May 22, 2025 • 41 mins
Ever felt like sharing your faith is too intimidating? Like you're standing 300 feet up, afraid to "pull the cord" and take the plunge into witnessing? This powerful message tackles the uncomfortable truth that many Christians avoid evangelism out of fear or perceived inadequacy.
Drawing from Acts 1:8, we discover the transformative secret to witnessing – it's not about our eloquence or theological expertise, but about the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit working through our simple testimony. The Greek word for power here is "dunamis" – the root of our word dynamite – suggesting an explosive spiritual force capable of breaking through even the hardest hearts.
We were created for more than comfortable Christianity. While only about 10% of believers may have the spiritual gift of evangelism, every follower of Jesus carries the call to witness. This message unpacks a practical four-step approach anyone can use: ask their story, share your story, tell Jesus' story, and invite them into God's story.
Jesus instructed us to be witnesses in our Jerusalem (people we know and love), our Judea (people around us), our Samaria (people different from us), and to the ends of the earth (people far from us). This comprehensive approach ensures no one is excluded from hearing the gospel.
Why did Jesus ascend to heaven rather than staying physically present? Because "God inside you is better than God beside you." The indwelling Holy Spirit provides supernatural power for witness that transcends our human limitations. Are you ready to pull the cord and discover the exhilarating adventure of Spirit-empowered evangelism?
Thanks for listening! Find us on Instagram or visit our Website.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, good morning.
Aren't you glad to be in churchthis morning?
Put your hands together onemore time for all of our
first-time guests, for oneanother and all that God is
doing.
God is so good.
If you're a first-time guestwith us here at First Baptist
Church, powder Springs, justwant you to know that we are one
church and we are in twoservices 930 and 11, but we have
one purpose and that is toworship our one Lord and Savior,
(00:23):
jesus Christ.
What an honor it is to be onechurch.
Everybody say one One, and Ilove that.
Today is Graduation Recognition.
Sunday, in the first service,when the graduates were up on
stage, I was in the front rowand I guess I hadn't thought
about it in a while.
I was kind of doing the mathand I thought man, I graduated a
few years ago, you're right,and I'm doing the math.
(00:44):
And it hit me that it will be30 years next year since I've
graduated high school.
So I'm doing the math in myhead like man.
It's 29 years ago.
I was getting older just whileI was sitting there and because
I just could not believe howlong that it had been.
And I still remember thatexperience.
I remember my senior year wewent down to Pompano Beach kind
(01:06):
of Miami Beach area of Floridafor our senior trip and I went
to Tuscaloosa Christian HighSchool there in Tuscaloosa,
alabama, and so we probably had20 or so wasn't a huge high
school, about 20 or so going onour senior trip.
And I remember getting down toMiami and I just remember we
just got scorched by the Floridasun.
I remember how sunburnt we wereall week long.
(01:29):
We were not ready for the Miamisun.
And I also remember aboutmidway through, about midweek
Wednesday, we had gone to somelike putt-putt, golf, go-kart,
whatever place, track you know.
But I remember at the time theyhad what was known as the
largest pendulum swing in all ofthe Southeast.
It was about 300 feet high.
(01:51):
So I remember, man, we wantedto do it.
So me and two other buddies,they put us all in this harness.
I remember I was in the middleand I had a buddy here.
My buddy, adam, was right hereand I remember them telling my
buddy Adam, now when you get tothe top, you got to pull the
cord for you guys to swing down.
And so they start, they startputting us through the top and
300 feet high they pull us allthe way to the top and we are
(02:14):
pointing straight down like nosediving to the ground.
Right, we're looking in beneathus, at the on the ground, right
, there was concrete some 300feet down.
So there we are at the top,hanging upside down, looking
straight at the ground, and wehear, 300 feet down, pull the
cord, pull the cord.
And I said, adam, do not pullthat cord.
(02:35):
Whatever you do, don't pull,we'll just stay here forever.
Don't pull the cord, pull thecord.
He's like I'm gonna pull the,don't pull the cord.
So we're having an argumentabout 300 feet high, right?
Finally, adam pulls the gourdand we go nosediving, face first
, free falling to the ground.
I said every Christian cussword I could think of, like
Shadrach, meshach, abednego, orwhatever it was right, whatever
(02:57):
it was.
And so we're free falling tothe ground and the swing catches
after 300 feet.
The swing catches six feet fromthe ground, right, and so we
are nose diving to concrete,saying every Christian customer
we got.
And so it catches and we swingup in the air.
We're screaming like girls, youknow.
(03:17):
And then we just man, it wascrazy.
And then we just we figured outthis is the most exhilarating
ride ever right, because nowwe're swinging back and forth,
we're seeing Miami Beach, we'reseeing the city, we're seeing
the sunset, we're seeing allthis kind of stuff, and all
because we had to pull the cord.
Everybody say pull the cord,pull the cord.
(03:37):
Well, I want to encourage youin your life that, as a
Christian, here's what I findthat's true about me.
So I'm imagining, assuming,that the same is true about you.
In our Christian life, often weare tempted I am tempted, just
like you to play it safe.
Sometimes we are tempted tojust live a safe, comfortable
(04:00):
life, that we don't want to gothrough any difficulty in our
life.
But God says that we have beenmade for more.
Everybody say more.
I want you to know this morningthat you are made for more than
comfort.
You are made for more thansafety.
You are made for more than tododge, than to avoid difficulty
(04:23):
in your life.
We are made for the mission ofJesus.
Everybody say mission.
We're made for the mission ofJesus.
What is the mission of Jesus?
It is to spread the gospel,jesus tells us, throughout the
earth.
Now I just want to be real,honest and transparent as a
pastor, with you this morning.
Witnessing is not easy for mostpeople, in fact, only about 10%
(04:46):
of people would say that theyactually have the gift of
evangelism.
But just because we may nothave the gift, maybe you don't
have the gift of evangelism,doesn't mean that you don't have
the call of evangelism Everysingle Christian we're gonna see
in the word of God today.
We're all called to witness,we're all called to spread the
gospel of Jesus Christ.
But it's not always easy.
It's not always easy for you,it's not always easy for me.
(05:09):
I remember some 10 years ago wewere living in Woodstock,
georgia, at First Baptist Church, woodstock, and I remember
going down to Georgia StateUniversity and we were just
going to share the gospel withsome friends and just do some
evangelization.
And I remember talking with aguy there on the Georgia State
campus and I remember saying hey, just tell me a little bit
about what you believe.
(05:30):
And he said well, I don'tbelieve anything.
Well, I said, but you gottabelieve in something, right?
He said no, I literally don'tbelieve in anything.
He said I don't even believethat there is right and wrong.
I said that's impossible.
I said well, you mean anybodycan just walk up to anybody and
say whatever they want?
Yeah, if it's right for them.
Anybody can just walk up toanybody at any time and
(05:50):
physically hurt them yeah, ifit's right for them.
Anybody can walk up to anybodyat any time and just kill them
yeah, if it's just right forthem.
I'm like somebody arrest thisguy right here, right.
And I started going down all ofthese different avenues and I'm
not even going to share thingsthat I asked him.
I won't share it publiclybecause I really wanted to see
(06:12):
do you really believe thatthere's no such thing as right
and wrong?
And sure enough, he believedthere's no such thing as right
and wrong.
And he looked at me and he saidnow you tell me what you
believe.
And he looked at me and he saidnow you tell me what you
believe.
And I said well, since you ask,I believe that there is a God
who is present, who's existent,who's eternal.
I believe that God iseverywhere.
(06:33):
I believe that his home isheaven.
I believe that God sent his sonJesus.
I believe that Jesus came tothe earth.
I believe that Jesus lived aperfect life.
I believe that Jesus sufferedand he died a death for our sins
.
I believe that Jesus rose fromthe dead after he was buried for
three days he rose from thedead.
I believe that he gave hisdisciples his mission for the
last 40 days before he ascendedback to the Father in heaven and
(06:55):
Jesus is coming back again oneday.
And I will never forget thelook on this guy's face.
He looked at me like I hadthree heads.
He looked at me like I wasabsolutely crazy right.
He looked at me like I believedin some alien that came from
outer space and he went back andhe's coming back again into the
mothership.
That's what it felt like, andsometimes that's what it feels
(07:15):
like for you, because sometimes,when we are sharing the gospel
of Jesus Christ, we realize whatis happening in that moment.
What is happening in thatmoment that we are speaking to
someone who does not believe andat that moment, at that time,
can we just be honest in theroom for a second?
