Now What? Navigating the Unknown and Preparing for Power from On High
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Good morning Church!
I want to thank each of you who have come out to worship with us today and all those who may be joining online.
Today we start a new journey!
A journey that I pray will help us to understand our mission as a missionary people.
Last week, we finished up the Book of Matthew by looking at The Great Commission our Lord left us to Go, to Teach, & to Baptize.
We looked at how we serve a missionary God who expects those to follow Him to be a missionary people.
And if you will remember, I told you all last week the theme that God laid on my heart for this year and that is…bursting out the door in 2024.
We talked very briefly in the introduction about how if we are going to make that theme a reality then we must be willing to do our part as a missionary people fulfilling the request of our missionary Savior.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
We must stop waiting on others to go and we must go.
We must stop waiting on others to teach and we must teach.
And we must stop waiting on others to baptize and we must lead the lost to Jesus and baptize them ourselves!
Today, I want to pick up right where we left off last week and I want us to look at a message that I’ve entitled…Now What? Navigating the Unknown and Preparing for Power from On High.
We are going to take this message from Chapter 1 of the Book of Acts so if you have your Bibles, you can go ahead and be turning there.
Most call this amazing Book “The Acts of the Apostles” but I think one writer said it best when he said it would be better served by being called “The Acts of the Holy Spirit.”
Chuck Swindoll said, “The Book of Acts is so important because it is the only book in the Bible that chronicles the history of the church immediately after Jesus ascension. As such, it provides us with an invaluable account of how the church grew and spread out from Jerusalem into the rest of the Roman Empire.
In only three short decades, a small group of frightened believers in Jerusalem transformed into an empire-wide movement of people who had committed their lives to Jesus Christ.
In virtually every chapter, people like Peter and Paul powerfully present the gospel to individuals and to groups of people. An evangelistic zeal shines through in the lives of the apostles, showing a striking transformation from their portrayal in the Gospels.
Clearly their faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus had produced a noticeable change in their hearts.”
Former Pastor Jerry Vines said, “The Book of Acts is one of the most graphic pieces of writing in all of literature. It stands as a sequel to the Gospels and a bridge to the epistles. It connects what took place from Jesus’ death and subsequent resurrection through the beginning of the early church. Beginning with the ascension of Jesus in chapter 1 and the birth of the church in chapter 2, Luke takes us on an exciting journey concerning the work of God that Jesus left for His disciples.”
“You will not regret going chapter by chapter through the Book of Acts. The same Holy Spirit who inspired it will reveal a whole new spiritual reality in you as you journey through it. And in the process, you will gain a new vision for God’s heart to spread the Good News to all people.”
Today we are going to set out on this journey of seeing the hand of God move in a mighty way through the power of the Holy Spirit and as we make our way through this wonderful Book, my prayer is that the Holy Spirit will move in you and encourage you as He did the disciples of Jesus to do great, mighty and wonderful things!
And my prayer also, is that as we make our way through the Book of Acts, God will move so mightily that you will have no other option but to tell people how wonderful a Savior we serve and through that sharing of the Good News of the Gospel of Christ, God will overflow this place with souls looking to deepen their relationship with God the Father through the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit!
That’s my prayer for New Home Missionary Baptist Church in 2024!
That we would become what we are called…a “Missionary Church filled with mission-minded people because that’s how we will fulfill the great commission of our Lord!
With no further ado, if you have your Bible’s turned to the Book of Acts chapter 1 would you say, amen?
The Recounting of Luke — (Vs. 1-3)
The Recounting of Luke — (Vs. 1-3)
Acts 2. The Recipient of the Announcements (Acts 1:1)
“Theophilus.” This name means “love of God” (Zodhiates)
John G Butler — Theophilus evidently became what his name means, for Luke wrote two Bible books especially to this man.
“O Theophilus” (Acts 1:1). He is called “most excellent” in Luke 1:3 which means he had some rank in society. But greater honor than his earthly rank was in the fact that he became the recipient of two of the original books of the Bible in that Luke wrote his Gospel and the book of Acts to Theophilus.
