Title: Don’t Get Stuck
Theme:
Text: Acts 1:1 - 11
Opening Scripture
Act 1:1-11 The former account I made, O Theophilus (the same person Luke wrote to. Luke and Acts are companion books. There was unfinished business at the end of Luke and so Acts steps in. That is why we call this book the Acts of the Apostles or the Acts of the Church or the Acts of Jesus followers), 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.
The Bible is clear that Jesus appeared to many after the resurrection.
1. He appeared to Mary Magdalene as a gardener (Mark 16:9-11; John 20:11-18)
2. He appeared to the other two women who were with Mary Magdalene—Salome and Mary the mother of James (Matthew 28:9-10).
3. He appeared to Peter (Luke 24:34).
4. He appeared to two men on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-32).
5. He appeared to the apostles, except for Thomas (Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-25).
6. He appeared to the apostles with Thomas (John 20:26-29)
7. He appeared to seven of His disciples on the shores of the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-25).
8. He appeared to the apostles on a mountain in Galilee (Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:15-18).
9. He appeared to over 500 brethren (1 Corinthians 15:6)
10. He appeared to His brother James (1 Corinthians 15:7).
11. He appeared to the apostles and ate a meal with them (Acts 1:3-8; Luke 245:44-49).
12. His ascension (Acts 1:9-12; Mark 16:19-20; Luke 24:50-53).
It is a verifiable fact by many that Jesus had risen from the dead. There was no possible way that so many could have “missed it”.
(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."
Jesus had prepared them for many things that would come.
Jesus instructing His disciples before the Ascension
Matthew 28:16-20 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. (17) When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. (18) And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority (This is what Satan was trying to give him in the Temptation of Jesus found in Luke 4, yet Jesus knew that true authority only comes from God) has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (19) Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
Mark is a little more descriptive: Mar 16:15-20 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. (16) He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. (17) And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; (18) they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." (19) So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. (20) And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.
Next Question:
6) Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"
Revolution of the Heart – from the Inside Out
Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. (2) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
This was so much bigger than a worldly kingdom.
Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
(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.
Don’t get caught up in looking and leaving.
Here is what is most important
(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."
I have to go so the Holy Spirit can come:
Promised in Luke
In Luke 24:47-49 Jesus says,” (47) And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (48) And ye are witnesses of these things. (49) And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”
Fulfilled in Acts 2
(9) Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. (10) And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, (11) who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven."
Disciples - stuck
They were stuck. They were experiencing a moment marked by crisis. They were at a moment when everything they knew, everything that was familiar was no longer. Everything that is ahead is not clear at all. So they are stuck watching something familiar, comfort floating away in the sky. And they’re standing there stuck not knowing where to go next, because what was is not longer and what will be we are not sure of.
Anybody know what it’s like to be stuck? Anybody know what its’s like to have a plan and a strategy and they all of a sudden something happens. Everything you know is no longer. And the future is not clear as what it was.
You find yourself stuck at a position in life that rocked you. The death of a loved one. They hurt of words. They marks.
Why stand here gazing, looking up. Looking at something that caused you to be stuck. This same Jesus, he is coming back again.
Implication: You got work to do. You don’t have time to stand gazing. You have a calling on your life, you have a purpose on your life, you don’t have time to be stuck gazing. The Holy Spirit is going to come so don’t leave Jerusalem too soon.
Some of you came here stuck but you are going to be sent home free because you are going to do the work. They enemy would love nothing more than for you to get stuck in the complexities of the realities that you cannot control.
How to get unstuck
1) Focus on the task ahead. If you are not filled with the Spirit, being led by the Spirit then move forward with Him.
2) Move forward in life and quit looking back.
3) Experience the freedom of Christ.
Ephesians 4:8-16 Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men." (9) (Now this, "He ascended"--what does it mean but that He also first [9] descended into the lower parts of the earth? (10) He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) (11) And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, (12) for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, (13) till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; (14) that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, (15) but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ-- (16) from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