We feel completely powerless,and I want you to know that that
(07:41):
is actually a good feeling foryou to feel, because you are
powerless, because you arepowerless, because I am
powerless.
There is nothing in us, there'snothing of us, there is nothing
about us apart from God, thatwe have any business, that we
have any authority, that we haveany truth, that we have any
power when it comes to spreadingthe gospel of Jesus, and I
(08:04):
think sometimes that's why, asChristians, we often choose not
to witness, because we get sointimidated by this.
And so what I want you to seethis morning you can turn with
me to Acts, chapter 1 thismorning.
I want you to see this morningthat Jesus, he constantly told
his disciples about the way inwhich they were to live when he
(08:27):
ascended into heaven.
So the day that he resurrectedLuke 24, we talked about it last
week Jesus was going over theGreat Commission with them and
he was telling them look, I wantyou to be witnesses for me, to
all the nations, me to all thenations.
And then, in Matthew 28, iswhen Jesus told them, somewhere
in the middle of those 40 daysbetween his resurrection and his
(08:49):
ascension, in Acts 1, this isthe time that Jesus is going to
tell them right before heascends.
I mean, it is that moment,right before his ascension, that
we get to see that he is againsharing the great commission.
So why does Jesus share thegreat commission with them over
and, over and over again?
(09:10):
It is because that they neededto be reminded of it, just like
I need to be reminded of it,just like you need to be
reminded of it.
We need to hear it many times.
So, as we've been going throughthis series, we've been reciting
together Matthew, chapter 28,.
Jesus' great commission.
In Matthew, can we all standtogether here in this moment?
Just stand together, as in thismoment, just stand together, as
(09:31):
we've been doing this just forthis six-week series, and I just
want you to read this with meMatthew 28, 19 and 20.
Let's read it together.
Go, therefore, and makedisciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name ofthe Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, teaching themto observe all that I have
commanded you and behold, putyour hands together for the
(09:56):
words of Jesus.
God is so good you can have aseat.
This morning.
I want to talk to you about thesecret to witnessing, the
secret to witnessing.
I believe that there issomething true about you and
about the witnessing that Jesushas called you and me to do that
if we don't understand this, wewill struggle all of our lives
(10:22):
and, unfortunately, possiblylive all of our lives without
being the witness that Jesus hascalled us to.
And what is that secret?
First of all, it is power.
Everyone say power, power.
Jesus is telling you that thereis something that is true about
you that you may not even know.
In fact, even if you know aboutthe power that is in you, you
(10:45):
are not even and I'm not evenfully aware.
We don't fully understand, wedon't even fully comprehend the
power that is within us.
Here's what Jesus says in Acts,chapter 1, verse 8.
He says but you will receivepower when the Holy Spirit has
come upon you.
You will receive power when theHoly Spirit has come upon you.
(11:06):
You won't believe what thatword you means in the Greek.
The word you in the Greek.
This is crazy.
It actually means you.
Isn't that nuts?
No one would have ever guessedthat.
Right, it means you.
Now notice, jesus didn't saythey.
He didn't say them.
He didn't say just for hisapostles, just for his disciples
(11:26):
.
Jesus said you, because Jesusmeans this for me and he means
it for you, for we will receivepower from the Holy Spirit when
the Holy Spirit comes upon us.
The purpose of the Holy Spiritin your life is to give you the
(11:48):
very power of Jesus Christ.
You realize that you have theHoly Spirit in you in such of a
way that they did not get toexperience.
In the Old Testament, all thosedays leading up to Jesus, it was
prophesied.
They prophesied the Holy Spirit, isaiah 61.1,.
The Spirit of the Lord, god isupon me because the Lord has
(12:13):
anointed me.
These are prophesied wordsabout Jesus and about us To
bring the good news, that's thegospel To who the poor.
He has sent me, sent up to bindup who the brokenhearted, to
proclaim liberty, the liberty ofthe gospel To who the captives,
and the opening of the gospelTo who, the captives, in the
opening of the prison to who?
To those who are bound.
(12:35):
The Old Testament prophesiedthat there would come a day that
all believers, that allChristians, would be empowered
by the same power.
It was promised by the sameperson, the person of the Holy
Spirit.
And look at what the NewTestament says about you today.
You got to believe this aboutyourself.
It says in him, in Jesus.
(12:56):
When you heard the word oftruth, that's the gospel.
When you heard the word of thegospel, the gospel of your
salvation, when you believed inJesus, that is when you were
sealed with the promised HolySpirit.
When you were sealed with thepromised Holy Spirit, the moment
(13:16):
you were saved, god says in hisword, he promises it to be true
that you received, that youwere given the gift of the Holy
Spirit in you and you weresealed with the promised Holy
Spirit, which means you havethat third person of the Trinity
(13:37):
within you.
He is a promise, he is a power,but also he is a person.
Did you know that?
The word when Jesus said andyou will receive power?
Did you know that word power?
The Greek word is dunamis,where we get our English word
dynamite?
You realize that dynamite is oneof the most powerful things
(13:59):
that humanity has invented andit has actually done a lot of
good.
Back in the 1930s they had amajor issue that the Colorado
River was blocking the way andall of the rock around there was
blocking the way from manypeople getting power and many
people getting food and manypeople getting water.
And so what they did is theytook eight and a half million
(14:23):
pounds of dynamite to blastthrough over 45 million cubic
yards of rock.
And so they took all that eightand a half million pounds of
dynamite, they took it down tothat Colorado River area and
they started blasting throughrock and they made tunnels and
they made passageways and theyredirected the river and they
(14:45):
were able to then construct theHoover Dam and now, even today,
millions of people continue toget water and food and power
just because of all of thateffort they did because they
used dynamite.
You realize that God has givenyou dunamis.
(15:05):
He's given you power within you, and the power within you is
able to blast through the heart,the rock hardest of hearts in
your life, so that they canbelieve the gospel.
I've seen it for myself.
I've seen the people who arethe furthest away from god that
(15:26):
they give their life to God, notbecause whoever was witnessing
was some incredible witness.
I think.
Often we think I don't get it.
I don't have the arguments, Idon't have the debates, I don't
have all the words that it takesin order to share my faith with
someone else, and I need you tohear me say it is not going to
(15:47):
be what you do, it's going to bewhat the Holy Spirit does in
you and what the Holy Spiritdoes through you.
What we need to do, what I needto do, what you need to do, is
just to continue to submit andsurrender ourselves to the Holy
Spirit, to grow in the power ofthe Holy Spirit in our life.
So how do we grow in the powerof the Holy Spirit?
(16:11):
Well, ephesians 5 tells us.
Ephesians 5 tells you how youcan grow in the power of the
Holy Spirit.
It says and do not get drunkwith wine, for that's debauchery
or that is just beingcompletely out of control, but
be filled with the Spirit.
Now time out for a second.
If God just wanted to tell usto be filled with the Spirit,
(16:35):
why did he have to go to thewhole don't get drunk with wine
thing?
Here's why Because people thatfeel weak or people that feel
powerless, people that feelhopeless, people that feel like
they need something else in themto make them feel more like
themselves or less likethemselves, they turn to other
substances, and many people turnto drunkenness.
(16:58):
On alcohol, when God is sayingI've got something that's far
better.
I've got the Holy Spirit thatyou can drink from.
I've got the Holy Spirit thatcan be inside of you.
I've got the Holy Spirit thatyou can drink from.
I've got the Holy Spirit thatcan be inside of you.
I've got the Holy Spirit thatcan give you power.
I've got the Holy Spirit thatcan give you hope.
I've got the Holy Spirit thatcan give you peace.
I've got the Holy Spirit thatcan give you clarity of mind.
(17:21):
I've got the Holy Spirit thatcan solve any and every single
issue in your life.
He said don't get drunk withwine that's out of control, but
be filled with the Spirit.
And how we receive the HolySpirit at our salvation.
But how do you get continuallyfilled with the Holy Spirit in
your salvation?
(17:41):
He says by addressing oneanother in the Psalms.
That is the word of God, thatyou are being filled with the
Holy Spirit in a continual way.
Just by being in the word ofGod, as you are reading the word
of God, you're being filledwith the Holy Spirit.
He says addressing one anotherin the Psalms and hymns and
(18:01):
spiritual songs, singing andmaking melody to the Lord with
your heart.
What is that?
That is worship?
That's worship when you areworshiping Jesus with your heart
.
What is that?
That is worship?
That's worship when you areworshiping Jesus with your life,
in the way in which that yousing, when you are getting in
the word of God so the word ofGod can get in you.
