Great Boldness For God, Great Blessing From God

"The Holy Spirit, whom God gives to those who obey Him" (Acts 5:32). "The men you put in prison are standing in the temple courtyard. They're teaching the people" (Acts 5:25). "Every day in the temple courtyard and from house to house, they refused to stop teaching and telling the Good News that Jesus is the Messiah" (Acts 5:42). Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the work of the Lord moved forward. There was great boldness in preaching the Gospel. People were brought to the Saviour.

Look Beyond The Servants Of God - To The God Whom They Serve.

Peter points away from  himself to Jesus (Acts 3:12-16). What he's emphasizing is this - This is more than what I say about Jesus. It's what the prophets said about Him. This was God speaking through the prophets (Acts 3:18).

"The power of Jesus Christ" (Acts 4:10) - This is more than the healing of one man. This is salvation for all who come to Jesus, the Saviour (Acts 4:12).

"All the people were praising God for what had happened" (Acts 4:21). This wasn't  praise for Peter and John. It was praise to God. We must learn to look beyond the servants of God to the God whom they serve.

From Prophecy To Power

"The Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:2,5,8,16) - This was the time for the fulfilment of promises made by Jesus during His earthly ministry (John 14:16,25; John 16:12).

"The Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:4,17-18,33,38) - God is doing a new thing. This far surpasses all that happened in the Old Testament. What had been promised is now reality. From prophecy to power - This is what happened on the Day of Pentecost.

To The Ends Of The Earth

"His dominion shall be ... to the ends of the earth" (Zechariah 9:10).

God's purpose was moving on. He had begun with Israel. Their deliverance from bondage in Egypt was a mighty demonstration of His saving power. This was only the beginning. God was moving on to Jesus - "the Saviour of the world" (John 4:42). In Jesus Christ, crucified for us, God was reaching out, in love, to "the whole world" (1 John 2:2). The Gospel is not only for the Jews: "It is it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek" (Romans 1:16). Jesus is calling us, His redeemed people - empowered by the Holy Spirit - to take His message of salvation to the ends of the earth: "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" (Acts 1:8).

When the Holy Spirit comes on you ...

‘When the Holy Spirit comes on you… you will be My witnesses… to the ends of the earth’(Acts 1:8). This great advance of the Gospel - Salvation reaches ‘the Gentiles’(Acts 10:45; Acts 11:1,18) - is a movement of ‘the Spirit’(Acts 11:12). The Spirit speaks through the Word (10:44; 11:15). In God’s Word, we read of (a) God’s love for the whole world (John 3:16); (b) God’s Son who died for ‘the sins of the whole world’(John 1:29; 1 John 2:2); (c) God’s command that ‘the Good News’ should be preached to ‘everyone’(Mark 16:15); (d) God’s purpose that there should be disciples of Christ in every nation (Matthew 28:19). ‘Every person in every nation, in each succeeding generation, has the right to hear the News that Christ can save… Here am I, send me’(Youth Praise,128). ‘Go forth and tell!’(Mission Praise, 178).

The Upward Look And The Outward Look

God is calling us to move forward into His future. He's calling us to move forward with Him. He's calling us to move forward for Him. How are we to move forward with God? How are we to move forward for Him? If we are to move forward with God and for God, we must listen to those who have gone before us, and we must learn from them. Let us look back to the prophets and the apostles. Let us look back to our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us listen to them. Let us learn from them.

We begin with one of the prophets - Jeremiah. After that, we will look at the apostles, at the beginning of the book of Acts. Then, we will listen to Jesus, our Saviour, and we will learn from Him. After we have learned from the apostles, the prophets and the Saviour, we will return to the question: How are we to move forward with God and for God.

Jeremiah 1:4-8

Jeremiah's call to serve God seems to come as a bolt from the blue. He was completely taken aback. He was surprised. He was shocked. He was totally unprepared for this. He didn't know how to handle this. What was he supposed to say? What was he supposed to do?

To Jeremiah, it may have seemed completely new, but this was not new to God. He had been planning it for a very long time. God had a great future planned for Jeremiah.

Jeremiah looked at the past and the present. He said, "There's nothing special about me. I am only a child" (Jeremiah 1:6). God was already looking on to the future. He said, "Jeremiah, you will be a prophet to the nations" (Jeremiah 1:5).

We look at what we are. God is already looking at what we are going to become.

Jeremiah said, "I do not know how to speak" (Jeremiah 1:6).

God said, "You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you" (Jeremiah 1:7). We look at what we can't do. God says, "This is what I am going to do." God says, "I am going to do a mighty work in you. I am going to do a mighty work through you."

What do we see in the call of Jeremiah? - We see the upward look and the outward look.

