August 18 Follow Acts 1:6-8
Fan: enthusiastic admirer
Luke 9:57-62
A fan will follow when it’s comfortable
A fan will follow when it’s convenient
A fan will follow if it doesn’t cost much
A true follower:
1. Is empowered by the Spirit. Acts 1:8a
Titus 3:5; Ephesians 1:13-14; Galatians 5:16; Romans 8:6; Galatians 5:22; Romans 5:5
2. Is captivated by the call. Acts 1:8b
“If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” Luke 9:23
Who will stand on your shoulders?
When John F. Kennedy stood in front of a crowd at Rice Stadium in September 1962, he declared that the United States would put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. It seemed a bold statement to some; sheer fantasy to others. Even he didn’t know how it was going to happen. In his speech he said that we would build rockets and capsules made of metal alloys not yet invented. To most people it sounded like crazy talk. By the common grace of God…you know what I mean by that: The Common Grace of God. God gives grace to those who believe for salvation, right? That’s saving grace. But common grace is what he grants to humanity to develop and create regardless of their faith and trust in God. It is common grace that God granted to Archimedes or Galileo or Edison or Einstein to do what they did. So by God’s common grace, Kennedy gained a vision for putting a man on the moon and the ability to the scientists to bring it about.
I was 11 when Kennedy cast that vision in 1962. And I well remember, as many of you do, where I was on July 20, 1969 when the 1st man stepped onto the moon surface 240,000 miles away.
The impact of that that declaration was incredible. As a result of the manned space missions, humanity was ushered into the age of technology. Listen to a few of the technologies developed as a result of that declaration: microchips (pic) satellite tv (pic), laptop computers (pic), carbon monoxide detectors (pic), 3D graphics and virtual reality, (pic), ear thermometers (pic), GPS navigation (pic) and dustbusters(pic)!
Now listen: when you think about why we are here today, in this place this morning it goes back to a declaration Jesus made 2000 years ago; a vision that was eternal in the heart of God. Turn with me to Acts 1:1-8. These next 5 weeks we are going to examine the impact that Jesus of Nazareth has had in the world…and in our lives. The lingering question to be answered is of course: what impact are we making for Him?
READ Acts 1:1-8 (on screen…take it slow as I make below comments; only put one verse on each slide)
v.1 We know that the person who wrote act was Dr. Luke, because he is referencing his account of the life of Jesus to the same theophilus mentioned the gospel of Luke.
v.3 People may well ask how we can believe in a resurrected Christ. And I always respond that the resurrected Jesus appeared to over 500 people over the course of 40 days, many of whom were martyred for their insistence that they had seen Him. Some people may die willingly for something they believe deeply in; but no one will die for what they know is a lie.
v.6 Isn’t an odd human trait that we want to know the future? You know that line in A Few Good Men where Tom Cruise says, “I want the truth.” And Jack Nicholson says, “You can’t handle the truth!” Well, we couldn’t handle knowing the future.
Now here it is. Don’t miss this. Here is the declaration that the Resurrected Jesus made that set something into motion that far exceeded a measly trip to the moon.
Think of the impact of that statement. Since that 8 second statement, billions have been exposed to the claims of Christ, 100s of millions have placed their faith in Jesus, millions have been delivered from addictions, millions have had their marriages resurrected, millions have experienced peace and joy that supersedes their circumstances. His teachings have influenced entire civilizations. His life has inspired believer and non-believer alike.
And billions of followers thru these 2000 years have sacrificed money and time and even their lives to gather in places of worship. Some places as nice as this one, but most gathering places thru the centuries have been under the trees or in the clearings of Indonesia , in the mud huts in Africa, in hushed backrooms of Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan or Iran or China.
All because from the heart of God, Jesus said, “In the power of the Spirit, you will be my witnesses, literally, around the world and to the ends of the earth.”
And who did Jesus declare this to? His followers. Not His fans; His followers. Early in His ministry He was surrounded by thousands of people. But then as He got closer to the cross, He began to accentuate the cost of being a follower. And the crowds began to drop off until there were only a few left.
