Acts 1:4–8 (NKJV)
OPENING ILL: In 1994 Congress investigates the mail system after millions of undelivered letters are uncovered in Washington. During a surprise audit, the U.S. Postal Service discovered that some local managers had temporarily stashed unprocessed mail in parked trailers so that supervisors wouldn’t notice it as delayed. Auditors found millions of pieces of undelivered mail, including 2.3 million bulk-business letters, some of which were delayed nine days, and 800,000 first-class letters, which had been held for three days. What should the penalty be when the people entrusted with delivering something fail to do the work? The world may not be expecting the delivery, but they are awaiting the message of the good news concerning God sending his Son. We must be faithful to deliver the message. (1)
We are officially now in the Christmas season. The time of year when we celebrate the coming of Christ into the world. However, look around, there our those in our culture who are doing all they can to take :Christ” out of Christmas. Is it possible to have a “Christless” Christmas? Yet many in the world is doing just that including many so-called Christians. Part of the problem is the world completely misunderstands why Jesus came into the world.
John 3:17 (NKJV) For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
Herein is the situation, the whole world, apart from Jesus, stand condemned, damned to an eternity of separation from God. But, you know the verse, for God so loved that He gave, gave us Jesus, to pay the penalty of death because of our sins on the cross.
We have a message for the world. The good news of the Gospel has been entrusted to us. What will do with it? Hoard it away?
Stash it like yesterday’s newspaper? Wait for a more convenient time? Will we neglect to deliver the mail? Jesus gave us a command:
Acts 1:8b (NKJV) . . . you shall be witnesses to Me . . (most all other translations has "you shall be My witnesses")
We are going to examine this command. And it is a command. Jesus did not say you might be my witnesses. Jesus did not say be a witness if it is convenient. He said you shall, you will be, my witnesses.
Interesting word “witness.” In the Greek the word is “martyres.” This is where we get out word Martyr from. It means to bear a true testament, even to the death. The same root word is translated testimony. To give a testimony is a legal term. It means simply to tell what you know to be the truth.
The testimony of Jesus Christ is a powerful thing to possess and to profess. We read from revelation how the tribulation saints will overcome the evil one.
Revelation 12:11 (NKJV) And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
By the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. the Greek word is "martyria" and they love the word of their testimony more than their earthly lives.
But let’s put this command of Jesus to be a witness into context. To understand the depth of the command. let’s begin in verse 4
Acts 1:4 (NKJV) 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;
The disciples were not quite yet apostles. They were still followers and students. Apostles means the ones sent and sent with authority. They were not yet ready to go. They had not yet received the the Promise of the Father. And what was the promise of the Father?
Luke 24:49 (NKJV) “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”
It was power from on high. The very power of God. How will this power come?
John 14:16 (NKJV) And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—
The Holy Spirit is that Helper. The word in the Greek is "Parakletos" . The Spirit will help guide, will consul, and will give power.
Acts 1:5 (NKJV) for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
These first disciples were first baptized with water, and then they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But later in Acts and as happens today, we receive the Holy Spirit at the moment of conversion, and we are then baptized by water to show the world what has already happened on the inside and spiritually. Here is the prophecy of John Baptist:
Matthew 3:11 (NKJV) I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
We are baptized with the Holy Spirit at the time of our conversion, but the baptism of fire is not in reference to the tongues of fire in Acts 2. Fire has always been the image of judgment. One day everyone will be baptized by Jesus. Believers will be baptized by Jesus with the Holy Spirit and the baptism of fire is yet a future event for the rest of humanity who chooses not to believe. They will be baptized with the fire of Judgment. But in context of our passage, the Holy Spirit is the promise of the Father, given to us to seal us for salvation:
Ephesians 1:13–14 (NKJV) In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
We, who believe and have trust the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, have been sealed with the Holy Spirit. If fact the word tells us that we have become the temple of the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 6:19 (NKJV) Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
Because we have the very Spirit of God, God enables us to do His will. God does not call those that are equipped, He equips those that He has called. At a later time we will explore the gifts from the holy Spirit.
Acts 1:6 (NKJV) Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
Based on these things, the disciples asked a very pertinent question. Throughout the Old Testiment, the outpouring of God’s Spirit has always been associated with the coming of God’s Kingdom.
Joel 2:28–31 (NKJV) 28 “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; . . . 31 . . . Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.
“The gift of the Holy Spirit is a sign that God’s end-time restoration has begun.” (2) This end time will be completed at the time of Jesus return. We have been in the end times for around 2,000 years. In fact Jesus message was concerning the coming of the Kingdom of God:
Matthew 4:17 (NKJV) From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
And even after Jesus’ resurrection, Jesus spoke of these things:
Acts 1:3 (NKJV) 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.
