R529 How To Live Without Jesus

God has an encouraging word for you and me today through the Bible-based preaching of the New Testament. I'm going to invite you this morning to take your Bibles and turn with me to the Acts of the Apostles, the book of Acts in the New Testament, the Acts of the Apostles and Chapter 1. We must now ask ourselves the question, if we do understand and know what our purpose is, what is it that God wants us to do? What kind of instructions does He have for us? There's no better book to go to than the book of Acts.

Just think about it. Here we are, we're going back to the New Testament, back to the time of Jesus Christ, back to the early church. But friends, if we want to discover what it is that God wants us to do, we need to go back in order to reach forward into the future. the spirituality and the character of the people that comprise those churches.

Now, there's nothing necessarily wrong with that, except for one factor. Churches begin to take on the personality of the congregation and that congregation is not a congregation that is living for the Lord Jesus Christ, pastor is someone who is not interested in glorifying Jesus Christ, then there's something wrong with the personality and the character and the purpose of the congregation. You take this church, for example, over 160 years of age, there is a sense in which over all these years we have become to look a lot like First Baptist Church. But we don't want to look like First Baptist Church.

We want to look like the Lord Jesus. Do I hear an Amen? I'm not interested in First Baptist Church. Now I love First Baptist Church. This is my church. This is where God has placed me. This is a great place to be and I'm so glad that we're here today and I want to invite you with everything at my disposal to become partnered in First Baptist Church.

But you and I ought not to be interested in First Baptist Church per se the fact that we want First Baptist Church to be God's church and to look and behave and act and minister like the Lord Jesus Christ. He's our litmus test. He's our standard-bearer. And so it is we're going to go back to the future. We're going to have a lot of fun.

I want to tell you that right now. I cannot wait to dive into this book. There is so much here. We are going to discover so many wonderful truths about ourselves and what God has to say about what we ought to be doing and what we ought not to be doing. God is going to show us a lot of things about who we are. What an exciting journey and I welcome you today as we study God's Word together. Now I'm going to begin this morning with a message entitled, How to Live Without the Lord Jesus Christ. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine a preacher, a pastor of First Baptist Church getting up and even suggesting that we've got to learn to live without Jesus?

Well, I'm going to tell you something folks. In the book of Acts and chapter 1, there is a bombshell dropped on the new early church. Jesus had been with them. Jesus had worshiped with them. Jesus had walked with them. Jesus had talked with them. And here all of a sudden in Acts chapter 1, Jesus says, Goodbye, I'm leaving you. And all of a sudden Jesus takes off and leaves, literally takes off and leaves. And all of a sudden these disciples find themselves without the Lord Jesus Christ.

But there's something very interesting that happened. Just before Jesus left them, He turned around and He told them what He had given to them in order to help them to live without Him. One of the great things that I do with my wife and family is we, in the book of Acts, God is going to show us how to live, I want you to listen, how to live without Daddy.

How to live without the visible physical presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now remember that Jesus came to this earth. And what did He do when He came to the earth? He lived. He grew up. He was born in Bethlehem's manger. He was physically present.

He was touchable. People were around Him and then all of a sudden He was taken to the cross and He was crucified and then He rose from the grave and then 40 days later He ascended. He went back up into heaven.

I cannot even begin to imagine how the disciples must have felt. Where are you going, Lord? Don't leave us. How can we live without Daddy? How can we live without the One who means so much to us, the One from whom we draw strength and nourishment, the One who gives us direction, the One who's there for us when we need Him so much?

How can we live? And it's right here that there is a sense in which Jesus is turning to the New Testament church, to you and to me, and He's saying, listen, I want to tell you what I have given to you in order that you might live without my actual, practical, physical presence with you. Bottom line, if we can get to the end of the book, Jesus is with us. I had a man not too long ago who lost his wife say to me, Pastor, I just said to him, how are you doing, my brother? And he said, oh, I'm so lonely, but I know that God is taking care of me. And he said to me, Pastor, she's always with me.

She's always with me. Let's read together in Acts chapter 1, and I'm going to stop a number of times. I want you to know as we read Acts chapter 1.

You need to follow along with me this morning. Here Luke says, in my former book, and his former book was the Acts, was the Gospel according to Luke. We know that Luke was a medical doctor, and he wrote through the inspiration of the Spirit of God, the Gospel of Luke. And so he's saying, in the Gospel of Luke, in my former book, Theophilus, Theophilus was a Roman official, we believe. We don't know much about him. Luke says, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up into heaven, after having given instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles and the pastors whom he had chosen.

I do want you to know that I'm not here today by accident. Now look at verse 3. After his suffering, what was the suffering of Jesus? That was on the cross. After his suffering, Jesus showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. I wonder if anyone has ever wondered what Jesus did after he rose from the dead.

Now I've wondered that many times. You know, most of us believe Jesus rose from the dead, and then he ascended immediately to be seated at the right hand of the Father. That's not what happened. Do you know that the Bible tells us that Jesus spent not one, not 10, not 20, not 30, but 40 days on the earth after his resurrection, before he rose and ascended to be seated at the right hand of the Father. We are looking at the moment about what it means that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and that he ascended to be seated at the right hand of the Father. What does it mean Jesus sat down? Why did he sit down after he got up to heaven? Well here, this is before he even sat down. The Bible says here in verse 3, after Jesus' suffering, he showed himself to these men and he gave many convincing proofs. What? That he was alive.

Now look at this. He appeared to them over a period of 40 days and spoke to them about the kingdom of God. Now friends, I want to tell you something. The Lord's Prayer. How does the Lord's Prayer go? Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom do what? Come. Thy will be done.

Where? On earth, just as it is where? In heaven.

Can you see the connection here folks? Listen, here's what God is doing. It's time for Jesus, the resurrected Christ, to ascend to be seated at the right hand of the Father which is in heaven. And it is at this point that God, in a sense, because of the finished work of Jesus upon the cross, is going to connect the kingdom of God in heaven with the kingdom of God upon earth. And that is why Jesus Christ said it is absolutely imperative when you pray to say, I want to do your will which is spoken in heaven but is carried out upon this earth. I want to be a duplicate of everything that God is in heaven.

I want to be that person on earth. Now watch this with me. Stick with me. This is very important this morning. I don't want you to miss this.

Folks, this is very, very important. Jesus here, He appeared to them over a period of 40 days. If anyone ever says to you, how many days was Jesus on this earth after He rose from the grave?

Forty days. There it is right there. What did He speak about? He spoke to them about building of the kingdom of God. That's what the church is.

The church is instituted on earth in order that God's kingdom may be built. And here in verse 4, on one occasion while He was eating with them, just by the way, have any of you ever wondered whether we're going to eat after we die? There it is. Now listen to me. Listen.

Listen to me, folks. What does 1 Corinthians 15 tell us? 1 Corinthians 15 tells us that if we want to know what we're going to look like, what we're going to sound like, and what we're going to do after we die, we need to look at the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. Why was Jesus on the earth for 40 days?

Because He wanted to teach them all these truths, but I believe, my friends, fundamentally that He was upon the earth after His resurrection because Jesus Christ wanted us to know what we were going to be and to look like after we die in our resurrected bodies. And you have no idea what relief I've got to know that we are going to eat after we die. I tell you that if I loved heaven before, it's right there. I can just see those chocolate cakes made by angels, I tell you.

Any rate. On my carrot cake from Landrum, don't forget that. Now, listen to what happened. On one occasion, there's just one occasion here, while He was eating with them, He gave them this command. Do not leave Jerusalem.

Can we just hold on a minute there? Can you imagine how nervous these disciples were? Not only had they been confronted, remember how Peter was confronted and he denied Jesus three times? I mean, the Romans were after them.

But not only had Jesus Christ been crucified, not only did they allow His body to be buried in the tomb, but He rose from the grave. Folks, I can just imagine that the members of the Sanhedrin must have been meeting time without number and saying, we're going to get those boys. I know they've stolen the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are trying to show us up. They are going to bring down the whole moral character of the Roman Empire here in Palestine.

We cannot tolerate it. I should imagine these disciples were so nervous, folks. They wanted to get out of there in a hurry. I mean, they want to go up to the northern regions. They wanted to move.

