On your way to heaven, don't minimize the resurrection of Jesus and His gift to the church of the Holy Spirit...

“The Promise of the Father”

(Acts 1:1-5, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, November 14, 2010)

1:1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.

3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Introduction: The gift of the Holy Spirit is a major move toward heaven (Isaiah 35:10).

In the first book ... (1-2)

Luke, the missionary companion of the Apostle Paul, and the author of the Book of Acts, wrote this important book as a sequel to his first book, the Gospel according to Luke. Luke was not an eyewitness of the events of Jesus' ministry or of the tumultuous and exciting early years of the church in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria. We know this because the word “we” begins to show up in the narrative in Acts 16:10 when Paul's small band of missionaries have been directed through a vision to enter the Roman province of Macedonia. The words of Luke:

“And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”

In the first book that Luke wrote to the man Theophilus, whose name means “friend of God,” he revealed his method for finding out so many things that he did not see with his own eyes:

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

Eyewitnesses and ministers of the word filled out the knowledge that Luke did not have. God used Luke to hear all this information, and to write a beautiful and orderly account, first in his gospel, and then in Acts. Luke reveals his purpose at the beginning of his gospel: “that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.” He presents his own efforts as something that has been well-researched, and that is certain. As a travel companion of the Apostle Paul, both books surely come from Luke's deep acquaintance with Paul's understanding of the historical events that have taken place.

That first book, Luke's gospel, takes us through the critical events from just before the conception of the Messiah in the womb of Mary through the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus into heaven. Luke calls all of that, “all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up.” Before he was “taken up,” as Luke puts it, he tells us that Jesus “had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.” This refers to his instruction of his apostles after his resurrection. Remember that it is in Luke 24 that we have the account of Jesus' teaching two men on the road to Emmaus. It was there where Jesus said, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And then Luke adds these words: “Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he was helping his disciples to see the richness of the Old Testament Scriptures as an inspired source of understanding concerning the Messiah.

What then is this second book of Luke? If the first book is all that Jesus began to do and teach during his years on earth, the second book is all that Jesus began to do and teach from heaven through His disciples and the rest of the New Testament church. We may call it the Acts of the Apostles, but it is certain that the Jesus who ascended into heaven is the prime mover of everything here. These are the acts of the ascended Lord through His chosen body, the church. The agent of His divine activity is the Holy Spirit. Even before the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven, He gave His church commands through the Holy Spirit.

He presented himself alive ... (3)

This ruling and reigning Jesus who is on high at the right hand of the Father in heaven most certainly rose from the dead. In the months ahead we will be feasting on the accounts of the present heavenly Jesus in His activities in establishing His body throughout the world. This Jesus, who is the King of heaven and earth, certainly rose from the dead.

Many people suffered and even died testifying to the fact that they were witnesses of the risen Lord. They could not deny this, because “He presented Himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.” This is especially significant to us, because now we are giving our lives to Him, and we need to know that we are not merely following cleverly designed myths that are supposed to be good for our outlook on life, even though they are not true. We want the truth about Jesus, and as we go through Acts, we want to come to a better understanding of what believing in Jesus looked like for the first community of faith. If we understand how they lived out faith in the Christ of the cross and the resurrection in their day, maybe we will see something about how to live now.

And while staying with them he ordered them ... (4-5)

We follow a Lord who faced death and then triumphed over it. We want to continue following Him, because we want to live in that kind of resurrection hope. When your hopes die, it is hard to have joy. When you don't have the joy of the resurrected Lord as your strength, you can quickly run out of all the energy that you need to follow the Lord's commandments. Your job can be just a way to make money, rather than something that God led you to for your good and for others as an avenue of service to Christ, to His church, and to others in a hurting world. Your marriage can seem like a mistake, rather than the provision of Jesus for you within which you would live out the joys of the Song of Solomon and be faithful until death parts the two who God has made one. Your children can just seem tiring, rather than the next generation, each child a special gift of the Lord designed specifically to be your son or daughter, just as you were made to be that young one's father or mother.

To look at life this Jesus way, you need a Jesus mind and a heavenly heart in you. That new heart and mind is the Holy Spirit, who can help us with hope when we are tired, and can give us faith in God's promises when we are loaded down with every rational and irrational fear. This Spirit comes upon the church as the gift of God, the promised washing that birthed the New Testament church in a world that is in desperate need of a bath. It is Jesus who acted here on earth to live and die for you. It is Jesus who is acting in heaven now to give you the promise of the Father. This promise is a taste of heavenly life that reminds us that we have souls, and that those souls are alive. This comes as the gift of Christ's blood-bought love. He is as real as Jesus' resurrection. He leads us to the heavenly Zion where the ransomed of the Lord will have everlasting joy.

1. What is the message of Luke's first book?

2. What is the meaning of the resurrection life of Jesus Christ?

3. What is the promise of the Father?

4. What is the baptism of the Holy Spirit that Jesus spoke about?

OT Passage: Isaiah 35