The question the disciples asked concerning the coming of the kingdom was an honest question and Jesus did not rebuke them for asking.
Acts 1:7 (NKJV) And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
On this occasion and in Jesus’ discourse of the Mount of Olives when He was explaining the end times, Jesus explained that we are not to know the times or seasons or the date of the coming Kingdom, the time of Jesus return.
Matthew 24:36 (NKJV) “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
Timing was not the issue. We are not to be concern with the timing of Jesus return and the physical coming of the kingdom.
“Discipleship is not about knowing the times and dates, but it is about being ready.”(3) As the Holy Spirit will reveal and Jesus has taught, there are things that have been left undone. To Israel, they were called to be a nation of Priests:
Exodus 19:6a (NKJV) And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’
A priest is the go-between God and the people. Israel was to be that go-between god and the rest of the world. And Israel had failed in that task.
Isaiah 43:10 (NKJV) “You are My witnesses,” says the LORD, “And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me.
Israel was called to be witnesses. Now we in the church age, we, as the new Israel, have been given that task.
1 Peter 2:9 (NKJV) 9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
We are to proclaim to the world, as a His royal priesthood, the ones who goes between God and the rest of the world, those without Jesus, we are to proclaim “the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
Acts 1:8a (NKJV) But . . .
Act 1:8 begins with a “But.” That word "but" is a contrasting conjunction. We are not to worry about the date and time of the coming of the kingdom, but in the meanwhile, until that time does come, we are to receive power and to be His witnesses:
Acts 1:8a (NKJV) But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;
“You” here is in the plural. It means all of us. Not just the paid clergy. It means all of us. And the command to witness, we are not to do without being first empowered. Most us, including me, do not understand, comprehend, realize the power available to us. We worry too much about what to say when we go to tell someone about Jesus. Like the Nike commercial, we are to just "do it." Paul said:
1 Corinthians 2:4–5 (NKJV) And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
The power is in the message and with the Spirit as you speak the words. And it is all about Jesus. The more Jesus in our testimony, the more power, for the Spirit testifies of Him.
John 15:26 (NKJV) “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.
It is not good enough to talk about God, the world is ready to talk about God; but we are to lift up the name that is above all names, the name of Jesus. It is at the name of Jesus that the world takes offence. It is at the name of Jesus the conversation goes quiet. It is all about Jesus.
Acts 1:8 (NKJV) 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.”
Notice where we are to be witnesses, we are to start at home and fan our way out. “The story of Jesus led to Jerusalem; the story of the church led from Jerusalem.” (4) This is essentially the outline for the book of Acts. ‘Rather than sinking roots in Jerusalem and waiting for the world to flood in, Jesus’ followers are to move out from Jerusalem, through Judea and Samaria, and ultimately “to the ends of the earth." (5) The call is not to be spectators, or even cheering fans in the stands, but to be active players in the game. We are to be witnesses in all aspects of our life, in our home, at the store, in our place of employment, and the call is to be intentional, to go out with the very purpose of sharing our testimony with a lost world. We might not be able to go to the ends of the earth ourselves, but we sure can be active in helping those who can, by sending out shoeboxes, and giving to missions. Next week start our annual Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for foreign missions. How much has God laid on your heart to support those going to the end of the earth?
Are we like the postmen who have stashed the mail and failed to deliver to a dead and dying world the message of life and hope? The command to be a witness is an active doing. It is not a passive activity. This Christmas season, will we be faithful and bearing the testimony of Jesus, the reason for the season?
Before we are to go out and witness, we need to ask, are we empowered to do so? Does the Spirit of the living God, live inside of you? If you do not have Jesus, you do not have the Holy Spirit.
I have known people full of a spirit, but not the Holy Spirit. To have Jesus is to have the Holy Spirit
If you do not have Jesus, today’s message does not apply to you. Without Jesus, you are facing a baptism of fire and judgment. Come to Jesus and be baptized with His Holy Spirit.
Will you allow yourself to be molded into what he has called you to do and to be?
(1) Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell, “Failing to Deliver an Important Message,” in 300 Illustrations for Preachers, ed. Elliot Ritzema (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015). http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,981188,00.html
(2) David G. Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, England: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009), 111.
(3) Conrad Gempf, “Acts,” in New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, ed. D. A. Carson et al., 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 1070.
(4) John B. Polhill, Acts, vol. 26, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 86.
(5) David G. Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, England: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009), 112.
