This is the fifth time the Great Commission is given to us in the pages of the New Testament. Say this with me: I am made for more than watching. We were made for more than two cars and satellite TV. The enemy of mission-minded Christian is to live comfortably.
Today’s Scripture
“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. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 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. So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 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.” (Acts 1:6–8)
1. My Mind is Convinced Jesus Has Risen
“He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.” (Acts 1:3)
I want proof! There was only one witness to the Book of Mormon when it was written. There was only one witness to the book of the Qur’an. But forty different people write the Bible under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Imagine the coordination of getting forty people together to write on the same script! Speaking of proof, 500 people saw the risen Jesus at the same time. It’s not just intellectual proofs for the nature of the Bible is alive. The proofs of the Bible transform.
A retired pastor talked about a man from his church in Virginia some forty-plus years ago. When he got there, as far as he knew, virtually none of the church’s officers had finished high school. Especially the males in that particular blue-collar, southern community felt “readin’ and writin’” were feminine. The pastor remembered a man who came to Christ just before I got there. He had been an alcoholic and had a career as an army sergeant. He was a tough, rough person but he became a Christian, and this man who had only finished eighth grade became hungry to study the Word of God. He could barely read, and he would spend hours reading a passage, having to look everything up in the dictionary. After a while, he came to the pastor and said, “I want to teach.” I said, “I don’t know how you’re going to do that.” He said, “Give me a chance.” So this rough and tough former army sergeant was given a Sunday school class. His wife said absolutely for sure that her husband spent forty-five hours a week preparing his lesson. He would spend hours just reading with the dictionary through the Sunday school teacher’s guide. Then he would write out what he was going to say. He’d take the tape to some friends, and they would listen. He would say, “Now am I pronouncing these words right?” and “What does this word mean?” What did he turn out to be? A good teacher… in the words of the pastor, “nothing spectacular.” Even a mediocre teacher, but it was unbelievable to see what happened in this man’s life, and he changed.
Press pause on that story for a moment. But don’t you see what the proof of Jesus’ resurrection can do? The book is alive as it changes illiterate alcoholics into men who strive to know God’s Word. The Bible is alive and it has eyes: as you read it, it reads you. Let’s say this together: I am Convinced Jesus Has Risen
2. My Life is Empowered by Jesus’ Spirit
“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.” (Acts 1:8)
These few brave followers of Jesus have been through boot camp; they’re ready for battle.
2.1 Waiting on Jesus’ Power in Your Life
At a nearby airport, a friend overheard someone who had been waiting for their flight. They had been waiting since 5 am. But they didn’t realize their flight was 5 pm! They came at the wrong time and mistook am for pm. Can you imagine sitting around for another twelve hours waiting for your flight?
“for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” (Acts 1:5)
God’s people wait for God’s power. The word baptize is found in verse 5 and it usually means to immerse (go beneath). We have found ancient letters that speak of people baptizing dishes – they are washing their dishes. Here the word has the idea of “uniting with.” Or be “in sync with.” God wants you to be in sync with His will. As we operate in the Holy Spirit, we are in sync with God’s will. God’s people wait for God’s power.
2.2 The Holy Spirit’s Impact on Believers
The Spirit doesn’t just influence us; He indwells us. How Do I Know if I am Relying on the Spirit? How do I practically know when I am relying more on my power and less on His power?
1) I’m Relying on Me When I Lack Prayer. When I hear myself saying, “I need to pray more.”
2) I’m Relying on Me When I Experience More Stress. Stress is a red light on your dashboard that you are living independently of God. Your motto is: “If it’s to be, it’s up to me.” We cannot do this.
3) I’m Relying on Me When Everything Accomplished Can be Explained. You’ll know when you are relying on the Spirit when you hear yourself saying, “You’re not going to believe what happened!” As a child of God, I need the power of God. I need His power in my parenting. I need His power in my marriage. Let’s say this together: I Want God’s Power in My Life
2.3 The Spirit’s Power to Do the Spirit’s Agenda
God’s Spirit makes God’s power available to do God’s Agenda. “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” (Acts 1:8). Henry Drummond said: “Don’t touch Christianity unless you are willing to seek His kingdom first. I promise you a miserable existence if you seek it second.”
