Friday Night Evangelism: Acts 1:7-14

Acts 1:7-14

They were with one accord

It is important not to gloss over this fact. The disciples were with one accord. The very ones who were just days before arguing over who would be the greatest in the kingdom (Lk 22:24) were now humbled and unified. Why? What had taken place between these two events? Christ's passion and the disciples utter abandonment. They were all great at one thing … abandoning their Lord when he needed them. Yet after his resurrection he sought after them and commissioned them to be his witnesses to the end of the earth. The ground was leveled through the cross and they all saw their true selves. They were all in need of forgiveness. And they were all in need of the boldness that comes from the Spirit. Therefore they were with one accord devoting themselves to prayer.

They were devoting themselves to prayer

What must they have prayed? What instructions on prayer did Jesus give according to Luke? Lets read Luke 11:1-13. According to verse 13 what are God's children to ask for? They are to ask for the Promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit. What is the first illustration Jesus gives on how to pray? What is he attempting to teach? We are to be persistent in prayer (v8). Or as Acts says, we are to be devoted to prayer.

But this is a paradox. Jesus tells his disciples to wait until they are clothed with power from on high. But he has also instructed them to pray for it. The two seem in conflict. For example, it is like a Father telling his son, I'm going to give you some ice cream and the son continuously asking, “Can I have some ice cream , can I have some ice cream, can I have some ice cream.” The natural response would be to tell the child, “Son, I told you I would give it to you. Now, you need to wait for it and stop asking for it.” But this is not so with the Spirit. The Father is going to give them this promise, but they must persistently ask for it, seek for it, and pound the doors of heaven for it. Therefore, we see in Acts that they were not just praying but devoting themselves to prayer.

If there is a discipline that is overlooked in the believer's life it is often prayer. Prayer is pushed to the periphery because it does not generate the immediate results that our western instant gratification culture demands, but we can do nothing apart from the empowering work of the Spirit. But the Spirit is given to those who devote themselves to ask for it.

Application

How is our unity? How is our devotion to prayer? How is our desire for the baptism of the Holy Spirit? I want us to take some extended time and pray for unity, devotion to prayer, and a desire for the Spirit.

Friday Night Evangelism: Acts 1:1-8

Acts 1:1-8

Wait for the Promise of the Father

After giving the disciples a forty day crash course on the Kingdom of God he orders them to remain in Jerusalem. Why?

To receive the promise of the Father, the baptism of the Holy Spirit (note the parallel).

We're going to spend the rest of our time answering this question: What is the promise of the Father? Or put another way, what is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?

Question: Up to this point had the disciples not received the Holy Spirit? (John 20:21-22)

If the disciples had already received the Spirit, what are they waiting for? I believe there must be a difference between what the disciples received in John 20 and what they are about to receive in Acts 2. The former refers to regeneration through the Spirit as explained by Jesus in John 3, while the latter refers to the empowerment by the Spirit as demonstrated in the book of Acts (or even when Jesus sent out the disciples by twos in Luke 9). I have many reasons why I believe there is a distinction between these two accounts, but I'm only going to give you three of them. I encourage you to do your own study. Don't take my word for it but study the scriptures.

I believe that the promise of the Father or the Baptism of the Spirit, is not regeneration but a subsequent empowerment of the Spirit in order to accomplish kingdom work.

Argument 1: The Disciples had already Received the Spirit

I have already explained my first argument. There appears to be a distinction between John 20 and Acts 2. The disciples had already received the Spirit when Jesus breathed on them, therefore, it would make sense that there is a special impartation of the Spirit for which they are waiting.

Argument 2: The Terminology of Parallel verses

Another indication that what the disciples were waiting for was an empowerment of the Spirit and not regeneration is the terms that Luke and Jesus use. None of the terms necessarily imply regeneration. In fact, if I had time, I would show you that Luke uses the term filled with the Spirit to refer to instances of supernatural empowerment and not regeneration.

