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 from of preaching called “Expository Preaching”.

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

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

A book written by man named Luke, for the purpose of giving us a history of how the church started, and to give us a template of how God intends for us to accomplish the mission of taking the Gospel to the entire world.

So, if you are new too MCF, 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 find ourselves at the end of as Luke finishes telling us about a man named Philip.

You may recall, Philip was one of the first Christians to be selected by the Apostles for Christian service back in Acts 6.

His service involved ministering to the needs of a group of widows who had been neglected within the Jerusalem church.

And while we don’t know how long Philip served in that capacity, we do know a couple of important details about the ministry and life of Philip.

First, we know when persecution broke out against the church following the stoning and murder of Stephen, instead of hiding, Philip took up a new ministry initiative as he traveled to the city of Samaria and proclaimed the gospel there.

Luke writes:

And this is significant because from the beginning, this is what Jesus wanted to the church to do.

You might recall in , Jesus gave the disciples specific instructions.

In reference to proclaiming the gospel, Jesus says to them:

Jesus wants his followers to be witnesses.

And to be his witnesses the gospel can’t just stay in Jerusalem.

It has to go out too Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

So Philip goes to Samaria.

And what was true then, is true today.

As Christ’s witnesses, we have to take the gospel beyond the comfort zone of our own church and a select group of friends.

We have to be willing to take it into the world we live and work in.

So, Philip goes to Samaria, and it’s in Samaria that God begins to use Philip in a significant way as he leads the first Samaritan village to faith in Jesus.

And so significant is his impact, that it leads to the salvation of several more Samaritan villages.

Luke writes:

It begins as Philip

So, that’s the first thing we know about Philip.

Philip was a faithful witness for Jesus.

Second, we know that Philip didn’t witness in his own power.

Because while he went to Samaria to witness, he didn’t go there in his own power, but in the power of the Spirit.

Again, this is something Jesus promised and said would be necessary for witness.

Jesus said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses...” (ESV)

As we’ve discussed the last couple of weeks, this is the second work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

The first work is the work of regeneration.

A work that takes place when we put our faith in Jesus.

In that moment of faith, the Holy Spirit enters us and begins a work of spiritual transformation as He begins to turn us into a different person.

Jesus referred to it as being born again.

In , Jesus puts it like this:

And Paul writes:

So, that’s the first work of the Spirit.

But there is a second work, a work of empowerment.

Again, it’s what Jesus was talking about in acts 1 when He said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you...” (ESV)

In a nutshell, the empowerment of the Spirit gives you the ability to share your faith with boldness, understanding, clarity, and power.

Concerning understanding and clarity, Jesus puts it like this in :

John 14:

So, a good question might be, “Why do we need the Holy Spirit’s help to remember?”

The answer is, “Because Jesus knew there would be moments in our life where our witness would put us in challenging circumstances

Jesus knew our witness would put us in situations where we wouldn’t know what to do or say.

But He says, “In those situations don’t worry.

Don’t be anxious.

Because the Holy Spirit will speak through you.”

But not only will the Holy Spirit teach you what to say, He’ll help you to say it with boldness and power.

We saw this in as the disciples were brought before the religious council of their day to explain their actions.

Luke writes:

Acts 4:

In that moment, not only did Peter and John know what to say, but they said it with such boldness and power that the religious leaders were astonished.

But it didn’t stop there.

Because this empowerment wasn’t a one time event, but something early Christians continued to seek.

Because after their encounter with the religious leaders, the disciples took the time to pray that God would continue to empower and embolden them.

Luke writes:

Acts 4:

Once again, they are empowered and filled with a fresh filling of the Spirit.

And just like they needed the empowerment, we do as well.

But like the disciples, we can’t stop with one moment of empowerment.

This is something we should continually pray for and seek.

It’s like a car that needs to be fueled and refueled.

As witnesses, we need a continual filling of the Spirit in our lives to go where God wants us to go.

So, a good question might be, “Where does God want us to go?”

Well, it’s going to be different for all of us.

Because while we’re all on the same journey of faith, God tends to take us down different paths of opportunity for witness.

Paths that are directed by the Holy Spirit.

Because at the end of the day, that’s what being empowered is all about.

It’s about the Holy Spirit leading and guiding our witness for Jesus on a daily basis.

Because as we’re going to see today, that’s how Philip lived out his life.

Because not only was Philip empowered for witness, he was Spirit led for witness.

In other words, Philip shared his faith as the Holy Spirit directed and guided him, which is the most powerful and effective way to witness.

Think of if like this.

Like a car, not only do we need continual refillings of the empowerment of the Spirit, but we also need to be willing to allow the Holy Spirit to be our GPS or navigator on the road of faith.

In other words, we need to be willing to let Him guide us and take us where we need to go.

And to be honest, I’m not sure to many Christians live this way.

I think for the most part, most Christians kind of float through life.

Wandering aimlessly down the road of faith.

Never truly considering how God might want to use them on a daily basis.

And I don’t say that to be negative.

I just think few Christians give much thought to being Spirit led.

To allowing the Holy Spirit to direct and guide their daily life.

But what we’re going to learn today is, if you want to be a witness for Jesus, not only do you need to be empowered, you have to be Spirit led and directed as well.

So, a good question might be, “How do you become a spirit led Witness?”

That’s the question we’re going to answer today.

So, to get us started, let me give you an analogy to help build some framework for where we are going today.

Question - How many of you are familiar with Siri or Alexa?

If you’re not familiar with Siri or Alexa, both are virtual assistants that can be found on an iPhone or Android devices.

For example, on the iPhone it’s Siri.

And what’s so great about Siri is, if you don’t know where to go or you need information about something, all you have to do is say, “Hey Siri”, and Siri will come to your aid.

So, let’s say you need directions to your favorite restaurant.

All you’d have to do is say, “Hey Siri, where’s the closest Andy’s Frozen Custard, and how do I get there?”

And within a few seconds, Siri will locate where the closest Andy’s is from your location, along with driving directions on how to get there.

Or you could say, “Hey Siri, whose the Pretty amazing, right?

Or if you have an android phone, you might say something like, “Hey Alexa, what’s the weather forecast for today?”

And within a few seconds Alexa will tell you what the daily forecast is.