A Word to the Church
“A Spiritual Beginning”
Acts 1:4-8
* Most of you know that one of my good friends is Kevin Hamm. There are many reasons for this. It seems that he and I have a similar sense of humor and (sadly for him) some similar personality traits. However, the main thing which has drawn our hearts together is our love for the Lord and His bride, the church. Every time I hear him speak I am reminded, once again, that the very reason I am where I am today is because Jesus saved my soul, through the Holy Spirit God called me to preach, and the Lord expects me to be both faithful and fruitful. This means keeping a laser-like focus on what God has called me to do, the church to be, and the impact we, as a church, are to make on the culture.
* Today, we begin a series of messages which I have entitled “A Word to the church”. Today, let’s begin at the beginning. If we are to begin, we must go to the words of Jesus for the church, as He left this world. Turn to Acts 1. (Read Text) In part, this is a familiar passage, but many times, we leave out the preceding verses. Let’s review this story and hear God’s word for us today.
* As you know, within the believers to whom Jesus was speaking were people who had become followers of Jesus during Jesus’ earthly ministry. They had heard Him teach, saw Him heal the sick & raise the dead, and were witnesses of His death and burial. As a part of this crowd they were now eye-witnesses to the fact that Jesus was not dead, but was alive. It was from this group that 120 believers would become the core group who would 10-days later become the mighty evangelists in Jerusalem when the Holy Spirit fell in power. It would be this core group who would give birth to the church. In His final moments with them, Jesus had a verbal exchange with this group which serves as our foundation for what God’s church is supposed to be and do.
1. The Command to the Followers – The text says, “HE commanded them.” Interestingly, Jesus expects us to keep His commands. In 1 John 2, 3, 4, & 5 we are told that ‘if we love Him, we will keep His commands, if we don’t keep His commands then we don’t love Him, and If we say we love Him and don’t keep His command, we lie.” These are not my words, they are divinely inspired words found written by John the beloved. By the way in John 14 & 15 Jesus speaks these same truths in the Upper Room in the shadow of the cross.
a. Return to the Place – What place did Jesus tell them to go and not to leave? It was Jerusalem. This is significant for many reasons. It is considered the Holy City and/or the City of God. For me, on this side of Calvary and the resurrection, it is in this place that one finds himself in the shadow of the cross. Think about all that happens in the shadow of the cross. If you have no relationship with Christ, come to the cross. If your heart has grown cold, come to the cross. If you feel your faith slipping, come to the cross. Seeing the cross will change you, remind you, humble you, lift you, and give you a spiritual renewal. It is at the cross where you’ll remember what your life cost Christ, what you were saved from, and what you are saved to. Return & wait!
b. Receive the Promise – This promise of God is the completion of the long running promise from God that ‘I will never leave you or forsake.’ Jesus had them return to the place of the cross because it would be there that they would receive His promise of the Holy Spirit. Never forget, that the Holy Spirit falling on God’s people in Acts 2 forever changed how God’s Spirit dwelt with His people. Before this, the Holy Spirit ‘came upon’ people (and it seems that generally, this was for a task). The Holy Spirit came upon or overtook or rested on the people of the Old Testament. But now, Jesus is communicating that the Spirit will come and take up residence in the hearts of those who believe. In other words, after this the Spirit would come to those who believed in Jesus. Thus, to believe in Jesus is to now receive this promise.
* Our Lord’s promise to us is a real promise for a real companionship with the real Holy Spirit of God. He becomes our counselor, our friend, our conscience, our helper, and literally our life. All of this hinged and continues to hinge on our belief & trust in Jesus. If you love me, HE says, “Keep my commandments.”
2. The Confusion in the Followers – So what exactly did those believer do and say? Did they say, “What is this promise?” “If we return, tell us exactly what this will be like?” In this questioning we see that these, who had walked personally with Jesus were still confused;
a. About His Interest – Even after 3+ years and witnessing life from death, these disciples were so culturally minded that they still were looking to a national Kingdom in their land. They thought He was going to overthrow Roman rule & tyranny and built HIS own monarchy in Jerusalem so they ask, “Now that you’ve resurrected from the dead, will you do it NOW?” From my perspective, how short sighted this way. Had He conquered death & the grave to settle for Israel?
