Reaching Outward

(Focused like Jesus)

Text: Acts 1:1-14

Introduction

I want to spend our time today laying some important ground work about the book of Acts. This series is not a verse by verse exposition of the the book, but a snapshot series of some unforgettable moments of those early followers (the apostles) sharing the soul saving Gospel of Jesus Christ.

You must take notice of some “directional” aspects between the Gospel according to Luke and the book of Acts (The Acts of the Apostles). I say, “connection” between those books, because both books was penned down by the Greek believer, “beloved” physician, and reliable historian of the ministry of Jesus Christ; Luke.

The Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts form a seamless, two-volume historical work written by the same author. Together, they make up roughly 27% of the New Testament, making Luke the most prolific contributor to the New Testament by volume.

Luke’s writing was a moving of the Holy Spirit upon him to establish a reliable, orderly historical record so that Theophilus could have certainty about the truth of the Christian teachings he had received.

I want to point out the overarching distinction between the book of Luke and Acts that I want you to NEVER forget:

Book of Luke — Builds evidence of Jesus’ ministry moving to converge on Jerusalem to provide salvation for the world. He accomplished this by means of dying on the cross and bodily resurrecting from the grave.

Book of Acts — Speaks of Jesus’ ministry through the local church to launch out from Jerusalem, head toward Rome, and spread the “Good News” to every tribe, tongue, and nation.

The Gospel of Luke speaks to all that Jesus accomplished for humanity and the Book of Acts speaks to all that humanity accomplished for Jesus through Jesus.

Jesus reached “outward” by coming from Heaven and heading to Jerusalem to die and resurrect. We reach outward by coming to the Jesus, receiving Him as Savior, following Him as Lord, and sharing our faith as we head toward Heaven.

Once again, Luke’s effort is to ADD to Theolphilus’ confidence toward the Christian teaching he had received by describing the life and ministry of Jesus and then the extent the early followers of Jesus would go to spread Jesus’ Gospel.

Luke would expound upon their devotion, growth, and mobility concerning Jesus’ teaching, life, death, and resurrection.

Q — Would your present day advancement of the Gospel; your personal activity in the mission of the local church add certainty to someone’s mind about the teaching they had received about Jesus?

So, the Gospel truth should be mobile through your life and should be heading outward to lost souls.

Q — As a result of your life, where is the Gospel heading?

They had not missions board to hide their evangelism behind!

All they had was the conversion, the Holy Spirit, and their hands and feet!

Let’s begin today by being encouraged with what Luke said starting this second section of reporting.

1) They Would Reach Outward With Evidence

A. Evidence of the bodily resurrection

Illustration:

The Setup: Imagine a cold-case detective reopening a case from decades ago. There are plenty of theories, rumors, and conspiracy blogs online about what happened, but no concrete closure. The detective doesn't rely on internet rumors; they go looking for the original case files.

The Breakthrough: The detective finds something undeniable: a stack of recorded, sworn depositions from hundreds of separate eyewitnesses. They weren't just guessing; they all saw the same person, at the same time, in broad daylight. Furthermore, these witnesses were cross-examined under threat of execution, and not a single one changed their story.

The Verdict: The case is no longer cold. The evidence is overwhelming. You don't need a time machine to know what happened because the footprint of the truth was left behind by those who were there.

Luke had written based on eye witness accounts!

Jesus’ Apostles would be sent out to preach to a non-believing world.

Luke 24:47 “47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”

If you remember back to their many opportunities to learn from Jesus, the Apostles quickly forgot what He had taught them about the resurrection.

His disciples certainly took some convincing when it came to the resurrection.

His enemies had no trouble remembering what He taught about it! They took great care to make sure there was no room for such a claim to be believed.

Here are a few of those infallible proofs:

The women who visited the tomb — Mark 16:1–2 “1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. 2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.”

They were confronted by an angel — Mark 16:4–5 “4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. 5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.”

The Lord revealed Himself to them — Matthew 28:9–10 “9 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. 10 Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.”

Mary Magdalene — John 20:15–18 “15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. 16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. 17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. 18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.”

Two disillusioned disciples who discounted the resurrection story that had been circulating as they walked on the road to Emmaus. There, they encountered the risen Savior.

