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Muskegon SDA Church

Jason Sliger

The Force Unseen

Merciful Father, we are grateful that we can come into your presence this morning.

We thank you, Father, for how you have led in our lives individually and corporately as a church.

And Father, we are excited for what you have in store for us as your people.

We look forward to the time when we can be with you in the kingdom of heaven.

But until that time, Lord, may we be faithful to you, I pray.

Please, Father, send your Holy Spirit now as we take a few moments to reflect upon your word.

It was the fall of 1984, and Laura had just made a new friend that had moved in at the end of the street.

And Penny was around the same age as Laura.

They had kids around the same age as well.

So they instantly struck up a friendship and enjoyed time together.

Laura, at the time, was a Southern Baptist.

Penny was a backslid and Seventh-day Adventist, and they had interests in spiritual things.

1 day, a conversation started where Laura expressed an interest to get a better understanding of the books of Daniel and Revelation.

She said, in my church, the pastor never talks about the book of Revelation and Daniel.

Well, it just so happened at the time, I love the way the Lord works out timing, it just so happened at the time, that Penny had heard that the local Seventh-day Adventist church was getting ready to hold a Bible prophecy seminar.

And so she said, Laura, if you go, I'll go with you.

She wanted to learn more about the books of Daniel and Revelation.

So they got together, the day came, they had their Bibles.

They got together, drove down to the church, And as they sat night after night after night, that's when they used to do seminars for 6 weeks Night after night they sat there and listened to the messages and Laura was just profoundly Impacted by the clarity of God's Word She found encouragement by the Sabbath message.

She found hope from the message on the state of the dead.

The health message, the anti-Christ, and all the identifying marks.

It was so Mind-blowing how clear the Word of God was And so it came to the end of the time the end of the seminar and the evangelist gave the invitation For those that were in attendance the guests anyways to become part of God's remnant church.

Well, Laura, there was not much hesitation in her mind.

She went to be a Southern Baptist, and she realized this was just the next step in the spiritual journey that God was taking her on.

So her and Penny decided that they would renew their commitment, Laura for the first time did the Adventist church, Penny for the second time, and they both were recommitted, Laura was baptized, Penny came in through profession of faith and they began a spiritual journey together that has lasted until This day we have a wonderful message.

Amen Now I'm gonna put the pause button on Laura's story here We're gonna come back to it in a minute But I want you to turn with me in your Bibles to a familiar old passage in Matthew 28.

The scripture says, go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.

And lo, I am with you, I love this promise, always, even unto the end of the world." What a wonderful promise.

Now, I want you to think back with me if you would.

When Jesus actually spoke these words, he was speaking to 11 men when he said, go ye therefore and teach all nations.

He was not speaking to a denomination of 19 million people.

He was speaking to 11 men and he said, go into all the world and preach whatsoever I have commanded you.

Can you imagine how overwhelming that must have felt for the disciples?

Go into all the world, preach All that I've taught you in the 3 and a half years of earthly ministry, go.

Now let's just be reminded what group of people he was talking to.

James and John had angered the others by seeking the highest position in the kingdom of heaven.

Thomas had openly declared his lack of faith.

Peter, James, and John failed to watch for an hour while Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane.

And at the cross, they were all scattered like sheep without a shepherd.

And Jesus says to them, And Jesus says to them, go.

Go into all the world and proclaim whatsoever I have said unto you.

The fulfillment of the gospel commission could not be entrusted to such a fragile group of people.

There had to be something more that would compel them and move them forward to fulfill the calling of God in their life to teach whatsoever God had commanded them.

If God had left it to those 11 men, it wouldn't have gone very far at all.

But fortunately, with the gospel commission is accompanied, or the gospel commission is accompanied by 2 promises.

Go with me back to your Bibles, Matthew chapter 28.

We'll look at the first 1 and then the second 1 a little bit more closely.

Matthew 28, verse 18, again, the Bible says, "'And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, "'All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth and then the first word in verse 19 is go so he says go because all power has been given unto me would you say amen to that we can't go in our own strength but We can go in the strength of the Lord.

With God, as we know, the Bible says all things are possible.

So we can go and do what God has called us to do because all power has been given to Jesus.

Go with me to your scripture reading this morning, Acts 1 and verse 8, and this is where we will spend a little bit more of our time.

The second promise, just prior to Jesus' ascension, Jesus is getting ready to go up into the clouds of heaven, received by the angels, and the Bible says this, Acts chapter 1 and verse 8, Jesus says, "'But you shall receive, ' what?

"'Power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you.

When do we receive power as God's people?

Listen to me carefully a church that is not led by the Holy Spirit does not have power but I am thankful that this denomination is spirit led this denomination has been led by the Spirit of God, and that's the reason why we are where we are at this time in earth's history.

God is leading us to fulfill the commission that he gave to the disciples 2, 000 years ago.

But that power only comes after the Spirit of God has come upon us.

And listen to me carefully, brothers and sisters, this morning.

A Spirit-filled church must first have Spirit-filled members.

It has to happen in our audience chamber together with God each day where we meet with Him and we talk with Him and He guides us and He directs us and He teaches us from the words of Scripture and as we each individually have that experience with God collectively this church can do What is seemingly impossible in a post-modern world that we live in today?

I believe that God can do amazing things as he did in the time of Acts.

But you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem And in all judea and in samaria and unto the uttermost parts of the earth listen to this beautiful description Of what happened after the spirit of God fell on the day of Pentecost actually the apostles page 48 you've read this before She says this what was the result of the outpouring of the Spirit of God on the day of Pentecost.

The glad tidings of a risen Savior were carried to the uttermost parts of the inhabited world as the disciples proclaimed the message of redeeming grace.

Hearts yielded to the power of the message.

The church beheld converts flocking to her from all directions.

Wouldn't that be great to have that problem here in Muskegon?

They were flocking from all over the place.

They got, just so many converts were coming, the church was exploding during that time.

Backsliders, she goes on, were reconverted.

Seem to have them everywhere we go, don't they?

Sinners united with believers in seeking the pearl of great price.

Some who had been the bitterest opponents of the gospel became its champions.

1 subject of emulation swallowed up all others.

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The Force Unseen

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