Intro to Acts: Spirit Driven Mission

To start off the new year, we will begin a new book of the Bible to walkthrough on Sundays! The book of Acts. Turn with me to Acts chapter 1.Now at this point you may be asking yourself:Out of all the books in the Bible, why study the Book of Acts? Why notthe book of Revelation or Daniel? And why the book of Acts, now?Well,I’m glad you asked.There are many reasons for us to study the book of Acts in general andspecific to the lifeand direction of our church. I will try and containmyself to just a few... But before I do, we will need a working summaryof the Book of Acts.The Book of Acts is a historically reliable account of the first 30-40 yearsof the NT church intended to elicit confidence in Jesus Christ, theveracity of His claims and His continued ministry on earth through theApostle's.Stated another way, Acts describes the continued ministry of Jesusthrough the Apostles in the power of Holy Spirit as they proclaim thegospel and plant churches to the ends of the earth.So why study the book of Acts:

In general: It is always good tostudy your roots. To study the past.You see, history has a way of dispensing wisdom, informing us of thingswe should do and things we should avoid.History also has a way of reminding us of how great God is and howsmall we and our problems are. Not making them less real, but simplyputting them in to perspective.Furthermore, being reminded, or for some, informed of our finitudeand the small part that we play in God’s redemptive activity in theworld should bring peace and position God in His proper place in ourhearts.WE are remindedthat when all seems lost or pain seems unbearable,that God is still on His reigning throne. He is not absent but is active inour lives as He has been in all of history.So why study Acts. Because it reveals the NT church’s roots, thus ourroots. And in studying our history, we receive biblical wisdom and aninspiring reminder of who God is and who we are not.Next, more specifically, we are beginning our journey through Acts because HisWay has been established for some time now and we are currently walking through Sovereign Grace’s church planting process.And it seemed appropriate that while we are finishing that process thatit would probably be helpful for usto receive wisdom and inspiration and be reminded of who God is, what he is doing in the world, what part we play in that, and what it means to be a biblical local church onGod’s mission in Prattville Alabama. And we as a pastoral team believe that Acts will accomplish just that.

Finally, to state the obvious,Acts is the word of God.Does Acts, as many commentators have noted, function as a bridgebetween the gospels and the rest of the NT? Yes.Is it exciting history filled with the best kind of drama? Yes.Are there riots and revivals? Yes.Do we see angelic prison breaks and demon possessions? Yes.Will we see deadly persecution and mass conversions includinggentiles, jews, rich, poor, male and female? Yes.Will we see the miraculous as displayed in God saving a group of menwho should have died on a shipwreck, to healing poisonous snake bites,to causing the dead to rise, the lame to walk? Yes, Yes and Yes.Do we see the gospel spread internationally? Yes.And do we see a community loving one another, providing for oneanother’s needs,forgiving one another, and spreading the gospeltogether as a group of unlikely diverse partners in ministry? YES!But even more important than all those things,It is God’s very words to us. Breathed out by God and profitable forteaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,17that the man of God,,that we in Prattville Alabama, may becomplete, equipped for every good work.SO, withthat in mind, let’s read Acts chapter 1 verses 1-15.

1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus beganto do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he hadgiven commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he hadchosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering bymany proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking aboutthe kingdom of God.4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart fromJerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said,“you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will bebaptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”So when they had come together they asked him, “Lord, will you at thistime restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for youto know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his ownauthority.But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has comeupon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judeaand Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said thesethings, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took himout 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 ofGalilee, why do youstand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who wastaken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you sawhim go into heaven.”Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which isnear Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying,Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas ,Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon theZealot and Judas the son of James. All these withone accord weredevoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary themother of Jesus and his brothers.In a scene of dilemma in Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, CS Lewisgives a perfect picture of how we can so often fight in our ownstrength. Losing patience while waiting on the ultimate King to takeaction.The scene goes as follows...Prince Caspian and King Peter are arguing about whether to bunkerdown against the enemy who has discovered their location or mount asurprise attack on the enemies’ castle. While they are arguing, Lucy, thesister of Peter, speaks up and says, ”You both are acting as if there areonly two options, Die here or die there.... Don’t you remember whoreally defeated the white witch?”And Peter responds, “I think we have waited on Aslan long enough.”Like King Peter, we don’t do waiting well... especially in a culture ofadvanced technology intended to give us immediate results and fuelconsumerism. Just take for instance how most of us do in traffic, howmost of us do when we are waiting for our food too long, when a childis in the car, “Are we there yet?!” I immediately think about Veruca inWilly Wonka demanding a golden ticket and a chocolate goose

