Acts 1:1-11. A Thrilling Life of Power
A study of the faces of most Christians in church would suggest that most are bored to tears. They may open their mouths when a hymn is sung but even then there is little else to suggest people are captivated by what they are involved with. And what do they talk about during the week!
The book of Acts is a source book about the early church, it is the story of a rapidly spreading flame. It is called ‘the Acts of the Apostles’ but most of the work was actually done by ordinary Christians inviting others to hear the gospel. This is why some have called the book ‘The Acts of the Holy Spirit’ or ‘the Acts of the Lord Jesus through the Holy Spirit acting through his church’.
In the gospels Jesus gives his life for us, in Acts he gives his power to us.
In the gospels we find the seeds of the church, in Acts we learn of the growth of the church.
In the gospels we learn of the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus, in the gActs we learn of his ascension and exultation.
In the gospels Jesus is the perfect man, in Acts imperfect men begin to live the Christian life.
The book of Acts is so important as it gives us the formula for satisfying, effervescent, relevant lives. For any who want their lives to count, the book of Acts gives a new perspective. A church leader admitted,
“I’ve been a deacon in my church for years. I’ve built a building, I’ve raised funds, I’ve sat on committees but one thing the church never gave me was a relationship that would make my life exciting.”
Many Christian’s lives are as bubbly as a two day old glass of ginger ale! The book of Acts tells us of a young, virile church that can take on the world.
The Beginning
The book of Acts is about what Jesus continued to do through his Spirit after he returned to be with his Father. The book was addressed to Theophilus, just as Luke’s gospel was. It is likely that Theophilus was a real Roman of note but the word significantly means ‘God Lover’ and on that basis the book is for all who are concerned about what God thinks of this world. It is the same God who continues to act today as acted in Old Testament times and through Jesus:
“In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote all about what Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven . . .” Acts 1:1-2
Biblical authority
Luke then adds a very important phrase that explains why the apostles have been given by God, the authority they have in the church:
“ . . .after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.” Acts 1:2
In the New Testament there are many references that support the idea that the authority of God was given to the apostles for the church to be built on. God’s church, his city, depends on this authority, and what they taught is given to us in the New Testament.
“The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” Revelation 21:14
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16
“I (Paul) give you this charge: Preach the Word . . . For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.” 2 Timothy 4:1-3
“I (Paul) have become its servant (the church’s) by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fulness . . .” Colossians 1:25
“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword . . . it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
This is why all churches should make it their prime aim to teach the word of God in ways that people can understand and remember.
The Baptism of the Spirit
Jesus used to teach while eating meals with his disciples. How parents should do the same when eating with their children.
“On one occasion, while eating with them, he gave them this command, ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you heard me speak about. For John baptised with water, but in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:4-5
The disciples must have been unsure what Jesus meant. Would it be like the occasion when Jesus went to the river Jordan to be baptised and a dove flew down onto him and the voice of God was heard introducing Jesus as God’s own Son? The Rabbis said that when Israel was restored there would be an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Would there be a new political power or would they be able to walk through walls? It is likely that they were full of a burning anticipation about what they were to experience. Their thinking was still unclear because they then asked:
“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel.” Acts 1:6
They realised that Jesus was God’s King or Messiah, but were still unclear about the nature of his kingdom. Jesus then gives them some magnificent teaching, they were his final words to them on earth:
“It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 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 1:7-8
Jesus has come to establish the kingdom of God but this will only fully materialise in the future when he returns. His church is here to prepare for this and we also have been given the Holy Spirit to enable us to continue with the task of establishing the kingdom of God both at home, in our environment and to the ends of the earth.
In the book of Acts, Chapters 1 to 7 are based in Jerusalem, chapters 8-12 are in Samaria and chapters 13 on concern the rest of the world. Let us look at:
The Mission
The Mission’s extent
The Missions’ power
The Mission
“You will be my witnesses.” Acts 1:8
A local vicar told me of a recent survey revealing that over 80 per cent of church goers never talk about their faith or invite others to learn about it. Yet here we have our commission. It is similar to the Great Commission given at the end of Matthew’s gospel:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations . . .” Matthew 28:18-19
This is not optional. The king has spoken, he has ordered and we must obey. People all over the world need to hear the news.
But someone may say, ‘Isn’t that specifically said to the disciples who were trained and empowered by God for this task?’ No, that is not true! All subsequent Christians have been baptised not just with water but with the power of God,
“ . . . baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” Matthew 28:19
What a shame it is that the initiation into the Christian life is so often considered to be just a formality. We know this power was not just for the disciples because Jesus then continued,
“ . . . and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:20
Just as the disciples had to go and make disciples of all nations, so must subsequent believers, we must continue to fulfil the commission Jesus gave to his apostles and his church. The noun ‘witness’ comes 13 times in the book of Acts. The noun ‘to witness’ comes a further two times. Indeed, “witnessing” should be something more than an intermittent church activity. It is the very essence of who we are as Christians.
Our Mission is to point people to the Jesus the apostles told us about, not to a modern prophet. The Bible repeatedly warns against false prophets, both in the Old and New Testaments. Today it is common to see smart young men about twenty years of age, wearing a white shirt and a conservative tie. They are very pleasant. They like to get into a conversation with someone, often discussing modern ethics, and then go on to say,
“Wouldn’t it be nice if there were still prophets today!”
