Evangelistic Power
Acts 1:1-11
After the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, the disciples returned to Galilee as commanded by both the Lord and the angels. The final chapter of the gospel of John recorded the third time the disciples as a group, encountered the risen Lord. As we read last week, they had decided to go fishing but spent all night out on the water catching nothing. They caught nothing. They were unsuccessful on their own, but when the Lord showed up and they obeyed His command, their failure was turned into outrageous success! Through obedience, they caught so many fish that they couldn’t even pull them into the boat. They had to drag their nets to shore where they could more easily deal with such an enormous catch.
Now, I want you to remember this because it’s important—the disciples were successful because they obeyed. They were successful because they followed the Lord. They gave up doing things on their own and followed the His command, and their endeavors paid off. And you know, many times we try to do things just like the disciples did, we try to do things on our own as well.
As Christians who love the Lord, our great desire is to see the kingdom of God grow among us and around us. We want to do whatever we can to make it happen. We will create programs and begin ministries with the idea that if we can “tweak” them just right, people will start believing in Jesus, coming to church, going out on missions, and winning the world for Christ. We want to see the Church of Jesus grow, and we get excited about it, but all too often in our excitement, in our planning, scheduling, and working out all the logistics of what we want to do for the Lord, the Lord actually gets left out of the whole process. We’re doing it on our own, in our own power, and with our own understanding, and just like the disciples, we end up catching nothing.
When we look through the book of Acts, what we see is a story of success. It’s a story of the Church triumphant. We start out with a group of unlettered, uncultured people with limited resources. We see that the first disciples started out with little money, no prestige, no college, no seminary, no magnificent buildings, no printing presses, and no access to modern media such as radio, television, or the internet. They went out into the world and faced great obstacles and told the story of a publicly executed Jew. They faced the imperial power of Rome, the hatred and condemnation of the Jewish nation, and the intellectual sophistication of Grecian philosophy—and they turned the world upside down for Jesus!
They did so much with so little, but today, we do so little with so much! We do so little with so much, so I think that we should take a look and see how they did it and maybe we can discover some secrets or some truths about Evangelistic Power.
Act 1:1-11 The former account I made, O Theophilus, 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. (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." (6) Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" (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. (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." (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."
At some point during the 40 days after the Lord’s resurrection and everyone going to back to Galilee, the disciples made their way back to Jerusalem, prior to the festival of Pentecost or Shavuot. It is also called the festival of weeks and is the 2nd of the 3 pilgrimage feasts. So, it’s understandable that the disciples would be back in Jerusalem again because it was required of all Jewish males to be there. It was originally an agricultural festival marking the beginning of the wheat harvest, but to us as Christians, it marks the day that the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and other believers, marking the beginning of the Church and another great harvest--the harvest of the lost world for Christ.
Now, Luke began this letter to Theophilus by speaking of a Act 1:1-2a …former account (he made)…of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up… And this of course was the gospel he had written, the gospel of Luke. Luke was a Gentile, a doctor, and from our SS lesson today we learned that he had written more of the NT than anyone else (37,932 words and 2,158 verses, compared to Paul’s 32,408 words and 2,033 verses).
That’s pretty amazing to me, and it was something I never realized. But something else this tells me is that Luke, being both a doctor and historian, was educated. He was a smart man who believed the Word of God and went to great lengths to write out a truthful account of many of the things that happened during the very early years of the Church. And in our text today I can see three truths that can change your life. Three truths that should impregnate your conscience, reverberate through your soul, and be etched upon your very being. Three things that will help you live victoriously and have power with God and men. Three truths that will give you evangelistic power, beginning with…
1. Recognizing His Presence
Now, this may sound simple, and it really is. But it’s so simple that many people lose sight of it, they miss it. Look at how Luke starts out, he said Act 1:1 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach… “began” both to “do” and “teach.” He began this thing, but it’s not finished by a long shot, is it? No, of course not. It’s still ongoing! He began it, and get this, He is still doing it! He is still teaching it! You may say, “Well, He was taken up. He isn’t with us anymore.” And yeah, you’re right. He was taken up, but friend, He is still with us! He is still acting. He is still working. He is still doing.
