Sermon Cloud

The Right Equipment

Ray Befus ~ Everyone Gets to Play Series-Pt 3

1. How do you know you live in a religious community? Front page, headline news in the Grand Rapids Press includes: Ed Dobson, former pastor of Calvary Church (Vice President of Spiritual Life at Cornerstone University) drinks some beer . . . (not much, but real beer in a bar with real sinners) . . . and votes for a Democratic presidential candidate because he thinks that candidate better represents Jesus' heart for community and the poor! Once an associate pastor with Jerry Falwell and prominent leader in America's Religious Right, Ed Dobson served Calvary Church in Grand Rapids as senior pastor for twenty years. But, facing an early death from Lou Gehrig's disease, Dobson took an entire year to try to get under Jesus' skin, to look at life through Jesus' eyes, to embrace Jesus' Jewish culture, and to give himself away to people outside the church-like Jesus did. A couple of times his quest took him to bars. Have you ever noticed in the gospels how much time Jesus spent with outsiders-walking up to people who weren't his friends, weren't his disciples, weren't even religious, and introducing himself-eating and drinking with them, talking about life with them, and giving them a taste of God's goodness? Ed Dobson spent a year pressing into what we call Jesus-brand spirituality. And, it turns out that Dobson now suspects that Jesus-brand spirituality is not quite the same as church-brand spirituality (or what passes for normal church-life in Grand Rapids). We need to pray for Ed! PRAY

2. Welcome to the game! We've dressed-up the stage for a bit of mid-winter fun, but that doesn't mean we don't have a serious purpose. We're reminding ourselves that we've been called to carry on Jesus' kingdom ministry in our generation-to teach what he taught and to do what he did . . . with our children and friends for sure, but especially with people on the outside. It drove religious insiders nuts but, like Ed Dobson, Jesus really did spend most of his time with people on the outside. As Jesus' followers, we too have been called to live with an outward focus. Jesus' invitation wasn't, "would you like to come to church meetings for the rest of your life?" It was "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. Watch me and learn to preach the gospel, heal the sick, cast out demons, and care for the poor". Now you go out and do it and teach others to do it, even to the end of the age".

2. Football has been described as a game in which 22 men who desperately need rest run up and down a field for 2 hours in front of 22,000 spectators who desperately need exercise. For many Christians, church has become more like watching football than living like a missionary. Fans of different preachers and programs come to a service like this, pay for a seat, to watch the staff run the ball. If it's entertaining, they come back. If not, they move on. If you doubt this assessment, just listen to WCSG radio DJ's poll listeners about what they like best about their churches. Most often, what they say they love most are the plays run by their pastors. Roman Catholics have the Pope; conservative evangelicals have their all-star pastors! Not so different than fans of Peyton Manning or Tom Brady.

Does the average church member know that we've all been called to be players . . . that the games are being lost because they seem to have missed the call to suit up and play? Churches lack gifts, skills, money, strategy, vision, and momentum because key players are sitting in the bleachers-cheering, evaluating quarterbacks like Ed Dobson, and talking church. To be on Jesus' team is to suit up for every game, to give your best effort communicating good news to the poor, freedom for prisoners, recovery of sight to the blind, freedom for the oppressed, and the year of the Lord's favor. There is nothing in Jesus mission statement about sitting through church services, saying prayers before meals, and hanging out with Christian friends. Here is your coach's game plan. READ Luke 4:18-21.

TRANS: This morning we're focusing on Jesus' emphasis on the Holy Spirit in verse 18. We really can't talk about Jesus' mission or his ministry without emphasizing the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.

I. THE HOLY SPIRIT'S POWER WAS ESSENTIAL TO JESUS' MINISTRY.

A. Luke gives us a locker-room look at Jesus gearing up for the game.

1. (3:21-22) Jesus' baptism. Jesus' ministry started with an overwhelming encounter with the Father and an empowering experience with the Holy Spirit-in public. We now start men and women off in ministry with an education in theology, public speaking, and organizational leadership. We regard ‘Holy Spirit experiences' as sometimes interesting, but mostly distracting-just not essential to life, leadership or church ministry.

2. (4:1) From that moment, Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit and began following the Holy Spirit's guidance, which was into a time of severe testing. Sometimes prosperity preachers seem to want to convince us that to be filled with the Holy Spirit is to begin the upward march toward personal peace, prosperity, health and happiness. In this case, the Holy Spirit led Jesus right down into a wilderness of testing-like testing can be part of God's plan for our lives.

