Sent Week 2

This powerful message centers on a beautiful tension in our faith journey: God knows our names individually among billions, yet calls us to a mission bigger than ourselves. Drawing from Matthew 28 and Acts 1, we explore how Jesus didn't just give the Great Commission as a command—He promised the power to fulfill it. The disciples, who had walked with Jesus for three years and witnessed His resurrection, were told to wait in Jerusalem. Why? Because calling without power is just religious activity. We can become experts at church without being empowered by the Holy Spirit. The message reminds us that we're not just saved FROM something—we're saved FOR something. God wants to set us apart before He sends us out, ensuring our lives reflect Him rather than our mess overshadowing His message. The most liberating truth? We don't have to be the smartest or most qualified. The early church leaders were recognized as 'ordinary men with no special training' who had simply been with Jesus. When we allow the Holy Spirit to interrupt our daily routines, we get a front-row seat to watching God change lives through the smallest acts of obedience.

Chapter 1: God Knows Your Name

0:00 - 18:10

We are reminded through worship that God knows us personally and has a purpose for our lives, even when we struggle with doubt and sin.

Chapter 2: The Great Commission is Clear

18:10 - 36:20

Jesus gave us a clear command to go and make disciples, not as an optional suggestion but as our core identity and mission.

Chapter 3: Wait for the Promised Power

36:20 - 49:00

Before sending the disciples out, Jesus told them to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit, because calling without power is just religious activity.

Chapter 4: Living in Daily Dependence

49:00 - 65:08

Walking in Holy Spirit power means daily dependence on God and bold obedience to His leading, even in ordinary moments that can change lives.

Title: Empowered to Go: Living on Mission Through the Holy Spirit

Sermon Summary: 

This sermon emphasizes that the Christian life is not about trying harder in our own strength, but about walking in the power of the Holy Spirit that God has already provided. Before sending believers on mission, God wants to do a work in them - setting them apart and making them whole - so that the mess of their lives doesn't overshadow the message of Jesus Christ. The Great Commission is not just a command but comes with the promise of power through the Holy Spirit. God doesn't call the qualified; He empowers the called. Believers are saved not just from something, but for something - a divine purpose. The sermon challenges Christians to move beyond religious activity to Spirit-empowered living, allowing God to interrupt their daily lives to reach others. True witness comes from being people who look like they've been with Jesus, and the same power that raised Christ from the dead now lives in believers to overcome fear, sin, and limitations.

Key Points:

- The Commission is Clear: Go - the mission is not optional, it becomes our identity

- God wants to set us apart before He sends us out

- We are saved from something and saved for something - God has a purpose for everyone

- Calling without power is just religious activity

- The Promised Power: believers receive Holy Spirit power (dunamis) when they accept Christ

- Three dimensions of Holy Spirit power: power to witness, power to overcome, and power to go beyond yourself

- God's presence goes before assignment - we are never sent empty but filled with the Spirit

- The Holy Spirit power is for everyone, not just disciples or preachers

- Walking in power requires daily dependence on the Holy Spirit and bold obedience

- We should be known as people who have been with Jesus

- Peter and John were ordinary men with no special training, but they had been with Jesus

Scripture Reference:

- Matthew 28:16-20 (The Great Commission)

- John 20 (Jesus appears to disciples, sends them)

- Acts 1:3-8 (Wait for the Holy Spirit, receive power)

- Acts 2:38-39 (Promise of the Holy Spirit for all)

- Acts 4:13 (Peter and John recognized as men who had been with Jesus)

- Romans 8:11 (The Spirit that raised Jesus lives in believers)

Stories:

- The pastor's personal testimony about dropping speech class three times in college due to fear of public speaking, but being empowered by the Holy Spirit to preach after coming to Christ

- A recent encounter with a young man who had just been released from the hospital with nowhere to go - the pastor felt led by the Holy Spirit to help him get clothes from the Dream Center thrift store, provide a shower at the church, buy him a burger, and connect him with housing, all within a few hours, demonstrating how the Holy Spirit orchestrates divine appointments in everyday moments

- The illustration of childhood "doo-doo cookies" (oatmeal chocolate cookies) to relate to doubting while still believing, connecting to the disciples who worshiped Jesus but some still doubted

- The Israelites being freed from Egypt - God didn't just save them from something but had a promised land prepared for them