Exploring God’s Word with Brad Thurston

Notice the sequence in this verse:

1. God’s motivation
2. God’s generosity
3. God’s method
4. God’s purpose
5. Verse 17 shows the importance of both a sender and a sent one in order for salvation to occur.
6. As a church we need to identify with the nature and character of God:  see John 15: 10,11

We have the same spirit, the same nature as Jesus. How is that developed and grown in us?

1. First the natural then the spiritual
2. Giving is critical, not the amount, but the heart attitude! 
3. We need to grow in this. See the Philippians church!
4. We need to grow, both as individuals as well as a church. Giving a tenth is just the beginning of moving into spiritual blessing, both individually and as a church

This is what we are doing as a church this year to reach our tithe, or beyond:

Get some food on the tables in the back – help yourselves and leave nothing!

Need to give a tithe from the church, and an increase in our income: 

The church gave to all who were in need. 

1. Sent funds to help with toys for needy children from the Network
2. Sent funds to help with Mathew 25 house – helping in a time of need
3. We will give food to our community on the 18th
4. We will also double whatever you give to Lottie Moon today! If you have no money, then write on the back of the envelope what you would like to give to support the IMB. Goal is double from last year of 700 to 1500 this year.  

What did the first church look like?

No purpose built buildings, but the first church nursed public areas and homes for their gatherings. Compare what the first church looked like in relation to what we tend to think church looks like. People tend to do what Jesus leads them to do rather than follow a fixed set of expectations. The birth of church life was not organized by administrators, but was directed by the Holy Spirit as individuals responded to his guidance.

Who and what makes up a church?  The church is a group of those who are called out from sin, the flesh and the world. There are specific things they did do:

1. The birth of the church is the response to the activity of the Holy Spirit 
2. Different cultures worship differently, pray differently, preach differently, but it is the same Lord! We belong to the same family, have the same salvation, same destination, same core value of obedience to Jesus!
3. The Awe inspiring presence of Jesus lays a foundation:
4. The teaching of the apostles
5. Fellowship
6. Prayer
7. Breaking of bread
8. This devotion leads to:
9. Signs and wonders,
10. Caring for one another
11. Worship and fellowship
12. Witness to all, leading to constant growth

A road of discovery that uses both the local customs and manners that are not sinful in their work and worship of God.  They sold things to care for those who were downtrodden. Widows who had no access to income. Helping those who were in need. They were not forced but responded to God’s direction. Their giving was generous but not taxed. 

The natural way the church grew and developed. 

The text of the sermon is both powerful and culturally relevant.  Peter knows who his audience is, and how to approach them.  This is important, as cultures change and methods change, but the Gospel does not. The truth of the lawgiver and creator remains unchanged, and his truth is absolute.  It does not change with the culture and that is what makes this sermon to this audience so powerful.

1. Peter addresses their mistaken notion of being ecstatic as being equivalent with drunkenness. He draws their attention to the prophetic and the “last days”.  (Not the last day!) this is something the Jewish leaders had been debating since they were about 490 years after Daniel. 

““I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire. “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.”

Daniel 7:9, 13-14

““Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place. So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.”

Daniel 9:24-25 NASB1995

1. Peter picks up on the discussion Jesus had with the scribes in Luke 20:41-44 and speaks of David and the Messiah making the case for Jesus being not only the Messiah, but the Lord over all. 29,30
2. He uses the knowledge 22 and experience of those listening both past (you killed him23,36) and present (what you see and hear 33) to authenticate Jesus role as the Messiah.
3. He speaks of the eyewitness account of the apostles. 32
4. And of the scripture 17-21 and cause 25-35

Truth builds faith - the scripture brings faith: Romans 10:17 faith comes by hearing the Word of God

Truth reveals God’s perspective: man crucified AND killed Jesus, God raised him and gave him power which you see and hear

Truth convicts of sin: you are guilty, you are broken, you are deceived by all that is in the world.

Truth reveals God’s love: this promise is for you, do not remain in your sin. Repent

Truth leads to Jesus: you too can experience this outpouring of God’s love and power

JESUS IS THE TRUTH: the truth is, you need Jesus for there is salvation in none else.  Repent and be baptized and receive all that God has for you!

Understanding the moment: Fear, Misunderstanding of both Scripture and what the resurrection means. The departure of Jesus and not knowing what to expect. An internal gathering and prayer meeting that was quite safe. And then…

Start with the end result of this event: Peter is speaking to a gathered crowd, and the first thing he does is quote Scripture. The impact of this encounter with the Holy Spirit causes an understanding of Scripture to help them identify and understand that this event is of God and not just an ecstatic hallucination. The connection to OT Scripture is important: it gives us both context and insight into the events that happened.

