Message 1 - The Church - And So It Begins

Acts 1:1-8

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

We're starting into a new series this morning. And you know, it's interesting for me. Uh, when I get to know someone, when I meet them, especially if I I feel like it's going to be probably be a maybe an ongoing relationship. Uh I I kind of get curious about uh their beginnings. I my questions are usually along the line of, you know, oh, where'd you grow up? Are you from the area here? Uh I like to find out, you know, how many siblings did you have? And and uh uh if they're married, you know, how they met each other. That's one of my favorite questions because those are usually pretty interesting stories. Uh and uh or maybe how the husband proposed or uh or the wife, if that's the way the direction it went. I just I feel like that if I get that history, I get a little perspective of who they are. And uh uh and it just kind of for me it it helps uh helps establish the the relationship to to get a little bit of that history. Uh we're celebrating right now our uh 250th birthday as a country, and uh uh and uh you know that's that's gonna be interesting. I think it should be interesting already. Uh it's caused me, honestly, to do some looking, to do some reading that probably I wouldn't have done necessarily, but because of the interest in in that and interest in those beginnings, I've I've checked out uh some things that I maybe wouldn't have uh without without that. Uh I'm reading my notes here and uh trying to read what I was thinking about at that moment. Oh, we're talking about the fact that uh a lot of experts are saying that one of the key reasons that we're going through such a difficult time as as a country right now is honestly because a lot of uh folks don't know our history. If they understood our history and and uh our roots as a nation, uh they would they would be asking different questions and they'd be they'd be thinking differently. They would know that what they're saying is is incorrect. Uh especially uh in our in the in fact yesterday morning when uh a few of us deacons or elders met for breakfast and we were talking a little bit about this, that that one of the main problems that we're walking through, one of the main struggles that we're walking through as a nation right now, have a lot to do with what where the direction of our educators have gone, and and especially in this area of teaching the history of our nation. Uh and that's not that's not across the board, and it's not to beat on educators, and it's not all of them, honestly, but there has been in recent years a little of a uh revision, history of revision when it comes to our country and uh the kind of things that are are sometimes taught, and and and some of that misinformation that's gone out there has caused some real harm to us as a nation, if not uh in a very outward and uh appearance, but uh also sometimes just in just the it's caused the thinking to be wrong uh about what's going on. Uh towards the end of this month, just uh give you a heads up what's coming. Uh as we've talked as elders, we're gonna we're gonna actually take a few Sundays and uh talk through some of the history of uh the United States of America and uh some things that we feel like are are important. We're gonna do a little, maybe a little bit of a Q ⁇ A. Uh so that you can kind of be thinking of your hard questions for us, and we'll and then we can tell you that we don't know. So uh but at least we can have a little bit of a conversation. But starting starting today, we're going to into a new series where we're gonna be talking about the birth of the church, uh, the beginnings of of the church. The age that we are in, scripture is can be divided up into uh uh these uh uh uh kind of blocks, and uh when it comes to biblical history as well. And the block that we're in right now, the discipline uh that is sometimes called uh dispensation. That's the word I was looking for. It was back there, I just had to knock the different things out of the way to get to the right one. The dispensation that we're in right now uh is called the church age. And uh in that church age, the age of church began uh at in the area of what we're gonna be studying right now because we're gonna be looking at the book of Acts. So if you want to get to Acts chapter one, uh we're gonna spend a little time uh in this open in the opening pages of the book of Acts because it's there laid out for us uh how this church age began, how this idea of of our type of our worship began, and and uh so we're gonna be walking through that together. We spent a little time in the book of Acts a while back, but we jumped towards the back and we looked at the life of Paul a little bit and uh the his different missionary journeys because that is part of the history of the church. As the church age uh began to spread throughout the world, a lot of it had to do with the apostle Paul and how he came to Christ, and then as he began to make his missionary journeys and he began to tell people about Jesus all over the world. Uh, so that's part of church ages as well. But here we're gonna look at the beginnings, the original days, those opening days when the church was was first established. Now, the