They didn't want to be in around Jerusalem. And here's Jesus about to leave. And He says, don't leave. But wait for the gift My Father promised, which you have heard Me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. He was not talking about a post-conversion experience. He was not saying, you've already come to know Me, and after you know Me, you are going to be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

He was not saying that. He was pointing to Pentecost, which is going to begin in Acts chapter 2. And He was saying, I want you to know that even though you know Me as your personal Savior, and you've been baptized with water by immersion as I demonstrated to you, I want you to know that even though you know Me as your personal Savior, I want you to know that when I leave, you are going to be rendered powerless and hopeless until My Spirit, who is Me, is going to come down upon you and is going to fill you from head to toe with everything and all of Me.

That's what He was saying. Well, we'll find out about that in Acts chapter 2. It's called the day of Pentecost. Well, verse 6, so when they met together they asked Him, Lord, are You at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel? They just didn't get it, did they?

They just didn't get it. They had walked with Him and talked with Him. They'd seen Him be crucified, watched Him rise from the dead. They now had met with Him repeatedly over 40 years and Jesus talks about the kingdom of God and these disciples in their human foolishness recoil into the inner sanctum of their human limitations and say, oh God, what is this all about? Are you going to restore your kingdom to Israel? Verse 7, and so He said to him, it is not for you to know the times or the dates the Father has set by His own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.

Listen to that. You will receive power after the Holy Spirit comes on you. This is not a post-conversion experience. This is the coming of the Spirit of God in Acts chapter 2 and as a result of that you will be empowered to be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth and after He said this, He was taken up before their very eyes and a cloud hid Him from their sight.

Why do I want to be gone from my family? Why am I willing to give up a Sunday here to go to Israel? I'm going to tell you why my friends, I don't believe that you can experience anything more wonderful than standing on the Mount of Ascension, on the Mount of Olives at the very place where Jesus at this point in time ascended to be seated at the right hand of the Father, the very place where He's going to come back again, the very place where you look at the golden gate which is sealed to this day, the very place that Jesus said the ultimate fulfillment of all prophecy is going to take place and I want to take you and stand you there let alone walk all across the place where Jesus walked. But friends listen to me, it's right at this point that Jesus abandoned His disciples and then told them that He wasn't abandoning them at all. After this He was taken up before their very eyes and a cloud hid Him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as He was going when suddenly two men dressed in white stood before them. Men of Galilee, they said, why do you stand here looking up into the sky?

The same Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven. It's exciting to think about that and the joy of knowing that we have a hope in Jesus. Perhaps you're feeling a little hopeless right now and would like to pray with one of our team we would love to encourage you. Our phone number is 866-899-WORD that's 866-899-9673 and we have a resource right now on our website at www.tewonline.org. It's a combination of talents between our own pastor Dr. Don Wilton and his good friend Dr. Charles Stanley. Discover more on our website at www.tewonline.org for a powerful resource to encourage you.

Now back to today's great teaching with Dr. Don Wilton. Written about A.D. 63, this book of Acts is a volume of history. It is a record of the church covering about three decades from Pentecost, from the coming of the Spirit, from the ascension of Jesus Christ all the way to the imprisonment of the Apostle Paul. What's so important about the book of Acts? Well number one, it's the Word of God. Number two, it helps us to understand the history of the early church. Number three, it provides essential principles for us.

We've got to have that. Three in particular, it helps us to disciple believers. What do we need to do about being a disciple-making church?

How do we do this? Number two, it helps us to build the New Testament church. We are called to be builders together of God's church, the New Testament church. And number three, it helps us to know how to evangelize the world.

But there's a fourth reason. It puts the focus on the main thing. You're going to find right through our study in the book of Acts, we're going to keep coming back. God is going to keep saying to us, listen, I know you're busy.

I know you've got things to do. I know there's a lot going on, but keep the main thing, the main thing. Whatever you do, don't ever take your eyes off Jesus.

Keep on focusing on the main thing. And there's a fifth thing. It teaches us about the person and work of the Holy Spirit. I love that because the Bible is going to show us that outside of the work of the Holy Spirit, you and I rendered powerless. We believe today that the Pentecostals and the Charismatics have got a corner on the Holy Spirit, folks. It's not true. Most people today theologically believe you belong to one of two camps.

You either belong to the happy clappies or the frozen chosen, and there's nothing in between. Now that's not what the Bible teaches. The Bible says that the Spirit of God is made available to everyone who has trusted Jesus Christ as His personal Lord and Savior. So what did Jesus say about living without Him?

