“I Will Build My Church Through You”

Text: Acts 1:1-11 (NIV) 1 … “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;…”

“Wait!”
• My Father has a master plan and that plan has a timetable that He has set.
• The “I can do it” of the world stands in stark contrast with Jesus words, “Apart from Me you can do nothing.”

“You shall receive power”
• You shall receive power from the amazing, mystical, all-powerful Holy Spirit.
• “Wait” because we don’t have the kind of power that is needed.
• We no longer have to wait to receive the Spirit but are instructed to be filled with Him.
• To be filled with the Spirit is to be under the influence of the Spirit. “Don’t be drunk with wine but be filled with the Spirit.” (Ephesians 5:18).

Are you sure this means me?
• He knew you before you were born and not only did He know you, He prepared good works for you before He made the world. Those works are integrally related to the building up of His church.
• The point here is not that Jesus is building His church with you to the exclusion of others but that you are as included and as essential as anybody else.
• Each one of us are a member of His body.
• No Teacher’s Pets. God does not show favoritism.
• When it comes to God’s eternal purpose and your role in it, nothing of the flesh, no human attribute gives us an advantage or disadvantages us with the Lord. It is all Spirit and heart.
• 2 Chronicles 16:9 (NIV) For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him..

What to do?
• Respect how God has designed you and what you give as a commission from God. Respecting your role on the team. Don’t minimize Your contributions to the kingdom.
• Commend what you give to the Lord with thankfulness. Thank Him for using what You give for His purposes.
• Launch what you give from a heart of love. Love never fails as far as God is concerned.

What Not to Do
• Don’t get caught up in results or impact.
• Never confuse scope and scale with significance.
• Remember God is the ultimate judge of what is significant.
• Luke 16:15 “What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.”