SERMON NOTES: Acts 1:1-11 (Acts Series 2)

Sermon Notes are not exact transcripts of sermons preached at BBC. Instead, they are simply the notes the pastor took with him into the pulpit and preached from. As a result, the actual sermon that was preached may vary from what is posted.

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Continuing the Work of Jesus
Acts 1:1-11

Introduction

God often uses unexpected people to accomplish his purposes. We can see this in the author Acts, Luke.

Paul tells us in Colossians 4, that Luke was a physician. This is obvious if you read his writings in Greek. Medical people always use medical language, even when they’re not taking to other medical people.

My wife does this all the time. In fact, she been doing since she first started school. Her mom was a nurse as well, and Melinda picked things up from a very early age. When she was 5 or 6 and being tested for the gifted and talented program, the tester was asking names of body parts.
Instead identifying her lower cheek as her ‘jaw’ little Melinda called it her ‘mandible,’ which is the proper name for that bone. (the sad thing is the tester didn’t know the word and marker her wrong on that one!)

Luke does the same kind of thing. For example, in Acts 3, he mentions a lame man and specifically says his ‘feet and ankles’ were made strong. Well, if you’re a divinity student learning Greek, you soon realize that he uses the kinds of words for feet and ankles that a doctor in the first century would.

But God wasn’t interested in Luke’s skills as a physician. Instead, God called Luke to be a theological-historian, recording the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the birth of his Church. Certainly, Luke education would have helped make this possible. But what best qualified him is the fact that he was an eyewitness to many of the events in Acts. In fact, as we will see the narrative takes a different turn and suddenly it is not ‘they’ and ‘them’ but ‘we’ and ‘our’ – Luke became Paul’s traveling companion on his mission trips. Thus, he knew first-hand what God was doing through his apostles.

But he is not just writing history. At the beginning of Luke’s gospel, he writes –
“Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, [2] just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, [3] it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, [4] that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:1-4).

Luke is writing a historical record to help build the faith of Christians, or validate the essentials to those who are being witnessed to.

As we begin to look at part 2 of Luke’s work, we should be quick to see ourselves as part of those groups. Either we are a Christian … [be encouraged to deeper faith, proclamation] Or, we are not yet a Christian…. [see the truthfulness of Christianity, and believe]

1. The Authority that Calls Us to Our Mission (1:1-3)

Luke begins writing in verse 1, “In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. To them he presented himself alive after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.”

Here Luke tells us how he thinks of his two-volume work on the origins of Christianity, which constitutes approximately one quar­ter of the New Testament. He does not simply think of volume one as the story of Jesus Christ from his birth, through his sufferings and death, to his triumphant resurrection and ascension. And volume two as the story of the church of Jesus Christ, from its birth in Jerusalem through its sufferings by persecution, to its triumphant conquest of Rome some thirty years later.

Rather, Luke sees his two volumes as two stages of the ministry of the same Christ. In his former book he has written about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, and so now in Acts, his second volume, he will write about what Jesus continued to do and to teach after his ascension, through the apostles whose sermons and authenticating ‘signs and wonders’ Luke will faithfully record.

Thus Jesus’ ministry on earth, exercised personally and publicly, was followed by his ministry from heaven, exercised through his Holy Spirit by his apostles. Thus, if we wanted to faithful to Luke’s message – and not worry about being cumbersome – we would title this book, “The Continuing Words and Deeds of Jesus by his Spirit through his Apostles.”

But it is not just through his apostles that Jesus continues to work. When Jesus came, he was God in human flesh, dwelling among us, showing us what the Father is like (John 1:14; 14:9-10).
While Jesus was totally unique, perfect in all of His ways, we are given the overwhelming task of representing Jesus Christ to the world as His body. Our ministry in this life is the same as those first apostles – a continuation of words and deeds of Jesus himself.

Ray Stedman makes the point that whether in the Gospels or in Acts, God uses incarnation—
His life manifested through human life— as His strategy to change the world. The book of Acts, he says is the record “of men and women possessed by Jesus Christ and manifesting His life every day. Anytime you find a Christianity that is not doing this, it is a false Christianity.”

