03/13/16 Openly Share the Gospel!
Acting Like Jesus Series – Acts 1:1-8
Intro: A bazooka is better than
a rifle. At the close of World War II, two pictures appeared in a magazine
showing a soldier in conflict with a tank. The first showed a huge tank bearing
down on a tiny soldier, about to crush him. The picture was proportioned to
show the odds involved when a foot soldier with a rifle faced a tank. The next
picture showed what happened to that soldier’s odds with a bazooka, or rocket
launcher, in his hands. This time the tank appeared to be shrunken in size and
the soldier at least equal in size, if not a little larger.
Without the power
of God released in our lives, when in conflict with sin we are like an infantry
soldier in the presence of a tank. We cannot do a thing. But by trust in the
power of the living God at work in us, we can say no and make it stick. We can
turn and begin to live as God intended us to live. Christians are soldiers in
conflict, if we try to continue in our own merit to survive that rifle will
never work! A bazooka is better than a rifle.
From the inception of His earthly
ministry until His ascension, Jesus had instructed His disciples by both deed
and word. His miracles were to strengthen their faith; His parables were to
clarify spiritual truth for them; His teaching was to formulate their theology.
He revealed to them the truth they would need to carry on His work. “The eyes
of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of
His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe,
according to the working of His mighty power.” Ephesians 1:18-19
Text: Acts
1:1-8 (NKJV)
“The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began
both to do and teach, 2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He
through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had
chosen, 3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by
many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of
the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. 4 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; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized
with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." 6 Therefore, when they
had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time
restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 And He said to them, "It is
not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own
authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come
upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
Application: The Holy Spirit can
enable you to be a proclaimer.
To proclaim something according to the Merriam-Webster
Dictionary; means to declare publicly, typically insistently, proudly, to
praise or glorify openly. The Apostle’s after giving instructions from Jesus to
wait until the Day of Pentecost and the presence of the Holy Spirit had been
received, were to go out proudly, openly and share the Gospel! This Act of the
early church fathers is to be continued through us today.
“For I delivered to you first of
all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day
according to the Scriptures.” 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 1.
1. The Right Message: We
Must Have the Right Message. Vs. 1 “The former account I made, O Theophilus, of
all that Jesus began both to do and teach.”
Jesus tells His men that they are
to be witness “unto Me”. Jesus is to be the sole focus of their message. That
has not changed! We are to tell the world about Him. We are not to talk about
us, our lives, our beliefs, our denomination, our church, or our favorite
preacher. None of those things have saving power! His message does: “For I am
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation
for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” Romans 1:16
we are to tell the world about Jesus! We are to tell the message of His love,
His death and His resurrection. We are to share the message of the Gospel: “That
if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that
God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one
believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation.” We are to tell the world that Jesus will save anyone who comes to
Him by faith! Our only mission is to point people to Jesus. He is the only hope
the world has for salvation: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you
will be saved, you and your household." As someone said, all we are is “one
beggar telling another beggar where to find bread”. Jesus is the “Bread of Life”,
He is the solution to the spiritual hunger of the world. That’s the right
message!
2. The Right Methods: We Must Have the Right Methods. Vs. 5 “For John
truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not
many days from now."
Jesus is calling His people to tell others the truth
about Him. The word “witness” was used in Bible times like it is used today. It
speaks of those who testify in a court of law. A witness in a trial is called
upon to tell what they have seen and what they know to be true.
God is calling
His people to tell what they know and what they have seen to be true. Do you
know anything about Jesus Christ? Has God done anything for you through Jesus
Christ? If you can answer yes to those questions that is what you are to tell
the world. Do you know that God loves you? Tell the world! Do you know that you
are saved? Tell the world! Do you know how God saves sinners? Tell the world! ‘But
sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to
everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and
fear.” 1 Peter 3:15 the right method is guided through the Holy Spirit!
