2 Peter 3:3-13 (NIV)

INTRODUCTION

For the last three weeks we’ve been looking at the beginnings of the Christian church as recorded in scripture. Our focus has been primarily the description of the church as recorded in Acts 2:42-47 and I’ve been sharing with you what I believe God has been teaching me about 4 verbs or action words that are demonstrated in the life of a church with impact. The way church can and should be. God’s vision for Hanover Pentecostal Church is that we be like a “City on a Hill” and I believe that we have been moving closer and closer to this vision being realized and indeed we are taking on characteristics of that vision year by year. Embracing and practicing these action words that we find in the character of the church of Acts will further accelerate our growth as a church family and the fulfillment of that vision to be a “city on a hill”.

I want to make something clear however. The church of Acts is a great example but it wasn’t perfect! They had difficulties – they made some mistakes. Realizing this is important because not only do we learn from what they did right but we also learn that God continued to work through the church in spite of what they did wrong – and the important thing we notice is that they learned from those mistakes as they continued along the journey God had given His people to travel. It is a journey that we continue today. And indeed in the life of every local church we will not be perfect! We make mistakes – but remember God will continue to work through the church in spite of those mistakes if we are humble and repentant before him and willing to learn from our errors!

So far we’ve looked at three action words. INSPIRE – the church of Acts impacted and influenced the communities they were found in because of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in their midst and through people in the church. The church didn’t blend in with their surroundings but stood out in inspiring ways. INVOLVE – the church of Acts demonstrated their understanding that God wants to be involved through the church in spreading the good news of the gospel and the life of Christ and wants people to be involved in His plans and purposes. The church of Acts also demonstrated the awareness and willingness to involve everyone in the church in kingdom work! Last week we looked at EQUIP – the leaders of the church rightly taught that God equips everyone who believes in Him with the tools to accomplish the specific things he wants them to do – the more we grow in knowledge of Him (that is participatory knowledge – a knowledge not only from learning facts and information but also from doing) the more we tap into the divine power God equips us with. Along with this, we learned that God gifts, apostles, evangelists, prophets, pastors-teachers to the church to prepare God’s people for works of service. In other words leaders in the church help people recognize their gifts and put them into practice. The leaders also help prepare people in teaching and upholding the Word of God. The leaders also point people to opportunities for service. And so the church is a place of equipping.

Finally, today we come to the fourth and last word in this series looking at the action words of the church. And this word is GROW. We see this action word demonstrated first in Acts 2:41,

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Acts 2:41 (NIV)

And then a little bit later in describing the things happening in the first church we read,

…praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Acts 2:47 (NIV)

PRAY

One thing you quickly notice when you read through the book of Acts and the other letters to the churches found in the New Testament is that it growth is normal. Wherever there is a description about the impact and activity of the church there is also recognition given to the growth taking place.

Another thing you notice (particularly in Acts 2:47) is that it is God who grows His church. Now why would it be that God grows the church? Because God wants the church to grow – He wants more people in His kingdom! As was read this morning, Peter writes,

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)

But then, what kind of people does God want in the church – or in His kingdom? Matthew records Jesus extending this invitation to all who are burdened with sin…

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:29-30 (NIV)

John records in Revelations the invitation is extended to anyone who wants to be saved from the consequence of sin (which is death) and enter into life.

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.
Revelation 22:17 (NIV)

So God grows the church, and He wants the kingdom to grow. Another thing you notice is that it is through the church (the people that make up the church) that God produces this growth. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church,

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.
1 Corinthians 3:6 (NIV)

Paul underscores this principle that Jesus first taught to His followers when He was teaching about what the kingdom of heaven is like. In Matthew 13:31-32, Jesus described God’s kingdom as being like a mustard seed which is very tiny – but eventually grows into a very big tree. Certainly we see, the evidence of that in the church of Acts which started off with 11 Apostles and a small group of disciples in an upper room waiting on the gift of the Holy Spirit – a few days later the church exploded and 3000 were added. Over weeks and months 10,000 and then 20,000 people were found in the church family but it was still a small seed.

In Matthew 13:33 the kingdom of heaven is compared to leaven. Leaven is a small lump of dough, about the size of a golf ball, that is left on the hearth overnight while the yeast inside grows. In the morning a baker would take that lump and mix it with about ? a bushel of flour and this lump will cause it to rise. What will it take for revival, for a community to experience 1^st century type of growth? A small lump of leaven. If a church is about doing God’s business – it will impact the community!

That’s what Paul wrote to the Corinthians – he said, I planted the seed, Apollos watered but God made it grow. Paul was merely doing what Jesus wants all of His people to do. Growth only comes when something is sown. In Matthew 13:1-9 Jesus shared the parable of the sower and then explained it in verse 18. I’m going to leave it to you to read that parable but in this parable we learn some important things about what the sower does. What is the job of the sower?

? To look at the ground and decide if it is worth wasting the seed? No, if that was the case then he would have never sowed on the path.

? To prepare the ground before sowing the seed? If that was the case then all of the rocks would have been removed before he sowed the seeds.

? Jesus is using this parable to tell us that we must sow. If the hearts are hard, it is our job to sow. If they cannot turn loose of the things of this world it is still our job to sow!

This church and you individually will reap what you sow. If the church is not experiencing growth, if souls are not being added to the kingdom, the law of sowing and reaping says there can only be two reasons:

1. We are sowing bad seed
2. We are not sowing at all.

However, according to Peter…

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
1 Peter 1:23 (NIV)

So that leaves only one choice. Unfortunately, there are many in the church today who refuse to sow! And in looking at the first century church we can discover that some of the very same reasons that plague the Christian church today troubled the first century church.

You seen the truth is, many believers will readily accept that God wants to grow His church and will even say that they want His kingdom to grow…but we don’t want more people. It only takes one person to potentially sabotage God’s plan. So if a church is serious about growth everyone must be serious about growth, from the deacons, to the pastors, to every member in the church. We must be willing to sow seeds. If we aren’t sowing seeds it’s usually because of one of the following reasons…

We want the church to grow but we don’t want people because…

i. …we’re afraid of people

A Christian man owned a barber shop, and one night during a Gospel Meeting he felt greatly burdened to do more for the cause of Christ. So he went out and got a copy of “Go Ye Means Go Me!” and started attending a “soul winners class” at his church. He attended the class faithfully; rehearsed all the material, took extensive notes, and memorized the assigned Bible verses. At the end of the class he received a certificate acknowledging his completion of the course.

The next morning, in the barber shop, he hung the certificate and bowed his head. “Dear Lord,” he prayed, “help me to talk about you with the first man to come through that door this morning.” At that moment in walked the biggest, meanest, foulest man the barber had ever seen. It seems this man had recently lost a bet and now he had to get his head shaved. Needless to say, the barber did not feel very comfortable quoting the “5 Step Plan of Salvation” to a man with a tattoo of a dragon on his neck.

The day just got worse from there and finally at 5:00 p.m., the barber was sobbing with shame. He had not spoken about Christ to a single person. He bowed his head again. This time he prayed, “Lord, if you will allow one more opportunity, I promise I will do my part.” At that, the door opened and in walked a pleasant looking gentleman. The man smiled at the barber, apologized for coming in so late and took a seat in the chair.

As the barber draped the man in his protective sheet, he began to try to remember what he was supposed to say. He began to get very befuddled. As the barber put shaving cream on the man’s face, he tried to remember all of the answers he had learned to the possible objections, and what to say when. Soon the barber realized that he simply could not remember a thing he had learned and he broke out in a cold sweat but not wanting to fail he figured that he had to take a shot. Finally, in desperation, he shook the razor at the man and screamed, “ARE YOU PREPARED TO DIE??!!!”

Sometimes we don’t’ sow many seeds because there are some people we are afraid of, just like the Barber was afraid of the big man with the tattoo on his neck. This is nothing new. In Acts chapter 9:26 we discover that the early church struggled with this reason too!

When he [SAUL] came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple.
Acts 9:26 (NIV)

The church was afraid of Saul and I understand that – Saul had been directly or indirectly responsible for the persecution and even death of many Christian believers. When you look back up at verse 10 you discover that even Ananias didn’t want the church to grow if Saul was the next to be added.

In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
Acts 9:10-14 (NIV)

Imagine what it was like for the Lord to appear directly to Ananias. If it happened to you and God said I have something I need you to do wouldn’t you be chopping at the bit ready to spring into action? Well, Ananias wasn’t’ as excited when he realized the nature of the task. But then you read further and you discover that Ananias ended up willingly obeying the direction of the Lord in spite of his initial hesitations. Can you imagine the loss the church would have suffered if Saul had not been converted. Would there have been another man who could have boldly taken the good news to the Gentiles! A loss that didn’t occur because Ananias let the Lord decide who needed to be in the church.

I can’t help but wonder what type of loss the Christian Church has experienced today because of our fear. What kinds of people do you fear – what we need to always remember is that no matter what condition a person is in they are in the same condition all of us are in apart from God. Does God need to check with you before He lets these people in the kingdom?

We want the church to grow but we don’t want people because…

ii. …we don’t want “different” people.

Norman Cates tells the story of a guy who prayed every morning: “Lord, if you want me to tell someone about you today, please give me a sign to show me who it is.”

One day he found himself alone on a bus. At the next stop, a big, burly man got on the bus and sat right next to our praying friend. The timid Christian anxiously waited for his stop so he could exit the bus. But before he could get very nervous about the big guy next to him, the big guy burst into tears and began to weep.

The big guy’s crying got louder and louder, and then at the height of his tears he shouted out, “I feel so empty inside, I need something to give me peace, I need to be saved, and I need someone to show me how to get to the Lord. Won’t somebody tell me how to be saved?”

He then turns to the Christian and pleaded with him, “Please can you tell me about Jesus, can you show me how to be saved?”

With that, the Christian immediately bowed his head and prayed, “Lord, is this a sign?”

