Acts part 1

One night a wife found her husband standing over their infant’s crib. As she watched him looking down at their very first baby, she saw on his face a mixture of emotions: …disbelief, doubt, delight, amazement, enchantment, skepticism.
Touched by this unusual display and the deep emotions it aroused, with eyes glistening she slipped her arm around her husband. "A penny for your thoughts," she said.
"It’s amazing!" he replied. "I just can’t see how anybody can make a crib like that for only $46.50."
Today we are going to focus in on something that I hope gets you all excited for the right reasons.
Today we are going to look at the Church and in particular we are going to delve into the book of Acts.
This study for us is very timely because we need to plug back into this story now more than ever.
The Church is going to face times or at least world views like what we in Acts. In Acts we will see a government that is not favorable to the Church and you will see false religion all around.
You will see militancy against the Church from some of the Jews of that time.
Sounds similar – a world full of government s that are threatened by the Church and another religion that would fight Christianity with violence.
Just look at the latest flap over the Health and Human Services department of the United States government telling health insurance providers that they must provide abortive and contraceptive services to their clients.
The only problem with this is that in flies in the face of many religious convictions.
We have the US government for the first time that I can figure telling Christians that they MUST comply with the government over their religious convictions.
You may have read about the president’s latest concession on this issue but I will tell you that it still forces people to act against their conscious.
Also watch carefully the administration’s latest use of language – Now The president and secretary of state are saying that they are for the freedom to worship.
Now this is a slight shift from Freedom of religion to freedom of worship. What does that mean – well freedom to worship means you can go to church and have a worship experience but don’t bring it out of the church house.
Religion is the outgrowth of your worship into every aspect of life – health, abortion, individual freedom rights of the human person.
Folks this is a dangerous road we are going down and I beg you to please pay attention to these issues and be responsible in how you vote.
So pay close attention to Acts because in one portion of this book the early church will be accused of standing up to the government and saying no Caesar is not Lord but Jesus is.
We need to stand up and say the same thing – Jesus is Lord and our allegiance is to Him more than anything else and if Washington DC tells us to do something that violates God’s word we will obey God rather than man.
Also consider that Acts is about a book of not just domestic evangelism –in our own backyard but also about Evangelism to the nations.
1.5 Billion people are alive in the world today that have never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
So you have to say the book of Act is timely.
You have a government system that is dead set against the Christian faith
You have a religious group that is violently set against Christianity that is violently persecuting Christians.
You also had an entire world that needed to hear the Gospel.
So this study if really timely and applicable.
Let’s Get to the book of Acts and lay down some ground work for our lesson today:
The author of Acts is the Apostle Luke – he is the author of the 2 volume set – Luke and Acts. Luke gives us the annunciation of Christ’s birth to his resurrection.
Luke is also the only Gentile writer of our New Testament – All other authors were Jewish.
Luke’s medical background comes through in the Greek of Luke and Acts when he uses specific Greek words to the medical field at his time.
Luke wrote his gospel and the book of Acts in the same way that many ancient historians wrote their introductions.
Luke gives us a great introduction that is much like what you find in other ancient writers like Josephus.
Let’s go back and look at the prologue to Luke’s Gospel:
Luke 1: 1-4
1Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, 2just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, 3 it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus ; 4so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.
I love how Luke gets started. He is writing to Theophilus. Who is that?
I have read many ideas on the matter. Some say he was an individual.
Perhaps even Paul’s legal counsel in Rome. And they suggest that the books of Luke and Acts are written as a legal brief in preparation for Paul’s case before Caesar.
Remember Luke is Paul’s traveling companion and Luke wrote Acts and Luke probably in Transit to Rome and also while Paul was under house arrest awaiting trial before Caesar.
But perhaps the secret to unlocking the Mystery of Theophilus is not with the question Who is that? Perhaps the real question is “What does it mean?”
Theophilus literally means “Lover of God”
You see, many feel this was not a specific individual but rather it was a symbolic reference to a specific group of God fearers.
From this prologue we can learn a few things about Luke and his gospel and the book of Acts:
1) Luke is laying out an exact account that has been handed down to him.
Sir William Ramsay was converted to Christianity as he studied the accuracy of Luke’s accounts. Luke was a first rate historian.
Luke can be trusted is what we must understand – He is going to lay down an accurate account of Jesus and the early Church.
2) Luke’s account is orderly and will lay out a specific reason we should believe in Jesus and believe that God has called His Church

3) This book is for teaching and to build faith. It is a message that is to be shared.

