“NEVER FORGET!” Acts 1:1-11
FBCF – 5/24/20
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Are you a forgetful person?
- Someone once said, “I’m so forgetful & can hide my own Easter eggs.”
Alzheimer’s is a horrible disease.
- Sometimes, you & I suffer from spiritual Alzheimer’s
- May remember some of the things from the past – “the good old days”
- But our relationship w/ Jesus is a present-day reality
o It’s supposed to be active TODAY!
o It informs our everyday decisions – That’s why we are together TODAY!
o It should be our main motivating factor for getting up getting out of bed TODAY!
o Yes, we have heaven to look forward to “in the sweet by & by.” But our walk w/ Jesus is “in the present now & now!”
EXPLANATION – Open Bibles to Acts 1:1-11
One commentator called Acts 1 “The Great Days of Expectation.” Jesus had completed His earthly ministry, had gone to the cross, into the tomb, rose from the grave, had appeared to His disciples & to hundreds of other people, had given the Great Commission to His disciples, & was now about to ascend back to heaven where He would take His place at the right hand of the throne of God as our Heavenly Intercessor & Advocate, awaiting the Father’s word to go & bring His children home in the Rapture. You can sure feel the expectation & anticipation in these truths.
- He had taught His disciples about the coming Kingdom.
- Jesus had promised that He would send the Holy Spirit & that was about to happen.
- The angels promised that He would come again.
Jesus’ earthly ministry was complete. His mission was done. “It is finished!” And the book of Acts shows us that His work continues on now through His followers, through the Church – THAT’S US! So, let’s talk about some things we need to never forget as we move forward w/ great expectation that He is still at work in our world.
APPLICATION –
Never Forget!
1. Who Your Savior Is & Why He Has Saved You (& it’s not b/c you’re such a good person & He’s lucky to have you)
2. Where Lost People Go When They Die (that’s why we must be His witnesses)
3. Who You Are Living For (not yourself)
WHO YOUR SAVIOR IS & WHY HE HAS SAVED YOU (& it’s not b/c you’re such a good person & He’s lucky to have you!)
IF you’ve given your life to Jesus, then YOUR Savior the risen, living Jesus Christ, Savior of the world.
- 1 John 4:14 – “we have seen & testify that God has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.”
- “Joshua of old was a savior. Gideon was a savior. David was a savior. But the title is given to our Lord above all others b/c He is a Savior in a sense that no one else can be – He saves His people from their sins!” (Spurgeon)
And here’s some things we need to remember about our Savior:
- He had an amazing earthly ministry – v. 1
- He gave commands for us to follow – v. 2, 4a
- He’s alive – v. 3
- He has sent the Holy Spirit to us – v. 4-5
- He came to seek & to save those who are lost
o Luke 19:10 – “For the Son of Man came to seek & to save those who are lost.” (NLT)
o That’s the WHY of “why He saved you.” Never forget that!
? You were lost, but now are found.
? You were dead, but now are alive.
? You were an enemy of God, but now are a friend of God.
? You were an object of God’s wrath, but now an object of His mercy.
That means that, if you’ve never given your life to Him, He’s still seeking you. He still wants to save you. And He will right now!
Jesus’ ministry on earth began w/ His work & teaching. First chapter – “The Great Days of Expectation.” His earthly ministry launched these great days, the greatest days of expectation that the world has ever seen. And His ministry continues today as He continues to seek & to save those who are lost!
NEVER FORGET WHERE LOST PEOPLE GO WHEN THEY DIE (& that’s why we must be His witnesses!)
This past week, a fire broke out in downtown Los Angeles. Several firefighters ascended an aerial ladder to get on the roof of the building, when explosions began to go off inside of the building. In just matter of seconds, a massive wall of flames erupted from the building, engulfing the ladder that the firefighters were desperately trying now to descend to get away from the deadly flames. Thankfully, none of the firefighters died, but 12 of them were injured, some severely.
Fire is dangerous. Burns are painful. And the Scriptures talk about the horrors of the fires of hell that those who reject Christ will endure for all eternity.
Jesus talked about hell a lot. “In fact, Jesus talked about hell more than any other person in the Bible. In Luke 16, he describes a great chasm over which “none may cross from there to us.” In Matthew 25, Jesus tells of a time when people will be separated into two groups, one entering into his presence, the other banished to “eternal fire.”
Jesus doesn’t only reference hell, he describes it in great detail. He says it is a place of eternal torment (Luke 16:23), of unquenchable fire (Mark 9:43), where the worm does not die (Mark 9:48), where people will gnash their teeth in anguish and regret (Matt. 13:42), and from which there is no return, even to warn loved ones (Luke 16:19–31). He calls hell a place of “outer darkness” (Matt. 25:30), comparing it to “Gehenna” (Matt. 10:28), which was a trash dump outside the walls of Jerusalem where rubbish was burned and maggots abounded. Jesus talks about hell more than he talks about heaven, and describes it more vividly. There’s no denying that Jesus knew, believed, and warned against the absolute reality of hell.” (https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-uncomfortable-subject-jesus-addressed-more-than-anyone-else/)
We must NEVER forget that this is the final, ETERNAL destination for those who are lost & die w/out Christ!
- If we water down the reality of hell, we will water down the urgency of being the witnesses that Jesus commands us to be in v. 8.
Is this where you want your lost friends & family members to spend eternity? Of course not! So, take the command of Jesus to be His witnesses seriously & share the Gospel w/ them. You can’t make them accept Christ, but you MUST do your part to tell them!
NEVER FORGET WHO YOU ARE LIVING FOR (& it’s not for yourself)
There’s a small, but important 2-letter word in v. 8. It’s the word “my.” Jesus said to His disciples, “you will be MY witnesses.” It was personal, intimate, special. He looked them in the eyes & spoke these words to them, giving them this command that they were to give up their lives for Him & for the sake of the Gospel. He had already told them in Luke 9:23, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself & take up his cross daily & follow me.” The cross – a symbol of death. And now, He tells them to be His “witnesses” – martys – martyrs – those who are willing to give up their lives for Him. They would never forget, for the rest of their lives, who it was that they were living for. They were living for “this Jesus” as the angels said to them in v. 11.
You & I are living for “this Jesus”, too, & that changes everything b/c HE changes everything. So many people in our world are living for themselves.
- That brings hopelessness & emptiness
- That’s a dead-end street
- That may feel right, but, in the end, it leads nowhere except to hell
One of the ways that you KNOW that you belong to Jesus is the change that He brings to your life. Ask yourself this question: “Who am I truly living for?” If it’s anyone other than the Lord Jesus, you need to examine your heart to see if you truly belong to Him.