Ralph Parlett in his book “The University of Hard Knocks” states that we as Christians need to quit praying for opportunities and begin praying for optometrists

If we were truly honest with ourselves sometimes we want the church to grow but we would prefer that certain different people wouldn’t be around. Now this often varies from individual to individual and church to church but these differences may be color of skin, cultural background, whether the person is poor or rich, how they dress, or just generally “different”. There is a story in Acts that illustrates how an early leader in the Christian church struggled with this very issue. In Acts 10, the apostle Peter is on the roof praying,

He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
Acts 10:10-14 (NIV)

Listen carefully to Peter’s self-righteousness. “Never Lord! I have never eaten any of that bad stuff.” Peter was so interested in being right that he missed the point. It takes another vision, a trip to Joppa, and the tale of a Cornelius’ vision (a non-Jewish man) before Peter finally understands and makes this statement,

Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.
Acts 10:34-35 (NIV)

Now that’s a big step from someone who was taught his whole lie that he was God’s chosen and the Gentiles (non-Jewish people) were dogs at best. It is a harsh reality that in God’s eyes we are all loved equally. Chapter 10 ends with the wonderful salvation and baptism of Cornelius and his entire household but then Peter had to go back to Jerusalem and you can be sure that Peter was in for some “correcting”. I can almost picture the elders of the Jerusalem church sitting on the front porch waiting for Peter’s return…

The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
Acts 11:1-3 (NIV)

Peter goes on to explain the events that had occurred and finally in verse 18 we are told that they eventually accepted the fact that God would even save non-Jewish people BUT still not everyone was willing to share the gospel with them! It’s telling that verse 19 records.

Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews.
Acts 11:19 (NIV)

In his biography, Handyman of the Lord; William Holmes Border tells the parable of a deprived black man who had been reduced to begging for food. You can substitute any “different person” in this story and get the same idea.

Ringing the front doorbell at a southern mansion, the black man informed the occupant, “I’m hungry.” The answer was, “Go around to the back door.” The white man brought food and said, “First we will bless the food. Now repeat after me, ‘Our Father. . .”‘

The black man said, “Your Father. . .”

The white man stopped and looked at the beggar and with frustration in his voice and said “No! repeat after me, ‘Our Father. . .”‘

The black man said, “Your Father. . .”

“Why do you insist on saying, ‘Your Father,’ when I keep telling you to say, ‘Our Father?”‘

The black beggar answered, “Well, boss, if l say ‘Our Father,’ that would make you and me brothers, and I’m afraid the Lord wouldn’t like it, you making your brother come to the back porch to get a piece of bread.”

Friends, God shows no partiality when it comes to race, culture, class, or background – why should we? Are you open to different people being a part of your church?

We want the church to grow but we don’t want people because…

iii. we don’t’ want people in this church that my friends don’t want!

Peter struggled with this same issue. We’ve already looked at how Peter was used by God to bring about the first non-Jewish converts. As long as he was in Caesarea he didn’t mind eating, studying, and visiting with the Gentile believers but when he got back among his Jewish friends the story was a little different. Paul exposed this and gives us insight in his letter to the Galatians…

When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?
Galatians 2:11-14 (NIV)

Now some of us might not mind being associated with certain people, but there is this inner struggle of “if my closer friends don’t want them, I’ll ignore them around my closer friends.” That struggle has existed for years! Even some religious people in Jesus’ day struggled with this issue:

Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
John 12:42-43 (NIV)

Jesus himself was criticized for the people He associated with. And folks, He associated with sinners! Our problem today is unless we can figure out a better and easier way to carry out the will of God than Jesus did, we will have to face the ridicule and criticism of good people. Jesus faced persecution for loving the unlovable. If we are truly to be about the Father’s business of sharing the good news and loving the unlovable as Christ did then we need to take His words to heart that are found in John 15:20,

Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.
John 15:20 (NIV)

Unfortunately we live in a world that has it’s priorities mixed up. Someone somewhere told you that you were better, smarter, faster or better looking than someone else. It might have been your wife or husband, first boyfriend or girlfriend, dog, or it might have been your grandmother. Or maybe someone told you that you weren’t as good, or pretty, or smart. Whatever you were told, whether you wanted it to or not it has helped shape who you are. Now I’m not going to tell you that I’m ok and you’re ok but to be totally honest with you – we all want to be normal, but the writers of scripture (inspired by the Holy Spirit) insist that no one is normal, at lest not as God describes normal, God says, “We all like sheep have gone astray” And it is that going astray that makes us the unlovable Christ died for.

I have been comforted for more than 20 years by the though that Jesus welcomes, not only sensible sinners, but stupid ones as well. (John Haddington)

Jesus came into the world and pointed out sin as it really is – with all of its heartache and filthiness. He died because of his love for people and because of his compassion took care of the sin. He was the great community builder. He understood what it was to see people with their weirdness and accept them anyway.

We need to ask the same question of ourselves that Paul posed to himself in the letter to the Galatians,

Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Galatians 1:10 (NIV)

We want the church to grow but we don’t want people because…

iv. …we don’t want those who could inconvenience us.

Chuck Swindoll tells about a man who went to see a psychiatrist because he was extremely depressed. After an hour together that the psychiatrist was struggling to get the man to snap out of it. So he said to the man, “Tonight I want you to go to the circus in town because they have a clown named the Great Rinaldi, he is the funniest clown I have ever seen. Whenever I go to see the Great Rinaldi it always lifts my spirits.”

The man responded. “You don’t understand doctor, I am the Great Rinaldi.”

The community and the world we live in is full of “Great Rinaldis”, that is people who are empty and searching for some type of meaning. Their days are filled with desperation and they can’t seem to find relief. They put on masks of happiness and appear fine to everyone around them but when they return to their homes at night they cry themselves to sleep because their life is pointless and they long to find something in life to make them happy and give them a sense of meaning. They look at their lives and wonder what it is all about. Life must have more to offer me than this, they say.

God has given this church and the members of this church the responsibility to reach these hurting people (to be a city on a hill!). It should be a hospital for the hurting not a museum for the saved. The church is a place for people who have problems. People like…

? the single mother who works two jobs to support her kids.

? the drug addict who can’t stop his habit

? the young person who struggles with self-esteem

? the young couple who live together and have never been exposed to the best way to build a home

? the man who does not respect his boss, so he steals from the company and from his co-workers

? the woman who goes out searching for some excitement in the arms of a man that belongs to someone else.

? the alchoholic who is needs help

? the person who thinks they have everything but feel the emptiness of having nothing at all.

Those of us who claim to be followers of Christ are the ones who God sends out to bring the lost home. Because we understand that God wants all people saved, which will cause the church to grow. Time and time again we read in the scriptures that God wants everyone to be in a saved relationship with Him!

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
John 3:17 (NIV)

This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
1 Timothy 2:3-4 (NIV)

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.
Titus 2:11 (NIV)

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)

Be honest with yourself for a moment. Think about that one person who turns your stomach. Think about that one person who makes your skin crawl at the very mention of their name. You know that one person who maybe has cheated you, or who has hurt you in some way. The one person who when they enter a room you immediately make a run for the door. Have you got that person in your mind? Now think about them while you listen to 2 Peter 3:9 again,

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)

That person in your mind – God wants them to be saved! God offers them the same forgiveness he offered you. He wants you to invite them in…he wants you to show them that HE loves them also. But this is where we hit the snag. More often than not it isn’t just the people who make our skin crawl where we fail the test – it is that so many of us often pass by the hurting souls in our world and ignore them and in doing so we miss an amazing opportunity to plant a seed. All because we want the church to grow but we don’t want anyone who will be an inconvenience. Some of the greatest opportunities we will ever have to change this world for the cause of Christ are hidden in the little inconveniences of life.

CONCLUSION

Now I’ve shared with you only four of a whole bunch of reasons why the church doesn’t grow. But the point I’m trying to get across is that yes, it is God who brings the growth but He does so through the seed planting of the church! God makes the seeds that are planted grow. If we aren’t sowing seeds – there isn’t going to be any harvest!

Now we’ve seen the first century church was healthy and was growing by leaps and bounds, but we have also noticed that it was not perfect. That’s why the Hebrew writer had to remind the Jewish Christians to examine themselves constantly to see if they were living a healthy Christian life or if they were backsliding into their legalistic traditions, customs and sinful ways of life.

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12 (NIV)

We need to constantly invite God’s word to examine the thoughts and intents of our hearts. It’s not something that you do on a yearly basis but something a healthy Christian does consistently. With that in mind we need to answer only to ourselves and to God the following questions using the scriptures to examine our Christian walk…

Is my attitude towards church growth similar to some of the people we’ve heard about today?

Do I want everyone here, or do I try to keep out those that I fear or who are different than I am?

As you struggle with financial and time constraints are you willing to love those who are sick hurting, dirty, or who would be an inconvenience the way that Christ loved you?

Friends, I don’t know about you but I want to be a part of a church that Inspires (I want my life to inspire!), I want to be a part of a church that INVOLVES (I want to be involved and work together with others), I want to be a part of a church that EQUIPS (I want to use my gifts and abilities to advance God’s kingdom and be prepared and prepare others for service in His kingdom), and finally, I want to be a part of a church that GROWS (I want to plant seeds and see those seeds bear fruit) – to see our numbers increase with people who once were lost but find their place in the ever growing Kingdom of God! To me, that sounds like something I want to be a part of, something that I’ve been created to be a part of, and praise the Lord, something that He invites us to be a part of! Will you join me?

In a society that is becoming increasingly fragmented, in which people seem more and more separated from one another the church should be a refuge. It?s more than a building, more than a Sunday morning meeting, more than an organization. The church is about community, family, and operates as an organism. Church is a place where people come together; a place where everyone, not just the pastor, cares about and takes care of one another; a place where every person matters. At HPC, that?s what we aspire to be ? a community, a ?City on a Hill?. And we?re not just hoping to be that ? we are taking practical steps to make it a reality. We are developing a process that will result in the body of Christ being equipped to do what ?City on a Hill? people are supposed to do.

Two Sunday?s ago we looked at the word inspire. I tried to paint a picture of how the Acts 2 church demonstrated this action word in their composition. When you study the Acts 2 church you can?t help but notice that their impact, and influence had direct correlation with the fact they were both inspired by the Holy Spirit and the miracles of God in their midst and inspiring to those not yet a part of the church because of their connection with the Holy Spirit. Inspire is a provocative verb ? and indeed the INSPIRATION of the church of Acts provoked emotions, and activity wherever it was found. The important observation we make is that the church DID NOT blend in! In our quest to be a City on a Hill we must be inspiring. The only way we can inspire is by knowing, experiencing, and seeking the infilling of the Holy Spirit and the presence of God in our midst. It is our pursuit of Him that will lead us into those places that inspire us and the world around us. Christ truly is the ?light? in any ?city on a hill?.

