(4/21) As we turn to the Word of God in Acts chapter one, we’re going to go back to the basics, and I want to urge you to consider the evidence carefully as we contemplate our faith. This is important because we’ve all experienced times and seasons of uncertainty, and yet even in the midst of the most difficult times the church has always held onto faith as an anchor for the soul. We can do that because of the resurrection of Jesus, we have a living hope, that gives us the hope to press on, because Jesus is alive and if he lives, we will live too.

Go with me to the book of Acts, chapter one, verse one and we are going to consider and contemplate the Word of God that we might have a deeper understanding of the promise of God. This is Luke writing and so Acts is just a continuation of the gospel of Luke. When Luke picks up in Acts chapter one, it is just another chapter in the same story, Luke is still writing, he has just changed scenes. And so, he says in verse one,

"In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen" (Acts 1:1-2).

In other words, he was not seen by everyone, but he revealed himself to the witnesses whom God had already chosen, these were those who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. Verse three says,

"After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive" (Acts 1:3).

Now remember, this was Jesus, the one who had been tried and questioned, cross-examined, his accusers twisting the truth so much so that they weren’t even able to agree on their accusations against him. Nonetheless, he was found guilty, lifted up on the cross, stripped of his royal robes, and crowned with thorns. It was there on that old rugged cross that King Jesus sovereignly died for the sins of the world, redeeming his creation from the curse of sin and death.

And so, the disciples went into hiding, but then they heard that the stone had been rolled away, and in the place where Jesus was laid, the clothes were there but the body was missing. And there were all kinds of rumors circulating, the Roman soldiers claimed that his body had been stolen, others said that it was a prank, and others said that they spoke with angels. But then the most amazing thing happened, Jesus began to show up for visits to those who believed, because a visit from Jesus makes all the difference in the world, just a little visit from Jesus can turn your despair into hope, a visit from Jesus will turn your sorrow into praise and your weeping into rejoicing.

And yet here we are two thousand years later, surrounded by skeptics, and sometimes we don’t even know what to believe. You look at a picture or watch a video and you can’t even tell if it’s for real. And so, we don’t know who we can count on, but what we do know is that we want the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. We don’t want a spin on the truth because our faith must be based on something that is absolute and certain.

Therefore, we need to look beyond ABC or NBC, beyond what’s going on in the White House or in Congress, we’ve got to go back to the basics, back to the Scriptures, back to the eyewitness reports of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And so, let’s go to the gospel of John, in chapter twenty, because sometimes it is years later, after the dust settles, that we really begin to understand what happened behind closed doors. John tells us in verse nineteen,

"On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" (John 20:19).

In other words, Jesus just stepped into the room, into their uncertainty, their skepticism, and spoke peace over them, just like he said "Peace be still" to the winds and waves on the lake in Mark chapter four. He calmed the storm and now he appeared in the room for a visit because a visit from Jesus can change your darkness to morning.

He knew exactly what they needed and he said, "Peace be with you!"

"After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you!" (John 20:20-21).

Notice that he said it a second time, because the first time they didn’t get it, they were just looking at him like they had seen a ghost. But when he showed them his wounds, the nail prints in his wrists, and where they had pierced his side, they believed and were overjoyed. Then he said a second time,

"Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:21-22).

Jesus steps into the room, into this environment of uncertainty, this atmosphere of skepticism, and he manages this crisis of faith by showing the disciples his wounds. Then he breathes the Holy Spirit, the one who is called the Comforter, Counselor, and Helper on them. And then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.

"He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem" (Luke 24:45-47).

"You are witnesses of these things. 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" (Luke 24:48-49).

And so, the disciples are wondering what is going to happen? Something big must be about to happen because Jesus told them to stay in the city. So they asked him,

"Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6).

Jesus replied in verse seven,

"It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:7-8).

In other words, Jesus doesn’t deny the coming of a literal, earthly kingdom involving Israel, but he said it was not for them to know the time or the date, because the Scriptures are clear,

"The secret things belong to the Lord our God" (Deuteronomy 29:29).

And so, he says you’ve got to wait on it, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. In other words, it’s going to happen because this is what the prophet Joel said,

"God says, 'In the last days, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams" (Acts 2:17).

And so, there is a shift coming in the spiritual realm, a transition or transfer of glory, moving from the temple to the church, moving from the temple to the body of Christ. This is something that had never been seen before, but God said,

"I will pour out my Spirit in those days" (Acts 2:18).

Now, up until this time, the temple had been the center of life for believers, because it was there in the holy of holies where the glory of God dwelt. And so, it was there in the outer courts that the people read the Scriptures, prayed, and worshiped God. But when Jesus died on the cross, that thick veil, the curtain of the temple isolating the holy of holies was torn in two from top to bottom by the mighty hand of God (Matthew 27:51). And suddenly, the glory and majesty of God was exposed, we are able to approach his throne of grace with confidence, to come into the presence of God, and the Holy Spirit was made available to all who believe.

