The
Task at Hand
Text: Acts 1:1-8
The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began
both to do and teach, 2 until the day in which He was taken
up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom
He had chosen, 3 to whom He also presented Himself
alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during
forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. 4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart
from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water,
but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." 6 Therefore, when they had come
together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the
kingdom to Israel?" 7 And He said to them, "It is not for
you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the
Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me* in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the end of the earth." NKJV
Subject:
God’s Purpose
Theme:
Understanding God’s purpose
Proposition:
As believers we need to understand God’s purpose for His His church.
Introduction:
·
This
morning we are going to start a preaching series through the book of Acts. Until
the middle of the 2nd century this book did not have a title, and
then the term Acts of the Apostles was coined. In all reality the title Acts of
the Holy Spirit would probably be more accurate.
·
The
book of Acts takes place right before the accession of Christ, and shows us the
birth and the expansion of the Church.
·
Acts
should be a blue print for how the church should operate. In Acts thousands of
believers were added to the church.
·
The
book of Acts takes the church from 120 believers in Jerusalem to a worldwide
movement.
·
The
book of Acts is where we as Pentecostal Christians get our doctrine of the
baptism in the Holy Spirit which is a core belief for us.
·
There
are numerous theologians who believe that you cannot get any theology from Acts
that this kind of Christianity has passed away with the first century church.
The Bible says all scripture is inspired of God and is profitable for doctrine.
·
The
book of Acts shows us how we should operate as a church and as individual
believers, and it is clear we should operate in the anointing and power of the
Holy Spirit.
I.
Our
purpose is to not concern ourselves with the affairs of this life. 6 Therefore,
when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this
time restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 And He said to them, "It is not for
you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own
authority
a.
Background
for the text:
i.
Jesus
has risen from the dead.
ii.
He
has spent forty days with the believers declaring the things of God to
them.
iii.
Jesus
is leaving them with His last instructions before He ascends.
iv.
The
last instructions you give someone before you leave are usually very important.
b.
With
the state that the world is in it is very easy to be concerned with what is
going on, but we have to understand God is in complete control and this thing is
going to play out exactly has He has ordained.
c.
When
we become overly concerned with the affairs of this world we lose our focus on
God’s purpose.
i.
Jesus
said do worry about the things of this world, but first seek the kingdom of
God
ii.
Paul
said a soldier does not concern himself with the affairs of this
life. 2
Tim 2:4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this
life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. NKJV
d. Illustration:
If you chase two hares, both will escape you.
e.
Illustration:
A
person gets into an automobile to drive from one point to another. In between
their destination the person takes out their cell phone and starts texting, and
as a result of their texting they end up in an accident and do not reach their
destination. Why? They got their attention off of their original purpose.
f.
Application:
We have to be focused on our purpose in order to be able to fulfill it.
g.
Transition:
So what is our purpose?
II.
Our
purpose is to wait on the Lord. 4 And
being assembled together with them,
He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise
of the Father, "which," He said, "you
have heard from Me;
a.
To
“wait for the promises” means to wait with expectation of a fulfillment.
i.
There
is a lot of desperate hope going on, but what we need is expectation for God to
come through.
ii.
Illustration:
Missionaries Dick and Margaret Hillis found themselves caught in China during
the Japanese invasion. The couple lived with their two children in the inland
town of Shenkiu. The village was tense with fear, for every day brought
terrifying reports of the Japanese advance. At the worst possible time, Dick
developed appendicitis, and he knew his life depended on making the long journey
by rickshaw to the hospital. On January 15, 1941, with deep foreboding, Margaret
watched him leave. Soon the Chinese colonel came with news. The enemy was near
and townspeople must evacuate. Margaret shivered, knowing that one-year-old
Johnny and two-month-old Margaret Anne would never survive as refugees. So she
stayed put. Early the next morning she tore the page from the wall calendar and
read the new day’s Scripture. It was Psalm 56:3—What time I am afraid, I will trust in
thee. The town emptied during the day, the next morning Margaret arose,
feeling abandoned. The new verse on the calendar was Psalm 9:10—Thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek
thee. The next morning she arose to distant sounds of gunfire and worried
about food for her children. The calendar verse was Genesis 50:21—I will nourish you and your little ones.
