The Broken Engine: Why Moralism Cannot Save

• The Purpose of God's Spirit [00:44:02 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor states the core thesis that the Holy Spirit's purpose is to empower believers for witness.
• Preparation for the Spirit [00:44:28 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor introduces the first point regarding the preparation needed before receiving the power of the Spirit, using the analogy of dynamite.
• Christ-Centeredness [00:45:13 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that the preparation centers on Christ, referencing Luke 1:3 and the opening of Acts.
• The Name Theophilus [00:46:38 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor discusses the etymology of 'Theophilus' (God-lover) and its connection to theology and Philadelphia.
• Theophilus and the Gospel of Luke [00:45:23 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor discusses the identity of Theophilus, the etymology of the name (God-lover), and how Luke's Gospel and Acts open similarly to address this 'lover of God'.
• The Holy Spirit's Role in Empowerment [00:49:33 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that after Jesus' ascension, He sent the Holy Spirit to empower believers to obey God's commands, using the analogy of Jesus as jet fuel for the plane of obedience.
• Waiting on God vs. Instant Gratification [00:55:39 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts the disciples' command to 'wait for the promise' with modern cultural desires for instant gratification, citing a quote about the difficulty of waiting on God versus wishing one had done something.
• Baptism as Internal Washing [01:00:16 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor interprets the promise of the Spirit as a 'washing' of the inside (regeneration) rather than just an external ritual, contrasting it with John's water baptism.
• Baptism and Inner Cleansing [01:00:16 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that baptism signifies a washing of the inside (regeneration) rather than just the outside, preparing God to live inside the believer.
• The Power of the Holy Spirit [01:01:49 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts the baptism of John with the baptism of the Holy Spirit, emphasizing that the Spirit's power is for witnessing, not for personal glory or political restoration.
• Critique of Nationalism and Speculation [01:05:59 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor addresses the desire for national restoration ('make Israel great again') and the distraction of trying to predict the end times, arguing that God's power is for worldwide proclamation, not national prominence.
• Edification vs. Chaos [01:11:14 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor refutes the idea that the Holy Spirit's power is for speaking in tongues or causing chaos, citing Adrian Rogers to argue that the Spirit's power is shown through self-control and edifying speech.
• The Mission of the Church [01:14:05 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor defines the church's mission as knowing Christ to make Him known, using the Greek word 'martis' (martyr) to illustrate the cost of witness, and calls for evaluating church activities against this central focus.
• Guarding the Main Thing [01:20:22 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses an analogy of a bank robbery during a fire to illustrate that distractions (like cultural events or trivialities) must not distract the church from its primary mission of bearing witness.
• Stewardship of the Gospel [01:22:24 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that guarding the gospel is done by giving it away and refusing to compromise, rather than keeping it to oneself.
• Local Impact and Evangelism [01:16:42 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor emphasizes starting the mission in the immediate community ('Mooresville') before expanding to global missions, citing the Great Commission.
• Spiritual Complacency [01:19:17 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor warns against spiritual complacency, urging the congregation to avoid being distracted by trivial things and to actively seek the Holy Spirit.

• Sermon Illustration [00:37:34 ▶️ 📄]
  > The story of Alfred Nobel, who invented dynamite after losing his brother and friends in an explosion, and his decision to leave his fortune to establish the Nobel Peace Prize to honor contributions to society.
• Sermon Illustration [00:50:05 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses an analogy of flying an airplane: God supplies the plane (the Holy Spirit) and the fuel (Jesus), while the believer must learn to build and fly it, rather than just being told to 'fly an airplane' without preparation.
• Sermon Illustration [00:52:29 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references the story of Doubting Thomas, where Jesus invited Thomas to touch His wounds to confirm the resurrection, illustrating how Jesus provided 'proofs' to the disciples.
• Sermon Illustration [00:57:01 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a quote from a Mary Kay saleswoman: 'The only thing harder than waiting on God is wishing that you would have done that in the first place.'
• Sermon Illustration [01:08:54 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references the book '88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Occur in 1988' by Edward C. Wisenot to illustrate the failure of theologians and mathematicians to predict the end times.
• Sermon Illustration [01:16:11 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the analogy of 'pulling weeds out of a garden' to describe the need to clear away church activities that do not contribute to the mission of making Jesus known.
• Sermon Illustration [01:20:07 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a story about an old pastor who taught him to 'guard the bank,' using an analogy of two men setting fires to distract a town while robbing the bank, illustrating how distractions can lead to losing sight of the true treasure.
• Sermon Illustration [01:24:06 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references Alfred Nobel, asking the congregation to consider their legacy and how they will be remembered, using Nobel's investment in the Red Cross as an example of investing treasure for peace.

• Pastoral Charge [00:41:01 ▶️ 📄]
  > Stand up if able, out of reverence for God's word.
• Pastoral Charge [00:48:03 ▶️ 📄]
  > Understand that receiving power from God centers on Jesus Christ.
• Pastoral Charge [00:59:41 ▶️ 📄]
  > Do not lose heart; keep knocking on God's door in prayer.
• Pastoral Charge [01:15:15 ▶️ 📄]
  > Evaluate all church activities and budgets against the central mission of knowing and making Jesus known.
• Pastoral Charge [01:15:54 ▶️ 📄]
  > Stop and evaluate current church events and activities; if they do not contribute to the mission, be willing to discontinue them.
• Pastoral Charge [01:16:42 ▶️ 📄]
  > Reach out to those in the immediate local community.
• Pastoral Charge [01:15:33 ▶️ 📄]
  > The finance committee is called to evaluate their budget to ensure it reflects the church's priority and fuels its mission.
• Pastoral Charge [01:18:44 ▶️ 📄]
  > The congregation is called to actively 'shine the light' of the gospel in their community to help lost people find their way to Jesus.
• Pastoral Charge [01:22:10 ▶️ 📄]
  > The congregation is called to 'guard the bank' by focusing on the gospel and not being distracted by worldly issues.
• Pastoral Charge [01:22:24 ▶️ 📄]
  > The congregation is called to guard the gospel by giving it away, refusing compromise, and proclaiming it.
• Pastoral Charge [01:24:06 ▶️ 📄]
  > The congregation is called to reflect on their legacy and consider how they will use the power God has given them for the sake of the gospel.
• Pastoral Charge [01:26:58 ▶️ 📄]
  > The congregation is called to ensure they are ready for Christ's return through faithful witness and obedience.

