A Spirit Empowered Church | Acts 2:1-13; 16-18
Why do you go to church? A recent study found that 31% of US adults say that they have attended church in the past seven days. A Gallup survey found that 47% of US adults are a member of a church, mosque, or synagogue, which is down 20% in the past 20 years. Over 40 million Americans have stopped attending church in the past 25 years. Top five reasons people have stopped going to church are:
- Hypocrisy: moral failure among the leadership and inconsistency in the pews. People have been hurt by others in the church deeply.
- Irrelevancy: Does not seem to be relevant to my daily life. Something else is more important. More money means more options of things to do on the weekends. Kids playing sports and travel ball. They don’t see the benefit; would rather sleep in.
- Politicization: the church has gotten too involved in politics.
- Lack of Clarity: people leave church not understanding anything. There is no real discipleship going on. There is no purpose or direction.
- Lack of Community: can’t connect with others or find friendships. You like the preaching and the music, but you don’t really know anyone.
What would it take for our church to not continue the downward trend, but to move the needle in reaching and discipling people who reached and discipled people?
Part of the issue is how we view the church in general. The word, “church” in the Greek is the word “ekklesia” when meant a called out assembly that was gathered for a mission. The first believers gathered together to engage in mission together. But today, because of centuries of history, our mindset has shifted and the church is merely a place you choose to go to or an institution you are a part of. But the church is not just a place you go to, but it is a Spirit-empowered movement of God that is on mission for God to reach the world for Christ. So rather than just going to church, we are called to be the church. Over the next few weeks, we are going to see what it means to “be the church” and to continue to movement that Jesus started.
Acts 2 takes place on the day of Pentecost, which was 50 days after the resurrection and 10 days after Jesus’ ascension into heaven. It is the day that the Holy Spirit empowered the church to continue to global movement that Jesus started. In Acts 1:8, Jesus promised that they would receive power that would enable them to reach Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth with the gospel. How can we accomplish what Jesus wants us to accomplish? The Holy Spirit. Christianity is not just merely a set of beliefs by when we consent and follow, but it is daily interaction with the Holy Spirit of God. A Spirit-empowered church and believer is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish the purposes of the Holy Spirit to reach the world for Christ.