Untitled Sermon

This Is Us, Who are we?

Who are we? That is really a valid question. Do the terms Christian, Believer, Child of God, Church have any real significance? Or, are they just generic terms used to describe a group of people who have a unified culture, belief system, or lifestyle.

If we are going to go forward as the Church, the people of God, and have any lasting impact in our present world we must answer some basic questions; and not just answer them in an academic sense but answer them in the real life experience. The answers that we give to these questions will have a profound impact on how we go forward.

We

Are we as part of the Church in 2018 having the same impact as the Church of the 1st Century? Do we live our lives with the same purpose and passion as they did? Do we really grasp Who We ARE?

If we are to answer the first question of Who Are We, it seems important to go back to the beginning of the Church and Find out who they were. so let’s begin in the book of Acts.

A People United by Something Bigger than Themselves ()

We must remember that in the 3 + years prior to the Day of Pentecost these people had been on a journey with God Himself, (Jesus). They had left their regular everyday lives to Follow the Lord. They had witnessed many miraculous things,, They had heard the word of the Lord 1st hand. They Saw the prophecies of the Old Testament come to life and be fulfilled in Christ. They knew that God’s plan to redeem a lost and fallen world was happening before their very eyes. What they didn’t understand was that what God was doing was so much bigger than what they imagined.

plan to redeem a lost and fallen

He was setting up a kingdom that would not simply rule over thrones and geographical boundaries, He was establishing a kingdom that would rule over the heaven’s and the earth. He was calling them to look past the present political/religious systems of the world that change by generation and aggression and be part of an eternal kingdom that would know no end.

In Jesus gave them the blueprint of the kingdom and their role in it.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

As they gathered in that room, all 120 of them, God would unite them with His grand plan to transform the world by transforming the hearts of people.

That is still the plan of God, we are part of His grand Kingdom. It is what unites today with purpose and passion. To be part of something bigger than what we can see and understand. It is Who We Are.

2. A Diverse people with a common need ( /2:37-39)

English Standard Version Chapter 2

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.

When defining who we are it is really easy to think in our local immediate context. We are, panhandle people, Texan’s, Americans, etc. We often tend to identify the Church by what we make it instead of identifying ourselves by what the church makes us.

When the Holy Spirit came and filled the believers on the day of Pentecost, He Fell on all of them. Regardless of their cultural history, native language or Spiritual understanding. The message of redemption and the empowering of the Holy Spirit is for all Nations, Tribes, and Tongues.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

There are two things that unite all people, Their need for God, and His Love for them. The Call of God and the Need for Repentance is Universal.

The Call of God and the Need for Repentance is Universal.

We live in one of the most hate filled, ethnically divided times in the history of the World.

The culture wars that are raging on the world platform too often find their way into the Church. There is no White Church, Black Church, Hispanic or Asian Church. There is Just the Church that Jesus Died For!

However, when we begin to realize that the body of Christ is made up of people from every walk of life, from various political ideologies, and cultural perspectives we begin to really see Who We Are.

We are a people in need of redemption from our sins and the power of the Living God.

We are witnesses of what a relationship with Jesus Christ does in all people everywhere. We are products of the plan of God to redeem the World.

We are transformed from death unto life.

We are a people of Purpose, a people of Passion, a Diverse people with the same need. The Church, Its Who We Are!