Empowered by the Spirit: Transforming Community and Culture

Devotional

Day 1: Empowered by the Spirit to Transform

The early church was a powerful testament to the transformative work of the Holy Spirit. As recorded in the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples, empowering them to be witnesses of Christ's resurrection and message. This divine empowerment was not limited to the apostles but extended to all believers, enabling them to spread the gospel from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. The early church, filled with the Holy Spirit, was a vibrant community that transformed cultures and expanded God's kingdom despite facing persecution. Today, the same Spirit is available to us, calling us to be a transformative force in our communities. We are invited to embrace this empowerment and allow the Holy Spirit to work through us to impact the world for Christ. [32:37]

Acts 1:8 (ESV): "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

Reflection: In what specific ways can you allow the Holy Spirit to empower you to be a transformative force in your community this week?

Day 2: Overcoming Cultural Influences

The church in North America faces significant challenges from cultural influences such as individualism and consumerism, which can hinder our collective witness and mission. These cultural forces often lead us to focus on personal gain and self-interest, rather than the collective good of the body of Christ. To overcome these influences, we must shift from a "me" mentality to a "we" mentality, recognizing that we are one body in Christ, each part essential to the whole. By embracing this unity, we can strengthen our witness and fulfill our mission to spread the gospel. [46:09]

1 Corinthians 12:12-14 (ESV): "For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many."

Reflection: Identify one cultural influence that has affected your faith journey. How can you actively work to overcome this influence and embrace a "we" mentality in your church community?

Day 3: From Consumerism to Community

In today's church, there is a tendency to approach faith with a consumer mindset, where church is about what we receive rather than what we contribute. This mindset can hinder our growth and the effectiveness of our witness. We are called to move beyond this consumer mentality to a community-focused approach, where we actively participate and contribute to the body of Christ. The church is not just a place we attend but a living, breathing community that God has called to be His hands and feet in the world. By embracing this community-focused approach, we can fulfill our mission and be a transformative force in our communities. [53:01]

Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV): "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."

Reflection: How can you shift your mindset from being a consumer to an active participant in your church community? What specific actions can you take this week to contribute to the body of Christ?

Day 4: The Power of Unity

The church is not just a place we attend but a living, breathing community that God has called to be His hands and feet in the world. Our unity and collective witness are essential to fulfilling our mission. When we come together as one body in Christ, we can accomplish great things for His kingdom. Despite the challenges we face, there is hope for the church today. The same Holy Spirit that empowered the early church is available to us, calling us to be a transformative force in our communities. We must repent of any self-centeredness and recommit to being a unified body, ready to impact the world for Christ. [59:23]

Ephesians 4:3-6 (ESV): "Eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

Reflection: What steps can you take to promote unity within your church community? How can you contribute to the collective witness of the body of Christ?

Day 5: Hope and Transformation Through the Spirit

Despite the challenges facing the modern church, there is hope for transformation through the power of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit that empowered the early church is available to us today, calling us to be a transformative force in our communities. We are invited to repent of any self-centeredness and recommit to being a unified body, ready to impact the world for Christ. By embracing the hope and power available to us through the Holy Spirit, we can overcome the obstacles we face and fulfill our mission to spread the gospel. [01:05:31]

Romans 15:13 (ESV): "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."

Reflection: In what areas of your life do you need to repent of self-centeredness? How can you invite the Holy Spirit to bring transformation and hope into these areas?

Sermon Summary

In today's gathering, we explored the profound and transformative power of the Holy Spirit as demonstrated in the early church, as recorded in the book of Acts. We began by reflecting on the birth of the church, a time when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples, empowering them to become witnesses of Christ's resurrection and message. This divine empowerment was not just for the apostles but for all believers, enabling them to spread the gospel from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. The early church was a vibrant, Holy Spirit-filled community that transformed cultures and expanded God's kingdom despite facing persecution.

We then turned our attention to the present-day church, particularly in North America, and examined the challenges we face in living out this same transformative power. We acknowledged that cultural influences, such as individualism and consumerism, have seeped into the church, often hindering our collective witness and mission. The call was made for us to shift from a "me" mentality to a "we" mentality, recognizing that we are one body in Christ, each part essential to the whole.

The sermon challenged us to examine our personal faith journeys and how they align with the biblical vision of the church. We were encouraged to move beyond a consumer mindset, where church is about what we receive, to a community-focused approach, where we actively participate and contribute to the body of Christ. The message was clear: the church is not just a place we attend but a living, breathing community that God has called to be His hands and feet in the world.

