Acts 1

He left. He ascended into heaven. He's out of here. He's gone. How can Jesus continue to do and teach anything if He left in the ascension into heaven?

Answer, the Holy Spirit that He promised. I'm leaving. It's expedient that I go, because if I don't go, I can't send the Helper to you. If I send the Helper, He's going to teach you all things. He's going to instruct, and He's going to be another Helper, as we mentioned the last three weeks, just like I have been to you.

He'll be another Helper, one like I have been. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He charged believers with a very important mission. Find out what that mission means to you today as we continue our countdown of Skip's top 40 messages on the Connect with Skip Heitzig YouTube channel. In the number 17 spot is his message from Acts chapter 1, in which Skip looks back at the beginnings of the early church, sharing vital truths to bolster your faith. Right now, we want to tell you about a resource that will deepen your knowledge of God's Word even more. Imagine the challenge we faced. Skip Heitzig has taught over 3,500 through the Bible messages, and we had to pick the top 10 for a special resource offer.

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Call 800-922-18 1-888 to give or visit connectwithskipp.com. Now as we join Skip Heitzig for today's teaching, we're in Acts chapter 1. Verse 1, the former account that I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus, key word here, began to do and teach until the day he was taken up after he through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom he had chosen. The word began suggests that the work of Christ is not over. This is what Jesus began to do and to teach. That's the Gospel of Luke. This is what Jesus continues to do and teach.

Well how does he do that? He left. He ascended into heaven. He's out of here. He's gone. How can Jesus continue to do and teach anything if he left in the ascension into heaven?

Answer, the Holy Spirit that he promised. I'm leaving. It's expedient that I go because if I don't go, I can't send the Helper to you. If I send the Helper, he's going to teach you all things. He's going to instruct and he's going to be another Helper, as we mentioned the last three weeks, just like I have been to you.

He'll be another Helper, one like I have been. So the implication is that the book of Acts is not a closed book. When we get to chapter 28 and the book closes, that's fine, but it's still going on because Jesus is still working throughout history in the lives of his people.

The Holy Spirit is still present, infusing us, indwelling us, empowering us. So I love the thought that the book of Acts is what Jesus continues to do, continues to teach through the apostles. Now the book is called the Acts of the Apostles. That's what it says on the top of our Bibles, though the title is not mentioned. That is not the title in verse one.

It's the title that has been given to the book. It's a good enough title, I suppose, but I prefer looking at it not as the Acts of the apostles, but rather as the Acts of the Holy Spirit, because it says, which he began to do and to teach until he was taken up after he, through the Holy Spirit, had given commandments to the apostles whom he had chosen. So the finished work of Jesus was on the cross. The unfinished work of Jesus continues through the new generation, this one, and then the next one, and then the next one, all the way down to our generation. So you become those, we become those, through whom the Holy Spirit indwells and empowers. To whom, verse three, to whom he presented himself, that is his apostles, to whom he also presented himself alive after his suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during 40 days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. Now, here's a bit of information Luke or Matthew or Mark or John does not include. They just say that Jesus took them to the Mount of Olives, he blessed them, and he ascended into heaven, and they returned to Jerusalem with great joy.

But now we're given a little more coloring into a time period. A 40-day, actually you'll find out it's a 50-day time period because between the Passover and the next feast, Pentecost, there's a period of 50 days. But 40 days after Jesus rose from the dead until the time he ascends into heaven, he is teaching his disciples. He continues teaching them and speaking to them about things pertaining to the kingdom of God 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. Now, notice in those verses that we read that little phrase, many infallible proofs. The disciples were convinced that Jesus was who he said he was, that he was the Son of God, that he was God the Lord, principally because of his resurrection from the dead as well as what he claimed himself to be. But then after Jesus rose from the dead, they saw for 40 days infallible proofs, things that they experienced subjectively, but because they weren't the only ones to see and experience them, they were objective, hence infallible.

And what do I mean by that? You see, if one person experiences something or claims to experience something, how do you know? So if somebody says, I saw a banana flying through the sky and flowers growing out of it, interesting, thank you for sharing, but you'll dismiss it out of hand because those things don't happen. But if you get two and three and four and 12 saying, we saw exactly that at exactly the same time, you go, okay, because if one person says he saw or she saw one thing, you'd say, well, that could be a hallucination. Now, psychologists will tell us that hallucinations can happen, but they can happen to a group of people. A subjective experience, if everybody sees the same thing and experiences the same thing at the same time, it's not a hallucination.

It's not the product of one's private imagination. Now you have something objective because there are several eyewitness accounts. So Jesus appeared and taught his disciples, but Paul said not only that, but he appeared to over 500 after his resurrection at one time. So you can say, well, Peter saw a hallucination and John, he saw a hallucination, but if all 12 said, I saw two, and then you get 500, so we saw him show up on this day at this place saying these things, well, now you have something not subjective as much as objective. Infallible proofs.