I may be giving you some not useless information, but maybe information you already know, but I'm gonna walk through it anyway, uh, in case you just in case you know. Uh Acts was actually written by Dr. Luke. Uh Luke, you know, was one of the the disciples of uh of Jesus. Uh Luke, the book, the gospel of Luke, was also written by Dr. Luke. It was written uh at towards the end of the first century, about 50 years following the death of Christ. So the things that that Luke is writing about, there were still a lot of eyewitnesses to all the things that revolved around Jesus and his uh death and his resurrections. That uh so as he writes these things down, there were lots there were lots of things that uh there are people still alive that could have contradicted. If they said, oh no, that's wrong, that's incorrect, that's not the way it happened. Uh uh so uh but no one did. Uh so and and Dr. Luke, one of the things that we that is kind of interesting about him, if you read the things that he writes, you see the doctor come out. Uh uh He is a medical doctor, but uh you know his when he writes about the uh uh death and the things that took place, uh the beatings and and then what took place on the cross, he adds details that uh a doctor would add. And that's kind of interesting, and things that others uh wouldn't even notice. He's the one that I believe it especially brings out the the the uh separation of the blood and water when the when the soldier walked up and pressed the spear and and into pierced the spear into Jesus' lungs, and he said what came out was blood and water, and then now if you look into that, that's one of the signs of death that the blood that the blood and water is already separating in his lungs uh shows that he was dead, and that's why the soldier, when he saw that, he saw the blood and water came out, he knew I don't have to break his legs. Uh, which then fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, because Isaiah said his hands would be pierced, his feet would be pierced, but his he would not be his his uh there would be no broken bones. And remember the other two thieves, they they broke the bones uh for the purpose of speeding up the death. Uh because the Jews came and said they actually started this process. The the Jewish leaders, religious leaders, were so anxious to have Jesus killed that they got the process started at an evening when they wouldn't usually do that because it was Passover week. Normally they would have said, let's wait till after the week, because but they were they were so uh they were so overwhelmed by their hate and and the way they despised Jesus and by in their minds the damage that he was calling, causing that that they went in and started this this uh process of crucifixion and then recognized, oh, wait a minute, we don't have time. We need to speed up these men's death because they need to be dead and buried before the sun sets. And so they went and they broke the legs, remember, of the two individuals on Jesus' side. And when they got to Jesus, he looked like he was dead, maybe already, although that seemed to be remarkable because he shouldn't, he should have hours left. And so to check, the soldier pierced his his chest, and when they saw the water and blood come out, they knew he was dead, and they needed to break his legs, which was a fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. Pretty crazy as you start looking at these things. But those that's the kind of details that Dr. Luke would pay attention to, that maybe the other guys wouldn't sit necessarily pick up on. So that's that's who wrote this uh the book of Acts, this historical information uh regarding uh the history, the beginnings of the church, of and that of that we are still a part of to this day. We are still in that church age. Uh he says, as you're looking, if you got your Bibles out and you're and you're looking at it, he said, he talks, he starts off by saying, in my former book, uh I I wrote about all the all about, I'm sorry, in my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach. So he was the author of not only this, but also the gospel of him. He says, uh, talks about the formal book, former book, that's the gospel of Luke. So the both of those were written by by Luke. And he also mentions here that uh this man Theophilus. Uh we really don't know much about Theophilus. Uh we we knew that he was a Gentile. We know that from his name. Uh we also know that at least when uh it's interesting, and these may be details that uh uh me, I suspect mean something, but when he wrote to the gospel of Luke, and I'm not going to go back to there, he refers to him as the most excellent Theophilus, which probably indicates that uh not only was he a Gentile, but he was uh probably a uh fairly powerful man, uh a prestigious man, uh probably somehow involved in the uh the Roman government uh at that particular time. Uh but then when he writes the book of uh Acts, and they're very closely together, as a matter of fact, uh they're only maybe a few years apart. Uh he leaves off the most excellent Theophilus. So here, you know, the question uh we don't have an answer to, but did did Theophilus uh becoming a follower of Christ cause him to lose his uh official part of his