LIVING THE MISSION OF GOD - PART 1
Acts 1:1 I wrote the first narrative, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day He was taken up, after He had given orders through the Holy Spirit to the apostles He had chosen. 3 After He had suffered, He also presented Himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 While He was together with them, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. “This,” He said, “is what you heard from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 So when they had come together, they asked Him, “Lord, are You restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by His own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 After He had said this, He was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took Him out of their sight. 10 While He was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them. 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen Him going into heaven.”
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called the Mount of Olives, which is near Jerusalem—a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 When they arrived, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. 14 All these were continually united in prayer, along with the women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brothers.
INTRO: This morning we will begin an exciting new series from the Book of Acts. The Book of Acts was written around 62-63 A.D., and may be best described as a history of the founding and growth of the early church. The book was written by Luke, the same writer of the Gospel of Luke and you might want to think of it as a continuation and even a sequel to that Gospel.
Found as the 5th book in the New Testament, the Book of Acts can best be split into two parts; the first part dealing with the home church and its mission and the last concentrating on foreign missions. The book begins with the Ascension of Jesus and goes on through Paul’s jail time in Rome, which opens his ministry to the church at Rome. In this book we see the first mention of the dispensation of the Holy Spirit and Jesus’ command to take His gospel to all the world.
During our last series, we looked at the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and what those events mean to us. Last week we examined the events that occurred after the Resurrection as Jesus spent 40 days prior to His ascension into Heaven teaching the Disciples what the next steps would be. He described to them the Promise, the Power, and the Plan of God. Now, as we begin to look at the Book of Acts, we see the early church putting into practice and living out the commands that Jesus give them.
This morning as we begin this series, we will lay the foundation for every message that will follow over the next 14 weeks. We will ask and answer three very important questions: 1) What is the Mission of God?; 2) How can we accomplish the mission?; 3) How do we prepare ourselves for the Mission?
Let's begin with the first question:
I. WHAT IS THE MISSION OF GOD?
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
A. The Mission of God is to be a WITNESS - The primary mission that God has given us is to be a witness.
1. What is a witness? A witness is a person who testifies about things they have personally experienced or have personal knowledge of.
(Witness in a court of law)
It is interesting to note that the greek word we translate as witness in the English language is "martys" - the same root word from which we get the word "martyr."
This is a reminder that it might cost us to be a witness for Christ. The early church certainly understood this truth. They suffered intense persecution including for many believers imprisonment, and even execution. Yet they remained faithful witnesses for the Lord in spite of the persecution. Can God count on you to be a faithful witness?
2. What are we to testify about?
Luke 24:47 and repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
The core of our message is very simple - Christ died on a cross to pay the penalty for our sins and all who repent and place their faith in Him can receive forgiveness and salvation. That's it. It really is that simple.
It's that simple message that you heard at some point in your life. It's that simple message that you believed. It's that simple message that saved you and changed your life forever. And, it's that simple message that we are to share with everyone who does not know Christ, starting right where you are with the people you are closest too, then carrying this simple message everywhere we may go.
(One beggar telling another beggar where to find food)
3. Being an effective witness is both a lifestyle and intentional.
Matthew 28:19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
Here in this passage Matthew records the master plan that Jesus gave the church - to make disciples of all people. Notice also that the first command Jesus gives us in that statement is to GO. Being an effective witness requires ACTION. It requires us to make the necessary effort to carry the message to those who need to hear. It requires work to teach new believers how to serve God. There's no place for laziness in the Kingdom of God! We must dedicate our lives to being a witness for all that Christ has done in our lives and reaching those who don't yet know Him!
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Here in this passage we see a pattern that includes our witness as a part of our everyday life and as an intentional plan of evangelism.
(Jerusalem - Judea - Samaria)
II. HOW CAN WE ACCOMPLISH THE MISSION?
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
A. We Can Only Accomplish the Mission in the Power of God!
Jesus said His followers would “receive power” when the Holy Spirit came upon them, and directly connected with that power would be their work of being witnesses of Him, starting in Jerusalem, then spreading throughout Judea and Samaria and ultimately to the end of the earth.