[00:05:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:05:18] The western half of Jamaica was devastated by this hurricane. I was traumatized. My roof was gone, had no water, had no electricity. Each time that I hear a drop of rain falling on my ceiling, it's as if I was living that night all over again.

[00:05:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]
[00:05:46] The morning after Hurricane Melissa slammed into Jamaica, residents wondered what would come next.
[00:05:55] The answer was a wave of yellow shirts from North Carolina and other states, ready to not just repair the damage, but to help total strangers rebuild their lives and their futures.

[00:06:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:06:07] What North Carolina Baptist on Missions is doing here in Jamaica is we're repairing roofs, zinc on homes in the local area who lost their roofs.
[00:06:16] But as we see on this roof here, there was major underbody damage done also.
[00:06:23] So we're having to do a lot of carpentry work here and replace ridges and beams, things of that nature.

[00:06:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]
[00:06:30] Sometimes, just being there is a powerful message of hope.
[00:06:34] It's a reminder to weary homeowners that they are not alone, that God loves them, and that there truly is relief for today and hope for tomorrow.

[00:06:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:06:43] This is one of the happiest days of my life.
[00:06:52] They're all here to help me. It's amazing.
[00:06:56] The team is actively engaged, you know, restoring my roof.
[00:07:02] Can you believe it? Yes, they are right now as we speak.
[00:07:06] So I tell it as it is. That's it. What else can I say?

[00:07:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]
[00:07:12] Because of your gifts to the North Carolina Missions offering, the framework for Baptists on Mission is in place.
[00:07:20] place. This means that when disasters strike, 100% of your designated funds goes directly to that specific disaster. Thank you for making it possible for volunteers to live lives that are

[00:07:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:07:35] sent. I worship this morning by singing, He Keeps Me Singing, and come Christians, join to sing.

[00:11:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:11:24] Let's stand together as we worship. How's everybody doing this morning? Good. Welcome to Trinity

[00:16:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[00:16:30] Baptist Church. My name is Robert Leto and I'm serving here as the associate pastor under our beloved lead pastor Mark Harris. I do believe today is the last Sunday we'll be playing musical churches for a little while. We'll have our lead pastor back here next Sunday and we were thrilled
[00:16:46] to have his son with us last Sunday. We could definitely tell he had the last name of Harris.
[00:16:51] Amen. When he was preaching the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and we're thrilled to have him. We're thrilled to have Pastor Mark and we're going to pray for them as they're both filling pulpits this morning as I trust you're praying for me as I get an opportunity to fill
[00:17:05] this one and I'm excited about that as I was walking up brother Roy stopped me and said are you're taking us up this morning and I said what do you mean brother and he says you're preaching
[00:17:14] on the ascension and I said listen all I can tell you is what plane to catch whether or not you got your boarding pass that's between you and the Lord so if you don't have your boarding pass I'm
[00:17:26] going to try to make sure you get a hold of one this morning as we dive into the word but hey Before we do, I just want to welcome those who are visiting with us for the first time.
[00:17:34] As a matter of fact, we have a gift for you.
[00:17:36] Our deacons will be walking down the aisles.
[00:17:38] And if you'd be just so kind as to slip your hand up high enough for them to see you, they'll get you that little blue bag.
[00:17:44] In there, there's all kind of things for you to take home.
[00:17:46] There's one thing we want you to leave with us, though, and that's a visitor card.
[00:17:50] If you'd be so kind as to just fill that out and drop it in the offering plate when it comes by, we'd greatly appreciate it.
[00:17:56] and we like to start off every service by going to the Lord in prayer.
[00:18:02] So let's do that together at the onset of our time as we call upon his mighty name.
[00:18:09] Father in heaven, Father, we start off this morning with rejoicing as we should.
[00:18:15] Praise and adoration to the name that is above all names.
[00:18:20] God, you truly are King of kings and Lord of lords.
[00:18:22] You are our creator and you are our king.
[00:18:27] And Father, in light of who You are, we also see ourselves.
[00:18:31] Father, we see our sinfulness.
[00:18:33] We see our need for a Savior.
[00:18:35] We see that we have sinned and fallen short of Your glory.
[00:18:37] We have missed the mark.
[00:18:38] We have gone astray.
[00:18:40] Every single one of us, Lord, to His or Her own way.
[00:18:45] And yet, God, this great and glorious Gospel, You saw fit to lay upon Your Son the iniquity of us all.
[00:18:52] Father, that's a reason to praise this morning.
[00:18:55] So thank You for Jesus.
[00:18:56] Thank You for His cross that covers us.
[00:18:58] Thank You for the Holy Spirit that empowers us, Lord.
[00:19:02] Help us this morning to affirm our forgiveness.
[00:19:05] Help us to look at the cross, to look at Your Word, to look at Your precious promises, and then to apply them to our lives, God.
[00:19:13] Help us to call out for the grace needed to change, God, for the empowerment to walk uprightly when we stumble.
[00:19:22] Father, we thank You for this church.
[00:19:24] We thank You for the precious saints that are in it.
[00:19:26] God, the church isn't made up of brick and mortar it's made up of flesh and bone and blood it's the saints, the ecclesia, the called out ones, Lord God, you've called us out of darkness
[00:19:38] and you've led us into this marvelous light so help us to respond this morning to worship you appropriately in spirit and in truth and Father, if there are things this morning that we're carrying with us when we've walked in here, Lord
[00:19:52] whether they be burdens, concerns whether they be prayer requests or praises Father we just lay them down at your feet Father help us to clear our minds help us to empty ourselves of our flesh
[00:20:06] why?
[00:20:07] so that we could be filled with your spirit so that we could be empowered to leave this room Father given what's needed to proclaim your gospel to a world that's in need Father we ask that you have your hand upon us
[00:20:22] and your spirit within us for the remainder of this service may everything that is thought and said and sung and done here this morning bring you honor glory and praise and we ask this in jesus mighty name
[00:20:33] and all god's people said amen if you've got children with you we do have children's church available to my right and your left miss terry's there to greet them let's take a moment to welcome

[00:20:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:20:43] one another into the sanctuary this morning now's the time we take up our offering you know about a