The Bible says that you arebeing filled with the Holy
(18:22):
Spirit.
In other words, I wouldencourage you these three ways
Number one word.
Number two, worship.
And number three he said you'redoing it with one another,
which means never underestimatewhat God is doing in your life.
Right here, right now, when weare together with one another,
(18:42):
gathered as the body of JesusChrist, god is saying I am
filling you with my spirit.
There is something that happenswhen we prioritize the
gathering of the body of JesusChrist in worship, in the word,
when we're together as brothersand sisters.
That doesn't happen the sameway throughout all of the rest
of life.
When we prioritize this, thatGod is filling you.
(19:05):
God is filling your family, godis filling your children with
the Holy Spirit.
There is nothing more importantthan this of what God wants to
do in your life.
That's how we're filled withthe power of God.
Secondly, I want you to see theplan.
Everybody say plan, plan.
I want you to see Jesus' planthere.
He is talking to his disciples,talking to his apostles.
(19:26):
He is just about to ascend toheaven.
He says look, the Holy Spirit'sgonna come, you're gonna
receive him, you're gonna getempowered by him.
And then here's what Jesus says.
He says you'll receive powerwhen the Holy Spirit has come
upon you and you will be mywitnesses.
Now, this is so interestingbecause he's only talking to
(19:49):
probably 12 men at this pointand he's talking about the whole
world and he says you're goingto a power that's gonna come
upon you and you're gonna be mywitnesses and he's speaking to
them and he's speaking throughthem to every other believer.
He's talking about the HolySpirit, that promise, that power
, that person that is withinevery believer.
(20:10):
But here's what I need you tohear the word witness.
It's a very interesting word.
You ever done a study on thisword witness?
And what Jesus said is trueabout you and true about me.
Did you know that this Greekword witness is martus?
Martus?
They would use this word forsomeone they would bring into a
(20:32):
court case and they wouldprioritize or they would value
an eyewitness or a firsthandexperience over anything, over
anyone else in a court case.
Back then, in that day, theywere the martus.
The martus would come in andsay this is what I experienced,
this is what I saw, and oftenthey would make verdicts based
(20:53):
upon the martus.
Well, in the same way, here'swhat Jesus is saying.
Jesus is saying listen, you'renot my debaters, you're not my
arguers, you're not someonethat's coming up with all of
these different proofs in life.
You're not my defense attorneys.
I've heard someone say Jesussaid you are my witnesses.
(21:15):
You are just sharing withpeople firsthand, eyewitness
account of what Jesus has donein your life.
Now, to be honest with you,I've never been a part of a
court case.
I've never been in a deposition.
I've never been in thatcourtroom where the lawyers are
getting people to go up on standon trial and share their
testimonies and all that kind ofstuff.
(21:36):
But it applies in other ways.
Like I love to be an eyewitness, I love to be a first-hand
experience of where people needto go eat because I love food.
Can I get an amen?
Right, I love to be like I'veexperienced it.
You need to go get it.
Like y'all know, I love someTexas Roadhouse, but I also love
some Southern Barbecue.
Can I and amen man, I love mesome Southern barbecue and I
(21:59):
love the whole experience.
I like to choose the restaurantwhere it is like quantity and
quality all at the same time,right, and I want the appetizer,
I want the meal, I want thedessert.
One of my favorite.
There's a lot of great barbecueplaces around and I don't like
to rank them necessarily, butone of my favorites for the
whole experience is the Jim andNick's barbecue.
Okay, so I love Jim and Nick's,and why?
Because you go and you sit down, you get your drinks, so
(22:21):
they'll slap down a sweet tearight there, but that's not.
They go ahead and get to it.
They go ahead and bring yousome of those cheese biscuits Am
I preaching or am I preaching?
They bring you that basket.
Some of y'all are likesalivating right now.
They bring you that basket ofcheese biscuits right then,
right there, and you can't eatjust one.
Can I get an amen?
(22:41):
You cannot eat just one, man.
It's like another basket please.
And so if you have any roomleft from the cheese biscuits,
what I love to get is that fattymarbly brisket, right, and it's
gotta have like, those burntends, those burnt edges on it.
They bring out the red sauce,they bring out the white sauce.
I love their potato salad, Ilove their baked beans and, man,
(23:06):
I just love to gorge myself insome Jim and Nick's.
I think I'm eating for Jim andfor Nick right there, and so I
just, man, I love Jim and Nick'sand but it's not done right,
when you've already eaten allthat food and then you got to
get for dessert.
You got to get dessert whileyou're there and you got to get
the lemon pie.
All right, the lemon pie.
It is the sweetest.
It's cold, it's tart and it'sgot like a quarter-inch graham
cracker crust on the bottom.
It will make you lick youreyebrows.
(23:27):
I mean it's unbelievable.
It's so good and you get thewhole experience right and let's
all just leave right now and goto Jim and Nick's.
Let's go, let's go Now.
Sometimes, if you're a foodielike me, sometimes we can get
more excited and even morecomfortable telling somebody
about our restaurant, tellingsomebody about food, than we can
(23:49):
about our Savior.
Isn't it interesting that theBible says in Psalm 34, verse 8,
it says taste and see that theLord is good.
Maybe we need to talk aboutJesus a little bit more like a
meal.
Maybe we want to be like hey,let me tell you about the
appetizer.
Let me tell you where Jesusstarted, man.
Where it all started was isthat God created you, and he
(24:11):
created you out of nothing.
And he created you because hehad a purpose for your life,
because he loves you.
And let me tell you Jesus, man,he's already done all this.
This is the appetizer.
It's already happened.
Jesus has already come down outof heaven, he's already lived
in your place, he's already goneto the cross, he's already died
for your sin, he's alreadyrisen from the dead, he's
already ascended back to heaven.
And now, boom, you're born2,000 years later.
(24:38):
And that's just the appetizer.
But let me get to the meal.
Here's the meal.
The meal is that God says thatyou can believe in him, that God
can save you, that God canforgive you of your sins, that
you can have a fixed home inheaven, forever, eternal
security, and that God canforgive you and save you, and
that God can come into your life.
And here's the dessert, here'sthe best part.
And then God starts arelationship with you and God
just wants to bless you, and Godwants to speak to you, and God
(25:01):
wants to fill you with hisspirit, and God wants to put
purpose into your life and hewants you to understand the
destiny for your life.
Man, don't you want toexperience God?
Can I get an amen?
Man, that's who we're called tobe as witnesses, because we
have firsthand experienced thegoodness of God in our life.
(25:25):
So what I want you to see herefrom this passage is that
sometimes people say well, Idon't know what to tell a lost
person.
Can I just remind you that ifyou are saved, you know enough
for someone else to get saved.
If you are saved, you alreadyknow enough for someone else to
get saved.
You just tell them how you gotsaved and they can get saved the
(25:48):
same way you got saved.
There's only one way to getsaved Can I get an amen?
And that is to make Jesus theLord of your life, to believe
that Jesus died for your sin, tobelieve that Jesus rose from
the sin, to believe that Jesusrose from the dead, to believe
that Jesus is God and to ask himto receive him as the Lord of
your life.
I would encourage you to writethis down or take a picture of
this.
(26:08):
This is a simple outline of howyou can share the gospel with
anybody.
Number one ask them their storyfirst.
Ask them about them, becauseyou get to hear from them things
they're struggling with,questions they have answers they
need in their life and you getto connect the rest to them.
Then you get to tell them yourstory where you came from, what
(26:30):
you were struggling with, howyou received Jesus into your
life, and then you get to tellthem the story of Jesus and all
that Jesus did for them.
The story of Jesus and all thatJesus did for them and how
Jesus did it all because heloved them.
Jesus just wants to save them.
And then you get to invite theminto God's story.
Do you want to give your lifeto God right now?
And that's why I preach thegospel every single Sunday.
(26:52):
I preach the gospel everysingle Sunday and we do the
salvation prayer every singleSunday.
Why Number one?
Because I believe that anySunday could be anyone's day of
salvation.
I want you to feel free tobring somebody in that needs
Jesus on any Sunday and theycould get saved on any given
Sunday.
But also, I do it every Sundayso you can hear it repeated over
(27:15):
and over and over on a weeklybasis, so that you can do it in
your life as well for someoneelse.
That is the plan of salvation.
We have the power of the HolySpirit.
We have the plan of salvation.
And then, lastly, is people.
Everyone say people, people, orthe question is, who is it that
(27:36):
Jesus is sending us to?
He says in Acts 1.8,.
