Empowered for Mission

Introduction

Since this is the first sermon in a series of sermons through the book of Acts, I want to lay a foundation and give some background for the book. I am not intending on doing a full lesson verse by verse through the book of Acts at this time although I have notes to teach the book in a more exhaustive way if this were a Sunday school class. Rather, I will be teaching through the individual accounts in the book of Acts primarily tracing certain themes.

The book of Acts is actually volume two in a series of books written by Luke. In Early church history to the two scrolls were circulated together as two volumes to the same work. Hence in vs 1, Luke begins with these word, “The former treatise.” Luke himself was a companion of Paul and an eyewitness account to many of the events of the book of Acts. We see him joining Paul’s band of preachers in

Acts 16:6-11 “Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; there stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them. Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis;”

The book was probably written around the early 60’s AD. Most scholars believe that Mark’s gospel was written first during the persecution of Nero in the 50-60’s and we know that the last event recorded in the book of Acts was Paul’s first imprisonment. No mention is made of his second imprisonment in AD 64,65 or his death in AD 68.

The book is written to a man named Theophilus. The name itself means lover of God; so some scholars believe Theophilus was just a name for every believer, but the name was an actual name that parents would give to their children. Though it is a greek name, it was a name often used by Hellenistic Jews (Jews who did not live in Israel and were culturally Greek).

Now before we get into the text, I want to look at the theme of the book and some questions the book can and can’t answer as we go through the series.

Anytime I study a book of the bible, I want to know what the overall purpose of that book is because everything in the book is going to tie into that theme in some way. As we approach the book of Acts, I think it is important to understand Luke’s purpose in writing the book. The traditional title in the book is “The Acts of the Apostles.” How many of you have that written in your bibles? It seems to me to be an of title because very few of the Apostles are even mentioned and more than half of the book focuses on Paul who was not one of the original twelve. I don’t think Luke’s purpose was just to write about what the Apostles did after Jesus ascended to Heaven. Other’s believe that the book is all about the apostle Paul. Marcion a heretic in 144 AD constructed his own bible which included 10 writtings of Paul and parts of Luke because He believed Paul was the only true apostle. The problem with this line of thought is that the first few chapters don’t mention him, and we do not see a closing to his life in the book of Acts. Paul is only in his first imprisonment when we reach the closing chapter.

I believe the real purpose of the book of Acts was to trace the spread of the church into the world through the power of the Spirit. Acts 1:8 “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.” actually serves as an outline for the rest of the book:

Outline:

Gospel goes out to the Jews and Jerusalem Acts 2 a

The gospel goes out to Samaria Acts 8 a

The gospel goes out to the Gentiles (the phrase the uttermost parts of the earth was a term used in Isa 49:6 to reference the Gentiles)

Questions the book of Acts can help answer:

What is the church?

How did the church function?

What were its meetings like?

How was ministry conducted?

How did Paul relate to those who served under him? (mentorship?)

What about the ecclesiastical structure in the church?

Why Paul? Roman citizen, educated under Gamaliel, member of Sanhedrin, passion (pursued the death of Christians)

What was the preaching like in Acts? Analyze the sermons

Questions the book of Acts cannot answer:

Should the church look the same as the church in Acts?

Should we expect the same things in our lives as those in the book of Acts?

How did Paul die and what happened to all the churches he started?

I. The Question vs 3-7

Jesus had just triumphed over death. The disciples had spent a considerable amount of time with Jesus after the resurrection. If you read parallel account of these events in the book of Luke 24: 49-52 you almost get the feeling that Jesus was only around them for one day. Since it is so short an account let’s go ahead and read those verses real quick:

We get more of a comprehensive glimpse into what Jesus did for all that time that He was among them. It was about 40 days from the resurrection to the ascension. In Vs 2, we see that Jesus had given them a commandment. This commandment is hinted at in Luke 24:47 “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” and is seen directly in the Great commission passages. In vs 3, Jesus showed Himself alive and He spoke to them of the Kingdom of God. In this message, I am not going to preach on the kingdom of God though it is an important theme in the book of acts and is mentioned 8 different times throughout the book. But it sets up the scene here. in vs 4 Jesus is assembled together with the disciples and the meaning of the word assembled here implies they were sharing a meal together. So they are having a dinner discussion. Over dinner, Jesus gives them a command to stay in Jerusalem until the promise of the father come. He references the baptism of the Spirit and promises that this will come not many days from now. It was 10 days to be exact. In Luke 24:49 “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 had promised that with the coming of this Spirit would come power; so the logical follow up question in their mind was whether Christ was going to set up the Millennial Kingdom.