 * Jeremiah is looking up to the Lord. He is receiving his message from the Lord. He was a man with a message.

 * Jeremiah is looking out to the world. He is taking his message to the people. He was a man with a mission.

The upward look and the outward look - this is what we need today. We are not only to be the Church within these walls. We're to the be the Church without walls. We're to be the Church that is reaching out beyond these walls.

Acts 1:4-8

At the beginning of the book of Acts, we see the importance of the upward look and the outward look. We need both - the upward look: looking up to God, and the outward look: looking out to the world.

The book of Acts begins with waiting on the Lord - "wait for the gift My Father promised" (Acts 1:4). It moves on from there to witnessing to the world - "you will be My witnesses" (Acts 1:8).

There is, however, something else - something which lies between the waiting and the witnessing.

Here it is, in Acts 1:8: "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you."

Acts 1 is the beginning of a journey.

This journey begins in Jerusalem: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift My Father promised" (Acts 1:4).

The journey does not end in Jerusalem. It goes out to "the ends of the earth" - "you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

Waiting on the Lord and witnessing to the world - we need both, not one without the other. It's not to be all waiting and no witnessing; and it's not to be witnessing without waiting.

We must never forget the call to worship - but we dare not think that the call to serve the Lord is about nothing more than what happens within these walls of the Church. We're called to be a worshipping Church - and we're called to be a serving Church, a Church without walls, a Church that reaches out with the love of Jesus Christ, our Saviour.

When we gather for worship, we should pray, "Lord, give us the upward look. Help us to reach up to You." We should also pray, "Give us the outward look. Help us to reach out for You."

Mark 1:34-38

Jesus was a Man of prayer. He was also a Man among the people. God heard His prayers - and "the common people heard Him gladly" (Mark 12:37).

In Jesus, we see the upward look and the outward look: looking up to God and going out to the people.

If we are to be true followers of Jesus, we must do what Jesus did - praying to God and working for God.

We must look at the life of Jesus, and we must pray, "Lord, help me to become more like Jesus."

In Jesus, we see both spiritual commitment and social concern, not one without the other.

How are  we to move forward with God and for God?

Our social concern is to be grounded in our spiritual commitment. It is to be shaped by our spiritual commitment. We are to tell people that Jesus loves them. We are to show them that Jesus loves them. We are to love people because we love Jesus. Our social concern is to be a way of expressing our spiritual commitment.

In today's Church and today's world, we need this loving and powerful combination - spiritual commitment and social concern.

 * Our spiritual commitment is always more than a spiritual commitment.

 * Our social concern is always more than a social concern.

We're called to understand the Word of God and to change the world of men and women.

We're to be set apart for God, but we're not be set apart from people.

God is calling us to believe the faith and to live the faith. We are to people who believe the Gospel. we are to be people who live the Gospel.

Let us pray for wisdom to know God's will and courage to do God's will.

Let us give ourselves to Jesus.

He will make the difference in our life - our whole life, not just a part of it.

Jesus is the way of salvation, joy and victory.

• Jesus is the way of salvation - Concerning "the Name of Jesus Christ", Peter tells us that "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:10, 12).
• Jesus is the way of joy - Jesus tells us, "In the world, you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).

Jesus is the way of victory - Paul gives to us this word of encouragement: "Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Three Great Gifts

Three Great Gifts – Jesus, Forgiveness, And The Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38)

Through faith in Christ, we put the old life behind us. Our sins are forgiven. We receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Through faith in Christ, we receive the strength we need to live as men and women who love God.

Through faith in Christ, we receive the strength we need to maintain our confession of faith – “Jesus Christ is Lord.”

In Jesus Christ, God’s answer comes to us with the promise of the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

We Ask Our Question. God Gives His Answer.

Our Question And God’s Answer (Acts 2:37-38)

The question is our question: “Brothers, what shall we do?”

The answer is God’s answer: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the Name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Where Does Our Question Come From? (Acts 2:37)

Where does our question come from? – It comes from God.

His Word is preached. His Spirit is at work.

Following on from the preaching of God’s Word in the power of God’s Spirit, we read this, “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart”. This is where the question comes from. God has put it into our heart. Through His Word and His Spirit, he leads us to ask the question of salvation: “What must I do to be saved?”

God’s Answer To Our Question (Acts 2:37-38)

The question is our question. The answer must always be God’s answer. We ask the question. We cannot give the answer. In ourselves, there is no answer. We are “far off” (Acts 2:39).

We know about our sin, but we cannot give to ourselves the forgiveness of sin.

We know about the emptiness in our lives, but we cannot fill our own hearts with the presence of the Holy Spirit.

