JANUARY 5, 2025 - "The Acts of Jesus Christ through the Apostles" Acts1:1-5

Welcome to DeSoto Hills Baptist Church.

Our Sunday morning services are weekly at 9 and 10 30 am.

You're listening to an audio recast of this past week's service.

We hope you enjoy.

God bless.

You saw the video right before the bumper video about the IMB and the Great Pursuit.

We are going to be collecting a Lottie Moon.

If you've grown up in the Southern Baptist Church, it's always been the Lottie Moon Christmas offering right, and it still is for most places.

But for us this year we didn't want to do it during the month of December, so we are going to do that in January.

January the 19th, we'll be collecting the Lottie Moon offering.

So just be aware of that.

So that is coming up.

Also one other correction that I need to make that somebody pointed out to me.

In your worship guide you'll see the list of Wednesday night classes.

The first one listed on there is divorce care.

Divorce care is actually not going to be offered in this winter spring semester.

We usually do that in the fall.

Instead, that's supposed to be grief share.

So grief share will be offered this semester.

If you're interested in that, you can sign up for grief share.

That's really the only Wednesday night class that you need to sign up for.

You can do that out and at the welcome center in the grand hall.

So just so you know about those things.

Let me get that.

Let you know about that.

Today we're going to be in the book of Acts.

We're starting a new book today.

When I came, when I was called as the pastor here, I was already preaching through John and I didn't want to just drop John out of nowhere, so I decided that we would finish John, but I began already, as soon as that hit, praying through God where do you want us to go next?

What book do you want us to look at next?

What do you want us to see next?

And as I began to pray through that and look at our church and be in conversations with you and hear the questions you were asking and things, you know, our church is going through a lot of change right now.

I don't know if you know that, but we are in the midst of it.

Brother James is here today.

I'm so thankful that he's here and he is still part of our church and I'm so thankful for that and we always want him to be.

But but he's not the pastor.

He's the pastor of Meredith now and I'm the pastor and, and you know, brother, brother Mark has just retired and so we are looking for a new minister of music and while David is still here, his position has changed as well.

So now we're looking for a new minister of students, and so.

So there is a lot of change that that is taking place, not necessarily in in what we're looking for a new minister of students and so there is a lot of change that is taking place, not necessarily in what we're doing, but who's going to be here.

There's change, and I know that in the midst of that that can bring some anxiety, that can bring some apprehension.

That can, because change.

I talked to somebody the other day who's younger than me and they said the older I get, the more I hate change.

Oh, my goodness.

And if we're honest, we all hate it.

I don't care what age we are.

None of us really just enjoy.

Hey, yeah, let's just change it all up Like we get set in our routine, and so when change happens, it brings a little bit of anxiety, it brings a little bit of apprehension.

Just, oh my stars, what is happening?

So, as I was praying through this and looking at this, god led me to the book of Acts, and when I first went there, I thought you know what?

This would be a great book, because we usually don't read the whole title when we say Acts.

Right, we usually just say Acts, but the whole title is really the Acts of the Apostles and I thought this will be a great book, as we're looking at God what are you going to do?

How are you going to use us?

How are we going to move ahead?

We could look at the apostles and while we are not apostles because there's a strict definition of what an apostle is we are followers, we are disciples of Christ and, as we can see how God used them and how God worked in their lives and the things that we can do, and maybe that can challenge us and move us ahead.

And while the book of Acts does show that, I'm not convinced, the more I've studied and the more I look at it, I'm not convinced that that's the purpose of the book.

As I began my study and looked pretty quickly, I thought, you know, maybe a better title for this book is the Acts of the Holy Spirit, because we see in this book, we see the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit is poured out on not just the apostles but the disciples.

We see Jesus even tell the disciples and we'll get here next week that the Holy Spirit is going to come upon you and we're going to see great works that the Holy Spirit is going to do and he is going to do through people's lives, and I thought maybe that's the focus, maybe in Acts, god, what you're leading us to is to see what we can do to be vessels of the Holy Spirit.