An old woman suddenly popped in with a pail of steaming goat’s milk, and another
straggler arrived with a basket of eggs. Through the day, sounds of warfare grew
louder, and during the night Margaret prayed for deliverance. The next morning
she tore the page from the calendar to read Psalm 56:9—When I cry unto Thee, then shall my enemies
turn back. The battle was looming closer, and Margaret didn’t go to bed that
night. Invasion seemed imminent. But the next morning, all was quiet. Suddenly,
villagers began returning to their homes, and the colonel knocked on her door,
For some reason, he told her, the Japanese had withdrawn their troops. No one
could understand it, but the danger had passed. They were safe. Margaret glanced
at her wall calendar and felt she had been reading the handwriting of
God.
b.
God
loves to see faith in His children.
i.
The
apostles were rebuked for their lack of faith.
ii.
Jesus
commends Gentiles who show their faith in Him.
c.
Application:
Isa
40:31 But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall
mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall
walk and not faint. NKJV
III.
Our
purpose is to be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
5 for
John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit
not many days from now."
a.
God
has promised us His Spirit and His desire is for us to receive that promise.
b.
Baptized
means:
Immerse,
submerge for a religious purpose, to overwhelm, saturate, baptize (from
The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament © 1992 by AMG International,
Inc. Revised Edition, 1993)
i.
God
wants you and me to be immersed, and saturated in Him.
ii.
Remember
the Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity.
c.
Illustration:
A submarine is totally submerged in water.
d.
The
baptism in the Holy Spirit is for today.
i.
Jesus
said, “4 And
being assembled together with them,
He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise
of the Father, "which," He said, "you
have heard from Me;
ii.
Peter
said that through the great and precious promise we partake of the divine
nature.
iii.
Paul
said the promises of God are yea and amen in Christ Jesus.
e.
Application:
We will not fulfill the purpose God has for us apart from being baptized with
His Spirit.
IV.
Our
purpose is to receive power.
8 But
you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you
a.
This
is a gospel of power!
i.
Paul
said he did not come in word only but in power.
b.
The
word power here is the Greek word dunamis and it means power that is capable of
getting things done.
c.
We
have the same power Jesus had.
John
14:12 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do
he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My
Father. NKJV
i.
Because
He goes to the Father and will send the Holy Spirit.
d.
Greater
is He that is in you than he that is in the world.
i.
There
is world overcoming power within in you. Actually you and I are immersed in
power because we are immersed in the Holy Spirit.
e.
Illustration:
To experience the power of God I have to be plugged into the source of the
power.
i.
If
you’re a radio and you are not plugged in you are not going to have any power to
fulfill your purpose.
ii.
Humans
power their bodies with food, which is our power source for our bodies. Without
the proper nutrients we will not have any power.
iii.
Jesus
said man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that precedes from the
mouth of God.
iv.
We
have whole denominations that do not have any power because they simply do not
believe the Word of God.
f.
Application:
To receive power we have to believe the Word of God.
V.
Our
purpose is to be a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ. and
you shall be witnesses to Me* in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the end of the earth." NKJV
a.
According
to a nationwide surveys conducted by the Barna Research Group regarding
evangelism:
i.
9
out of 10 American adults (86%) cannot accurately define the meaning of the
“Great Commission.”
ii.
7
out of 10 adults have no clue what “John 3:16” means.
iii.
Only
about half (53%) of born again Christians feel a sense of responsibility to tell
others about their faith. In other words, nearly half of born again Christians
do not think that it is their personal responsibility to share their religious
beliefs with those who do not know Christ.
b. martus
or
martur (ýma/rtu$ý,
NT:3144)
(from
Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson
Publishers.) This
is where we get our word martyr from and it means with your life, and that is
what our witness should be is with our life.
c.
The
witness is a life of power.
i.
Rom
14:17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and
peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. NKJV
d.
We
have the answer to the problems of this world. We have supernatural power to
overcome the god of this world.
i.
Mark
16:17-20 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will
cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they* will take up serpents; and if
they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands
on the sick, and they will recover." 19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to
them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. 20
And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and
confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.* NKJV
e.
Application:
The purpose of the church is to be a witness of the power of the gospel by
living in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Conclusion:
This morning we have gained a better understanding of God’s purpose for us: to
be a witness to this world by walking in the supernatural power of the Holy
Spirit.
Objective
type:
There are those who believe this kind of Christianity does not exist today, but
the Word says “God is the same yesterday, today, and forever and as long as the
church is in this world we are to be baptized in the Holy Spirit and walk in
supernatural power.
You
don’t have to go out and preach to be a witness all you have to do is go out and
live the gospel message in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Powerful
Last Sentence:
All things are possible to him who believes.