Sounds all so reasonable until the teaching of the Mormons, the Latter Day Saints is gone into. They began in the nineteenth century with a young man who had a vision of meeting an angel, Moroni by name, who told him where to find some buried golden plates. By the plates were some gigantic eyeglasses which enabled him to read these plates, plates that nobody has seen. Joseph Smith, the young man’s name, said he did copy the text of the plates which he said were written in ‘reformed Egyptian’, a language no-one knows of. When this paper was shown to an Egyptologist he commented that it was a naive fraud, using signs of the Zodiac. The Book of Mormon tells an incredible story, that the Aaronic priesthood still exists and that the lost ten tribes of Israel became the Nephites in America. Of course there is no evidence that such an ancient people ever existed. Although claiming to be a translation of these ancient plates, the so-called translation is plagiarised, using words from the Authorised Version. The Mormon message is an incredibly complex system of works under the guise of being a form of Christianity, which it certainly is not.
The Christian message is about Jesus, the God who entered his world and allowed himself to be crucified as an atoning death for us. He rose from the dead and then ascended back to heaven where he prays for his people on earth, a people who have been given a purpose for now and promised a future with him for eternity. This message is so simple but utterly life-changing. We have this message to present to the world, but to be effective the world must see that the gospel has changed us.
There are many people who tell stories about how the change in a person’s life led them to trust in the power of Christ. Henry Morton Stanley was sent by the editor of the New York Times to find Dr David Livingstone who seemed to have disappeared in central Africa. When he found Livingstone, he stayed with him a short time and was most impressed by his sincerity. He wrote,
“If I had been with him any longer, I would have been compelled to have become a Christian and he never said one word to me about it.”
The apostolic flame spread across the Roman world because they not only spoke about their faith but they ‘walked the talk’. Even the soldiers who were guarding Paul, when he was under house arrest in Rome, saw the difference.
“What has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.” Philippians 1:12-14
The gospel calls us to an absolute honesty that reaches to the depth of our personalities and to ask whether we are really substantiating the gospel by the way we live. It is all too easy to have the talk but not the walk.
One way people can see our sincerity is not just that we love to talk about our Lord but we do so with passion. When Peter spoke to thousands in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost he spoke with great passion, he ‘warned’ them, ‘he pleaded with them’ and as a result they were ‘cut to the heart’ and three thousand were baptised as followers of Jesus. When Stephen spoke to the religious authorities just before he was stoned to death, he was gloriously passionate. When Paul was defending himself before King Agrippa and the Roman Governor Felix, who could have had him executed, he again spoke with passion about Jesus. Paul’s objective was clear as Agrippa responded to his defence,
“Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to become a Christian?” Acts 26:28
George Whitefield, the 17th century evangelist, was due to speak in Edinburgh at 5 am one morning. A Christian noticed that the man walking beside him was the great philosopher, David Hume. He was amazed, so he asked Mr Hume why he was there,
“I thought you didn’t believe the gospel.”
Hume replied,
“I don’t, but he does.”
Whitefield believed with all his heart, just as the apostles and so many of the early church were passionate about the Lord Jesus.
It leads us to ask, are we as passionate about our Lord today? It is a mark of an authentic witness. It is a great honour to be selected as one of His ambassadors, but he calls us to be faithful.
The Mission’s Extent
When the disciples were told the extent of their mission they must have been very worried. Jerusalem was a hotbed where the anti-Jesus rulers had control. Why witness here and not in safer Galilee? Samaria was the capital of a people who hated the Jews, why there? The ‘ends of the earth’ was an awesome mission field - seemingly impossible for such a small band of people. Yet within a generation the gospel had spread throughout the Roman world and beyond.
They did start in Jerusalem. Then Philip went on a successful mission to Samaria where he confronted sorcery and magic. Then he moved down to share the gospel with the Philistines.
Sergey Genadievich Nechayev (1847 – 1882) was an early follower of Karl Marx and a radical revolutionary communist. He was convicted of murder but in reality the aristocracy were afraid of him and his followers. Czar Alexander II was murdered by this group. Nechayev wrote the famous ‘Revolutionary Catechism’ which describes how the Communists thought. He said, just before he died in prison of tuberculosis,
“Revolutionary man is a consecrated man. He has neither his own interests nor concerns, nor feelings, nor attachments, nor poverty, not even a name. All for him was absorbed in a single exclusive interest and one thought and one passion, revolution.”
His beliefs and motives were wrong but surely we can admire his dedication to his cause. Such dedication was seen in the apostles and early church.
The Mission’s Power
The book of Acts is all about the remarkable work of the Holy Spirit working through all sorts of people. It is remarkable how most unlikely people become people of power. Why does God use some more than others to expand his kingdom when all have been called to this role?
When Kent Hughes became a Christian at school he longed that others should come to Christ. Their mid-week Bible Study was poorly attended. So he prayed about this. Then a schoolfriend joined him and he became a Christian. Within two months the group grew from 15 to 90 and subsequently to 120! There were only four nights, out of one and a half years, when someone did not become a Christian.
We had a small Christian Union in our college when I committed my life to Christ. Over the next two years 60 students in our college made commitments to Christ. It was such a joy to see the Christians praying for friends and getting close to them. At dinner on Sunday evenings the Christians would not sit together in hall but dispersed themselves around the hall. We would invite those around us back to our rooms for coffee. We would then explain that we were going down to the evangelistic talk held in a local church and our friends would often come with us. In those two years not a week went by without someone committing their lives to Christ. What was striking was that nearly all of us were just young inexperienced Christians.
Look how God used the uneducated Gladys Aylward in China. Read the story of D.L.Moody who became a Christian after his uncle reluctantly gave him a job as salesman in his shoe shop, but only on the condition that he attended church. His Sunday School leader, Edward Kimball, led him to Christ when he visited the shoe shop. Moody then moved to Chicago with the ambition to sell shoes but there he started a Sunday School and worked hard to attract youngsters from all over the city and from all social strata. It went so well that he was asked to start a church with himself as pastor. He subsequently became one of the most successful evangelists, travelling widely. God put his Spirit into D.L.Moody and used him mightily.
It is this same power that God gives today to those who urgently long to fulfil his commission.
BVP