uh uh the his power, his position uh in in the Roman government? Maybe because he actually followed Christ, and when that got out, when it was no longer able for him to keep, he couldn't keep it contained, uh, did he lose his position because of it? Because that in that particular times, and we're gonna see that as we walk through there, struggles began to happen for those who were followers of Christ. Uh so, and it's interesting, I think that uh that uh Dr. Luke also gives us an indication of the purpose behind why the gospels were written. We have the gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Uh, all, again, those are four eyewitnesses to uh Jesus Christ. Uh, you have his life laid out in the Gospels, uh, then you have uh his early days when he's choosing his disciples, uh, and then you have as he walks into close to the cross, the the beatings, the the crucifi, the the sharing of the last supper that uh we still continue this day in obedience, uh, and then on through the the beatings and the crucifixion and the resurrection. And notice in in verses one, and then as you get into verse two, uh we we read in my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about, and here's where I think we get an indication of the verb proverb. He's saying now, why, what is the purpose of the gospels? I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven. So, why do we have the gospels? So we can know all the things that Jesus did and taught, and and even uh see until the day he was taken up into heaven. There's the purpose, at least uh one of the major purposes, of why the gospels were written. And and Paul or Luke lays that out for us here as we move into uh this history of the Jews. The purpose was to give us the good news about Jesus and his time here on earth uh and and what he accomplished during that time, right up to the cross and the resurrection, right up to that moment when Jesus went back to be with his father. Uh, which, if you take the time to go through the final words of each of the gospel, that's exactly what you read about. Uh now, follow. I want to read, I want to read down uh through the end of verse two, down through verse four, and uh talk a little bit, kind of talk through that. So starting in verse Acts chapter one, uh starting uh back in verse two, we read, until the day, talking about Jesus, he was taken up to heaven. After giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen, after his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command do not eat lead Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father has promised, which you have heard me speak about, for John baptized, I'm actually getting to verse one, for John baptized with what verse five, with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. So he begins to talk about uh what is written and as in the Gospels and the purpose of the Gospels, and so he says, if you remember that within hours of Jesus' resurrection, this took place. Uh over in Matthew, we read, the chief priests had met with the elders. They gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, You are to say, his disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep. So as the gospels take us up to that point, the crucifixion and uh the things right before the crucifixion as they're getting ready to arrest Jesus, and and uh then as you jump over to these other gospels, some of the they tell us a little bit about actually some of the backroom conversations once that went on, which kind of reminded me. I don't know if any of you have you do this for I don't do it a lot. It's not like it's super exciting, but sometimes I'll jump on to one of the news channels on TV and uh especially the congressional hearings. Any of you ever watch some of the congressional hearings? Uh this the information we're giving given about kind of those conversations among the uh religious leaders that led up to actually the rest of the arrest of Jesus and then the beatings and all that thing kind of remind me of some of those uh congressional conversations. Kind of you kind of hear it here because in that chat where I just read about uh uh in Matthew, kind of you kind of hear this conversation going on. Uh uh they came to report to the uh the leaders that Jesus is dead. And uh, but and remember when after they made the report, one of the things that we're told is that the religious leaders told the individuals, that the soldiers who had been put in charge, or in fact, the soldiers were told to guard Jesus' body during the night uh and to make sure. Because well, actually, what they say, if you went back, they they it says that they came to Pilate first and they said, We need to guard the tomb. Because if you remember, uh, this is what they said to Pilate, if you remember, uh he talked a lot about being rose from rising from the dead, and so we've got to make sure because we don't want some false story being put around that that he actually did raise from the dead. So so you need to put soldiers around there to uh protect the body uh so that no one can can uh get this false story, and then you know what happened because we just got finished celebrating it. Jesus did raise from the dead. So then they go back and the soldiers go to report to