Sermon Tone Analysis

This morning we are picking back up in our study of the Book of Acts.

If you’re new to our church, it would be good for you to know that we practice a form of preaching called “Expository Preaching”.

What that means is we believe the Bible is best taught by taking books of the Bible and then studying them from beginning to end, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, in order to understand what the Bible means in our lives today.

With that said, if you are new, you’ve come at a great time, because last week we just started a new study in the book of Acts.

So, if you missed last week and haven’t had a chance to listen to the most recent message, I would encourage you to go online to marysvillefellowship.com where you can watch last weeks message.

However, just to make sure we are all on the same page this morning, I think it would be good if we took a few minutes and recapped our first week, because in our first week fo the book of Acts, we learned some important Acts Facts.

In our first week fo the book of Acts, we learned some important Acts Facts.

First, we learned that the book of Acts was written by the Gospel writer Luke.

We know this because in Luke references a man named Theophilus, a man Luke was writing his Gospel for.

What’s interesting though is this isn’t the only place we read about Theophilus in the Bible.

Because once again we see his name in the beginning verse of the book of Acts.

Beginning in , we read:

Acts

Notice the writer refers to a previous writing he wrote to a man named Theophilus.

A writing that detailed the life and ministry of Jesus.

What that tells us then is that Luke is obviously the author of the first book written to Theophilus, and once again he is writing a second book to his friend Theophilus.

So, think of it like this.

If the Gospel of Luke is book one then the book of Acts is book two.

Book two is the book of Acts, a book that will highlight and explain the birth of the church and the expansion of the Gospel.

All that to say, the book of Acts was written by the Gospel writer Luke.

Second, we learned the book of Acts is often misundertstood.

Misunderstood because in many ways it portrays a church we’re not familiar with.

A church that relies on supernatural power.

A church where miraculous signs and wonders take place.

A church where spiritual gifts are at work.

A church that by the end of the 1st century had literally turned the world upside down.

And because this church is so unfamiliar to us, it tends to raise fearful concerns.

Concerns that something weird might happen if we read it.

Like, what if somebody speaks in tongues?

And please hear me, it’s quite possible to take what we learn in Acts and go the wrong direction.

Unfort

Fearful of what others might say if a church actually embraced it.

Like, what if somebody finds out I go to the church out by Taco Bell?

Fearful of what might happen if we took our hands off the wheel and allowed the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us.

But the truth is, if we’re not willing to overcome some of those fears, we’ll never become the church God intended us to be.

Why? Because:

Third, we learned the book of Acts is the template for accomplishing the Great commission.

In other words, the book of Acts is the blueprint God has given us to reach a lost and dying world.

A blueprint that teaches us about the Holy Spirit.

A blueprint that teaches us how to be empowered by the Holy Spirit.

A blueprint that teaches us how to become a church that can accomplish the mission of taking the Gospel from Jersualem, to Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of earth.

And the fact is, we’re going to see that play out in the book of Acts as the Gospel goes out from Jersualem beginning in chapter 2 and ends up reaching Rome, the end of the known world, in chapter 28.

All that to say, the book of Acts serves as a template and demonstrates how we can accomplish what Jesus as asked us to do.

Finally, we learned that Luke begins this book by giving us some recaps from his first book the gospel of Luke.

Recaps that are meant to get us all on the same page.

Recaps meant to remind us of what has happened and what we need to know moving forward.

Like a recap before a television episode, Luke wants to make sure we’re all up to speed before he begins the next episode.

So, what are the recaps?

There were four of them:

Recap #1 involved reminding us of the foundational truth that Jesus isn’t dead, He’s alive!

Luke writes:

Recap #2

Luke wants to make sure we all understand everything he’s about to tell us is based on that fact that Jesus has risen and that He is Lord.

Without that has the basis, then Christianity falls on its face.

The apostle Paul puts it like this:

Everything Luke is about to tells us rides on Jesus’s resurrection.

It’s the foundation for everything.

In Recap #2, Luke reminded us that Jesus gave the disciples orders to wait for the promise of the father, the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Luke writes:

Luke wants to reminds us that without the Holy Spirit, the disciples will never be able to accomplish what Jesus had asked them to.

They need His power, His Help, and His guidance in order to spread the Gospel and overcome the challenges they will face.

And the fact is, we need the Holy Spirit as well.

Without the Holy Spirit’s help, we might as well pack up shop and head home.

In Recap #3, Luke reminds us of the specific focus Jesus gave the disciples.

Luke writes:

Acts 1:6

In this passage Luke reminds us of where the disciples focus should be.

Because from what Luke tells us, initially the disciples were still focused on earthly thinking.

They wanted to know, “Jesus, when are you going to establish your earthly kingdom?”

In other words, “Jesus, when are you going to take Caesar out and establish your earthly kingdom?”

But Jesus didn’t come to build an earthly kingdom or take Caesar out.

He came to save us from sin and death.

He came to restore our relationship with God so that we can enter his heavenly kingdom.

So, instead of focusing on earthly kingdoms, Jesus reminds the disciples that their focus needs to be on the mission.

That their number one focus is to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth so that everybody has an opportunity to be a part of God’s Kingdom.

And then in Recap #4, Luke reminds us not only of what the focus should, but what that focus will lead to.

Luke writes:

Luke says as the disciples watched Jesus ascend into heaven, angels stood nearby to give them a final message from Jesus.

The message was, “He’ll be back?”

In other words, Jesus will one day return.

The Apostle Paul writes:

1 thessalonians 4:16

That’s our blessed hope.

So, a good question might be, “When will he be back?"

Well, we don’t know.

Jesus doesn’t tell us that.

In fact, he says its none of our business.

But what we do know is that to some degree it’s dependent on the mission he’s given us.

In other words, He’ll be back when the Gospel has been taken from Jerusalem, to Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

And as we learned last week, that’s what largely motivated the Apostle Paul as he desperately worked to get the Gospel to Rome, the end of the known world in his time.

What that means for us then is, if we want Jesus to come back, then we better get busy telling people about Jesus.

Because the fact is, thanks to technology, we have a more accurate view of what the ends of the earth looks like.

And the truth is, not everybody has heard the Gospel yet.

Believe it or not, there are currently 2 billion people on planet earth who have never heard the name of Jesus.

Who don’t even know who He is.

So, instead of looking up wondering when Jesus is going to come back, our job is to start reaching those who need to hear the Gospel.

Bottom line, if we want Jesus to come back, then we need to get busy reaching those people.

All that to say, Luke begins this book by reminding us:

That Jesus isn’t dead, he’s alive.

That we need his Spirit to help us.