You see, in the gospels we see Jesus walking among men in His physical body, but in the book of Acts we find that He is still here in His mystical or spiritual body. In the gospel of Luke, we read about all that Jesus started to do, but in the book of Acts we read about all that Jesus is still doing. He is alive and active, and He’s sitting right here in the pews of this church today because He is in us! He is in us and what we’re going to find out is that He doesn’t want us to do anything for Him, He wants to do something through us! Remember, Paul spoke of the glory of the mystery among the Gentiles, which is Col 1:27 …Christ in you, the hope of glory.
I can remember times in my Christian life when I’d wonder if I was doing enough for the Lord. Sometimes I’d pray that the Lord would show me what else I could do. I wanted so desperately to do all I could for Jesus. But the truth is that He doesn’t want me to do anything for Him, He wants to do things through me. Friends, the Christian life isn’t difficult—it’s totally impossible. There’s not anyone who can do it. I can’t. You can’t. Your mother can’t. Your father can’t. There is only one person who has ever lived the Christian life, and His name is Jesus. And if you are living the Christian life today, that’s only because Jesus is in you and living it through you! Remember, Col 1:27 …Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Do you understand what I’m talking about? Sometimes, if not many times we get to thinking that we can live the Christian life. Like the Pharisees of old, we start thinking that if we do certain things and don’t do other things, then we’re ok, we’re living the life. But friend, the Bible tells us that Php 2:13 …it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. You don’t have it in you, but God, who is in you does! And He works within you both to will, and to do. Do you understand that? To will is the desire to do something, and to do is the means or the ability to do it.
You see, we’re not saved by our own works, we’re saved by the grace of God through faith. So, Jon 2:9 …Salvation is of the LORD. It’s a miracle. The new birth is a miracle. One day, when we’re all caught up to meet the Lord in the air—that will be a miracle too. So, the Christian life commences with a miracle, it will conclude with a miracle, but dear friend, you need to understand that it also continues with a miracle!
Think about this: I heard a story about a preacher in Kentucky who used to keep an old glove on his desk, and every time before leaving his office to go preach, he’d take that old glove and slip his hand into it and flex his gloved hand a few times. Then he’d take it off, put the glove back on his desk, and go preach his heart out. One day he was asked why he did this, and his response was, “To remind myself that the glove is absolutely impotent and powerless until my hand is slipped into it. Then I ask the Lord, “O God, as my hand has activated this glove, I ask you Lord to activate me. Enter me, inhabit my, and live your life through me.”
Now, I love this illustration, and you know, it reminds me that in the OT, in the book of Judges, the Bible says that the Spirit of God wore Gideon like a suit of clothes. It says Jdg 6:34 But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon and that phrase, “came upon” is “labash” in the Hebrew, which means to wrap around, put on a garment, or to clothe oneself with.
Beloved, how would you like for God to wear you like a suit of clothes? To inhabit your humanity? You see, the reason why the early church did what they did with such power is that it wasn’t really them—it was Jesus doing it! You might think that you’re not adequate to do the job, but friend, He is more than adequate. Friend, *the greatest ability you need is availability! Bringing the world to Christ isn’t your responsibility—it is your response to His ability. It is recognizing His presence in your life and letting Him work His will through you!
Men and women like my friend Sergio and countless other missionaries go to other lands and share the gospel like the apostles did long ago. The level of their success back then and today, is contingent upon the level of their willingness to be an empty vessel filled with the Lord and letting Him do the work through them. Their ability to take the gospel to these other lands and make disciples both back then and today is also contingent upon those of us who cannot go to other lands for whatever reason, and our willingness to support their call in any and every way we can.
