Promise fulfilled- Gift given-Adventure begins

In Acts 2 the promise is fulfilled, the gift is given, and the adventure begins. The gift of God’s Spirit is given to His followers and the promise of power is fulfilled, so the adventure of taking the gospel to the ends of the earth can begin.  The Acts 2 Pentecost event makes faith personal through the inhabiting of the Holy Spirit; we can have intimacy with God and power for ministry. The Spirit provides new power for ministry, to proclaim the gospel message- to point people to the Person of Jesus. Point people to Jesus not religion, rules or rituals

Like Peter in Acts 2, we present the truth of His life, death and resurrection. The resurrection is the cornerstone upon which the gospel rests. Christ’s resurrection was verified by witnesses, established by Old Testament prophecies, and confirmed by the coming of His promised Holy Spirit. The cross is the greatest triumph in the history of the human race

Acts makes it clear; our God-given mission can only be achieved by the outpouring of His Spirit. You and I are part of God’s plan; your story fits into His story. God has always used His people to move His story forward, bringing His gospel to the ends of the earth. We are an integral part of the achievement of God’s mission. He calls us to His mission; we’re part of His plan; He wants your life and your story to move His story forward in the lives of others and His Spirit makes it possible for each of us.

What are you standing here for?

On our Acts adventure it’s imperative that we walk in their world- go back to the life of the early church for a fresh look at what happened.

To understand Acts we need to be present in their reality; back to the year 60 AD. To see with 60 AD eyes and hear with 60 AD ears; We need to think like a small Jewish sect obediently walking out the life and teaching of their Master; committed to passing on His teaching and continuing His ministry to the ends of the earth; in a political, social and religious culture that is antagonistic to their Master and opposed to His teachings. That’s their reality. We need to remove our 21^st century, Western, middle class glasses and set aside our white evangelical mindset, if we are to understand what God is doing and saying in Acts.

Acts 1 begins with the disciples early steps of obedience; as they follow the instructions of their Master, Jesus;

In Acts 1:1-3, Luke summarizes volume 1 (his gospel- see vs.1-3)
In vs. 4-7 Luke sets the stage for volume 2 (the book of Acts)
And in vs 8 he reveals the focus of vol. 2 (what the book is about) his focus throughout the book of Acts
“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.” Acts 1:8

This promise of power raises a question for the disciples- “So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” Acts 1:6 They hear the word power and they think earthly kingdom, freedom from Roman oppression, our way of life returned to us.

We have similar issues today. We think God, His Spirit, His Word are for us, our needs, our wants, our comfort. Jesus refocuses them on what’s important. Be my witnesses from here to the very ends of the earth; keep the main thing the main thing; e.g. the expansion of My Kingdom, My church to the very ends of the earth.

With that, Jesus leaves them to fulfill His plan.“After Jesus said these things, as they were watching, he was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight.” Acts 1:9 Jesus leaves just as He said He would.

“They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “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.” Acts 1:10-11

 What are you standing here for?”Why did Luke include this? Why say it this way?

Why not say something like- “looking with amazement, they said wow, let’s go tell the others” or “shocked the disciples wandered back to the upper room”. Or like he did in his gospel (Luke 24:51-52…) “While He was blessing them, He left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshipped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.

 Why include- “What are you standing here for?”-  “Why do you stand here looking up into the sky?” Luke’s making a point- “Hey guys, He’ll return, just like He said, when He returns it’ll be like this, but until He returns- get on with it. Do what He told you to do. The angels and Luke refocus on the main thing- fulfilling the great commission; the responsibility of His followers to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth. Don’t stand around looking for My return-go make disciples. I’ll be with you to the end of the age, by My Spirit, so get on with it. And the result is the book of Acts and the ever expanding, triumphant church of Jesus Christ.

Don’t be standing around.

“Keys to our Acts Adventure”

As we begin our Acts adventure, there are some things to watch for- How do we see Jesus in Acts? Watch for Jesus in Acts; how much is He the focus?

Notice who God uses in this book (periodic biographies of characters from Acts)
How did His disciples see the Great Commission? The gospels end with and Acts begins with the great commission (see Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 1:8)

The foundation for our Acts Adventure, what we must always keep before us as we journey through this book is-The author’s intent; what did Luke intend by what he wrote? What was he trying to communicate? What was the Spirit communicating?

Why did Luke write what he wrote the way he wrote it? What was he trying to tell his first readers? It cannot mean to me what it did not mean to them. So we want to be clear about what Luke is saying by understanding why he’s saying it; what’s his purpose, his intent? That’s what gives everything else meaning/understanding.

Luke’s intent in Acts is to describe the continual forward movement of God’s story (His Kingdom, His church); from its Jewish setting and roots, based in Jerusalem with Peter as the lead figure to a primarily Gentile church touching the entire world, with Paul as the lead figure and Rome as the goal (entire world can be reached from Rome) 

The key to understanding Acts is Luke’s interest in the movement of the Gospel (the fulfillment of the Great Commission) orchestrated by the Holy Spirit; Luke sees a global agenda (from Jerusalem to the ends of the world). The gospel moving from its Jerusalem based, Jewish beginnings to becoming a global Gentile dominant phenomenon.

Key purpose- movement from commission to mission by the leading and empowering of the Holy Spirit

The fulfillment of God’s plan, entrusted to the disciples by Jesus, is completely dependent on the Holy Spirit not the disciple’s strength.

“…any statement of purpose that does not include the Gentile mission and the Holy Spirit’s role in that mission will surely have missed the point of the book.” (Acts) How to Read the Bible for all it’s Worth

Acts shows us how the disciples went about fulfilling Jesus’ instructions; what they saw the great commission to be. “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.” Acts 1:8 In preparation for the fulfilling of God’s plan, Jesus gave them very specific instructions. And these are important to understanding Acts

“wait for the promised Holy Spirit” the Holy Spirit is crucial, essential to the ongoing, fulfillment of what Jesus started; so wait for the promised Spirit

“you will receive power” to complete your assignment (the Great Commission) you will need the Holy Spirit’s power

“you will be my witnesses”- tell what Jesus did and taught

“And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in…”- would not be able without the Spirit

They would be His witnesses from here to the entire world only after the Holy Spirit came on them- not before.This is the next step of completing what Jesus started; they were empowered by His Spirit to finish what Jesus began to do and to teach.

We clearly see God’s agenda: First, that his apostles would finish what Jesus began to do and teach on earth. Second, the apostles’ focus would be a global agenda. And third, the assurance of their success wouldn’t depend on their strength, but on the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the certainty of Jesus’ return.

If there’s one thing we see in Acts, it’s the indispensible necessity of the Holy Spirit throughout.

 Acts reveals for us God’s intent for His church; the triumphant, joyful, forward-moving expansion of the gospel- empowered by the Holy Spirit and resulting in changed lives and changed communities.