Acts 1
Friendship in Acts • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Preparation of the Witnesses
Preparation of the Witnesses
Starting a series on Acts
I often hear Acts referred to as a guide to how the church should be, and how we are to grow. And there is truth in the fact that the church did grow in this time. however, as Luke writes in his introduction, Acts is not a manual on church growth, it is a record of the kingdom of God at hand.
The manual is actually Jesus, the disciples followed His teachings and example, guided by the Holy Spirit as Jesus promised it would.
Pray
In Jesus' teaching manual what we see play out in Action in Acts is to go in 2’s
Drawn to Acts firstly by a pattern
The disciples went out together - not alone
Acts 2:14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven,
Acts 3:1 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon.
Acts 14:1 At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue.
There are stories in Acts of people going out on their own like:
Stephen (Chpt 7) who gives his testimony and is then the first martyr
and Philip (chpt 8) who went to Samaria and then had Peter and John sent to join him in verse 14.
Others like Peter go into new territory and quickly have disciples to assist.
In our Western thinking in culture, we always contemplate how does this affect me, a Better Question is how does this affect us?
So as we go through this series ask the question of each other, how does this affect us?
Us. Last week Steven unpacked God's name, hear are our names
The witnesses
the followers of Jesus, disciples
The children of God.
How does this affect us?
go over the discipleship model - Fellowship - who are you going to sit down with over this series and ask these questions
Supervisor - Maddy and Matt
Can I ask you right now to take a moment and write down the person you are going to journey with as we go through Acts, 2 by 2.
If you can’t think of someone put my name there, I am your pastor I would love nothing more and I want to.
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John share the beginnings of the Christian movement, Jesus started the movement with 12 disciples plus some other men and women. In Luke 10 Jesus appointed 72 of his disciples to go 2 by 2 and now in Acts 1:15
In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty)
are meeting after Jesus ascension into heaven.
We can also read in 1 Corinthians 15:6 that 500 brothers and sisters most still alive at the time of writing the letter to the church are witnesses to Jesus' resurrection.
In Acts, the message of the kingdom and the Risen Messiah is increasing. Some scholars estimate that over the 30-year span of Acts, the Christian movement grew from 120 to 100,000 among Jews alone. The total growth rate would be even greater if the Gentiles were added.
But we are not looking at Acts for church growth ideas, that was not Luke the author's intent.
Luke a Gentile Physician - researching all this
F. F. Bruce says that Luke’s description of his first volume as “all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day he was taken up … until the day when, by the Holy Spirit, he commissioned the apostles whom he had chosen, and charged them to proclaim the gospel exactly summarizes the scope of Luke’s Gospel.”
The Gospel of Luke tells what Jesus did, Acts tells what He expects His followers to do, both then and now.
Wagner's commentary on Acts points out that “Acts starts with the kingdom of God and ends with it. It opens with a description of the ministry of Jesus during the 40 days between His resurrection and His ascension to heaven, saying that Jesus spoke to His apostles “of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). At the end of the book, we find the apostle Paul under house arrest in Rome, receiving visitors and “preaching the kingdom of God” (Acts 28:31)
The other important verse is Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
This too lays out the direction that Christianity grows as it fulfils the promise of all nations united in the Kingdom of God.
Many take these as the sections for Acts yet I am using the summary makers in chapters
So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
9:31; 12:24; 16:4 and 19:20
but before we continue looking at Acts 1 and Jesus' last command and promise and the successor to Judas.
Let us back over the Kingdom of God.
What is the kingdom of God? The kingdom of God is present, first and foremost, wherever Jesus Christ is acknowledged and served as King. More simply it is where the king's will is done.
2. question - First how does this affect us? are we doing the will of the king?
It is not a geopolitical territory with recognized boundaries. It could not join the United Nations. It is a kingdom not of this world but nevertheless in this world. It is essentially a spiritual kingdom; but has tangible, visible manifestations.
I see this in video games, but also in books, movies and TV. They are not real yet they capture the minds and heart of people.
People want to talk about them
The Battle of Good vs Evil
Jesus announced His declaration of war. in Matt. 11:12. With this, Jesus was establishing the pattern of things to come. His people would be recruited, mobilized and empowered to move with force against Satan and on behalf of the kingdom of God. Jesus’ desire is that His people regain the dominion over creation intended initially for Adam.
Thankful that I live on this side of Jesus death and resurrection- the Holy Spirit guiding
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.
“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city.
When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.
They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
List of Disciples yet we don’t really hear their names or achievements again
They Prayed and Jesus Brothers with them.
In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty)
and said, “Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus.
He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”
Peter stepping into Jesus role of explaining scripture and guiding them in leadership. Bible teaching us today - Alpha this week - what is your favourite book of the bible? Why
Connection to David - Jesus King, betrayed by someone close
Judus shared and was appointed as one of the 12
then we read some graphic consequences of that betrayal
(With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out.
Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
“For,” said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms: “ ‘May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,’ and, “ ‘May another take his place of leadership.’
We do not fully know Judas' motivation - money or to move on Rome.
but this discussion shows that nothing will stop the redemptive work of Jesus as another steps into the appointed space.
Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us,
beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”
So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias.
Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen
to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.”
Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
Mat-ty-us
Prayer - Jesus teaching to pray
Last time casting lots is used as from here the disciples have the holy spirit.
Again the 12 tribes are represented and restored, all that the Old Testament sets out is achieved in Acts. The teachings of Jesus, God’s commands and promises are fulfilled through the disciples filled with the Holy Spirit:
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
They didn’t go alone and neither do you! make sure you sit down with someone this week and go through the handout
Prayer
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