A Transition Of Power (Part 1) Series

A Transition Of Power - Part 1

Acts 1:1-4

(an introduction to the book of Acts)

In America, when one president leaves office and another is inaugurated, we go through a period called “The Transition Of Power”. Sometimes this is a smooth transition, (and as we have seen recently) not so much!

The book of Acts records the most important transition of power in the history of the world. For some 33 years Jesus Christ had walked the earth, and for the last 3 years He was involved in His amazing earthly ministry. He traveled the region teaching, performing miracles, demonstrating His awesome power and changing countless lives. Now, His work on earth was complete. He had gone to the cross, laid down His life and victoriously risen from the grave. Very soon He would ascend to Heaven, but before He left Jesus promised His followers that He would not leave them alone. This was a reference to the arrival of the Holy Spirit.

John 14:16 I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever, 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

John 14:25 "These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

John 16:7 nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

It was almost time for this amazing transition of power. No longer would Jesus walk with His followers, soon He would live in them.

We are amazed at the things that God did through men like Noah, Moses, Elijah, David and others. But we are actually in a better positon than they were in; you see, God walked with those men, but He abides within us.

The Disciples of Christ had the amazing privilege of walking, talking and living with Jesus for some time, but soon they would experience power like never before. The remainder of the Book of Acts shows us what can happen when spirit filled servants of Jesus are obedient to Him. This small faithful group followers were about to be used to turn the world upside down in the name of Jesus Christ.

In this study we will see many amazing things that were done at the hands of these men, however, it is important for us to remember that they were just human vessels under the control of the Holy Spirit of God. We have the same opportunity that they had, for the Holy Spirit indwells all genuine followers of Christ.

Most Bibles refer to this book as “The Acts Of The Apostles”, but in reality this book contains a record of the acts of the Holy Spirit. These 28 chapters give us a glimpse into the work of God in establishing and strengthening His Church. As we look at the first few verses of this chapter today, I would like to preach on the subject "A Transition Of Power”.

It is important to note that this book is a sequel to the Gospel of Luke. In fact those two books overlap and there is a seamless transition from one to the other. Let’s take a moment and consider:

I. THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK OF ACTS

As is the case with every book in the Bible, there is a human author and there is a divine author. Notice that:

A. THERE IS A HUMAN AUTHOR

The human author, the man that the Holy Spirit used to put pen to paper was Luke. Luke was Paul’s close friend, traveling companion, and co-laborer in the Gospel ministry. Luke was a medical doctor; he is described as “the beloved physician” in Colossians 4:14. Luke was also a historian who spent much time researching the information that is contained within his writings. Some of the information Luke records in the book of Acts was from his own first-hand, eye witness account as he traveled with Paul. The other information in this book came from interviewing eyewitnesses such as Peter, John, and others in the Jerusalem church.