The Requirement of Our Lord — (Vs. 4-8)
The Requirement of Our Lord — (Vs. 4-8)
Notice they didn’t have the power to do what Jesus had planned for them to do until the Holy Ghost came upon them.
Then, Jesus said, you will be able to accomplish that which I have for you to do!
“Power” — Greek word (dynamis) — “Formed from the root for “ability” or “strength” (dynamai) this word refers to the force or power behind supernatural events. Another translation is “work of power.” It specifically refers to an ability that a person has inherently in his nature—i.e. the power of Jesus to work miracles because He is God.” — Word Study Bible
“I’ve got big plans in store for you all but you must wait until you have received the gift of the Holy Ghost for then and only then will you have the power to perform the things I want you to do!”
Jerry Vines said, “I think many Christians have lost or have failed to understand the source of their power to live the Christian life and to be witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ. Too many Christians have a dynamite gospel and yet are living firecracker lives! Too many churches have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof.
All Christians have been to Calvary. They are saved and have been forgiven—they have pardon for their sins—but many of them have not yet been to Pentecost where they understand the teaching about power to live the Christian life and to be a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ.
The key to understanding Christian power is right here in Acts 1:8.
We are living in a time where people are very interested in power. We hear a great deal today in business circles about empowerment; that is, workers releasing within them the power that is theirs. The financial realm has power. We know about military power. We read about power in many circles of life.
But here is a statement that talks to us about the greatest power on the earth: the power of God to change lives. This is the power to help people live for God and the power to tell others the Good News about the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Jesus tells the disciples they are to be “witnesses” for Him and of Him.
“Witness” — speaks of someone who gives a testimony.
What is your testimony for Jesus?
And then look where Jesus said they were to be witnesses.
Jerusalem, Judaea, Samaria & unto the uttermost part of the earth!
There’s the Requirement of Our Lord and then we see...
The Retiring of Our Lord — (Vs. 9-11)
The Retiring of Our Lord — (Vs. 9-11)
27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
The Return to Jerusalem — (Vs. 12-14)
The Return to Jerusalem — (Vs. 12-14)
“Continued” — (proskartereō) — “to endure in, or persevere in, to be continually steadfast with a person or thing,"
“One Accord” — means with one mind, united in togetherness as one
“Supplication” — “Plea”
James 5:16b — The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
NLT says — The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
Jerry Vine — Preaching story. He was 18 years old, youth evangelist at the time, only had 4 sermons, would preach in one part of the county and then go to another part and preach the same sermons.
A church had the audacity to call him as pastor and said, “Preacher, it’s time for a revival.”
He said, “great, who are we gonna get?”
They said, “You’re it! And we have an eight day revival. We go from Sunday to Sunday and have services morning and night.”
He only had 4 sermons and they wanted him to preach 16 times!
He preached the first Sunday and no one came forward. Then he preached Monday morning and then Monday night and still no one came forward.
This continued on through Wednesday.
He said on Thursday morning again no one moved and he was so burdened about it that after the morning service he went out into the little patch of woods beside the Church and spent all afternoon praying that God would bless that evening’s revival meeting.
He said, “The old timers called it praying through and praying through I did. I prayed until I got hold of the altar of the Lord. I got assurance in my heart that God was going to do something. I didn’t know how He would do it and didn’t have much of a clue what I would be preaching that night, but I knew God was going to bless.”
That not he got up and preached through a little sermon God had laid on his heart and when he gave the invitation, eight precious souls walked down the aisle and gave their hearts to Jesus.
He said, “I learned something that was true then and is true today: God blesses in direct proportion to the persistent prayers of His people!”
Tell story of half way house guy who got saved.
After the return to Jerusalem, we see...
The Replacing of Judas — (Vs. 15-26)
The Replacing of Judas — (Vs. 15-26)
The Application
The Application
As we make our way to an end this morning there are three points of application that I feel we can take from this piece of scripture this morning.