He says again but you willreceive power when the Holy
Spirit comes upon you and youwill be my witnesses.
He says in Jerusalem, in allJudea, in all Samaria and to the
ends of the earth.
Now let me just make aninteresting point real quick,
(27:59):
and you're probably not going tolike what I say at first.
Isn't it interesting that Jesusdid not say and you will be my
worshipers and you will be myBible studiers, and you will be
my Bible studiers and you willbe my small groupers or my
(28:22):
Sunday schoolers or my servantson Sunday or my volunteers or
whatever it is.
He didn't even say you will bemy dogs.
He didn't say any of that,right?
What did Jesus say?
He said you will be mywitnesses.
Why, while worshiping andstudying the word and being in
(28:43):
group together and serving Jesusand all of those, and
volunteering and all of thosethings are so important.
And Jesus did say them atdifferent times throughout his
life and ministry.
But he called us one thing, onefinal instruction before he
left for heaven.
And Jesus said you will be mywitnesses.
(29:03):
Why?
Because the pinnacle, theheight, the most important
calling of the Christian life isto witness firsthand experience
to other other people whatJesus has done in you, so that
he can do it in them.
And where do we do that?
Jesus said to do that inJerusalem and in all Judea and
(29:27):
Samaria and to the ends of theearth.
You may have heard this preachedbefore, like I have, and I've
heard many people say so.
That means you start in yourcity and you go to your state,
then you go to your country andthen you go out of your country
and you go around the world.
And that is true.
I think that Jesus does meanthis geographically.
(29:48):
I think Jesus is saying we needto be witnessing our city, our
state, our country, and to othernations as well, to other
countries around the world.
I think that Jesus does mean itgeographically, but hear me for
a second.
I think Jesus also means itpersonally, personal to you and
personal to these people.
Let me show you what I thinkJesus is saying.
(30:09):
I think Jesus is saying thatyour Jerusalem, like as they
were living in Jerusalem, yourJerusalem are those who you know
and those who you love.
These are your friends andfamily, that we are called to
live the gospel before them andto share the gospel with them.
They're Judea.
The Judea was those around themand near them.
(30:30):
In other words, jerusalem was acity in the region of Judea.
And so Jesus is saying go intoall Judea.
He's saying anybody around you,anybody near you, I want to
encourage you.
He's saying share the gospel,share my name with them.
Samaria, samaria the Samaritanswere people that other people
did not like, because theSamaritans were Jews and
(30:52):
Gentiles that came together,they compromised, and so people
were often racially dividedagainst the Samaritans, and
Jesus is saying I don't wantthere to be any racial division.
Jesus is saying I don't wantyou to hate anybody.
Jesus is saying I want you tosee that everybody is created in
my image.
You all have sin in your life.
You all got stuff in your past.
You all need to be forgiven.
(31:12):
So I want you to go toabsolutely anybody and everybody
.
Even.
Go to absolutely anybody andeverybody, even those that are
different from you, even thosethat may not like you.
You go to them and share themthe love of Jesus.
And Jesus said and I want youto go to the end of the earth,
those far from you.
I believe we are called to go tothe nations.
I believe that we are doingmission trips this year, in 2025
.
We are going to go to PuertoRico, we are going to go to
(31:34):
Uganda, and I want to encourageyou to sign up for those trips,
as God makes that possible.
We have scholarship money tohelp and you'll be able to
fundraise, and all of that wecan make it to.
Wherever you can't afford, thatwe can cover.
We just believe that we arecalled to take the gospel to the
ends of the earth.
Can I get an amen?
(31:55):
So, wherever you are in yourwitnessing journey maybe you've
never witnessed before I justwant to encourage you.
Just pick somebody.
Just pick someone and pray forthem.
And pray for the opportunity toshare the gospel of Jesus, the
good news of Jesus, what he'sdone in your life as a firsthand
(32:17):
experience.
Just share the gospel of Jesus,the good news of Jesus, what
he's done in your life as afirsthand experience.
Just share the gospel withsomeone and then, once you share
the gospel with someone, andthen what Jesus is saying is now
you understand what it feelslike and, man, it feels good and
God worked in that moment andwhile they may not have been
saved in that moment, you knowit takes often several different
gospel encounters in order forsomeone to get saved and just
(32:40):
going up to somebody and saying,man, I'm going to share the
gospel with them and if theydon't get saved, I'm never doing
it again.
That would be like those peoplein the 1930s taking one stick
of dynamite right to all of that, the millions and millions of
cubic yards of rock, and sayingwe're just going to try one
stick of that.
Well, that didn't work, let'stry something else.
No, it takes time after timeafter time after time.
(33:03):
Sometimes it's the first time,sometimes it's many times.
And God is saying just witnessto someone, get comfortable to
where you can witness to anyone,so that, lord willing, one day
that you can witness toabsolutely everyone.
And then what Jesus says, whathe does in Acts 1-9.
He says and when Jesus had saidthese things and they were
(33:26):
looking on, jesus was lifted upand a cloud took him out of
their sight.
And Jesus is gone After some 33years on earth, some three
(33:46):
years of ministry that they'vebeen walking with him and
talking with him and he's beendiscipling them and he's been
training them and he's beenpreparing them.
And then he says now I want youto be my witnesses, and here's
the power in you, the HolySpirit, and he lifts up and he's
gone.
(34:06):
My question I wanna answer thismorning in closing is why?
Why did Jesus go?
Jesus told us.
He said nevertheless, I tellyou the truth.
It is to your advantage that Igo away, for if I do not go away
, the helper, the Holy Spirit,will not go away.
(34:26):
Sorry, will not come to you,but if I go I will send him to
you.
Here's what Jesus is saying Godinside you is better than God
beside you is better than Godbeside you.
God said in the whole OldTestament.
(34:46):
The people heard from God, butthey never got to physically
visibly see him with their eyes.
In the New Testament, theGospels, they got to physically
visibly see Jesus.
But today, in the church age,god is in us.
(35:12):
He's that power in you.
You have power over sin.
You have power unto obedience.
You have power for hope.
You have power for joy.
You have power for love.
You have the power of the HolySpirit.
But Jesus says what we areultimately called to use that
power for all of those things,but called to use the power of
the Holy Spirit to be hiswitnesses to those we know and
(35:37):
that we love, to those around us, to those not like us, to those
that are far from us.
So what I wanna encourage you todo this morning is pull the
cord.
God has more for you.
What you're experiencing inyour life, what you're living
for, what your goals are.
(35:57):
They may be great, they may behonorable to God, but I wanna
encourage you to make yourhighest goal, your greatest
dream, that God would use you,by the power of the Holy Spirit,
to be a witness of Jesus Christand to live on his mission,
(36:20):
because that's what you weremade for.
I'm gonna ask us to bow ourheads, close our eyes, no one
looking around.
I just want you to ask the HolySpirit right now, just to place
a name on your heart.
Holy Spirit, put a name on myheart.
(36:45):
Ask the Holy Spirit right nowto put a face in your mind.
Who is it that he is working inand calling for you to witness
to them, for you to witness tothem so that he can save them.
(37:05):
Who's your someone?
Who are your anyones?
And I want to encourage you.
Ask God for courage, ask Godfor boldness and ask God for
that power to go, to make anopportunity to talk to them
(37:25):
about Jesus.
Maybe you're here this morning.
You're thinking I can't.
I can't witness to anybodybecause I haven't given my life
to him yet.
I want you to know is right nowyou can give your life to him.
I'm just here to help you.
I can't do it for you, but I'mhere to help you and I believe
that, if that's really what youwanna do, I believe with all my
heart that God's word says thathe will save you, that today can
(37:47):
be the day of your salvation.
Right here, right now, you canpray something like this to him
in your own words, from your ownheart.
You can say dear Jesus, I needyou and I believe you.
Jesus, I believe that you diedon the cross for my sins and I
ask you to forgive me of all mysin.
And, jesus, I believe that yourose from the dead.
(38:08):
You're alive, you're real.
And, jesus, I pray that youwould come into my life, you
would be the Lord of my life.
The Bible says that if you callon Jesus to be your Lord, you
believe with your heart that Godraised him from the dead.
God promises you will be saved.
Tell him right now, jesus, Ibelieve in you.
(38:28):
Be the Lord of my life.
And, jesus, we believe that wethank you for that.
In Jesus' name, we pray and allGod's people said would you put
your hands together for anybodythat gave their life for Jesus.
This morning, nothing is moreimportant.
We just want to say welcome,welcome to the family.