the religious leaders that he's gone, and they say, Okay, we're gonna give you a whole bunch of money to do this, but here's what we need you to do. We need you to tell Pilate and put this out as the official report. Uh, just uh we need you to tell them that uh uh his disciples came and and he's and they stole him away. Uh and so this this is the part that kind of reminds me of the congressional hearing. Uh when they when they come to make the report, uh that they they say, okay, uh Jesus' body was stolen. His disciples, they came and and then and they stole them. And so they say, Well, how did they steal them? We had a we had a guard, we had all these soldiers there. And uh, and here's what they were told to say. Uh they said, Well, we don't know because we we all fell asleep. Uh but here's what we do know, and this is where the congressional healing comes into place. What we do know is that they were Jesus' disciples. And it's like, okay, wait a minute. You don't know how it happened because you were asleep, but you do know it was the disciples. So, how does that figure out? And it just reminds me of some of those conversations that go on in Congress where you're sitting thinking and you're just rubbing your head and going, man, that is the dumbest conversation that I ever have ever heard. But anyway, so Luke is putting all this information out, and and and and as it moves into when we step into Acts, Jesus has died, and he's risen again. And as you read, as we read down through this verses, uh, he's risen again, and there's he's alive, and he hangs around with with the his disciples, his followers, as well as others for over a month, uh almost a month and a half. We are told that uh more than 300 people get to see him alive, have a conversation with him, and and and some of them got to eat meals with him in this time. In fact, uh in one particular meal as they were eating together, and you look on with the end of verse 4 and verse 5, uh we read a moment ago, that he gave them this command do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my father promised you, which you have heard me speak about. Now we've seen that. We've walked through as we were, we've looked in like through the Easter season, we looked at some of those verses, and and you remember Jesus was talking to his disciples, and he shared with them, because they had a they had a question. We're not gonna go back and look at it in scripture, but he was talking a lot about the fact that he was going to have to leave them, remember? And that did not uh excite them at all. They were not comfortable even with the conversation, let alone with the idea that it might really come true, that he was going to have to leave them and would not be with them anymore. And so, in these conversations, as they're talking about, remember, on more than one occasion as he's talking about this, he says, Let me tell you this. When I leave you, this is going to be a good thing. Not that it's not gonna be a hard thing, because that's the way grief is. As we started uh the uh study in 1 Peter this week. Uh, we got into the passage early on in Peter where Peter talks about, he he puts it this way, because they're going through hard times, those uh those believers that in fact this is around the same period of time, and he says that that uh that that because they know Jesus, they can actually have joy in the midst of their grief. And you know, that's for a lot of people that is an anomaly. That that that how does that happen? How can you have joy in the midst of grief? But as believers, and and some of you sitting in this room, you get that. Uh the the grief is there. Uh you've lost someone you love, and and yet there's this joy. Uh there's a joy in in knowing that that they're with your heavenly father. There's a joy in knowing that someday you're gonna go there to be with them as well, and and uh it makes you more anxious for that day. Uh So you get this, uh, but the disciples were still struggling because they're being, he keeps saying, I'm leaving you, I'm gonna leave you. And they're saying, No, we don't want, we don't want you to leave you. What do you mean? Well, this is we don't want to hear this. Quit talking about this stuff. And he says, No, I need to leave you because when I leave you, the helper's gonna come. The counselor is gonna come. And and and he's gonna, this is gonna be a wonderful thing. And and so that's what what we're talking about in these opening pages of Acts. Uh, this that when the helper came. So as we're in, we're getting into chat to Acts again, verses four and five, the end of verse four, he says, He gave them this command. Do not uh he's still this is he's hanging with them during that uh uh month plus ten days or so, and in this particular time he's eating a meal with some of them, and then this as they're eating this meal, he says to them, Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my father promised, which you've heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Again, we've looked at this promise a couple of times, a number of times, but you know, it's been you kind of think of that, and I think from Jesus' perspective, maybe they haven't caught this perspective, but you've ever had something that uh, you