Last week we looked at the word ?involve?. One word that pops up a lot in the story of the early church is the word together. Involve is really another way of saying together but whatever word is used, the idea is conveyed that this is not a solo endeavor. The amazing testimony of scripture and the church is that God chooses to involve people in the working out of His plan. He wants us to partner with Him in the work he sets out to accomplish in the world and for the most part will not do anything without the involvement of believers. A second component of this action word in the midst of the lives of the early church is that they truly were involved not only in the work of God but also involved together with each other. Not only has God chose to work through people but He has also chose to work through people in community. The conclusion then is first: we must recognize the incredible privilege of partnering with God in His work ? that He can use you and wants you to join Him and second; He hasn?t chose you exclusively out of anybody else. That is where the church comes in. As a community working together to accomplish God?s work and partnering with Him there is truly a beautiful picture taking shape of what the Kingdom of God is like.

The next action word we?re going to look at this morning is hinted at in Acts 2:42,

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Acts 2:42 (NIV)

Notice, that there is emphasis placed on the fact that the people in the early church devoted themselves to what they were being taught by the apostles. The idea conveyed by this word is that they didn?t just listen to what they were being taught but they practiced it. In other words, the word of God that the apostles were teaching was important for preparing the church to live full and complete lives. This then is the third word. The third verb we find evident in the life of the early church is the word EQUIP. Not only did the church inspire, not only did it involve, but through the church people were also equipped.

{show ?EQUIP? video from Sermon Central}

{If video shown: As has been so aptly demonstrated by that short video clip ? being EQUIPPED to do something is very important! Let me share with you another example?}

{approach a member of the congregation and had him/her a hammer and ask them to build something. When they say they cannot, ask why not? Answer should be something along the lines of:
- I don?t have the tools I need
- I don?t have the materials
- I have no clue what to build.
- I don?t know how
- I don?t have time}

The bottom line in this case is you aren?t equipped?that is you don?t have what you need to do what I asked you to do! That?s often how we feel sometimes in life, isn?t it? Sometimes we?re just not equipped for work, for specific tasks. The truth is, we?re not all equipped for just anything, because we?re not all supposed to do just anything in life.

When Jerry Brick shows up on a jobsite to build something, do you think he shows up one day and says, let?s build this? No, he gets all the materials, he gets all the tools, and he gets the people who know what to do with those materials and tools. He comes fully equipped for the job at hand?

Fully equipped: we hear that term related to car sales ? what it means is that a vehicle has all the equipment you could want or need

? A.C.
? CD player
? Power everything
? Maybe electronic remote keyless entry, and remote engine starter
? Maybe a video screen etc.

Equipping is empowerment?being equipped means you have the power to do something. Don?t you like the sound of something that?s power equipped?

When you look at the Word of God, we see that God asks or commands us to do many things. God says, ?Be holy as I am holy.? Jesus says, ?Go and make disciples of all nations.? He also tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves. We are told to rejoice in the Lord always. We are not to conform to this world. We are to bless those who persecute us and do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. The same passage tells us to look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

With many of these things, we might have the same reaction as in our opening illustration,

I can?t
I don?t know how
I don?t? have the tools, the equipment, the ability, the time.

That is, I?m not equipped to do those things. But here?s the kicker. God says that, as believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, we are power-equipped to do all that He has asked us to do.

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:3-11 (NIV)

I want to zero in on the one idea, found initially in verse 3 and expanded on in subsequent verses. We first looked at this verse last week when I talked about God?s desire that we be involved with Him in His work on this planet. However, the deeper teaching of this verse is that not only does God want us to be involved in His work but, His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness – in other words ? He calls us to be godly, and equips us to be godly?He gives us the tools to be godly.

Now that doesn?t mean it?s easy. Yes, we still struggle with sin. We need to learn to use the tools He?s given us. You could equip me with all the tools and materials I needed to fix my car, and they?d be wasted ? because I don?t know how to use them!!

What this verse is saying, then, is that not only has he given us the tools but He?s also provided a means for us to learn how to use them. We just have to decide to use the tools, and learn how to use them?and we can learn.

How unlike God it would be if He didn?t equip us to learn what we need to learn to be godly, or even to cope with life? But here, Peter tells us that God has given us everything we need for life, He has given us everything we need for godliness. Let?s take a little closer look?

This isn?t any ordinary power.
We?re not talking about the kind of power that can fail and bring blackouts! We?re talking about divine power. Of course, divine means it comes from God. It?s not anything we can develop on our own. It?s not anything we bring to the task ourselves. It?s source is God.

The truth is, in and of ourselves we don?t have the resources, we?re not equipped to live godly lives. That?s something we have to recognize when we come to Christ for salvation. Jesus said, ?apart from me you can do nothing.? The moment we believe we can go it alone, or try that, we?ve failed. But the good news is that once we?ve recognized that we need Him, we have this divine power source we can tap into. A divine power source that equips and enables us to live life, and to live godly lives, before Him. I like how the Life Application Bible puts it,

Because we don?t have the resources to be truly godly, God allows us to ?participate in the divine nature? in order to keep us from sin and help us live for him. When we are born again, God by His Spirit empowers us with His own moral goodness.

In your notes I?ve listed some other scripture references that illustrate this point (John 3:6, John 14:17-23, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 1:22-23) ? I?d like to encourage you to take a look at these scriptures on your own and discover the truth that this power, that gives us everything we need for life and godliness, is His Divine power.

So this isn?t any ordinary power ? and God?s divine power is the source whereby full, abundant and godly life is possible. However there is an important word helps make the distinction between those who tap into His power and those who don?t. Notice the word ?through? in this passage. This word indicates cause and effect. It means ?the channel of an act?. It means ?of the mode, manner, state or circumstances through which anything, as it were, passes, that is, takes place or is produced.? This is important because of what comes next which is the phrase ?knowledge of Him? ? Him being God in the person of the father, son and Holy Spirit. What is effectively being said then is

We ?tap into? or are equipped through our knowledge of Him.
The way God has given us this, the means through which God has equipped us with His power, is through, because of, produced by, our knowledge of Him. Please don?t miss this. This knowledge that Peter is referring to is a more intense kind of knowledge that we use when we talk about knowing facts. This knowledge expresses a more through participation in the acquiring of knowledge on the part of the learner. It?s a knowledge that influences and results in activity and demonstrates the relationship of the learner to the object of his knowledge.

In other words, then, Peter is saying that through our increasing awareness and understanding of God at work in our lives and through our lives ? and our participation with Him, His divine power provides everything we need for godliness, and abundant life. It?s not just enough to know about Him, but our knowledge must increase through our partnership with Him. So there?s this more intense usage of the word knowledge that implies learning more about God and learning more about God with Him.

Now the primary means that God has given us for knowing Him is through his Word. We also know (through scriptures!) that we can draw closer to God through prayer, and worship. But there?s another aspect of this word knowledge that directly relates to verb equip as found in the church of Acts.

The connection can be made when we look at another scripture that uses this same word (as in the original language) for knowledge.

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s 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 men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into 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.
Ephesians 4:11-16 (NIV)

Notice these distinctive truths found in this passage:

i. God gave (gifts, blesses) apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers to the church.
I?m just going to briefly highlight what I believe each of those gifts are ? I don?t have time to go into detail. ?Apostle? means someone sent as an authoritative delegate. I like to think of them as pioneer missionaries or church-planters. Some as ?prophets? ? New Testament prophets provided edification, exhortation, and comfort to the church (1 Corinthians 14:3). Some of them conveyed new authoritative revelation to the church (Ephesians 2:20; 3:5, Acts 11:28; Acts 21:10-11). Most of the prophets, however, simply ?spoke forth? truth that God had previously revealed (cf. Acts 13:1; 1 Corinthians 11:5; 14:26-33).
Evangelists are also listed. Evangelists preached the gospel and served as modern missionaries both at home and abroad (Acts 21:8; 8:6-40; 2 Timothy 4:5). Their ministry was short-term.
Finally pastors and teachers. The Greek construction seems to suggest that this is referring to one function with two aspects. That is, a person involved in shepherding and teaching . The ministry of the pastor-teacher happens among settled congregations in contrast to the itinerant ministries of the apostles, prophets, and evangelists (cf. 1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:9;)

ii. They were given to prepare God?s people?
This is often taken to mean (and I?ve been guilty of this as well) that the pastor equips the church. But that?s not what this says. This says the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors-teachers prepare or perfect people for works of service ? in other words they help people discover what God has already equipped them with and use what they?ve been given for service. In this sense then the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors-teachers both teach people about God and what God has done in us (from the Word of God), model what serving God is like, encourage people to service, and help point out the opportunities that God is giving people to serve.

In my reading, I came across this advertisement ?

WANTED: Minister for Growing Church
A real challenge for the right man! Opportunity to become better acquainted with people! Applicant must offer experience as shop worker, office manager, educator (all levels, including college), artist, salesman, diplomat, writer, theologian, politician, Boy Scout leader, children?s worker, minor league athlete, psychologist, vocational counselor, psychiatrist, funeral director, wedding consultant, master of ceremonies, circus clown, missionary, social worker. Applicant should be everyone?s friend, but cannot have close friends. Helpful but not essential: experience as a butcher, baker, cowboy, Western Union messenger. Must know all about problems of birth, marriage, and death; also conversant with latest theories and practices in areas like pediatrics, economics, and nuclear science. Right man will hold firm views on every topic, but is careful not to upset people who disagree. Must be forthright but flexible; returns criticism and backbiting with Christian love and forgiveness. Should have outgoing, friendly disposition at all times. Should be a captivating speaker but should not get upset if people can?t remember what he spoke about only a week ago. He should be an intent listener. Will pretend that he enjoys listening to people talk. Education must be beyond PhD requirements, but always concealed in homespun modesty and folksy talk. Able to sound learned at times but most of the time talks and acts like good-old-Joe. Familiar with literature read by average congregation. Must be willing to work long hours, subject to call any time day or night but not receive any overtime pay ever. Must be adaptable to sudden interruptions. Will spend at least 25 hours preparing a sermon that people will forget in less than 1 hour and must spend an additional 10 hours reading books and magazines. Applicants wife must be both stunning an plain, smartly attired but conservative in appearance, gracious and able to get along with everyone, especially women. Must be willing to work in church kitchen, teach classes, baby sit, never listen to gossip, and never become discouraged. Applicants children must be exemplary in conduct and character; well-behaved, yet basically no different from other children; decently dressed. Opportunity for applicant to live close to work. Home provided; open door hospitality enforced. Must be ever mindful that the house doesn?t belong to him. Directly responsible for views and conduct to all church members and visitors, not confined to direction nor support from any one person. Salary not commensurate with experience, education, or need. All replies kept confidential. Anyone applying will undergo a full investigation to determine sanity. (Quoted in Equipping Them! By Joey Nelson)

Now, this ad is pretty funny but the sobering thing about it, is that some it is true in many people?s minds. Many cultural expectations have come to be attached to this role of minister or pastor while the biblical aspect of this position is often ignored. In fact, the job description didn?t even mention one key area of a pastor?s job!