The disciples could have easily become impatient upon Jesus’ departure. They have already been through a whirlwind of circumstances... They could have easily felt that God’s mission, themission Jesus describes in verse 8, rested on their shoulders as a heavyburden to bear leading to anxiety and or despair. But instead we seethem trusting Christ and devoting themselves to prayer in anticipationfor Jesus to fulfill His promise in sending the Holy Spirit to empowerand send them into the world as Christ ambassadors.As we walk through our text today, notice the theme of the disciplesneed of the baptism of the Holy Spirit to accomplish the task beforethem. The very men who walked three years with Jesus. The very menwho a few days prior to this moment were marked off by Jesus throughwhat John 20:22 says was Jesus breathing on them and telling them‘Receive the Holy Spirit.23If you forgive anyone’s sins, they areforgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.’” Now, thereis debate over what this verse actually means, but the point I’m tryingto make is that these seemingly qualified menlacked the requiredfilling of the Spirit thus were unfit and unable to carry out the missionof God until they received said promise. The Holy Spirit’s anointingpower is a prerequisite for God’s mission.Having said that, let’s begin our walk throughActs 1 by starting inverses 1-3.1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus beganto do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he hadchosen. 3He presented himself alive to them after his suffering bymanyproofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking aboutthe kingdom of God.Now, the first eight verses here in our text provide a succinctly clearintroduction to the book of Acts. The information given and its deliverygive direction and structure to the entire book of Acts. Which of courseis what all good introductions do!Additionally, it not only provides a clear introduction to the book Acts itis actually a wonderful recap ofthe Gospel of Luke.These two books were originally written as two volumes by the sameauthor, Luke, a physician and companion to Paul the Apostle.If you take a look at the final verses in Luke, you’ll find Jesus after hehas been resurrected from the dead, appearing to thedisbelievingdisciples. Verse 39 says that He shows them his hands and feet andeven eats with them.Then He turns to them in verse 44 and begins to show them in all ofScripture how everything that has happened up until this point with Hislife death and resurrection was to fulfill the Scriptures. He promises thecoming of the HS, commissions them to proclaim the message of thegospel to all nations beginning in Jerusalem and then ascends intoheaven right before their eyes. The gospel ends with the disciplesreturning to Jerusalem filled with joy and worshiping God.Sound familiar?

These two books are not simply complimentary.They were originallywritten and meant to be read together... They are building blocksintended to be connected in order to form one structure. It is anaccount of history meant to be read together.Sidenote: For all you legalists out there who are wondering if you’vedone something wrong by reading these two books as separate books,and not together... the answer to your greatest fear is, Yes... You got itwrong. You are not perfect.But here’s some relief for you, Jesus came to save sinners and theimperfect... Also, these two books can stand on their own. It issimply helpful to know these things as you’re reading through theScriptures so that you’re making informed decisions as to whereyou plan to read next. Additionally, this helps in ourunderstanding of the Scriptures, thus prayerfully, ourunderstanding of God and His will for our lives.Look with me at Luke 1:3-4:“3it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely forsome time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellentTheophilus,4that you may have certainty concerning the things youhave been taught.”Acts is simply a continuation of Luke writing an orderly account to aman named Theophilus in order to instill confidence concerning thethings he already taught.

