SERIES: “LESSONS FROM THE EARLY CHURCH”
TEXT: ACTS 1:1-11
TITLE: ‘GETTING READY”
INTRODUCTION: A. A fresh graduate from Bible college was in the pulpit in his first church. He was
extremely nervous because he was attempting to preach without notes. About 10
minutes into the sermon, his mind went blank. He remembered what they had taught
him in homiletics class if something like this happened: just repeat your last statement
and often it would help you recall your next point. So he thought he’d give it a try.
He had just quoted Rev. 3:11where Jesus says, “I am coming soon…” so he
repeated it. His mind was still blank. He thought he’d try it again. “I am coming
soon…” Still nothing.
He stepped out from behind the pulpit and tried it again. This time he said it with
so much force that he stumbled forward, tripped over a flower pot, and fell into the lap
of a little old lady on the front row.
The young preacher apologized as profusely as he could and tried to explain what
happened. The little old lady said, “That’s all right, young man. It was my fault. I
should have gotten out of the way. You told me plenty of times you were coming.”
B. The Bible makes it very plain: Jesus is coming again and it’s going to be soon!
1. The word used here can mean “shortly; without delay” and “suddenly”
2. When I went to school at Milligan, there was a burger place in Elizabethton, TN
that was called “Pal’s Sudden Service”. Now I never ate there. I understand they
had pretty good food but the “sudden service” thing kind of bothered me. I didn’t
know what to expect. I was afraid they’d throw the food at me when I wasn’t
ready.
3. “Suddenly” certainly gives us a good picture of how the Bible describes the time-
line of Jesus’ return.
a. 1 Thess. 5:2-3 – “for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like
a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction
will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will
not escape.”
b. Lk. 12:39-40 – “But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at
what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.
You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you
do not expect him."
C. Jesus came once (as we just celebrated at Christmas time) but He will come again
1. It is a doctrine of scripture that we must understand
a. I think there is entirely too much speculation on this issue
--We try to define, re-define, and over-define the scriptural teaching about this
important event.
b. My basic millenial stance has two parts:
(1). I’m pro-millennial
--I’m all for it
(2). I’m also pan-millennial
--It will all “pan out” in the end
c. The rest of those things make for interesting theological debate but the thing
we have to truly grasp is that it is going to happen!
2. Acts 1:11 – “‘Men of Galilee’, they said, ‘why do you stand there looking into the
sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, WILL COME
BACK in the same way you have seen him go.”
D. Since Jesus is coming back, we need to get ready
1. Several of Jesus’ parables deal with topic of the master leaving his business or
household in the hands of servants. In each one, the master left for a while but
promised that he would return at an unspecified time. The task of the servants was
to be faithful in handling the duties left behind by the master or face the
consequences. They were warned to be ready.
2. Getting ready is not an easy job
--Just getting ready to come to church can be difficult at my house. We have two
adults and two children and getting ready to leave is hard unless we’re prepared.
We have to schedule who is going to be in the bathroom at what times, clothes
have to ironed and ready to wear, the dogs have to be let out, watered, and fed,
etc. Unless we’ve prepared things ahead of time and a plan laid out, we’d
never be ready.
E. Jesus challenges us to get ready for His return
1. I believe a study of the book of Acts will help us accomplish the readiness process.
2. We’re going to do that together and try to model our preparation for Jesus’ return
along the model established by the apostles and taught to the 1st century church.
3. In our text, I see several things that we need to do to help us get ready
I. WE NEED TO PRACTICE THE PRESENCE
A. We have to practice the presence of the resurrected Christ
1. The 1st century disciples had a first-person experience with the risen Christ
2. There are 13 post-resurrection appearances of Jesus recorded in the New Testament
a. Jesus appears at the tomb, on the road to Emmaus, in the upper room, in Galilee, and to an
assembly of believers in Jerusalem.
b. Paul summarizes these appearances in 1 Cor. 15:5-8 – “
3. These followers of Jesus were devastated after His crucifixion and burial
a. They were frightened and unfocused
b. They were confused and unsure about where they needed to be and about what they needed to do
c. Until they encountered the resurrected Christ
--It was this encounter that inspired them to move from being timid, frightened rabble hiding in an
upper room to being people later described as “turning the world upside down.”
4. Before we can practice the presence, we must have a first-person encounter with the resurrected
Christ.
5. There once was a Shakespearean actor who was known far and wide for his one-man show of
readings and recitations from the classics. For many years, he had ended his performances with a
dramatic rendering of the 23rd Psalm. But he had ceased this practice for a number of years.
One night, before his show, he was introduced to a retired preacher who asked the actor if he
would please conclude the program with the 23rd Psalm. The actor said that he would do so if the
preacher would recite it after he was through. The minister agreed.
At he end of the performance, the actor announced that he would recite the 23rd Psalm followed by
the retired preacher doing the same thing. When the actor finished his recitation, the audience rose to
its feet in thunderous applause. The old preacher was then escorted to the stage but the audience
began to gather their coats and prepared to exit the auditorium.
The old preacher began his recitation, his voice somewhat broken from his many years in the
pulpit. As he continued with the recitation, the audience began to put their coats and purses down and
returned to their seats. When the old man was finished, there was no applause. There was no
standing ovation. All that could be heard was the sound of weeping. The audience was so moved that
every eye was full of tears.
After the performance, a newspaper reporter had a scheduled interview with the actor. The
reporters first question was about the audience’s response to the old preacher’s recitation. The
reporter asked, “What made the difference between the two recitations?” The actor replied, “I know
the 23rd Psalm. That old preacher knows the Shepherd.”