The prologue was written in a way in the ancient world that was meant to be read as a public proclamation like many Roman and Greek classics were read.
Now let us look at the prologue to Acts and you will see continuity with Luke chapter 1
Acts 1: 1-3
1 The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. 3 To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.
Now Luke is remind Theophilus of the first account that he wrote to him.
Now he is picking up where Luke Left off.
Luke is telling us specifically that Acts is the 2nd volume to his two volume set.
In Luke24 we have the Emmaus Road story and the commission of the disciples by Jesus. Now we are seeing a specific order of events.
Acts is going to pick up at the resurrection, take us through the 40 days that Jesus appeared to His disciples,
chronicle his Ascension into Heaven, and watch the sending of the Church through the power of the Holy Spirit.

I. Jesus’ appearances post resurrection:
This is a very important time for Jesus to empower His followers:
We found on the Road to Emmaus in Luke 24 two despondent Disciples that Jesus revealed Himself to and we learn that their hearts were burning when the realized the Christ had to suffer, die, and be resurrected.
It was part of the plan.
This 40 days will solidify this movement and empower them to go out and preach.
And Jesus for 40 days gave them all the proof they needed to confront their Hostile world with the Message of God’s love for Mankind.
Look what convincing proofs, Jesus gave them during those 40 days.
1. Jesus revealed himself to The woman at the tomb and they worshipped Him.
2. He revealed himself to the Disciples, Mary Magdalene
3. He revealed Himself to the Emmaus road disciples.
4. The bible records that literally over 500 people laid eyes on the resurrected Christ and could identify Him.
For those 40 days, Jesus overcame Hesitation and Disbelief by many “Infallible or Convincing Proofs.. The Result
His followers were absolutely convinced about who Jesus was and what they were to do.
The resurrection message will form the backbone of Acts and the preaching of the word in Acts.
The message of the Church is that Jesus is declared Lord through the resurrection.
This message will be subversive and will show Caesar that he really doesn’t have power of the Church.
Think about this, what was the one power the Romans had over the Christians?
Caesar could say to the Christians – hey do what I say or I will kill you, but the Christians can now say – it doesn’t matter if you kill me because Jesus rose from the dead and has the power over death.
The power of the resurrection is evident in the story that I want to share with you.
You probably do not remember the name Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin nor should you.
But during his day he was as powerful a man as there was on earth.
A Russian Communist leader he took part in the Bolshevik Revolution 1917, was editor of the Soviet newspaper Pravda (which by the way means truth),
and was a full member of the Politburo. His works on economics and political science are still read today.
There is a story told about a journey he took from Moscow to Kiev in 1930 to address a huge assembly on the subject of atheism.
Addressing the crowd he aimed his heavy artillery at Christianity hurling insult, argument, and proof against it.
An hour later he was finished. He looked out at what seemed to be the smoldering ashes of men’s faith. "Are there any questions?"
Bukharin demanded. Deafening silence filled the auditorium but then one man approached the platform and mounted the lectern standing near the communist leader.
He surveyed the crowd first to the left then to the right.
Finally he shouted the ancient greeting known well in the Russian Orthodox Church: "CHRIST IS RISEN!"
En masse the crowd arose as one man and the response came crashing like the sound of thunder: "HE IS RISEN INDEED!"
This morning let me say to you that Christ has risen indeed – just as this message empowered the Church of the book of Acts it also encourages us.
This message of hope reaches us today.
We can’t forget how important this 40 days of Jesus appearing to His disciples before his ascension was to the book of Acts and the early Church.
Let me share with you a story from this time- this 40 days – that directly relates to our own time.
This story relates one of Jesus post resurrection appearances to His apostles.

