I woke with these words running on a loop through my soul:
I hear
the sound, of a mighty rushing wind, and it’s closer now than it’s ever been. I
can almost hear the trumpet…
Okay, turn in your Bibles to the book of Acts. It'll be just
one page from where we left off last week as we closed out the book of John.
Your Bible might say, Acts of the Apostles, or
something like that. Really what we see is the acts of the Holy Spirit through
the apostles, through the disciples, through the Church, through you.
The Author is the Holy
Spirit. The writer however, is Luke and Luke wrote another book in the Bible;
you know what it is?
Luke.
You're so smart, yes, Luke wrote Luke, and he wrote Acts. Luke
is the only Gentile writer in the Bible.
Luke and Acts were written about 60- 69 AD.
It covers about 30 to 35 years; the Ascension of Christ and the
early days of the Church.
It's twenty-eight chapters; the second longest book in the New
Testament. Can you guess the longest? I'll give you a clue. Luke wrote Acts.
Luke?
Yes, Luke wrote the first and the second longest books in the
New Testament. The Book of Luke is actually the third longest book in the entire
Bible.
Acts picks up where the Gospels left off. It starts in
Jerusalem and ends in Rome. It's Jesus handing the reins to the Church.
Acts bridges the gap between the Gospels, and the Epistles. Without
the book of Acts we would go from the Gospels to the epistles (letters to the Churches).
Then, we’d wonder; how did the Churches get here?
Acts, is the birth of the Bride of Christ; the birth of the Church,
the story of us growing and glowing and going, on our way to becoming, the
glorious Church without spot or wrinkle.
Amen.
Acts 1:1
The former account I made, O Theophilus,
of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
The Book of Acts is like a sequel to the Book of Luke, which he refers to here by, the former account.
Back then they didn't write books like we do; they were on scrolls.
The longest you could make a scroll would be around 32 to 35 feet long. If it
got longer, it would be too clunky, and heavy.
Luke and Acts may have been written together, however,
due to size, they needed to be separated into two scrolls.
As we read, Luke’s writing, we’ll notice, he ain’t no
fisherman. He uses a more eloquent, educated, scholarly, Greek.
Luke was a doctor, according to Colossians 4:14, and he ends
up traveling with the Apostle Paul.
O Theophilus, who’s that? He’s also mentioned
at the beginning of Luke’s Gospel. Luke 1:1-4.
Theophilus, means lover of God, so, some people say that Luke
was writing to all people that are lovers of God. However, when you look at the
context and the way that it's written, it’s apparent, he’s actually writing it
to a person by the name of Theophilus.
Additionally, it’s
believed that Luke was Theophilus’s indentured physician. Back then doctors
weren't like doctors today; they were servants. A rich dude would “own” a
private physician.
They both became followers of Christ. Luke is freed to travel
and respectfully keeps Theophilus informed, so he may know for certainty, the
things he’d learned about Christ. Luke 1:4.
Luke was inspired by
the Holy Spirit, to simply inform His friend, Theophilus, about Christ, and
Christianity. He didn’t set out to write Scripture that’d inform the whole
world about Christ and Christianity.
As we walk in the love
of Christ, those simple acts, inspired by the Holy Spirit, are the very
things that Jesus uses to make an eternal difference in others and then others
and others to the uttermost parts of the world.
Amen.
That's what Luke did.
That's what we are called and able to do as well. Plant Seed.
Notice, it says, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach.
Jesus wasn't done.
God's not dead.
The Holy Spirit isn't finished.
Philippians 1:6, says, He who began a good work in
you will complete it.
When on the cross, Jesus said, tetelestai. He wasn't
saying, I'm done, we're done, we're finished. He was saying, paid in full,
the work of redemption is complete. I finished My
race, I've fought the Good fight; I've won.
So, the Father said, Well done, and raised Him from the
dead, which we just celebrated, on Resurrection Sunday.
Now with that Victory, with Jesus's Victory, the family
is restored. His Holy Spirit can now be in us and He can call us His
Brethren. We can be about our Father's business, the business Adam and Eve
crashed and burned about 4,000 years prior; be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, have dominion and subdue it.