Jesus made His appearance to the eleven and gave them His commission. Thomas was absent and refused to believe the testimony of the rest.

A week later, appeared again to the eleven with Thomas now present and once again commissioned them to preach the Gospel — John 20:26–28 “26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.”

The eleven went to Galilee

APPLICATION

When you reach out to your lost neighbor, friend, family member, or acquaintance, you are not doing so with a myth, you are sharing an historical truth!

The Conviction of "Infallible Proofs" (Acts 1:3): Luke uses the Greek word tekmerion, a technical medical and legal term meaning "demonstrable, undeniable proof." Jesus didn't just appear as a fleeting ghost in a dark room. For 40 days, He ate with them, let them touch His scars, and taught them. The disciples weren't acting on blind optimism; they were acting on absolute certainty.

The Mission to be "Witnesses" (Acts 1:8): Jesus tells them they will be His martyres (witnesses) to the ends of the earth. A witness does not invent a story; a witness simply reports what they have seen and heard. The early church turned the world upside down because they possessed firsthand evidence that death had been defeated.

The Confidence in Evangelism: You can stand flat-footed and confident. We are not asking the world to believe a fairytale. We are inviting them to respond to a historical event that was backed by hundreds of eyewitnesses who chose martyrdom over denying what they saw.

People around us may never read a theological book, but they will watch our lives.

“If somebody only had my life to look at, would they have reason to believe that Jesus makes a difference?”

There ought to be evidence in:

How we speak to our spouse.

How we treat our children.

How we respond when we're mistreated.

How honestly we conduct our business.

How we treat people who cannot do anything for us.

How we respond to sickness, disappointment, and loss.

How quickly we forgive.

How faithfully we serve.

How we handle our money.

How we treat our neighbors.

“Your testimony is not only what you say about Jesus; your testimony is also what your life says about Jesus when you aren't talking about Him.”

B. Evidence of a new and better kingdom

a) Adam surrendered the kingdom over to Satan.

Adam’s children, even ours today are born into the wrong kingdom.

We are all born into the consequences of sin that came from Satan’s kingdom being ushered in by man’s sin.

b) God asserted His own sovereignty

He pronounced judgment on the serpent and the sinner.

He pronounced war betwen the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman.

He provided the means to take away the guilt of the sinner, bring them into the better kingdom, and banish Satan to experience an eternity of enduring God’s wrath.

c) This new kingdom is eternal and must be entered through faith in Christ

Jesus had previously taught them this: Matthew 6:33 “33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Jesus instructed them away from a life long quest for the material.

If the new and better kingdom is not based on the material, why should their time spent on earth be focused on the material?

APPLICATION — Here is my deduction…If more family would spend more time reducing debt, spending less, and practicing contentment, God’s kingdom would have better and happier workers!

Ask yourself, “Are my possessions serving God's purposes, or are God's purposes being pushed aside so I can pursue possessions?”

John 3:3 “3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

The mission Jesus was sending them out to accomplish was to compel everyone to enter this eternal kingdom.

A “mystery” period was ushered in due to the Jews rejecting their King and His kingdom.

The ushering in of God’s kingdom was not cancelled, but postponed!

When Jesus returns, He is bringing His kingdom down in full color!!!

You must receive the King in order to be welcomed into His kingdom!!!

LISTEN…the King has a place for you! The gospel of God’s grace is an offer for anyone to accept new life and claim your place in the new kingdom.

APPLICATION

A witness simply tells what he has seen and knows. Acts 1:8 calls believers to be witnesses.

That means:

Mom can witness to her children.

Dad can witness to his coworkers.

A teenager can witness to a friend at school.

A teacher can witness through faithful Christian character.

A retired person can witness to a neighbor.

A farmer can witness while talking across the fence.

A construction worker can witness on the job.

A doctor can witness to a patient through compassion and integrity.

A church member can witness simply by inviting someone to church.

2) They Would Reach Outward With Empowerment

A. Reaching Outward requires more than excitement

Luke 24:49 “49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”

Jesus said, “wait for the promise of the father.”

Q — How many love to wait? It is usually not anyone’s favorite thing to do.

The post resurrection excitement must have, what we call, “fired them up.”