If we want to live victoriously and have power with God and men. If we want to be radically and dramatically transformed and have evangelistic power to walk in obedience and make disciples, then we need to Recognize His Presence within us, but the 2nd truth is that we must…
2. Receive His Promise
Act 1:4-8 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." (6) Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" (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. (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."
Back in John, chapter 14, before His death and resurrection, Jesus promised that the Father would send the Holy Spirit to His disciples who would reside within them, teaching and reminding them of all that He had said. He said that Joh 14:17 the Spirit of truth…(would) dwells with you and will be in you. And then in the very next verse—practically in the same breath, He said Joh 14:18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. So, He wasn’t speaking of some impersonal force, as in “the force be with you”…He was speaking of Himself, that He would come and live within them.
Then just before His ascension, Luke records that He said Luk 24:49 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." Friends, Jesus didn’t want His disciples to go out and do anything until they were “endued with power from on high.” He commanded them to stay in the city and wait, wait for that power to descend upon them.
But friends, we don’t have to wait any longer because the Day of Pentecost, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit are accomplished facts. It happened. It is an historical fact, and it’s also an ongoing event every time a person believes in Jesus Christ from the heart and places their trust in Him. They are born again and baptized in the Spirit of God, and friends, when that happens in a person’s life, they are filled with the Spirit of power because that Spirit within them is Col 1:27 …Christ in you, the hope of glory. He is Jesus Christ living within each and every Christian!
And friends, I need His power to enlighten me because I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know where to go—but He does. Jesus said that He would guide me.
I also need His power to enable me because like I said earlier, I can’t do this, but He can through me! It’s not enough to know the will of God, because knowing ain’t doin’. I have to do God’s will, and the only way I can do that is through Him, because He will enable me.
And I also need His power to encourage me. He is the Comforter, right? The Comforter means an encourager—He comes alongside of me—the Paraclete, the Helper—who gives me strength and encouragement to carry on and get ‘er dun!
Friends, as Christians, like the believers in the early Church, we will also face persecutions. We’re going to have heartaches and tears. Some of us will be physically threatened, maybe even tortured and killed. The only way we can get through any of this is with the Holy Spirit—Jesus within us, enlightening us, enabling us, and encouraging us. He is the one who gives us power, evangelistic power to change the world!
We need to recognize His presence. We need to receive His promise. And now, real quickly, the third truth is that we must…
3. Respond to His Program
So, what is His program? Well, look at vs 8 again. Act 1:8 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."
His program is for you to give witness to Him! And your witness to Him consists of what you have both seen and heard. Like when Peter and John were in front of the Sanhedrin who commanded them to stop speaking about Jesus, they responded Act 4:20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard."
His program for us—our job is to be a witness to what we have seen and heard. We are to share the love of Jesus. That’s what witnessing is. It isn’t complicated. You don’t have to follow a canned program, or certain steps. You don’t have to memorize the Roman Road, although it is helpful.
Folks, what I’m saying is that we have this tendency to make things harder than they are. We feel like we’re not qualified. We’re scared of being rejected or laughed at. We’re afraid that we might stumble, stutter, or stammer and make fools of ourselves. But you know, none of that matters because to the world, just being a Christian means that you are a fool—a fool for Christ! And brother, sister, I’d rather be a fool for Christ than the wisest of this world!
You don’t have to make it hard. God didn’t call you to be a lawyer. He called you to be a witness. A lawyer argues his case, and folks, you’ll never argue anyone into heaven. But a witness tells what he has seen and heard. It’s as simple as that. It’s as easy as that. Folks, the greatest ability you can have is availability. To be available to His program. To give witness of Jesus Christ and what He has done in your life, and then simply let them know that He can do the same in theirs.
Are you available? What I’d like to do now is to bring up someone I know who is available. Sergio, brother, would you come up here and tell us about your availability to go to another land and tell people of what you have seen and heard, and how that we might be able to assist you in this?
