Acts pf the Apostles: Intro and Chapter 1
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The Great Commission
The Great Commission
Good morning friends,
I hope you have enjoyed a good week! BTW; What makes the week good?
Is it being free from problems?
Is it being free from sickness of disease?
Is it having the ability to provide for your self and family? What made it a good week?
Well, I think we do consider things such as these, but without a doubt the true joy is being in love with Jesus. To know Him as your Savior and Lord, knowing you are redeemed.
This knowledge and relationship with Jesus is what makes are week great!
Now today, I want to take you to a new study. We did the gospel of Matthew, and then we took on Romans, Wednesday nights we are currently studying the Book of Isaiah.
But today, we start the Book of Acts.... It is referred to as the Acts of the Apostles, but perhaps should be called the Acts of the Early Church.
Why? Simply because we see the work of those early Christians as they lived in front of God.
So understand the events of this book begins in the days after the resurrection of Jesus. So we are able to get a good transition after the gospel accounts to the other events that take place.
Now we know the author of the book is Luke and we will discuss more of this as we open the text today.
We believe it was written around Ad 62-64 since the book ends kind of abruptly with Paul under arrest awaiting trial. So we know it was before his death some time in 64 AD and of course before the fall of Jerusalem in 70AD.
So with all this in mind, lets open the text of the book and look at three thoughts today.
So lets open up the text today and lets see what the Lord would say to us in the text.
1. A Faithful Testimony....
One of the most wonderful aspect of a life in Christ is the testimony they share about their life in Christ.
And this is what we see here, Acts is the continuation of the story given by a doctor named Luke, Luke loved Jesus and sought to tell others about Him.
So lets look at the first 3 verses of Acts 1 Acts 1:1-3
1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
So look at it, opening the text we see that Luke is talking to this man by the name of Theophilus.
Now we do not have much concrete information about this person, but it appears that Luke is trying to convince him about Jesus. It may be that he is a Roman person who has expressed some interest in Jesus Christ.
The first book we know, It is the gospel that Luke authors under the influence and direction of the Holy Spirit. And so as Luke taught him about Jesus in the first book, Luke continues to make the case for Christ.
So from the coming of John the Baptist as the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah, and then the message given to Mary.. Luke has recounted all that God wanted him to tell under the direction of the Holy Spirit until that faithful day.
The day that Jesus offered himself up for a cross as a sacrifice for sin and then rose from the dead three days later.
Luke has shared this in hopes that Theophilus would believe and receive Jesus as Savior
Isn’t this why we share?
Yes, we do! We share not just to hear ourselves talk, we share in hopes that as the holy Spirit leads us and moves in that persons life, that they may believe and receive Jesus.
Now here is the most wonderful thing in the world my friends…
“.... You have a testimony...” You were once lost, you found Jesus and He changed your life...”
That message is important, and it can be used of God if you will be a faithful witness my friends…
Let me ask you a question.. would you share if you knew someone would say yes to Jesus? Well, I think the answer is yes.
Then get busy, people need a chance to hear, and they may never hear unless you tell.
Be a faithfulness…
Now lets move forward, Lets go to my second thought for today...
2. A Call to Go....
Thinking about the idea of being a faithful witness, I know it is scary, in fact most of life can be scary or intimidating until we do it....
And that’s it, we have a call to go and do it.
Join me and lets look at verses 4-8
4 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; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
So we know that after the resurrection, Jesus was with his Disciples and others, namely doing a couple of things in these 40 days after the resurrection.
A . He was showing those who followed him before the resurrection that it really was him. We see this in verse 3…lets just look at it for a second.
Acts 1:3
3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
It says Jesus presented himself alive to them, all those who had followed him, loved him and wanted to see for themselves that it was true, Jesus who was crucified and buried right before the passover, He was alive.
I cannot imagine just how spectacular it was for all these people, about 500 who saw and witnessed His life… Man, what a sight to behold.
B. And secondly, Jesus continued to teach them about the Kingdom of God. He was teaching them divine truths that would assist them and bless them until they made that journey as well.
And while with His disciples, Jesus gave those 11 some pretty strict instructions. Jesus told them to not do anything, or go anywhere but wait for the promise of God.
Do you remember the promise of God? Jesus told his disciples before his death that it would benefit them if He went away.. Listen to John 16:7
7 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 go, I will send him to you.
So Jesus tells them to wait, to wait until the promise of God, God’s Holy Spirit,came to them. And here Jesus tells them, Just as John baptized with water, so I will baptize you in the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity would be the one whom God would send to them.