Is that what your life looks like? Is it a continuation of the words and deeds of Jesus? If it’s not, then why isn’t it? Perhaps it’s because you’ve seen or understood that before? But I’m willing to guess that even if you had not thought of in those terms, most Christians know that their life is supposed to look like Christ. My guess is, our lives don’t look like Christ’s life, because we are trying to live by our own strength. Thankfully, Jesus says, he doesn’t expect us to do that…. [gospel, grace]

2. The Power that Strengthens Us for Our Mission (1:4-5)

In vv. 4-5 Luke says, “And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Jesus promises the gift of the Spirit to empower them for their ministry. This marks a shift between the old and new covenants. In both covenants, salvation came though the work of the Holy Spirit indwelling God’s people. But in the old covenant, only a select few received empowered by the Spirit for service. Now in the new covenant, God has poured out his Spirit on all of his people. All of them not only have the Spirit who regenerates their hearts and imparts faith for salvation, but all are empowered for service by God’s Spirit. He is the one who makes our mission possible.

Despite the fact that Jesus has given us the Spirit, we often try to do ministry without him.
Often Christian workers with serious spiritual prob­lems refuse advice to stop their work and spend some time alone with God, trying to get their spiritual life back together. Usually they say something like “the work will fall apart if I take a break.”

But the more pervasive problem in the church, is the amount of people who try everyday to do God’s work apart from God’s Spirit. When we do this, Ajith Fernando says, “the most noble work is being done in an ignoble way and God’s name is being dishonored.”

It is easy for us to get distracted and find security in other things that serve as substitutes to the power of the Spirit. Excellent programming, using the best of modern technology, management techniques, and building facilities can produce impressive results.

Someone once said that 95 percent of what hap­pens in many evangelical churches could be done without the Holy Spirit. Many people will come to these churches attracted by the comprehensive program the church offers. People want a weekly religious dose, and, in our entertainment-oriented culture, a church that provides an entertaining pro­gram will attract people, just like a good concert or sporting event will attract people.

But true, Christian ministry is ministry in the Spirit. Without the Spirit’s power, our excellent programs are ultimately futile. So whoever we are and whatever we do for God, our great desire should be to be filled with God’s Spirit, so that our work will spring from his result­ing power.

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones tells about an old Welsh preacher who was preaching at a convention in a small town. The people were already assembled, but the preacher had not come. So the leaders sent a maid back to the house to fetch him. She came back and reported that he was talking to somebody and she did not want to disturb him. They said, “That is strange because everybody is here. Go back and tell him that it is after time and he must come.” She went again and returned with the same report: “He is talking to somebody.” The leaders asked, “How do you know that?”
She answered, “I heard him say to this other Person who is with him, ‘I will not go and preach to these people, if you will not come with me.’” The wise leader replied, “Oh, it is all right. We had better wait.”

3. The Kingdom that Directs Our Mission (1:6-8)

In verse 6, Luke says, “So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’” There is a famous quote from John Calvin about this in his commentary on Acts, where he says, “There is as many errors in this question as words.”

To their defense, Jesus had just promised the coming of God’s Spirit. These disciples would have known their Old Testament well, and so remembered that God said when he would send his Spirit, he would establish his kingdom. Ultimately, Calvin is right, though. For as we are told in v. 3, Jesus had just been teaching them about the kingdom of God. If they had not been pre-occupied with their own understanding of what the kingdom was all about, they would have heard Jesus’ teaching and not asked such a foolish question.

John Stott says, “The verb, the noun, and the adverb of their sentence all betray doctrinal confusion about the kingdom. For the verb restore shows that they were expecting a political and territorial kingdom; the noun Israel that they were expecting a national kingdom; and the adverbial clause at this time that they were expecting its immediate establishment.”

Jesus – ever patient – mildly rebukes and corrects them. “He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.’ [8] But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’”

Jesus is essentially saying, ‘I’m not building that kind of kingdom.’ You see the disciples were kind of right about when the kingdom came, but they were totally wrong about what the kingdom was to be about. Yes, the kingdom of God broke into this world through the ministry of Jesus. And the giving of the Spirit moves that kingdom forward even more, empowering Jesus’ disciples for gospel ministry. But the fullness of the kingdom is yet to come. And when it does come, it will not be bound up with ethnic Israel.