As we concluded, we were reminded of the hope and power available to us through the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit that empowered the early church is available to us today, calling us to be a transformative force in our communities. We were invited to repent of any self-centeredness and to recommit to being a unified body, ready to impact the world for Christ.

Key Takeaways

1. focused approach, where we actively participate and contribute to the body of Christ. [53:01]
4. The Power of Unity: The church is not just a place we attend but a living, breathing community that God has called to be His hands and feet in the world. Our unity and collective witness are essential to fulfilling our mission.

5. Hope and Transformation: Despite challenges, there is hope for the church today. The same Holy Spirit that empowered the early church is available to us, calling us to be a transformative force in our communities. We must repent of self-centeredness and recommit to being a unified body.

** [53:01]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:25] - Opening Worship and Prayer
[27:33] - Introduction to the Word
[28:59] - The Birth of the Church
[30:45] - Jesus' Command to the Disciples
[32:37] - The Day of Pentecost
[37:01] - The Church's Expansion and Persecution
[38:36] - The Church as a Transformative Force
[40:07] - Challenges Facing the Modern Church
[46:09] - Cultural Influences on the Church
[50:09] - Individualism vs. Community
[53:01] - Consumerism in the Church
[55:35] - The Call to Evangelism
[58:36] - Renewing Our Minds
[60:27] - One Body, One Spirit
[62:01] - Communion and Repentance
[67:21] - The Lord's Supper
[76:41] - Closing Prayer and Song
[84:01] - Believing in God's Power
[86:14] - Sending Out with a Blessing

Sermon Clips

1. "One day, we're going to stand before you face to face. Will I bow? Will I dance? Will I cry? I don't know. But I know that I know that I know as you live within me that one day you're coming for me, whether I'm resurrected from the dead or whether I meet you in the sky. Father, thank you for that hope that each one of us can have here today. We have one faith, one hope, and one God, his Son and the Holy Spirit. Thank you, Jesus, for all that you've done to make a way for our salvation that we can have the hope of one day when you come back again that we will be with you forever. The glorious hope, the blessed hope. Thank you, Jesus. We worship you today. We give you all of the honor and praise that you deserve in this place today for you are God alone. There is no God like you." [00:27:12] (64 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

2. "On the day of Pentecost, it says they were gathered and praying and the place begin to shake. Imagine if that was us praying right now, like waiting and the place begin to shake and fire begin to like fall things like fire and the wind begin to blow. And all of a sudden God manifest in such a physical and real and tangible way that these people were transformed and power to witness. They were given the gift of tongues so they were able to go out to speak to all the people who had gathered from all around that spoke many different languages they were able to go out and declare the wonders of god in the language of the people that were listening and the people were like what do you hear them talking they were declaring the praise of god some thought they were drunk so it must have been quite a scene but that's what began to happen as they begin with the power of the holy spirit to be the witnesses of the kingdom of god wow i just think wow that must have been an incredible time the church as we know it today was born restored and redeemed israel and before long the gentiles would be welcomed in and all who would would call upon the name of the Lord, would be saved." [00:32:37] (87 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

3. "Imagine how radical we would have to be for the Holy Spirit to show up today and we be so completely transformed that we just throw everything into the air. And we're just going to sell our possessions and give to anyone who had need and just meet together and pray together and break bread together and do miracles together and praise God together, and the whole world would see it, and the world would have a witness that Jesus had indeed empowered the witness of his church through sending the Holy Spirit. He is the ascended king, right? He's alive. He's alive. He's alive. And he sent the Spirit. He's going to be alive within us so we could be his church. Wow. That's what it says. I was looking at that today, and that's what I said. The early church, they were a Holy Spirit -filled, culture -transforming, kingdom -expanding force. Bam. Took me a few minutes to put that together." [00:35:17] (61 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

4. "But, like, they really did it, just like what Jesus said. It started in Jerusalem. It wasn't long before you get to about Acts chapter 5. They're going out into Judea. But then what? What happens? Kingdoms in conflict. The powers saw the church, and they thought, uh -oh, what if we're losing control? So then persecution began. Stephen was killed, stoned for his faith. And so then what happened? The persecution for that 120, and then they became 3,000. They began to grow, and the persecution began to set in such that they had to spread out and go all around. But guess what went with them? The gospel. They tried to stop it, but uh -uh. The persecution only sent the gospel out further. And then in Antioch, they have a group of, it doesn't even name who they were in the Bible, but men went to Antioch, and they began to share the gospel with Gentiles, and there we were first called Christians." [00:37:00] (62 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