Wait upon the Lord
Notice what Jesus says there in Verse 4.
4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
Now, you may be saying, “Preacher, I’m not picking up what you’re putting down here. I don’t understand what the big deal is.”
Well, when you do understand, you’ll see why it’s a big deal.
The Bible tells us here in Verse 3 that Jesus was seen of them for forty days, right?
What you need to know and we will see next week is that the promise Jesus gives them of the Holy Ghost doesn’t take place until the day of Pentecost.
Do you know what is special about that day?
The word Pentecost actually means 50 and it was the Jewish festival of weeks that was celebrated 50 days after the feast of the Passover.
“Ok, so what does all that have to do with anything?”
Jesus ascended on day 40, right?
But the disciples didn’t receive the gift of the Holy Ghost until the day of Pentecost which was day 50, right?
So for 10 days straight the disciples sat and waited and waited and waited for the promise that Jesus left them with.
He didn’t tell them exactly when it was going to happen He just said it was going to happen.
Can you imagine what was running through the disciples minds?
Have you ever had to wait 10 days on something you really needed?
Ten days don’t sound like a long time but when you’re waiting on something you really want or need, ten days seems like an eternity, amen!
And I can only imagine that at points during that ten days there was some doubting going on!
“Where is this gift from on high that Jesus was telling us about?”
“Why haven’t we received it yet?”
“Maybe it’s not coming.”
1 day, 2 days, 3 days 9 days and still nothing.
But Jesus said to wait.
Waiting on the Lord is hard!
Some of us here this morning are waiting on the Lord for different things.
Some of us are waiting on the Lord to save our children.
Some of us are waiting on the Lord for that sign we’ve asked Him to give us to show us which way or what He wants us to do.
Some of us are waiting on the Lord to move in a mighty way in our own lives or the lives of a friend or family member.
Some of us are waiting on the Lord to open a door we’ve been praying about.
Some of us are praying that God would shut a door we’ve been praying about.
Some of us are waiting to see the Lord move in a mighty way in our Church.
And to that end I just want to say…don’t make the same mistake I’ve made…look around you…God is moving in a mighty way, amen!
We’ve seen kids saved, we’ve seen families join our Church, and we’re currently seeing our parking lot and sanctuary fill up, amen!
God is moving…but it’s hard to see it sometimes because we get so caught up in what’s right in front of us and we are a very impatient people!
Sometimes, we just have to wait on the Lord to see the blessings He has for us.
Whose to say He’s not curious how sincere we are about whatever it is we’re praying for and that’s why He’s making us wait!
Wait I say on the Lord!
31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings as eagles; They shall run, and not be weary; And they shall walk, and not faint.
If we want to back in the blessings from above we must learn to wait upon the Lord!
Not only do we need to learn to wait upon the Lord but we also need to learn to not worry about the future.
Worry not about the Future
6 So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”
7 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know.
Jesus is trying to tell the disciples here that God has something big in store for them but all they are worried about is the future.
Jesus in essence says, “It’s none of your business. Future events are reserved for the Father. Stop worrying about tomorrow and simply focus on today!”
It’s been a while now but we covered His teaching on this all the way back in Matthew 6 if you will remember.
Jesus said in...
25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?
26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?
27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing,
29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.
30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’
32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.
33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
The disciples were caught up with tomorrow when what really mattered was today, amen!
Can I tell you we do the same things?
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve lay awake at night and worried about the things of tomorrow and lost sleep over them and then, majority of the time, the very things I lose sleep over never even come to pass.
We, myself included, have to stop worrying about the things of tomorrow and focus on the things of today.
We have to learn to wait upon the Lord.
We have to learn to stop worrying.
And the third and final point of application for today’s message is this…We must keep on working until Jesus comes!
Work till Jesus comes
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Quit worrying. Wait on the Lord. And when you receive the power of the Holy Spirit go and be witnesses!
Now, as I was meditating on this God gave me three actions we must continue when working until Jesus comes.
We Must Evangelize
Start Local — Jerusalem
But Don’t Stay Local — Judea, Samaria, uttermost parts of the earth!