[00:27:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]
[00:27:20] year and a half ago sometimes when i go home after hearing pastor harrison was challenged some messages, challenging messages. I'll go home, and as my beautiful wife's cooking lunch, I'll listen to our former pastor up north, Pastor Jerry Seiler. They start an hour behind us,
[00:27:39] so I can catch half the sermon sometimes. This particular Sunday, he was just getting up to take the offering. He said, folks, I hope you're faithful with your tithes and offerings. He said, you know, last week, we got our property insurance bill in the mail, and he said, just for the
[00:27:56] Christian school next door, some buses, and a church building.
[00:28:00] He said our bill was over $65,000.
[00:28:03] He said, but you know what?
[00:28:05] He said, we're going to pay it.
[00:28:07] He said, you know why?
[00:28:08] He said, because last week on visitation, a little 7-year-old boy asked Jesus in his heart to be his Lord and Savior.
[00:28:15] Folks, most of you know we've started a Christian school, TCA, Trinity Christian Academy.
[00:28:22] and folks it has taken more and continues to take more financially probably than we ever dreamed or imagined but every single day almost 100 little boys and girls walk into the classroom age two through fourth grade and every day not only are they getting a good education but every every
[00:28:49] single day they hear the name Jesus. Every single day they hear about Jesus. And folks, I'm here to tell you, already since the school's been open just a few weeks, a little third grade boy named
[00:29:03] Trevor asked Jesus into his heart to be his Lord and Savior. A little first grade girl named Ella asked Jesus into her heart to be her Lord and Savior. And folks, this is just the beginning,
[00:29:21] just the beginning and i want to ask you is there anything anything more rewarding for christians than to see little boys and girls asking jesus into their heart getting saved on their way to heaven and knowing and growing in christ and knowing that we by our faithful
[00:29:47] giving to tca we all had a part in it i ask you is there anything more rewarding than that if you're online today and you'd like to be a part of this go to www.trinitybaptist.com
[00:30:02] let's pray dear heavenly father lord we thank you lord for the stay you've given us lord but we're just so thankful for your love your goodness your blessings lord we're thankful for jesus lord we come to this offering time lord we pray to you bless this offering and use it for
[00:30:17] your glory in every way. And Lord, also today, I pray that no one would leave this service without asking Jesus into their heart to be a Lord and Savior if they've not done so. I pray that when
[00:30:32] Pastor Robert gets done with the message and walks down to give the invitation, Lord, I pray that anyone not saved will step out and walk down that aisle, even run down that aisle, take pastor robert by the hand and say i need jesus i need jesus lord that's my prayer today

[00:30:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:30:55] bless this offering we ask in jesus name amen i look around me i see prophecies

[00:33:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:33:55] fulfill the signs of the time they're appearing they about put the the word cry and midnight cry