Now, this has always been the plan and the purpose of God, because he began walking with Adam in the garden, and so that was the direction he was moving because he is the dwell among us God. And so, the apostle Paul tells the believers in Corinth, now you are the place where heaven and earth meet.

"Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God" (1 Corinthians 6:19).

But what Jesus is talking about is something deeper, this is something more, because if you remember he had already breathed the Holy Spirit on the disciples. Now he tells them,

"Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:4-5).

And so, the baptism in the Holy Spirit, the fullness of the Spirit of God was no longer just for kings, priests, and prophets. It wasn’t just for the privileged few, but now it’s given for the empowerment of those who believe, because we are the kings and priests, we are the sons and daughters of God. And so, Jesus said,

"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

In other words, the promise of the Father is power to do something, power to be something, power to accomplish something, according to God’s purpose. And so, it’s not about singing and clapping or experiencing warm sensations or goosebumps when you are worshiping in the Spirit. Whenever God sends the anointing of the Holy Spirit, he sends it for a purpose, he is empowering you to do something. And so, Jesus said,

"Stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:49).

Wait on it because you need it, God is enabling you to do what you can’t do on your own. He’s empowering you to do what you couldn’t do in your own strength, because when the power of the Holy Spirit comes upon you it is the great equalizer.

God said to wait on it, stay in the city, and there are some of you here today that God has something for you. It’s not about making a name for yourself, it’s about walking in victory, it’s about overcoming, it’s about being a witness for his glory. When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will have confidence to preach the gospel. When the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will have a boldness to rebuke and cast out sickness, depression, and suicide. When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be stronger than any hex or spell, stronger than the witch or warlock, because the Holy Spirit said,

"The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world" (1 John 4:4).

I believe that something is happening in here, something is about to shift, there is faith in the power of God rising up in this place. And the power of God is about to be released, the anointing is here, because God has something for you, but you’re going to have to ask for it. He wants you to seek it, believing for it, because Jesus promised,

"How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him" (Luke 11:13).

And so, he wants to give it to you, he’s ready to give it to you, and he will give it to you if you have the faith to wait for it. The problem with our culture today is that we don’t want to wait on anything, we want everything in an instant.

But I know there are some of you, even now there are some of you who are willing to wait around the altar. In fact, Jesus said,

"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks" (John 4:23).

In other words, the Lord wants us to have an encounter with the Holy Spirit, because that is what faith does, that’s what believing does, and that is the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. And I know there are some of you here like that, because you are here every time the doors are open, and so if you weren’t seeking something from God you wouldn’t be here waiting.

And the truth is that God is seeking those who are seeking him, he is looking for those who are pursuing him, that’s why he gave this invitation,

"Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near" (Isaiah 55:6).

Because you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. Power that will loosen the shackles in your life, that will set the captives free, that will open up prison doors, that will save everybody in your house, but you’ve got to wait for it, and you’ve got to be in position to receive it. I dare you right now to come up to the front, or make an altar at your seat, wherever you are, get on your knees and ask for it, because the mighty power of God will break every curse off of your life. The mighty power of God will prepare you for ministry. I dare you to lift your hands and receive it, because Jesus said,

"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

He said, you will have power to be my witnesses, and so you’ve got to put down your phone and receive it, you’ve got to get in the right place and wait on it. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.

"Power through his Spirit in your inner being" (Ephesians 3:16).

Power to walk right, to talk right, to pray right, and to live right. Power to be witnesses, but it is more than just testifying to what you have seen, because the disciples saw a lot of things. In other words, it’s more than just having a good memory, you’re going to need more than that, you’re going to need authority, because you are not a witness until the witness comes. The Bible describes it this way in Romans chapter eight, verse sixteen,

"The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit" (Romans 8:16).

And so, in order to be his witness, you had to have been there in glory and seen when he stepped down from eternity into time. You had to have been there when he said, "Let there be light" and there was light. You had to have been there when he wrestled with Jacob in the middle of the night. You had to have been there in the fiery furnace, and so you’re not a witness yet but Jesus said,

"The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you" (John 14:26).

And so, you may have seen some stuff, but you’re not a witness until the witness comes. The Holy Spirit is the witness, and when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you can witness to the things that you’ve never seen, and that you never got to do.

The problem is that we don’t want to stay still, we don’t want to wait for it, we want a promotion tomorrow, we want a ministry overnight, but Jesus clearly teaches us the good things come to those who wait.

"Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" (Isaiah 40:31).

And so, if we don’t learn anything else this morning, we’ve got to learn how to wait for it, because God has already given us his word. He has given us great and mighty promises, telling us of the things that he is going to do in our lives, and so you and I need to have enough faith to believe in the promise and wait for it. He said, you have heard me speak about it, my Father promised and I am going to send it, but stay in the city. He’s going to empower you, he’s going to raise you up, but you’ve got to show him that you believe, that you’re willing to wait for it, because he responds to faith.

Read Part 2

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