Wait for the Promise of the Father
Acts (EMPOWERED TO WITNESS) • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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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.”
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. 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.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 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.”
THIS IS THE WORD OF THE LORD
THANKS BE TO GOD
Good morning church,
I am pastor Kenny and today we are beginning the book of Acts.
The gospel has always spread through messy people who trust the word of the Lord over the worry of the world. I am a perfect example of this. I am not polished, I certainly do not know everything, but Jesus came into my story in the messiest moment and didn’t say, “hey do better,” but said “follow me.”
I didn’t choose to listen to him, as much as I had nowhere else to go, I was at the bottom of myself, which was a gift of his grace. And in his grace he allowed me to listen to him, learn from him, and as a result trust that he is who he says he is because he has never failed me yet.
The gospel spreads through messy people who trust the word of the Lord over the worry of the world.
Nowhere else in the Bible is this more clearly displayed than the book of Acts.
It is an incredible book to walk through, for a church plant like the Garden. Because it shows us the birth of the church and the starting point for why we still plant churches to this day.
And while we were in the book of Jonah we considered the call of God, and how it comes to people who can either answer that call or turn away. But in the book of Acts we will be considering the kingdom of God and how it has always been built by people who have trusted the Lord enough to answer that call.
In
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.
In the very beginning of this book, we see the resurrected Christ speaking about the kingdom of God.
And in
proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.
At the very end of the book, we see the apostle Paul proclaiming the kingdom of God with all boldness and without hindrance.
And we, as a Christian church have been called to continue on this mission of proclaiming the kingdom of God.
Which is an interesting thing for Jesus to call it.
Because, historically, kingdoms of the world are built through conquest and control. Those with the most power establish their authority over those who are weak.
But it is not so with the kingdom of God.
TRANSITION
Luke, a gentile physician, authored the gospel according to Luke and the book of Acts. He is the only gentile, or non Jewish author in all of the Bible.
And in his gospel account he wrote that Jesus said in Luke 18:17
Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”
So while the kingdoms of the world are conquered and controlled through power, God turns that upside down and says that his kingdom is a gift only given to those who admit their inability to earn it.
What an incredible contrast.
And so many of us so often try to build our own little kingdoms through exerting great power, but it is not so with our Lord. And it is through this posture of understanding our inadequacies and weaknesses that the kingdom of God begins to grow. He who humbles himself will be exalted, and we will see that throughout this book.
So we will take this book and view it through the lens of the spread of the kingdom of God. And how a bunch of knuckleheads, trusting the word of the Lord and training for godliness with one another, transformed the world.
So with that brief overview let us dive into the text.
TRANSITION
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.”
Here the resurrected Jesus has been spending time with the disciples and they are certain that he has come back in power to finish the work he began, but he tells them, I have only come back for these forty days, to prove to you the power of God and to prepare you for the one who is coming, the Holy Spirit.
To which we would be wise to ask, “who or what is the Holy Spirit?”
Our God is a triune God. He is one God in three distinct persons. But he is one. I know that might seem confusing but when God introduced himself to the Hebrew people, it was in the midst of a land covered with gods. He wanted to let them know that he alone was the one true God in the midst of many false gods. So, it was very important that he let these people know that Yahweh is the only God there is. All others are false gods. He introduced monotheism in a land of polytheism. One God in a land of many gods.
But as we get into the Bible and learn more about who God is, we see that he operates in three distinct ways as God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit. Today we are going to look at God the Spirit. Quite possibly the most misunderstood of all three.
In
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
The Spirit was at work in creation with God the father and God the son. And the Spirit was at work throughout the Old Testament, filling people to accomplish specific tasks laid out by God the Father.
But it is not until Jesus’ earthly ministry is nearing its completion that we get a much fuller view of the Holy Spirit.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
The world will not see him or know him. We can be certain that this is absolutely why we have such a hard time explaining him or even identifying him. But Jesus says in
Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
Jesus says that the Father and the Son will make their home in us as we work the words of Jesus into our life, not just hearing them but practicing them.
He goes on to say in
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
Here we see that the Holy Spirit is a person, not some power or force that we can conjure up. But a distinct person who Jesus calls he. A distinct person who will continually teach us to remember and trust the words of Jesus.
And Jesus wraps up this teaching to the apostles by saying it is better that he go away than if he were to stay.
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:
The Spirit can be given to all of us at once. While Jesus could not fulfill this in the flesh, the Holy Spirit could. That is why it was to our advantage that Jesus left, so that he could send the helper who would continually remind all of us of Jesus, and his work.
TRANSITION
What else do we know about the Holy Spirit?
Here are just a few things that Scripture says about the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit moves us from death to life in Christ. This is also known as regeneration.
Or the new birth or what it means to be born again. This is real conversion. And when we are baptized, we are proclaiming this outwardly. We are not making this happen, we are celebrating that this has happened.
He transforms us. We know this as sanctification. Or the process of making us become more like Jesus.