[00:36:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[00:36:47] this morning i'm over here wiping tears off my face before we get in preaching that was powerful thank you uh pastor grant and choir and chase whoo thank you jesus wouldn't be out wouldn't be here
[00:37:03] without him. Well, church, I am thrilled and humbled by the opportunity to stand before you again this morning and give us a little glimpse as to what it might look like when those clouds are parted as we are going to dive into God's word here in Acts chapter 1 in just a little bit.
[00:37:23] But before we do, I want to start off with a true story. I don't know if you know this or not. I did a little bit of research this week. I found this absolutely fascinating. Check this out.
[00:37:34] back in the mid 1800s a name you might be familiar with a gentleman by the name of alfred nobel he worked with one of the most powerful substances known to man at the time something called
[00:37:50] nitroglycerin he was hoping to make the dangerous work of blasting mountains away even more effective for endeavors like mining or providing transportation networks and that was certainly one way you could view using that substance but as you can imagine men had other ideas
[00:38:11] maybe using it for things like military endeavors things of that nature and as you can imagine experience experimenting with nitroglycerin was was volatile and downright dangerous a lot of times they did things through trial and error as a result of that in 1864 Alfred lost his younger
[00:38:33] brother and several friends when a blast didn't go according to plan. Nevertheless, Alfred pressed on and he eventually patented what we now know today as dynamite in 1867. And he profited from dynamite exponentially, tremendously over the next 20 years of his life. Made a lot of money,
[00:38:57] as you can imagine. But towards the end of his life, Mr. Alfred started wrestling with how would history remember his name on one hand he was praised i mean that that invention helped us benefit our society through technological advancements we now have access to natural
[00:39:16] resources we didn't have before we now have transportation networks that were beyond our reach because a mountain was in the way but on the other hand some refer to him as a merchant of death
[00:39:30] because his invention was being used by the military to not just blow up mountains but men.
[00:39:40] Motivated by how history would remember his name, how would history remember his life and his legacy, Alfred signed a will leaving most of his fortune to establishing a prize that would honor contributions to society.
[00:39:57] As a result, in 1901, the first Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the founder of the red cross i want you to remember that the first nobel peace prize went to the founder of the red cross and ironically enough i mean a hundred years later we're still
[00:40:17] wrestling with the same question today how should men and women how should we use the power that we've been given what's the appropriate use of it and today in acts chapter 1 verses 1 through 11
[00:40:31] then God is going to give you the answer to that very question.
[00:40:37] In Acts 1.8, the Almighty tells us that we're going to receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.
[00:40:45] That word power in the original language, look at the Greek.
[00:40:49] It's dunamis, from which we derive the same word you just heard earlier, dynamite.
[00:40:59] Church, no wonder we're told faith can move mountains.
[00:41:01] if you're ready to experience that kind of power firsthand today i want to encourage you to stand up if you're able out of the reading of god's word out of reverence for it as we look at acts
[00:41:14] chapter 1 verses 1 through 11 and see the purpose of power this is the word of the lord in the first book oh theophilus i have dealt with all that jesus began to do and to teach until the day he
[00:41:31] was taken up after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen he presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God and while staying with them he ordered them
[00:41:53] not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the father which he said you heard from me for john baptized you with water but you will be baptized with the holy spirit not many days from now so when they had come together they asked him lord will you at
[00:42:16] this time restore the kingdom to israel and he said to them it's not for you to know the times or seasons that the father has fixed by his own authority but you will receive power when the
[00:42:32] holy spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in jerusalem and in judea and samaria to the ends of the earth and when he had said these things as they were looking on he was lifted
[00:42:46] up and a cloud took him out of their sight and while they were gazing into heaven as he went behold two men stood by them in white robes and they said men of galilee why do you stand looking
[00:43:00] into heaven this jesus who is taking up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven let's pray father in heaven god we thank you for your word god we thank you
[00:43:19] for your holy spirit we thank you for your power father may your power be on my mouth and our ears this morning may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to your
[00:43:31] sight oh lord our rock and our redeemer we ask this in the mighty and matchless name of jesus our messiah amen thank you may be seated trinity if we could condense this entire message down to
[00:43:49] a single sentence here's what that sentence would be i like to give that at the onset of the message so you can be like the bereans and test it the whole way through the purpose of god's spirit
[00:44:02] is to empower us the believers to bear witness about christ until he returns one more time the purpose of god's spirit is to empower believers to bear witness about christ until he returns put that to the test as we walk through the text together today starting with point number one
[00:44:28] the preparation for the spirit verses one through three look at the preparation for the spirit as the nobel family learned the hard way before you can ever receive an incredible power you had better be prepared for it and as powerful as dynamite is it pales in
[00:44:51] comparison to the power we're talking about today why is that the power we're talking about today is a power that is out of this world because it comes to us from heaven.
[00:45:06] What sort of power am I talking about and how can we be prepared to receive it?
[00:45:12] Verse one gives you that answer.
[00:45:13] Verse one tells you that it all centers on Christ.
[00:45:19] Look in verse one.
[00:45:20] It all centers on Christ.
[00:45:23] In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and to teach now at first that statement's a little puzzling some of us are like in the first book of theophilus in what book who's theophilus who's writing this and why we see in our bibles
[00:45:45] that luke opens up in a very similar way luke chapter 1 verse 3 says this it seemed good to me also having followed all things closely for some time past to write an orderly account for you
[00:46:02] most excellent theophilus i wonder do you see it luke is writing the book of acts and he's referring to his first account of the gospel the gospel of luke and we see in both of those they both open
[00:46:20] up in the same way they're writing to this individual named theophilus who's theophilus scholars have actually debated as to who this theophilus is there's at least two theories that they come to though number one it's pretty simple hey it's somebody living in that town with a name
[00:46:38] Theophilus and I could have told you that I don't even have a PhD but number two this is pretty interesting number two it could be a generic name for all believers and here's why break down the
[00:46:53] etymology of that word for a moment that word Theophilus we see that the name Theo means God That's why we call theology the study of God.
[00:47:05] That's right.
[00:47:06] Phyllis means love.
[00:47:09] That's why we call Philadelphia the city of brotherly love.
[00:47:13] There you go, playing along.
[00:47:14] I like it.
[00:47:15] So we put those two words together, we have this beautiful name emerging.
[00:47:20] It literally means God lover or lover of God.
[00:47:27] He's writing to the people who love God.
[00:47:29] and where does Luke say that a lover of God's focus should be on it should be on all that Jesus did and taught if you love God you will love his son why he and the father are one so friend
[00:47:50] already today as we begin this message I'm here to tell you this morning if you're ever going to receive a power from God, then you had better understand right off the bat that it all centers
[00:48:03] on Jesus Christ. It starts with who he is. It starts with what he has done. It's his person.
[00:48:14] It's his work as recorded for us in his holy word. And here's why. God's word isn't just going to tell you who God is. It does that and praise God for it, but it also tells us who we are in light
[00:48:28] of him that's the sub point number two god it it clarifies our calling it clarifies our calling look in verse two until the day that he was taken up after he had given commands through the holy
[00:48:44] spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen luke goes on to say in the first book i wrote about jesus i wrote all about jesus all the way up until he was taken up into heaven and here in the book
[00:49:00] of acts we see he's picking up where he left off all the way up to the ascension when he was taken up into the glory and now in this account he's going to tell us about christ and how through
[00:49:11] the power of the holy spirit he taught the disciples he prepared them for everything that they were to do after his ascension and here's here's what i think is pretty amazing after jesus ascended as we're going to see shortly here today in the book of acts he sent that same holy spirit
[00:49:33] to empower us to follow everything that he obeyed so track with me here in the power of the holy spirit jesus taught the disciples commanding them to do all of these things after he ascended he
[00:49:46] sent the holy spirit to live inside of us to empower us through that obedience church what does that mean that means that what God requires God supplies that's what that means here I like this this is how I like to think about I'm a simple man I have to think about things in simple