At least we can see what the early believers did, what the early church did, to become vessels of the Holy Spirit, to let him work through us.

And while I do think Acts teaches that, I do think Acts shows the Holy Spirit working in powerful and incredible and amazing and miraculous ways.

Still not convinced that that is just the focus of the book.

So I was studying even more.

One commentary that I was reading was by a guy named Tony Morita.

Tony gave a possible title for the book and he said it could be possibly entitled this the Acts of Jesus Christ through the apostles and the church by the power of the Holy Spirit.

As we look at this book and as I've studied and as I've began to look through and prepare, what we see happening here is Jesus continuing the work that he began with the disciples.

He's just doing it a different way.

He's not doing it like he initially did, he's just he's doing it a different way, but it's continuing the work of Jesus Christ and it's continuing the work of Jesus Christ through the apostles.

We're going to see through the early believers, even through the early church, and we're going to see that he is working and Jesus is continuing this work by his power.

What the book of Acts is is Luke.

He's writing a second book.

He's already written one, the gospel of Luke.

Second book he's already written one, the Gospel of Luke.

But he is writing a second book here about Jesus continuing to work through the lives of his followers by the power of the Holy Spirit.

He's just continuing what he has already begun and what I hope, church, church that we can see, is that same spirit who Jesus sent to the apostles, that same spirit that Jesus sent to the early church, is that same spirit that he sends to us when we believe in him.

And I hope, as we see and we see that Jesus is continuing his work through that same spirit that we will understand, that same spirit will empower us as believers.

And that same spirit he will empower not just us but our church today and bring us to the point where we surrender to the work of Jesus Christ through the power of the Spirit.

But before we get to the question of how did Luke continue his work, there's a few things that that we do need to understand.

First of all, we understand that Luke wrote this book.

We don't know a whole lot about Luke.

There's a lot of debate about who Luke was, and actually there are a few things we do know.

We do know Luke was a doctor.

We do know that Luke traveled with Paul, and in his journeys with Paul he met many of the other apostles and he met many other people who had actually met Jesus and walked with him, and in Luke, chapter 1, verse 1, he tells us why he wrote the gospel of Luke.

Luke 1:1

He says so Luke, this doctor, is writing this first book, the Gospel of Luke, to Theophilus, again, just as Luke.

There's a lot of not debate conversation.

There's a lot of conversation about who Theophilus is.

His name means friend of God, and so some think that Theophilus maybe wasn't actually a real person.

It could just be Luke writing to believers, but Theophilus, though in first century Rome, was a pretty common name.

So many will argue that no, it's a person.

He is a real person who Luke was writing to.

But before we get so caught up in the debate of who Theophilus was.

Maybe we don't need to go there, but maybe we do need to understand that if he was a person, or if Luke was writing to believers, we can understand that there is still a message for us today, or we wouldn't have the gospel of Luke or the book of Acts, but because we do have those, there is a message for us.

So, instead of asking who, maybe the question that we need to ask is what?

What was Luke trying to do, not just in his gospel in the first book, but what was he trying to do in the book of Acts?

Well, it tells us in Luke that he was writing an orderly account, an orderly account so that Theophilus could be certain.

What he was doing was he was assuring Theophilus of the message that he had been taught and heard about Jesus Christ, that Jesus was the Messiah, that Jesus did come and that he was born of a virgin, that he did come and that he died on the cross and arose for our salvation.

And so he was writing to an orderly account, account with details, account that was in order and precise, because that's who Luke was, and he was writing this to help Theophilus and really to help us today to know for certain that what we have been taught and what we have heard and what we have seen about Jesus is true.

So he wrote the book of the Gospel of Luke for that purpose, and now, in the book of Acts, he is writing a second book.

So, if you will this morning, if you're able, if you'll stand with me, we're going to read Acts, chapter 1, verses 1 through 5.

Acts 1:1–5

In Acts 1, luke writes in the first book, o Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach Until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen, 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, 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, for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.

Let's pray together, god.