It was never God?s intention for one individual person to meet all of a congregations needs (i.e. visiting all the sick, comforting all the bereaved, preaching to all the lost, or teaching all of the newly converted). While the pastor should model some of these things, it is his job to prepare the congregation to be engaged in ministry as well. Which is what the next part is all about ? the pastor is given to prepare God?s people?

iii. ?for works of service
Do me a favor, when someone asks you, ?Whose your minister at HPC? Answer them: ?We all are.? Ideally, a pastor-teacher is to work himself out of a job! Who are God?s people? That?s anyone who is a follower of Jesus Christ. That includes me too, of course. Friends I have been prepared by others and equipped by God to serve you in this assembly as a gift from God to be your pastor and help prepare you for service in God?s plan. Now the use of the word ?gift? in reference to myself does not puff me up, because I know that Christ is the gift-giver, not me, and He is the one who has made me what I am so that He might give me to you, and that you might make proper use of the gift given. I fully recognize I am a clay pot. Nothing more or less.

This is what the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors-teachers did in the church of Acts. Yes, you notice that they are ministering ? but for the most part they spend a lot of time preparing God?s people to serve. The fruit is evident in all the things the church of Acts was involved in. People?s gifts were recognized and put into practice and they learned to serve God in whatever sphere of influence God had placed them as well as through and in the church.

We need that kind of example at work in the church of our society today. However, I can?t tell you how many people I?e talked to over the years, who tell me they?ve visited every Christian church in town, and they still aren?t satisfied. They don?t care about doctrinal distinctives, in many cases I don?t think they?ve ever bothered to learn the basic doctrines of the Christian faith. They want to be appeased, they want to be emotionally stirred, they want to be entertained, they want to be coddled, they want to walk out feeling good about themselves? they are spiritual sloths, perpetual babes ~ if indeed they are born again believers at all ~ and they will not ever recognize the equipping God has given them let alone be prepared for work of service, if they have to run home and hide under the bed to avoid it! On a side-note I?ve also talked with people who move because they?ve been skinned and burned emotionally or because God has specifically called them to use their gifts elsewhere but I?m not talking about these kind of people. Folks, each and every saint of God has an individual responsibility before Him to build on their relationship with Him, and study His word, and avail himself or herself to the kind of training and leadership that would develop them and mature them and prepare them for service.

However, there is also the responsibility of the preacher. When a preacher let?s the thinking of the world dictate his message, when he falls into the snare of thinking he must address the social and political issues of the day, and decry the treatment of animals or bemoan the latest government maladies, or tout the praises of humanitarians and reformers of society; when he is afraid to preach the whole counsel of God because he might offend some big givers or incur the wrath of some portion of his congregation who might respond badly to truth; when a pastor, slothful himself, wants to get by, plucking a feel-good text out of the New Testament, smothering it in several cutsie ?Reader?s Digest? illustrations and patting his flock on the shoulder and sending them home smiling and talking about what a charismatic speaker he is?that man is not preparing the saints for the work of service!

And so there is the dual responsibility. God equips, my job is to prepare, and your job is to minister ? but then Paul goes on to talk about the fruit?

iv. As apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors-teachers do their job and people begin to serve the body of Christ is built up towards unity in faith and knowledge of the Son of God
There?s that word knowledge ? connect it with the passage in 2 Peter and you are left with this astonishing insight. When the church functions as it should they will grow in knowledge of God ? the same kind of knowledge that Peter tells us will connect us with the divine power God has equipped us with for godliness and abundant living. Is it no wonder then that the result of this is?

v. The body of Christ (the church) is marked by maturity and attains the complete fullness of Christ.
In other words ? the fullness of Christ (godliness) is resident in every believer (and correspondingly the church) at the point of salvation but still needs to be applied to every aspect of our life (your thoughts, your actions). And so when the church is functioning as it should ? people recognize their equipping by God, they are prepared for acts of service, and the serve. The cool thing is that as you serve, and as you minister in whatever area God has equipped you?you tap into God?s divine power that gives? ?us everything we need for life and godliness?

CONCLUSION
Let me tell you what I believe so strongly and what I know about our church. HPC needs to be a church that demonstrates the action word ?Equip? in our midst. I want everyone of you to know what your spiritual gift-mix is and where you enjoy serving; to know that God has equipped you to serve. I want HPC to be a place where you are enabled to use those giftings He?s given you. I want you to know how to put together a satisfying devotional life; to know how to explain why you believe the Christian faith; to know and understand people and how to develop relationships with them; to know how to lead an exemplary life in the marketplace; to know how to build a strong family; to know how to be a servant-leader in a church; to know how to develop a positive attitude in life; to know how to bring someone to faith by sharing the gospel; to know how to read and understand the ?big-picture stuff? of the Bible; to know how and be able to disciple a new Christian; to know how to move children successfully through the stages of life. When all this stuff happens, then when we come together in corporate worship, we come together ready to celebrate what has taken place in ministry outside of the church. Worship services are celebration services. We will be so much more effective in every area if our church is like the Acts 2 church was in preparing God?s people for service.

Being an ?equipping? church must be a continual process. A farmer once said, ?The hardest thing about cows is that they never stay milked.? We?ll always be engaged in preparing God?s people for works of service because everyone is not at the same level of growth. We all come in at different heights on the spiritual growth chart. The work of preparation is never complete, so we must commit for the long haul. And this requires commitment. Commitment on my part to do my job as your pastor, and commit on your part to avail yourself of the opportunities to serve, and grow.

What?s the upside? An equipped, and prepared congregation will outlast any one leader. You all know that pastors come and go. Members come and go. We hate to see that happen, but a congregation that recognizes how God has equipped them and who are prepared can keep moving forward and not lose the momentum of what is happening in the church.

So here?s some tough questions:
Has your spiritual life made significant strides in the last five years?
Would you like to live differently with some new tools at your disposal to help you do this?
Would you like to be outfitted with some neat ideas that will help you connect with God and His people?
Nobody can ?do church? all alone. It will take all of us ? that?s all of you and all of me!

[Show the Bible] With the help of God?s word and the willingness to be involved, and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit we can discover where God has equipped us, and grow in our knowledge of Him. In the process we?ll tap into His divine power that ??gives everything we need for life and godliness??!

Amen.

The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand. The next day the rulers, elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest’s family. They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone’. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name.” Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.
Acts 4:1-22 (NIV)

INTRODUCTION

Earlier this summer I took a day to seek pray and seek God’s direction for a number of things in my life – but I found myself focusing more on His direction for HPC. For sometime, as your pastor, I’ve been asking God for more specific insight into some of the unique core values and practices He has for the people in this particular body of believers. While fully embracing the vision to be a City on Hill – I realize that this vision is very broad in scope and we truly do need help in narrowing down some pathways to realizing its fulfillment! And so, while I was praying, I was continually drawn to the account of the launch of the church of Jesus Christ as recorded in Acts 2. Now if you’ve been Christian for any length of time at some point you’ve hear about Acts 2. Certainly, the account of Pentecost and the explosive effects it had on the launch of the early church has been preached about, analyzed, written about and well-covered by much better minds and more articulate folks than I. Certainly, while reading that passage, in my mind was circulating all the various things I’ve heard about and had taught to me and have read about! But then as I prayed and asked God to show me what He was wanting me to notice about this particular passage (which by the way is a good practice for any of us in studying God’s Word), four words kept coming to my mind as I thought about what was happening with the early believers as God formed this first Church. As I dwelt on these four words, it was one of those “eureka” moments – you know where the proverbial light-bulb goes off in your head.

Let’s read this passage (read Acts 2:42-47)

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity- all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
Acts 2:42-47 (NLT)

Remember, this particular passage is the earliest description of what the church Christ established in the power of the Holy Spirit looked like. In the next four weeks, I want share with you some the things I believe God has been teaching me about the Acts 2 church that I believe He wants us, here, today to embrace. Here in Acts 2 we find the description of a group of believers who bonded together as the body of Christ and are a Church on Fire! As we look at this short passage, and draw from examples found throughout the history recorded in the letters, and teachings of God’s Word there are four verbs (or action words) that characterize the activity, and influence of this Church on Fire: Inspire; Involve; Equip; and Grow.

These action words are significant because I believe they relay not only what the church was in it’s earliest beginnings but also what it can be today (and indeed in some cases is). In fact, I believe the church today MUST demonstrate these characteristics in any description of it if it truly is to have any impact for the Kingdom of God.

The reason why I’m sharing these insights with you is because I believe God wants every local church/body of believers to be like the church described in Acts 2. Yet there are far too many that aren’t. I believe that HPC is on the road to becoming more like this church and I pray that we will get there. If we want to be a “City on a Hill” in the fulfillment of God’s vision for us then we must see evidence of these “action words” in our midst.

The purpose of this series then is:

I want to paint a picture of what the Acts 2 church looked like that gives rise to this action word description.

Then, for each action word I’m going to try and answer the question, “Why was the Acts 2 church like that? What is it that makes it obvious that this particular verb is an accurate description? Really, what I’m attempting to do is to draw principles from the answers to that question that we can apply to the church today.

And finally, in sharing with you what I believe God has put on my heart I hope and pray that our hearts will be awakened and a desire fueled to become more like the Acts 2 church with each of those four action words being an accurate description of HPC. It is a reality that I believe is in our grasp! I hope and pray that this series will create space in your thinking and in your life for the Holy Spirit to begin giving (or continue to give) personalized dreams and visions for your individual contribution (prompted by God) to this church vision! Friends, in this series of messages I’m merely introducing to you these four action words and giving some of my observations, however there are places where I’m deliberately leaving the blanks unfilled. My hope and prayer is that a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit will fill in those blanks – answering the questions that are raised as you hear me speak, and a quickening in your spirit as you think of the implications.

Today I’m going to zero in on this first verb. Inspire.

Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.
Acts 2:43 (NIV)

(show “man on the street – awe and reverence by Highway Video”) (http://www.sermonspice.com/cart/?p=catalog&mode=search&display_mode=3topics&search_str=AWE&store=main&x=0&y=0)

Watching a video like that can be fairly sobering because it reveals a glimpse into the kind of impact the church of Christ, and Christians are really making in the world. Of course, the reality that it presents is influenced somewhat by where they filmed this clip and who they asked – but I wonder – would the answers be dramatically different if we were to take a video camera to the streets of any of our local communities and ask the same questions? What about if we put some of your neighbors, or family members, or friends on camera? What kind of responses would we get – it certainly is something to think about.

On the other hand. Let’s consider what the answers might be if we were somehow able to run a video feed back in time to the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem and ask those questions? You bet there’d be a significant difference in the responses. The difference is because of inspiration. But before we get into that, let’s try get a handle on what “inspire” means.

Well in my research I came across some common definitions of inspire (noted across multiple sources, dictionaries: online and offline) and I want to highlight these definitions as we look at how this verb applies to the church in Acts 2. Why is “inspire” an action word of the church of Acts 2?

The first definition of inspire is “to provoke a particular feeling – to arouse a particular feeling in somebody”.

In the case of the people in this church, Acts 2:43 says – as I’ve already pointed out:

Everyone was filled with awe…
Acts 2:43 (NIV)

Certainly there is clear indication that the people belonging to or in contact with the early church were provoked to this feeling of “awe”.

The NIV translation of this word is awe but the literal translation is fear. The weight of this word carries the recognition that what was happening was of such substance and reality that it inspired or provoked a feeling of the emotion one feels when you know you’re in the midst of something great and you’re unsure of what could happen to you. It’s the kind of feeling you have when something unexplainable happens that’s beyond your realm of experience and understanding.

There are two edges to this “fear”. Either you are drawn in closer because your curiousity is piqued and you want to know more – OR – you run away because you choose NOT to believe it or it’s too overwhelming.

It’s similar to the feeling that we guys got the very first time we asked a girl out. You manage to get enough nerve to go up to her and say her name, but then when she turns to you – this incredible fear grips you and you are in awe of her beauty but the whole time thinking to yourself “what am I doing here…I’m going mess up…she’s gonna say no…and so on” Some guys they manage to stand there and deliver the question. Others, run away – either because the pressure is too much or they’ve giving up on believing that she’ll go out with them anyways.

No one could say that people outside or inside the early church were ambivalent. People were either drawn to Christ or they ran away because of the inspiration of the church – but there was always a sense of wonder in what was taking place. Look at some of these examples:

They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! Here we are-Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other. But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, “They’re just drunk, that’s all!”
Acts 2:7-13 (NLT)

Peter got and spoke and explained what was happening as he shared about the prophecy of Joel (Joel 2:28-32) and how God foretold that in the last days His spirit would be poured out upon all people – inferring that what Jerusalem was witnessing was in fulfillment of this prophecy. Peter introduced Jesus as the Saviour – his death and resurrection. He explained the significance of Jesus death and resurrection being yet another fulfillment of prophecy as given by David in the Psalms. Once again, the anointing and power of the Holy Spirit inspired and provoked a particular feeling. People interrupted Peter and asked the question, “What then should we do?” as the Bible records Peter’s anointed words pierced their hearts. Some believed that day, in fact over 3000 did and were baptized in water and in Spirit! Into the church! There was no carelessness within the crowd that day.

The Letters of the early Apostles are filled with accounts that demonstrate the definition of INSPIRE wherever the church of Christ was found. There was never any middle ground when it came to emotions and emotional response to the presence of Christ in believers and the church. A common denominator in every account recorded is wonder and awe.

Why is “inspire” an “action word” of the church in Acts 2?

The second definition of inspire is “to stimulate somebody to do something: to encourage somebody to greater effort, enthusiasm, or creativity.

In other words, where there is inspiration – there motivation. People respond in greater ways when they are inspired! In this case, with the church in Acts – there was definitely a stimulation to those within the church to greater effort, enthusiasm, and creative activity. But on the other hand there was also a provoking of activity outside the church as well. Again, as was the case with emotions – there was no apathetic response to this church on fire. Either people, were moved to become a part of what was happening – or people did everything they could to oppose what the church was doing. But there was no lack of activity. You couldn’t say of the church of Acts that they blended in with their communities or with world around them!

Another observation with this is that not only was the early church inspired to do something and inspiring in the process – but this church, this group of people did things in creative ways! In other words, what was inspired in the lives of the people in the church through the church is unique. Our God is a creative, and powerful, Almighty, Majestic being and it only follows that what is done through HIS people should be creative, and powerful, and unique! The church should(!) be at the forefront of creative activity in the world. God has gifted people in unique and creative ways. In manifesting the verb, “INSPIRE” this creativity and activity is released. In the church of acts we certainly see this as the case…

• A regular experience among people of the church was miracles, signs, and wonders. People were healed, people were delivered.
• The Bible says these early believers met together regularly and eat together.
• The Bible says they sold their property and possessions so they could share the proceeds with those in need.
• They regularly prayed together – and when obstacles appeared, or tragedy struck it was natural for them to get together and pray until there was resolution.
• They shared their possession among each other!
• Acts 4:34 says, “There were NO needy people among them…” NONE! Imagine that!

Why is “inspire” an “action word” of the church in Acts 2?

The third definition of inspire is “to breathe in: to inhale air or gas into the lungs“

This is actually a meaning of inspire that we don’t hear very much of or use anymore. But the spiritual implication of this meaning is absolutely mind-boggling when applied as a description of the early church. So far I’ve painted a picture of the church of acts as both a church that was inspired and is inspiring – in the sense that there was a provoking of emotion (i.e. ?awe’), this in turn stimulated the church to do something – with greater effort, enthusiasm, and creativity – and of course that last word is descriptive of the creative nature in what resulted from the inspiration upon the early church and what she inspired. But what is it that inspired the church and inspired through the church?

The answer really isn’t found by asking what, but rather who? And the answer to that is, the Holy Spirit. The third definition of inspire is remarkable in the fact that it describes exactly the dependence the church of Christ must have on the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Not only is He the one who inspires but we are to inspire Him – or breathe Him. Of course, Jesus Christ, the cross, and His resurrection, his imminent return and end-times judgement of God (elaborate) – is the message His followers must testify about (and indeed will share if it has truly made any difference in their lives). The restoration of relationship between a person and His Creator with the ensuing transformation and transplantation from death to life is the goal of the news. However, the vehicle to get from the message to the transformation is the work of the Holy Spirit through the church of Christ dependent on Him.

This is what happened in Jerusalem at the launch of the early Church and this is what has happened whenever the church of Christ demonstrates inspiration in it’s character and through it’s members.

Without the power of God at work in our lives and in our church we will have no lasting impact in for His kingdom. If lives aren’t transformed within the church what chance is there of lives being transformed outside the church?

It’s time to ask the tough questions:

1. If I was to ask the average person here at HPC what is a word that comes to mind when they think of our church would the word “inspire” be verbalized?

I think maybe in a few instances, but truthfully a comparison to the church of Acts reveals that we have much room to grow in this area.

2. If I was to ask the average person in our community (Hanover and surrounding area) what is a word that comes to mind when they think of our HPC would the word “inspire” be used?

I almost hesitate to even guess at the answer but I’m positive that once again it would reveal the need for great improvement.

To be like the church of Acts we must be a church that is not only willing to testify to the message of Christ and His good news, or hopeful of the transforming work of God in our own lives and in the lives of people we influence – but we must also believe, seek, and welcome the work of the Holy Spirit in our midst.

Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. So there was great joy in that city. Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is the divine power known as the Great Power.” They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic. But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw. When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.” Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.” When they had testified and proclaimed the word of the Lord, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.
Acts 8:4-25 (NIV)

Notice – Peter and John became aware that something was missing in the lives of these new Christians of Samaria. Peter and John rightly understood the importance of the work, anointing, and presence of the Holy Spirit in the presence of God’s people. If this church of Samaria was to have any hope of impacting the rest of their country they required the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

How does this translate into our everyday lives today?

Well, how much do you inspire (breathe in God, The Holy Spirit) through your day(s)? Do you believe that the signs and wonders we read about in the book of Acts are possible here in Grey and Bruce County? Do you believe that God has spoken through His word incredible wisdom for the decisions we make every day? Is the Holy Spirit giving you dreams and are you willing to take a risk at seeing them become reality? Do you really want God to show up at your workplace or at your school or in your home or on the street? When someone you know shares of a difficulty in their life, do you take the opportunity to pray for God’s miraculous touch in Jesus’ name? Do people to come to you when they are sick or bring others to the church who are sick because they’ve heard reports of God’s miraculous power at work? Do you daily seek the infilling of the Holy Spirit for power and direction in everything you undertake that day? Do you come to service believing that there will be tongues and interpretation or someone healed or some other manifestation of God’s divine presence or do you secretly hope that nothing will happen that will “offend” a visitor to the church? Have you received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit? Do you even understand what that is? Are you seeking it? When God does something powerful in Your life or in the life of someone you know do you seize every opportunity to tell others You know about that event? Do you give God the best of the talents and abilities that He’s given You? Do you obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit when you hear of someone in need and you are able to help them because of His provision in your life?

Listen to these words the apostle Paul wrote the church in Thessalonica once,

Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you. We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia–your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead–Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 (NIV)

Friends, if you leave with nothing else this morning – leave with this – If the church of Christ is going to be Inspiring then believers must inspire the Holy Spirit.

{Relate to communion as we enter that part of the service}

John 14:15-31 (NIV)

15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever– 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” 22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. 25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. 28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, 31 but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me. “Come now; let us leave.

INTRODUCTION

Looking up the meaning of the word ?coach? in the Webster dictionary makes for an interesting search. The first class of definitions for ?coach? speak of its use as ?a vehicle, a mode of transport, a kind of carriage that takes one from point A to point B.? For instance, a ?coach? can be ?a horse-drawn carriage, or railroad car; a bus or a trailer.? The second definition of ?coach? as an instructor arises ?from the concept that the tutor conveys the student through his examinations.? Only then, in Webster, do we find the third definition with a sports application.

It?s interesting because putting all three definitions together helps describe the role of the Holy Spirit as our coach:

The Coach?s goal is to move us from here to there; to get us through the big tests until we?re approved bona fide graduates, until we?ve ?made it,? until we win the victor?s crown. What a picture of the Holy Spirit!

In his letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul gives us an image of the Holy Spirit?s ongoing work within us.

Ephesians 1:13-14 (NIV)

13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession–to the praise of his glory.