Pentecost is the 50th day after Passover. It comes from the word 50. It is also the feast of the “first fruits” that comes after the first rain. It is also the celebration of the coming of Moses from Sinai with the 10 commandments. Exodus 19 there is fire that comes down and God called Moses up and gives him the 10 Commandments (Ex 20, ff) including three feasts they are to celebrate with God: Passover, first fruits, and harvest. Exodus 23:14 ff

The day of Pentecost had come, they were together (in prayer) - first fruits, and giving of the law.now in the hearts of individuals and not just written in stone! ““For this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord: “I will put My law within them and write it on their heart; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Jeremiah 31:33

The wind is the Spirit (Hebrew: Ruah) and it separated the waters of the Red Sea, and God moves like the wind – Jesus: “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.”” John 3:8

The fire on Sinai, the burning bush in Exodus, the prophecy of John, and the individuality of the experience where God’s presence is on each one.

The languages of praise: Tower of Babel to separate, and now to unify- also to show the extent by which God’s grace extended beyond just the Jews. Notice, however, the gift was not to preach, but to worship.

Also the goal of this experience is not to exalt the greatness of man, but the greatness of God! 

God grows the church doing two things: inward transformation and outward proclamation. 

Let us all seek God more, and experience him by receiving his gifts.

The events surrounding the preparation for the encounter with the Holy Spirit:

1. Obedience
2. Prayer
3. The unity of the 120 including the women from Galilee and other followers from the 70. Mary the mother is present for the second encounter after her pregnancy announcement. She experiences the Power and activity of the Holy Spirit twice.
4. Practical matters to be seen to:
   Some kind of structure for decision making
   Biblical prophecy and fulfillment per Jesus example
   Fulfilling the initial leadership group of 12 - Judas is gone and that brings an element of fear that this is a critical and serious event - not just a party.

Psalm 109:8, Psalm 69:25, (55:23)

The vision is greater than 12 - or even the 120. Imagine the scope of responsibility Jesus places on them. - God’s purpose, plan, vision is to be filled through them - where is the organization, the finance, the strategy, the focus of unity in purpose? Impossible for sure! - the vision is God’s from the beginning. 

Upward: I saw the Lord

Inward: Woe is me I see my sin and my inadequacies

Outward: Here I am, send me

In order to be fulfilled, the vision, once accepted, needs means and method, so the preparation must come first, like in Isaiah’s encounter: before here am I send me, there is a process of preparation - and it begins with repentance and cleansing and open hearts to God. 

The encounter is both equipping and commissioning. But the encounter requires the preparation and agreement to allow Jesus his lordship in your life.

The big Idea: It’s all about Jesus

The ongoing Acts of Jesus

The next big event is going to be the graduation from training to empowerment! 

Get the foundation right. Start again at baptism! Remember what happened? Luke 3:15-17;21,22

It is more than repentance, it is new life – the prophecy of John will be fulfilled

They must wait upon the Lord expectantly – they have seen, heard, and now something new is about to happen

The Activity of the Holy Spirit in the Acts of Jesus

This is not a political program, or program at all, it is life to be shared, power to overcome, joy to be experienced and peace in the midst of chaos. The real nature of God is about to permeate those who believe. What are they to expect? They don’t know because it has never happened before! But when it does, it will transcend present experience and will launch a change in the world.

Our Inclusion in the ongoing Acts of Jesus

Makes this book more than a history book. It includes us, and what we learn from those who go before us is helpful for us to know how God moves with his people. The ends of the earth is not just geographical, ethnical, or time sensitive, but it continues to each generation through the church.  We are all called to be witnesses of Jesus!

Are you repentant? 

Are you living a new life?

Do you wait expectantly for Jesus to do his work both in you, and through you?  

“Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the Lord, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.”

Isaiah55:6-7NASB

The struggles surrounding the resurrection, combines with summation of the work of Jesus along with his instructions for future of the Kingdom of God.  Wrestling with so many different aspects of how Jesus did things, how his words are filled with truth and clarity about matters of eternal value, not just temporal value. From miracles to confronting critics, facing fearful events with calm and assurance to rejoicing over the excitement of his friends. From patient attention to those who were in need to using every opportunity to teach his followers the values of the Kingdom of God. How do you live as a child of God? By remembering and imitating Jesus.

The first account has to do with all that Jesus began to do and teach. That means he is about to write concerning all the Jesus continued and continues to do and teach!  His work continues in his disciples! The anticipation is, it will continue along the same lines as they experienced while he was present in Judaea. 

The second mention here is the orders Jesus gave to his apostles: by appearing to them and speaking of the Kingdom of God.  We have a brief window into some of these events:  The other Resurrection appearances:   1 Corinthians 15:3-8; John 20:30,31; John 21:1-25

Thomas sees Jesus 8 days later John 20:26-29 and other events

Peter in 21 and his encounter with Jesus

Gathering them together he tells them to wait in Jerusalem until they receive the promise of the Father.

He has given them peace. He has given them acceptance. He has given them forgiveness of sin. He has given them salvation. He has given eternal life: 1 John 2:25; John 14:13-21. All of this ties together with the promises of the Father to Abraham and his descendants beginning with Genesis 12!

