Acts  Sermon Series

Wheelersburg Baptist Church 1/14/2001 Brad Brandt

Acts 1:1-11 "His Final Words, Our First Concern"**

Imagine the following scene. It’s snowing outside. The wind is blowing hard and the snow is drifting into large piles. You’re sitting behind the wheel of your car, but you’re not going anywhere. You’re stuck.

You were heading to an important appointment when you hit a slick spot in the road, lost control of your car, and felt the snow rut pull your front tire where you did not want to go—into the ditch!

You hit the gas peddle and hear the engine rev. You see your speedometer needle race forward, but you feel nothing. You hit the gas again, but still nothing happens. You feel your wheels spin, and sense the rut getting deeper and deeper with each rotation.

It’s frustrating to be sitting in a vehicle with 250 horsepower and not move. You could actually use up a whole tank of gas, if you kept at it, and get nowhere. Absolutely nowhere!

A life can be like that. So can a church. You can have loads of potential, but the nagging reality that hits you—if you’re honest with yourself—is that you’re not getting anywhere.

What’s sad is that it can be different. "How so?" you ask. The book of Acts gives us the answer.

Last week, we began what I trust will be an exciting, life-changing, church-transforming journey through the book called Acts. It’s a book that gives us the history of the first thirty years of the church. It contains the record of the days when the church was young, vivacious, and bold. It was a church on the move, and we can learn from it.

If there’s one thing you won’t find true of the believers in Acts, it’s this. They weren’t spinning their wheels. They were on the move, filled with joy and hope, and gripped with a sense of purpose.

And the same can happen to us. How? We must live with three essential perspectives, the ones exhibited in Acts 1:1-11. Throughout Acts, these three perspectives motivated, inspired, and transformed God’s people. If your life is lacking purpose and significance, if when your head hits the pillow at night you wrestle with the nagging question, "Is this all there is to life?", I encourage you to take inventory.

The fact is, His final words must be our first concern. And they were in the early church. The church in Acts took Jesus’ final words seriously.

If we’re tired of the status quo (and even if we’re not!), we need to give careful attention to the three perspectives that gripped the early church. They are mandatory for every person who wants to live life as God intends.

Let’s turn our attention now to Acts 1:1-11. In the very beginning of his book, Luke identifies the three perspectives with which the church (and every believer) must live.

Our faith is not subjective. It’s rooted in history. And the key to moving ahead is first of all to look back.

We need to remember some things, namely two items that Luke highlights in the first five verses. First of all, we need to look back and…

A. Remember what Jesus did (1-3). "In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God."

According to verse 1, Luke originally wrote the book of Acts for a friend by the name of Theophilus. Acts was actually volume two, the first volume being the gospel of Luke. Luke penned both volumes to give his friend certainty about the two most important subjects in the world: Christ and the Church.

In the gospel, Luke introduced his friend to Christ with a biography of His life. In Acts, he introduced him to the Church as we’ll be seeing.

The fact is, we must appreciate both Christ and the Church. If you don’t come to grips with Christ, you cannot experience eternal life. But if you don’t come to grips with the importance of the Church, you will never experience joy as God intended. You will look in vain to find in the book of Acts what is common today, people who profess Christ and yet have no meaningful relationship with Christ’s church. It was unthinkable in the first century to be a Christian and not be an active member of a local church—as it should be today.

Luke begins by looking back and rehearsing the highlights of volume one. The subject matter pertained to "all that Jesus began to do and teach." Notice the word "began." In reality, He’s not done. Jesus’ teaching and doing continues. Where? In His church. And what’s happening in the church now rests upon the foundation of what Jesus did before He left the earth.

What’s that? Luke invites us to remember what Jesus did, namely three activities, all of which were developed in his gospel.

1. He chose apostles (1-2). One of the first things Jesus did when He began His public ministry was to select twelve men to be with Him. He invited them to follow Him for three years.

And so they did. They saw His miracles, heard His teaching, and witnessed His divine power. He called them "apostles" (Luke 6:13), and delegated His authority to them before He left the earth (Matt 28:20).

Here Luke says that Jesus gave them instructions "through the Holy Spirit," indicating that the same Spirit who would be instrumental in the work of the church in Acts had already been instrumental in the work Christ performed in their lives.

In a very real sense, what happened in the church as recorded in Acts is merely an extension of the ministry Christ began while on earth. Christ delegated His authority to the apostles. He also gave instructions to the apostles that eventually were recorded in what we call the New Testament.

That’s why we must hold the Scriptures in high esteem. We have no right to make the church what we want it to be. Christ already made it clear what He wants the church to be and do—in His Word.

