Unstoppable - A Gospel Movement Series

UNSTOPPABLE – The Gospel Movement

9/17/17

Acts 1:1-11; 2:1-41

Can you think of anything in life that’s unstoppable? I know it seems Hurricane Irma is unstoppable – but it’ll soon come to pass. By definition if something is unstoppable then it can’t be stopped (I know… Profound!). Yet this side of heaven, everything is stoppable. What is unstoppable is anything attributed to the love/grace of God. His love is unstoppable – He’ll never stop loving you; He’ll never stop pursuing you; He’ll never stop forgiving you; He’ll never stop calling you and inviting you to Himself.

Did you know there’s one thing this side of heaven involving you/me that God ordained to be unstoppable? The church!

What comes to mind when you think of church? It’s likely what you think is different from what 1st century believers thought and what God planned.

From inception, the church is nothing more/less than a movement of the H.S. It was never intended to be a work of man but an unstoppable work of God. It’s a movement to give witness to the belief that Jesus died as God’s solution to the problem of sin and arose from the grave to prove He was who He said He was and did what He said He’d do.

The Greek word translated church (ekklesia) a compound word – ek means out of and kaleo means called out. So an ekklesia is a movement of a group of people called out around an idea/mission of God.

Unfortunately, over the years, a terrible thing occurred. Soon after Christianity became accepted w/in the Roman Empire, instead of being a people on mission, the church began to become as a place you went to for religious services.

Our English word “church” doesn’t come from ekklesia but from German word kirche – meaning a sacred place to gather for religious purposes?

The danger of the church in every age is to cease being a movement and instead become a ministry that provides services to people – or worse, a place simply to attend.

I believe this shift in thinking fundamentally has changed the way people relate to the church and how the church functions today. For too many people, the church has become a place to attend or an event to sit through, instead of a movement to which our lives are launched. And here is the one thing about a movement that makes a movement a movement – it moves and moves exponentially – which brings us to Acts 1 and the purpose of the church.

In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the H.S. to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of 40 days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating w/ them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized w/ water, but in a few days you will be baptized w/ the H.S.” Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the H.S. comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:1-8

This AM as we embark on this journey thru Acts, I want to begin by looking at the key ingredient to this unstoppable movement – the Holy Spirit.

I The PROMISE v. 1:4-5

Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised…you will be baptized w/ the H.S.

The gift of all gifts. Prior to His ascension, Jesus promised a gift to the disciples to empower/guide them until His return. This gift was to author their lives. What can’t be missed is the life of the disciples and their mission was to be fully powered by this Gift and not from their ability/ingenuity.

No one can live the Christian life independent of the H.S. The Christian life is a life lived in submission, under the influence of the H.S.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you abide in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; but apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:6

What’s true for us individually is true corporately – the Christian life and church is absolutely dependent the H.S. We walk in the Spirit not the flesh.