PREPARING FOR A GREAT MOVE OF GOD
Acts 1:6-11
(Antioch Baptist Church – Sunday February 22nd, 2025)
Just before He ascended, Jesus had one final conversation with His Disciples. The intent of this conversation was to prepare them for the future. He told them about the pending arrival of the Holy Spirit and He explained to them that they would be empowered to be His witnesses in “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria” and even to “the uttermost parts of the earth”.
Jesus had chosen these men for a specific mission, soon that mission would commence. Before long the Apostles would go out and reach the world in Jesus’ name. Though they had received such an exciting promise, there was no way that they could know what the future held for them.
God has used this ministry for His glory over the past ??? years; and the wonderful news is that God is not finished with us yet! In fact, I believe that the best days of Antioch Baptist Church are ahead of us. For us to be the Church that God would have us to be, we must operate in a way that pleases Him. Fortunately for us, we have the Book of Acts as an instruction manual for how Christ’s Church should operate.
Jesus’ final conversation with His Apostles provides us with some information that is vital to our success. I would like to examine this passage and preach on the subject “Preparing For A Great Move Of God”.
Jesus’ parting words and the subsequent response of the Apostles show us certain precautions we must take as well as some preparations we must make if we desire to be used of God in a way similar to that of the early church. We will begin in verses 6-11 and examine:
SOME IMPORTANT PRECAUTIONS CONCERNING CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
This passage contains four examples of things that we must not allow to deter us from our God given mission in this world. First of all we will see that:
WE MUST NOT BE DISTRACTED BY THE UNKNOWN
v6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority”.
The Disciples were clearly interested in the establishment of the Lord’s Kingdom. Added to this is the fact that Jesus has referenced the arrival of the Holy Spirit; Certainly they remembered that Joel had prophesied about of the outpouring of the Spirit in connection with the Messiah’s glorious reign. (Joel 2:28 "And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions.)
These men must have thought that Jesus would soon set up His Kingdom; especially since He had said that the Spirit would be given “not many days from now.” With all these things in mind, the Disciples said "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"
These men were not wrong in their anticipation concerning the establishment of God’s Kingdom. In fact, we should also long for the day when our King rules and reigns over all the earth. However, Jesus did not answer this question the way His followers wanted Him to. He did not give them a specific timeline, rather He said: “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.” Rather than focusing on the future, Jesus turned their attention to what they should do in the present. He simply declared that God had a plan for the Kingdom and there will come a day when it is established, but those details are under God’s control and He has not chosen to reveal it.
Like the Disciples, there are times when we get distracted by the future. The Bible has much to say about the end times, God’s Kingdom, and eternity. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with studying prophecy and anticipating the return of Christ. However, we cannot spend our days gazing into the clouds and looking for the signs of Christ’s return. We cannot neglect our calling. God has a perfect plan for the establishment of His Kingdom; He is in control and that is all we need to know. If we are to be the church that God would have us to be, it is important for us to believe in the things that the Bible says about the future, but not to the point of getting distracted in the present. We can trust that God’s divine timeline is far greater than anything we could ever think or imagine.
Jesus sought to shift His Disciples focus from the future Kingdom to their present task; in doing so, He declared that they were to be His witnesses on the earth. He assured them that they would not be alone as they carried out this task. In the Great Commission He said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. (Matthew 28:19-20)
Jesus promised to be with them as they were witnesses of Him; and here in Acts 1, He assures them that the Holy Spirit would “come upon them”. In the same way, you and I possess the Holy Spirit of God. If we are to be successful in our future ministry, we must depend on His power. This leads us to the second precaution concerning our future ministry.
WE MUST NOT FORGET THE SOURCE OF OUR POWER
v8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;
The Disciples are told that they were to be witnesses of Jesus Christ. Jesus also told them exactly where this was to take place. Their influence would begin locally and it would eventually spread to the rest of the known world. However, for them to be successful in this mission, they must first be indwelt with the Holy Spirit. The same is true for us. We will never be what God wants us to be apart from His Spirit living, working, and moving in us.
A man may be highly talented, intensively trained, and widely experienced, but without spiritual power he is ineffective. On the other hand, a man may be uneducated, unattractive, and unrefined, yet let him be endued with the power of the Holy Spirit and the world will turn out to see him burn for God. (MacDonald, William. Believer's Bible Commentary (p. 2235). Thomas Nelson)
Recently the Disciples had been hiding and fearful of the persecution that they would face in Jerusalem. They needed strength, they needed to be empowered, and they needed to be courageous and bold. They needed help, and Jesus declared that the “Helper” was about to come upon them. When the Holy Spirit arrived He would give them everything they needed to be fruitful witnesses of the Savior. The rest of Acts shows us the change that took place when the Holy Spirit took up residence within these men.
We have the same opportunity and privilege that these men had. If you are born again, the Holy Spirit dwells within you, and He will do for you what He did for them. However, our only hope of success is to serve Jesus with power that only the Holy Spirit can provide. If we will remember the source of our power, there is no limit to what we can accomplish for God.
Like the Lord’s Apostles, as we prepare for our future ministry, we must not be distracted by the unknown and we must not forget the source of our power. As we move deeper into the text we will see the third precaution concerning our future ministry and that is:
WE MUST NOT NEGLECT OUR RESPONSIBILITY
v8b and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
It was not enough for the Apostles to possess the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit had to possess them as well. What I mean is that they had to be submissive to the direction of the Holy Spirit. They had to be obedient to the Great Commission that the Lord had given them.