The result is that we receive gifts that bow permit the Kingdom to expand! God is the greatest giver of all, and he knows what to give and when so that it will have the most beneficial effect on his ultimate plan of grace.

The Gift Giver

The gift of Forgiveness

The gift of Salvation

The gift of the Promise

Giving multiplied 

Overview:

1. The reaction of the disciples is even more dramatic. Jesus even rebukes them for their lack of faith.
2. The commission is simple and clear
3. The addition in Mark of the activity of the Holy Spirit points to the continuity of the ministry of Jesus
4. The obedience to the call and the activity of Jesus 

The focus begins with the words of testimony shared that focus on the reality of an encounter with Jesus.  They are powerful because Jesus uses the testimonies of salvation to demonstrate his life in the present. See Romans 10.

The commission is to go and preach the good news. Jesus alive from the dead and conquering fear, death, the devil, and sin! It is worth it to give your life to Jesus!

Now comes a difficult matter for the church over centuries. Do the gifts of the Spirit still function today?

The problem with signs, they are not to be worshipped. Salvation means wholeness, and that is what God does. He works with us, doing both signs and wonders. This is not a theological discussion point, this is what Jesus does. We will look into this more in the future, but it is not something to be fearful of, after all we do pray for the sick!  But it is a matter of faith and expecting God to move when we are faithful. 

My mother and prayer for Ruthie with pneumonia even though she believed the gifts ceased with the apostles.

Do these things happen all the time? Are they a part of God’s work? Yes! Look at Jesus, how he heals in various ways. The blind man in Luke 18:42 was spoken to. In Mark 18:22 Jesus spit on him. In John 9:6 Jesus made mud, put it on his eyes, and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. 

So the method is to be in touch with Jesus and do what he says.  You see walking is something we can do. But God has to intervene if the ground we walk on is liquid. 

Do we negate the power or do we seek it? Do we yearn for Jesus to do his work, and when he does it, do we honor him and glorify him? Do we deflect the credit away from ourselves and point to Jesus? How do we deal with pride in the midst of great events?

Give the glory to God!

If Jesus is alive from the dead, then all the other miracles mentioned in the Bible are easy to believe.  Jesus, by his appearances, is letting the disciples know how he will affect their lives for the future.  The finished work of Christ is accomplished.  Now the unfinished work of Christ must also be accomplished! This work includes your participation! 

Who does Jesus choose to send?

The important question in not who is perfect, but who is forgiven.  He who is forgiven much, loves much! Jesus can handle any kind of sin and set people free without coaching!  The issue here is a matter of growth in faith! Prayers change and so Sous our faith in experiencing Jesus! See how kids grow and they are congratulated for little things! But when they are grown, you don’t congratulate them for their first accomplishments, but enjoy the memories of them!

What do the sent do?

They make disciples by: going, baptizing, and teaching. Why these three things? Encounter the lost, we pray till they get saved, and then we help instruct them in righteousness!

What do the sent teach?

They teach what Jesus taught! Why is that so critical? Because we live in a society and culture that has eliminated truth from life.  This is what all cultures have done in the past and will do in the future when left without God and hope in the world.  When you remove truth from a society, then that leads to lies, deception and the consequences of the actions that result from such behavior.  A law cannot be changed, if it changes, then it is not a law, it is a theory. But the original lawgiver cannot deny himself, nor his laws. They are always true: 

Romans 3:4 says: “Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.””

There is a God and he determines what is true and all human opinions cannot change him.

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” Luke 21:33

“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” John 17:17 NASB2020

Truth is a person: “Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6 NASB2020

Why can the sent ones be confident?

Because Jesus is with us!

The power is with Jesus! In this sandwich of verses, we do things, and so does Jesus!

This is the critical aspect of the Gospel! Jesus does not abandon us, nor forsake us! Our faith in not in our ability, but in him! It is not in our prayers, but in his words and actions. Our obedience to him leads to his activity in the lost. We lift him up and he draws the people in! That is what he said! “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”” John12:32NIV. Do we believe? 

Our focus in the next few weeks will be to examine Jesus’ strategy, his purpose and plan for the greatest movement in history.

The commission in Luke 24 focused on the finished and the unfinished work of Christ.

In John the commission focuses on the methodology of our commission: if we want to know how Jesus sends us to a lost and dying world, then we need to know how the Father sent Jesus. That is why the focus in Luke is on remembering what Jesus said and how to interpret the scriptures!

“Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all the things that are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,”

Luke 24:44-45 NASB2020

““Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.”

Matthew 5:17   

The framework for our mission is contained in the Word of God.

The need to imitate Jesus: Going in power, Praying, Healing, Proclaiming, and Training

Supporting verses:

“for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sakes. You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word during great affliction with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.”

1 Thessalonians 1:5-7 NASB2020

“And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is served to you; and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’”

Luke 10:2, 8-9 NASB2020

“And in the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and prayed there for a time.”

Mark 1:35 NASB2020

“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him.”

John 3:17 NASB2020