Woodward First Assembly

More: The Revelation Gifts

This Is Us-3-Empowered

Pastor's notes:

TEXT
Acts 2:1-4 NKJV

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all [a]with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them [b]divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

INTRODUCTION

Good morning, everyone!

I hope you all had a great weekend! I am so excited to be here this morning. I have some important meetings this coming week in Kenya with some officials, so I’d appreciate your prayers. I can’t wait to share with you the opportunity that has opened up to us. I can’t tell you just yet, but be excited. It’s a big deal!

Today, as we continue talking about “This Is Us”, I want to look at what it means to be Spirit filled. My message today is entitled “Empowered”.

ILLUSTRATION

In most of our possession, we hold an electronic device called a cell phone. Let’s take a survey:
- If you are team iPhone, raise your hand.
- If you are team Android, raise your hand.

- If you don’t know what kind of phone you have, please ask a millennial. What’s the significance of this illustration?

1

Sunday, September 15, 2019

This device you have in your possession has the capability to do many amazing things, but it can do nothing if there is no power in it.

It’s still a phone with no power, but a dead one!

It is designed and meant to function when a power source is flowing through it.

TRANSITION

As a Christian, that’s the way we are supposed to function. We are to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

BACKGROUND

Jesus told His disciples

Luke 24:46-49 NKJV

46 Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And you are witnesses of these things. 49 Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

This was something John the Baptist also spoke about.

Luke 3:16 NKJV

16 John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

So throughout the Scripture, there was spoke of an experience with the Holy Spirit that would come.

APPLICATION

2

1. His Promise

- This empowerment was Jesus’ promise.

- He called it “power from on high”. How many of you need some power from above?

- It was a promise, but He commanded them to seek it.

2. His Presence

- It came from above. This is not something that comes from the devil.

- There was a sound of a rushing wind. Pentecost has always been loud and brought a sound with it.

- There was fire that came.

3. His Pattern

- It says they were “all” filled and became to speak with tongues.
- That’s weird, some may say. Well. Jesus was the one who said in

Mark 16:17 NJKV

“They will speak with new tongues.....”
- This pattern appeared all throughout Acts and church history.

- Acts 2, Acts 10, Acts 19
- Why this? It’s tied to its purpose.

4. His Purpose

- Why are we empowered? Acts 1:8 NKJV “ You shall receive power after the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be my witnesses.....”

- Witness involves telling, which involves your tongue! - It was a sign of God empowering the tongue to communicate in power His plan to humanity.

CONCLUSION

This plan is also God’s plan for us. We also need to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. When we seek the power and presence of the Spirit, He also touches our lips to be able to tell others about Him.

More: The Power Gifts

This Is Us-2-Sanctified

Pastor's Notes:

TEXT
Colossians 3:1-11 NKJV

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, 11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.

INTRODUCTION
Good morning, everyone!
I am so glad you’re here. Last week, we covered the topic of redemption, and what it truly means to bought back from the auction block of sin. We saw the value that each of us has in the eyes of God, and what it truly means to truly be saved.
This morning, I’m going to go old school. You may not know this, but I AM old school. What I mean by that is while it’s ok to modernize the way we do things, the message must never change! What I’m going to talk to you about today is something that I don’t hear much about anymore. In the past, it was taught from a wrong angle, and I believe it caused us to get off into much legalism. Jesus also dealt with that. I believe that today, as we touch this subject, you will see the importance of it. I want to teach today about holiness in the life of the believer, but specifically on the topic of sanctification. Today, the title of this message is called “Sanctified”.
What is “sanctified’?
DEFINITION: It means to “set apart”, or “to make holy”. It also means to be separated and pure from sin.