We can only come to God in our sin and our emptiness.

We come in our sin, praying for God’s forgiveness. We come in our emptiness, praying that God will fill us with His Spirit.

When we come in our sin and emptiness, God speaks His answer.

God’s Answer Comes To Us In The Name Of Jesus Christ.

“What are we to do?” – Before we think of what we are to do, we must think about what Jesus Christ has done for us. This is the Good News. Jesus Christ has taken our sins upon Himself. He has died for us so that we might be forgiven by Him. 

We must never begin with the call for repentance and baptism. We must always begin with Jesus Christ – “the Son of God loved us and gave Himself for us” (Galatians 2:20). 

“What are we to do?” – The first thing we must do is this: we must look away from ourselves to Jesus Christ, our Saviour.

When we turn our eyes on Jesus and keep our eyes fixed on Him, we will never think of our repentance and baptism as ‘good works’ we have done, ‘good works’ by which we make ourselves acceptable to God. 

The Name of Jesus Christ is the Name of our salvation. It is in Him that we are called to repentance and baptism. It is through the power of Jesus Christ, the risen Lord, that we are able to put the old life behind us and begin the new life of the Spirit. 

At the heart of God’s answer to our question, there is “the Name of Jesus Christ.”

In His answer to our question, God speaks to us of repentance and baptism. He speaks of the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Above all else, He speaks to us of His Son, our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.

God’s Answer Is For Every One Of Us (Acts 2:38).

To every one of us, God says, “Repent and be baptized”. To every one of us, He says, “Leave your old life behind. Step out into the new life with Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord.”

God’s answer is for every one of us. He doesn’t say to some of us, “You need to repent” and then turn to others, saying, “You won’t need to repent. You’re good enough already.”

Let God’s Answer Change You. (Acts 2:38).

The question is asked, “What are we to do?” God’s answer begins with a call for repentance and baptism – “Repent and be baptized.”

If we were to read no further than the words, “Repent and be baptized”, we would miss a great deal of what God is saying to us here.“Repent and be baptized” is only the beginning of God’s answer. We must go on from there. As we read the remainder of verse 38, we learn that

* God’s answer is addressed to every one of us.

* God’s answer comes to us in the Name of Jesus Christ.

* God’s answer comes to us with the promise of the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

We ask the question, “What are we to do?” (Acts 2:37), God gives the answer – “Repent and be baptized.” (Acts 2:38).

We lay our old life before the Lord. We invite Him to come and change us.

He comes in forgiving love. He comes in transforming power.

Once we have put our faith in Christ, everything changes.

“If any one is in Christ, he is a new creation.

Old things have passed away. Everything has become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

“It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).

No Mighty Triumph For Satan, Abundant Blessing From God

The apostles pray for God's help (Acts 4:23-31). The believers share their property (Acts 4:32-37). The Lord is doing a mighty work among His people. At the heart of this work of God, there is "the Holy Spirit" (Acts 4:31).

God was doing a mighty work - and He was protecting it. Satan was trying to destroy the work of God - but God was one step ahead of him. This work must go on. It must not be spoiled. Following on from the act of divine judgment (Acts 5:1-11), there was great blessing (Acts 5:12-16). The judgment came so that Satan may be prevented from having a mighty triumph over God's people. This judgment paved the way for the blessing. First, there was God's purifying judgment. Then, there was His abundant blessing.

Jesus Is Risen. Jesus Is Lord.

“God raised Jesus Christ from the dead” (Acts 2:24).

Did this become true only because a lot of people said that it was true? Has it become false because many people refuse to believe that it’s true? No! It’s God’s great miracle. Death has been defeated. There is hope. Death will not triumph over us. Jesus Christ is Lord.

A Strong Faith? or A Strong God?

“Paul … strengthened  the faith of all the disciples” (Acts 18:23).

Strengthening the faith of all the disciples – This is such an important ministry. We are not to be content with the faith that we have. We are to press on to a stronger faith. What do we mean when we speak about a strong faith? What we mean is this: We’re learning to trust in our strong God. Our God is always stronger than our faith. It’s not so much our faith that’s strong. It’s our God who’s strong. The strengthening of our faith – This is about a growing awareness of our strong God. He is our strength. Our faith is growing stronger when we’re learning to look away from ourselves – we are always weak – to our God – He is always strong.

Salvation, Joy, Victory

Jesus is the way of salvation, joy and victory.

• Jesus is the way of salvation – Concerning “the Name of Jesus Christ”, Peter tells us that “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:10, 12).
• Jesus is the way of joy – Jesus tells us, “In the world, you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
• Jesus is the way of victory – Paul gives to us this word of encouragement: “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).