Once again, we thank you for your word, god, and we thank you for the message that you have given us through your word and we pray that now, spirit, you will work in our lives, that you will guide us into all truth and change our lives for all eternity.

We love you so much, jesus.

It's in your wonderful name that we pray.

Amen, you may be seated.

So he wrote the Gospel of Luke and now we come to the book of Acts and again the question that we want to answer today is how did Luke continue?

Answer today is how did Luke, how did Luke continue In this second book?

What did he write about Jesus and how Jesus continued the work that he begun in the gospel of Luke?

So first thing that we see that Luke did is he reminded the people, he reminded the readers, he reminded Theophilus of what Jesus began.

He says it right there I have dealt with you all that Jesus began to do and to teach.

So the Gospel of Luke, it does this.

It covers from the birth of Jesus.

If you go back and look in the Gospel of Luke, in chapter 1, he talks about John the Baptist and he talks about the vision that angels brought to Elizabeth, john the Baptist's mother.

In chapter one of Luke, we see a vision that Mary gets from an angel talking about Jesus being born.

In chapter one we see John the Baptist being born, and so he begins from even right before Jesus was born.

And then in chapter 2, which many of you read multiple times this past month, right is the Christmas story where Jesus was born.

So he begins the gospel and he talks about Jesus' birth and he moves from there and he goes all the way up to the ascension.

In Luke, chapter 24, verses 50 through 53, this is how he ends his gospel.

Luke 24:50–53

He says, and he, that's Jesus, led them out as far as Bethany, lifting up his hands, he blessed them.

While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven and they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were continually in the temple blessing God.

So John begins with the gospel with Jesus's birth and he ends his gospel with the ascension.

And now, as we come to the book of Acts, what we're going to see is John picks up at the ascension.

Next week we're going to talk about how Jesus, the last command that Jesus gave the disciples, that they should, that the Holy Spirit was going to come upon them and they should be his witnesses in Jerusalem, judea, samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth.

And so we're going to see Luke again begin the second work at the ascension.

But what he is going to do then is move forward and show us how he's going to, how Jesus is going to continue his work after the ascension.

But, but the first thing he's doing is reminding the, reminding the disciples, of what Jesus began, reminding them what, how he began to do and teach until the day when he was taken up after he had given commands.

So what commands?

If we were the disciples and we were with the disciples and we heard Jesus, we would probably know immediately the commands that Jesus is talking about, because he's just given them.

But for us, maybe we need to take a moment to review and see what he's talking about.

Well, first of all, what he does is he tells them to return to Jerusalem and wait.

In verse 4, it says and while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father.

We're going to get to that in a little bit more, but that's really the command, one of the commands.

Hey, go to Jerusalem and wait on me, and we're going to see the apostles and the disciples.

They're going to do that.

They're going to go to Jerusalem and they're going to wait on him.

But there's got to be more, there's got to be a bigger command.

Right, right To see this.

Let's go back to a different gospel, to Matthew.

To Matthew chapter 28, verses 16 through 20.

Matthew 28:16–20

Matthew 28, verses 16 through 20, jesus has already been crucified, he has been resurrected and he is with the disciples.

Matthew 28:16–20

Now.

He is not with them in Jerusalem, yet in Matthew it's before the ascension.

He's with them in Galilee.

And here's what he says to them.

Now the 11 disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them, and they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted.

And Jesus came and said to them all authority gives the apostles before he ascends to the age.

So this is a command that Jesus, one of the last commands that Jesus gives the apostles Before he ascends to the heaven, and it's this To go and make disciples.

He's telling them to go and evangelize the world, To tell the world about who Jesus is, about what Jesus has done, about what he has done in their lives.

We looked at that even last week, about how we need to be bearing witness to Jesus Christ and him crucified.

And so we see here that the continuance of this command that Jesus has given to the apostles to go and make disciples.

And now it's interesting be careful here because disciples, there were disciples during this time.

There were not just disciples of Jesus, but but if you were a rabbi in the temple, you probably had disciples and and any kind of leader would have had disciples.