Can you imagine the sense of abandonment, of bewilderment, of frustration? Five things Jesus gave to the disciples, which He gave to the New Testament church. He said, listen, I know that I'm leaving, but in verse one, I've given you a ministry to do. I have given you a ministry to do.

What is that ministry? It is all that Jesus began to do and to teach. And when I leave, you want to know how to live without me? Do the ministry that I've taught you to do. Number two, I have given you a demonstration to remember. That's what Jesus said. He said, I know that I'm leaving, but I'm going to give you a demonstration you'll never get over.

That's why verse two and three is all about after, before He was taken up to heaven, after the resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples. Can you imagine a demonstration like that? Folks, I don't know anything that could thrill my heart more today, apart from talking about Jesus.

Are you listening? Can you imagine Jesus died on the cross? He rose. I mean, the disciples saw all of this and then Jesus gave them a demonstration they'd never forget. That's what He said I'm going to give you. Number three, He gave them a command to obey. That's what Jesus gives to the New Testament church in verses four and five.

On one occasion, while He was eating with them, He gave them this command. Do not leave Jerusalem, but rather wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. I want you to know that I'm going to give you a command.

It's not a suggestion. And that command is that you wait because you are going to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, who is me, He is my comforter. He is the one who is going to draw alongside of you. He is the paraclete.

He is the paraclete who is going to parachute down from the heavens itself, right there, to invest Himself within your heart and in within your life. He gave them a command. He said, listen, you're going to be rendered useless without me here if you don't obey my command. Number four, He gave them a destination to follow.

He said, I want to tell you something. I'm not only going to give you a ministry to do, I'm not only going to give you a demonstration to remember, I'm not only going to give you a command to obey, but I'm going to give you a destination to follow. I'm going to tell you where to take this.

And He said, I want you to begin right there in the streets of Spartanburg, but I also want you to go to Georgia. I want you to go to Florida. I want you to go to Hawaii. I want you to go to Alaska. I want you to go to Canada. I want you to go to England. I want you to go to Moldova. I want you to go to Russia. I want you to go to Brazil. I want you to go to India. I want you to go to the four quarters of the earth.

Why? Because that's the destination that I'm giving you to take my message. I'm instructing you. But number five, He gave them a motivation to hold onto. A motivation, I love that. Right there in verses 9 through 11, as He was taken up from before them in their very presence, the angels said to them, men of God, disciples, New Testament church, I'm going to give you the greatest motivation in the world. I want you to know that the same Jesus who has gone from before you is going to come back again.

I want you to know that no matter what you go through, the trials and tribulations and the circumstances, the ups and the downs, the challenges, the greatest motivation in your heart is that the same Jesus is going to come back again. I love watching ballgames. My sons are involved and love to go, all these different, my daughter playing. I tell you, many times I've been to a ballgame and the team is not doing so well and they go into the locker room. I'd give anything, maybe I wouldn't. I'd just be interested to know what the coach said. You know why?

Because many times I've seen ball teams come out the locker room at half time and they are a different team playing the same game. That's motivation. You know what Jesus is saying to us? He's saying, listen, I'm going to give you the ball and I'm going to give you the arena. I'm going to give you the equipment.

I'm going to give you the giftedness. I'm going to provide for you your every need, but the bottom line is when you get down in the dumps or whether you're on top of a mountain, I'm going to give you the greatest motivation for anything you do. And it is simply this, that I am going to come back and I'm going to receive you unto myself that where I am, there ye may be also. That promise is something we embrace as followers of Jesus Christ with such joy and such excitement. Do you know Jesus?

You know, in the last few minutes you've been listening to Dr. Don Wilton as he's been preaching and teaching from the pulpit, but now he steps into the studio to share his heart next. Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ? Why don't you pray this prayer with me right now? Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner and I know that Jesus died for me on the cross. Today I repent of my sin and by faith I receive you into my heart in Jesus name. My friend, I welcome you today into the family of God.

This is exciting news. If you just gave your life to Christ or rededicate your life, we have wonderful free resources for you at 866-899-WORD. Pick up the phone, give us a call. That's 866-899-9673 or meet us online at www.tewonline.org.

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That's right, only $6. Visit us online at www.tewonline.org and click the store tab located at the top of the page. We appreciate your support. You can grab those resources both on our website and at this number, 866-899-WORD. But it's not just for resources, it's for prayer. 866-899-9673 24 hours.