know, it's it's down in the future, it's coming, but you're really excited about it. Uh maybe it's a promotion that you've been waiting to happen, and it's and it's getting closer. For some of you, uh, I've watched a number of my friends go through that anticipation of retirement. You know, they see that they start counting down the numbers, and it's just like, you know, it's it's a month away, it's two weeks away, it's two days away, it's it's here, that anticipation. And and uh I and I suspect as as uh as Jesus is talking to his disciples in this mill, and he says, and he and he knows now we're just a few days away. I've been telling you guys about this for so long, and I know it's hard for you to understand how how how anything could could be that exciting, especially when it means I'm not gonna be here. And uh, but I'm but it I'm excited for you because in just a few days, now I'm gonna leave you again, but when I leave you, I want you to go back to Jerusalem and I want you to wait, because the day is gonna finally come when what I've been talking about, when the Holy Spirit is going to come and baptize you. And so that's where we're at. Uh and and that's that is that moment when as we look into it and study it together, when the church begins. Now we're gonna walk through a number of things in this conversation as we continue on. There's a lot of questions. I think I suspect that uh maybe some questions you've had uh because different churches uh in this uh the things we're gonna be looking at in the in the weeks coming up here, there's been a lot of confusion, been some questions, uh uh some frustrations. And and I think, I hope anyway, that some of that's gonna get cleared up. You're gonna walk away and go, oh, okay, so that's what that means. That's why that happened. Uh and uh so let me go in uh just another verse along this line over in the Gospel of John, uh Jesus made this promise, and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another counselor to be with you forever, the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him because it neither sees him nor knows him, but you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. And so he's talking to John, and he says, and to the disciples, his followers says, It's coming. And it's gonna be exciting. Already you see, talking to those uh disciples, you're already seeing the evidence of the way the Holy Spirit works, the things he's doing right now, and and through me and around you, and you you've got to see that. But and he lives around you right now, but soon, very soon, something's gonna happen where that will change. From that point on, the Holy Spirit is, you're not just gonna see evidence of him, you actually, he is going to live in you. And so Dr. Luke is talking about that, and we're gonna be looking more about that as we as we look into these next few days. Uh, you know, it's interesting, uh this revolves around, uh at least our our trust and confidence in this revolves around the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Uh the uh Paul wrote that if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless, and so is your faith. And and as we get into these opening books, opening words in Acts and move through this porn, we're gonna have to have that rehearsed over and over again. Uh he's gonna talk about the resurrection of Jesus Christ uh and the difference that's gonna make. And if the fact that Jesus didn't raise from the dead, we're fools. We you know, we we're wasting our time. But he did. Uh both biblical and secular history tells us that he rose from the dead, and and that's what we've been waiting for, that moment that sets the course of this church age that we are evolved in at this time. Uh let me just read down a few more verses before we close this morning. Uh starting the verse 6. He said, then them, it is not for you to know the times the Father, the times or the dates the Father has set by his own authority. Remember, they I didn't read that far, but they asked the question and they said, Okay, Lord, we've been waiting for this moment. Are are you gonna usher in your kingdom now? This is this the time? Uh is it ready to happen? You know, we've been waiting for this to happen. And and he says, it's not for this isn't information that you should have, that you will have. It's not bad that they're excited. Uh we they should be excited. We should be excited. We should be anxiously looking for the second coming of Jesus. And uh and they have the the the per the con the perspective of okay, obviously we get it now. The the death and resurrection have taken taken place, the servant Jesus, the servant Messiah has come. So they're anxious now. Let's get to the returning when we see the warrior messiah. Maybe it's time. And uh, so it's not bad that they're excited about that. We're to be excited about that. We should be looking for return of Christ. Uh, but he goes on. Uh verse 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea and uh Samaria until the ends of the worst world, ends of the earth. After he said this, he was taken up before their eyes, and a cloud hid them from their sight. They were looking intently into the sky as he was going, and then suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. Men