[00:50:05] ways to understand them church God doesn't say hey guys go fly an airplane now if you're Bob Joyner or I don't know Brooks Neville that's easy for you maybe Johnny Lamb you're like no problem
[00:50:17] I got that but if you're an average Joe like you and me you're like number one where am I going to find an airplane? And number two, what am I going to do with it once I find one, right? But here's
[00:50:29] the thing about the Holy Spirit. God, Jesus teaches us how to build it. Jesus teaches us how to fly it.
[00:50:38] Jesus is like the jet fuel that goes into the plane and propels its propulsion. That's how the Holy Spirit sort of operates in our lives. The Holy Spirit doesn't just clarify the commands of god it does it explains them but it also empowers us to obey them and i'm thankful for that i'm
[00:50:59] thankful for that it is the spirit of god the bible says who works in us both to will and to work for his good pleasure and that's not all look at what you see unfolding in verse three
[00:51:17] in verse 3 we're told that it confirms our certainty it confirms our certainty you know we have faith but sometimes we're like the dad praying for the demon to lose the boy father i believe i've got faith but help my unbelief in verse 3 you see that he presented
[00:51:38] himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God. What a gracious gift this passage is. What a gracious gift it is.
[00:51:55] It gives us a glimpse into the 40-day window in between the resurrection and the ascension of Christ. What was God doing? What was Jesus doing during those 40 days? The Bible tells us that after Jesus had suffered and bled and he died, he appeared to his disciples and he did it over
[00:52:15] and over and over again he was reassuring them he was offering them up many proofs and i was thinking like what does that look like i wonder what that must have looked like and then i'm
[00:52:29] reminded of a conversation that jesus had with doubting thomas you remember that when in thomas in the midst of his doubts jesus came to him and called him said thomas come here come come close
[00:52:43] don't just don't just see reach out your hand touch my side and feel put your hand in my hands feel the wounds don't just see but touch and feel my power over death through the resurrection is
[00:52:59] real Jesus also taught them about the kingdom of heaven that is after all how he taught us to pray right didn't he tell us to pray that way and when we pray we say thy kingdom come thy will be done
[00:53:12] on earth as it is in heaven? You see, church, they anticipated a kingdom like we do, but they were just a little mistaken and confused as to how that kingdom would be inaugurated. You know what I
[00:53:28] think? I think the disciples aren't much different from you and me. I think the people living then aren't much different from Christians living in the world today. We see in the scriptures that many anticipated a great military conquest when Israel would be freed from Roman rule through a
[00:53:47] powerful king and if it wasn't going to happen through a military movement then you know what perhaps it will happen through the power of politics if we can't if we could just get enough voices to cry out we want Jesus we want Jesus then maybe then and finally then Christ will end up
[00:54:08] being our king but you know i imagine the hopes for both of those things whether it's a military endeavor or a political movement i think the hopes for both of those went up in flames
[00:54:19] when the hour of the election drew near the crowds didn't say give us jesus did they they said bring us barabbas give us barabbas and as for this king crucify him perhaps the disciples thought their hopes of establishing a kingdom were over. I mean, after all, you can't
[00:54:48] have a kingdom without a king. He can't rule and have dominion if he's dead and rotting inside of a grave. But praise God. Praise God Almighty. The sinful purposes of men could not thwart the power
[00:55:06] of God. His power overcame sin, hell, death, and even the grave. Church, God was not going to break his promise he was keeping it in a way you didn't see coming god god's preparation included a
[00:55:26] precious promise and you see that unfolding in verses four and five i want you to look at the promise of god the promise of the spirit in verse four and five in verse four jesus said you gotta
[00:55:39] wait for it which is hard to do isn't it and while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father which he said you heard from me. Here again
[00:55:56] I submit to you the disciples aren't much different than you and me. Today in this society in our culture we're all about instant gratification are we? They're like oh come on Jesus don't tell us
[00:56:10] the recipe calls for a crock pot where's the one for a microwave? We're hungry for a kingdom and we want it now jesus like most immature believers we want that fast food when we hear a teaching
[00:56:26] we're like little children don't tell us the hard stuff just give us the happy meal jesus wanted to grow their faith he wanted to grow their faith through times of testing he wanted them to learn what it meant to wait upon the precious promises of god to come to fruition
[00:56:44] and all that they wanted is just like us just give us the spiritual shortcut this this reminds me of some of the wisest words that i've ever heard uttered in a church i heard these words over a
[00:57:01] decade ago and they stuck with me i think i'm going to take them to my grave check this out those words weren't they wasn't spoken by some powerful preacher or some brilliant theologian I heard them from a little humble woman who sells Mary Kay for a living in a country church not far
[00:57:20] from here a decade ago I heard these words she said Robert the only thing harder than waiting on God is wishing that you would have I want to say that one more time in case you missed it
[00:57:39] the only thing harder than waiting on God in life is wishing that you would have done that in the first place church it's no wonder that wisdom is personified as a woman in the book of proverbs
[00:57:52] do you think that abraham and sarah would agree with that statement all throughout the bible we're encouraged to wait upon the lord over and over and over again i heard 40 is the number of
[00:58:10] perfection over 40 times in the bible we're told wait upon the lord pray persistently don't lose heart we're encouraged to pray like jacob we need to grab a hold of god in the middle of the night
[00:58:24] and say i'm not gonna let you go until you bless me i'm gonna wrestle with you from the very depths of my soul until you touch me and you change me and you make me walk differently for the rest of
[00:58:38] my life church we're called to call out to god asking for our daily bread every single day give us this day our daily bread and in that same passage jesus says you need to be like a friend
[00:58:52] coming at midnight at the midnight hour come at midnight cry out at midnight call out for three lows knock on the door and if he doesn't come to the door keep knocking on the door persistently
[00:59:06] asking patiently asking jesus said because of that man's impotence that means over and over and over again he wouldn't let up jesus said ask and it will be given to you seek and you will find
[00:59:24] knock and it will be opened to you church there's times when god calls us to wait and pray with that sort of intensity so if you've been waiting and praying and hoping from a promise of god don't
[00:59:41] loose heart keep knocking on the door will be open for you because as the rest of the passage shows us here today sometimes calling out to God in prayer asking him to change our outward
[00:59:58] circumstances it leads to God changing our inward being as we wait for the promises of God I love this he washes us with him that's the point it's the second sub point there wait for the promise
[01:00:16] be washed by the promise acts 1 5 john baptized you with water but you'll be baptized with the holy spirit not many days from now this wasn't just a promise of waiting church it was a promise
[01:00:36] of washing that's what the word baptism means right that's why we as good bible believing baptists believe this we we believe it means to dip to dunk to plunge to submerge in water why water for the purpose of cleansing for the purpose of cleaning all throughout the old testament you
[01:00:56] saw this pre-ceremonial washing or baptizing why you had better prepare yourself to enter God's presence right to worship God but this Jesus said this isn't your average baptism this isn't your average cleaning of the outside this is going to be a washing and a cleaning
[01:01:19] of the inside I'm going to regenerate your heart why because you're not just preparing to be near God you're preparing God's coming to live inside of you what's the only thing near than being near
[01:01:35] God or God among us. It's God in us. That's the power of the Holy Spirit. God in us. Jesus and John were on the same page about this. They said the baptism of the Holy Spirit is going to be even
[01:01:49] more significant than the baptism of John. Here Jesus says, John baptized you with water, but you're going to be baptized by the Holy Spirit. It's implying more significance and different.
[01:02:02] Matthew 3 11 John said I'm going to baptize you with water for repentance but he who is coming after me he's mightier than I am he's so mighty in fact I'm not even worthy to stoop down and
[01:02:20] untie his sandals he's gonna baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire you know those of you who know your bible know what that's talking about if we were to keep going through the book of acts
[01:02:38] you know what happens next right when the disciples have been praying together for 50 days prior to the death and resurrection of christ they were praying together waiting for the precious promise of that power from on high and then finally on the day of pentecost when the spirit fell from heaven
[01:02:59] with the sound of a mighty rushing wind it filled the house and tongues of fire rested upon each and every single one of them and we saw something like the reverse of what was preached in here just two
[01:03:13] weeks ago it was the reverse of the tower of babel at babel languages were confused but at pentecost people from different nations and tribes and tongues heard about the mighty works of god Each heard the word of God proclaimed in their own language.