Yes, Paul says shortly before the return of Christ, a large number of Jewish people will become Christians (Romans 11). But notice that Jesus says – He doesn’t say, I’m sending you to all the Jews; He says, you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Wherever you find people, you will be my witnesses. And the kingdom I will build through you, will made up of all kinds of people, from all over the earth.

How many of you have read any of the Left Behind books? How many of you have read Hal Lindsey’s book, The Late, Great Planet Earth? How many if you own one of those ten-foot, folding charts that has all kinds of loops and arrows and little pictures of dragons and angels and stars and beasts, and claims to be a detailed map of the end times?

To any of those things, let me say – be careful. Many Christians today live for end times speculation and nothing else. A couple years ago, we had one couple come here on a Wednesday night looking for a church, and the first question he asked me was not, do you preach from the Bible? or, do you take evangelism seriously? or, do you think there will be a place here for us to be involved and use our gifts? No, the first question was, ‘are you teaching Revelation?’ It is so easy to get caught up in speculation – and that’s what it is, speculation, about the end times.

But what does Jesus’ say? ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.’ Don’t worry about, because God doesn’t want you to know. Instead, what does he say? Focus on my kingdom – the kingdom I will use you to build. He says, be my witnesses all over the earth, to all people. He says, tell people about me!

Even today, we should let anything distract us from our mission to proclaim and build Jesus’ kingdom, from here to the ends of the earth.

4. The Hope that Motivates Us in Our Mission (1:9-11)

“And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. [10] And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, [11] and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

As Jesus ascends back to heaven, the disciples just stand there gaping. And let’s be fair – who could blame them? I’m sure it was a mixture of awe and disappointment. Disappointment in that they had just received back their friend and Savior from the dead, and now he was leaving them again. But awed in the since that here he was ascending to the glory of heaven.

Don’t forget, this is before the time of Superman and all the technological jabberwocky that leaves us bored with the most unbelievable of scenes. And here is Jesus, suddenly rising up into the air, calling them to be his witnesses from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. And he gets smaller and smaller, and probably brighter and brighter, and then he gone, and they’re just gaping in awe.

But then, the angel comes down and brings them back to reality. ‘What are you guys doing? You look like a bunch of mooks staring up into the sky! Didn’t Jesus give you order? Didn’t he tell you where to go, what to do? Don’t worry – just as prophesied and he promised, he’ll be back one day. But until then, get to work!”

Jesus’ return is the hope that motivates us in our mission. Do you see how compelling this becomes as a motive? No one knows when He will come, but everyone must live in anticipation that it could be in their life­time.

More than that, though, in Matt 24:14 Jesus said, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Do you want Jesus to return? Then we had best be getting busy with mission he has called us to. We had best be signing our names on the mission agency applications and going to tell, we had best be stuffing the offering envelopes, so that when we don’t go, those that do will be fully funded, and even more missionaries will be able to go where none have been before.

In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul writes, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”
How do you want to be found when Christ returns? Sitting in front of the tv with a bag a chips in one hand and a Coke in the other? Or do you want to be found working hard at what we have been called to do – continuing the work of Jesus, spreading the gospel to all nations for the salvation of men and the glory of God?

Conclusion

SERMON NOTES: Acts 1-28 (Acts Series 1)

Sermon Notes are not exact transcripts of sermons preached at BBC. Instead, they are simply the notes the pastor took with him into the pulpit and preached from. As a result, the actual sermon may vary from what is posted.

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Mission: Unstoppable (The Message of Acts)
Acts 1-28

Introduction

Back in the 1980’s the Coca Cola Company made one of the worst decisions in the history of its business. Such was the failure of this decision that had the company not reversed its course, it could have went under. What was this decision that now looks so foolish as to be unthinkable?
The creation of ‘New Coke.’