But but what Jesus is not.

Jesus is not saying hey, peter, go make disciples of Peter.

Hey, luke, go make disciples of Luke.

Later on in the book of Acts, he's not saying Paul, go make disciples of Paul.

Here's what he's telling them to do Go make disciples of Jesus Christ.

And in order for that to happen, for them to make disciples of Jesus Christ, what they have to be doing is sharing with people who Jesus Christ is, and not just sharing them, sharing with them who Jesus is and leading them to say a prayer, but then teaching them, teaching them how to follow Jesus.

The command was to go and make disciples, and John is reminding them of this command.

He is reminding them that the first word was about Jesus to the ascension, but now he's going to be writing about how Jesus is going to continue the work.

He is reminding them about the command to stay in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to come.

He is reminding them about the command to make disciples, disciples of all nations, of all peoples, to to make disciples.

He is reminding them that that is a work, that that that jesus begun but it is not finished and they are to continue this work even now that jesus has ascended to the father.

The last thing that we see him reminding them is reminding them that that jesus is alive.

He says in verse 3 he that's jesus presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

He is.

He is reminding them that that Jesus is alive, that he appeared to them and he appeared to them alive.

You say grant that.

You've just said alive a whole lot.

Yeah, I know, I understand that.

But here's why there were some people who saw Jesus, even after the resurrection, who saw him, and it tells us even in Matthew, if you remember reading, that they saw him, but some doubted.

There are people who are still wondering what is going on here.

So Jesus has appeared to them alive and he appeared to them alive 40 times.

This is not just a hey.

Was that Jesus?

I think it may have been.

He must be alive.

Oh, no, no, no, no, no.

That's not why Jesus appeared to them.

Jesus appeared to them.

We saw in the Gospel of John that Jesus appeared to them and said hey, come here, touch my hands, touch my side.

We saw Jesus appear to them.

What Luke tells us here in Acts is he didn't just appear to them and they see this ghost-like presence.

No, they saw him and he taught them about the kingdom of God.

He showed them and he taught to them and taught them about the kingdom of God and what it is going to look like and what it is going to be.

And and he did that he appeared to them multiple times so they could be assured he is alive, he, he's not dead, he, he's not in the grave.

The work, work is not finished, the work is not over, it continues.

And he continues to work because he is not dead, he is alive.

And so what Luke is doing here I believe what Luke is doing is he is reminding them.

He's reminding them of the work that Jesus began, but that it's going to continue.

He has reminded them of the commands that Jesus gave to them.

That must continue, and he has reminded them that Jesus is alive.

Besides just reminding them of those things, the second thing we see here is that Jesus revealed to them how he was going to do what he was going to do, how he was going to continue the work.

Well, how was he going to do that?

Well, the first thing we see here that I don't want us to overlook again, going to verses 4 and 5 of Acts one, he says this and while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father.

We talked about this.

This was one of the commands that Luke was reminding them of to go to Jerusalem and wait.

Why, and why do I put this in how Jesus is going to to work in the future?

Well, here's what I think and here's why we have to wait on him.

It's not easy for us to do.

I'm not convinced it was easy for the apostles to do either.

I mean, can you imagine Peter?

I mean, we've read a lot about Peter, we know about Peter from the gospels and the things that Peter does.

Can you imagine Peter waiting?

It'd probably be a lot like me.

I gotta wait.

How much longer?

How much longer do I have to wait?

But what God calls, what the Spirit calls them to do, is wait.

What Jesus tells them to do is wait.

Why?

Why is it important for them to wait?

Here's why it would be impossible for a handful of believers to make disciples of all nations in their own strength.

Jesus has just given them an impossible task.

An impossible task for them, but not impossible for him.

The gospel is to go forward in the power of the holy spirit, not in the power of the apostles, and he tells them to to wait.

So so what we see here is just the same way.

Just the same way that the kingdom of God is going to progress in the book of Acts through the power of the Holy Spirit is the same way that the kingdom of God is going to progress in 2025.