(explosion)
Christ made it clear that the Holy Spirit is connected with power. The Greek word translated “power” is dunamis. It is translated “power,” “mighty work,” “strength,” “miracle,” “might,” and “mighty.” It is the same Greek root from which we get modern English words like dynamic, dynamo and dynamite. These all refer to power, just as the root term.
B. Why do we need the power of God? Because we are weak! The simple truth is that we cannot do the work of God in our own strength.
(Thomas Aquinas) Entering the presence of Innocent II., before whom a large sum of money was spread out, the Pope observed, “You see, the Church is no longer in that age in which she said, ‘Silver and gold have I none.’”—“True, holy father,” replied Aquinas; “neither can she any longer say to the lame, ‘Rise up and walk.’”
I want to remind you again as I did last week that we need the power of the Holy Spirit! People are dying without Jesus because of a lack of power in our churches. Churches and church members are drying up due to a lack of power. Sin, in this society, is running rampant because there is no manifest power and presence of God among His people.
We Need the power of the Holy Spirit! The first step to being filled with God's power is to realize how weak and powerless we are without it, and understanding just how necessary His power is to us!
Romans 8:26 In the same way the Spirit also joins to help in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings.
We can trust that even in our weakness, God can make us strong through the power of the Holy Spirit!
There is no limit to the power of Almighty God! He has the ability to do whatever needs to be done!
Eph. 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us—
We need the power of God working in and through us if we expect to effectively accomplish the Mission of God!
III. HOW DO WE PREPARE FOR THE MISSION?
Acts 1:14 All these were continually united in prayer, along with the women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brothers.
Notice that Luke says of the early church that they were "united in prayer." Unity and Prayer are two of the most powerful tools that God gives to His people. When they are combined together, such as we see here in the early church, the power they bring to the church is multiplied many times over!
Let's look at each one of these principles separately:
A, If there is to be power in the church, there must be unity.
Eph. 4:3 diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit with the peace that binds us.
1 Cor. 1:10 Now I urge you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction.
One of the main reasons there is no power in many churches is because there is no unity. We must practice christian unity!
One of the reasons why we share with you so often the Mission, Vision, and Core Values of this church is so that you can know what we are all about. We have certain values or convictions that are non-negotiable. Not everyone who comes here will be in agreement with our Mission, Vision, and Values, and that's okay…but, these things define who we are as a church and those of us who belong to this local church should be unified around those convictions. We don't have to agree on every little detail, but we must be united around common goals and convictions.
B. If there is to be power in the church, there must also be focused prayer.
When God's people dedicate themselves to sincere, focused prayer all things become possible!
Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, all the things you pray and ask for—believe that you have received them, and you will have them.
James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The urgent request of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours; yet he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the land. 18 Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land produced its fruit.
Are you beginning to understand yet, just how powerful prayer can be? When we seek God diligently through prayer - He will fill us with His power!
C. Now, remember just a few minutes ago, I told you that when the principles of unity and prayer are in operation together, the power they bring to the church are multiplied.
Look at this example from the early church of just how powerful unity and prayer can be:
Acts 4:29 And now, Lord, consider their threats, and grant that Your slaves may speak Your message with complete boldness, 30 while You stretch out Your hand for healing, signs, and wonders to be performed through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” 31 When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak God’s message with boldness.
I wonder what would happen if when we prayed the very building we're in was physically shaken by the power of God? I believe there would be some folks getting right with God don't you?
This is the kind of power God wants to unleash within this church and in your life! It's God's will that we receive all the power necessary to carry out His mission in the world today - but, we must prepare ourselves by practicing unity and dedicating ourselves to prayer.
CONC: Are you ready to live the Mission of God? Are you ready to be the witness He called you to be? Are you ready to seek God for His power to accomplish the mission?
Let us dedicate ourselves to unity and prayer so that we can be filled with the power of God we so desperately need to accomplish the mission of God!