They had witnessed the resurrected Savior.

There was nothing they would not have done for the Savior who raised from the grave.

PERSPECTIVE — It would be somewhat similar to when you got saved. You probably were filled so much excitement that you were ready to fight off Hell with a water pistol.

But such enthusiasm would not last. It was noble perhaps, it was sincere, but it had no staying power, and certainly it had no saving power. It was born of the flesh. They needed more than that—they needed the Holy Spirit. Their task was an impossible task. John Phillips, Exploring Acts: An Expository Commentary, The John Phillips Commentary Series (Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp., 2009), Ac 1:4–5.

They probably had not idea really how much they would need to depend on God’s Spirit to live out their Christian life carrying out their Savior commands.

B. Reaching outward requires the power of the Holy Spirit

Jesus didn’t say, “I will send down a lifetime supply of gold and silver, but He did say I will send down the life giving Spirit of God.

a) Here are some areas where they would need the assistance of the Spirit:

They would need illumination: Memories, message, direction.

Like I said before, they had forgotten a lot over the period of Jesus’ ministry

They would need the work of inspiration to bring all that Jesus taught them into full clarity enough to pen down with 100% accuracy.

They would need “supplied” wisdom to bring the Old Testament to a new light. They had to be certain of the significance of and surrounding the gospel.

They would need proper direction to take the gospel (when and where).

They would need strength and courage: Preaching and living

People needed to see that Jesus was real!

Satan was busy blinding the hearts of people!

They did not have what it takes to live the Christian life without the Spirit.

There would be prison experiences, beatings, and even cruel deaths in their future.

APPLICATION

We can become very good at doing church without actually depending upon God.

We can: Plan programs. Organize events. Teach classes. Sing songs. Preach sermons. Attend meetings. Work on buildings. Make schedules. And yet fail to pray and depend upon the Holy Spirit.

Before you reach outward, you must take time and reach upward!

Most of the fear people have about sharing their faith is not that they don’t know how to explain the Gospel, but, they are just afraid to say it.

Take time and pray for courage every day!

That is exactly what the apostles had to do!

3) They Would Reach Outward With Expectancy

Q — If you were watching your beloved Savior ascend up into the clouds, what would you be doing? For how long?

A. Their expectancy was founded upon Jesus’ words

The Spirit is with us empowering us to share our faith. He makes our work effective!!! — John 16:8–11 “8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.”

Jesus is our great High Priest and Advocate before the Father, forgiving us our sins as we confess them — Hebrews 4:14–16 “14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” & 1 John 1:9 “9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

B. Their expectancy was assured through angels

Two men in white (angels), reassured them Jesus would come in like manner.

These angels finally got bottom-up view of Jesus’ ministry.

These men’e eyes were locked onto Jesus.

C. Their expectancy brought urgency to their purpose

You may have been praying for someone for a long time:

Someone who seems completely uninterested in Jesus.

Don't assume that because you haven't seen results, God isn't working.

You may have planted.

Someone else may water.

But God gives the increase.

“Don't confuse silence with God's absence.”

Expectancy should change the way we live.

If Jesus is coming again, then:

There is no time to waste holding grudges. There is no time to waste living for possessions. There is no time to waste hiding our faith. There is no time to waste being consumed by petty church disagreements. There is no time to waste putting off obedience. There is no time to waste refusing to forgive.

Conclusion

“The Gospel came to you—but it wasn't intended to stop with you.”

Jesus reached outward from heaven to earth.

The apostles reached outward from Jerusalem to the nations.

And now we reach outward from our homes, our workplaces, our schools, our neighborhoods, and our church into Russell County and beyond.

This week:

1. Pray for them.

Pray specifically for their salvation.

2. Contact them.

Send a text. Make a phone call. Stop by. Have coffee.

3. Love them.

Look for a tangible way to demonstrate Christ's love.

4. Speak to them.

Look for an opportunity to talk about Jesus.

5. Invite them.

Invite them to church, Sunday school, a church event, or simply into your life.

“We don't have to reach the whole world this week. But we can reach one person God has already placed in our world.”

Final question:

“When people look at your life, are they seeing the Gospel moving outward—or are they seeing the Gospel standing still?”