We're so thankful for what Godhas done in you.
I want to ask us all to standup right now, and what we're
(38:50):
going to do is we're going toworship Jesus together, and I
just want to remind you here, inthis moment, that you are
worshiping the real, theresurrected Jesus.
I want to remind you that yourwords, your voice is not wasted.
I want to remind you that yourwords, your voice is not wasted,
that your worship is beingushered to the throne of heaven
and it reaches the ears of Jesus, and he is pleased in you.
(39:13):
I want to remind you that youwere made for more.
You were made for worship.
You were made for witness.
So let's give him the gloryright now, because when we
worship him, we are filled andempowered with the Holy Spirit.
Let's worship Jesus together.
Well, good morning.
Aren't you glad to be in churchthis morning?
Put your hands together onemore time for all of our
first-time guests, for oneanother and all that God is
doing.
God is so good.
If you're a first-time guestwith us here at First Baptist
Church, powder Springs, justwant you to know that we are one
church and we are in twoservices 930 and 11, but we have
one purpose and that is toworship our one Lord and Savior,
(00:23):
jesus Christ.
What an honor it is to be onechurch.
Everybody say one One, and Ilove that.
Today is Graduation Recognition.
Sunday, in the first service,when the graduates were up on
stage, I was in the front rowand I guess I hadn't thought
about it in a while.
I was kind of doing the mathand I thought man, I graduated a
few years ago, you're right,and I'm doing the math.
(00:44):
And it hit me that it will be30 years next year since I've
graduated high school.
So I'm doing the math in myhead like man.
It's 29 years ago.
I was getting older just whileI was sitting there and because
I just could not believe howlong that it had been.
And I still remember thatexperience.
I remember my senior year wewent down to Pompano Beach kind
(01:06):
of Miami Beach area of Floridafor our senior trip and I went
to Tuscaloosa Christian HighSchool there in Tuscaloosa,
alabama, and so we probably had20 or so wasn't a huge high
school, about 20 or so going onour senior trip.
And I remember getting down toMiami and I just remember we
just got scorched by the Floridasun.
I remember how sunburnt we wereall week long.
(01:29):
We were not ready for the Miamisun.
And I also remember aboutmidway through, about midweek
Wednesday, we had gone to somelike putt-putt, golf, go-kart,
whatever place, track you know.
But I remember at the time theyhad what was known as the
largest pendulum swing in all ofthe Southeast.
It was about 300 feet high.
(01:51):
So I remember, man, we wantedto do it.
So me and two other buddies,they put us all in this harness.
I remember I was in the middleand I had a buddy here.
My buddy, adam, was right hereand I remember them telling my
buddy Adam, now when you get tothe top, you got to pull the
cord for you guys to swing down.
And so they start, they startputting us through the top and
300 feet high they pull us allthe way to the top and we are
(02:14):
pointing straight down like nosediving to the ground.
Right, we're looking in beneathus, at the on the ground, right
, there was concrete some 300feet down.
So there we are at the top,hanging upside down, looking
straight at the ground, and wehear, 300 feet down, pull the
cord, pull the cord.
And I said, adam, do not pullthat cord.
(02:35):
Whatever you do, don't pull,we'll just stay here forever.
Don't pull the cord, pull thecord.
He's like I'm gonna pull the,don't pull the cord.
So we're having an argumentabout 300 feet high, right?
Finally, adam pulls the gourdand we go nosediving, face first
, free falling to the ground.
I said every Christian cussword I could think of, like
Shadrach, meshach, abednego, orwhatever it was right, whatever
(02:57):
it was.
And so we're free falling tothe ground and the swing catches
after 300 feet.
The swing catches six feet fromthe ground, right, and so we
are nose diving to concrete,saying every Christian customer
we got.
And so it catches and we swingup in the air.
We're screaming like girls, youknow.
(03:17):
And then we just man, it wascrazy.
And then we just we figured outthis is the most exhilarating
ride ever right, because nowwe're swinging back and forth,
we're seeing Miami Beach, we'reseeing the city, we're seeing
the sunset, we're seeing allthis kind of stuff, and all
because we had to pull the cord.
Everybody say pull the cord,pull the cord.
(03:37):
Well, I want to encourage youin your life that, as a
Christian, here's what I findthat's true about me.
So I'm imagining, assuming,that the same is true about you.
In our Christian life, often weare tempted I am tempted, just
like you to play it safe.
Sometimes we are tempted tojust live a safe, comfortable
(04:00):
life, that we don't want to gothrough any difficulty in our
life.
But God says that we have beenmade for more.
Everybody say more.
I want you to know this morningthat you are made for more than
comfort.
You are made for more thansafety.
You are made for more than tododge, than to avoid difficulty
(04:23):
in your life.
We are made for the mission ofJesus.
Everybody say mission.
We're made for the mission ofJesus.
What is the mission of Jesus?
It is to spread the gospel,jesus tells us, throughout the
earth.
Now I just want to be real,honest and transparent as a
pastor, with you this morning.
Witnessing is not easy for mostpeople, in fact, only about 10%
(04:46):
of people would say that theyactually have the gift of
evangelism.
But just because we may nothave the gift, maybe you don't
have the gift of evangelism,doesn't mean that you don't have
the call of evangelism Everysingle Christian we're gonna see
in the word of God today.
We're all called to witness,we're all called to spread the
gospel of Jesus Christ.
But it's not always easy.
It's not always easy for you,it's not always easy for me.
(05:09):
I remember some 10 years ago wewere living in Woodstock,
georgia, at First Baptist Church, woodstock, and I remember
going down to Georgia StateUniversity and we were just
going to share the gospel withsome friends and just do some
evangelization.
And I remember talking with aguy there on the Georgia State
campus and I remember saying hey, just tell me a little bit
about what you believe.
(05:30):
And he said well, I don'tbelieve anything.
Well, I said, but you gottabelieve in something, right?
He said no, I literally don'tbelieve in anything.
He said I don't even believethat there is right and wrong.
I said that's impossible.
I said well, you mean anybodycan just walk up to anybody and
say whatever they want?
Yeah, if it's right for them.
Anybody can just walk up toanybody at any time and
(05:50):
physically hurt them yeah, ifit's right for them.
Anybody can walk up to anybodyat any time and just kill them
yeah, if it's just right forthem.
I'm like somebody arrest thisguy right here, right.
And I started going down all ofthese different avenues and I'm
not even going to share thingsthat I asked him.
I won't share it publiclybecause I really wanted to see
(06:12):
do you really believe thatthere's no such thing as right
and wrong?
And sure enough, he believedthere's no such thing as right
and wrong.
And he looked at me and he saidnow you tell me what you
believe.
And he looked at me and he saidnow you tell me what you
believe.
And I said well, since you ask,I believe that there is a God
who is present, who's existent,who's eternal.
I believe that God iseverywhere.
(06:33):
I believe that his home isheaven.
I believe that God sent his sonJesus.
I believe that Jesus came tothe earth.
I believe that Jesus lived aperfect life.
I believe that Jesus sufferedand he died a death for our sins
.
I believe that Jesus rose fromthe dead after he was buried for
three days he rose from thedead.
I believe that he gave hisdisciples his mission for the
last 40 days before he ascendedback to the Father in heaven and
(06:55):
Jesus is coming back again oneday.
And I will never forget thelook on this guy's face.
He looked at me like I hadthree heads.
He looked at me like I wasabsolutely crazy right.
He looked at me like I believedin some alien that came from
outer space and he went back andhe's coming back again into the
mothership.
That's what it felt like, andsometimes that's what it feels
(07:15):
like for you, because sometimes,when we are sharing the gospel
of Jesus Christ, we realize whatis happening in that moment.
What is happening in thatmoment that we are speaking to
someone who does not believe andat that moment, at that time,
can we just be honest in theroom for a second?
We feel completely powerless,and I want you to know that that
(07:41):
is actually a good feeling foryou to feel, because you are
powerless, because you arepowerless, because I am
powerless.
There is nothing in us, there'snothing of us, there is nothing
about us apart from God, thatwe have any business, that we
have any authority, that we haveany truth, that we have any
power when it comes to spreadingthe gospel of Jesus, and I
(08:04):
think sometimes that's why, asChristians, we often choose not
to witness, because we get sointimidated by this.
And so what I want you to seethis morning you can turn with
me to Acts, chapter 1 thismorning.
I want you to see this morningthat Jesus, he constantly told
his disciples about the way inwhich they were to live when he
(08:27):
ascended into heaven.