ILLUSTRATION 
One rule we have at my house is to rinse off your dishes as soon as you are done with them. The idea is to immediately wash away the food and grime left on your plates, bowls, and silverware so that it doesn’t get caked on and become difficult to get off.
Unfortunately, my family (including me) does not always follow this rule. That means that the burned grease, old cereal, and leftover food can get plastered onto the dishes so that it takes more than a bit of elbow grease to remove it.
Sometimes the leftover food seems to become one with the dish and that, no matter how hard we scrub, it will never come off.
That’s exactly how sin can feel when you truly don’t deal with it.
The best remedy for food stuck in this situation is to leave a dish soaking in water for a period of time. This allows the water to loosen up the grime and dirt so that it can be wiped away, usually without much effort.
The power of the water over a period of time is enough to get rid of the dirt and grime that you could not get off no matter how hard you scrubbed.
Breaking sinful habits works in a similar way, but instead of using physical water, we need the water of the Word.
True believers in Jesus Christ are already clean in God’s sight because of the blood of Jesus Christ, but can still struggle to live in obedience because they live in the flesh. That is why we need to know not only what can help us live more obediently, but Who can help us live more obediently as well.


TRANSITION
That’s exactly the way we should be as believers. We are saved! God’s nature has been imparted on the inside of us. Our spirit is born again! The issue is that we have the flesh and our mind still to deal with.
Those are the things in which we must ourselves work on.
On the cross, Jesus sanctified us by His precious blood. That is HIS responsibility.
Now once we are saved, we are to sanctify ourselves. Most of all Paul’s letters to the epistles teaches this. It doesn’t nullify the work of the cross. What it simply means is that Christ’s sacrifice has set us free, but now we must choose to walk free and stay free.
If and when we mess us, we confess it, repent, and get back up! 

BACKGROUND
In the time of writing this book, Paul was a prisoner in Rome. Although he had never visited this church personally, he had an interest in it because it started as an outgrowth of his ministry in Ephesus. It had gotten back to Paul that gnosticism and lewdness had slipped into the church. He was concerned that these false ideologies and doctrines might destroy the work there, so this letter was sent to remind them of exactly what they have and how they should respond.

APPLICATION

1. Our Position
- He uses the word “if” here, but we know He is saying “If you are saved, look at this.”
- Where is our position? We’ve been seated with Christ!
- We have died with Him.
- We are buried with Him.
- We are raised with Him.
- We live in Him.
- We will be glorified with Him
- So as saved people, we ought to think different. We all know that what you think about affects what you do.

2. Our Prescription
- We are told to put to death the flesh. This is the part we don’t like.
- Contrary to what people may think in today’s culture, Christians are supposed to live different.
- We have to crucify it. Why? Because even though we are saved, we can still be enticed and tempted to do the wrong thing.
- He names some stuff.
- Fornication
- Uncleanness
- Passion
- Evil Desire
- Covetousness
- Anger
- Wrath
- Malice
- Filthy Language
- Lying
Surely these are not an exhaustive list of sins, but are likely the ones they were dealing with. What are they a big deal? They are a big deal because they aren’t the characteristic of Christ! Are we perfect? No! We shouldn’t be excusing these things. They have consequences.

3. Our Purpose
- Put on the new man
- Renewed in Christ
- Why? The world needs to see Jesus in us!
- Even if we aren’t perfect, if we are saved, we will have a desire to reflect His nature and character in our lives. When we miss it, His Spirit convicts us, and we correct that and do it differently next time
- The Word will renew us (Romans 12:1-2)

CONCLUSION
In the old days, holiness was all about the outside (hair, clothing, etc)
Jesus addressed this with the Pharisees. They had it all together on the outside, but on the inside, they were like the white tombs opposite of the Temple Mount. (Matthew 23:27-28)
How do we continue to allow Him to change us? From the inside out.

More: The Vocal Gifts

This Is Us: Redeemed

Better Together: Graced

More: The Role Of The Evangelist

Better Together: The Value Of Friendships

Are You Here? with Pastor Paul Troquille

This morning we are pleased to have Pastor Paul Troquille with us. Pastor Paul is a missionary to Tanzania, Africa. Pastor Paul teaches us about being sensitive to the calling of God on our life. His text comes from Acts chapter 9.