Sunday, September 11, 2011

[Matt's Messages] "You Will Be My Witnesses"

“You Will Be My Witnesses”
From Jerusalem to Pennsylvania: The Book of Acts
September 11, 2011
Acts 1:1-11

The title of this new series will be “From Jerusalem to Pennsylvania,” and we’ll see where that title comes from when we get to verse 8.

Which says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The title for this message also comes from verse 8.  “You will be my witnesses.”

“You will be my witnesses.”  First spoken by the Lord Jesus to his apostles. And also applicable to us today.

“You will be my witnesses.”

That’s what we’re going to talk about today.

Acts chapter 1.

“In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.”

Notice how this book of Acts begins. It begins a lot like another book that we are very familiar with, doesn’t it?

What book?

The Gospel of Luke, right?

The Gospel of Luke was also addressed to a fellow named “Theophilus.”

Luke began with these words:

“Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.”

Our last long series was the book of Luke and we called it “Certain of Jesus.”

Just this last Spring, we finished 66 messages on the Gospel of Luke.

This book is the sequel.

The book of Acts was also written by Luke, and it is the sequel to the Gospel of Luke.

I almost called this series, “Certain of Jesus Volume 2.”

Because that’s what it is.  Verse 1 again.
 
“In my former book, Theophilus, [that’s the gospel of Luke] I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven [Luke 1-24], after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.”
           
The book of Acts stands on the shoulders of the gospel of Luke.

And it is as Paul Harvey used to say, “The rest of the story.”

Acts is a very important book because it’s the only one of its kind.

How many gospels are there in the Bible?  There are four. And that’s pretty important.

The Lord must wants us to get a picture in our minds of who the Lord Jesus and (v.1) “all that he began to do and teach until the day he was taken up to heaven.”

But there is only one book of Acts! If we didn’t have this, we wouldn’t know the rest of the story and what happened next. Very important.

It’s interesting that it says in verse that it was “all he BEGAN to do and teach.”

I think that means that the book of Acts continues Jesus’ ministry.

Even though he is taken up into heaven, he continues to do and teach through His apostles and by His Holy Spirit.

The traditional title for this book is the Acts of the Apostles.  And that’s a good name for it because the book does tell us what they apostles did in the spreading of the gospel from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.

But it’s also been called the Acts of the Holy Spirit because it’s a divine book about God’s action, not just the action of men.

If it wasn’t for the Holy Spirit, there would be no acts of the apostles!

But it’s also true that Acts is the continuation of the story of Jesus.  The Gospel of Luke Volume 2.  The sequel.

Verse 2 says that Jesus through the Holy Spirit gave instructions to the apostle he had chosen.

What’s an apostle?

Am I an apostle? Are you an apostle?

Not in this sense.

An apostle is an authorized representative. A delegated representative that is authorized to carry someone message and spread it.

These men were authorized, empowered, in a unique way in history to spread the good news and teaching of Jesus Christ.

They had been given a mission.  V.8 says it this way, “You will be my witnesses.”

And here’s the first reason.
       
You will be my witnesses...

#1. BECAUSE JESUS IS ALIVE.

Look at verse 3.

“After his suffering [what’s that? That’s the Cross], he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.”

We learned in Luke that the kingdom of God, the reign and rule of God, was Jesus’ favorite topic to teach on.

Do you see how this is the sequel to Luke?

“After his suffering, after his death on the cross, Jesus showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.”

Jesus is alive!

We celebrated Jesus’s resurrection this year with 10 baptisms.

We believe that Jesus died, and then ROSE again!

Jesus alive!

And that makes all the difference.

Are you struggling with your faith right now?

I have a pastor friend who is going through a lot of doubts and questions. He’s had a hard time over the last few months and has been asking himself if he truly believes.

And when we talked recently, I brought him back here.

Jesus is alive.

The fact of the resurrection.  If Jesus is not alive, then we are fools to be here today.

We are wasting a perfectly good Sunday morning. I could be sleeping in!

But if Jesus is alive, then that changes everything.

We’re going to see this again and again and again in the book of Acts.

The central message of the apostles wherever they go is the cross and the resurrection!

Jesus is alive, and they are witnesses to that truth!

Verse 3 says that Jesus gave these men “many convincing proofs that he was alive.”

This was no ghost. This was no vision or dream or nightmare.

This was not something they ate causing a mass halucination.

Jesus was (and is) truly alive . . . again!

He appeared to them over a period of forty days. The Bible recounts at least 10 appearances to various followers over those forty days, and there might have been more.

And they were convinced that Jesus was alive.

Are you convinced that Jesus is alive?

Then be His witnesses.

Tell other people. They won’t know unless we tell them.

One of the reasons why I decided to do the book of Acts now is that I believe that the next year of our church is a year of outreach. It is a year of reaching out to our community with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We have a number of events planned to help us to do that. Regular programs like MOPS and Family Bible Night and events coming up like Game Day on the big screen, like a women’s outreach in December, like our Wild Game Dinner in February, a concert in March, and a car cruise-in in the Summer.

But those events are nothing if we are not telling people personally about Jesus.

Be His witnesses.

If you believe that Jesus is alive, be His witness.

#2. BECAUSE JESUS WILL SEND HIS SPIRIT.

Now, remember where we are in the story.

Jesus is alive and he’s teaching his disciples about the kingdom of God and giving instructions about what they are to do after he leaves. V.4

“On one occasion, while he was eating with them [and dead men don’t eat!], he gave them this command: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’”

Something important had not yet happened.

This begins the countdown to Pentecost.

Jesus told his apostles to stay put in Jerusalem because something important had not yet happened but was about to.

“Wait for the gift.”

What is the gift?

It is the gift of the Holy Spirit of God.

“The gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.”

When was that?  Many places in the gospels, but especially John 14-16, the Upper Room Teaching.

And then he reminds them what John the Baptist said in Luke 3. “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He [Jesus] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

Baptism is a key word in the book of Acts. We’re going to see a lot about baptism.

Here Jesus promises a greater baptism than John’s.

A baptism with the Holy Spirit.

It’s coming in “a few days.”  “A few days.”

Well, that got them interested!  And later when they met together with him in the vicinity of Bethany on the Mount of Olives, they asked more about it.  V.6

“So when they met together, they asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’”

Is that what you mean by baptism with the Holy Spirit?

Are we going to get our kingdom back?

Israel has been a political football since Babylon took us over 600 years ago.

Babylon, then Persia, then Greece, then Rome.

Do we get our kingdom back now?  Do we get everything that the Old Testament promises us?

You’re the Messiah, and you’re back from the dead.

Is the kingdom next?

Is this kingdom now?

No. There is something else that comes first. It’s the age of witness.

V.7 

“He said to them: ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.’”

When are we ever going to learn that lesson?  When are we ever going to stop hearing people setting dates for the Kingdom to arrive in its fullness?

The Harold Campings of the world will always be among us.

We keep ignoring that verse.

But Jesus says, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.”

Instead. V.8

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The dates and times of the kingdom are privileged information. For God’s eyes only.

But that doesn’t mean that we don’t have something important to do.

Our job is not to know when the end of the age will come but to be busy until it does.

Busy as witnesses.

“You will be my witnesses.”

A witness is someone who gives testimony. A witness is someone who has seen something or experienced something and can tell others about it.

These men were eye-witnesses of the resurrected Christ!

And you and I are ear-witnesses.  We have heard the good news that Jesus is alive, and we need to tell others.

How do we do that?

In the power of the Holy Spirit. V.8

“But you will receive POWER when the Holy Spirit comes on you,” and that will enable you to be my witnesses.

They didn’t have the power of the Holy Spirit yet.

But you know what?  We do.

