COMPELLED BY JESUS
Compelled • Sermon • Submitted
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· 16 viewsJesus calls, empowers, and equips us to do His will
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Transcript
Review of series
He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
PRAYER
The reason the Church exists…her only purpose, is to do the will of the Father — in relationship with Him, as a body of believers full of individual broken people, restored to life by Jesus’s death, burial and resurrection.
The only way to understand the will of the Father is to understand what COMPELS His actions…the driving force behind His will.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
…gave His one and only Son --- Christmas — Emmanuel - Christ with us
What does He mean by “the world”?
“The world” — not the trees, rocks, plants, animals, etc.
…every single person that draws breath!
God’s heart is moved by love — a love that compels God to reach out to the world, offering redemption - freedom - healing - most importantly, a right relationship with Him.
SUMMARY of series:
Message 1 -- Compelled to restore
Jesus' love compels Him:
…to heal and restore (Luke 4:16-21; Isaiah 61:1-3)
...to bring the Good News
…to move with a sense of urgency (Luke 4:19)
Message 2 -- Compelled by authentic love (No fakes)
Humbly allow Jesus to mold you into a servant compelled by authentic love (Luke 14)
Compelled by:
…authentic actions: you are being watched {like the Pharisees watched Jesus)
…authentic positioning: intentionally live with a humble attitude
…authentic generosity: give/serve without ulterior motives
…authentic words and beliefs: some accept the invitation but don’t show up for the banquet (Luke 14)
Introduction to Message 3: Compelled by Jesus
God has sent many workers to the far corners of this planet to reach the lost, hurting, blind, and imprisoned. Powerhouse is honored and humbled to offer our support and prayers to a few of these soldiers of the Cross. I am going to highlight them just a little bit today…as we look at how Jesus compels each of them to do what they do.
The entirety of the Bible sets the backdrop for what compels God and…therefore, what should compel His followers. In the brief time we have this morning…we need to focus on a few overarching ways Jesus compels His people to do the Father’s will.
In Matthew 19, Jesus calls us
In Acts 2, Jesus empowers us
In Ephesians 4, Jesus equips us
Jesus calls, empowers, and equips us to accomplish His will
How can mere humans - the ministers we support around the world - you and me, have the ability and drive to do anything in this world that actually impacts eternity?
HIS CALLING COMPELS US - The Great Commission
HIS CALLING COMPELS US - The Great Commission
After Jesus’s resurrection...
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
We call this passage the Great Commission because Jesus clearly lays out His mission for the disciples and all of His followers going forward!
Do you realize how important it is that we support God’s workers around the world? It is not just an option…it is absolutely God’s plan.
You and I can and should personally work in the Great Commission in our lives…wherever God calls us
It is just as important that every single one of us support our workers around the world
For Example
1. Darryl and Sandy Blatchley - Family Circus Children’s Ministries International - Fulfilling the G.C. for over 25 years now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAVaLlwTdaQ
2. BGMC (Boy’s and Girl’s Missionary Challenge)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qn9Npc7hR8
Application
We must be willing to give to these areas of G.C. fulfilment
Transitional: Jesus’s calling (G.C) compels us — however…we cannot actually accomplish anything for Him without the power of the Holy Spirit working through us.
HIS EMPOWERING COMPELS US
HIS EMPOWERING COMPELS US
Skim through this passage…focusing on verse 8
After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 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.”
Think about how many people have left everything to go to the far corners of the earth to fulfill the G.C. — God’s will
Our hero’s of the faith over the centuries have literally become martyrs as the spread the word of God — there is only one way they could do that. God’s love flowing throw them and the power of the Holy Spirit enabling them to reach the lost — even those that wanted to kill them.
For Example
Jonathan and Sara Strong - Africa
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William and Karen Strong - Africa
photo
LFTL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHAREgTood8
Application:
Do you wonder why you don’t seem to be able to personally share Jesus?
Have you asked the Lord to fill you and empower you with the Holy Spirit?
Transitional: We have no excuse — Jesus has spelled everything out so clearly - The G.C. — the enablement — and he even gave us specific gifts to zero in on various aspects of His plan
HIS EQUIPPING COMPELS US
HIS EQUIPPING COMPELS US
Skim through last part...
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Prophets - Bring powerful, edifying but convicting messages straight from Gods heart
Evangelists — “Messengers” — sent out (like missionaries) by the church to preach the message in the highways and byways — small and large crowds, etc.
Pastor/Teacher: Shepherd…disciple-maker…accountability person in the local church
Apostles: Trailblazers, spiritual entrepreneurs, the ones that break new ground for God’s Kingdom work --- MISSIONARIES
For example:
Ryan and Angela McCullough
PHOTO
Mike and Nicole McPeak
PHOTO
Sara Good
PHOTO
Application
Where do you fit in? Just because you are not travelling the world or pastoring a church doesn’t mean you are not part of the team
Right here in this church family, God has anointed people to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers — none of these callings necessarily require you to leave and go somewhere else.
Challenge
Jesus calls, empowers, and equips us to accomplish His will
One more example
Naomi Kalah Celestino Pryor
PHOTO
Rural church ministry associate - they do the work without a guarantee of financial stability or support
Here’s the specific challenge for today
I believe God is calling every single person here to support one or more of the people and ministries we have adopted as our own.
Song — While people pray and make their way up to the support table.