So now, after finishing His mission and ministry on the planet, He can toss us the keys, the keys
that were meant for Adam and Eve, and He can say, take her for a spin, go into
all the world preach the gospel, make disciples, finish the race, fight the
good fight, and win.
So, one day He can say, Well done, and raise us from the
grave. Hallelujah forever and ever, amen.
Okay, the next couple verses say:
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.
Before giving the Great Commission, and ascending into heaven,
Jesus appeared time after time, to multiple people, over a forty-day period,
providing many infallible, undeniable, irrefutable, proofs.
These were documented by
eyewitnesses, and historians, at different times, from different people, at
different angles to provide infallible, historically accurate, proofs as to the
legitimacy, the authenticity, of the writings of the Bible.
Researchers call this, Textual Criticism. The more sources and
the closer to the original, the better.
For example, Homer’s Iliad has 1,565 copies in existence
today. With that many, nobody questions authenticity.
There's only one other ancient collection that has more authenticated
copies than Homer's Iliad.
The Bible.
Just counting the Greek New Testament, the Bible has 5,843 manuscripts;
almost four times more than the Iliad.
If everything from Aristotle were stacked one on top of the
other, it’d be about 4’ high.
However, God has preserved a mountain of undeniable evidence.
If just the ancient New Testament manuscripts were stacked one on top of the
other, it’d be a mile high.
No other ancient manuscripts, on any other subject, even comes
close.
You see, God knew that over the ages, the enemy would try to
snuff out His Light.
Multiple scholars, scientists, archaeologists, historians,
brilliant minds, have scoured the Scriptures, to try to disprove it.
However, those who follow the undeniable proofs come to the
same conclusion. Jesus died on a Roman cross, was raised to life on the third
day, and is indeed exactly who the Bible says He is.
Those who stay the course, find the Bible historically,
archeologically, geographically, scientifically, medically… completely,
accurate.
This journey ends with many skeptics accepting Jesus as Lord
and Savior.
See:
The Case for Christ, movie
based on true story and book by, once atheist, journalist, Lee Strobel.
Evidence that Demands a Verdict, book by
ex-skeptic, Josh McDowell.
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;
WAIT. What? WHY?
On day one; Resurrection Day, Jesus appeared to them and said,
As the Father sent Me, I send you. Then, He breathed on them and said, Receive
the Holy Spirit. John 20:21-22.
Now it’s day 40. They (especially
Peter) are chomping at the bit. Same mission. Great Commission. Infallible
proofs. Let’s roll, to the uttermost parts of the world!
But, Jesus says, hit the brakes, boys.
You need Great Provision to fulfill the Great Commission.
Much of provision, is preparation. You know, if you're a
painter, or a carpenter, much of the job is just preparing the job.
Scripture says: Unless the Lord build the house you labor in vain. Psalm 127:1.
God provides where he guides
Zechariah 4:6 says: Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit
says the Lord.
If God is in it, it's bigger than you. If He's calling us to
it, we can't do it on our own, we can't do it alone.
Jesus tells us in John 15:5: I am the vine; you are the
branches. Whoever remains in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; but without Me
you can do nothing.
Okay, so we’ll wait for the Promise of the Father.
What is, the Promise of the Father?
In the Upper Room, on the night He was betrayed, Jesus spoke
much about the Promise of the Father. He told them, the Father will send you, the
Helper, the Spirit of Truth, to abide in
you; John 14:15-16. The Holy Spirit, whom the Father
will send, will teach you, and remind you, of all I’ve
said to you; John 14:26. And He will testify, of Me; John 15:26. He will guide you into all truth and tell you things
to come; John 16:13.
Jesus said, I will pray, and the Father will send, the Holy
Spirit.
So, putting it all together, it becomes clear, the Promise
of the Father, is the Holy Spirit.
Now, travel a few days and a few chapters, from the night He
was betrayed, to the day He was raised; John 20:21-23.
Jesus appears to them in that same Upper Room. He breaths
on them and says, Receive the Holy Spirit.
A couple things to consider and remember:
Ø This is the first appearance of Jesus to His disciples, after His resurrection.
Ø To intentionally get close enough to someone to breathe on them, is a very personal, intimate act.