Jesus has always had a lot of fans. People who liked a lot of what He said and what He stood for. A fan can be defined as Fan: enthusiastic admirer
Jesus has always had a lot of fans. This is demonstrated in Luke 9:57-62
Luke 9:57-58 (on screen) A fan will follow when it’s comfortable
Jesus saw thru this guy’s claim he wanted to be a follower & told Him following is not about comfort in environment. Is environment important to you to worship the one you claim to follow?
Luke 9:59-60 (on screen) A fan will follow when it’s convenient
Seems odd that Jesus would say that. But He saw thru this guy’s claim he wanted to be a follower & told him that following is not about convenience in schedule. Is schedule important to you to worship the one you claim to follow?
Luke 9:61-62 (on screen) A fan will follow if it doesn’t cost much
It’s natural, even admirable to want to say goodbye to your family. But Jesus said, “Listen, to follow Me comes at the cost of everything else, even family considerations.”
So when Jesus made that seminal declaration of Acts 1:8, He wasn’t talking to fans, was He? No, He was talking to followers. He was charging His followers to change the world for His sake.
A true follower:
1. Is empowered by the Spirit. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you.” 1:8a
How does one move from being self-centered to Christ-centered? How does one overcome the power of sin and the flesh? How does one get motivated to sacrifice and surrender comfort and convenience and money and time and even family to make an impact in the world? By the power of the Holy Spirit!
You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes!
Titus 3:5 “He saved us — not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”
Ephesians 1:13-14 “When you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed in Him, you were also sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. He is the down payment of our inheritance, for the redemption of the possession, to the praise of His glory.”
Galatians 5:16 “I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”
Romans 8:6 “For the mind-set of the flesh is death, but the mind-set of the Spirit is life and peace.”
Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control.”
Romans 5:5 “This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
Sadly, many so-called Christ-followers are not walking or living by the Spirit. The result? Little hunger for God’s word, little passion for prayer, little life-change occurring, little inconvenience and little sacrifice.
These Christ-followers that Jesus was speaking to were empowered by the Spirit of the Living God—and they changed the world. Not just their world, that is the people around them, but they changed the world. Why? They were captivated by the call Jesus had on their lives.
2. Is captivated by the call. “You will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8b
Last week I heard someone say that when they were in Africa recently, they were riding thru the bush in the back of a pickup. Children were waving at him and his wave back was like this (demo). They started running after him. He was confused, but someone set him straight. In our culture, this is a wave. But in that culture, it means “Follow me.” How discouraging it must be to the heart of God to say, “Follow Me,” (demo) and all we do is wave back and continue on in our lives of comfort and convenience.
Jesus kept calling these to follow. “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” Luke 9:23 It involved sacrifice. It involved inconvenience. It involved leaving livelihoods. It even involved physical death for some.
Many 21st century American believers, those of us assembled in this room, miss the call to die. We get the call to live for Jesus…but we conveniently ignore the call to die for Jesus. As I said last week, many of us refuse to die to our personal preferences.
But not these earlier followers. Not the genuine followers down thru the centuries who died to dreams, aspirations, careers, families, health, security, and even life—for the sake of the call of Christ.
And we stand on their shoulders. We didn’t accomplish this alone. This came at the sacrifice of Christians down thru the ages, who took the witness of Christ to the Mediteranean world, then to Europe, then the Pilgrims to our continent, then the pioneers to ventured into uncharted territory, many of them for the sole purpose of spreading the call of Jesus.
We stand on their shoulders today. Watch this (video).
Who will stand on your shoulders? What child? What student? What young adult? What underresourced or overwhelmed or far away?
We stand on the shoulders of those who heeded the call and laid it all out there for Jesus. Where would we be if they had been fans instead of followers? Where would we be if they had opted for convenience instead of commitment?
And who will stand on our shoulders in the years and generations to come if the Lord tarries? What powerful works will the Spirit do in and through us? Who will hear the good news, the mercy and grace of a forgiving God, not just in Arlington, but around the world because we lived by the Spirit and respond to the call of Christ in every area of our lives? Who will stand your shoulders? and change the world?
This is His mission. This is His call. Ours is only to follow Him.
With all my heart I want to follow Jesus no matter what it costs. And I desperately want to lead a church filled with, not fans, but followers who want to follow Jesus no matter what it costs.