* This is a great lesson for believers to learn; Jesus is interested in Kingdom building for eternity not for time. There is too much that is too important in eternal terms to get sidetracked on the temporary. Even those who walked with Jesus were confused about His interest. Perhaps they were attempting to super-impose on Jesus what their interests were and what they WANTED as opposed to what He did. Jesus came for one reason which can be expressed in many ways; He came to seek and to save that which is lost, He came to redeemed mankind, He came to make a way for us to get to heaven, He came that we might have lift and have it to the fullest; do I need to continue. It is not brain surgery to figure out what Jesus is interested in. Truthfully, the confusion comes when HIS interest are so foreign to our interests. Men generally have a short-sighted view until expanded by the Holy Spirit of God.
b. About His Intent – It appears to me that the disciples felt that Jesus was going to tell this all about His plans. Since Jesus was so approachable & accessible, they must have felt He would ultimately lay out everything the future held. In their question was the bullet of ‘what’s next?’ Most of us would like to have the answer to that question, but in the words of our Lord, “It is not for you to know.” It was never Jesus’ intent to lay out a specific road map for His return and rule. In fact, scripture gives us just enough to be encouraged to walk by faith. When Paul writes the Thessalonians about the end times He concludes with “Encourage one another with these words.” The last word Jesus speaks in the Revelation is “I am the root and offspring of David and I am coming quickly.” This should be all we need to have encouraged heart, to walk in His love, and to live by faith. This is Jesus’ desire for all of us.
3. The Course for the Followers – In verse 8, Jesus charts a course for His followers to take. Lifting their confusion, He draws a map or gives them a GPS which is still good today and meant for each one of us. A map or a GPS will keep you going in the right direction, & most of the time, getting you there quickly. This verse offers us 4 points of direction.
a. The Presence –In context, Jesus told the believers on that hillside to return to the shadow of the cross and there they would receive the promised Holy Spirit. This course of action holds true for us today. It begins with our salvation experience as the Holy Spirit comes in to take over & transform our lives. Sometimes we must return to the cross as we have allowed sin into our lives. When sin comes in, the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit leaves & our hearts grow cold.
b. The Power - In His last words (Matthew & Acts), Jesus spoke of having both authority & power and then says, “As the Father sent me, so send I you.” It is the desire of Jesus for the follower, the believer, or the disciple to live in the supernatural. I think it was Vance Havner who said, “The abnormal has, for so long, become the normal, that the normal has now become the abnormal.” Jesus clearly states, ‘When the Holy Spirit comes on you, YOU will receive power.” This power is the connection with almighty God to be a part of the redemption process, to live like Jesus, to love like Jesus, and to touch like Jesus.
c. The Purpose– Paul Covey says, “Begin with the end in mind.” To become what God wants you to be means that you have to start with the right direction and primary focus in life. Jesus says, “YOU WILL BE MY WITNESS.” He didn’t use words of possibility, likelihood, option, or chance; rather He said emphatically “YOU SHALL OR WILL BE MY WITNESSES”. Putting together all of the words of Jesus place on the backs of His followers the responsibility for the message of the gospel.
* We are responsible for the telling of the gospel and the spreading of God’s redemptive plan. It is US, the followers-redeemed-born again-children of God- to tell. What do we tell? We tell the old, old story of how Jesus came from glory, how He gave His life on Calvary, to save a wretch like me. Here’s the story that seeming is almost forgotten. I was lost in my sin, hopeless and helpless. The only way I could pay for my sin was my death. God sent His only Son Jesus from Heaven to earth and Jesus lived a sinless perfect life. Jesus was crucified on the cross for me! He was killed, buried (for 3 days), and rose from the dead in my behalf. He paid the price for my sin and when I place my trust in Him, my life is transformed, my sins are forgiven, and my future is secured. It is the greatest story of all times. It is a life-changing story. It is a story that many do not know because we have not told it. Telling this story time and again to people who have not heard is our primary concern. And when this becomes our primary concern – then the trivial of the world falls into nothingness. Some will hear and some won’t, some will respond and some won’t, but our responsibility to
d. The Priority - Isn’t it interesting that the first place these disciples were responsible for was ‘home’, “JERUSALEM”. What we are in our home places determine who we are. Home has to be a spiritual strong place. Only then can we move to the next phase of our mission, Judea. Building a strong home for the Kingdom – we are then called to go to our Samaria, this is the places we don’t care to go. Then to the world.