In the 1980’s anything seen as traditional was thrown out. The world – particularly, the western world wanted what was new and hip. And the new times demanded a new Coke. Something that would excite consumers and lead the company through the end of the 20th century. But there was a backlash. The new Coke was not that good. Many said it tasted like ‘flat Pepsi’ – a cheap imitation of Coke’s archrival. Coke sales plummeted; panic ensued in Atlanta (Coke’s national headquarters).

The Coca Cola company decided to reverse course, pull the new Coke and begin bottling it’s original formula for Coke once again. The marketing campaign was clever – They didn’t just bring back Coke. They brought back Coca Cola Classic. New Coke faded away quickly and though Coke still sells diet, cherry, low-carb and non-caffeinated versions of its classic beverage,
It learned that year after year, nothing sells like the original.

Many in the church have failed to learn the lessons that almost cost Coke its business. They want to monkey with God’s design, trying to improve on it, make it more modern, or post-modern; attempting to make it look relevant and appealing to a new generation. But in the end, what church-goers find is a flat copy of everything the world has to offer. As a result, they are left yearning for the original once again. God’s original, simple design for his people.

The best place to find that design and how it is worked out practically is the book of Acts. Over the next year or so, we will spend time looking at God’s word, seeing how he worked in and through his people during the formative years of his Church. In doing so, we hope to more clearly see the cheap imitations that are all around us for what they are, and seek God’s grace to be what he desires us to be – a passionate, loving, dedicated community of men, women, and children, who have made Jesus their savior, and live as his disciple, seeking to help others become his disciples as well.

Today, we want to orient ourselves to big themes in the book of Acts. And establish a framework for the stories and teaching that we will see in the coming months. In doing so, we not only want to prepare ourselves to see what God did then, we also want to prepare ourselves to see what God is doing now, and how we are called to be a part of that working.

Next week we will look more closely at the author and his purpose in writing. But for now we can say that Acts is the second part of a single work written by Luke. The gospel that bears his name is the first part, and this book Acts is the second. He is picking up right where he left off in the gospel and is writing to show how the gospel of Jesus Christ spread from a handful of Jewish believers to the very ends of the earth.

1. Preach the Gospel

A. Preach for fulfillment of the great commission

Luke reminds us of the apostle’s mission – Jesus says to the 12, “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (1:8). Many Christians – our denomination included – view this verse primarily in terms of geography. So, Jerusalem is the city in which you live, Judea and Samaria the State and Country, and of course the ends of the earth, the entire globe.

But, that’s not what Jesus has in mind here. Instead, he is speaking theologically about first-century social boundaries. Jesus is telling them, the gospel will go to their own people the Jews.
Then it will go those Samaritans that were ethnically mixed half-Jews and half-Gentiles. Finally, full-out, pagan Gentiles will hear the gospel through the apostles.

This is exactly what we see happening in Acts. In fact, the book can be outlined according to verse 8, with the progress of the gospel moving from Jerusalem to Judea and to the ends of the earth. In Acts, Luke shows us that by God’s direction and empowerment, the apostles were obedient to the task God had called them.

B. Preach for the growth of God’s kingdom

The result of the gospel being taken to the ends of the earth is the growth of the Church. While it is certainly true that not everyone who heard the gospel believed, the evangelistic preaching of the apostles did bring results.

• Acts 2:41 – So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
• Acts 2:47 – praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
• Acts 5:14 – And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,
• Acts 6:7 – And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
• Acts 9:31 – So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
• Acts 11:24 – And a great many people were added to the Lord.

This is what happens when Christians share the gospel – people respond, and God’s Church grows.

This is where the title of our series comes into play. I love watching the old Mission Impossible television series. My dad used to tell me about my grandma and him watching it together when it was first broadcast. He said my grandma used to pick her lip and get all upset because it looked like they were going to get caught and not make it. I thought that was funny until I started watching the series. Even though I knew they wouldn’t kill off any of the main characters, I find myself tensed up during the third act where something goes wrong and the IMF team is in serious trouble and looks like they are all about to get caught.

