What's Next?
Notes
Transcript
I’m glad we can virtually gather together to engage the Scriptures. This week I’ve been thinking about what the disciples must have been experiencing in the week after Easter. They have seen their master rise from the dead. He has appeared before them and has begun to once again teach. But what would those early gathering looked like. In modern days, we have our ideas about what church should look like. If you have been in church very long, it probably doesn’t take long for you to figure out what to expect on a Sunday morning. We are creatures of habits. People sit in the same spots, the schedule is pretty close to the same, the activities are usually similar, but what about the disciples. They had been taught by Jesus and seen Him instruct others, but they were in completely new territory. What were their gatherings going to look like now? How does the crucifixion and the resurrection change the teaching and worship opportunities of the disciples.
You know, Church can’t be about just chasing an experience, topping what happened the week before, or simply providing entertainment for the people gathered. It can’t be about just going through the motions with no connection to our lives. No, church is about connecting people to Christ, encouraging each other, and helping one another grow in our faith. So while we appropriately celebrate Easter and the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, every worship service is a chance of us to corporately come together and grow in our faith to become more faithful disciples of Christ.
Pastor’s usually spend hours and hours praying, planning, and preparing worship services. Personally, I pray for God’s direction for what Scriptures to teach, songs to sing, and future plans. Each and every week, I spend time seeking what God has for myself and the people of Calvary Baptist Church. There is great importance in allowing God to provide for myself and for the church. Easter brings things to another level. Pastors know the importance of Easter. There will be more people in the service and new visitors. High attendance is almost guaranteed. Even more planning and prep usually go into an Easter service. But no matter how great an Easter service is, there is always next week. A big question after Easter week is what next.
In Acts 1:1-5, I think the disciples probably had the same question. What is Next? Jesus is back, He has proved God’s power over sin and death. Clearly Jesus was so much more then they expected or imagined. So what would their lives look like now. What was the next step? Please follow along as I read from Acts 1:1-5
In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 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.
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; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
The book of Acts is a continuation to the Gospel of Luke. Luke records the life of Jesus from His birth to His ascension. Acts begins with the ascension and then tells us about the growth and actions of the early church. Think about the early church. They find themselves in completely new situations. Christianity has just been established and they have been tasked with spreading the Gospel to every corner of the world. What an overwhelming task? I think find myself sharing in that mindset today. Everything that I had known about how to do church was changed in a very short time. I could panic or give-up, but I have seen God provide each and every step of the way. While my understanding and talents fall short, I have seen God provide and empower me throughout this time. I see Jesus provide for His disciples as well in the introduction to Acts.
Provides Proof
Throughout life, we are taught to seek to explain the world around us. Science looks to delve deeply into the way the world works to explain why, how, when events will happen. We are taught that we can expect things to function or respond in a certain, expected way. Logically thinking is one of the most important skills we develop. With those ideas in mind though, things that are unexpected or happen outside of traditional logic are difficult to accept.
The life of Jesus was definitely unexpected. Jesus lived a perfect life that no one else is able to do. He taught with authority never seen before or after him. He died and rose again. According to human logic, this is impossible. In fact, modern day philosophers attempt to say that Jesus did not rise from the dead, but the resurrection was simply a hallucination. It is very difficult to believe things we have never seen before. The disciples would have in a similar situation. How would they be able to accept the fact Jesus had risen from the dead. The answer is simple. Jesus provided proof of His resurrection.
a. Of His Resurrection
In Luke, we see people struggling to accept. Mary at first believed someone had stolen the body of Jesus. Thomas refused to believe until he had seen Jesus himself. We may look at these interactions and claim both Mary and Thomas didn’t have enough faith. But the unexpected is always difficult to accept, but God provides. Jesus appears to over 500 individuals before He ascends to heaven. Acts 1:3 says “He presented Himself alive to them after His suffering by many proofs.” We really don’t know every instance of what these proofs were, but I do know one thing. Jesus did not just provide a couple examples of His resurrection, He gave enough proof there could not be a doubt. Jesus provides above and beyond what was required. Jesus also provides clarity about His teaching.
b. Clarity of His teaching
Acts tells us that Jesus spend time speaking with them about the Kingdom of God. As Jewish men, the disciples would have had some understanding about the prophecy of the Messiah. They had expectations about what the Messiah would look like, they had expectations for what they believe he would come and do, but yet their expectations fell short of exactly what Jesus was doing. The disciples followed Jesus for years, listening, learning and ministering alongside Jesus. But they could not have complete understanding of Jesus and the plans of God prior to the crucifixion and resurrection. For forty days, Jesus is providing proof of His resurrection, but also teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven. Things have been turned upside down for the disciples. Their preconceptions about the Messiah had been flawed and now Jesus was providing for them as He taught. Part of His teaching was instructing the disciples to prepare.
2. Prepare
Surely the disciples must have been excited about the resurrection. Maybe they wanted to run the streets celebrating and yelling about the resurrection of Jesus, but Jesus has different instructions for them. They were not supposed to rush out and follow their own plans ,but were instructed to wait. As the disciples prepare as well as us today, we must obey God’s instruction.