Paul says the Holy Spirit is God?s guarantee that we?re going to make it. That when the race is run, and the game of life is done, you and I who have put our confidence in Christ will find our place in the winners? circle.

WORD STUDY

I think it?s important that we look at a couple of important words in this passage. The first word I want to look at is the word “seal”.

SEAL: UNTAMPERED, OWNERSHIP, AUTHENTIC

Paul calls the Holy Spirit a seal. It?s an intriguing metaphor. In Paul?s world a seal had several implications. Did you ever buy Tylenol or Advil off the shelf at the pharmacy, and notice the warning on the cap that says, “Do not use if seal is broken?” Why not? Because if the seal is broken, someone may have altered the contents. An unbroken seal is the assurance that the contents remain untampered with. The Holy Spirit is the seal that protects us from the forces of evil and whatever would meddle with His work in us.

If you look on the screen you can see some very distinctive trademarks that you would be familiar with. These trademarks are identified with the owner of the brand. In Paul?s time, the seal was a way of declaring ownership. The Holy Spirit is God’s trademark: the sign of divine reality in our lives, and the proof that we belong to Him.

Did you ever get a love letter with a sticker on the back saying SWAK (Sealed With A Kiss)? A seal on a letter means that the contents are exactly as the author wrote them and that no one else has seen them. The letter has been sealed shut, and no one but the ?one? for whom it?s intended may open it. It?s authentic. If the Spirit seals shut, the point must be that He seals in faith and seals out unbelief.

DEPOSIT: A GUARANTEE that God will finish what He has begun

Another important word in this verse is the word ?deposit?. Circle it. Paul calls the Spirit a “deposit guaranteeing our inheritance.” It?s like someone running out of gas on a road trip. Unfortunately he didn?t have any cash, but he did have his license. He was able to get a jerry can with some gas at a local station, but not without leaving his license behind. The station attendant surmised that he probably valued his license enough that it guaranteed he?d come back with both jerry can and cash to pay for the gas, and finish the business he?d begun.

A deposit is a guarantee that God will finish the business He?s begun. It?s God?s way of saying, “I want you to be so confident in the fact that I have planned to bring you into the inheritance I?ve promised you, that I?ve given you My Spirit. You?ll have great moments and not-so-great moments along the journey. There?ll be times when you doubt you?ll make it to the end of the day let alone to the end of the race. But that?s why I?ve given my Spirit to you. I?m committed to you winning the prize, you gaining the inheritance. And my Spirit is the guarantee you?ll receive the crown and wear the medal!”

How will the Holy Spirit get you into the winner?s circle? He?ll coach, train, encourage and push you. He?ll do whatever it takes to make you a champion.

The movie Cinderella Man is the tale of true virtue struggling against trying circumstances. The hero, James J. Braddock, is an ordinary man whose family and way of life are threatened by the Great Depression. A has-been boxer, the movie tells the story of Braddock?s ?Cinderella? opportunity to win the title from world champion Max Baer.

As much as Braddock is the hero of the film, it?s the faithful friendship of his manager Joe Gould that provides Braddock with the chance of a lifetime. Gould risks everything he owns on the fighter he believes in. It?s Joe Gould who walks Braddock through the training. It?s Gould who cheers him on, and shares his desperation. It?s Joe Gould who focuses his thoughts, urges, encourages him; and at the ringside, it?s Joe Gould who?s in his corner shouting commands, giving advice, and going through it with him.

The Holy Spirit is that kind of coach. You?re the one in the fight, giving and taking the blows. It?s the Coach in your corner who gives you the wisdom, inspiration and stamina to win. Jesus said as much in John?s gospel in what is often called the ?upper room discourse.? These were His last words to His disciples before He went to the cross. Jesus promised that He would send His Spirit to His followers. Four times He uses a very coach-like word to describe the Holy Spirit. He calls him parakletos?literally translated ?a person who comes to one?s aid,? or ?someone who comes alongside to help.? In John 13-16, it?s translated as Helper, Counsellor or Comforter. One scholar calls Him a friend who does whatever is necessary to forward another?s interests.

Isn?t that what a coach does? He has a goal in mind, and he will stop at nothing to ensure that the goal is attained. That?s the work of the Holy Spirit, and the four times He was called parakletos in John?s gospel give us insight as to how He gets the job done. Firstly, the Holy Spirit guarantees our victory because He?s a personal Coach.

The Counsellor guarantees our victory because ?

1. He?s a PERSONAL Coach.

Pat Summitt is a basketball coach in the NCAA. She has coached the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers for 31 years, and has an impressive number of students who have made it to graduation in her ranks. She has stuck by her players when they?ve been injured; she?s walked through life situations with them. She?s made them both believers and achievers. She?s done it by knowing and walking with them personally.

Kim Mulkey-Robertson, coach of the Baylor University Lady Bears, was a player on Summitt?s 1984 gold-winning Olympic team when she fractured her foot in training and was told by physicians not to walk on it for three to four weeks. Summitt refused to pick an alternate. Years later, as an assistant coach, Mulkey-Robertson became pregnant and worried about her career, but Summitt was there with advice and encouragement. Mulkey-Robertson says she?s never forgotten her now-rival coach?s help. “She?s everything I aspire to be as a coach,” Mulkey-Robertson says.

As John Maxwell put it, we can impress at a distance, but the only way we can impact is up close. That?s how the Holy Spirit coaches??up close.? He doesn?t stand aloof, or issue messages from a distance. He impacts us by living right inside us.

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever?the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17).

Jesus wanted His followers to know that they were getting a better deal because He was going to the cross. He wanted them to know that having the Spirit in them was a big step forward. But how could that possibly be?

When Jesus says that God will “give you another Counselor to be with you forever,” he uses a very specific word for ?another.? Rather than saying ?another,? meaning different kind of Counselor, he chooses the word which in this context says another Counselor of the same kind. The Spirit of Truth that was coming was the same kind of Coach as Jesus. As Jesus is God, the Spirit is God. The primary difference between the two is that while Jesus was limited to one human body, the Spirit would be able to come and live within each believer?s body.

This new closeness is, however, less concrete than having Jesus physically by our side. Let?s face it, in some ways it seems more ambiguous being coached by the indwelling Spirit. We struggle sometimes to recognize His voice. It can be hard to discern His voice from our own self-talk. It?s easy to ask the question: How is the promise of the Holy Spirit a better deal than having Jesus physically here on earth?

The answer is in this simple mystery. God is living in you! This is the uniqueness of the Christian experience. No one before ever had the Spirit living inside of them, taking up permanent residence. This honour has been purchased at an inestimable price?the cost of the blood of God?s only Son. We should never take this gift for granted.

Yes, the Holy Spirit came upon people in the Old Testament to empower them. Yes, there were times in the Old Testament when people experienced the Spirit?s inspiration, but the reality of God living within us is a result of Christ?s work on the cross. This is the heart of the Christian message.

It means that we have a personal Coach of the most intimate kind. Instead of paying exorbitant fees for the services of a person who will help us with self-improvement skills, you and I have the privilege of God Himself living within and imparting His character, nature and power to our lives. His name is Immanuel, God with us.

Paul puts it this way in his epistle to the Romans,

Romans 8:11 (NIV)

11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

Romans 8:16 (NIV)

16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

Romans 8:26 (NIV)

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. ?

Romans 8:27 (NIV)

? the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.

2. The personal Coach imparts CONFIDENCE.

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)

Our personal Coach imparts confidence. His moment-by-moment presence within reminds us that He is near and provides us with the strength to win. When we?re struggling, it?s worth the effort because we know we?re going to make it; we will taste victory! His work within gives us assurance to face life?s challenges personally because this Counselor is also an effective Coach.

3. He is an EFFECTIVE Coach.

In 2000, the U.S. Olympic Committee commissioned a study called The Path to Excellence. In it they surveyed nearly 1,000 Olympians who competed between 1984 and 1998. One of the major discoveries, though not a surprising one, was that ?coaching is a critical factor for proper development of talented and motivated athletes.? Interestingly, the two most significant seasons for effective coaching were during major competition and skill acquisition.

The coach who first teaches the athlete to play his particular sport is a key person in his future success. That person can make or break the aspiring competitor. We?ve all had similar experiences?whether it was the math teacher who taught us to hate algebra or the art teacher who inspired us to develop a hidden talent. Our first coach can inspire us to victory.

Listen to what Jesus says about the Coach in your corner.

John 14:23-26 (NIV)

23 Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. 25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

The Olympic Committee report listed the ability to teach and the ability to motivate as the two most important qualities of a coach. The next three qualities were ranked similarly and included training knowledge, skill competence and strategic knowledge of the sport. The Holy Spirit, our Counselor, is the best teacher and motivator we could ever desire. He knows the winning conditions for excelling in life.

4. He knows the winning CONDITIONS.

Jesus told us in John 14 that there are two essential skills that each Christian must develop: love and obedience. It?s as simple as that!

Have you ever marvelled at the synchronization of pairs figure skating? World and European pairs figure skating champions Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin can work their magic on the ice. It?s so graceful and beautiful that it almost looks easy. Their skating programs involve complicated moves such as axels, lutzes, jumps and spins. These technical skills don?t come naturally. They require years of precision, practice and devotion.

The same is true for spiritual excellence. True love for Christ and obedience to God?s Word are not natural to fallen humans. We need training, instruction and exercise in the spiritual disciplines to establish the winning conditions, but we have a Coach to guide us. This Coach is all about what it takes to win. He knows the winning strategies.

5. He knows the winning STRATEGIES.

We all struggle with obedience. Jesus knew this, and addressed many of our problems (or struggles) directly in the Scriptures. For instance, He spoke about our poor attitudes, lack of forgiveness and love of money. Sometimes, He used parables to clearly illustrate His points.

John 14:24 (NIV)

24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching?.

Jesus said that if we don?t obey His commands, it reveals a deficiency in our love. It can all get a little overwhelming, BUT there?s hope. Don?t you love the use of the word ?but? in Scripture? Just when we?re feeling beaten, Jesus says,

“BUT the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26).

Our Coach will patiently work with us until we learn what?s unnatural to our broken human condition. This is a matter of skills acquisition. He also reminds us of everything Jesus said. This is coaching in the heat of competition. While we?re struggling in the ring, the Coach is there to remind, motivate and inspire us to keep our hands up and legs moving.

6. He is a DETERMINED Coach

There?s a game to be played, there?s a battle to be fought, there?s a war to be won. As God has already won the victory, our role is to faithfully follow Jesus? example in every dimension of life. He sends His Coach to help us do just that.

