Sermon Notes from August 27

Sermon Text:  Ephesians 4:7-16

This Sunday, we looked at how we want to have a culture of empowerment in our church. Empowerment is vital for the health of a church. This culture starts with us realizing that God gave us His grace by sending the Spirit of God to dwell within us to empower us to walk in the way of Jesus.  Without the help of the Holy Spirit, it would be impossible to follow Jesus as He desires from us.  So we must realize that the Spirit of God first empowers us to follow Christ, and then we desire to be a church that empowers one another to walk in our giftings and callings from God to serve one another and to serve our neighbors.  

We looked at 3 practical implications of a culture of empowerment in our church:

1. There is an experiential reality of the Holy Spirit in the life of the people.  When a culture of empowerment is present, we won't just have a belief in the Spirit of God, we will experience His presence among us. We will walk in boldness of faith and giftings, seeking His power in our corporate gatherings and in our daily lives.  

2. Church will be the place where you are equipped for your calling as disciples, not entertained for your consumption.  Church is not a place where a good product is put out to entertain consumers. We have to fight against this idea together, because entertainment doesn't bring transformation.  In Ephesians 4:11-12, we read that God gave pastors to equip the church for the work of ministry.  The word "equip" carries with it a number of ideas, like restoring something to its original glory, or a soldier preparing for battle, or a ship being packed for a long journey.  The idea is that you come to church to be restored, prepared, and poured into for the ministry God has called you to at your home, neighborhood, and work. 

3. There is a sense of ownership in personal mission.  If you are experiencing the reality of the power of the Holy Spirit in your life and you're being equipped to walk in your giftings and calling at church, then you will be empowered to own the mission God has given you.  You are the best person to reach the people around you.  And so we need to be people engaged in non-heroic mission.  We don't need to be the heroes of the story, we just need to be faithful where God has us.  Do your work diligently in faithfulness to God, lead your family in faithfulness to God, create new things to the glory of God, serve your neighbor in small, humble ways.  That is non-heroic mission, and we need to own it, as we're empowered by the Spirit of God and by the church.  

If we are able to see a culture of empowerment established in our church, where we are living empowered by the Spirit of God and we are empowering one another, I believe our church will be healthy and multiplying.