So the infallible proofs involve the senses, them seeing, them hearing, them touching, them tasting. Example, on one occasion, actually on a couple different occasions, Jesus showed up in the room they were meeting without going through the door. He showed up without going through the door or a window.

He didn't crawl through a window, didn't knock on the door, he just appeared. They saw that together. On another occasion, he ate a meal with them, so they tasted what he gave to them. On another occasion, he spoke to them, so they're hearing with their ears words that he is saying, and they're being corroborated because many people are seeing it and hearing it together. Thomas even touched the wounds of Jesus after the resurrection.

These are infallible proofs. Now John, the apostle John, was one of them, and this is what John refers to in 1 John chapter 1 verse 1. When he says, that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled concerning the word of life, and what we have seen and heard, we testify unto you, said John. So for 40 days, Jesus showed up, taught them, ate with them, hung with them, etc. But one occasion is given in verse 4, 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, for John, truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.

Okay, stop right there. Go back in your mind, go back in your knowledge, go back in your thinking to the end of the gospel accounts. When Jesus said to his disciples, go into all the world, go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

So we call that the great what? Commission. The great commission is Jesus saying go. Now, I just want you to put yourself for a moment in the disciples' sandals. For somebody to say, I've got an idea, I've got a mission, I've got a task I want you to do, I want you to go somewhere, you might say, well, I have a job, I'm busy, I have a wife, I have kids, I have plans, I can't just go.

But if somebody who was dead that you loved is now alive after three days and you see that person alive and now you realize, oh my goodness, this is everything he claimed he said he was, he is God in human flesh, it is the living Lord risen from the dead, just like he said, controlling nature. When he says go, you're going to be pretty zealous to go because now you have found a whole new way of life. You're going to follow him, you're going to do what he says.

There's nothing more exciting than following that guy. So you can imagine that when Jesus tells them, we're not over here yet, boys, I want you to go to all the world and I'm putting you on a mission, you have to imagine their excitement was at an all-time high. They were ready to go, they were ready to conquer the world.

Their zeal was over the top. However, with their zeal over the top, in all of that excitement, they could be tempted to just bolt out the door and go do what Jesus told them to do in the work, in the energy of their own flesh. So Jesus says, go, but don't go yet. You see, that's what he says, but wait, he says in Acts chapter one, verse four, being assembled together he commanded them not to go, not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, you have heard from me. Now, why does he tell them wait?

For the Holy Spirit to baptize them in the body, fill them with the boldness, give them the necessary equipment to do the job. If you wanted to be a pilot in the Air Force, would it be silly if the Air Force said, okay, now that you've graduated from flight school, you have to purchase your own jet aircraft. You'd say, well, I can't.

I didn't sign up for this. I kind of thought you would provide the equipment to do the job. Or if you're a soldier on the infantry and they said, you know, there's a really good deal on M-16s, but you have to buy them yourself.

And the body armor and the helmets, no, that would never happen. They will give you the equipment to do the job they're asking you to do for your country. So Jesus is commissioning them to go out into all the world, but don't go yet. Wait, he says, until you be filled with power from on high.

The filling of the Holy Spirit, the necessary equipment to do the job. Therefore, verse 6, when they had come together, they asked him, saying, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? And he said to them, it is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in his own authority. I love these guys.

They're so human. I don't know if you caught this or not, but in the normal flow of chapter 1, this is called an interruption. It's a non sequitur.

It's bringing an issue up that isn't related to the main subject that was being discussed. Okay, I've told you to go into all the world, but now wait until you get filled with the Holy Spirit. Hey, let's set the date. When are you coming again?

When's the power thing going to happen? Are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now? I mean, what does that have to do with anything Jesus is telling them? About this much. Zero. Okay, so they're so human, and this is what I love about them, because they're really good at interrupting, or non sequiturs.

They're really good at it. So like at the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah's transport figured with Jesus, and they're watching it, and Peter goes, it's good that we're here. Let's build three condominiums right now. And God the Father has to interrupt Peter's interruption by saying, this is my beloved son. Listen to him.

Be quiet and listen to him. But that's Peter, and that's not the only time. There was the time Jesus mentioned that he was going to the cross to die on the cross, and so they asked him who's going to be the greatest in the kingdom. What, were we talking about the kingdom and the glory? I thought we were talking about the cross.

Yeah, but they're thinking the kingdom. So that's the interruption. That's the non sequitur.

And why I'm bringing this up is because I have a good friend who likes to say this. He goes, people change, but not that much. And so here you see the same apostles. Yes, after the resurrection. Yes, they're going to be filled with the Spirit, but they're who they are. They're still growing. They're still imperfect. Does that give you a little bit of encouragement?

I hope it does. These guys were far from perfect. Now, having said that, and having just sort of ditched them, I have to say this. I understand their question. There's part of me that says, well, I want to give them a break, and I understand why they would ask that. Because Jesus keeps promising that he's going to send the Holy Spirit. I'm going to send the Holy Spirit.

