spirit:

2. The wrong IDEA of the Holy Spirit, vv. 6-7.

In verses six and seven we read:

Acts 1:6–7 CSB

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.

Jesus says stay here, wait for the promise of the Father that I have told you about, and the disciples gathered there ask “are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel at this time?”

Jesus has been with them for three and a half years, He’s done all of these miracles, told them about the Kingdom of Heaven, told them about everything that He came to do, He’s died and rose again, and at least many of those that were gathered there were still focused on the Roman occupation.

Today many of us will read that passage and we’ll think about the Heavenly Kingdom of Christ, and that is what we’ll want to focus on.

And Jesus tells them that they have the wrong idea of what Jesus means when He’s telling them that the Holy Spirit is going to come. They’re focused on the wrong thing.

And many times that is what we will focus on. We’ll focus on all of the good things that the Holy Spirit is supposed to do for us, or we’ll focus on Heaven, and we forget all about the mission.

The Holy Spirit does not come into you in order to make all of your dreams come true or to be your magic genie to grant your every desire. The Holy Spirit does not enter believers in order to make all of your earthly problems go away. The Holy Spirit is living inside of you as a believer in Christ to guide you and direct you through the hard times and the persecutions as well as to strengthen you to go and do the work of discipleship.

Yes we have the promise of Heaven, the promise of eternity with Christ, and that hope, but here that hope that Christ is talking about is the hope of the promise of the indwelling Holy Spirit that gives us strength and purpose now.

Jesus says stop being focused on the temporal things. He says if God wants that to happen, that is for Him to deal with. If you’re praying for that to happen, then it’s God’s determination of just when that will happen.

Jesus isn’t saying don’t pray for things, He’s not saying don’t ask for things, He’s saying that when God chooses to do that thing that you have been praying for He’s going to do it in His time and in His way, and His way is always the best way and at the best time regardless of how we may feel about it at the time.

So when Jesus says go and make disciples in Matthew 28 and here in a moment in Acts 1:8, it’s not go and make disciples when you feel like it, it’s not go and make disciples when it’s convenient, it’s Jesus saying “I have given you everything you need, you have received the Holy Spirit, now go, and everywhere you go you are to tell others about me.” We aren’t saved simply to kick back and ride out our Christianity, we are saved by Christ and commanded by Christ and compelled by the Holy Spirit to go and tell everyone we know about Christ.

Our culture today has made this a compartmentalization thing where you don’t discuss certain things in the name of humanity or this false sense of unity.

We don’t discuss politics because that might offend someone. We can’t discuss religion because that might offend someone. You could be fired for proselytizing.

let’s start with this - you cannot be fired for peacefully proselytizing, or peacefully telling fellow employees about Jesus. That doesn’t mean you should harass them or paint them into a corner, it just means that you absolutely are able to share your faith in the workplace in a peaceful manner. You can share Christ in public too, without getting arrested, so long as you are peaceful about it.

A co-worker tells you to stop, then by law, you should stop - until they raise the question or they bring the subject up again, and if you are living your life according to the hope of Jesus they should. But don’t be afraid that you are going to lose your job over promoting a Christian lifestyle or over sharing your faith.

You can invite others to church even by simply having flyers or cards on your desk - if everyone has already told you to stop telling them about Jesus you can still leave the information on your desk or in your workspace. I will say that if you are going to do that then you must be living a life that glorifies Christ for others to take interest.

The Bible doesn’t say for you to live this compartmentalized life where you are a Christian in one place but not another. That’s not being authentic, that’s not connecting others to Christ, and that isn’t being engaged in discipleship or multiplying the Kingdom. If you are a believer in Christ that is a full time commission to go and make disciples.

But we don’t have to do that of our own power. In fact, if we did do that of our own power we would not be able to.

That’s why Jesus says stay here, wait for the Holy Spirit. Don’t lose focus on the mission by concentrating on the things of this world, because that’s not for you to be concerned about. That’s not why you are my disciple, Jesus says. And then finally in verse 8 Jesus tells them why they don’t need to be focused on the things of this world. Jesus reveals:

3. The true POWER of the Holy Spirit, v. 8.

The true power of the Holy Spirit is revealed in verse 8.

Acts 1:8 CSB

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.”

You will receive power.

If you are a believer in Christ today, then this power already flows inside of you. You have the power of the Holy Spirit, the power of hope and joy and peace and patience and love and kindness and perseverance and self control that are living inside of you. This means that you have a supernatural power residing in you that compels you to live according to the gospel.

Doesn’t mean that you always use that power, it just means that you have that power in you if you allow the Holy Spirit to demonstrate that power.

Everyone here who professes Christ has the hope of eternity with God, an eternity with Christ in a sinless, perfect Heaven. No more tears, no more sorrow, no more pain.