And look at how this would benefit them....
1. The Holy Spirit Will Empower them.. Currently they were powerless, they had no help and no direction. But all that was about to change. God was sending His Holy Sprit into world and when He came.. They would be empowered.
The word power here… it is dynamis, It is our base for dynamite, it is divine power, the Holy Spirits power. The disciples were to wait so they could be filled with this explosive power of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirits empowerment was the power and strength needed to stand before men and kings, it would be the power to help them push on when they were weary, it would be the power to see miracles happen in front of them.
The power of the Holy Spirit in their lives would ensure they would complete the mission God had called them for in reaching the world.
Friends there are two things God wants to do in your life.
A. He wants you to say Yes and receive Jesus as your Savior
B. He wants to empower you to be a witness to the world around you.
Now I passed over verses 6 and 7, simply because the it is an unnecessary focus. The disciples wondered when He would establish His kingdom. But Jesus answered that the time of that event was not for them to know, what was inportant was for them to be ready to stand and serve the Father.
Now those thing things God wants to do in your life, that we just mentioned:
A. Be Saved and B. Be empowered to be His witness…
Now look at verse 8 Acts 1:8
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Instead being focused on the establishment of His earthly kingdom, or anything else for that matter. They were to wait for His power to come upon them
And that empowerment, would lead them to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea,, Samaria and to the ends of the earth..
The term witnesses, you have heard me tell many times before, they were to be His witness, it’s a legal term where by in court we give a honest account of what we know about Jesus Christ.
What did they know:
He was God’ son, born of a virgin, Born under the law for God’s Purposes.
He lived without sin, did many miracles and gave his life as a ransom for sin upon Calvary’s cross. He was buried and rose again on the 3rd day and is alive forever more. Come and follow him...
This was the message the were to bear into a dark world for all the world to see and know about Jesus so that they too might be saved....
There was a call to go and tell all that Jesus had done for the world.
Let me ask you, do you go and tell?
If you say yes, wonderful
But if you say no; Why not?
We are called to go and tell.
Now just one last thought this morning, are you ready..
3. His return to the heaven...
As Jesus met with them on this 40th day after the resurrection, They didn’t know he was getting ready to depart from them just yet,
But He was, remember, Jesus had told them it was necessary for Him to go away so that the Helper, the Holy Spirit could come into the world.
He has done so much for his disciples, He has walked with them, taught them, and helped them to understand all they needed to know about the Kingdom of God.
But it was time for his departure, His final instructions were to go and wait for the Holy Spirits coming … if they could do that, the rest the Father would take care of...
Look with me a verses 9-11
9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
There is almost no words to describe what they must have witness and their emotions with it.
Jesus is taken up into the heavens.. Now as those 40 days come to and end, please do not thing that Jesus has suddenly stopped working among this people. By no means.
Even after the Holy Spirits entrance into the world, Jesus appeared to Stephen and to Paul. Now this is not quite the same as Him being here as he was during these 40 days after the resurrection.
But Jesus is still active in the world as He needs to be…
No that was a bit of a side note...
But here, at the end of 40 days.. remember 40 is one of those significant numbers. Noah experienced 40 days of rain. Moses was on the Mountain 40 days. The children of Israel wandered in the wilderness 40 years. Jesus was in the wilderness 40 days… 40 is one of those numbers, it is important
But as Jesus was talking to them, he was lifted up out of their sight and as they gazed into the heavens we find another special moment.
Verse 10 says that 2 men in white apparel stood with them, and their words are simple
“....Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
I’m sure they were probably like, no..not yet there is so much more we would like to ask and talk to you about...
Bu these angels tell them something
Why do you stand here… it’s time to get on with it boys, don’t worry just as you saw him leave, Jesus will return in like manner.
So there are two things I want you to consider here..
A. They saw Jesus leave, so now they were to go and wait for the Holy Spirit and once empowered, they were to get busy. They were to go and serve … till when.. His return
B. They were to serve until Jesus returned in like manner… Be faithful for he will come back in the air and we know that when he returns, time has run out.
When he returns, He will gather his children I Thess 4:13-18....
A faithful testimony — Like Luke to Theophilus, We have a story to tell in hopes of people following Jesus.
A Call to Go… we have to go to, there is a story to tell, well we must go to where the people are and tell them Jesus loves them and wants to invite them to receive Him.
He will return from heaven… Just as he went away, the angels declared what the Scriptures promise, Jesus is coming again.
Are you ready?
We have work to do my friends before He returns.
Lets pray