That's the promise of my father. He's been saying that before his death and now after his resurrection. So in their minds, they're Jewish. They were raised believing that the Messiah is going to come and establish a kingdom. There are several passages in the Old Testament that describe the kingdom, like Isaiah 35 and others, that describe the kingdom of Messiah on earth.

Incredible promises. But there are a couple in particular, Ezekiel 36, Joel chapter 2, that talk about the coming of the Holy Spirit in conjunction with the kingdom of Messiah on the earth, that he would pour out his Spirit on the inhabitants of Israel. And so when Jesus keeps saying, the Holy Spirit's coming, I'm sending the Holy Spirit, perhaps, I want to give them a little bit of a break, perhaps, they're thinking actually of these two promises of Scripture, Ezekiel 36 and Joel 2, and going, oh, Holy Spirit, kingdom of God on earth, are you going to now restore the kingdom to Israel?

So in fairness, I want to cut them a little slack, don't know if they're just interrupting and doing their thing, or they're actually engaged as deep Bible students, just from what I know about them, probably the first, not the second, but maybe. But then comes the answer of Jesus. His answer is basically this, it's not about when, it's about what. You're worried about when is the time, when is the kingdom going to be restored. I want you to forget the when, and I want you to think about the what it is I want you to do.

I have a job for you to do. And that's been Luke's theme since the beginning in verse 1. This is what Jesus began to do and to teach, but now he's going to do it through the Holy Spirit, through the lives of the apostles. So he says, it's not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in his own authority, but, shifting gears, but you shall receive power.

Dunamis is the word we talked about last time, or dunamim, when the Holy Spirit has come upon you at peace, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. So many of us do want to know what's next, and I just told you about that little Bible study in you version, what's next, what's next, what's next. It's good to be informed, but not so much that all you care about is information and not the transformation that comes in your own life to do what God wants you to do right now. You see, I came out of the Jesus movement, and some of us, frankly, thought Jesus was coming by tomorrow. I mean, if he didn't come by tomorrow, or maybe next week, that's the latest. I mean, we expected Jesus to come at any moment, and I like that thought of the eminence of Christ, the return of Christ.

I still hold to that, but the danger was, I saw a lot of my friends quitting their jobs, getting lazy, Jesus showing up, you know, maybe a month, but not longer than that, and trying to set the date. But when Jesus talked about his return, his kingdom, he didn't expect his disciples to check out, strum a guitar, sit on a hillside, eat bird seed, and wait for Jesus to show up. He wanted them to be busy about his business, occupy until I come, our Lord said. So, once again, he says, but you shall receive power. That's why you need to stay till you get this power, when the Holy Spirit, the powerful one, has come upon you, and you shall be witness, now watch this, to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Please notice verse 8, Luke is giving us the words of Jesus. Jesus is providing for us the outline of the book of Acts.

Luke will follow this as the outline for his entire book. So chapters 1 through chapter 7 is the gospel witness going to Jerusalem. Chapters 8 and 9, the gospel witness going to Judea and Samaria. Chapter 10 through chapter 28, the gospel witness going to the ends of the earth, all the way to the heart of the world at that time, Rome. If you were looking for a theme for the book of Acts, I can give it to you in one phrase, from Jerusalem to Rome. It's how the gospel message goes from the backwaters of the Roman Empire, Israel at the time, Jerusalem, and makes it to the very heart of the Roman Empire itself. So Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. So the message of Acts is showing us how the powerful message of the gospel goes out in ever widening circles.

That's the outline, and I see a pattern here. When it comes to how the Lord has operated in my life, he's operated the same way, in ever widening circles. It started with me getting saved, I tell my family, my friends, and then the Lord gave me a little more influence and a little more, but even geographically. See I started and I was saved in California, that's my Jerusalem. Southern California is my Jerusalem, that's my hometown. But then the Lord moved me to what is or was my Samaria.

New Mexico is like off the grid for me, I didn't even know what that was. But the Lord moved me from Jerusalem through Judea all the way out to Albuquerque, New Mexico, which was my Samaria. But now it's not my Samaria, now it's my Jerusalem. And so from this point, this is our Jerusalem in ever widening circles. The gospel should go out from you, from us, in the same way. Through parts of this state, through neighboring states, through the ends of the earth. So I love the fact that many have left to start churches in different parts of the world.

Usually at first just starting with areas around here, but then widening out. And radio has taken the message in various places. So the Lord may move you to another place, that will become your Jerusalem. And you will be responsible before God to take the message to your Jerusalem, your Judea, your Samaria, and to the ends or the uttermost parts of the earth. That's Skip Heitzig's number 17 message on our top 40 messages countdown.

It's from the series Expound Acts. Find the full message and more of Skip's teachings, including his latest sermons and current teaching series at youtube.com slash Calvary ABQ. Now, here's Skip to share how you can keep this broadcast going strong, connecting you and others around the world with God's word. In this world, all believers struggle to live completely for Christ.

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