Equipping 3 - You are not doing life alone
Speaker: Steve Little (Pastor)
Date: August 10, 2025
Ephesians 1:13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise…
Ephesians 4:4-6 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
In Our Communities We Are
· Known as a people that Jesus is the center of our individual lives and in our gatherings together
· Known as a people of prayer
Known as a people that care about others
Last Week
Equipping the Saints for the Work of the Ministry
New Kingdom – New Thinking and Doing
Commitment and Communion
Philippians 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ…
Hebrews 13:20-21: "Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will…”
When we came into a relationship with Christ, we came into a new kingdom with a different life style. God is already committed to equipping us.
Equip: Includes, Perfecting, training, and preparing. This word signifies a process of adjustment that results in complete preparedness for a thing called ministry.
New name: Saints (means holy and set apart for God, to be, as it were, exclusively His.)
New work: Ministry: Means service or ministry, often involving practical help and service to others.
· Communion:
Acts 2:40-45 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine (Committed) and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. (Communion)
This Week
You Are Not Doing Life Alone
The Spirit
The Body
Last year (2023), the US Surgeon General released a worrying report about the deep sense of loneliness that many Americans are experiencing. The report, “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation,” found that approximately 50 percent of adults in the country are feeling lonely, and that people of all ages are spending significantly less time with others.
A Harvard study: In their findings, the researchers noted what they describe as “existential loneliness,” or a “fundamental sense of disconnection from others or the world.”
In the Havard study the highest age group that are experiencing loneliness are between 30 and 44 years of age with the next group 18-29.
What are some of the leading causes of loneliness in America, according to all who were surveyed?
Technology — 73% of those surveyed selected technology as contributing to loneliness in the country
Insufficient time with family — 66% chose this issue as a reason for loneliness in America
People are overworked or too busy or tired — 62% surveyed picked this concern
Living in a society that is too individualistic — 58% named this as a cause of America’s loneliness problem
(NOTE this last one) No religious or spiritual life, too much focus on one’s own feelings, and the changing nature of work — with more remote and hybrid schedules — were perceived causes of loneliness selected by around 50% of people who participated in the survey
So, let’s go back to our scriptures:
Ephesians 1:13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise…
Ephesians 4:4-6 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
· The Spirit
Acts 2:14-18 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
Acts 2:38-39 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
Before all of this occurred, Jesus made some wonderful promises about the Spirit:
John 14:16-17 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
John 16:7-15 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore, I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.
The Spirit: Remember
· And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days
· Turn to God - you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
· God has given you a Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit … for He dwells with you and will be in you. (Note: Not just with you but in you)
You are not doing life alone; you have God’s Spirit with you and in you.
The Body
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.” — Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” — Proverbs 27:17
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” — Hebrews 10:24-25
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” — Galatians 6:2
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” —1 Thessalonians 5:11
The Body: Remember
• Help one another
• Motivate one another on toward love and good deeds
• Carry each others burdens
• Encourage each other, build each other up
You are not doing life alone; you have God’s people to walk with.
Benediction Scripture
Jude verse 25: To God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen
