Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Acts: Enlarging Our Vision
Acts: The Beginning Of The Acts Of The Holy Spirit Part 2 06/15/08
Sermon Series: Acts: Enlarging Our Vision
Message: ‘The Beginning of the Acts of the Holy Spirit’ pt.2
Text: Acts 1:6-26
Introduction: Evangelist D.L. Moody was scheduled to have a crusade in England. An elderly pastor protested, “Why do we need this ‘Mr. Moody’? He’s uneducated and inexperienced. Who does he think he is anyway? Does he think he has a monopoly on the Holy Spirit?” A younger, wiser pastor rose and responded, “No, but the Holy Spirit has a monopoly on Mr. Moody.” (10,000 Sermon Illustrations)
O that, that could be said of us…that the Holy Spirit has a monopoly on our lives.
· How our lives would be different?
· How our families and marriages would be different.
· How our church would be different.
· How our communities would be different
If the Holy Spirit had a monopoly on our lives.
Transition: Open your Bibles to Acts 1:6 (Page 830 in the Bibles under the chair in front of you) For it’s there we’ll discover that we enlarge our vision of God by the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
I. Acts 1:6-8 The Power of the Holy Spirit
Read: Acts 6-8
I find it interesting that these early disciples have the same fascination with the end-times that so many Christians have today.
· A mountain of books have been written attempting to describe the events and the times surrounding Jesus’ return.
· A series of movies on the end times have found their way into mainstream movie theaters.
· Bible studies are offered in many churches on an on-going basis to discuss end-time…timing.
· Modern day prophets have predicted when Jesus will return…OK, modern day false prophets because they were wrong.
· There are even Bibles that highlight, in various colors, the different prophesies concerning the end times.
Yet…listen again to how Jesus responds to their question about the end-times.
Read: Acts 1:7-8
When your focus is on the end, you miss the now.
You see, this is why I don’t linger when discussing the return of Jesus…Let me paraphrase Jesus’ words to make my point…and His.
· Don’t worry about the WHEN, in fact, it’s none of your business.
· Instead, let me tell you HOW I want you to live knowing that I am returning one day….Live in the presence of the Holy Spirit, depend upon His power in your life, listen to Him, tell those closest to you about me, then tell all those you come into contact with. When you run out of people to tell, send others to tell more people about me.
The disciples wanted greater knowledge. Jesus wanted them to have greater power.
Knowledge of God’s Word is essential…but it will have no practical meaning in your life if you’re not living out God’s Word by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The disciples wanted to be part of God’s program. Jesus wanted them to experience God’s presence.
Throughout the Book of Acts, the disciples display amazing courage, and boldness.
This is a major departure from how they acted when Jesus was dying on the cross. You remember how they all fled and hid in fear…the great Peter even denied knowing Jesus…not just once but three times.
But now…
· because Jesus was victorious over death and proved to them that he was alive,
· because they had the promise that Jesus would be with them through the Holy Spirit
· they were willing to look beyond what they could do, to what only God could do.
These two things will also make a significant difference in our lives as well.
· As we spend time with Jesus; through his Word, prayer, in worship and service, Jesus will make Himself known to us and will prove to us that He is alive.
· When we believe that God has promised to always be with us through the Holy Spirit to empower and teach us, then we too can have the same courage, the same boldness that we will see displayed in the lives of the disciples in the Book of Acts.
By enlarging our vision of God we too can look beyond what we can do, to what only God could do. And God will accomplish great things through us.
Transition: Power, Holy Spirit power is ours…but not until Jesus was gone…that’s why the disciples had to wait.
II. Acts 1:9-11 The Period of the Holy Spirit
Read: Acts 9-11
I believe the disciples needed to see Jesus ascend into heaven to have assurance that he was going back to the right hand of the Father. The ascension of Jesus into heaven is a vital part of our theology of the resurrection.
· Jesus is alive and ruling the universe as we speak.
· There is great security in knowing that God the Son, Jesus, is seated beside God the Father…and in control of all things….even when we can’t see how.
But there is something more that the angels said that is important here. The angels tell the disciples that Jesus will return. That may have helped feed their curiosity concerning the end-times, but I believe, it also shows the window of special activity for the Holy Spirit. In other words, the angels were defining the period or scope of the Holy Spirit’s principal work on earth…He will serve in Jesus’ absence.
Read: John 16:7 ‘But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.’
We have the promise of God that his followers will have the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives until Jesus returns…we will never be left alone to build God’s kingdom.
Transition: When Jesus ascended into heaven, I’m glad the disciples didn’t just stand around looking into the sky with their jaws dropped. They remembered Jesus’ command to wait in Jerusalem…and they obeyed.
III. Acts 1:12-26 The Providence of the H S
Read: Acts 1:12-26
The original 11 disciples, the women who followed Jesus, along with Jesus’ mother and brothers went to Jerusalem and they waited…but they were not inactive.
Remember last week I said that
· Waiting for God is not being lazy.
· Waiting for God is not going to sleep.
· Waiting for God is not the abandonment of effort.
· Waiting for God is trusting in His perfect timing.
We find that while the disciples waited they decided it was time to replace Judas who had betrayed Jesus and left their group. How did they come up with this idea? It was the providential work of the Holy Spirit. Let’s look at how the Holy Spirit guided them to this action.
First: When they went to Jerusalem they could have stayed in separate homes, but they chose to stay together…to lean upon the security and comfort of the community of faith they had established. They needed each other, just as we need each other to walk faithfully before God
· To find strength when we are weak
· To find hope when we are disillusioned
· To find help when we are in need
· To find security when we are in fear
We find it here…we find it together.
Second: They began praying together when they returned to Jerusalem. The phrase ‘constantly in prayer’ could also be translated ‘cleaving to’, or ‘persistent in prayer.’ This reveals that they sincerely dependent upon God to show them how to live and what to do.
· Anyone need help with this? How to live? What to do?
· Then pray…pray often and pray together.
Third: They read Scripture and acknowledged their need to obey God’s Word. They could have said ‘Well, lets go down to Mordicai’s Burger Palace and get a Mc Mutton sandwich while we wait.’ Instead, Peter stood up and read portions of Psalm 69 and 109. From those texts they learned that a replacement for Judas was warranted by God’s Word.
· Here we have precedence for seeking answers to our problems, not from Oprah or Dr. Phil, but from God’s Word.
Fourth: They chose Judas’ replacement wisely from those who followed Jesus. There were no written prerequisites so they used godly discernment when God’s Word is not specific concerning their situation…
Just as we should do when we need to make a decision that God’s Word does not clearly address.
Fifth: They trusted in the sovereignty of God by casting lots. Casting lots was an OT way of determining God’s will. They didn’t know it, but it too was a tool of the providential work of the Holy Spirit.
· By the way, this is the last time casting lots is used in the NT. Why? Because after the Holy Spirit comes, he will be the revealer of God’s will to God’s people.
The disciples didn’t have much according to the worlds standard, but that had God, His Word, prayer and each other. And it was all they needed.
· The disciple were in obedience
· The disciples were in fellowship
· The disciples were in prayer
· The disciples were in the Word
· The disciples were trusting in the sovereignty of God
How many wrong decisions, poor choices can we avoid if we followed the disciple’ example and trust in the recourses God provides?
God did great things through those early disciples. Just imagine what God can do through us today.
Conclusion
ILL: Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote…What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. (Ralph Waldo Emerson. Leadership, Vol. 12, no. 2.)
Like the destructive power that lies dormant in sleeping volcanoes, it is impossible to estimate the saving power that lies dormant in God’s Church. Why is Holy Spirit power dormant in so many churches?
· Perhaps it’s because too many Christians refuse to accept their responsibility, refuse to acknowledge their calling to be witnesses for Jesus Christ where they are and where their influence reaches.
· Perhaps it’s because they think that can’t do everything, so they do nothing.
· Perhaps it’s because they are content knowing that few work and many just watch.
That’s not a description of the early disciples and I pray that’s not a description of life here at Calvary Baptist Church.
ILL: Martyn Lloyd-Jones, was not known as a Pentecostal preacher. When he pastured at Westminster Chapel in London, he was known as the great preacher of Reformed theology. Near the end of his life--and some say at the very pinnacle of his ministry--he asked his congregation a question. He said, "I want to talk to you today about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. You may call it what you want, but I want to know, have you experienced the fullness of the Spirit? I know all of you listening to me come as I do from a Reformed background. But it's not good enough. I know that all of you would want to say to my question about the Holy Spirit, 'Well, we got it all at conversion; there's no need for any more experience.' Well," said Martyn Lloyd-Jones, "I have only one other question to ask you. If you got it all at conversion, where in God's name is it?" (Robert L. Roxburgh, "The Right Ambition,")
Let us never be satisfied doing only what we can do…w/o the power of the Holy Spirit.
For the power of the indwelling holy Spirit is essential to enlarging our vision of God….so we can build God’s Kingdom…together!