2. He suffered and died (3a). Luke summarizes the redemptive work of Christ in verse 3, "After His suffering [the KJV uses the term "passion"]." In his gospel, Luke devoted nearly five chapters to the Passion Week of our Lord (19:28-23:56). Truly, our Lord suffered.

He was rejected and unjustly arrested. The soldiers beat Him, and the crowd mocked Him. Ultimately, they nailed Him to the Tree where He gave His life as a ransom payment.

We must look back, beloved. He suffered and died for us. Wounded for me, wounded for me, there on the Cross He was wounded for me. Gone my transgressions and now I am free, all because Jesus was wounded for me.

Luke wants us to remember what He did. He chose apostles and then suffered and died. But He’s no longer dead!

3. He gave proof He was alive (3b). What kind of proof? Verse 3, "After his suffering, he showed himself to these men [i.e. the apostles] and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God."

Notice the term many. The resurrection event didn’t happen in a closet. The risen Christ appeared to many individuals over a forty day period, once to a group of over five hundred people at the same time (1 Cor 15:6). He focused on the apostles and gave them many proofs of His resurrection, such as by eating with them (Luke 24:42-43).

Furthermore, He taught them. About what subject? Interestingly, Luke says He spoke about "the kingdom of God." The kingdom of God is an important theme in Acts. Philip preached "the good news of the kingdom of God" in Acts 8:12. Paul told new believers in Acts 14:22, "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God." Later at Ephesus Paul spent three months arguing in the synagogue with unsaved Jews "about the kingdom of God (19:8)."

And Luke ends the book highlighting this theme, too. In chapter 28, while under house arrest in Rome, Paul received visitors. According to verse 23, "From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets." The last verse of the book, in fact, says this of Paul’s activities in prison, "Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ (28:31)."

Answer this. When was the last time you mentioned the kingdom of God when you witnessed to an unbeliever? Most gospel presentations don’t. That’s unfortunate.

The apostles talked about the kingdom. Why? They learned it from their Master. Luke says that during Jesus’ final forty days with His apostles He spoke about the kingdom of God.

Actually, you can sum up the story of the Bible by talking about the kingdom of God. In the beginning, God the King created the universe. Since He is King, He deserves obedience from His subjects.

Is that what He received? No. In Genesis 3, the King’s subjects committed an act of cosmic treason. Adam and Eve deliberately defied the King’s orders and ate the forbidden fruit. Their rebellion cut off creation from the King.

But the King loves His creation. And so in the Garden, God began the work to reclaim what is rightfully His. The story of the Bible, from Genesis 3 to Revelation 22, is the account of God’s work to reclaim His kingdom.

God sent His Son, King Jesus, to rescue and restore a people for His glory. The rescue mission was costly. The King entered the world and gave His own life. Yet through His death and resurrection, the King removed the curse of sin. Now when a sinner repents and believes in Him, the King reconciles the sinner to God and places him in a new community, the community of the redeemed, the Church.

Beloved, we must come to grips with the message of the kingdom of God. There are two ways—and only two ways—to live. First, you can be your own king and seek to rule your own life. That’s how we all enter the world. If you persist in living this first way, you will experience the consequences of God’s eternal judgment.

On the other hand, there’s another way to live. You can submit to the rule of King Jesus, the One who loved you and died in your place. And if you do, you will be reconciled to God and begin to enjoy the benefits of His eternal kingdom!

Listen. This is the message the Lord entrusted to His Church. We need to look back and remember what Jesus our King did. Have you submitted your life to Him?

That’s not all. In addition to remembering what Jesus did, Luke invites us to…

B. Remember what Jesus said (4-5). "On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’"

Remember, Jesus interacted with the apostles several times after His resurrection. But Luke mentions "one occasion." He wants us to remember a particular conversation Jesus had with the apostles. It took place over a meal. And in the conversation Jesus told His followers two things.

1. He told them what to do (4). Verse 4 says He gave them a "command." Let there be no misunderstanding. The King has the right to give commands to His subjects. He is the King, and what He says goes.

What was His command to the apostles? Verse 4—He told them to do two things. First, He told them, "Don’t leave Jerusalem." Remember, these men were from up north in Galilee, but they weren’t to leave Jerusalem. What were they to do? Secondly, wait. They were to wait for a special gift.

What kind of gift? Jesus identified it as the gift His Father promised. It was also the gift He had told them about earlier.

The command was clear. Don’t leave, but wait. That’s what Jesus told them to do. But why? Jesus clarified that next…

2. He told them what would happen (5). "John baptized you with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

The verb is passive. You will be baptized. The apostles would not initiate this activity. God would. And He did in Acts 2, as we’ll see in a future study. The baptism of the Holy Spirit was a historical event that Jesus predicted—and then fulfilled. As John the Baptist baptized converts with water, so the Church was baptized with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.

