Sermon Tone Analysis

This morning we are picking back up in our study of the book of Acts.

If you’re new to our church, it would be helpful for you to know that we practice a form of preaching called “Expository Preaching”.

What that means is we believe the Bible is best taught by taking books of the Bible and then studying them from beginning to end, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, in order to understand how the Bible applies to our lives today.

With that said, we are currently doing that through the NT book of Acts.

A book written for two reasons.

First, to give us a history of the church and how it started.

And second, to give us a template for how Jesus intends for us to accomplish the mission of taking the Gospel form our community to the rest of the world.

So, if you haven’t been with us, I would encourage you to go online to mcf.life where you can listen to past messages.

Today as we come back to our study, we are picking back up in chapter 8 as we finish out a two part message on witnessing.

And when I say witnessing, I’m talking about sharing your faith in Jesus with others.

You may recall last time we met, we started to look at 5 factors for witnessing.

Five factors we need to be aware of in order to effectively share our faith.

And with the time we had, we were able to cover the first three.

So, just to make sure we are all on the same page, I’d like to quickly summarize the first three before we move into the final two today.

The first

The first was this:

To be an effective witness, you have to remember that the world has its own counterfeit versions of happiness, hope, and salvation.

We saw this play out in the witnessing of Philip in .

Because as Philip shared the good news of the gospel in Samaria, there was a counterfeit version present.

Remember what Luke told us:

:

Luke says there was a magician named Simon who appeared to offer something equal to what Philip was offering when it came to happiness, hope, and salvation.

And the fact is, we see the same thing playing out in our culture today:

For example, when it comes to happiness, in order to obtain happiness, many people have bought into the worldly belief that the more money you make and the more stuff you have, the happier you’ll be.

When it comes to hope, many have bought into the worldly belief that if they can accomplish certain goals, obtain certain degrees, select the right relationships, earn a certain level of income, etc… that they will find ultimate fulfillment and purpose.

That somehow obtaining the American dream, so to speak, will fulfill their greatest hopes.

When it comes to salvation, many have bought into man made ideas that we can somehow save ourselves.

That if we’re just good enough, work hard enough, pray enough, perform the right rituals, attend the right church, etc…that we will measure up for whatever the next life offers.

And unfortunately, some have even bought into the notion that this life is really all we have to live for and so they give little or no thought to how they live as they indulge in all this life offers.

You see, the world and man has its own counterfeit versions for happiness, hope, and salvation.

And the reason we need to understand that is because that’s what we are up against as we share our faith.

And the truth is, it’s easy to get discouraged when the counterfeit versions appear to work or be working.

That’s when the second factor for witnessing becomes so important.

And it states this:

When witnessing, you have to remember the gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to expose and discredit the counterfeit versions.

We see the evidence of this as Philip share his faith.

Luke says as Simon preached, the message of the gospel overcame Simon’s counterfeit version of happiness, hope, and salvation.

So much so, that even Simon the Sorcerer believed.

Luke writes:

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And what was true then, is true today.

Because eventually the counterfeit versions reach their limit.

Eventually they prove to be false as the power of the gospel exposes and discredits their ability to bring true happiness, hope, and salvation.

This then led us to a third factor, because while the gospel has the power to expose and discredit the counterfeits, If we’re not functioning in that power, we will be limited in our effectiveness.

Here’s the third factor:

In order to effectively witness, we not only need faith in Jesus, but we also need the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

Luke writes:

:

Luke says after Philip led the Samaritans to faith in Jesus, news spread fast to Jerusalem, and so the Jersualem church sent Peter and John to investigate what had happened.

Because up until this point, the only people who had put their faith in Jesus were Jewish.

But now, other people groups are putting their faith in Jesus.

This has come as a surprise to the Jerusalem church.

And when Peter and John arrive, they discover what they’ve heard is true.

The Samaritans have put their faith in Jesus.

However, they do recognize that something is missing in their faith.

So, what’s missing?

Luke says it’s the Holy Spirit.

So, what’s that all about?

Well, as we learned last week, there are two works of the Holy Spirit.

The first is the work of regeneration that takes place when a person puts their faith in Jesus.

In that moment, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in the believers heart, and begins the work of spiritual transformation.

The Apostle Paul puts it like this:

So, that’s the first work.

But there’s a second work, what you might call a work of empowerment.

Jesus talks about this work.

In Jesus tells the disciples:

Jesus says the Holy Spirit also empowers us for witness.

In other words, through spiritual gifts and abilities the Holy Spirit enables us to share our faith in His power.

Jesus explains it like this in :

Jesus says the Holy Spirit will give us the ability to share our faith.

All that to say, when Peter and John show up in Samaria, they acknowledge that the first work has taken place.

The Samaritans have definitely put their faith in Jesus.

But what they recognize is they haven’t yet been empowered.

The second work hasn’t taken place.

That piece is still missing.

So, what do they do?

Luke writes:

Acts 8:

Luke says in response to their need for the empowerment, Peter and John lay their hands on the Samaritans who have put their faith in Jesus, and pray they would receive the empowerment as well.

And apparently they do, because in that moment something takes place that catches the attention of Simon the sorcerer.

Something supernatural.

Because just like on the day of Pentecost in , when the Holy Spirit fell on the 120, something visibly or audibly takes place in this moment as the Samaritans receive the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

Luke writes:

Acts 8:18

Luke says as Simon observes the disciples pray and the people receive spiritual empowerment, he’s so intrigued by what has just happened that he offers Peter and John money so he too can have the ability to transfer this power to others as well.

And this is going to lead us to the fourth factor for witnessing this morning, but before we get to that, let me just say a couple of things about Holy Spirit empowerment.

First, just like the Samaritans needed this empowerment, we need it as well.

The fact is, without the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, it’s going to be difficult for you and I as Christians to lead people to faith in Jesus.

The fact is, without the empowerment of the Spirit, you’ll be limited to what God can do in and through you.

In addition to that, without the empowerment, at some point you’ll reach a level of frustration in your faith.

Because the fact of the matter is, Jesus didn’t save you just to save you.

That’s part of it.

But He also saved you to be a witness, and the two go together.

It’s kind of like a Peanut butter and Jelly sandwich.

I mean can you imagine a Peanut butter and Jelly sandwich without the jelly.

Doesn’t work, right?

It’s the same for the Christian faith.

Salvation and empowerment are the two important ingredients that go together.

And without the empowerment, your are left with a mouthful of Peanut butter, which isn’t bad, but it will leave you frustrated and wanting.

This is something we all need in order to be witnesses.

This leads me to the second thing I want to say.

This Wednesday night we are going to have an empowerment service at 6:30PM.

We were supposed to have it last week, but our speaker, Dr. Oss, had a family emergency.