It is the same way that the kingdom of God is going to progress in DeSoto Hills Baptist Church.

It is the same way that the kingdom of God is going to progress in South Haven, mississippi.

The same way that any footholds in the kingdom of God is going to gain in this world is going to come from the power of the Holy Spirit.

It's not going to come from good preaching or good singing or a great church, it's going to come from the power of the Holy Spirit.

They were called to wait on the Holy Spirit and church.

What we are asked to do is to unite and move forward only in the power of the Holy Spirit, because he goes on and says that this happens.

They're supposed to wait and the Holy Spirit is going to work.

He says for John, baptized with water, but you will baptize.

You will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.

Back in in Matthew, chapter 3, when, when John the Baptist it says, right before Jesus was baptized, john the Baptist, it tells us, was baptizing in the Jordan River.

Matthew 3 · chapter mention

And as he was baptizing in the Jordan River, people were coming, they were confessing their sins and he was baptizing them.

And he sees the Pharisees and he sees how they are coming to be baptized and they're coming to at least put on a show for the people.

And John calls them out and says no, no, you don't know what you're doing.

He says in John 3, verse 11, he says I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I.

John 3:11

Whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

John even talked about how Jesus was coming and Jesus is going to baptize them with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

And now, as we come to the book of Acts and Jesus is about to ascend to the Father, he says that is going to happen not many days from now and believe.

The promise that carries on for us is this when we trust in Christ as our Savior, when we follow him and we believe in him, he baptizes us with the Holy Spirit and fire.

What we're going to celebrate in the second service we're going to celebrate and two people are going to be Alex and McHager are going to be baptized with water, but what it it is is a picture of what Jesus has done in us and for us through the power of the Holy Spirit.

He baptizes us with the Holy Spirit.

That's how we have to move forward.

And you say, grant, that's great.

This is a message for for Theophilus, and we understand that he's reminding them.

How does this apply to us?

Sometimes we need to take a few moments to be reminded of what Jesus has done in our lives.

Listen, we've talked about how change can bring on us some apprehension, some anxiety.

Listen, do you know what's happening in the lives of the disciples right now?

You think we're going through a lot of change.

It doesn't even compare to what they're going through.

It doesn't even come close.

Doesn't even come close.

And what Jesus has called, what Luke is calling on them to do, is remember how Jesus had worked when he was there, and he encourages them to know how Jesus is going to that, that Jesus is going to continue to work in the future, and sometimes, believers, what we need to do is stop and remember what Jesus has done for us and know that he is going to continue to work in the future.

Not only that, but we need to know how he's going to do it.

We need to know that he is going to do it through the power of the Holy Spirit, not on my strength, not on your strength, not on the strength of a great church with a great foundation.

He is going to work through the power of the Holy Spirit, and we need to, we need to understand and we need to know that power.

I struggle, though, with this.

Here's why I want a formula.

I want to be able to know and say if I do this and this and this, then the Holy Spirit is going to do this, this and this.

I want that formula.

I want to know, hey, the new year started.

We have the challenge to read through the Bible together.

I hope you've gotten those.

I hope you've started.

If you haven't, it's not too late, you can catch up.

Okay, listen, I want to know, hey, as a church, if we read through the Bible together and if we're here every Sunday, if we're involved in Sunday school and we come to Wednesday night small group classes and we do all these things, if I do this and this and this, then the Holy Spirit is going to work this way and this way and this way.

The problem is, we can't put him in a box like that.

Do we need to be doing those things?

Yes, absolutely we do.

But we don't need to say, just because we do this, this is how the Holy Spirit is going to work, because he doesn't always work the same.

What we need to do is trust him.

I think the message of the book of Acts is a huge message on the providence of God and how we need to trust his providence.

Think about it with me for just a second.

Jesus tells them you will receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you.

He doesn't tell them what it's going to look like or how the Holy Spirit is going to come upon them.

He just says the Holy Spirit is going to come upon you.

They got to figure out when that's going to be Now.