“When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning” (John 15:26-27).

Of the eleven that were with Jesus from the beginning, church tradition tells us that all?except John?died martyrs? deaths, testifying faithfully about Jesus. John was expelled to the island of Patmos where he wrote the book of Revelations. What we can prove historically is uncertain. We can prove that some of the eleven were martyred (e.g., the apostle Peter ? See John 21:18-19), and that ALL were victims of great persecution and harassment for their faith. This indicates that ?staying in the game? is a costly matter.

Today most of us in North America face no apparent danger or threat of death for our faith. Rather we deal with the temptations and seductive distractions of media and money, disappointment with God, and disillusionment with life. However, Paul describes in both Romans 8:17-18 and Philippians 1:29 that as believers we should expect to suffer for Christ?s sake.

7. Expect systemic OPPOSITION.

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first?If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also” (John 15:18, 20).

Jesus warns us in this passage that victory will not be easy, even if it?s assured. He tells us to expect systemic opposition to Christianity.

Sometimes we?re wrongly convinced that our enemies are non-believers. We alienate ourselves from them by hiding out in our Christian rabbit holes where we can practice Christianity without any fear of offense or censure. We sometimes imagine that the problem is the very individuals that Jesus loved so passionately. We forget that the people who hated Jesus were power people: Jewish and Roman authorities, representing structures and wineskins that couldn?t accommodate the gospel of grace.

With all the talk in our world about the demise of the Christian consensus, the loss of prayer in schools, the rise of alternate moralities and the systematic de-Christianization of Western society, you?d think we?d remember these things.

Instead of wasting valuable resources on the defense of an anemic cultural Christianity, we might have recalled that any power structure, even one that claims to be Christian, is like the Jewish and Roman structures that crucified Christ. That?s why Jesus warns us that if we follow the Coach within, we?re in for some real life challenges.

“All this I have told you so that you will not go astray. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you. I did not tell you this at first because I was with you” (John 16:1-4).

The game is going to get tough, and the competition is going to play dirty. That?s all the more reason to lean on the Coach, our Counselor and Helper, who will give us the stamina, strategy and strength to keep faithful under fire, to stay the course and run the race. Finishing well matters to God.

8. He is a SUCCESSFUL Coach.

The Holy Spirit has a very specific goal for this world. He intends to accomplish that goal through you and me! Listen to what He says in John 16:7-8: “Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.”

Circle the word ?convict.? It?s a legal term that means literally ?to fix and define a culprit?s guilt.? This is the difficult inner working of the Spirit. Have you ever noticed how some people ?get it? when it comes to the heart of the gospel, and others just don?t? When people ?get it,? it?s because the Spirit has done His secret work.

There?s a connection between Jesus? going and the Spirit?s coming. Jesus says, “If I go, I will send him to you” and “when he comes, he will convict the world.” It?s hard to escape the conclusion that the Spirit?s work of convicting the world may have to do with His presence in us. No wonder the world is a little uneasy with the church.

C.S. Lewis, the great Christian apologist and author of The Chronicles of Narnia, was a confirmed atheist. On a journey that began in childhood, Lewis came step by step to the conclusion that there is indeed a personal God, and later that He had come in the flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. On his conversion from atheism to theism in 1929, Lewis wrote,

“I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England. I did not then see what is now the most shining and obvious thing; the Divine humility which will accept a convert even on such terms. The prodigal son at least walked home on his own feet. But who can duly adore that Love which will open the high gates to a prodigal who is brought in kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance of escape?”

(Lewis, C.S. Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life. (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1955) p. 228-229.)

The Spirit is at work through you and me. He?s at work through His Church. The Coach works with the team, and you and I are part of that team if Christ is alive in us by His Spirit. We?ve used the athletic metaphor over and over again throughout this series. We?ve even dared to call the Holy Spirit the Coach in our corner. But have we wondered what kind of game it is that God is playing?

Our western materialist mindset is bent toward the childhood game called King of the Castle. We remember that frustrating game, don?t we? No sooner do we reach the top when someone else comes along and topples us back to the bottom. Then we form alliances and scratch and claw our way back up the hill to throw the top kid down, and ultimately get back our cherished position.

Most of the athletic world is like King of the Castle. We have quarterfinals, semifinals and then the championship game. We have bronze and silver medals, but everybody strives for the gold because only one can win. Life can be a lot like that.

That?s not a picture of the Kingdom of God. We?re not engaged in competition against one another. I think the Kingdom is more like Red Rover. Did you play this game when you were growing up? It didn?t matter how many kids there were, we just split up into two teams, and then it would start: “Red Rover, Red Rover, we call Billy over!” And Billy would come barreling from one side of the field to the other calculating where he could best hope to break through the locked arms of the opposition. If he did, he could go back to his own team, if he didn?t he stayed with ours.

What I liked best about Red Rover is that even if you lost, you won! As soon as you were added to the other team, then you had a vested interest in getting others over, too.

The game would go on until everybody was on the same team and we all won, or until the bell rang and the game was over. That?s the mission of the church, too. It?s a kind of a spiritual Red Rover. In the power of the Holy Spirit, we?re going to keep calling people over until the whole world is on Jesus? side or until the trumpet blows and the game is over.

Thirdly we thought about how the Holy Spirit calls each one of us, and the following week we considered how he guides us and we need to listen to his signals. Last Sunday we contemplated the Baptism of the Holy Spirit – what it means to be baptized by him and what difference the baptism makes, or should make in our lives.

Today we are going to take some time and think for a while about “Performance: Spirit-Filled Living”. We?ve been recruited, given spiritual gifts, baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Now, what does this really mean to us? Does it make a difference in us? Should it make a difference? If your answer is “yes” to these questions, then the next question I want to ask you is, OK – so how will this happen? How will this difference come about?

When we read passages such as the ones from Ephesians and Colossians which we have already looked at this morning we can clearly see that consistent, Christ-like performance is the goal of the Christian life.

Paul is very dogmatic in his stance concerning this – “I insist” he says, that you don?t continue living the way you did before you met Christ. In Romans 6:1 Paul asks the question, “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” Then he answers quickly by saying, “By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”

Over and over again throughout Paul?s epistles we see the admonishment to be like Christ repeated. In Romans 6:11 we read – “Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

Romans 8:29 tells us – “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

In Galatians 4:19 Paul says, “My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.” Paul wants so badly to see these new Christians becoming more like Christ that he likens his longing to the pains of childbirth – that?s how important it is to him.

This is the main point in the epistles. Paul taught believers how to become “conformed to the likeness of Christ.”

We know that we were created in the image of God, however, since the Fall of Man, we no longer possess that likeness to Him in our everyday lives, that image has been distorted by sin. So in order for us to be conformed to the image of Christ, something obviously has to change.

Now change is hard isn?t it? We don?t usually like change, nor do we usually change easily or very quickly. Change takes effort – sometimes it?s just plain hard work!

Paul describes how this change has to take shape in Ephesians 4:22-24. “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Do you remember the story I told you a few weeks ago about the little girl saying to her mummy, the pastor says that God is bigger than us, and that God is in us. If that?s true, wouldn?t he show through?

Well, it is true! People ought to be able to see Jesus in us, showing through. Our behaviour, the way we live our lives should show something refreshingly different to a lost world.

The way we live our lives is an ever present opportunity to give glory to Jesus, knowing that what people see in us is a result of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives.

During the days of the fledgling church the people outside of the faith noticed a difference in the believers, so much so that they gave them a nickname and it wasn?t supposed to be a very complimentary one – they sneered at them and called them “Little Christs”.

Antioch was where they first called the people of the Way “Christians”. Now the word Christian comes from the Greek word christianos, meaning “belonging to Christ” (like a slave), or “of Christ?s family” (like a sibling), or “little Christ?s”, as though believers were mimics trying to outdo themselves in their imitation of Christ.

According to Rev. David Courey who developed this series of messages called “The Coach In Your Corner”, when we place these separate meanings in this particular order, there appears to be a progression in our relationship to Christ – slave, sibling, mimic.

He suggests that the progression starts with a legal relationship between slave and master whereby we have a responsibility to be alert to our Master?s wishes. Next we progress from slave to sibling, implying a family relationship and then from sibling to Little Christs, people who mimic Jesus.

Whether there is a progression here or not is relatively unimportant. The fact is that we became slaves to Christ and family members when we accepted him as Lord of our lives, and I hope we became mimics of our Saviour too.

Certainly the people of the day were familiar with slavery. Occasionally where there was not an heir to the family estates a slave who was totally trusted and loved by the family he served would be legally adopted and become a member of that family. Some slaves were so trusted that they were empowered to act legally in business in the name of their masters.

We can draw a parallel to the Christian prayer life in this. We as believers are empowered to act legally in the name of our master, the Lord Jesus Christ. In John 16:23b & 24 we read these words of Jesus, “I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”

We were together with some of our son?s family the other day and we got talking about family resemblances. My son?s oldest girl, Jessica was telling us that at the high school nobody realized that she and Brenda were sisters because they don?t look at all alike. Jessica thought maybe that was just alright! A typical teenage sister?s reaction!

Often the opposite is true though isn?t it. Often we resemble closely other members of our family. Usually to be a member of a family means that we carry certain family traits and people will recognize us as belonging to that certain family because of this.

Sometimes it can be a good thing to be recognized in this way, sometimes maybe not so good. But, as members of God?s family, as siblings of our Lord Jesus, wouldn?t it be just great if people could see a family resemblance in us?

David Courey suggests that maybe the most profound meaning of the word “Christian” is “being an imitator of Christ.” Originally “little Christs” was a term of mockery. The people taunted the believers with the name. They were objects of ridicule.

Eventually though the Christians adopted the name themselves as a title of honour rather than shame and derision. They realized that “Little Christs” was exactly what they wanted to be. They wanted to copy Jesus and become more like him.

Tertullian, one of the early church fathers who wrote in the late second and early third centuries quoted an unbeliever who exclaimed, “Behold how these Christians love one another!” Another unbeliever noted, “They seem to love one another before they even know each other!”

As these early Christians practiced becoming “Little Christs” and actively living out the love of Christ, they were beginning to look more and more like Jesus to the unsaved.

These early believers were even willing to risk their lives for the sake of the cause of the gospel. Paul praises Epaphroditus in his letter to the Philippians. He says that in bringing much needed help to the Philippian church Epaphroditus “Almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me.”