We live on the other side of Pentecost.

And the same Spirit that enabled the apostles to turn the world upside down is the same Spirit who has come to live inside of each Christian today!

He’s the same Spirit that is among us right now in this room.

And He’s the same Spirit that will enable you and me to open our mouths to witness to Jesus this year.

This week!

Is there someone right now in your life that you need to open your mouth and witness to about the Lord Jesus?

The power of the Holy Spirit is available to you to talk to them.

It’s not a spooky thing. Just do it.  Trust in that power and act. Trust in that power and talk.  Open your mouth and witness.

The apostles did.

We’re going to see that again and again and again as we read the book of Acts.

In the face of persecution and fears and trouble and trials and suffering, they were bold to witness to Jesus.

And the power to do that came, not from themselves, but from the gift of the Father, the Holy Spirit of God.

Notice where Jesus says they will witness.

In Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Now, it’s popular for us to apply that to ourselves and see where we live as Jerusalem and our region as Judea, and the people we’d rather ignore as Samaria, and the mission field as the ends of the earth.

And I think that’s a helpful little way of thinking about this strategically.

But that’s not what Jesus was saying.

Jesus was saying that his apostles would witness in literal Jerusalem, and then in Judea and Samaria, and then take the gospel to the ends of the earth.

And that’s exactly what happened.

Jesus’ prophecy came true.

In fact, verse 8 is the outline for the book of Acts.

Chapters 1-7 are about the gospel in Jerusalem.
In chapter 8, it makes it to Judea and Samaria.
And by chapter 13, there are missionaries named Paul and Barnabas who start taking the gospel to the ends of the earth.

And one day, it reached Pennyslvania.

One day, the gospel made it here.  This is the ends of the earth.

There are other ends of the earth–like what Zeke and Meagan Magill told us about in Papua New Guinea.  There are ends of the earth all over the world.

But we are far from Jerusalem and the gospel has made it here.

One mistake that we can make in the book of Acts is to think that every verse is there to teach us how to do church or what to expect ministry to look like today.

There will be things we learn about that along the way.

But the book of Acts is not at all times prescriptive, giving us a prescription for today.

The book of Acts is primarily descriptive, telling us the amazing things that God has done in history.

He has raised Jesus from the dead.
He has sent His Holy Spirit to empower His people.
He has birthed a church with a mission.
And that church has carried out that mission so that the gospel has gone from Jerusalem to Central Pennsylvania!

There is more work to be done.

But we can rejoice in what God has done!

And now, from Jerusalem to Pennsylvania, we can also apply what we learn to our lives in Pennsylvania.

And a key application is to be his witnesses.

Who are you going to tell?

You will be my witnesses.

#1. Because Jesus Is Alive!
#2. Because Jesus (Has Sent) His Holy Spirit!

And #3. BECAUSE JESUS WILL COME BACK AGAIN!

V.8 was Jesus’ last words on earth to his disciples.  V.9

“After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.”

We call that the ascension.

How did God do it? Where exactly did Jesus go?  Why did Jesus go in this way?

We don’t know. The Bible doesn’t say.

But the Bible tells us what happened. Jesus was taken up to heaven and a cloud hid him from their sight.

He was gone.

Just like that, he was gone. V.10

“They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. [I assume that’s angels.] “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here 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 into heaven.”

The same Jesus, the same way.

He was taken up. He’ll come back again some day.

Now, get busy.

Our job is not to be staring up in the sky waiting for Jesus’ return.

Our job is to get busy being his witnesses until He does.

And He will.

Jesus is coming back again.

The same Jesus, the same way.

He is coming back.

To judge the living and the dead.

To bring salvation to all who are waiting for Him.
And judgment to all who are not.

To bring that kingdom that He talked about in all of its fullness.

Are you ready for His return?

Do you believe that He is alive?
Do you believe that He sent His Spirit?
Do you believe that He is coming back again soon?

Then Be His Witnesses.

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