Obey God’s Instruction
We can do nothing outside of the will of God. Obedience is a must. In my life, I wasted a lot of time living with my own plans. I believed that as long as I just asked for forgiveness, I would be fine and I could do whatever I wanted. There are a lot of people who do the same thing today. This is expected of non-believers, how can anyone obey God if they don’t have a personal relationship with Him. Many believers though live with these same ideas. They expect to just live however they want and that God will bless them. God will not and cannot bless anything that is outside of His will. As we prepare to live for God, the first step is obedience. We must be obedient to what God is calling us to do. For the disciples, they were instructed to wait. We don’t know if they questioned why. Perhaps they wanted to parade Jesus through the town and right into the temple, proving they were right. Maybe they wanted to go and introduce Jesus to their loved own, so they may believe in Him as well. As humans, we all have desires we wish to see accomplish. We have things we want to do. Some of these may be more valiant or correct then others, but all them must be submitted to God through obedience.
As we respond to God in obedience, part of that process is to spend time in prayer.
b. Spend time in Prayer
Prayer is absolutely important in the life of every believer. It is the conduit of how we connect with God. We confess our sins, align our hearts with God, allow God to provide His direction and peace. Prayer should be where we absolutely start.
Think about our service members in the military. They are tasked with a difficult job. I am grateful for the job they do to ensure I can enjoy my freedoms. What would happen if each soldier simply attempted to accomplish a given mission themselves. No direction for generals, no plans, no coming together with other soldiers. There is not way the military would function in this fashion, it would only lead to disaster. A Christian living their life without prayer is exactly the same. We cannot live for Christ and be prepared unless we are spending time in prayer. Not just pray in church service, at meals, or a morning prayer. No, but a life lived through a constant attitude of prayer. We should always be seeking God’s direction as we go through the day. Life is not about just asking God about what my day should look like and carry out those instructions, but we are to stay in constant communication throughout the day so He will lead us. The other way for us to prepare is to spend time in the Word of God.
c. Spend time in the Word
The disciples would have known the Old Testament. Their culture was surround by it’s teaching and direction. The walked with Jesus and lived out the events of the Gospels. But even they did not have a full picture or insight to the plans of God. They gave themselves over to the teachings of Jesus to provide clarity.
If the disciples needed clarity about what Jesus was doing, I know we do as well. We need to spend time in the Word, not simply reading, but asking God to show us truth, to show us how to live those truths in our lives, and how to share those truths with those around us. The Bible referred to as the living word of God. There is no other book like it in the world. While the truths of the Bible will never change, how we apply those truths to our life can and will. God will often show us things we have not seen before in a passage we have read dozens of time. New understanding is given as we study and read. But we do not do this under our own power. We must rely on prayer and the Spirit of God to guide us.
One of the most difficult things to do when we study the Bible is to lay down our own personal preferences. It is easy to warp the truths of the Bible and to discover what we want to Bible to say. We must fight this temptation. The truth of the Bible should not be colored by my opinions. I do not shape the Bible, but the Bible must be allowed to shape me. With that idea in mind, we must seek God and let Him guide our study. There will be times when we may struggle with understanding or application of the Bible and that is fine as long as we let God guide us through those processes.
So as believers, we must live in the guidance of God. Through obedience, prayer, and Bible Study, God will provide. And finally in Acts, I see Jesus give a promise of God’s ongoing and future provision.
3. Promise of Provision
God promises He will take care of us. He provides for needs; physically, emotionally, and spiritually. He will not leave us or forsake us. Deuteronomy 31:6 says,
Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
No matter what situation we find ourselves in, no matter where we are, God will not leave or forsake you. When we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and surrender our lives to Him, we belong to Him forever and nothing will ever take that away. Not only is God’s presence with us guarantteed, but He will also provide for us in other ways as well. Matthew 6:25-34 says,
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
God will take care of us. He will provide what we need. When I was growing up, I had an issue with using the words need for something I simply wanted. It is easy for us to lose focus on how God provides and instead begin to focus on what we don’t have. God does not provide for my every want or desire, but He does promise He will give us what we need, but we must trust in God’s timing
Trust in God’s timing
God provides and acts in His own timing. The disciples were told to wait. They could have went and attempted to work outside of God’s timing, but this would have only lead to frustration and ineffectiveness. There are times God calls us to wait. We don’t just waste our time, but we should use times of waiting to invest in our relationship with Christ. Times of waiting are usually used to prepare people for what is to come. When Jesus is drawn into the wilderness, He is not going on a vacation. At the end of this time, He is going to be tempted by Satan. Perhaps God is using his time in the wilderness to prepare Jesus for this temptation. We must also use times of waiting to prepare ourselves. God did provide the Spirit for the disciples and they were ready to respond in obedience, we must prepare as well and be ready to respond in obedience when God provides and moves us. So we wait in God’s timing and trust in His promises because God’s promises will come true.
b. His promises will come true
God’s promises always come true. It’s not as if He only comes through 80%, 90%, or 99% percent of the time. God always delivers. He providing for each person in the Old Testament, in the New Testament, the early church and today’s church. He always keeps his promises.
Even now, we find ourselves in a time of uncertainty, but let me to encourage you to trust in God and place your faith in Him. He will provide and He will see us through. We don’t know what in going to happen in the future, but God does. In fact, go read Revelation. Yes the world is filled with difficulties, times can be harsh and uncertain, but in the end God wins. God’s victory is assured. The end of the Bible is not an opinion or just a story, but a certainty. God’s victory is assured through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. So even in unknown circumstances or times of struggle, look to God. He will provide, he will carry you through. So let each of us live through faith as we each strive to obediently follow God’s direction.