[01:03:35] It wasn't just a miracle of speaking.
[01:03:38] It was a miracle of hearing.
[01:03:41] The language barriers were bridged.
[01:03:44] God's people were unified for a powerful purpose.
[01:03:49] They were empowered to bear witness to Jesus Christ as they took the gospel to all nations.
[01:03:56] Why?
[01:03:58] In order to make his name known.
[01:04:00] they were no longer trying to build their own kingdom they were no longer trying to work their way up to god build their own tower establish their own kingdom make a name for themselves why their central focus was on christ church that's the purpose of the spirit like a spotlight
[01:04:24] it puts the attention squarely on the shoulders of jesus christ it's not possible without god's power that's the power of the spirit we see unfolding in verses six through eight in verse six where said this power is given to you not to grow your own throne that's not why i'm giving
[01:04:46] you this power in verse six when they had they'd come together they asked him lord is now the time when you're going to restore the kingdom of israel and i want you to stop and think about that
[01:04:58] question. Think about how incredible that question truly is. They had just spent 40 days with Jesus and he's teaching them about the kingdom of God. And out of all the questions they could have asked
[01:05:17] him, that's what they asked him. Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?
[01:05:29] You know, as I've stated before, a lot of Jewish people anticipated a Messiah who was to come, who was to restore the kingdom of Israel.
[01:05:37] But they just expected it in a different way.
[01:05:40] Again, they thought it would be through a military endeavor or a political movement.
[01:05:45] And yet Jesus shows them here that his plans are gonna unfold in an unexpected way.
[01:05:53] You know, I can't help but see the disciples asking Jesus a very similar question.
[01:05:59] many americans are asking today god are you going to use your power to make our nation prominent again today are you going to use your power and your position to make our nation powerful and prominent again today two thousand years later i hear the question expressed this
[01:06:22] way this is what i kind of how i see them asking this question lord are you going to make israel great again that's kind of how i hear this question being asked and while from a pre-millennial
[01:06:34] perspective we do anticipate a future restoration of israel i want you to put your attention where christ calls for our attention to be on today he redirects their attention because it's where our attention should be on today on the responsibility that god's given to us here and now church he
[01:06:58] doesn't give us a timetable for national restoration. He gives us a mission of worldwide proclamation. That's the message and mission of the church. Not national restoration. Worldwide proclamation of the gospel. The purpose of God's power is not to grow our throne. It's not to
[01:07:22] advance our name. It's not to make our nation great again. Our attention has to be focused on the eternal kingdom of heaven a kingdom that shall not be shaken on the throne that matters most the one that belongs to the king of kings and lord of lords our calling is to bow before
[01:07:47] him to submit to his rule and his reign to bear witness to his glory jesus says his power it's not for you to grow your throne and it's not for you to know my time that's what it says in
[01:08:06] verse 7 it's not for you to know my times my he said to them it is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the father has fixed he's fixed these times by his own authority
[01:08:21] fixed implies they cannot be moved you know over the last several hundred years countless Yes, would-be theologians and mathematicians have made many predictions when the Lord will return and restore all things.
[01:08:40] And do you know what every single one of them have had in common?
[01:08:46] I said, they've all been wrong.
[01:08:49] Every single one of them.
[01:08:51] And if you don't believe me, hey, go on Amazon.
[01:08:54] Pick yourself up a copy of this book, 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Occur in 1988.
[01:09:01] Yeah.
[01:09:03] By Edward C. Wisenot.
[01:09:06] what a last name wise not not very wise is he the next time you're thinking for you're looking for a good read you got 88 reasons and one verse should have stopped him in his tracks
[01:09:19] Matthew 24 36 but concerning that day that time that hour no one knows not even the angels in heaven church we don't need to waste precious time trying to calculate what God has chosen not
[01:09:37] to reveal it's not the point all too often the church even our church gets distracted we drift away from the primary focus primary purpose of God's mission we get so preoccupied with trying to figure out when Christ is coming back we forget to do the very thing he told us to do
[01:09:59] until he returns God doesn't want us to be preoccupied with political conquests with military movements which can only hope to bring a nation into prominence for a season he doesn't want us to waste our precious time trying to calculate the impossible trying to figure out
[01:10:23] or predict when he's going to return it's not about growing a throne or knowing a time and if it's not about either one of those then what is it about why did he give us this power
[01:10:37] what's the purpose of the power he has entrusted to your care this morning verse 8 holds the answer it's to show a transformation in your life verse 8 says you will receive power when the holy spirit
[01:10:58] has come upon you now there are a lot of people in a lot of churches today who think that that power is given so he can speak in other tongues they even poke fun at baptist a little bit
[01:11:14] they say you baptists don't even want to mention the holy spirit in your service because you're afraid he just might show up i've heard that before i've heard you're afraid people will start running up and down the aisles talking like used car salesmen you know what i'm talking about
[01:11:31] should have bought a honda should have bought a kia saying stuff like that but that's not why god gives us that power the power is not given so the spotlight will be put on us
[01:11:44] it's given so the spotlight will be placed on him it's given so we that we can bear witness to his name i love what my old pastor used to say about this adrian rogers here's what he said
[01:11:57] the power of a spirit-filled believer isn't shown through their ability to speak in other tongues it's shown through their ability to control the one they've already got that'll preach so let me ask you this morning dear friend does your life show that is that
[01:12:23] power of the holy spirit being manifested in your life does the spirit govern what comes out of your mouth over the conversations in your home over how you talk to your spouse your children how about
[01:12:39] the way you talk about other people when they're not in the room even other christians how about what comes out of your mouth out there on 77 or 150 church in the words of vody balkum if you don't
[01:12:54] say amen you need to say ouch god is not a god of chaos or confusion he's a god of peace and of power of a sound mind the gifts of the spirit were bit were given to edify the church to build up the
[01:13:11] church not to cause chaos or confusion the holy spirit brings clarity and conviction to our lives why so that we can bear witness to the cause of Christ so that we can be witnesses to Jesus Christ
[01:13:26] that's the purpose of the Holy Spirit the last point we have here in the last couple moments you see unfolding through the rest of the passage today the purpose of the Spirit in verse 8 you see it's to bear witness for Christ you'll receive power when the Holy Spirit
[01:13:45] comes upon you why so that you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria all the way to the end of the earth Trinity Baptist Church the entire message has been building up to
[01:14:05] that that's it that's the purpose of the Holy Spirit the preparation the promise the power of the Holy Spirit it all leads up to this purpose of the Holy Spirit which is to empower us to bear
[01:14:19] witness to Jesus Christ. Full stop, period, end of story. That word witness comes to us from the Greek word martis, from which we derive the same English word martyr. And if that word sounds familiar to you, it's because it's often associated with somebody who seals their testimony, who seals
[01:14:46] their witness of Jesus in their own blood. And that's why the mission of our church is what it is. The mission of our church is to know Christ. Why? For the purpose of making him known. Even if
[01:15:00] that means we have to lay down our own lives in the process. And church, anything else that we do that pulls away from that central focus is only a distraction. And it's why I wish that every
[01:15:15] single thing that we ever did within the four walls of these church would be ran through that very filter. So what I mean is, hey, finance committee, when you get together, when you prepare a budget, and when we submit it to the church to approve it, I wish we would ask ourselves,
[01:15:33] does that budget reflect our priority? Does our funding fuel our mission? And if it doesn't, what needs to be adjusted? I want every single event that's held here at Trinity Baptist church, whether it's a fall festival, a Harvest of Hope, a musical concert, a VBS, a 9-11 service,
[01:15:54] a teaching series, whatever we do, we need to stop and ask ourselves, does this help make, help us know Jesus? Does this help make Jesus known? And if the answer is no, then why are we
[01:16:11] doing it? If it doesn't contribute to the mission, we need to be willing to let it go. Like pulling weeds out of a garden we need to clear away what keeps faithful fruit from growing i also want you
[01:16:28] to notice where does jesus say start this mission he says be my witnesses in jerusalem right where they were standing judea and samaria then to the ends of the earth that means that we should start
[01:16:42] right here in our own backyard the great commission starts with our community and then it works its way out to the nations. Church, that means that Trinity should impact Mooresville before we think about Mississippi, Moscow, or Malaysia. We need to reach out to those who are near to us, but far