So the day that he resurrectedLuke 24, we talked about it last
week Jesus was going over theGreat Commission with them and
he was telling them look, I wantyou to be witnesses for me, to
all the nations, me to all thenations.
And then, in Matthew 28, iswhen Jesus told them, somewhere
in the middle of those 40 daysbetween his resurrection and his
(08:49):
ascension, in Acts 1, this isthe time that Jesus is going to
tell them right before heascends.
I mean, it is that moment,right before his ascension, that
we get to see that he is againsharing the great commission.
So why does Jesus share thegreat commission with them over
and, over and over again?
(09:10):
It is because that they neededto be reminded of it, just like
I need to be reminded of it,just like you need to be
reminded of it.
We need to hear it many times.
So, as we've been going throughthis series, we've been reciting
together Matthew, chapter 28,.
Jesus' great commission.
In Matthew, can we all standtogether here in this moment?
Just stand together, as in thismoment, just stand together, as
(09:31):
we've been doing this just forthis six-week series, and I just
want you to read this with meMatthew 28, 19 and 20.
Let's read it together.
Go, therefore, and makedisciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name ofthe Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, teaching themto observe all that I have
commanded you and behold, putyour hands together for the
(09:56):
words of Jesus.
God is so good you can have aseat.
This morning.
I want to talk to you about thesecret to witnessing, the
secret to witnessing.
I believe that there issomething true about you and
about the witnessing that Jesushas called you and me to do that
if we don't understand this, wewill struggle all of our lives
(10:22):
and, unfortunately, possiblylive all of our lives without
being the witness that Jesus hascalled us to.
And what is that secret?
First of all, it is power.
Everyone say power, power.
Jesus is telling you that thereis something that is true about
you that you may not even know.
In fact, even if you know aboutthe power that is in you, you
(10:45):
are not even and I'm not evenfully aware.
We don't fully understand, wedon't even fully comprehend the
power that is within us.
Here's what Jesus says in Acts,chapter 1, verse 8.
He says but you will receivepower when the Holy Spirit has
come upon you.
You will receive power when theHoly Spirit has come upon you.
(11:06):
You won't believe what thatword you means in the Greek.
The word you in the Greek.
This is crazy.
It actually means you.
Isn't that nuts?
No one would have ever guessedthat.
Right, it means you.
Now notice, jesus didn't saythey.
He didn't say them.
He didn't say just for hisapostles, just for his disciples
(11:26):
.
Jesus said you, because Jesusmeans this for me and he means
it for you, for we will receivepower from the Holy Spirit when
the Holy Spirit comes upon us.
The purpose of the Holy Spiritin your life is to give you the
(11:48):
very power of Jesus Christ.
You realize that you have theHoly Spirit in you in such of a
way that they did not get toexperience.
In the Old Testament, all thosedays leading up to Jesus, it was
prophesied.
They prophesied the Holy Spirit, isaiah 61.1,.
The Spirit of the Lord, god isupon me because the Lord has
(12:13):
anointed me.
These are prophesied wordsabout Jesus and about us To
bring the good news, that's thegospel To who the poor.
He has sent me, sent up to bindup who the brokenhearted, to
proclaim liberty, the liberty ofthe gospel To who the captives,
and the opening of the gospelTo who, the captives, in the
opening of the prison to who?
To those who are bound.
(12:35):
The Old Testament prophesiedthat there would come a day that
all believers, that allChristians, would be empowered
by the same power.
It was promised by the sameperson, the person of the Holy
Spirit.
And look at what the NewTestament says about you today.
You got to believe this aboutyourself.
It says in him, in Jesus.
(12:56):
When you heard the word oftruth, that's the gospel.
When you heard the word of thegospel, the gospel of your
salvation, when you believed inJesus, that is when you were
sealed with the promised HolySpirit.
When you were sealed with thepromised Holy Spirit, the moment
(13:16):
you were saved, god says in hisword, he promises it to be true
that you received, that youwere given the gift of the Holy
Spirit in you and you weresealed with the promised Holy
Spirit, which means you havethat third person of the Trinity
(13:37):
within you.
He is a promise, he is a power,but also he is a person.
Did you know that?
The word when Jesus said andyou will receive power?
Did you know that word power?
The Greek word is dunamis,where we get our English word
dynamite?
You realize that dynamite is oneof the most powerful things
(13:59):
that humanity has invented andit has actually done a lot of
good.
Back in the 1930s they had amajor issue that the Colorado
River was blocking the way andall of the rock around there was
blocking the way from manypeople getting power and many
people getting food and manypeople getting water.
And so what they did is theytook eight and a half million
(14:23):
pounds of dynamite to blastthrough over 45 million cubic
yards of rock.
And so they took all that eightand a half million pounds of
dynamite, they took it down tothat Colorado River area and
they started blasting throughrock and they made tunnels and
they made passageways and theyredirected the river and they
(14:45):
were able to then construct theHoover Dam and now, even today,
millions of people continue toget water and food and power
just because of all of thateffort they did because they
used dynamite.
You realize that God has givenyou dunamis.
(15:05):
He's given you power within you, and the power within you is
able to blast through the heart,the rock hardest of hearts in
your life, so that they canbelieve the gospel.
I've seen it for myself.
I've seen the people who arethe furthest away from god that
(15:26):
they give their life to God, notbecause whoever was witnessing
was some incredible witness.
I think.
Often we think I don't get it.
I don't have the arguments, Idon't have the debates, I don't
have all the words that it takesin order to share my faith with
someone else, and I need you tohear me say it is not going to
(15:47):
be what you do, it's going to bewhat the Holy Spirit does in
you and what the Holy Spiritdoes through you.
What we need to do, what I needto do, what you need to do, is
just to continue to submit andsurrender ourselves to the Holy
Spirit, to grow in the power ofthe Holy Spirit in our life.
So how do we grow in the powerof the Holy Spirit?
(16:11):
Well, ephesians 5 tells us.
Ephesians 5 tells you how youcan grow in the power of the
Holy Spirit.
It says and do not get drunkwith wine, for that's debauchery
or that is just beingcompletely out of control, but
be filled with the Spirit.
Now time out for a second.
If God just wanted to tell usto be filled with the Spirit,
(16:35):
why did he have to go to thewhole don't get drunk with wine
thing?
Here's why Because people thatfeel weak or people that feel
powerless, people that feelhopeless, people that feel like
they need something else in themto make them feel more like
themselves or less likethemselves, they turn to other
substances, and many people turnto drunkenness.
(16:58):
On alcohol, when God is sayingI've got something that's far
better.
I've got the Holy Spirit thatyou can drink from.
I've got the Holy Spirit thatcan be inside of you.
I've got the Holy Spirit thatyou can drink from.
I've got the Holy Spirit thatcan be inside of you.
I've got the Holy Spirit thatcan give you power.
I've got the Holy Spirit thatcan give you hope.
I've got the Holy Spirit thatcan give you peace.
I've got the Holy Spirit thatcan give you clarity of mind.
(17:21):
I've got the Holy Spirit thatcan solve any and every single
issue in your life.
He said don't get drunk withwine that's out of control, but
be filled with the Spirit.
And how we receive the HolySpirit at our salvation.
But how do you get continuallyfilled with the Holy Spirit in
your salvation?
(17:41):
He says by addressing oneanother in the Psalms.
That is the word of God, thatyou are being filled with the
Holy Spirit in a continual way.
Just by being in the word ofGod, as you are reading the word
of God, you're being filledwith the Holy Spirit.
He says addressing one anotherin the Psalms and hymns and
(18:01):
spiritual songs, singing andmaking melody to the Lord with
your heart.
What is that?
That is worship?
That's worship when you areworshiping Jesus with your heart
.
What is that?
That is worship?
That's worship when you areworshiping Jesus with your life,
in the way in which that yousing, when you are getting in
the word of God so the word ofGod can get in you.
The Bible says that you arebeing filled with the Holy
(18:22):
Spirit.
In other words, I wouldencourage you these three ways
Number one word.
Number two, worship.
And number three he said you'redoing it with one another,
which means never underestimatewhat God is doing in your life.
Right here, right now, when weare together with one another,
(18:42):
gathered as the body of JesusChrist, god is saying I am
filling you with my spirit.
There is something that happenswhen we prioritize the
gathering of the body of JesusChrist in worship, in the word,
when we're together as brothersand sisters.
That doesn't happen the sameway throughout all of the rest
of life.
When we prioritize this, thatGod is filling you.
(19:05):
God is filling your family, godis filling your children with
the Holy Spirit.