Branch Out — Go and teach all nations!
Lottie Moon, one of the great missionaries to China in the late 1800’s said this — “Gratitude should overwhelm every man or woman who has grasped the magnitude of sin and the majesty of salvation. Should we not press it home upon our consciences that the sole object of our conversion was not the salvation of our own souls, but that we might become coworkers with our Lord and Master in the conversion of the world.”
What you may or may not know about Lottie Moon was that she was born to a very wealthy family in Virginia but answered the call of God upon her heart to be a missionary and left it all behind to go and serve God in China as a missionary to the lost.
The great missionary to the Auca Indians, Jim Elliot, said it best when he said — “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain that which he cannot lose.”
What a profound statement from a young man only 29 years of age who gave his life on the mission fields of Ecuador.
He had learned a lesson that if all of us would learn would change the world.
We need to stop living for this life and rather prepare for the one to come because that’s the only one that matters.
We must work till Jesus comes and one of the most important parts of that work is evangelizing the lost of this world.
Engaging them where they are and leading them to eternal life in the Lord Jesus Christ!
Not only must our work be that of evangelism but it must also be comprised of the work of edification.
We Must Edify
14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
Do you know what the disciples did while they waited for the promise of the Holy Spirit?
They continued in prayer and supplication. How better to hear a word from God than to stay in constant communication with Him, amen?
The work of edification starts with edifying ourselves.
Yourself
We talked about this on Wednesday night. Edification of Self is one of the major things we need to ensure we’re doing.
Hebrews 5:11–6:1 (NLT)
11 There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen.
12 You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food.
13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right.
14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.
1a So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding.
Let us go on…we must...
Never Stop Growing
Never Stop Learning
Never Stop Giving — the word of God to others.
7 When the ground soaks up the falling rain and bears a good crop for the farmer, it has God’s blessing.
8 But if a field bears thorns and thistles, it is useless. The farmer will soon condemn that field and burn it.
Do you hear what it’s saying there?
If we want a blessing in our lives and to be a blessing to others, then we need to soak up the word of God in order that we can edify others!
We take it in so that we in turn can take it out and edify others!
We need to edify ourselves but we also need to edify other believers.
Other Christian Believers
Never Stop Showing — the love of God to others
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.
We must Evangelize and we must Edify and lastly, we must endure.
We Must Endure
When Jesus left them did they give up?
No.
Just because they lost Judas, did that cause them to give up?
No.
They believed that God was about to do a mighty work and because so, they filled Judas spot with God’s man and kept on trucking.
When things don’t go our way or when the road gets tough or when persecution and peril come our way we must endure and keep on keeping on!
When those who have paved the way before us pass on, we must pick up the torch and keep blazing our way through this world giving the light of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ to all who sit in darkness and the hope of eternal life to all those who are dead in their trespasses and sins!
Multiple times throughout His ministry, Jesus said these wonderful, encouraging words.... “he that endureth to the end shall be saved!”
And then in...
27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
This morning, we must wait upon the Lord and trust in His timing that He knows best.
We must not worry about the things of tomorrow but rather trust in God’s providence for today.
And we must work till Jesus comes by...
Evangelizing the lost and dying world with the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Edifying ourselves and those other brothers and sisters in Christ around us in the process.
And when the going gets tough and we want to give up or give in, we must endure to the end!
This morning I don’t know what you’re going through or dealing with but I’d dare say every single person sitting here in this congregation could use a little help in at least one of these areas we just mentioned.
As they come get us a song, I want you to bow your heads with me for just a moment.
Close
Close
What area is it this morning that you need help with?
Is it the waiting?
Is it the worrying?
What about the working?
I’m sure we can all use a little extra help in that area whether it be the evangelizing aspect of the work or the edifying aspect of the work or the enduring aspect of the work.
What is it that you can use some help with this morning?
Whatever that is, when we give that invitation here in just a moment, why don’t you come and ask God for help in that area.
Close in prayer.