The Result Of Obedience = The Church Series

Sermon Brief

Date Written: September 11, 2013

Date Preached: September 15, 2013

Where Preached: OPBC (AM)

Sermon Details:

Series Title: A Series in Acts

Sermon Title: The Result of Obedience = The Church

Sermon Text: Acts 1:3-9 [HCSB]

3After He had suffered, He also presented Himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4While He was together with them, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. “This,” He said, “is what you heard from Me; 5for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6So when they had come together, they asked Him, “Lord, are You restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?” 7He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by His own authority. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9After He had said this, He was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took Him out of their sight.10While He was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them. 11They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen Him going into heaven.”

Introduction:

Over the past 2 weeks we have looked at a very pivotal truth that we MUST absorb and apply to our Christian walk if we want to serve God as we should!

2 weeks ago we learned the basic truth that Before Victory Comes Obedience…

Now does anyone remember what we learned last week? Well, we learned about what obedience looks like for the believer… We learned that there are 2 parts TO obedience…

1st Part – Seek God’s instruction/guidance

A – Deny your own wisdom

B – Seek God’s wisdom

2nd Part – Trust in God’s instruction and put it into action!

So in the past 2 wks we have learned that if we want to see “victory” in our lives…if we want to see “victory” in our church…if we want to see “victory” in our ministries…

We learned that before VICTORY comes obedience and to be obedient we must seek God’s instruction… trust God’s instruction and put His instruction into action in our lives and in the life of our church!

To be obedient to God in His calling we must turn aside from our own wisdom and turn TO God’s wisdom… then we need to place our TRUST in God’s wisdom and guidance and put into action!

In essence this is what we see Jesus doing here in our passage this morning! He is calling for obedience by those who have followed Him for 3-½ yrs… He instructs them to NOT pursue their own wisdom here, but to defer to His instruction and trust in His instruction and VICTORY will come!

Let’s take a look at these verses this morning and let’s see how this applies to the church and how it applies to US as a fellowship as well!

Jesus IS Messiah! – v3

3After He had suffered, He also presented Himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

Jesus was ALL the disciples ever thought He was... We see in v3 Luke says that after Jesus died and resurrected that He showed Himself to the disciples with 'many convincing proofs'! Luke tells us that Jesus appeared to them over a period of 40 days after He resurrected.

For 3-1/2 years He had been leading them and teaching them, but I can just imagine that during these 40 days with Jesus AFTER the resurrection that the disciples learned more than all the time they had with Jesus before the Crucifixion.

WHY do you think that is? It is because Jesus had DIED and now was RISEN! It is because what they had believed in and hoped for before His crucifixion… what they were afraid they had lost when He was crucified...

What they had thought… what they had feared they had lost… It was NOW being proven true beyond any doubt to them – Jesus was everything they had thought He was! Jesus was the Messiah! Just as Peter had confessed in Matt 16:16(HCSB)16…“You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!”

There was NO longer any doubt in their minds… they knew who Jesus was… they now were beginning to understand where He was leading them!