There is nothing more importantthan this of what God wants to
do in your life.
That's how we're filled withthe power of God.
Secondly, I want you to see theplan.
Everybody say plan, plan.
I want you to see Jesus' planthere.
He is talking to his disciples,talking to his apostles.
(19:26):
He is just about to ascend toheaven.
He says look, the Holy Spirit'sgonna come, you're gonna
receive him, you're gonna getempowered by him.
And then here's what Jesus says.
He says you'll receive powerwhen the Holy Spirit has come
upon you and you will be mywitnesses.
Now, this is so interestingbecause he's only talking to
(19:49):
probably 12 men at this pointand he's talking about the whole
world and he says you're goingto a power that's gonna come
upon you and you're gonna be mywitnesses and he's speaking to
them and he's speaking throughthem to every other believer.
He's talking about the HolySpirit, that promise, that power
, that person that is withinevery believer.
(20:10):
But here's what I need you tohear the word witness.
It's a very interesting word.
You ever done a study on thisword witness?
And what Jesus said is trueabout you and true about me.
Did you know that this Greekword witness is martus?
Martus?
They would use this word forsomeone they would bring into a
(20:32):
court case and they wouldprioritize or they would value
an eyewitness or a firsthandexperience over anything, over
anyone else in a court case.
Back then, in that day, theywere the martus.
The martus would come in andsay this is what I experienced,
this is what I saw, and oftenthey would make verdicts based
(20:53):
upon the martus.
Well, in the same way, here'swhat Jesus is saying.
Jesus is saying listen, you'renot my debaters, you're not my
arguers, you're not someonethat's coming up with all of
these different proofs in life.
You're not my defense attorneys.
I've heard someone say Jesussaid you are my witnesses.
(21:15):
You are just sharing withpeople firsthand, eyewitness
account of what Jesus has donein your life.
Now, to be honest with you,I've never been a part of a
court case.
I've never been in a deposition.
I've never been in thatcourtroom where the lawyers are
getting people to go up on standon trial and share their
testimonies and all that kind ofstuff.
(21:36):
But it applies in other ways.
Like I love to be an eyewitness, I love to be a first-hand
experience of where people needto go eat because I love food.
Can I get an amen?
Right, I love to be like I'veexperienced it.
You need to go get it.
Like y'all know, I love someTexas Roadhouse, but I also love
some Southern Barbecue.
Can I and amen man, I love mesome Southern barbecue and I
(21:59):
love the whole experience.
I like to choose the restaurantwhere it is like quantity and
quality all at the same time,right, and I want the appetizer,
I want the meal, I want thedessert.
One of my favorite.
There's a lot of great barbecueplaces around and I don't like
to rank them necessarily, butone of my favorites for the
whole experience is the Jim andNick's barbecue.
Okay, so I love Jim and Nick's,and why?
Because you go and you sit down, you get your drinks, so
(22:21):
they'll slap down a sweet tearight there, but that's not.
They go ahead and get to it.
They go ahead and bring yousome of those cheese biscuits Am
I preaching or am I preaching?
They bring you that basket.
Some of y'all are likesalivating right now.
They bring you that basket ofcheese biscuits right then,
right there, and you can't eatjust one.
Can I get an amen?
(22:41):
You cannot eat just one, man.
It's like another basket please.
And so if you have any roomleft from the cheese biscuits,
what I love to get is that fattymarbly brisket, right, and it's
gotta have like, those burntends, those burnt edges on it.
They bring out the red sauce,they bring out the white sauce.
I love their potato salad, Ilove their baked beans and, man,
(23:06):
I just love to gorge myself insome Jim and Nick's.
I think I'm eating for Jim andfor Nick right there, and so I
just, man, I love Jim and Nick'sand but it's not done right,
when you've already eaten allthat food and then you got to
get for dessert.
You got to get dessert whileyou're there and you got to get
the lemon pie.
All right, the lemon pie.
It is the sweetest.
It's cold, it's tart and it'sgot like a quarter-inch graham
cracker crust on the bottom.
It will make you lick youreyebrows.
(23:27):
I mean it's unbelievable.
It's so good and you get thewhole experience right and let's
all just leave right now and goto Jim and Nick's.
Let's go, let's go Now.
Sometimes, if you're a foodielike me, sometimes we can get
more excited and even morecomfortable telling somebody
about our restaurant, tellingsomebody about food, than we can
(23:49):
about our Savior.
Isn't it interesting that theBible says in Psalm 34, verse 8,
it says taste and see that theLord is good.
Maybe we need to talk aboutJesus a little bit more like a
meal.
Maybe we want to be like hey,let me tell you about the
appetizer.
Let me tell you where Jesusstarted, man.
Where it all started was isthat God created you, and he
(24:11):
created you out of nothing.
And he created you because hehad a purpose for your life,
because he loves you.
And let me tell you Jesus, man,he's already done all this.
This is the appetizer.
It's already happened.
Jesus has already come down outof heaven, he's already lived
in your place, he's already goneto the cross, he's already died
for your sin, he's alreadyrisen from the dead, he's
already ascended back to heaven.
And now, boom, you're born2,000 years later.
(24:38):
And that's just the appetizer.
But let me get to the meal.
Here's the meal.
The meal is that God says thatyou can believe in him, that God
can save you, that God canforgive you of your sins, that
you can have a fixed home inheaven, forever, eternal
security, and that God canforgive you and save you, and
that God can come into your life.
And here's the dessert, here'sthe best part.
And then God starts arelationship with you and God
just wants to bless you, and Godwants to speak to you, and God
(25:01):
wants to fill you with hisspirit, and God wants to put
purpose into your life and hewants you to understand the
destiny for your life.
Man, don't you want toexperience God?
Can I get an amen?
Man, that's who we're called tobe as witnesses, because we
have firsthand experienced thegoodness of God in our life.
(25:25):
So what I want you to see herefrom this passage is that
sometimes people say well, Idon't know what to tell a lost
person.
Can I just remind you that ifyou are saved, you know enough
for someone else to get saved.
If you are saved, you alreadyknow enough for someone else to
get saved.
You just tell them how you gotsaved and they can get saved the
(25:48):
same way you got saved.
There's only one way to getsaved Can I get an amen?
And that is to make Jesus theLord of your life, to believe
that Jesus died for your sin, tobelieve that Jesus rose from
the sin, to believe that Jesusrose from the dead, to believe
that Jesus is God and to ask himto receive him as the Lord of
your life.
I would encourage you to writethis down or take a picture of
this.
(26:08):
This is a simple outline of howyou can share the gospel with
anybody.
Number one ask them their storyfirst.
Ask them about them, becauseyou get to hear from them things
they're struggling with,questions they have answers they
need in their life and you getto connect the rest to them.
Then you get to tell them yourstory where you came from, what
(26:30):
you were struggling with, howyou received Jesus into your
life, and then you get to tellthem the story of Jesus and all
that Jesus did for them.
The story of Jesus and all thatJesus did for them and how
Jesus did it all because heloved them.
Jesus just wants to save them.
And then you get to invite theminto God's story.
Do you want to give your lifeto God right now?
And that's why I preach thegospel every single Sunday.
(26:52):
I preach the gospel everysingle Sunday and we do the
salvation prayer every singleSunday.
Why Number one?
Because I believe that anySunday could be anyone's day of
salvation.
I want you to feel free tobring somebody in that needs
Jesus on any Sunday and theycould get saved on any given
Sunday.
But also, I do it every Sundayso you can hear it repeated over
(27:15):
and over and over on a weeklybasis, so that you can do it in
your life as well for someoneelse.
That is the plan of salvation.
We have the power of the HolySpirit.
We have the plan of salvation.
And then, lastly, is people.
Everyone say people, people, orthe question is, who is it that
(27:36):
Jesus is sending us to?
He says in Acts 1.8,.
He says again but you willreceive power when the Holy
Spirit comes upon you and youwill be my witnesses.
He says in Jerusalem, in allJudea, in all Samaria and to the
ends of the earth.
Now let me just make aninteresting point real quick,
(27:59):
and you're probably not going tolike what I say at first.
Isn't it interesting that Jesusdid not say and you will be my
worshipers and you will be myBible studiers, and you will be
my Bible studiers and you willbe my small groupers or my
(28:22):
Sunday schoolers or my servantson Sunday or my volunteers or
whatever it is.
He didn't even say you will bemy dogs.
He didn't say any of that,right?
What did Jesus say?
He said you will be mywitnesses.