Ø The word for Spirit, and breath, and wind, in Greek, is the same: pneuma.
Ø The word for Spirit, and breath, and wind, in Hebrew is the same: ruach.
Genesis 2:7; God breathed life, at the birth of man. Now,
Jesus breathes Life at the rebirth of man; John 20:22.
This is our first picture of the very personal, intimate act
of being born again. As the personal, intimate act, of husband and wife, births
new life.
2
Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed
away; behold, all things have become new.
5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized
with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Today, we baptize with water as an outward sign of an inward
transition. A public proclamation of the personal, intimate, act that Jesus has
breathed new life into us. We’ve repented, invited Jesus in; and now, we’re
born again.
That decision, to accept Jesus as Lord of your life, is
Salvation. It’s immediate. You cannot earn it. Jesus already paid for it. Some
call it, Sanctification.
However, that’s not the end. You’re expected to grow in the
grace and knowledge and wisdom and discernment and anointing and Power of the
Holy Spirit, to the fulness of Christ, growing and going, on our way to becoming,
the glorious Church, the glowing Bride of Christ, without spot or wrinkle. Some call it, Glorification.
That’s why Jesus told them to wait. There’s more to it than
just saving your own skin. More to it than just being born again. There’s more,
than just learning verses. They’d been learning straight from the Living Word, for years,
yet, He said that’s not enough. Wait. You need more than information in your
head—you need My Power in your heart. You need to be baptized in the Holy
Spirit.
When talking about being baptized with the Holy Spirit, some get nervous, other get excited.
It looks like the disciples got both:
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.
The verses above look different, out of place, on purpose.
Do you like strawberry ice cream?
Did that question sound random and out of place?
Good. It was supposed to.
Have you ever been explaining something very serious to
someone and then just as you’re about to share the most important part, out of
the clear blue sky, they say something totally unrelated?
Have you ever done that to anybody?
Jesus is telling them. Okay guys, remember, I told you about
the Promise of the Father. You must wait in Jerusalem, because as John
baptized in water, you’re about to be baptized with the Holy Spirit—
They say, “So, now will You finally, kick some Roman butts?
And MIGA? Make Israel Great Again? We oughta celebrate! You want some strawberry
ice cream?”
Jesus is kind and answers, but quickly gets back on track to
the serious matter at hand.
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.”
You shall receive Power, the word
for Power is, dunamis, where we get our word, dynamite.
Wait until you’re endued with Power—dynamite Power.
You’re going to need it, to be My witnesses.
Why do they need Power, to be witnesses?
Because, they were witnessing to a very hostile world. All but
John was martyred.
As a matter of fact, so many Christians were murdered for the witness of Christ,
that the Greek word for witness (martus) is where we get the word, martyr.
To be a witness for Christ, you must lay down your life.
If anyone come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. Matthew 16:24.
To be My witness, you need My help. You need to be filled with
My Holy Spirit.
Then, your witnessing will carry you from Jerusalem, to Judea
and Samaria, to the uttermost parts of the world.
That’s the pattern. That’s how it works. The Holy Spirit
starts with you. Working on your heart, your attitude, your actions. Then He
expands your influence, to family and friends; then neighbors and neighborhood,
until you are radiating His Presence everywhere you go, to the uttermost parts
of the world.
They did it. In about thirty years, that small group, with no
media, by word of mouth and on foot, they reached the known world, all the way
from Jerusalem to Rome.
Acts 1:9-11
Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was
taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And
while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men
stood by them in white apparel, 11 who also said,
“Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven?
This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so
come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.
HE’S COMING BACK!
The angel is talking about His 2nd coming. Not the rapture.
The rapture is when He doesn’t come all the way back to earth.
He does a fly-by and from the clouds, calls His own, to come Home. The rapture
can happen at any moment. Are you ready? 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.
Zechariah 14:4 and Rev. 19 talk about the 2nd coming. This
is when He returns to the earth with His saints. It will be at the end of the seven-year
Tribulation.
His feet touch down where they lifted off, on the Mount of
Olives. When they do, the mount will split in two, north to south.
That’ll be the beginning and ending of the battle of
Armageddon, and the start of the Millenium; when Jesus rules on earth for 1,000
years.