[01:17:03] from God. And I don't know if you've noticed lately, but my goodness, are there a lot of lost people living in Mooresville. There's a mosque being built two minutes from our church. There's a buddhist temple being built two minutes from our school on faith road for crying out loud
[01:17:24] as the old missionary saying goes the light that shines the farthest shines the brightest at home i want you to think about that next time you see a lighthouse think about that next time you consider
[01:17:40] how is our church impacting our community as a matter of fact here's a painful question this question hurts ask yourself this if trinity baptist church was to close its doors today would mooresville notice tomorrow and i'm not talking about the 300 people in this room either
[01:18:03] i'm talking about the ones outside of it would they even notice we were gone that's why i praise god for some of the things that we have going on right here i praise god for our part-time preschool
[01:18:17] located right here at 221 Irvin Road.
[01:18:21] I praise God for our full-time Christian school located on 1431 Mecklenburg Highway.
[01:18:28] And it's why I believe that we should pray and do every single thing within our power depending on his Holy Spirit to keep those lights shining brightly in our community.
[01:18:40] We need to be a lighthouse.
[01:18:44] We need to keep shining the light.
[01:18:46] Why?
[01:18:46] So that those who are lost in darkness can find their way home.
[01:18:49] back to their king to the one who is the way the truth and the life to the light the life-giving light of the world and if we're going to do that we had better heed the warning given in these last
[01:19:03] three verses i believe god gave us this passage today number one to clarify our calling to bear witness for christ but i also believe he gave it to us to be a warning to be a warning against
[01:19:17] spiritual complacency in our lives last three verses and when he has said these things as they were looking on he was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight and while they were gazing
[01:19:35] into heaven as he went behold two men stood by them in white robes and they said men of galilee why are you standing around why are you standing around looking into heaven this jesus who was
[01:19:50] taken up into heaven he's going to come in the same way as you saw him go you know when i when i read those words i can't help but think of something an old pastor told me when i was in
[01:20:07] seminary as i was studying what it meant to be a faithful pastor to lead a church he said son if you want to be a faithful pastor you better learn how to guard the bank i said guard the bank what
[01:20:22] on earth what does that even mean he says you got to keep the main thing the main thing he then told me a story about his childhood he was living in a little town and two strange men came in
[01:20:36] those same two men set fires to a couple buildings in their town and while everybody was so focused on those flames those two men went and robbed the bank they were so distracted that the robbers got
[01:20:52] away and so church i'm gonna tell you this morning there's always going to be another fire that's burning that's distracting us from our attention and some things need to be addressed they do but we cannot be so consumed with the distractions that we lose sight of the true treasure that has
[01:21:13] been entrusted to our care second corinthians 4 7 says that we have treasure we have this treasure in jars of clay why to show that the surpassing power belongs to god what's that treasure is it
[01:21:34] not christ is it not the glorious gospel of jesus christ is that not your treasure this morning can you say take the world but leave me jesus church we can't stand around with our heads in
[01:21:50] the clouds just watching and waiting for his return while neglecting to do the very thing he has commanded we can't just stand around watching the news all day watching the world burn before us and say jesus just come back and get us we've got to guard the bank we've got to
[01:22:10] keep the main thing the main thing we've got to focus on the true treasure that is the gospel and here's what's incredible how do you guard the gospel it's the only thing on earth you can do
[01:22:24] this with you guard it by giving it away we guard the truth of the gospel by refusing to compromise it and we fulfill our stewardship of the gospel by proclaiming it we've been entrusted with
[01:22:41] something far too good to keep to ourselves which is why as stewards of god's varied grace we are called to use the power he's given us to bear witness to his name to know jesus christ
[01:22:54] and to make him known trinity myself included some of us need to get our heads out of the clouds we've got to quit being distracted by trivial things there are people in our community and all around the world who need to hear about Jesus and that brings us to where we began today
[01:23:25] we're going to close the same way we opened what's the purpose of God's power we don't use God's power to destroy men we use it to deploy men we train them up and send them out into a
[01:23:41] world to be a witness for Christ so I'm going to ask you this morning as we close out our time together today what have you done with the power that God has entrusted to your care how are you
[01:23:52] using your time your talents and your treasures for Christ you remember that fellow I opened with you remember that Alfred Nobel I want you to do me a favor put your feet in his shoes just for a
[01:24:06] moment I want you to start thinking about this how will we remember you when you're gone what will people say about your life and your legacy how will people remember the way that you use the
[01:24:21] power God has given you will you use it for the sake of the gospel will you use it like he did towards the end of his life he invested his treasure into a prize that would bring peace
[01:24:38] do you remember as fate would have it he invested in a red cross will you use what you've been given to help others come to know the one who brings us true and lasting peace.
[01:24:54] It's not a prize we could earn by our own merits.
[01:24:58] It's given to us by a savior who purchased it with his own blood.
[01:25:02] It's a peace made available to us by a red cross.
[01:25:05] Why is it red?
[01:25:07] Because it's stained with his own blood.
[01:25:13] Will you be a faithful witness to the one true king, to the one who bled and died and rose again and ascended and is coming back why to show that his power over sin hell death in the grave is
[01:25:27] final he's got the power and the splendor and the glory and the majesty will you invest it in the one who has given you that power for a purpose in the first place trinity jesus is coming back
[01:25:46] we sang it with power and it brought tear to a lot of our eyes jesus is coming back you can take that promise to the bank here's own words for it acts 111 this jesus who has taken up from you into
[01:25:59] heaven will come in the same way he went and when he returns how will he find you how will he find me are we going to be standing around with our heads in the clouds are we going to be faithfully
[01:26:19] proclaiming the gospel faithfully telling others about the one who's one day going to come through those clouds to get us we've got to keep the main thing the main thing it's time we start guarding
[01:26:33] the bank God gave us his spirit for a reason what's that reason again the main idea here it is at the close of our time the purpose of God's spirit is to empower us to bear witness about
[01:26:47] Christ until he returns. Church, the question this morning isn't, when is he coming back?
[01:26:58] The question is, when he does, will you be ready? Let's pray. Father in heaven, God, we thank you for your word. It is truth. God, we thank you for your spirit. It is powerful. God, we confess that
[01:27:21] we haven't responded to you as we should.
[01:27:26] God, we're like rivers.
[01:27:29] Lord, we take the path of least resistance and we're made crooked as a result by it.
[01:27:35] God, you've commanded us to go.
[01:27:38] And yet all we wanna do is stay in the holy huddle, Lord.
[01:27:41] All we wanna do is like what Matt said last week, be a pew potato.
[01:27:46] So God, I pray that we would repent of that sin.
[01:27:51] Lord, if we've never come to know this power, then may today be the day, Lord.
[01:27:56] we need to go we need to get up off that pew and like brother barry said you need to not just walk but run down the aisle and said give me this jesus i want to personally know this power father there
[01:28:11] might be some here this morning that have been praying and waiting and hoping for an answer prayer in their lives but they haven't received it yet father my prayer is that they would not lose heart father you've promised father to to reward those who diligently seek you you've
[01:28:30] promised to open the door for those who ask and who knock and who seek. This is the confidence we have. If we ask anything according to your will, you hear us, Lord. And Father, if there's one
[01:28:46] child who calls out for the Holy Spirit here this morning, we have confidence that you're going to give it. You tell us if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more
[01:28:58] so will the father in heaven give the holy spirit to those who ask so father pour out your spirit empower us to willing to work for your good pleasure until you return help us to be found
[01:29:15] faithful lord and maybe repent of anything that would constrict that lord or distract that or mitigate those efforts those missional efforts lord god i pray that you would just move in a way that would, again, be acceptable to your sight.
[01:29:32] Help us simply to be obedient to your word in this moment.
[01:29:37] If that looks like joining the church, help us to be faithful to do that.
[01:29:41] If that looks like grabbing ahold of you, like Jacob did on that faithful day and praying and pleading, may we do that, Lord.
[01:29:50] If that looks like getting on our face or on our knees this morning and confessing our complacency, Lord, our desire for not just to comfort her, but just plain old comfort, Lord, may we do that thank you again for your word thank you that it does not return void
[01:30:07] i'm counting on that promise this morning in jesus mighty name i pray amen let's stand and worship