He seals us with the promises of Jesus.
He operates in opposition to the deeds of the flesh.
He produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.
And among many other things, he empowers us for witness. Or more simply, he gives us the courage to share our story about what God has done in our life. And he helps others to see it as beautiful.
This is the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
And this is what Jesus tells the Apostles to go to Jerusalem and wait on.
TRANSTION
In Acts 1:6-8
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. 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 Apostles wanted answers. And Jesus told them to go and wait for the Spirit. We could do multiple sermons on that alone, but I want to address a few things as we are moving by it.
First, Jesus does not deny their hopes of restoration, but he does tell them plainly that they will never know the times or dates fixed by the Father’s authority.
And this is something that so many within the church foolishly overlook. There are more books and teachings devoted to the times and dates that Jesus will return than just about anything else. Clearly Jesus knew that this would be an issue. So he speaks directly into it.
Telling the disciples not to focus on irrelevant uncertainties, but to instead focus on witnessing about him, or proclaiming the kingdom of God to the ends of the earth.
And before he ascends he promises us the power to do just that.
As his disciples we are called to live out the gospel in word and deed, by the power of the Holy Spirit. As we are empowered, we can overcome fear and complacency, because we understand that our ability to witness is not in our personal skill but in the power of the Holy Spirit.
So I want you to begin praying that the Lord will bring you someone in this season that you can witness to. And I want you to understand that it is not your ability or your skill that will open the hearts and minds of those he brings to you, but it is the power of the Holy Spirit.
This power can do more than you ask, think, or imagine. I know for certain that people were praying for me, when I was fine not being saved, but the power of the Spirit got a hold of me and now I cannot quit singing his praise.
This is the power that raised Jesus from the dead. This is the power that Jesus told us would be more beneficial to us than him remaining on earth. That’s incredible! So do not be confused by the Holy Spirit, trust him, and ask him empower you this season.
The book of Acts teaches us that Christ sends the Spirit to make the proclamation of the gospel effective.
Because the church is built by God’s word and God’s Spirit, through God’s power, not ours.
This point is something we must remember especially today as a brand new church plant. God does not build his church through gimmicks or clever programs or events. The church is not dependent on marketing strategies for its success.
Our only hope to see lives changed by the gospel is to faithfully proclaim God’s word and then trust God’s Spirit to make our proclamation effective.
Even in our own lives as Christians, as we seek personal transformation into Christ’s likeness, we must turn to God’s word and then ask God’s Spirit to make it effective in our lives as we trust in the gospel of Christ.
That is why it is important for us to practice the rhythms of grace, and calling on the Spirit to transform us from one degree of glory to the next. That is what he has been sent to do! And he will build his church.
TRANSITION
And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 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.”
And with this last command to go and wait on the Spirit, Jesus is taken up into heaven. This is what is known as the ascension.
While much is considered about the death and resurrection of Jesus, and rightly so, we tend to rarely talk about the ascension of Christ and what it means for us as believers.
Because of the ascension we have the power of the Holy Spirit.
But we also have assurance that as human beings, we can ascend into heaven as well. Scripture says that Jesus is the firstfruits of those raised from the dead. He has gone to prepare us a room in his father’s house. We know this because he ascended, and is seated at the right hand of the father.
But he is not sitting there passively.
Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
He is interceding for us.
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
He is our advocate, our helper. This is the same word that Jesus uses when he calls the Holy Spirit our helper. It is the Greek word paraclete, and it is only used for God the Son and God the Spirit in the New Testament. But in the Old Testament the Hebrew word ezer conveys the same thing.
I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
That God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit are our help. And we only know that as we look up.
The ascension proves that Christ actually resurrected from the dead and is currently reigning in heaven. The resurrection was not the finishing point of Christ’s journey on earth, the ascension was.
We worship an ascended savior. Glory be.
TRANSITION
So the disciples see him lifted up. They must have been stunned. Who knows how long they were looking up before these messenger came along and told them to quit. But they left the Apostles and all of the disciples who would follow an incredible reminder. That he will come again in the same way that he left.
The fact that they reminded them of Jesus Christ’s second coming when he ascended is incredibly significant for us Christians today. The thing they wanted the disciples to know most just after Jesus left, was that he was coming back.
So, as we live by faith and trust that he is reigning in heaven on his throne, we must do so with the consistent thought that he will indeed return to establish his kingdom forever.
And while we do not have his physical presence, he has given us the the Holy Spirit, and empowered us to witness about the kingdom of God until he returns.
The book of Acts allows us to see those first disciples of Jesus begin to do just that.
LET’S PRAY
How is the kingdom of God different than the kingdoms of the world?
How can we become like children in order to inherit the kingdom of God?
What is the last thing Jesus commanded his disciples to do?
Have you ever thought as the Holy Spirit as a person or a power?
How can the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives help us overcome fear when sharing our faith?
Why is the ascension of Jesus significant for us as Christians?