A couple things taking shape right now, that lead to these end
time events.
Destruction of Damascus: Isaiah 17. This is
likely to take place near the start of the Ezekiel 38-39 war. Within the last
couple days, Iranian top terrorist was eliminated by Israel in an attack on the
Iranian Embassy compound in Damascus. Things are really heating up now. Which
only fuels the already kindled flames of the:
Ezekiel 38-39 War. Russia,
Iran, Turkey, Sudan, Libya, and others, will come against Israel, and no
other nation stands with her. Not even the U.S.
Two scenarios regarding U.S. One Good, one bad.
1) America is full of Christians, leaders, congress, white
house, mostly Christians. The rapture happens, and there’s nobody left to side
with Israel. This is the scenario we pray for.
2) America continues her current trajectory, and she is too
corrupt to stand with Israel, the apple of God’s eye.
No matter what, this same Jesus that went up, from the Mount
of Olives, is coming back. We must make sure we’ll be with Him, and do
everything we can to make sure all those He’s given us, are with Him, too.
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet,
which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey.
A Sabbath day's Journey is 2,000 cubits.
Does that clear it up?
Sure, except for one thing. What’s a cubit?
It’s the distance from elbow to tip of middle finger. About
18-20”
So, 2,000 cubits is about 2/3rds of a mile.
You couldn’t work on the Sabbath; however, you could walk—but only
if the walking wasn’t working.
So, they established this distance. Anything over 2,000
cubits, was considered work.
Some say the distance was figured out by measuring from the
ark to the furthest tent, during the wilderness wandering.
13 And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room
where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas;
Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and
Judas the son of James. 14 These all continued with one accord in
prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with
His brothers.
Mother Mary was there. That’s it. No further mention of Mary
in Scripture. Some say she stayed in John’s house in Jerusalem, others say she
went with him to Ephesus. But she’s never mentioned again. Not deified, not
worshipped. She simply disappears from Scripture.
Notice, they are in one accord.
Unity of the faith is the fertile soil for birthing the Power
of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus prayed in John 17; Father, make them one as we are
one.
The power of unity works both ways, Good and bad.
They were in one accord, at Babel, and God said, now nothing
they imagine to do will be impossible to them. Genesis 11:6.
Unity of evil, caused America to bow to a murderous mob
shouting “Give us what we want or we’ll burn down the system”
Christians come together here, in one accord. Jesus first.
Period. No denominations. Collection plates. Just waiting, together, as one, on
Jesus, His Holy Spirit…
And we will see in our next study, this unity gave birth to
Power that changed our world, forever.
Acts 1:15-26
And they cast their lots
Waiting isn’t easy. Especially for guys like Peter.
Previously, Jesus had told them to meet Him in Galilee.
They went, and while they were waiting, Peter got in a boat.
Now, while they wait, Peter says we need to take a vote.
Peter quotes Psalm 69:25, 109:8, and correctly decides
someone needs to replace Judas.
Before Jesus picked His disciples, He spent all night in prayer.
Here, they say a quick prayer and toss a coin; cast lots.
That’s the last time we ever see the casting of lots
There was a time for it to be used by the Lord to determine
His choice, but after the Holy Spirit comes, we follow His lead, the Holy
Spirit, our Helper, Spirit of Truth, Teacher, Reminder, guides us.
Knowing the will of God is not the luck of the draw, the
tossing of dice.
Matthias won the toss… And that’s the last we hear of him, too.
However, God's got this, and it won’t be long until He chooses the replacement for
Judas—a balding guy, barely 5’ tall, the one they call, Saul of Tarsus.
Let’s pray.
Lord, we can hear the sound of a mighty rushing
wind, and it’s closer now, than it’s ever been. We can almost hear the trumpet.
We feel Your return is drawing near. Help us to be
ready.
Make us one, united in faith, dropping all
religious guns at the door.
Help us humbly tread this Holy ground into Your
Presence, and eagerly, earnestly ask for and receive, with thanksgiving, Your world
changing, life saving, Baptism.
We love You, forever
Amen.
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This
was feed for you to read. Now it’s Seed for you to sow.
Thank you for sharing.
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