The passage in Acts 1 is referring back to Luke 3:

• He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire (Luke 3:16)
• I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:49)
• … wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” (Acts 1:4-5)
• You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you (Acts 1:8)
• And they were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4)

VERB OBJECT

Baptized - Holy Spirit and fire (2x)

Sent - Promise of the Father

Clothed - Power from on high

Receive - Power

Come upon - Holy Spirit

Filled - Holy Spirit

None of the verbs are exclusive to regeneration. Second, notice what is being associated with the Holy Spirit, namely the promise of the Father (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5) and power from on high (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8)

Peter's Explanation of Pentecost

The third argument is Peter's explanation of Pentecost. After the disciples had been clothed and filled with the power of the Spirit, the people are perplexed. Are these men drunk? Peter stands up and explains to the people what has just been fulfilled. Keep in mind that he is explaining what the promise of the Father is by quoting the prophet Joel (Acts 2:17-18):

And in the last days it shall be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

and your young men shall see visions,

and your old men shall dream dreams;

even on my male servants and female servants

in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.

Notice that the outpouring of the Spirit was to result, not in regeneration, but prophesy. There were many other OT passages foretelling of the Spirit bringing regeneration, such as Ezekiel 36, but Peter chose this passage which does not speak of regeneration, but prophesy. Why? Because the promise of the Father, that is, the baptism of the Spirit, was the subsequent empowerment of the Spirit for kingdom work, not regeneration.

Application

Why am I making such a strong case for this? Jesus thought it necessary for his disciples to receive the power of the Holy Spirit so that they could be his witnesses in Jeruslalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. This task remains unfinished, therefore, the promise of the Father, the baptism of the Holy Spirit remains open for us today. We need this empowerment to finish the kingdom work. As believers we already possess the Holy Spirit, Jesus has breathed new life into us, but now, to do his work, we must be clothed with power from on high. We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Next time we meet I will talk about how we go about this. But to clarify any misconcesptions. We cannot make this happen. As we will see, the disciples simply waited and prayed, it is the Father's prerogative to pour out the Spirit. Meanwhile, let us pray and ask that he would grant us the Holy Spirit tonight.

Friday Night Evangelism: Acts 1:1-2

Acts 1:1-2

Jesus Began a Work

The first account records what Jesus began to do and teach. Notice that Luke did not say what Jesus did but what be began to do and teach. I think that this is significant for the book of Acts and especially for us today. Jesus began a work recorded in the Gospel of Luke, which continues on into the book of Acts and continues today. As one pastor has noted, the final chapter of Acts does not end with a period, but with a comma.

It is true that Christ accomplished and finished a work on the cross – he has secured the blessings of God, established redemption, and acquired forgiveness (Eph 1:3, 7). Yet the implications of this accomplished work remains unfinished.

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Mat 24:14)

We can see that Christ's intention was for the disciples to continue the work that he began to do and teach. They were to be his witnesses in their city and to the end of the earth (v8).

The work remains unfinished, therefore Acts applies to us today. Jesus began his ministry 2,000 years ago and has continued to spread his word through his witnesses.

Jesus Healed and Taught

I think both of these words are important and indicate different aspects of Jesus' ministry. In the gospel of Luke, he expounds upon these two aspects:

And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, 'Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?'” In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” Luke 7:20-23

Where do you see teaching in this passage?

Where do you see doing in this passage?

Jesus' healing and teaching ministry is not disputed. The real question is this, “Is that same healing and teaching ministry available to us today?” If it is available to us, why then are our ministries often heavy on the teaching and light on the healing?

How does this affect our evangelism?

These are all questions that I do not intend on answering tonight, but will address as they come up in the continuing study of the book. We're going to take it slow because I want Luke to inform us on how to answer these and other questions. Not all of us may agree on this issue; therefore, I encourage you to take some time to study this book. Whether you believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a subsequent filling or as the regeneration of a person, you are welcomed here. Nonetheless, I am persuaded of the former and hope to convince you through scripture as to why I think this.

For now, I will simply state that I believe that the healing and teaching ministry of Jesus is available and that we need a subsequent baptism of the Holy Spirit in order to operate in this power. However, this baptism cannot be conjured up, but is freely given by God to whom he pleases. Thus we need to ask the Father for the Holy Spirit that we may evangelize in his power.