As you read the book of Acts you may be tempted to do the same thing. You see Jesus giving them this enormous task – preach the gospel to the ends of the earth. And you see roadblock after roadblock and you think, ‘How are the apostles going to handle this? What’s the Church going to do about that?’ And what you find time after time, chapter after chapter is that the mission God has called them to is not impossible, but unstoppable. Nothing can stop the progress of the gospel; nothing can stop the growth of God’s kingdom; nothing can stop God’s plan to save people from every people, tribe, language and nation. Not even the Roman government – the most powerful nation in existence at the time – can stop God’s work of the gospel.

This is exciting because as Christians, we inherit the same calling as Jesus’ apostles. It’s exciting to know that we are part of that unstoppable mission to make disciples of all nations. So as we read about the courage and boldness of these Spirit-filled Christians, we should see that, not just as foundations for the church, but models and example for us to follow.

2. See God Working

A. See his providential control

The book of Acts presents example after example of God’s providential control. In Acts 2, Peter preaches Christ to his country saying, “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it” (Acts 2:22-24).

Peter clearly places the blame for the killing of Jesus on the Jews who handed him to the Romans and the Romans who crucified. But is also quick to say that what these men did, they did “according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.” Acts show beyond a reasonable doubt that God is in control. He is sovereignly working out his plan in history for his glory and the good of his people.

More than just the good of their salvation, God also shows in providential in caring for his people and growing his church. In Acts 5, we read that some of the apostles “were arrested and put … in the public prison. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, ‘Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life’” (5:18-20). Later in Acts 16, we see Paul and Silas in prison as well. There, we read about a “great earthquake, [that shook] the foundations of the prison. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.” One time, God sends an angel, the other he causes an earthquake. But times, he is demonstrating his sovereign control over all the heavens and the earth, and his commitment to his people’s good and his kingdom’s growth.

B. See his fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy

After Christ rose from the dead, the scales as it were fell from the disciples’ eyes and they began to see with clarity that plan of God being worked out around them. Part of this was the fulfilling of what God has prophesied in the Old Testament Scriptures. Specifically, the apostles show that,

• In fulfillment of Joel 2, God poured out his Spirit on all people at Pentecost.
• In fulfillment of Isaiah 53, Jesus would come as a lamb led to the slaughter as a sacrifice for his people.
• In fulfillment of Psalm 16, Jesus came as the Messianic Son of David, and God raised him back to life after his crucifixion.
• In fulfillment of Psalm 118, Jesus’ own people would reject him as Messiah, though he was the chief cornerstone of their salvation.
• In fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham, Gentiles would turn to Jesus as Savior.

Do not misunderstand what prophecy is all about. It’s not as if God just knows what is going to happen. In his omniscience – his all-knowing – he does know what will happen. But more than just knowing, he ordains. That prophecy is fulfilled, because God brings it about. Thus, prophecy is not so much knowing what will happen, as much as God saying, this is what I am going to bring about. The book of Acts is clear that God exercises his sovereignty as he brings about the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.

C. See his calling to salvation

Perhaps the most glorious display of God’s sovereignty is seen in his calling people to salvation.
From start to finish, salvation is seen as an act of God’s grace.

• God calls people to repent through the gospel– “Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (2:38-39).
• God grants repentance – “When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, ‘Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life’” (11:18).
• God appoints eternal life – “And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed” (13:48).
• God opens the door of faith – “And when they … gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles” (14:27).
• God opens hearts to respond to the gospel – “One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul” (16:14).

When Paul was in Corinth, he was discouraged and about to give up. But God one night, God spoke to him in a vision saying, “‘Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people’ (18:9-10). God tells Paul, ‘Don’t give up – I’ve chosen to save many in this city and want you to be the means to do it; preach the gospel in Corinth.’ What was Paul’s response to the reality of God’s sovereignty in salvation? Luke tells us, “[Paul] he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them” (18:11).

If the salvation of the lost depended on us and our ability to preach well, or if the salvation of the lost depended on their ability to discern spiritual and overcome their sin nature, then no one would be saved.