This man was willing to travel a long distance to be with Paul in a time when travel was a very risky business. He was willing to risk encountering exposure to communicable diseases by visiting Paul in the prison. Prisons in those days weren?t quite what they are nowadays! They were dank, filthy, disease ridden, rat-infested holes. This man risked a lot to help Paul.

The Greek word for “risk” is paraboleusthai. It is a gambler?s term that meant to stake everything on the throw of the dice.

People who want to be like Jesus are willing to take risks for him. In the days of the early church there was a group called “the parabolani”. This was a group of Christian people who took risks by visiting prisoners and the sick and looking after them when nobody else would.

During the plague in Carthage in 252AD, the towns people fled in terror, leaving the sick and dying to perish.

Cyprian, a Christian leader and pastor in the area gathered the congregations together to bury the dead and nurse the sick back to health. By this courageous act of mercy – because these people were willing to take a risk – many lives were saved.

We need risk-takers in the church today. I wonder however how many there are who would risk anything, everything for the cause of Christ as those early Christians did?

Throughout the history of the church there have been those who would do just that. People like the British politician William Wilberforce, America?s revivalist Charles G. Finney, and abolitionists like Theodore Weld and Harriet Beecher Stowe each one of whom risked their reputations to oppose slavery.

We can?t all emulate such people as these, however we can all become more like Jesus. What would it take for ordinary people like you and I to become more like Jesus. What would it take?

It takes the Holy Spirit at work in us to change us from ordinary to extraordinary and this happens only when we allow him freedom to have his will and his way in us. As we allow this to take place we will become more and more like Jesus and our lives will become fruitful for him.

In John 15:8 we read these words of Jesus, “This is to my Father?s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

It is our Lord?s desire that we bear fruit to bring glory to the Father and because this is what he desires of us, he tells us how this can happen – by remaining closely attached to him.

Paul says in Romans 7:4, “So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.”

In Galatians 5:22-26 Paul describes this fruit, calling it the fruit of the Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law”.

Then he goes on to explain just how we can develop this kind of fruit in our lives. He says, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”

When we look at the fruit of the Spirit, can you think of anything which summarizes the qualities of Christ more than this? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. This is what we need to be developing in our lives in order that we might become more like Jesus.

I love what D. L. Moody said about the fruit of the Spirit – “Love is the first thing – the first in that precious cluster of fruit…Joy is love exulting; peace is love in repose; long suffering is love on trial; gentleness is love in society; goodness is love in action; faith is love on the battlefield; meekness is love at school; and temperance is love in training.”

How then can we assimilate these characteristics into our own lives? How do we assimilate the nature and personality of Jesus, the love of Jesus, so that His character is formed in us?

David Courey suggests that it is a natural process of the Spirit – that Christianity isn?t a philosophy of life to work out, a methodology to be followed, or a technique to be perfected. It?s organic, it?s natural, it?s God at work in us and it?s an ongoing process.

We call it sanctification – the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit working in us, perfecting us, molding and making us through the ups and downs of life, to be more like Christ.

As I was preparing this message and really thinking about what this means something showed through very clearly to me. Now, you may not consider this to be a very profound statement, but it really impacted me.

Our desire should be to become more like Jesus, and so very often we think that we have to work at making this happen in our lives- however, as hard as we try, we find we can?t do it.

The only way this will happen is when we stand back and allow the Holy Spirit to do that work in us. Jesus said that he is the Vine and the only way we can bear fruit is if we stay attached to the Vine – drawing upon his strength rather than our own.

You see, we become nothing but dead branches unless we stay connected to the taproot of His life-giving Spirit. Apart from Him, we can do nothing. Our lives will be fruitless.

It will cost us something though. The process will be fatal to our old lives. Jesus said that the dead branches have to be pruned away. In the same way the dead things of our former lives have to be pruned away also.

Paul said to the Galatians, “those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.” It?s not a totally effortless process on our part to become more like Jesus, we have to take a part in the process too.

Our sinful natures with which we were born are strong and want to maintain the upper hand. It is so strong that Paul says we have to execute it, crucify it.

In the passage in Ephesians which we read Paul says we are to put off our old self, be made new, put on our new self.

Runners sap the strength out of the vine and have to be pruned out. Anyone who has grown tomatoes knows that you have to pinch out the “suckers” as they develop because these suckers take all the plant?s energy for themselves, leaving less energy for the production of fruit.

In the same way, the selfish, sinful nature, if allowed to grow and flourish as it pleases will take away from the growth of fruit in our lives. It must be pruned away.

Michelangelo was commissioned to create 40 sculptures for the tomb of Pope Julius II. In 1508 the pope cancelled his commission, and Michelangelo left several pieces for the tomb unfinished, including four famous figures called The Prisoners.

The works capture their title as human forms struggling to be freed from their stone prison.

Michelangelo could see the potential in each block of marble before he even began working on it. He could already see what it would become under his carving and shaping.

Similarly, the Holy Spirit is a sculptor. Just as each piece of marble was unique for Michelangelo, so also each one of us is unique. The Holy Spirit chips away over the span of our lives at the rough edges, gradually uncovering what He could always see lying beneath the surface.

Just like pruning, sculpting can be a painful process. Only as we go through this process can God?s masterpiece be revealed. That?s why the process of assimilating Christ?s character, or becoming more like Jesus, is a continuous process.

Becoming more like Jesus, living a Spirit-filled life can be seen then as a natural process, one that is fatal to our old lives and a continuous process.

In order to become more like Jesus we have to learn to live by the Spirit. Paul says in Galatians 5:25, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

Now that?s easy to say, but just how do we do this? We do it by putting to death the old life, crucifying it. We no longer live by rules and regulations, rather our lives are ruled by a relationship with the Holy Spirit!

If we try to live by rules and regulations we will fail. We will break those rules, just as God?s Chosen People did when they tried to live under the law.

However, if we live by the Spirit we will produce fruit. In other words, the presence of the Holy Spirit will be seen in our actions. God, who is bigger than us and who lives in us, will show through!

In order to keep in step with something we have to be moving. In order to keep in step with the Spirit, we have to be moving. Keeping in step implies walking – we are moving ahead, going somewhere. To walk we have to depend on our legs to take us where we want to go. To keep in step with the Spirit we have to depend on Him to take us where He wants us to go.

The Spirit-filled life is a life which is totally dependent on the Holy Spirit to move us along. We keep in step with him through reading and studying the Bible, through spending time talking to God in prayer and through obeying Him by acting upon what we are learning as we live in this way.

I?m sure most of you are familiar with the extreme make-over shows which have become so popular on the television in recent months. There is one I believe where they do extreme make-overs on people?s homes, and even more mind-boggling, one where they actually do extreme make-overs on people?s bodies.

These people submit to weight loss and exercise regimes. They have their hair styles changed, their clothing styles and even sometimes undergo plastic surgery all in an effort to look better. Professionals come in and help them make the changes which they perceive to be necessary to be the person they want to be.

If we are to live a Spirit-filled life we too must undergo a radical make-over. You see, we can change our ways to do what we?re supposed to do – and that would be good, OR we can change our lives to be what we?re supposed to be.

Do you see the difference? It?s not just a face lift, it?s a radical make-over! You see, God?s word tells us that he doesn?t look on the outside, he looks at the heart! It?s who we are that counts, especially when we think nobody?s looking, not how we look or what we can do.

We can get all dressed up in our best clothes and come to church Sunday by Sunday and carry a big Bible, we can do all these things but if we?re not being all God wants us to be, we?re just going through the motions and not being changed at all – not allowing the Holy Spirit to conform us to be like Jesus.

OR, we can walk in step with the Spirit, allow him to change our lives and truly become all that God wants us to be.

A few weeks ago in one of his messages Pastor Darren said that we cannot separate the secular and the Holy in our lives because God is always with us.

We know that we have the Holy Spirit within us but I think that sometimes we tend to forget. Living the Spirit-filled life is walking in step with the Spirit.

Think about it! Every moment of every day – the Holy Spirit is walking step by step with us and we are walking with him. We can?t see Him but we know he?s there.

Now, picture this for a moment. What if you could see him? Imagine that you can. As you go out of this place today he?s there, right beside you.

As you go to work tomorrow, he?s right there beside you. As you deal with difficult children, or get angry with your spouse – guess what? He?s right there beside you.

Do you think that if you could actually see the Holy Spirit right there beside you, that you would live differently? Do you think you might be more careful about your thoughts, your words, your actions?

It?s our choice. It?s up to us. We can change or we can carry on the way we always have done. But we need to remember, the Holy Spirit is there with us, every step of the way. And we need to remember that God?s Word tells us that we are not to grieve the Holy Spirit, or quench the Holy Spirit.

Those people who undergo the radical makeovers have professionals who advise them, guide them and help them every step of the way. We too have a professional who will do the same, and even better for us.

The Holy Spirit is our professional who will advise and guide and help us every step of

the way. When we allow Him to, He will come and make the changes that need to be made in our lives to make us more like Jesus.

He is our scout and our guide who calls us and empowers us and gives us gifts to help us in our walk with him and he is the one who points us to Jesus.

Tony Campolo loves to tell the story about a derelict named Joe. Joe was miraculously converted in a downtown mission. Before his conversion Joe was known as a hopeless, dirty, drunken man with a reputation for being nasty. When he came to Christ, everything changed for Joe.

He became the most caring person at the mission. Whatever was needed, however disgusting the job, Joe was there to help. He had the compassion for taking care of guys who were too ?out of it? to take care of themselves. He knew how to love broken people, and give them some dignity.

One night the mission held a meeting where the gospel was shared. When the invitation was given for unbelievers to come to Christ, one guy among the drooped heads of the ragtag congregation came forward. He dropped to his knees and began calling out to the Lord, ?Oh God, make me like Joe. Make me like Joe!?

The preacher leaned over and asked him, ?Wouldn?t it be better if you prayed, “God, make me like Jesus??” After thinking about it for a moment, the guy looked up with a curious expression on his face and said, “Is he like Joe?”

As we live out the Spirit-filled life at home, at work, at school, in our neighbourhoods – our lives will become a living testimony to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and people who aren?t even sure who Jesus is will see something of Him in us.

As you leave here this morning, I challenge you to live each moment as though you can see the Holy Spirit walking side by side with you – and live accordingly. You see, it?s not enough just to put off the bad, we have to put on the good.

It?s a deliberate choice. It?s your choice! You can choose to walk in step with the Holy Spirit or not. You decide!