3. (4:14) Jesus emerged from this testing in the power of the Spirit (no whining or swearing under his breath).

4. (4:18) Jesus declares publicly that the Holy Spirit is empowering him for the Messiah's mission. Do you ever talk about the Holy Spirit like this? When was the last time you celebrated the part the Holy Spirit plays in your ministry-as a parent, home group leader, children's ministry leader, musician or worship leader, hospitality team member? I have a feeling that the Holy Spirit gets short shrift in church-brand spirituality. Jesus' life and ministry was different than what passes for normal spirituality today.

TRANS: In Acts 1:1, Luke tells us that his gospel is the account of all that Jesus began to do while he was on earth. Luke's Gospel describes only the first half of this big game we're in. The game's second half begins in Acts, chapter 2.

B. Looking back on Jesus' life and ministry, Peter gives this half-time commentary (Acts 10:37-38).

1. Peter gives these comments to a Roman Centurion who was doing his best to live like a good Jew, and is now about to become a Christian. When he wasn't working for the government, Cornelius had two big interests: praying for more (something more with God), and caring for the poor. Something or someone has been stirring him and stretching him beyond his upbringing, beyond his career, beyond his own life, beyond his comfort zone. Peter senses that the Holy Spirit is behind all this stirring. Cornelius is God's number 1 draft pick!

2. Peter explains that the same Holy Spirit that has been stirring and guiding Cornelius, filled Jesus. In fact, Jesus' ministry can't be understood apart from the filling of the Spirit he received at his baptism. Whatever good Jesus did, from forgiving to feeding, from healing to casting out demons, was done through the power of the Holy Spirit. Healing lepers? That was the Spirit! Casting out a legion of demons? The Holy Spirit again. Feeding the 5,000-yep, the Holy Spirit. Calming the storm with just a word-the Holy Spirit's power. Raising Lazarus? The Holy Spirit is behind every resurrection in the NT.

3. During his earthly life and ministry, Jesus put huge points on the score board, and it was all by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus' death and resurrection ended the first half of the game. But, as Peter is about to discover, that same Spirit is now drafting, coaching, equipping, and empowering new players like Cornelius and his family for the second half of the game (vv 44-48).

TRANS: Jesus has ascended to heaven and has sent the Spirit to empower us. The second half of the big game is on! ARE YOU READY? ALONG WITH CORNELIUS, HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS . . .

II. WE'VE BEEN HANDED THE BALL- JESUS' KINGDOM MINISTRY.

A. We don't need much strength if we're just playing catch with friends-i.e., going to church a couple times a month, singing along with the band, evaluating the sermon, praying before dinner, trying not to swear so much at work, hanging out with friends who go to church a couple times a month . . . . No one needs supernatural strength to settle into a weekly church routine. We have all that it takes to step into church-brand spirituality!

B. We need real power if we hope to score in the second half of Jesus' game.

1. If Jesus needed the Holy Spirit's power to do his Father's will, how much more do we! No wonder Jesus instructed his first followers to wait in Jerusalem until they were anointed with power by the Holy Spirit before launching out in their half of the game (Acts 1:8).

2. When you get in touch with the reality that following Jesus doesn't mean going to church, but means to personally take up the challenge to teach what Jesus taught and do what Jesus did, the seriousness of the game will stir you to cry out for the Holy Spirit's power! You and I are here to pass on our faith to our children and grand children, to share the gospel with our neighbors and co-workers . . . and to demonstrate the good news by healing the sick, casting out demons, and caring for the poor. When you get in touch with the immensity of the challenge, you'll discover your impotence. That's why it's so tempting to reduce Christianity to going to church and trying to be good-humanly speaking, it's manageable. We've have got what it takes to attend church services, pray before meals, and send our children to private schools!

3. But Jesus came to destroy the Devil's work (I John 3:8), and when you get perspective on the strength of the opposition, you'll become desperate for the Holy Spirit's power. In II Corinthians 4:4, the Apostle Paul reveals that "the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ". When you look squarely into the face of the opposition-from crass materialism to unbridled hedonism, from intolerant atheism to Islamic fundamentalism-you'll feel overwhelmed, and so you should!