Why, while worshiping andstudying the word and being in
(28:43):
group together and serving Jesusand all of those, and
volunteering and all of thosethings are so important.
And Jesus did say them atdifferent times throughout his
life and ministry.
But he called us one thing, onefinal instruction before he
left for heaven.
And Jesus said you will be mywitnesses.
(29:03):
Why?
Because the pinnacle, theheight, the most important
calling of the Christian life isto witness firsthand experience
to other other people whatJesus has done in you, so that
he can do it in them.
And where do we do that?
Jesus said to do that inJerusalem and in all Judea and
(29:27):
Samaria and to the ends of theearth.
You may have heard this preachedbefore, like I have, and I've
heard many people say so.
That means you start in yourcity and you go to your state,
then you go to your country andthen you go out of your country
and you go around the world.
And that is true.
I think that Jesus does meanthis geographically.
(29:48):
I think Jesus is saying we needto be witnessing our city, our
state, our country, and to othernations as well, to other
countries around the world.
I think that Jesus does mean itgeographically, but hear me for
a second.
I think Jesus also means itpersonally, personal to you and
personal to these people.
Let me show you what I thinkJesus is saying.
(30:09):
I think Jesus is saying thatyour Jerusalem, like as they
were living in Jerusalem, yourJerusalem are those who you know
and those who you love.
These are your friends andfamily, that we are called to
live the gospel before them andto share the gospel with them.
They're Judea.
The Judea was those around themand near them.
(30:30):
In other words, jerusalem was acity in the region of Judea.
And so Jesus is saying go intoall Judea.
He's saying anybody around you,anybody near you, I want to
encourage you.
He's saying share the gospel,share my name with them.
Samaria, samaria the Samaritanswere people that other people
did not like, because theSamaritans were Jews and
(30:52):
Gentiles that came together,they compromised, and so people
were often racially dividedagainst the Samaritans, and
Jesus is saying I don't wantthere to be any racial division.
Jesus is saying I don't wantyou to hate anybody.
Jesus is saying I want you tosee that everybody is created in
my image.
You all have sin in your life.
You all got stuff in your past.
You all need to be forgiven.
(31:12):
So I want you to go toabsolutely anybody and everybody
.
Even.
Go to absolutely anybody andeverybody, even those that are
different from you, even thosethat may not like you.
You go to them and share themthe love of Jesus.
And Jesus said and I want youto go to the end of the earth,
those far from you.
I believe we are called to go tothe nations.
I believe that we are doingmission trips this year, in 2025
.
We are going to go to PuertoRico, we are going to go to
(31:34):
Uganda, and I want to encourageyou to sign up for those trips,
as God makes that possible.
We have scholarship money tohelp and you'll be able to
fundraise, and all of that wecan make it to.
Wherever you can't afford, thatwe can cover.
We just believe that we arecalled to take the gospel to the
ends of the earth.
Can I get an amen?
(31:55):
So, wherever you are in yourwitnessing journey maybe you've
never witnessed before I justwant to encourage you.
Just pick somebody.
Just pick someone and pray forthem.
And pray for the opportunity toshare the gospel of Jesus, the
good news of Jesus, what he'sdone in your life as a firsthand
(32:17):
experience.
Just share the gospel of Jesus,the good news of Jesus, what
he's done in your life as afirsthand experience.
Just share the gospel withsomeone and then, once you share
the gospel with someone, andthen what Jesus is saying is now
you understand what it feelslike and, man, it feels good and
God worked in that moment andwhile they may not have been
saved in that moment, you knowit takes often several different
gospel encounters in order forsomeone to get saved and just
(32:40):
going up to somebody and saying,man, I'm going to share the
gospel with them and if theydon't get saved, I'm never doing
it again.
That would be like those peoplein the 1930s taking one stick
of dynamite right to all of that, the millions and millions of
cubic yards of rock, and sayingwe're just going to try one
stick of that.
Well, that didn't work, let'stry something else.
No, it takes time after timeafter time after time.
(33:03):
Sometimes it's the first time,sometimes it's many times.
And God is saying just witnessto someone, get comfortable to
where you can witness to anyone,so that, lord willing, one day
that you can witness toabsolutely everyone.
And then what Jesus says, whathe does in Acts 1-9.
He says and when Jesus had saidthese things and they were
(33:26):
looking on, jesus was lifted upand a cloud took him out of
their sight.
And Jesus is gone After some 33years on earth, some three
(33:46):
years of ministry that they'vebeen walking with him and
talking with him and he's beendiscipling them and he's been
training them and he's beenpreparing them.
And then he says now I want youto be my witnesses, and here's
the power in you, the HolySpirit, and he lifts up and he's
gone.
(34:06):
My question I wanna answer thismorning in closing is why?
Why did Jesus go?
Jesus told us.
He said nevertheless, I tellyou the truth.
It is to your advantage that Igo away, for if I do not go away
, the helper, the Holy Spirit,will not go away.
(34:26):
Sorry, will not come to you,but if I go I will send him to
you.
Here's what Jesus is saying Godinside you is better than God
beside you is better than Godbeside you.
God said in the whole OldTestament.
(34:46):
The people heard from God, butthey never got to physically
visibly see him with their eyes.
In the New Testament, theGospels, they got to physically
visibly see Jesus.
But today, in the church age,god is in us.
(35:12):
He's that power in you.
You have power over sin.
You have power unto obedience.
You have power for hope.
You have power for joy.
You have power for love.
You have the power of the HolySpirit.
But Jesus says what we areultimately called to use that
power for all of those things,but called to use the power of
the Holy Spirit to be hiswitnesses to those we know and
(35:37):
that we love, to those around us, to those not like us, to those
that are far from us.
So what I wanna encourage you todo this morning is pull the
cord.
God has more for you.
What you're experiencing inyour life, what you're living
for, what your goals are.
(35:57):
They may be great, they may behonorable to God, but I wanna
encourage you to make yourhighest goal, your greatest
dream, that God would use you,by the power of the Holy Spirit,
to be a witness of Jesus Christand to live on his mission,
(36:20):
because that's what you weremade for.
I'm gonna ask us to bow ourheads, close our eyes, no one
looking around.
I just want you to ask the HolySpirit right now, just to place
a name on your heart.
Holy Spirit, put a name on myheart.
(36:45):
Ask the Holy Spirit right nowto put a face in your mind.
Who is it that he is working inand calling for you to witness
to them, for you to witness tothem so that he can save them.
(37:05):
Who's your someone?
Who are your anyones?
And I want to encourage you.
Ask God for courage, ask Godfor boldness and ask God for
that power to go, to make anopportunity to talk to them
(37:25):
about Jesus.
Maybe you're here this morning.
You're thinking I can't.
I can't witness to anybodybecause I haven't given my life
to him yet.
I want you to know is right nowyou can give your life to him.
I'm just here to help you.
I can't do it for you, but I'mhere to help you and I believe
that, if that's really what youwanna do, I believe with all my
heart that God's word says thathe will save you, that today can
(37:47):
be the day of your salvation.
Right here, right now, you canpray something like this to him
in your own words, from your ownheart.
You can say dear Jesus, I needyou and I believe you.
Jesus, I believe that you diedon the cross for my sins and I
ask you to forgive me of all mysin.
And, jesus, I believe that yourose from the dead.
(38:08):
You're alive, you're real.
And, jesus, I pray that youwould come into my life, you
would be the Lord of my life.
The Bible says that if you callon Jesus to be your Lord, you
believe with your heart that Godraised him from the dead.
God promises you will be saved.
Tell him right now, jesus, Ibelieve in you.
(38:28):
Be the Lord of my life.
And, jesus, we believe that wethank you for that.
In Jesus' name, we pray and allGod's people said would you put
your hands together for anybodythat gave their life for Jesus.
This morning, nothing is moreimportant.
We just want to say welcome,welcome to the family.
We're so thankful for what Godhas done in you.
I want to ask us all to standup right now, and what we're
(38:50):
going to do is we're going toworship Jesus together, and I
just want to remind you here, inthis moment, that you are
worshiping the real, theresurrected Jesus.
I want to remind you that yourwords, your voice is not wasted.
I want to remind you that yourwords, your voice is not wasted,
that your worship is beingushered to the throne of heaven
and it reaches the ears of Jesus, and he is pleased in you.
(39:13):
I want to remind you that youwere made for more.
You were made for worship.
You were made for witness.
So let's give him the gloryright now, because when we
worship him, we are filled andempowered with the Holy Spirit.
Let's worship Jesus together.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Ridiculous History
History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.