Coming to the text. Look with at verses 4-5 where we see WHERE theApostles are to be and WHAT they are to be doing.4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart fromJerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said,“you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will bebaptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”Verse 4 tells us that Jesus gives a direct order, a command... Go andremain in Jerusalem. What are they supposed to do there? Thetextsays “WAIT.” Wait for what? The fulfillment of the Father’s promisedHoly Spirit.Jerusalem is about to become ground zero. It will be the place whereGod’s kingdom will come down in power. It will be the launching placefor global gospel advancement.What we see here is that God’s plan required the empowering ministryof the Holy Spirit ...The Bible makes it clear that in order to be born again you must beindwelt by the Spirit. We need the Holy Spirit, the third person of thetriune Godhead, to come in and give us a new heart with new desireswith new affections with a new allegiance. This is a permanent act ofGod referred to as a seal of eternal guarantee in Ephesians 1.

And when this happens, the Holy Spirit is not finished. He takes upresidence in the life of the believer. He moves in as our Helper, as ourguide, as the one who animates, energizes, and equips us for the workof ministry. He brings conviction as well.What this means for the believer is that a life lived in obedience toChrist cannot and will not happen apart from the work of the HolySpirit.Also, what that means is that the Spirit’s activity is ongoing and not justinvolved in the event of our regeneration. The book of Actsdemonstrates this very point. That men and womenwho were born ofthe Spirit experience multiple fillings of the Spirit.Take for instance Ephesians 5:18 where Paul commands believers to befilled with the Holy Spirit... I could point to many instances in the bookof Acts where men born of the Spirit experience multiple fillings of theSpirit. I will only point to one.Acts 4:31, “And when they had prayed, the place in which they weregathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the HolySpirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”I find it interesting that for the NT believing Jew... they probably wouldhave found NO issue with there being ongoing fillings of the Spiritbecause of the Holy Spirit’s activity on the OT but they would havestruggled with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit because of thesacredness of God’s presence in the temple.

Whereas, we tend to struggle, in my estimation, far more with the ideaof the ongoing nature of the Holy Spirit's work in the believer’s life.I bring this up, only to point out that in John 20, Jesus is said to havebreathed on the disciples and some postulate that this is where thedisciples are given new hearts, thus receiving the indwelling of the HolySpirit. Others argue that Peter received the Holy Spirit even before thisbecause of his confession of Jesus being the Christ, the Son of the livingGod in Matthew 16 to which Matthew records Jesus saying to Peterthat flesh and blood did not reveal this to you but my Father. Theproponents of said positions typically lead them to believe that thebaptism that they are awaiting is NOT for regeneration, but for filling...“You will receive POWER!”I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that though I think thesearguments are biblically viable, I think we must be careful that we don’tundermine the significance of the event that the disciples are preparingfor here in our chapter. There is a shift that takes place in redemptivehistory when the Holy Spirit comes in Acts 2. where what once waspromised in Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Joel (just to name a few) has now beenaccomplished. So, wherever we land on this subject of the disciples andthe work of the Holy Spirit, we must not MISS the dramatic transitionthat is about to take place in redemptive History through the ministryof the Apostles.On a lesser note, but extremely important note nonetheless, whereveryou land on pneumatology, it is important to have these two biblicalcategories concerning the Holy Spirit in the believer’s life: thepermanent indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit and the ongoing fillingof the Holy Spirit. These are two different functions the Holy Spirit playsin the life of the believer.

Coming back to our text. The disciples have just been told by Jesus thatthe promised Holy Spirit will be coming in justa few days and that theyneeded to wait in Jerusalem.What follows... is the disciples doing what the disciples do best...They missed the point.And this won’t be last time in the chapter. Lookwith me atverse 6-76 So when they had come togetherthey asked him, “Lord, will you atthis time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not foryou to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his ownauthorityThis question: “will you at this time restore the kingdom of Israel?” wasunderstandable.First off, Jesus defeated death! So, now it makes sense for His plans toinclude drop kicking Rome and the hard-heartened religious leadersand set up shop as the King of Jerusalem, of the world even.The disciples were thinking physical not spiritual. They were thinkinggeographically... politically... and even ethnically... God had biggerplans.But notice that Jesus doesn’t rebuke them. He simply tells them,“It’snot for you to know.”