B. How do we practice the presence?
1. Through the Holy Spirit
a. The book of Acts is not really the “Acts of the Apostles: as some translations title this book.
(1). It’s really the “Acts of the Holy Spirit”
(2). The work of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament church
b. Jesus promised before He left that “…I will not leave you as orphans” and “…I will be with you
until the end of the age.”
--Jesus taught that His continued presence would be the Holy Spirit
(1). Jn. 14:16-17 – “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with
you forever – the Spirit of truth…”
(2). Jn. 15:26 – “When the Counselor come, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of
truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.”
(3). Acts 1:8 – “Bit you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you…”
(4). Acts 1:1-2 – “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and
teach…”
--Luke is saying that the Gospel he wrote on told the story of what Jesus began to do and teach
which implies that there was a continuation of Jesus’ ministry after His ascension to heaven
which was carried on by the Holy Spirit.
2. Through the church
a. Church is called the “body of Christ” in scripture
b. 1 Cor. 12:27 – “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
c. You can’t “practice the presence” if you’re not present
C. So many people and congregations have spiritually plateaued or are floundering because they have failed
to practice the presence.
1. There has been no real encounter with the risen Christ
a. They attend meeting, give money, do good things, and live basically good lives but they are
practicing religious ritual and not real relationship
b. They have a form of godliness but deny its power
2. They don’t understand the role of the Holy Spirit
--They are terrified when the Spirit is mentioned because they never bothered to really find out what
the Spirit-filled life is all about.
3. They don’t participate in the New Testament church
--There is “my church”, “our church”, and “their church” but not Christ’s church as described in the
book of Acts.
II. WE NEED TO FOLLOW THE PROGRAM THAT IS PROJECTED
A. Jesus has a purpose and goal for His church – to act in His place until He returns
1. Jesus said that e had come to seek and to save the lost and to minister to those who were sick, lonely,
troubled, imprisoned, blind, deaf, and hungry.
2. Notice that in our passage that the disciples want to focus on the kingdom.
a. There’s a confusion about the kingdom
--They think it is earthbound
b. Jesus talks to them about this kingdom all throughout His earthly ministry
c. But He tells them here that the set-up of the coming kingdom is important but it was not something
they needed to worry about.
--They were concerned about the “time” but Jesus said they needed to focus on the “task”.
B. The task that Jesus has given to His church is for us to be witnesses.
1. That word translated as “witness” can refer to both kinds of confirmation used in a trial: evidence
and testimony.
a. In a trial, evidence is more important than testimony because what witnesses say can be distorted
or falsified.
b. The best kind of confirmation is when the testimony and the evidence both agree.
2. Wm. Sanford LaSor: “The evidence we present in our lives is often of greater significance than
the testimony we present by our words. We are witnesses even when we are silent – and
sometimes what we are contradicts what we say.”
C. Jesus also gives them a way to implement the plan
1. He says start with that which is closest to you and move out as far as you can go
--Acts 1:8b – “…and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to
the ends of the earth.”
2. It’s amazing that so many churches believe that they can be haphazard about accomplishing the
task that Jesus set for us.
--They fail to plan so they plan to fail
III. WE NEED TO RELY ON THE POWER THAT IS PROMISED
A. We touched on this subject just a little earlier
1. God knows that we need help and guidance
2. Jn. 16:13 – “But when he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you…”
3. It’s a very simple concept in scripture that we cannot accomplish any task given to us by God
without the help of the Spirit
--Zech. 4:6 – “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit says the LORD Almighty.”
B. Too many time we attempt to accomplish a spiritual task through physical means
In a seminary class on missions, Herbert Jackson told how as a new missionary, he was assigned a
car that would not start without a push. After pondering his problem, he devised a plan.
He went to the school near his home, got permission to take some children out of class, and had
them push his car off. As he made his rounds, he would either park on a hill or leave his car running.
He used this method for several year.
Bad health forced the Jackson family to leave the mission field, and a new missionary came to that
mission station. When Jackson proudly began to explain his arrangement for getting the car started,
the new man began looking under the hood. Before the explanation was completed, the new
missionary interrupted: “Why Dr. Jackson, I believe the only trouble is this loose cable.” He gave the
cable a twist, got into the car, turned the key, and to Jackson’s astonishment, the engine roared to life.
For two years, Jackson had thought his solution was slick but come to find out, it was a loose
connection that kept him from putting the power to work. Self-reliance is never the answer.
CONCLUSION: A. Jesus wants us ready for His return
1. He wants us waiting and watching
2. But He also wants us to be prepared
3. He wants us to have the world prepared, too
--This time when He comes, He won’t come as a non-threatening baby in a manger
but as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords coming to judge the world.
B. The church is Christ’s crucial key in preparing the world for His return.
--We need to be follower of Christ like the one described by Dr. Bob Moorhead:
The Fellowship of the Unashamed
I am part of the "Fellowship of the Unashamed."
The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line.
The decision has been made. I am a disciple of
Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slow down,
back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present
makes sense, and my future is secure.
I am finished and done with low living, sight walking,
small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams,
chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position,
promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I now live by
presence, lean by faith, love by patience,
lift by prayer, and labor by power. My pace
is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my
road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few,
my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought,
compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back,
diluted, or delayed.
I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the
presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy,
ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander
in the maze of mediocrity.
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until
Heaven returns, give until I drop, preach until all know,
and work until He comes. And when He comes to get
His own, He will have no problem recognizing me.
My colors will be clear.
C. I have to ask:
1. As a church, are WE ready?
2. As a person, are YOU ready?
3. Are you willing to do what NEEDS to be done to get ready?
4. Christ offers to get you ready. Will you accept His offer?
