Are You In A Receiving and Giving Mode? (In that order)
Acts 1:1-8NKJ
Peanuts cartoon:
Lucy says to Charlie Brown, "I would have made a great evangelist." Charlie Brown answers, "Is that so?"
She says, "Yes, I convinced that boy in front of me in school that my religion is better than his religion."
Charlie Brown asked, "Well, how did you do that?" Lucy answers, "I hit him over the head with my lunch box." (Pause)
The greatest proof a non-believer can ever receive comes from men and women who are turned on to the Gospel! Turned on to the Word of God.
It’s so easy to think, “O, it just the book of Acts or one of the other 65 books of God’s word.” However, the Bible is the only book breathed on by God Himself. God needs individuals without pretense, and without apologies, just turned-on to Jesus Christ mixed with the living active word of God!
“Individuals who believe, receive and just trust that Jesus Christ gives them what they need to carry on.” P.H.
Acts 1:1-8NKJ The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 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. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Think about this thought for a minute, Jesus died on a cross while believing in everything He taught and did. Wow!
Acts 1:1aNLT In my first book I told you, Theophilus
What book is the writer speaking of? The Book of Luke. What Jesus did on a daily basis was recorded.
Acts 1:1bNLT…about everything Jesus began to do and teach.
Jesus did and taught- Most of us teach and sometimes apply the teaching; however, Jesus did the miraculous and then He taught. (He did it Himself before He expected others too.)
James the half brother to Jesus said, When a person doesn’t apply what they hear, they forget it. (James 1:22-23)
Jesus’ ministry was His Fathers ministry. Therefore, when you follow Jesus’ teaching you’re fulfilling the Father’s will.
His main mission was to show us His Father!
I love verse 2, because Jesus was faithful with His Fathers plan until the end!
Acts 1:2NLT Until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit.
Further instructions: Meaning remember My teachings, remember the crucifixion, the resurrection; Moreover, follow the Holy Spirit I promised you!
In other words verse 2 says to every believer, “I’m giving you further instructions; What to expect and then I’m giving you power to live!”
Acts 2:38-39NKJ Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
This Outpouring of the Spirit … is not a Special Blessing … for a Special Few .... in a Special Age.
It Is For All … All who have truly repented … And believe in the gospel. It is for all … All who have found remission of sin … in the blood of the Lamb.
The promise is for you ....and for your children ....and for all … whom the Lord our God will call.
What a precious gift... What … a precious Promise.
Acts 1:3NLT During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and He proved to them in many ways that He was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.
During those 40 days Jesus proved Himself in many ways. The King James say’s, He proved Himself with many infallible proofs, Greek meaning, convincing, or decisive proof.
“The Christians belief is not built on speculation or myth but on the Sovereign acts and Words of God.” P.H.
Vs.3…Concerning the Kingdom of God… Kingdom teaching is simple to explain. “When a person is born-again that individual shifts their thoughts and attitude about government, work, community, and family. The primary allegiance is transferred from all kingdoms of this world, to God’s Kingdom. Thoughts of Christ become priority.
The rich, poor, sick, and needy, all people need the Kingdom. When the Kingdom is sown it grows and produces food, shelter, and protection. It’s like leaven, just a little goes a long way. It’s a treasure hidden in a field, a pearl of great price. It’s like a net thrown into the sea, it catches every kind of fish.
Luke 17:20-21NLT One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?”
Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. 21 You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.
Brennan Manning once said, “The way we are with each other is the truest test of the Kingdom within. How I treat a brother or sister from day to day, how I react to the sin-scarred wino on the streets, how I respond to interruptions from people I dislike, how I deal with normal people in their normal day may be a better indication of my reverence for life than the antiabortion sticker on the bumper of my car.”
Acts 1:4NLT And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;
These frail men and women needed to wait for the promise (or the gift) of the Father. “Do you understand that God’s promises are worth waiting for?”
Let me call for your attention, in the 21st century, you and I need the promise of the Father too! We need a stirring, an awakening.
The question is, “How well do you wait?”
Acts 1:5NLT for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Jesus is saying, “Water is important and it’s a good start, but you need to be submerged in the Holy Spirit. Baptized in fire.”
Remember this nugget from the NT:
Bethlehem means ......God With Us.
Calvary means .......God For Us.
But Pentecost .... means God In Us.
Acts 19:2NLT Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” he asked them. “No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
Many churches today are Fat... Fat and Out Of Breath. They are muscle-bound …through over-organization. What We Need Today ... Is The Wind ...And The Flame ... Of Pentecost.
D.L. Moody said... "You might as well try to hear without ears, ..... or breathe without lungs, ..... as try to live a Christian life .....without the Spirit of God ......in your heart."
Acts 1:6NLT Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
Again, they needed a fresh fire baptism, something to wake them up. Without the Holy Spirit’s direction, individuals become stale- clueless, lifeless, they're not in sink with the realness of the wisdom of the Spirit.
Acts 1:7NLT 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 not to know how long it would be before Christ set up his kingdom, nor were they to know what events would transpire before the establishment of it. Peter points out that even the Old Testament prophets did not know the timing between the suffering of Christ and the glories that would follow. (1 Peter 1:11)
Acts 1:8NLT But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
In God’s Kingdom you are to be in a receiving mode, before you can give. Receiving in an art of trust, before you can be trusted for more inside God’s Kingdom you have to learn to receive.
In a court room, there is a judge, a prosecutor, a defense attorney, a defendant, and hopefully a witnesses.
A witness gives testimony in the court room.
Do the witnesses prosecute the defendant?
Do the witnesses convict the defendant? NO!
Witnesses ........Witness... and they do their best to give honest and true testimony. Why? Because they realize that the verdict may hinge on how well they witness.
But their only job ..... is to witness ... to testify.
Without our testimony, ..... without our witness ....... the world will not know the Good News!
In closing, one major question should be- “Do you want pretty feet?”
Romans 10:15 As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of them who bring ... Good News"
Benediction.