But you also have power here today the Bible says, to be His witnesses. To share the love and hope and joy and peace of Christ with everyone you encounter.

This power is the power to endure through the persecutions of those that want to quiet you. The power to persevere as this world does everything it can to silence your witness. That’s what it means to have the power to be His witnesses.

And I hope you’ve been doing that already here in our Jerusalem, here in Pulaski County.

Jesus told the disciples to stay there and wait, and if we look at the first few chapters of Acts, that’s what they did. They stayed right there in Jerusalem. But then in chapter eight they begin to spread, it was go time.

There was still a growing church in Jerusalem, but there was also outward growth that occurred.

There is still work to do here in Pulaski County.

And so the first part of our vision for 2024 and it being go time is this: Our vision for 2024 is to begin working together with other like-minded churches to reach more of Pulaski County.

When I look at Harmony I see all of us harmoniously working together to do the work of Harmony. Living in harmony as a body of believers. We may not all agree on everything, but we are able to work together for the spreading of the Gospel.

But I also think that if we are going to truly live up to the name of Harmony, then we need to be working to bring harmony to our local association and our local churches.

And so, this year one of our goals is to come alongside one church and work together with them in an effort of revitalization in that church. As I said last week, I think we are a healthy church, and now the goal of this revitalization would be to come alongside and spread the health of our church into another. This means that we might be doing some outreach together, or maybe assisting on some other levels.

The second thing towards this effort is this Fall we are going to begin offering free, college-level classes that are specifically geared towards those that are in the ministry and those that are called to the ministry. Through a partnership cohort with Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary we intend to work together with others to help train and encourage those God has called to the ministry. These classes will be offered with no tuition costs in order to facilitate bi-vocational pastors and those that are called to the ministry being able to obtain real college credit should they pursue a complete degree or simply a pathway towards continual learning and discipleship from one another.

The third part of our vision for this upcoming year is we intend to partner with a church plant in Columbia, MO. This includes some financial support, but this mostly includes prayer for our church partner as well as people support for events and outreach in the Columbia area.

Last week we discussed how that demographic of young people leaving the church was between the ages of 18 and 22, and this is an opportunity to pour into that generation. Columbia is a college town, and that means that a lot of the students that attend school there at Mizzou are a part of that demographic. Last week in Deuteronomy 6 we said that we must tell the next generation about Christ, and this church plant partnership is something that I am totally excited for as an opportunity to do that.

Over the next couple of weeks we are going to have some guest speakers in to help us better understand this part of the vision.

We’ll be hearing from the planting pastor of The King’s Church, Colby Corsaut, next week as he comes to speak to us, and I’m excited about that.

The following week we’re going to have Jason Zellmer, the director of Send Network Missouri here to speak to us more about the importance of planting and revitalization.

Then throughout the year we are going to be in the books of Titus and Timothy from the New Testament and some Ezra and Nehemiah from the Old Testament as we pursue what it is that God has called us to as Harmony and as we call some from our body to be elders and deacons in the upcoming months.

And this is what I believe is our next step as a healthy, growing church. Healthy, growing churches pursue the mission of Christ to multiply and make disciples locally, regionally, nationally, and globally.

I’ll close with this -

We had a baptism last month. We have seen a few come to know Christ as Lord and Savior. That should excite us. that should fan the flame for wanting more. More of the blessing of seeing people come to know Christ, more salvations ,more baptisms, more lives changed and more of the amazing, miraculous work of Christ in our church.

If you aren’t here and wanting more today, then my prayer today is that you will, that God is working in your heart today to see His awesome power through the Holy Spirit begin a good work in you.

If you’re here today and this is the first time that you have heard about the hope that is found in Christ, then today I want you to know that I am praying for you as well. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, born of a virgin, lived a perfect life as both God and Man, died a death that you deserved to take your place as the payment for sin and rose again three days later to give you victory over death, hell, and the grave. He did all of that just to have a relationship with you.

In Acts chapter two we read that there was this crowd gathered, and they were pierced to the heart. Maybe that’s you today, maybe today God’s Word or the Holy Spirit has pierced you to the heart, and you feel convicted right now. You know you aren’t a believer in Christ and right now you’re asking “what must I do to be saved?”

Peter gives the simple answer.

Acts 2:38 CSB

38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

To know Christ you must repent, you must ask Christ His forgiveness and when you do that you will receive the gift of God, the Holy Spirit, and eternity with Christ.

In a moment we are going to sing again, and if you are here and you need prayer or you need to talk, I would invite you during that song to simply fill out that connect card attached to your bulletin and drop it in the offering plate as it comes around or you can text prayer to that number on the screens. If you need to talk right now, then as the music begins I am going to ask you to make your way to the back of the sanctuary and myself or someone will meet you there.