Some of you parents didn’t know you were quoting the bible when youtold your children, nunyabusiness...One commentator helpfully suggested thatIt might have overlydiscouraged them in the work they had to do right then if they weregiven a detailed timeline of God’s kingdom, and it might have madethem think less of the aspect of the kingdom of God thatwaspresentwith them.Whatever the reason, God is good, in control and knows what He isdoing...There are going to be plenty of times where the answer to ourquestions is,“it’s not for you to know.” And as tough as that seems atthe time, God knows and gives us what we need, He is good, and Heistrustworthy forthe times and seasons are fixed.If it wasn’t for them to know the times and the seasons set by theFather thenwhat was for them to know?Verse 8 answers thatquestion.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 andSamaria, and to the end of the earth.”Here we have the climax of our text!

The Apostles may not have been given a timeline or the answer theywere looking for, but they did get something invaluable. They got amission statement clarifying the purpose and the plan of God for theirlives.It is certainly a glorious mission statement. But it is more than that...It is a promise! Which I can imagine is a blessing given the impossibletask that lay before them. This is the kind of task that you look at in theface then look back to God’s and say, “You gonnahave to do somethingabout this, cuz if you don’t, aint nothing going to get done. In fact quitthe opposite. I’m gonna mess things up...”Jesus ministry involved Jerusalem and the surround communities. NowGod plans to go internationally viral. Withoutthe internet. WIthoutairplanes and the many technologies that now make it easy tocommunicate with the world.(Which btw, we have that opportunity... We have the opportunityto interact with the world using technologies He has provided forus... How cool is that)They will need the supernatural to accomplish the impossible task of aninternational move of God in 1stcentury A.D. ... And that’s in fact whatGod does. He promises to send the Holy Spirit in POWER! Bringingeffectiveness, energy, resolve and boldness. Acts 2 gives a descriptionof the first fruits of this power.

For our purposes, look back atverse 2. Even the ascended Lord didn’tutter a command in our verses apart from the Holy Spirit... If that bethe case, how much more are we in need ofthe Holy Spirit.Our text began with the disciples being commanded to wait and it endswith the disciples waiting on the promised Holy Spirit, togetherdevoting themselves to prayer in the upper room.Though we are not awaiting this tectonic shift to take place inredemptive history, we must actively pray for the continued filling ofthe Spirit and for the move of God in the lives of the lost. When weread in Psalms that the Lord must build the house or the laborers laborin vein, so it is for those whopursue ministry without the guidance andpower of the Holy Spirit, they labor in vein.We need to be motivated, animated and energized by the Holy Spirit.We need boldness to share the gospel motivated by love and passion tothe glory of His name. We needconstant reminders of God’s lovingkindness for us through His presence, like a warm hug from a lovingparent to their child. We desperately need the Holy Spirit.And when we understand the task before us and our limits, the onlyappropriate response isto cry for Help in prayer! And that’s exactlywhat the disciples were doing. They were devoting themselves toprayer (15).

Prayer is certainly making ourrequestsknown to God. And Goddelights to answer and hear the prayers of his children.And thebest kind of request we can be giving to God are the ones Hecommands for us to ask. Examples would be: praying for a deeperawareness of God’s presence, power to comprehend the love of Christ,unity and joy among coG, increased laborers in the field of ministry,wisdom, healing, one pastor made the observation that we should prayfor signs and wonders based on Acts 4:29-30 and others, we shouldprayer for the salvation ofsouls, for bold witness, for fullness of theHoly Spirit (Luke 11:13;Eph 3:19), and that God would make His famegreat in the world.But prayer isn’t only making requests. it also involvesrestingin Him.Meditating on and praising Him for who He is andwhat He haspromised and accomplished for us in Christ.God does not intend to merely inform our minds today... He intends to effect our lives. Acts 1 reveals that God’s will for His children involves expectant waiting and empowered expansive witnessing in a Christ-centered community.So what are some ways this text is meant to effect our lives.Inspire an increased trust during times of waiting. (God’s faithfulness and power to fulfill His promises)

Revive our hearts for the glory of His name among the nationsElicit prayer for the filling of the Spirit for power and effectiveness in ministry for His namesake