Acts 1_8 Final Instructions

Acts 1:8 “Final Words”

Intro: Last words are meaningful they show the heart of the one uttering them; they are long lasting and hard hitting. My grandfather’s final words to my grandmother “It has been a long wonderful affair”

Jesus’ final words to His apostles shows His heart, that He desires for none to perish, they are informative giving those men who heard them a life’s mission, and they are eternal and if followed will bring eternal life to multitudes of people. His desire is for the whole word to know Him and be saved: Every man, woman, and child, from every race and ethnicity, every social class, and circle. Every nation, Jew and Gentile… The whole created order of men, because God so loved the world!

Does this mean every person will be saved, NO! Mankind has fallen short of God’s glory and deserves the wages of his sin, death! Only those who trust in Him will be saved from eternal death and receive eternal life. But, how will the world come to know to Him? Through His final instructions to His followers which have been passed down to you and I and will continue to be passed down until the world comes to an end.

Orientate Scripture: This is Luke’s second letter to Theophilus in regards to what all Jesus has done. The first letter speaks of all that Christ had done while on earth in His Physical Body but the second letter was written to tell what all Christ was doing while in heaven through His spiritual body, the Church.

Luke speaks of the many infallible proofs that surrounded the resurrection (He is alive) and the resurrection ministry. After the resurrection Jesus appeared to His apostles at least ten times over a span of 40 days instructing them about the Kingdom of God. Then Jesus ascended into heaven. But before His ascension He gave His followers a life mission. His disciples were still looking for Jesus to over throw Rome (vs. 6) and restore Israel to a self-ruling nation with Him as their King. But Jesus is building an eternal Kingdom for Himself that is not seen now but will be seen in time to come.

CPS: The Final words of Jesus to His followers were to evangelize the whole earth with the aid of the Holy Spirit and not to stop until He returns. This mission hold true still today and is our life’s mission 2,000 years later.

The PromiseVs. 4-8A

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

God the Father’s Promise

Joel 2:28-29

Acts 2:16 (Peter’s sermon at Pentecost)

God the Son’s Promise

John 14:16, 26

John 15:26-27 (you will testify of Me)

John 16:7

The work of the Holy Spirit

It is Universal (Once limited to Israel now for All repenting sinner everywhere)

It is Permanent (O.T. came and departed)

Samson (Tore a Lion apart)

Saul (Came 1 Sam. 10:10, departed 1 Sam, 16:14)

It is Perfecting (Make all repenting sinners grow in grace and be like Jesus in contrast to the O.T. they received His power but not His purity)

It is Powerful (dunamis = miraculous power given in abundance bringing ability to the receiver)

A man may be highly talented, intensively trained, and widely experienced, but without spiritual power he is ineffective. On the other hand, a man may be uneducated, unattractive, and unrefined, yet let him be endued with the power of the Holy Spirit and the world will turn out to see him burn for God.

The Mission Vs. 8b

Ye shall be (main verb) lambanō, Witnesses (subject of main verb) martus, mar´-toos

The Witnesses’ Mission

The Object of Witness (Jesus and all He had done) GOSPEL!

Receive the Witness (By Grace through faith)

The Scope of the Mission

Jerusalem (Great grace, it must first be offered to those who first rejected Him. The very city where our Lord was crucified was first to receive the call to repentance and faith in Him.)

The Whole World (Created order of man)

The Eunuch (Descendant of 2nd son Ham: Acts 8:36-38) *Egyptians, Arabians, African, and Canaan

Saul (Descendant of 1st son Shem: Acts 9, Gen 10) *Semetic line is traced, from Eber to Abraham

Cornelius (Descendant of Jepheth: Acts 10) *North and West of Israel, Indo-Europeans

The Difficulty of the Mission

Rejection

Spiritual Warfare

Bar the gospel (Acts 4:18, 5:28) Sanhedrin forbid (4:18), jailed (5:18), forbid (5:28)

Buy off the gospel (Acts 8:18-25) Simon the magician

Blur the gospel (Acts 16:16-18) girl of divination

Persecution

Stephen (NT) (Acts 7:60 “Don’t hold this sin against them”)

Tyndale (15th Century) *strangled while burned on the stake his Last Words, “Lord open the eyes of the king of England”

Jim Elliot (1956) “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose”

The Lord is on mission with us through the work of the Holy Spirit in us and He goes before us, let us trust Him and share the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the world.

The Return Vs. 9-11

The departure

Departed in Glory

The same Glory that lead Israel by day in the wilderness (Ex 13:20)

The same Glory that descended upon the tabernacle and later the temple

The same Glory that departed the temple (Ez. 10)

The Return (not the rapture)

Returns in Glory (1st Thes 4:16, Zech 14:4)

Kingdom established

The implication

Continue in mission until I return

Conclusion: Jesus’ final words reveal His heart for fallen mankind; present the gospel to everyman, warn everyman, teach everyman, because a day of judgment is coming and God’s desire is for non to perish but for all to come to repentance. We do this until Christ returns because we are God’s Plan A for global evangelism and there is no Plan B!