4. ILLUS: People will come to me and say, "You know, Ray, "Matt (bless his heart) has asked me to pray about becoming a Home Group leader" . . . or "Mike (you gotta love him) has invited me to participate in the Equip course for leaders" . . . or "the Pohlads have asked me to join the jail ministry" . . . but I'm going to have to say No . . . for now . . . because I just don't think I'm ready for that kind of challenge . . . I just don't think I have what it takes . . . I really feel unprepared . . . I'm inadequate for that kind of ministry . . . that's just not me. You understand, don't you?"

All I can say is, "Yeah, I do understand! It's great that you've finally got the picture!" We're all inadequate, over our heads. Do you really think that learning Hebrew and Greek in seminary prepared me for this? We're all inadequate to carry on Jesus' ministry. Now that you've got a grip on the truth, what are you going to do with your inadequacy? HOW ABOUT CRYING OUT FOR THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!?!

III. ANYONE CAN TALK A GOOD GAME; DO YOU HAVE THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT?
(I Corinthians 2:4; 4:20; 5:4)

A. The Apostle Paul lived with a deep sense of inadequacy. That's why he repeatedly asked the Christians in Corinth to help him by their prayers (II Corinthians 1:11). Paul's critics labeled him "timid" in face-to-face encounters (10:1); they said that he was unimpressive in appearance (10:10). A second century church leader described Paul as a friendly man who was quite short and bald, with eye-brows that met in the center (a nerdy uni-brow), a slightly hooked nose, and bowed legs. Any competence Paul felt, was from God. "Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant" (3:5-6). Paul admitted that his attempts to preach Jesus' words and perform Jesus' works were completely dependent on the Holy Spirit.

2. "My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power (I Corinthians 2:4)

3. Everyone has different attitudes and opinions about the Bible, their pastor's sermons, church services, and tithing . . . but "the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power" (I Corinthians 4:20).

4. There are moments in church and in ministry when Christians come together in faith and unity, and Jesus' power is manifestly present through the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 5:4). Those are the times you want to cry out for God to fill you with his Spirit.

B. Friends, here is a personal question. Have you ever experienced a flooding of the Holy Spirit's presence and power? Have you ever had an experience in which you know that the Holy Spirit has anointed you with power for ministry? Dwight L Moody was the Billy Graham of the 19th Century. He preached to hundreds of thousands of people all over America and Great Britain. People of a Spirit-filled persuasion would consistently come up to him and asked him if he had been filled with the Holy Spirit's power and, Rev. Moody was offended. He replied, "Of course I have. Look at my life, my church, my ministry. I'm a solid Christian, the pastor of a large church, and an international speaker". But, eventually, Rev. Moody began to feel a hunger and thirst for the power of the Holy Spirit. These are words he wrote: "One day in the city of New York-oh what a day!-I cannot describe it, I seldom refer to it; its almost too sacred an experience to name. Paul had an experience of which he never spoke for fourteen years. I can only say that God revealed himself to me, and I had such an experience of his love that I had to ask him to stay his hand. I went to preaching again. The sermons were not different; I did not present new truths, and yet hundreds were converted. I would not now be placed back where I was before that blessed experience if you should give me all the world". Have you ever set your mind to cry out to God with that kind of tenacity? "Father, I need your Spirit's presence and power. I welcome your Spirit to overwhelm me. Fill me with your Spirit. I will not be satisfied with anything less". Here's an opportunity.

C. Naturally Supernatural is a weekend conference designed to give you a faith-filled space to cry out to God for a fresh filling of his Holy Spirit. It's designed to give you opportunity to practice hearing God's voice, to grow in faith, and to pray for the sick. ILLUS: Think this conference like a football camp. There comes a time in every adolescent's football career when playing backyard catch, simple practices, scrimmages, and games no longer produce greater skill or effectiveness. That's when highly motivated, young athletes start going the second mile and attending special sports camps on their own time, with their own money-spending weeks with different coaches and specialists, digging deeper, taking greater risks, learning new exercises, taking time to refocus on fundamentals, running new plays, facing new challenges, and stretching into their potential. I'm asking you to register and attend the Naturally Supernatural conference. We need you to come down out of the stands, learn to play the game, and give your best to the rest of the team.

Gary Best is one of the most engaging and effective teachers I've spent time with. He's not a theorist; he's been doing the stuff Jesus did for the last 20 years. His book is helpful; he's better than the book, and this is the last time he expects to be in Michigan. If you can't take time off work, you can still get to all the main sessions-Thursday evening, Friday evening, Saturday morning and afternoon. We need you on the field in 2009!