Up To Speed
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Handout
Hook:
Background:
Author: Writen by Luke - Also wrote the book of Luke
Date: 61 ad - Covers the span of about 30ish years
Reason for Writing: Acts
Key: Acts focuses on the practice of doctrine rather than the defining of doctrine (aka- It is descriptive, not prescriptive)
Reason for Writing: Luke 1:1-4
Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.
1) Because a compiled narative from eyewitness was a good thing to have
2) So Theophilus would have certinaty in the things he was taught
3) Acts is a continuation of this project - Acts 1:1
In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach,
At the end of Luke we see Jesus the God-Man (Fully God and Fully man) who came to earth from Heaven, lived a perfect life, Died. Luke 23:44-47
It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!”
Jesus was buried like any other Man. Luke 23:50-56
Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid. It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments.
On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
But Jesus was not just any other man, He was the God-Man. Jesus did not stay dead. Death could not hold Jesus. `Luke 24:1-9
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.
Jesus did not stay hidden from His followers like an aperation. We see in the other accounts wiriten by Matthew, Mark, and John; Jesus apeared to Mary Magdaline. Here in Luke it jumps to another account that also happened the same day Jesus rose from the dead. Luke 24:13-16
That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.
Finally Jesus made himself known Luke 24:28-31
So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.
Jesus in the end appeared to hundreds of His followers before he returend to the Father in Heaven
What Was Jesus doing durring this time?
Jesus Prepared
Jesus Prepared
Jesus did not leave the His disciples and followers wodering.
He would aprear to them, Stay with them, and Speak with them. He taught and prepaired them for what was to come. Acts 1:3-5
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.”
after that time of training, Jesus sent them up to the top of the mount called Olivet. There Jesus gave them and through them us a mission
Mission Given
Mission Given
Jesus gave his followers direction with a mission Matthew 28:16-20
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Could the do that? How could they accomplish this on their own? Jesus was the one who had all the real power. Then Jesus gave them hope for accomplishing that mission
This was to be accomplished through Jesus’ Athority, Through the Holy Spirit’s Power, Through our Obediance
Finaly Jesus returned to his father in Heaven
Jesus Leaves with a Promise
Jesus Leaves with a Promise
But Jesus does not do this with out a promise
He would never leave them Matthew 28:20
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
What had happened did not change God’s ultimate plan concerning Isreal Acts 1:6-7
So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.
The Holy Spirit - The Helper will come Acts 1:8
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.”
The angels who apeared near the Disiples as they were looking up promised that He would returen for us as well Acts 1:11
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.”
It was not immidate, there was time between Jesus leaving and Pentecost
Holy Spirit Comes
Holy Spirit Comes
Jesus was Crucified on Passover, Rose again 3 days later. after spending 40 days with his followers it was not until the feast of Weeks about 2 weeks later, when they would be all together in Jeruselem, the holy spirit would come. Luke describes thi experince like this Acts 2:2-4
And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Now imagine you are downtown custer. You are not from the US and though you speak english it is not your native languae.
So you are downtewn, maybe got a nice burger or discussing thelogy at the coffee shop and you hear a massive rushing wind. next thing you know people start pouring into the streets speaking all sorts of languages. You dont know most of them and it seems like chaos but one of them is speaking your home language. There is nothing more comforting when traveling than finding another native speaker.
As you are watching the chaos and listening to this person speaking you hear them tell of the glories of God and what He has done. You wonder what it all means, but around you are others in the chaos who dont understand the words and only the feel of the crowd. They start mocking what is going on, making fun of the mess of people giving glory to God. They start laughing and pointing saying “These guys are so drunk!” or “I want what they are on!”; “Go sleep it off budy!”.
This is a taste of the event happening here. The loud wind sound the Holy Spirit made pulled people into the area, then the disiples newly indwelt with the Holy Sprit pour out from thou house praising God. With this delughe of information people either mocked or were curious.