Dear friend, if you feel like your life is stuck in a snow drift, look back. Remember what Jesus did and said. Submit your life to Christ and became an active part of the community His Spirit inaugurated at Pentecost. Here’s where fruitful living begins. We must look back.

But don’t stop there. We must live with a second perspective.

The Lord never intended for His church to be a "holy huddle." We’re not to hoard the good news that’s changed our lives. We’re supposed to look out.

The church is in trouble when it fails to look out. Jesus addressed that problem head-on in His final conversation with His followers. Here’s what happened…

A. Jesus’ followers were concerned about Israel (6). Verse 6, "So when they met together, they asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’"

Remember the subject Jesus had been addressing with the apostles (3). The kingdom. And when they heard Jesus tell them that the Holy Spirit was coming in a few days, they couldn’t contain themselves. They knew the Old Testament. They knew the connection between the coming of the Spirit and the kingdom (Joel 2:28ff.).

This was a great hope for Israel throughout the Old Testament. The kingdom is coming. God had established a covenant with King David, and promised that one of his descendants would sit on his throne forever.

It was only natural, then, for the disciples to ask this question. "Lord, is it time? Are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now?" You need to realize their perspective, too. Until they met Jesus, their idea of the Messiah was soldier like Judas Maccabeus (Judas the Hammer). They believed God was going to send a King riding on a white horse, with sword flashing in the sun, to get rid of the pagan Roman Empire, and establish David’s throne forever in Israel.

They’d been with Jesus for three years, all the while wondering when He would pull out the sword. "Are you going to do it now, Lord?" they asked. "Are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now?"

They were concerned about Israel. In contrast…

B. Jesus is concerned about the world (7-8). Verse 7, "He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority." Jesus didn’t deny His intent to restore the kingdom to Israel. He didn’t tell them it wouldn’t happen, but challenged them on the matter of timing.

"That’s up to the Father," He told them. "It’s not your business to know when I’m going to set up My kingdom. You’re thinking about Israel. I’ve got something in mind for the world. And here it is…"

Verse 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.’"

Here’s the theme verse of the book. In it, Jesus gives us three essentials.

1. He gave us a promise. "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you," Jesus told them.

What did Jesus promise His followers? Power.

James Montgomery Boice explains, "The Greek word dynamis entered the English language when the Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Bernhard Nobel (1833-96) made the discovery that became his fortune. He discovered a power stronger than anything the world had known up to that time. He asked a friend of his who was a Greek scholar what the word for ‘explosive power’ was in Greek. His friend answered, ‘Dynamis.’

Nobel said, ‘Well, I am going to call my discovery by that name.’ So he called his explosive power ‘dynamite.’"

That is the word here. Jesus promised to give His followers dynamis, the life-changing, dynamic power of the Holy Spirit.

But what’s the power for? This power isn’t for self-fulfillment, but is related to the second essential.

2. He gave us a purpose. "You will be my witnesses," Jesus said. That’s what the power is for, to enable us to be something. Witnesses.

We have no business preaching the gospel to other people if we are not relying upon the power of the Holy Spirit. You will receive power, and then, you will be my witnesses.

A witness doesn’t say, "I think so." He says, "I know so." He speaks the truth with conviction, even if it costs him. It’s not surprising that the Greek word for witness and the word for martyr (martus) are one and the same. As Barclay observed, "A witness had to be ready to become a martyr."

And what’s supposed to be the subject of our witness? "You will be my witnesses," Jesus emphasized.

Let that sink in. If you are a Christian, that’s your purpose for existence. We who know Christ have a mission. We’re not here to live for ourselves. We are here on kingdom business. The King told us to tell the world about Him.

Do you view evangelism that way? It’s our privilege to tell people the truth about the King. Just think of it. He didn’t say, "Go, tell people to get their act cleaned up." Or, "Go, tell them how good they are." No, He said, "Go, tell them about Me."

The truth is, no one is too far gone or too good for Jesus. That’s our purpose, to tell people what the King did, and call them to respond to Him.

Answer this. Do you believe the gospel is good news? It seems to me one of the reasons many of us hide our light under the bushel is because we really don’t believe the gospel ourselves. I mean really believe it, that it’s good news!

Crowds used to flock to hear the well known preacher, George Whitefield, who often preached early in the morning before people went to work. On one such occasion, an assembly gathered in Edinburgh around 5 o’clock in the morning to hear his preaching. On the way to the church a man met David Hume, the Scottish philosopher and skeptic. Surprised at seeing him on his way to hear Whitefield, the man said, "I thought you did not believe in the gospel." Hume replied, "I do not, but he does."