The truth that gets us up in the morning; the truth that emboldens us in preaching the gospel; is the truth that God is sovereign in salvation. It’s like telling an old fisherman that the fish are biting in the lake that day – Knowing God is author of salvation should excite us to throw our line in and start fishing for men.

3. Live as the Body of Christ

One of the most amazing things about Acts is the description given to the Church. Though not without its problems, the picture presented of God’s people in Acts is one of a loving Christ-centered community, worshipping God in spirit and truth, caring for one another with compassion and grace, preaching and living out the gospel in the midst of sin-ravaged culture.
Several things marked the church as the body of Christ.

A. Live in unity

Over and over again, we see what true fellowship looks like from the early church. Over and over again, Luke tells us that God’s people lived in unity with one another. Soon after God’s dramatically pours out his Spirit at Pentecost we read, “And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,” (Acts 2:44-46).

Again, in Acts 4:32 – “Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.”

B. Live by prayer

Fourteen out of the first fifteen chapters of Acts and many of the later chapters give prominence to the place of prayer in the life of God’s people. As soon as Jesus ascended to heaven we read that, “they returned to Jerusalem … and … Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers” (1:12-14).

Moreover at every major turning point in the book of Acts, we read that God’s people were in prayer.

• They pray for wisdom as they choose Matthias to replace Judas (1:24);
• the Holy Spirit comes on Pentecost while 120 disciples are in prayer (1:14);
• the gospel moves forward among the Samaritans with prayer (8:14);
• Paul receives his calling to go to the Gentiles in the midst of prayer (9:11);
• Cornelius is praying when he receives a vision from God telling him

We have spent so much time talking about prayer, I cannot help but think that at least some of you are sick of hearing about it. But its clear from several things – especially our low attendance for our prayer service – that we have yet to see just how important prayer is for our lives.

If you haven’t seen it already, as we look to the book of Acts, you will see how the vital prayer is to the body of Christ. You will see how the power and growth of the early church came from prayer. Because through prayer, the power of God itself came down upon God’s people. Likewise, we must learn to be a people of prayer.

C. Live with persecution

The early Christians get threatened, beat up, mocked, kicked out of the temple and synagogues – they are mistreated in every way you can think of. But, again, this should be seen as normal for the Church.

Conclusion

Ajith Fernando is a Bible teacher and director of youth for Christ in Sri Lanka. He shows how cheap imitation of the world in the name of presenting a new church can be remedied if we simply look at the book of Acts. Its message is timely and desperately needed today. He says,

To a society where individualism reigns and where the church also seems to have adopted a style of community life that “guards the pri­vacy of the individual,” the early church presents a radical community where the members held all things in common.

To a society where selfishness is sometimes admired and each one is left to fend for himself or herself, Acts presents a group of Christians who were so committed to Christ and the cause of the gospel that they were willing to sacrifice their desires for the good of others.

To a society where pluralism defines truth as something subjective and personal, Acts presents a church that based its life on certain objective facts about God and Christ—facts that were not only per­sonally true but also universally valid and therefore had to be pre­sented to the entire world.

To a society that denies absolute truth and therefore shuns apologet­ics and persuasion in evangelism in favor of dialogue, Acts presents a church that persuaded people until they were convinced of the truth of the gospel. Instead of aiming at mutual enrichment as the main aim of inter-religious encounter, as many do today, the early church pro­claimed Christ as supreme Lord with conversion in view….

In an age when many churches spend so much time, money, and energy on self-preservation and improvement, Acts presents churches that released their most capable people for reaching the lost.

In an age where many churches look to excellence in techniques to bring success, Acts presents a church that depended on the Holy Spirit and gave top priority to prayer and moral purity.

In an age when many avenues are available to avoid suffering and therefore many Christians have left out suffering from their under­standing of the Christian life, Acts presents a church that took on suf­fering for the cause of Christ and considered it a basic ingredient of discipleship.

Let us begin praying that God will speak to our minds and hearts in the coming months, and lead us back to a view of ourselves as his people – his church – that doesn’t try to improve on the original we will see, but will embrace the original pattern found in Acts with humility and passion. So that our lives will be changed and God’s kingdom will grow by the power of the gospel.