Vs 7 begins with the word and, but grammatically, it is better understood as a BUT. But Jesus rebuked them and said it is not for you to know the times or the seasons. This is something that belongs to God the Father and Him alone. (look up verse). The implication from this answer is that the Kingdom in Israel is not going to be set up yet. In the mean time, there is something that Jesus wanted them to do.

II. The Promise vs 8

He redirects their questions with a big huge BUT. In my bible I have it circled in red to show the contrast. He told them you don’t have authority to know when I am going to set up the Kingdom in Israel, but you will receive power. The word for power in this verse is not the same word in the previous verse. That one spoke of authority, this one speaks of enablement. Jesus is promising them power, enablement the ability to do something. This power is going to come from the Holy Spirit and what is the result: you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

The church has a message to proclaim of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. That message must get out to the rest of the world.

I always looked at this verse as just another Great Commission verse but it actually is not one. This verse isn’t even a command. Notice the phrase “ye shall”. It is repeated twice in this verse. Let me make that easier for you to understand “you will” or “you are going to receive power and you are going to be witnesses.” This was a promise and a foretelling at the same time. There was no doubt in the mind of Christ that this would happen.

III. The Problem vs 9-14

Now why was this promise so important to give them: He was leaving them. Illustration: Can you remember your first roller coaster ride? Do you remember the nervousness you felt standing in line? If it was Disney land, that line took like half a day right! Most of us probably rode that first ride with someone else because we felt we needed their courage to get us through the line. I hated roller coasters and I remember at Frontier City, there was a chicken out line at the wildcat. It was so tempting to get out of line, but having someone with me gave me the courage I needed to get on the ride.

Jesus was about to leave them. Was He going to leave them alone? He had just given them this huge task that they needed to complete while they waited on the Kingdom. How would they ever do it on their own? This is why He gave them the Spirit:

John 14:16-18 “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”

Matthew 28:20 “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.”

How would Jesus be with them? Through the Spirit. How would they be able to get anywhere near fulfilling the task He had given them? Through the Spirit.

Application

When I write sermons, I am learning that not only do I need to ask what does the text say, but I also need to ask how does the text say it. If a passage has a certain tone to it, I need to take that tone as well. Guys, I am passionate about evangelism. I was a missionary after all. I have experienced the benefits of someone just handing out a tract. It would be easy for me to preach a shame on us for not doing what Jesus said type of message on this issue, but that is not how Jesus handled this issue.

I know that many of us feel inadequate to tell others about Jesus. Maybe you feel like you don’t know what to say. We can train you if that is your struggle, feel free to see me and I will help; but ultimately, even that is not the answer. Maybe you are too shy to talk to people. So was I growing up. I struggled with public speaking or even wanting to speak to people. You can overcome you fear of speaking over time with help, but even that is not the answer. Maybe you are too busy for evangelism. I understand how life can be. It is hard sometimes. I have worked a fulltime job, had a family of four, been involved in ministry and just wanted to have some time for myself. Maybe you don’t know any lost people. How easy is it for us to get sucked into a bubble! Its great to have good godly Christian friends. Maybe you don’t believe it works. When was the last person we saw get saved other than one of our own children. I know it isn’t easy and the rewards aren’t always there. I hear you and I understand why you feel the way you do about evangelism.

But here is the purpose of this message. Acts 1:8 “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.” Is a promise. When or I could say “if” we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will be witnesses. We won’t be able to help it. We will be so in love with Christ that speaking about Him will just flow out of our mouths naturally. God is not asking you to evangelize the world on you own. He knows you struggle with speaking. He knows you feel insufficient for the task. He knows you feel alone. He knows you feel too busy. He knows it is hard to not see results, but He has not left us on our own. He has given us His Holy Spirit. To say, “I can’t” evangelize is to deny what God has given us. If this is you, don’t feel like I am criticizing you because I am not. Hear my heart. You can do this because God will do it through you. We can do this as a church. It might be hard. The apostles were all killed for their witness. (Interesting that the word for witness is martrus). It may not feel like we are seeing result. Paul on Mars Hill only saw a couple people get saved. Some towns rejected his message out right.

As we rediscover Church here at Harvest Hills Baptist Church, it is important that we rediscover our primary, most important purpose of evangelism.