[01:30:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:30:16] the altar will be open and just a couple quick announcements before brother trevor comes up

[01:32:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[01:32:08] with a benediction in prayer um two to tell and one to sell what do i mean by that do not forget about life groups there tonight they're important be there dive into the word and number two we need
[01:32:19] messengers to go to the North Carolina Baptist State Convention. If you would like to represent our church, please sign up. And then one to really sell, to really push home with you today is that
[01:32:29] Harvest of Hope. This year it's going to be at Trinity Christian Academy and it's going to take a lot of legwork to make that work. We're going to be hauling tables over there to set them up and
[01:32:38] we're going to be bringing in chairs that need to be set up. The teardown and the setup are all really important, but we also need you to be fervently praying that God would move in a mighty
[01:32:47] way right over there at TCA. So thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you for being here today and

[01:32:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[01:32:52] joining us in worship. Brother Trevor, it's all yours. Thank you, Pastor Robert, for bringing the word this morning. Hey, even though our service is coming to a close, the Holy Spirit may not be done moving in you. So if you want to pray with Pastor Robert or myself or Pastor Grant or any of
[01:33:08] our deacons or ministry leaders, please pull us aside and we would love to pray for you. I would love for you guys to join a life group so that you guys can dive into what the Lord is speaking
[01:33:16] to you through this service. For our benediction, it comes from Romans chapter 15. It says this, by the God of hope, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace and believing so that by
[01:33:34] the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Lord Jesus, thank you for this powerful message of the Holy Spirit this morning. Lord, I pray that we would
[01:33:45] go out as witnesses, as ambassadors, as ministers for you out in the town of Mooresville. Lord, that your light would shine through your people here at Trinity Baptist Church. Lord, that we would go out and look for opportunities to share the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Lord,
[01:34:03] I pray that you would give us those opportunities. Lord, I pray over our time of life groups and ministering this weekend. Lord, I pray that we would just be focused in on you. In Jesus' name
[01:34:13] we pray. Amen.