John 20: 24-29
24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples were saying to him, "We have seen the Lord !" But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." 26After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you."27Then He said to Thomas, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands ; and reach here your hand and put it into My side ; and do not be unbelieving, but believing."28Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God !" 29Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed ? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed."
1st – Doors are SHUT
First of all let us take note of one detail that is lost sometimes – both occurrences of Jesus’s appearing to the Disciples in John 20 happen when the doors are shut.
The doors are shut but Jesus still comes in to them.
Our world is shutting the doors to Christ – a Risen Christ is dangerous to the world because if Jesus is raised from the dead – it means we must change.
Jesus can break through those barriers.
When the world tells us that keep your religion in the Church house and don’t bring it into the public square – Tim Tebow says no- This is who I am – Jesus is my Lord and He makes me who I am.
The Islamic world tries to lock out Jesus but people like the preacher in Iran that is about to be executed says no, Jesus is Lord and Islam is a false religion.
Jesus will break through - He always does.
2nd – Jesus provides Evidence.
He just doesn’t say – hey be quiet Thomas you numb skull where is your faith?
No he provides Faith – I have been helped a great deal in my walk with Christ by men like Ravi Zacharias, William Lane Craig, and Francis Schaeffer that say Christianity is true and we can prove it.
We should be willing to defend the faith and believe that Christianity is true for every part of life.
The Bible has all the answers for science, government, and how to live our lives.
1 Peter 3: 15
15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence ;
Be ready to give a ready defense of the Christian faith.
Peter says to be ready to give a defense (Apologia) – this is where we get the English word for Apologetics.
This word for given an Answer comes from that word - We should practice apologetics as Christians, know the arguments of the world and be able to answer them.
3rd Jesus gives a direct comment to us today.
Blessed are those that did not see and believe.
Jesus is talking about us – we have never seen the risen Christ – or touched the living Jesus’ flesh but we believe.
Do you like Jesus issuing a blessing – I know that it makes me feel really good to hear this.
Jesus acknowledges that it takes us great faith to believe and never to have seen.
But he has not left us without proof.
As our sermon series on the resurrection pointed out there are many reasons to believe the tomb was found empty and Jesus rose from the dead.
Jesus is the living Lord and Christ.
Now how does that affect your life today?
Does it make the same type of change that it will make for these people in Acts.
Where do you find yourself in the Acts story.
If Acts chapter 29 were written today – what would it look like if we were interjected into that story in Acts.
You may think that is strange but I think that is a legitimate question. The reason why is that we have many misconceptions.
1) We think those people in Acts were superhuman but they weren’t. They were human like us.
They had families, businesses, problems, just like we do.
They had to deal with the same doubts that we have. Imagine the doubts in that community when they saw who they thought was the Messiah brutally beaten and killed.
When you witnessed that you were thinking – I don’t want no part of that if this is what happens to our leader.
We today have to make the choice – do we want our faith to stay in the state of before the resurrection or after resurrection.
What I mean is this – sometimes we live like Jesus is still in the grave. He has risen but we act like He is dead and the church suffers because of it.
Or do we want to live in the fact that He is risen and now we are called to go out and tell it to everyone. This is great news- this is terrific news – death no longer has its hold over us, Jesus is raised from the dead.
All allegiance and all glory God to Him Alone –
We must wake up and live in this reality – if we do then the problems around us will seem insignificant.
Let the government try to take away religious freedom we will flourish all the more the Gospel will not be stopped.
If Caesar could not stop it then no government will be able to stop it.
Even if Radical Islam decides to keep blowing up buildings and declaring jihad on everything that moves –
the Gospel will keep flourishing because God’s people will be fearless in the face of cowardice.
And when we look at a lost and dying world – we will want to take the gospel to the world – we will willingly give our money to world mission because we care about those that our lost.
We will make sure our community has heard the gospel- money, time, energy will be no obstacle to us if we wake up and realize that this story of the Church continues with us and just doesn’t end when we close our Bibles and put them on the shelf.
Conclusion:
"There is an old story about a lighthouse keeper who worked on a rocky stretch of coastline.
Once a month he would receive a new supply of oil to keep the light burning so that ships could safely sail near the rocky coast.
One night, though, a woman from a nearby village came and begged him for some oil to keep her family warm.
Another time a father asked for some to use in his lamp.
Another man needed to lubricate a wheel. Since all the requests seemed legitimate, the lighthouse keeper tried to please everyone and grant the requests of all.
Toward the end of the month, he noticed his supply of oil was dangerously low. Soon it was gone, and one night on the light on the lighthouse went out.
As a result, that evening several ships were wrecked and countless lives were lost.
When the authorities investigated, the man was very apologetic.
He told them he was just trying to be helpful with the oil. Their reply to his excuses, however, was simple and to the point: "You were given oil for one purpose, and one purpose only - to keep that light burning!"
God has commissioned us to do His work and we must realize that anything else is just a distraction from that work.
We must get focused on what the reason is for our very existence.