Acts 1:1-8
While We Wait
April 24, 2022
Luke inscribes in his gospel account and also in his historical account of the Acts of the Apostles to the dignitary Theophilus our Lord’s last meeting with His disciples while He was here on earth. He is preparing to ascend back into Heaven to sit down at the right hand of God. But before He leaves, He commands and commissions His men to reach the world with the Gospel, the Good News that Jesus saves. He reminds them of what should be the central focus of their ministry. Jesus tells them to wait for the Promise of the Father, which is The Holy Ghost! While they wait, they needed the Right Mindset, they needed the Right Message, and they needed the Right Mission!
I. THE RIGHT MINDSET - They had to overcome a distraction, v. 6-7. The disciples want to talk about future things. They wanted to know was Jesus now going to restore the Kingdom to Israel? He tells them that the “times and seasons” are not their concern. Their responsibility was to be faithful to Him and work while they waited. Nothing has changed. Our duty is not to get caught up in future events, or any other theological dispute that distracts us from the cause of Christ. Our duty is to be busy working for the Lord while we wait for Him to return. God knew that Christians would argue about their interpretations of “times and seasons.” Therefore, He had Paul write this to Titus (3:9) “avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.” ESV
Verse 8 teaches that every believer is commissioned, commanded, and constructed to share the Gospel with a lost world. We are His “ambassadors” in this world, 2 Corinthians 5:20. Our text today reminds us of exactly what we are to be doing as we move through this world. Here is Jesus Christ, crucified and resurrected from the dead, and about to ascend into Heaven. He could have talked about anything in the world. But His last words were a command and a commission to share the Gospel. It is important to Him; it should be equally important to us!
II. THE RIGHT MESSAGE - Jesus tells His men that they are to be witness “unto Me”. Jesus is to be the sole focus of their message. That has not changed! We are to tell the world about Him, but we are more likely to talk about us, our lives, our beliefs, our denomination, our church, or our favorite preacher. None of those things have saving power! His message does, Romans 1:16a “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes…” We are to tell the message of His love, His death and His resurrection. We are to share the message of the Gospel – We are to tell the world that Jesus will save anyone who puts their trust in Him by faith! We are not sent to try and impress the world with our grasp of theology. Many people know the theories of theology, doctrines of the Church, but they do not know Jesus. Many know all about the glories of Heaven, but they are headed straight to Hell. Like that blind man in John 9, all I know is, “I was once blind, but now I see,” and it is because Jesus touched me! That is the message we are to share with the world. Has God ever done anything for you through Jesus Christ? If you can say yes this morning, then that is what you are to tell the world.
If our message is to have any power we are going to need help from God Himself! Jesus tells us in this verse that our help comes from the “Holy Ghost!” The disciples in the upper room were promised that the Spirit of God was coming, and that when He came, He would fill them with God’s power, Luke 24:49. When that power came on the day of Pentecost, those terrified disciples, who had been hiding from the Jews in fear, became bold preachers of the Gospel of Jesus. What made the difference? It wasn’t their eloquence. It wasn’t their oratory. It wasn’t their delivery. What made the difference was the Holy Ghost power of God on their lives! That same power is available to us today! If we are going have the power of God on our witness, our words and our works, we are going to have get our lives in the kind of shape the Lord can bless and use. We will never enjoy His unction and power until our hearts are right with one another and with Him. If you have a problem and you have not dealt with that issue biblically, that is a hindrance to the power of God being manifested in your life. If you have some secret sin buried in your life, it is a hindrance to the power of God being manifested in you. We need to stop looking at others and deal with our own hearts. When we do, will enjoy His power on our witness, our words, and our works!
III. THE RIGHT MISSION - Our only mission is to point people to Jesus. He is the only hope the world has for salvation. Our mission field is anywhere lost people can be found! Most of us will never go to “the uttermost part of the earth,” but we can serve in our Jerusalem. We can start with our families, our friends, our co-workers, our gym partners, or our classmates. We are to always be “on mission” for Jesus, telling a lost and dying world that Jesus saves. Everyone we meet is either a believer, or they are in need of the Gospel! If we really believe that people are going to Hell without Jesus, and if we really believe that the Gospel is for all mankind, then why aren’t we doing more to get the Gospel to them? Why aren’t we out there telling a lost world that Jesus saves? Could it be that we really don’t believe everything we claim to believe are maybe we just don’t care enough about the lost? Could it be that we have forgotten to keep what is most important the priority of our lives? We are preaching through social media every day. We stream live every Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. We give to local and international charities. Those things are good, but they do not take away our individual responsibility to share the Gospel with the world.
Church, we have been distracted from our mission. This is the hour to recapture our mission. This is the moment when the cause of Christ needs to become the main focus once again. It’s time to obey His voice. And as we wait on the next Promise of the Father, which comes after you place your trust in Jesus and after you receive the Holy Ghost, the Promise that He has prepared a place for us and He will come again and receive us to Himself; that where He is, we will be also!
How long must we wait for the times and seasons of His coming? Not long!
How long must we work the works of God while it is day? Not long!
How long must we want for His promised return? Not long!
How long? Not long? In Revelations 22:12 Jesus says, "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last."
- Amen! Even So, Come, Lord Jesus!