But what good is curiosity with out a way to learn, so God used Peter
Peter Preaches
Peter Preaches
Peter is a fisherman. He probubly had the same education as other boys in the Torah (Jewish Bible/Books of the law) but it was not his focus. No Peter is a fisherman, he had his own boat and a good business going. Peter however is not a preacher, he his not an oritiry genious, he was the man God had for the Job. Acts 2:14-16
He tells the crowd… These people are not Drunk, or on something. The Holy Spirit is doing this. If you belive this is a problem, this is the same kind of thing that will happen when what the profet Joel says happens.
Then Peter contines to tell them about Jesus Acts 2:22-24
“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
Peter then brings up how King David refered to Jesus the Messiah generations ago. King David trusted what God said and the promises God made. Skiping ahead Peter continues Acts 2:31b-33
he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.
Peter shows that what King David said could not possibley be in refrence to himseld but to Jesus his decendent. finaly Peter Finishs with Acts 2:36
Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Great Harvest
Great Harvest
What happens next is what every pastor and evangelist dreams of but is immensily rare if it ever happens in this volume. 3000 people were were cut to the Heart. Fillet open like a gut fish emotionally. they knew they needed a change. So they cried out Acts 2:37
Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
What Could they do? Peter tells them Acts 2:38-39
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”
Why was this important? To be saved for the crooked Generation. Acts 2:40
And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”
The best part is they took what Paul said and put it into action. Acts 2:41
So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
Took:
Great History but what does it have to do with us?
Jesus has prepared you - He has pleased you in a position you will be most effective in the mission He has given us
Jesus’ Mission is for us as well
We are to make Disciples - What is a disciple? - Short answer: A disciple is a follower; follower of Jesus
We are to go into all the world, where ever we go and share what we have seen, what we have heard, what we have experienced about Jesus with everyone
Then Baptize them - Why?
Commanded to
A physical step to express a spiritual truth (we will be having a opportunity for baptism at the end of August)
It “marks you” as a part of the body of christ
It doesn't end there - We are to Teach them. Teach them what? To Obey. Obey Jesus and His Teaching.
Jesus has a Promise for us
He will Return
Will we be ready?
Jesus has given all Believers the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit lives in you
God lives in you!
This is a blessing
Jesus will not ever take the Holy Spirit from You!
Just as Peter Preached - We are to tell others about Jesus. What we have Heard, What we have Seen, What we have experience
All for a great harvest. Not for our Glory, our popularity, or our pride. For God’s kingdom. For the Souls - The Eternity of those living apart from God.
Believe, Be Baptized, and Tell the World
Believe, Be Baptized, and Tell the World
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Small Group/ Personal Study Questions
We grow best in the community. When we gather and discuss God’s word in a safe environment we grow more like Him. If you are here at Crossroads we encourage you to join a Small Group and talk over the Questions below. The Questions in Bold, are great places for your group to start. The other questions are for further study. May God Bless you in your pursuit of Him - Pastor Neil
1) Have you ever told someone how they can have a relationship with Jesus? What did you tell them or what would you tell them? How would you define the gospel?
2) Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
3) What does Paul say the value of the gospel is? What does Paul mean by “in which you stand” and “by wich you are being saved”? Are we not already saved? How can we be already saved and being saved? Can we belive in vain? What would make our beliving in vain?
4) How does Paul define the gospel (vs 3-7)? Gospel literally means good news; how is this good news? Why did Christ die? Who or what is “Christ”? What are sins? Did Christ have to die? why or why not? What happened after Christ died? Was that the end? If not what happened next? Can anyone vouch for what Paul says here?
5) How was the Gospel revived (vs 11)? What does Paul mean by preached? does it have to be preached like Pastor Neil does? if not what does Paul mean? is preaching the end of the equation? if not what else needs to happen? Believe in what?
5) Is the Gospel actually Good News? why or why not? Who can you tell about the gospel this week? Need help? Ask us, we want to help :)