IIMPORTANT PRECAUTIONS CONCERNING CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
Part 2
Acts 1:6-11
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 upcoming 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.
God has a specific and important mission for the members of Stockdale Baptist Church as well! In His infinite wisdom, God has given us the Book of Acts as an instruction manual concerning what we should do until the day that Christ returns. The last time we assembled we began to look at some “Important Precautions Concerning Christian Ministry”. I would like to continue to examine that subject today.
We have already covered two of these important precautions. 1) We Must Not Be Distracted By The Unknown and 2) We Must Not Forget The Source Of Our Power. Today we will consider the fact that 3) We Must Not Neglect Our Responsibility and 4) We Must Not Lose Our Focus.
By way of review, let me remind you that We Must Not Be Distracted By The Unknown. The Disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" 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. However, we cannot spend our days gazing into the clouds and looking for the signs of Christ’s return. We cannot neglect our calling! We have been called, equipped and empowered to be Christ’s witnesses throughout the earth.
- As we seek to reach the world with the Gospel:
WE MUST NOT FORGET THE SOURCE OF OUR POWER
The Disciples are told that they were to be witnesses of Jesus Christ. Their influence would begin locally and it would eventually spread to the rest of the known world. For these men 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. We must never attempt to serve God on our own. If we try, we will surely fail. 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. By ensuring that we are not distracted by the unknown and by realizing the source of our power we will have the right mindset for our future ministry as individuals and as a church.
- As we move deeper into the text we will see the third precaution concerning our future ministry and that is:
III. 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 will read about in Acts, happened because men and women were filled with the Holy Spirit. We can see amazing things today, if we will be submissive to and filled with the Spirit. The Apostles would begin their ministry in Jerusalem, in time they would travel to Judea; and eventually the Spirit would send them to Samaria. Jesus went on to say that the Apostles would be His witnesses to the end of the earth. 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 Munford and Talladega. We are to reach people in Talladega, Calhoun, Clay and St. Clair counties. We are to reach people in Alabama, the United States, North America and ultimately 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 and 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.
- As we consider the precautions that we must take concerning our future ministry, notice that:
IV. 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 we are carrying out this mission. Notice what happened to the disciples when Jesus ascended:
v9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, 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."
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. Two angels appeared in the form of men and confronted the Disciples. As they stood there gazing into the clouds, the Angels said 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. Not only was Jesus 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. In fact, all but John gave their lives for the cause of Christ and John suffered much as a result of his testimony. 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 receive 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 our future ministry, 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
These are some “Important Precautions Concerning Christian Ministry”
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