of Galilee, they said, Why do you stand there looking into the sky? The same Jesus who has taken you from heaven will come back in the same way you've seen him go to heaven. So they are having this conversation. Jesus is getting them ready. He says, Uh, I'm gonna leave you again, uh, but I'm coming back. Uh but in the meantime, what do you need to be doing? You need to be my witnesses. You know, that there's the you want to have it uh what what our responsibility is right now, our responsibility to witness, to tell what the story of what Jesus has done for us. You know, you don't have it's not not you know you don't have to be a theologian, uh, you don't have to be a Bible scholar, you don't have to be uh a pastor, uh uh Bible teacher. Not that any of those things are are wrong, but what you do have to be, every one of us has this responsibility is we have to be witnesses. Uh and what is a witness? A witness just tells what he's seen. No big deal. Although in this case it is, because you are telling what you've seen Jesus do in your life. And so he says, I'm gonna leave you. And they were real close at this point. He was gonna return to the Father after I leave you. First of all, for the sake of where we are right now, go back to Jerusalem and wait because something big is just about to happen. And then when that happens, what I want you to do is to go out and tell the story. Tell people about what Jesus has and is doing for you. That's your mission. That's what I'm charged you to do. Go out and be my witnesses. But here's the exciting part. You know, I thought about uh uh, you know, still remember when uh when God came to Moses in in the wilderness and in the bush and and uh says, I got a job for you to do, and and Moses' first thing is uh you don't, I'm not a good speaker. You know, that's just uh that's just not my thing. I don't like getting up in front of people. On top of that, you know, I've been walking, also I've been talking to his sheep now for 40 years. I've got if I was any good at it before, I'm not any good at it now. I I just you got the wrong guy for this job. And and uh uh God's response to him was uh, who who made the tongue? Well, well now maybe we add to that story, because you that that's often our our response when we hear this, like, you just I'm just not good at talking to people. I don't know what to say. You know, what if they ask a question? Uh and and as now the answer is gonna be God lives right in you. You need to know what to say. You have God living right in you, he'll give you the right words. Uh just this week, I had a man come into my office and and uh we had chatted a couple of times through uh email uh and and message, and uh I met him, he's not part of our church family, just had met him through another event, and and uh we got the conversation. He said, Hey, can I come and talk to you? And I said, sure, let's come. And and he uh he starts, we we you're talking about this other subject, and then we get we begin to just talk about lives. I start asking him some questions like I do, and and pretty soon we get into spiritual things, and it was one of those times where he's asking me these questions, and in case you don't think it happens to me, he's asking me these questions, and I'm giving him answers, and I'm kind of like, Oh, where did that come from? Right here, the Holy Spirit. Uh, and it was it wasn't just one time, it was like three or four questions, and he asked me, and as soon as he asked me, him I knew what to say. And that's exactly what he's telling these individuals, and telling you and I go out, be my witnesses, tell the story, not somebody else's story, tell your story. And if they ask you something that you're not sure the answer is, don't worry about that because God lives in you, he'll tell you what to say. I'm excited about getting into this story because it has impacted all of us and is impacting all of us in a wonderful way. But that we'll first stop there this morning and let's pray together. Thanks, Father. Thanks for your word. Thanks for this historical moment that we're getting to read about and talk about together where the church started. We're a part of that. We are still a part of what the church age. We meet together as a church, as one of one of many in this area right here, uh, families of God, people who have been adopted into your family because of what Jesus did on the cross, and because we because we accepted that gift. And and so we're part of your church now. And so I I think it's important, it's very important that we all know about these beginnings and how they have impacted us. And and then mixed in with that, the responsibility we have to be your witnesses, and Lord, don't just don't let us back away from that opportunity. And uh so Lord, thanks. Thanks for this morning, thanks for what you're gonna tell us in the days ahead. We know that there's a world around us that needs to hear these things, that is lost, doesn't know Jesus, and we have the privilege and opportunity to tell them about what you have done in our lives. Help us to take that seriously, and I pray these things in your son's name. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 35:18

Let's sing one last chorus together before we leave it.