3. The
Right Mindset: We Must Have the Right Mindset. Vs. 8 “But you shall receive
power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me
in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." The
witness in a court of law is to testify to the judge and the jury. The witness
to Jesus Christ is to testify to the whole world! That is a big task, so Jesus
breaks it down for us. We are to begin close and move out! Most of us will
never go to “the uttermost part of the earth”, but we can serve in our
Jerusalem. We can witness to our families, our friends, our co-workers, total
strangers, to anyone we meet, anywhere we go. We are to always be “on mission”
for Jesus, telling a lost and dying world that Jesus saves. If we get the
opportunity to go to our Judea, our Samaria and the uttermost part of the
earth, we should make good use of those open doors. Everyone we meet is either
a believer, or they are in need of the Gospel! Let's tell them about our
Savior! Let's share the glorious news that Jesus saves and will save all who
will come to Him by faith: “The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And
let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and
whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” Revelation
22:17 (NIV)
What is really sad is that most believers will not talk to anyone
who is outside their comfort zone. They will visit friends, family and
acquaintances, but they won't go to someone who is lost. They are afraid to
share the Gospel outside their own realm of safety. As a result, most church
members are not involved in any kind of evangelism. They have the mindset, “My
four and no more”, when there is a whole world that must be reached with the
Gospel of grace, and it is our job to take it to them! If we really believe
that people are going to Hell without Jesus, and if we really believe that the
Gospel is for all men, then why aren't we doing more to get the Gospel to them?
Why aren't we out there telling a lost world that Jesus saves? Could it be that
we really don't believe everything we claim to believe? Could it be that we are
saved and satisfied? The right mindset tells us let this: “Let this mind be in
you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Openly share the gospel!
4. The Right Muscle:
We Must Have the Right Muscle. Vs. 8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy
Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in
all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
If our message is to have
any power; if our methods are to be successful; and if our mindset is ever to
be what it ought to be; we are going to need help from outside ourselves. Jesus
tells us in this verse that our help comes from the “Holy Ghost”. The people in
the upper room were promised that the Spirit of God was coming, and that when
He came, He would fill them with God's power. “I am going to send you what my
Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with
power from on high." When that power came on the day of Pentecost, those
terrified disciples, who had been hiding from the Jews in fear, became bold
preachers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When they preached the Gospel, 3,000
souls were saved: “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about
three thousand were added to their number that day.’ What made the difference?
It wasn't their eloquence. It wasn't their oratory. It wasn't their delivery. What
made the difference was the power of God on their lives! Where did that power
come from? It came from the fact that they were saved and indwelled by the Holy
Spirit. “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one
accord in one place.” Acts 2:1
It came from the fact that they were prayed up
and clean before God. It came from the fact that they were united in love,
heart and purpose. That same power is available to us today! If we are going
have the power of God on our witness, our words and our works, we are going to
have get our lives in the kind of shape the Lord can bless and use. We are
going to have to get like the early church, when we do, we will see the Lord
pour out His power on our witness to the world. Until we do, we will spin our
wheels and accomplish nothing for His glory. We desperately need God's power on
our lives and on our church. We will never enjoy His unction and power until
our hearts are right with one another and with Him. If you have a problem with
a brother or sister in Christ, and you have not dealt with that issue
biblically, that is a hindrance to the power of God being manifested in your
life. If you have some secret sin buried in your life, it is a hindrance to the
power of God being manifested in you. We need to stop looking at others and
deal with our own hearts. The muscle needs to be worked!
Conclusion: How
important is being a witness to you? What are you willing to change in your
life so that you can be more effective as a witness? What are you willing to
deal with so that the power of God may rest upon you? What price are you
willing to pay for the touch of God on your life? How long has it been since
you told someone else about Jesus? The bible says: “Each of us shall give
account of himself to God.” And we: “Must work the works of Him who sent Me
while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.”
One day Theodore
Roosevelt had been speaking sternly to his son, Kermit, and in desperation
finally reached down to shake him. Whereupon Ethel, Kermit’s sister, touched
her father’s arm and cried out, “Shake me, Father, shake me!” The church that
wants spiritual power must ask to be shaken. “For this reason we also, since
the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be
filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual
understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him,
being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened
with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering
with joy.” Colossians 1:9-11
Every believer is commissioned, commanded and
constructed to share the Gospel with a lost world. We are His “ambassadors” in
this world: “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were
pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.” 2
Corinthians 5:20
In : Sermon
Tags: "acting like jesus series" "book of acts"
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