So here’s our prayer: Jesus works deeply in me so that I show your love clearly.
1. My Mind is Convinced Jesus Has Risen
2. My Life is Empowered by Jesus’ Spirit
3. My Heart is Motivated by Jesus’ Sacrifice
“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.” (Acts 1:8)
3.1 Humility
The Spirit produces a genuine humility in you. Remember the rough and tough army sergeant? Again, it was unbelievable to see how he changed. Pastor Tim said, “I remember after being there for nine years, one of the last days I was there, this man came up to me and said something. He said, ‘Do you know what? Before you came to this town, before I came under your teaching, I was a racist.’” “I had never talked to this man about [racism] ever.” What happened to him? Whenever God’s Spirit is present, the truth shines.
Let me give you the most common way to experience this. You’re reading a passage you’ve read 100 times before and suddenly it shines like somebody plugged it in and you’re looking for the cord. You’re saying, “Why didn’t I ever see that before?” You see, the Spirit of God makes the truth of God personal and real to you. It’s like the words of Scripture are plugged in. Remember, when you are reading the Bible, the Bible is reading you.
God’s gaze is drawn to humility and He turns His face away from the proud. Too many of us want to be Christian stars; we want others to notice our humility. The only people with stars are the guys with helmets playing at AT&T Stadium.
Maximize Thee and Minimize Me.
3.2 Great Commission
This is the fifth time the Great Commission is given to us in the pages of the New Testament. Say this with me: I am made for more than watching. We were made for more than two cars and satellite TV. The enemy of mission-minded Christian is to live comfortably. So many people here in the Bible Belt know enough of Jesus to feel guilty about their sins, but they don’t have enough of Jesus to feel forgiven and freed and wholehearted for him. Let’s say this together: I am made for more than watching. The geographical scope of Acts 1:8 provides a rough outline of the entire book: Jerusalem (Acts 1–7), Judea and Samaria (Acts 8–12), the ends of the earth (Acts 13–28). We’re showing the gospel in order to cultivate the opportunity to share the gospel to this community.
3.3 “Lift” and the Great Commission
There’s good news and bad news. Let me start with the good news first. Donald McGavran wrote an interesting book entitled Understanding Church Growth many years ago. Sociologist Rodney Stark tells us that when you compare the less religious & nonreligious people to people of faith, here’s what you find:
• engage in less criminal behavior and more pro-social behavior;
• experience higher marital happiness and lower divorce rates, while producing more and better-behaved children;
• report more and better sex with their spouse, and less cheating;
• experience better mental health, and probably better physical health too;
• give more generously in terms of money and time;
• and are better educated, more successful, and less credulous.
Why does this happen? Because conversion to Christianity entails a change in three dimensions of human existence: …Head (our patterns of thought)… …heart (our patterns of feeling)… and hands (our patterns of action and relationship). A person renewed by the gospel increasingly acts in a self-controlled and selfless manner rather than in a self-serving one, and this produces positive change in their material circumstances.
Here’s the bad news… When poor people respond to the witness of the Gospel, they often want to leave the neighborhood, which leaves the neighborhood without their witness to the Gospel. Yes, Lift means they began to have more stable families, they find they’re able to be more disciplined in many ways, their lives stabilize, and they become middle class. But when that happens and they start to move on up, they lose their connections with the rest of the society, and they become a dead-end for evangelism. That means they no longer can really win anybody around them, because people say, “Oh, you’re not like one of us anymore.” Again, it’s called lift.
My fear is this: We want to reach our world for Christ but we don’t want to reach our community for Christ.
Conclusion
Love Loud is you being intentional about reaching those in need. Deeds of love are designed to share words of love. Love Loud allows our church to show the gospel. Showing the gospel is a gateway to sharing the gospel.
Andrew Murray said at World Missionary Conference in 1910, “We shall need three times more men, four times more money, and seven times more prayer.”
Let’s say this together: I am Motivated by Jesus’ Sacrifice
1. My Mind is Convinced Jesus Has Risen
2. My Life is Empowered by Jesus’ Spirit
3. My Heart is Motivated by Jesus’ Sacrifice
Sometimes we just have to quit talking and start doing. There are times when we roll up our sleeves and go to work.