Before leaving the world Jesus gave His followers a promise—"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you." As well as a purpose—"And you will be my witnesses." Thirdly…

3. He gave us a plan. Where did He say to be witnesses? He was very specific in His instructions to the apostles. His plan entailed three phases. He told them…

· Start in Jerusalem. What was significant about Jerusalem? This is profound. Jerusalem is where they were!

There once was a demon possessed man who lived in the tombs. People tried to chain him, but he broke the chains. Then Jesus came to him, set him free from demonic control, and gave him new life. The man begged Jesus for the privilege to go with him. Jesus declined. Do you remember what Jesus told him? "Return home and tell how much God has done for you (Luke 8:39)."

"Go home! Start at home!" Jesus said.

Some new Christians get in trouble right here. They think they need to rush right away to India or Africa to fulfill the Great Commission. But Jesus told the first disciples to start in Jerusalem.

He didn’t say to stop there, however. Phase #2…

· Go next to Judea and Samaria. Judea—that’s the district where Jerusalem was located. And Samaria—that was the next district to the north. And by the way, in Samaria the people and the culture were different.

Right here is where some older Christians get in trouble. They make the mistake of believing that the gospel need not be taken beyond their own circle of friends. "I can serve God right here where it’s comfortable." But Jesus told the First Church to start in Jerusalem, not finish there.

In fact, the First Church almost got into a rut. Then God stirred up persecution against His church to get them out of Jerusalem (Acts 8:1).

The plan couldn’t be clearer. Empowered by the Spirit, you are to be My witnesses. Start in Jerusalem. Go next to Judea and Samaria. Then phase #3…

· Keep going to the ends of the earth. Think of how that sounded to men who had never been more than 75 miles from home! These were ordinary fishermen from Galilee. Family men. Blue collar types. Jesus looked them in the eye and said, "Here’s the plan. You are going to the ends of the earth."

"But I don’t want to go! I like my bed, my friends, my town. I’ve just got my house remodeled the way I like it. And besides, I like seeing my relatives when the holidays roll around. Let somebody else go."

Is that what they said? No. They went. Acts tells the story. Acts 1-7 depicts the witness of the church "in Jerusalem," chapters 8-11 their witness "in Judea and Samaria," and chapters 12-28 shows how they took the message of Christ to the "ends of the earth."

And why did they go? Because the King told them to.

When we become a Christian, a fundamental change occurs. The most important thing is no longer what I want. It’s what the King wants. Is that true of your life?

Have you told your neighbors about Christ? How about your classmates? How about the fellow that works next to you? We’re not called to be prosecutors and judges, but witnesses. The disciples were concerned about Israel, but our Savior is concerned about the world!

If you’re feeling stale in life, maybe it’s because you need a perspective adjustment. First of all, look back. Submit to Christ and become an active part of His church. Then look out. See the world, and tell the world what you know. Tell them about Christ. There’s a third essential perspective…

The episode concludes with two undeniable facts.

A. Fact #1: Jesus returned to heaven (9). "After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight." And just that suddenly, He was gone.

Where is Jesus today? He is in heaven. That’s a fact. Many witnesses saw Him go. This, too, is a fact…

B. Fact #2: Jesus will return to earth (10-11). "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.’"

I’m intrigued by the impact Jesus’ departure had on His followers. There they stood, paralyzed as it were, looking up into the sky.

Until the angels’ message jolted them into reality. "Why are you standing here, looking up?" they asked. First of all, He’s coming back. This same Jesus is coming back. And second of all, you’ve got a job to do. Before He returns, tell the world about Him.

It’s a fact. Jesus returned to heaven. And it’s a fact. Jesus will return to earth. Do you know what that means? In practical terms…

1. This is no time for standing around. On the other hand…

2. This is a perfect time for reaching out. There’s work to be done. The Savior gave us a job to do.

I don’t think we realize how seriously the first generation of the church took Jesus’ final words. Within thirty years they spread the message of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to the capital city of Rome and beyond!

How did they do it? They were ordinary people like us. But unlike many of us, they truly lived with these three perspectives. They looked back, they looked out, and they looked ahead.

We, too, must take seriously these three things.

1. Take seriously what Jesus did. Jesus died and rose again to save sinners. Have you received Him as your Lord and Savior?

2. Take seriously what Jesus is doing. Jesus is gone, yes, but He’s doing something on earth right now.

As Boice rightly points out, "’Acts’ is a short name for ‘The Acts of the Apostles.’ It might more properly be called ‘The Acts of Jesus Christ’ or, to be even more accurate, ‘The Acts of the Holy Spirit in the Church of Jesus Christ through God’s People.’"

Are you a part of what Jesus is doing right now? Are you a contributing, loyal member of a Bible-believing church? In order to take seriously what Jesus is doing, you must be.

3. Take seriously what Jesus will do. He will come again. It may be today.

Acts  Sermon Series