Granted, he made it pretty obvious when he came, but he said the Holy Spirit is going to come upon you.

And then we look, and right after that we see Peter stand up and preach a great sermon and thousands come to know Jesus.

Does that mean, if I have this great moment with the Holy Spirit and I stand up and preach?

Not necessarily.

Does it mean that, though, that If God has called me to preach, I need to preach?

Yes, it does, and I need to trust that he is working.

No matter what we see happening, we also we're going to see Saul and Paul Saul on the road to Damascus be converted in a miraculous way through.

What nobody can overlook is the power of the Spirit, the power of Jesus Christ, because Paul has this great vision and he's blinded by the light and Jesus speaks to him.

I mean it is a miraculous, it is an amazing conversion experience.

Does that mean that's how Jesus calls all of us?

No, does that mean the Holy Spirit wasn't in my call?

No, it just mean the Holy Spirit wasn't in my call.

No, it just means he worked differently to call me than he did.

Saul and I have to trust in the providence of Jesus, christ and God.

We also are going to see in the book of Acts the providence of God in things that we would consider bad situations.

One of the chapters in the book of Acts in the beginning is a guy named Stephen who is stoned to death.

Look, it's not where I want to be.

But even in the stoning of Stephen, I'm not saying God stoned Stephen, but I'm saying in the acts of evil people, god is still provident and sovereign and working.

We're going to see even later in the book.

Saul and his traveling companion Barnabas Get into an argument, a fight so great of an argument that they say you know what, I can't travel with you anymore.

And they go different ways.

And you know what God does to two faithful men who, even though at the moment they might not have been trusting and following Christ, you know what he does in the midst of that he sends two missionary teams out instead of one.

What we have to do?

I think that one of the greatest messages in the book of Acts is that Jesus is continuing his work through the church and through believers by the power of the Holy Spirit, and we have to trust in his providence to move and to work, and we have to follow him when we see it, when we don't, when we feel it, and when we don't, when we know it and we doubt.

We have to trust that God and that Jesus is continuing his work in us, because he is sovereign and in his providence he is working and we need to trust him.

I don't know where you are today.

Just a moment, I'm going to pray for us and we're going to.

They're going to come back and we're going to sing a hymn of invitation.

Listen, this is a message to the church, to the early followers, to Theophilus, a friend of God.

He may be sitting there saying Grant, I'd like the holy spirit to work in me.

Listen, if you have never trusted in jesus christ, he can because he is god, but when he does, he's working in spite of you, not because you're trusting him.

If you've never trusted in jesus as your Savior.

Now is the time you need to understand that you are separated from God and Jesus came and he lived and he walked on this earth.

He lived a perfect life and he died on the cross for you.

He died in your place to take the sins and the punishment that you deserve.

He died for you and if you've never trusted in him, I pray that today is the day of salvation for you, or if you have, or if you have, but you've been trying to, let it be the acts of grant or the acts of put your name there.

Your life has been trying to.

You've been trying to say this is what Christianity looks like.

Look at me, although you find yourself failing all the time, and you say, actually, I don't want you to look at me.

If that's where you are, understand that it's Jesus continuing the work In you, through you, by the power of the Spirit, and instead of trying to work harder to live that life, you need to surrender more to the power of the Holy Spirit and let Him work in your life, because that's how the kingdom is going to progress through the power of the Spirit.

Maybe this morning, if that's you, you need to repent.

Maybe you need to come and kneel at these steps and pray and repent.

Maybe you need to come and we would love to pray with you and pray for you.

However, he's moving in your life.

Answer that call today.

If you're looking for a church home, we would love to have you here at DeSoto Hills.

We invite you to come forward as we sing this hymn of invitation and let us pray with you, and there are counselors who will take you and share with you how you can trust in Christ, how you can repent and rededicate, how you can join us, join our fellowship here.

My prayer is this If Jesus is calling, answer that call.

Thanks for listening to this week's sermon.

If you have any questions for our pastor, feel free to reach out at desotohillscom.