Word of Jesus Part 68
I won't be covering the whole book of Act here but only the words of Jesus and
verses accompanying the actual words of Jesus.
Act 1:1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began
both to do and teach,
Luke is referring to the gospel of Luke in which he wrote of the life and works
of Jesus. He continues now to cover the period following Jesus' return to
heaven.
Act 1:2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy
Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:
Before Jesus return, He gave great care to expound the scriptures and give
commandments to His disciples. He did this by the power of the Holy Spirit
which was later given to the apostles, followers of Jesus and any others down
through the ages who would receive.
They were to heed those commandments and teach them to generations following. A
full study on the book of Acts will show us that the acts of the apostles were
never to stop but continue until the Second Coming of Jesus. For how can we
possibly spread the gospel without having the same equipment the Holy Spirit
gave to the apostles.
Act 1:3 To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many
infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things
pertaining to the kingdom of God:
Act 1:4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should
not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith
he, ye have heard of me.
Act 1:5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the
Holy Ghost not many days hence.
They were not to go preach without being baptized with the Holy Ghost. This was
given to all who believe to equip them for service. All the love, endurance, and
gifts of the spirit come by the Holy Ghost. Not all of us operate in all gifts
at the same time but it is given to edify, to save the lost, to heal the sick
and carry on the word of Christ from generation to generation. At no time did
this stop. Just because some have chosen to depart from Christ and start to
deceive, fake, and use the message of the gifts of the spirit to gain materially
does not get away from the fact that there are real gifts of the spirit that
should be operating among us to bring people to Jesus, glorify God and convince
all that Jesus is the Christ. We cannot possibly counterfeit something
that isn't real. Do we stop preaching salvation because some claim to be
saved and act like their children of the devil instead? Just because some
live in sin while claiming to represent Christ does not make the message of the
bible any less true. It just shows that when the truth is starting to save
the lost, the devil sends in the counterfeits to stop it. He also tries to
bring in just one or two with a root of bitterness to sow discord and evil.
He tries to get us to trust in outward rules, rituals, regulations, ceremonies
for our salvation instead of simple faith in Jesus Christ. He will send
persecution, worldly pleasures and many other things to stop the truth of the
gospel from reaching the lost. Nevertheless with all this, that does not make
the word of God and the message of salvation any different. It is still
the same whether we believe it or not, whether someone imitates it or not or
whether the world rejects it or not.
Act 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord,
wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
Act 1:7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the
seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
All of bible prophecy is important and was written for us to study and
understand. There is a blessing promised to those who read and keep the
words of the prophecy in Revelation. However, in light of what the Jewish nation
was expecting, Jesus made it clear that the restoration was not to happen at
that time but later. Many didn't recognize that the Jesus was the Messiah
because they were expecting the kingdom of the Messiah then. They were not
looking for a savior from sin. We are not to worry about the time frame
but occupy until He comes again. Yes, we are to study prophecy so that we
can be alert and aware of the times to warn those that have not yet come to
Christ for their salvation from sin, but the actual day and hour of the
restoration of Israel will come at the appointed time and we must not try to
wait until that day before we start preaching the gospel.
Restoring the kingdom and setting up an everlasting righteous reign of Christ is
to come but the the message of salvation must first be preached. That message is
that all have sinned and need to repent and believe in Jesus Christ to be free
from sin. Without Him there is no salvation. That message must be preached to
the whole world. If they do not turn from sin and come to Christ, they will die
in their sins and be lost forever. The kingdom of Christ is now within
every believer. The literal physical kingdom of Christ is coming but only after
the gospel is preached to the entire world. To enter that kingdom, sin must be
dealt with. We cannot enter eternal life while we remain in our sins without
Christ.
We need to study prophecy and be aware of the signs of the coming of the Lord. It also gives us hope that things will not continue as they are indefinitely. The prophecies are given to comfort us and warn us of things to come. While teaching that though, our main focus is to bring the lost to salvation before that door closes. There is a point where it will be too late. When we read Revelation, we see that at certain points people repent but we see also that they also reach a point where no matter what judgment God sends, there is an attitude of an unwillingness to repent.
Rev 9:20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet
repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils,
and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither
can see, nor hear, nor walk:
Rev 16:9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God,
which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
Rev 16:11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their
sores, and repented not of their deeds.
So we see the need for preaching the gospel along with the warnings and
teachings of the prophetic books also.
Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you:
and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in
Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
We cannot witness properly without the power of the Holy Spirit. This does not
just come one time in the life of a believer. This is a continue infilling as we
walk with the Lord. We still can choose to yield and trust in the Holy Spirit to
lead us or choose to do things our own way. If we try to go our way, much will be lost and
the work of God will be hindered. We must learn to listen to the leading of the
Holy Spirit or we will just have programs and manmade rituals instead of lives
being brought to Christ and changed to bring forth fruits of righteousness.
Act 1:9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up;
and a cloud received him out of their sight.
Act 1:10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold,
two men stood by them in white apparel;
Act 1:11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?
this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like
manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
We are to be about the Father's business and not stand gazing on a mountain top
to catch a glimpse of the Lord. In other words, begin to occupy until He returns
doing the will of God believing and seeking Him daily. Be filled with the Spirit
which is given to all who obey Him.
Act 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy
Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
The days of preaching the gospel are now. We need to reach as many as we can with the message that Jesus came to save us from sin and bring us a new life in Him. All He asks is that we believe this and receive Him in our lives this day.