As Christians, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but we must be submissive and obedient to His guidance and direction. The Bible warns us not to “quench the Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19). Paul says that we are to be “filled with the Spirit”. (Ephesians 5:18)
All of the amazing things that we read about in Acts, happened because men and women were filled with the Holy Spirit. God was going to use these men to spread the Gospel in “Jerusalem”, the very city where Jesus was despised, rejected and crucified. He would use them in “Judea”, a place with a large Jewish population that was hostile to Christ and His followers. He would use them to minister to the people in “Samaria”, a place with a despised half-breed population; a place filled with people that the Jews usually had no dealings with. Then they would go to the “uttermost parts of the earth”, ministering to the Gentile nations that were yet unreached with the Gospel. This shows us that spreading the Gospel and being witnesses of Jesus should not be limited to the places we choose or the people we like. God intends for His Gospel to be shared with everyone, everywhere.
The Book of Acts records the fulfilment of Jesus’ plan for the Apostles.
Chapters 1-7 show us that they were witnesses in Jerusalem. Chapters 8-9 show us that they were witnesses in Judea & Samaria. Chapters 9-28 show us that they were witnesses of Christ to the ends of the earth.
The work that Jesus began with these men back then continues with us today. We should be doing all that we can to reach people for Christ. Our call is no different than theirs, the locations may be different but the responsibility remains the same. We are to reach people in our communities and surrounding counties. God will also make a way for us to minister to people throughout Alabama, across North America, and all over the world. We are blessed to assist in this mission through the cooperative program; with your faithful giving you support missionaries locally, nationally, and internationally. However, it is not enough to simply send money to others who are being witnesses; we should BE witnesses of Christ everywhere we go.
We have the Holy Spirit; we possess His power, and we should be submissive and obedient to His direction. We must never neglect our responsibility to be witnesses of the Savior. If the Holy Spirit indwells us and if we seek to be faithful witnesses of our Savior, we must also ensure that we never forget why we do what we do.
- This leads us to another precaution that we must take concerning our future ministry; I am referring to the fact that:
WE MUST NOT LOSE OUR FOCUS
Simply put, we must never forget why we do what we do. We cannot allow anything to distract us from our mission and we must never get distracted while carrying out this mission.
After commissioning His Disciples, Jesus was taken up into Heaven. A cloud received Him and He ascended to Heaven and sat down on His throne. (v9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.) Understandably astonished, the Apostles stood gazing into the clouds. (v10a And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up) Two angels appeared in the form of men and confronted the Disciples. (v10b behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 11 who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.")
There were likely several reasons that these men stood there gazing into the clouds. One was sheer amazement! Trust me, if you saw someone take flight into the Heavens, you would stand there in amazement as well. They also were likely overwhelmed by the Majesty of their Savior ascending to His rightful place in Heaven.
But I also think that they were likely filled with sorrow. Just over a month earlier, Jesus had gone to the Cross and died. These men grieved and mourned for three days after His passing. Then, they were reunited with Him and had the great privilege of spending many days with the resurrected Christ. Jesus was not just their Savior and Master; He was their friend. Can you imagine the sorrow they must have felt seeing Him ascend back to Heaven, leaving them behind?
Though Jesus assured them that He would be with them, and He told them about the coming of the Holy Spirit, these men were certainly sad to see Him go. Soon though, they would be filled with His Spirit and they would perform many wonders. The miracles that they had seen Jesus perform; they would perform themselves. The sick would be healed, demons would be cast out, and the dead would be raised through the ministry of these Apostles. However, they never lost their focus, their ministry was not about them, it was about Him.
On one occasion, Peter and John encountered a lame man who was begging for alms. Peter looked at that man and said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." That man got up and walked, leaped, and praised God. It was not Peter who healed this man; it was Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit who worked this great miracle. Rather than taking the glory for himself, Peter made it known to the people who were in attendance that it was Jesus who healed this man.
Peter, John and the rest of the Apostles spent the rest of their lives serving Jesus Christ. Through it all, the Apostles never lost their focus; their ministry was all about Jesus. As we prepare for our future ministry, we must never lose sight of why we do what we do, and everything we do must be for Jesus and through the power of the Holy Spirit.
This passage closes with a promise that this same Jesus who ascended to Heaven, will one day return the very same way. When He comes He will establish His Kingdom and He will rule and reign throughout eternity. Those who are saved have the assurance that we will be with Him.
Those who do not belong to Christ will face eternal condemnation. For this reason I implore you to repent and believe in Him while there is time. If you do belong to Him, there is much hope found in these few verses. You have the assurance that He will return someday. You also have the promise of His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will indwell, lead and empower you to serve the Lord until He comes.
I am thankful for what God has done through the ministry of this church in the past, and I am excited to see what He will do in the future. As we prepare for a great move of God, there are some precautions we must take:
1. We Must Not Be Distracted By The Unknown
2. We Must Not Forget The Source Of Our Power
3. We Must Not Neglect Our Responsibility
4. We Must Not Lose Our Focus
Let us strive to remember these things as we “Prepare For A Great Move Of God”.
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