5. "I want us to be making a difference. Do you know I got a call this week from someone who wanted to jump off a bridge? No hope. I got a call this week from someone whose close relative killed their spouse and turned the gun on themselves. A murder -suicide. The world is dark. I want more than anything to figure out, God, how do we become that church today? Is anyone with me? What, like, what's, what are we missing? We believe it. It's not that we don't believe it, but, like, why isn't it so much working for us today? And I pondered that a lot. I have been pondering it a lot. But, you know, I also was thinking about something this week." [00:40:25] (49 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

6. "I get the goosebumps come on now the fastest growing church in the world is the underground persecuted church in Iran led by women and mostly a house church kind of movement they have its grassroots and they have testimonies all the time of dreams and visions and miracles and all the things I talked to a pastor that I'm kind of connected with he he's um he was just in India recently and he said Jody we're Nazarene clergy we have no clue over here I said what do you mean he said I was wrecked I went to India and we we brought the gospel to a place and we'd go into a town and then people none none of them are Christian and we'd go into a town and I would say well how do you he said I said I'm like how do you get anyone to believe in Jesus like we can't convince anyone here like we try our best we have a really hard time he said well it's very simple we just go in and ask who they're sicker and we call the sick out to the streets and we heal them and then people will listen and we share the gospel and people get saved oh yeah okay I'll do that okay right so is is the church still alive today go online and look at some stories about South Korea there was a pastor on our chat on our freedom ministries chat just telling me about their all -night prayer meeting and how many people sent me a picture of how many people went to pray all night okay great good China refugee camps in Syria where Muslims are coming to faith because of the people in the church share in the love of Christ so let me ask you is the church still the church today yes so I asked God so what is the problem what what is wrong with us Jesus I'm gonna say sometimes my prayers a little bit do any of your prayers ever look like that you know you know what and Listen, he speaks through his word." [00:43:52] (126 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

7. "But here's what I heard the Spirit saying to me. We're letting the culture influence the church instead of the church in North America influencing the culture. That's what he said in my spirit. When I found it in the word, authenticating it, he said, beware of the yeast. Now, I don't think we need to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees today, but we need to beware of the yeast of the culture coming to influence the church instead of the church influencing the culture. I mean, that's some truth there." [00:46:09] (32 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

8. "We have a culture in North America of individualism. And what that does is it impacts the church when we let that sneak in. But let's just look at it for a minute. The highest goal in our culture is individual freedom, self -reliance, and personal achievement. Let me explain. In our culture today, individual freedom is everything. I have the autonomy to make decisions, to govern my life, and nobody and no institution and no person can make anything, say anything about me. I am free to be who I want, to say what I want, to do what I want, to go where I want, to identify how I want, to love who I want. I am the boss of me, and that is what we value the most in our culture today, in our culture." [00:47:54] (55 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

9. "We probably are pretty good moral people. We're probably in the Bible and prayer on our own, but we are lonely, disengaged, disconnected, and not accountable, but yet the witness of the church is to missions of justice and mercy and reconciliation and evangelism. Do you see what happens to the church when the yeast of the world begins to work its way through the dough? It's kind of sad. We end up walking alone and not walking with others, so my question is what do we do? Is there any hope? Is there any hope for the church in North America? Come on now. Come on now. Yes, there is hope. Do you know why? Because we have the same God yesterday, today, and forever, and the same Holy Spirit that came on the 120 then can come on the 120 now. Amen? Yes. Is there hope for the church? Yes." [00:56:25] (62 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

10. "We need to get, let me say it again, the stinking worldly thinking out the church. We need, as the Bible would say in a little bit more sweet of a way, we need to not conform to the patterns of this world, but we need to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. We need to change the way we think. I want to give you these just to ponder today. We need to begin to think we, not me. It's not all about you. Your whole faith and your coming today to be part of the church is because you are part of us, and we need you. We need the gifts that God has put in you. Not everyone was Peter in the early church, but it was the church, the we, that made the witness that impact the world. Peter did what he was supposed to do. He prayed. He preached. I'll do my part, but guess what? We all got to do our part. We all are the church. It's a we, not a me. We got to think give, not get. What do I have to bring to the table? How can we make a difference together? Not just what do I get out of this, and not walking alone, but who are we walking with?" [00:58:36] (78 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

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