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The Book of Acts: Part One
“The Ultimate Comeback”
January 29th, 2006
Back in the early1930’s, a young heavyweight contender with a powerful right hand, was hit by the Great Depression in a way he could never have imagined.
-Like so many Americans, James Braddock found himself waiting in long bread lines, accepting local bouts for a few dollars, often fighting injured, just to try to keep his family together and off the streets.
-With his boxing career seemingly over, Braddock was barely able to pay the bills… unable to find work… struggling to put even a little bit of food on the table for his young family.
Almost out of nowhere, his former manager comes to him with a one-fight deal -- to face off against one of the top contenders, a fight he his supposed to lose.
-The problem was that he didn’t loose… in fact, bout after bout, the announcers would discuss just how outmatched Braddock was against his opponents…
-Except, bout after bout, he kept winning… setting himself up for a shot for the heavyweight title against Max Baer… renowned for having killed two men in the ring.
On June 13th, 1935, Braddock faced Baer in New York as a 10 to 1 underdog… fighting through 15 grueling rounds.
-A few minutes later, the announcer steps back into the ring announcing that Braddock had won by unanimous decision!
-Having carried the hopes of disenfranchised Americans on his shoulders, Jim Braddock was given the name Cinderella Man, because of his fairytale rise from a poor local fighter to the heavyweight-boxing champion of the world.
-I think one of the reasons I was so take by the movie Cinderella man is because I’m the ultimate sucker for a real-life comeback story like that.
-Well, this week, we’re going to begin our series on the Book of Acts… one of the greatest comeback stories in history outside of Jesus’ resurrection.
Think of how all of this begins. Each and every day for three years, Jesus’ disciples followed him wherever He went. As you read the Gospel of Luke, for example, you see how they ate with Him, traveled with Him, listened to Him teach, laughed with Him, and grieved with Him…
-How their whole lives centered around their relationship with Him.
-They experienced His healing, His love, His power… His very life day after day… until He was taken from them and crucified on a cross.
-It was as if their own lives were taken from them. Not only was their joy and hope gone… but they were completely broken and in despair.
-Peter, who had just told Jesus that he would never betray Him, went on to betray Him three times. None of them were able to tell Jesus how sorry they were.
-But then, in the last chapter of the Gospel of Luke, we read about Jesus’ resurrection… and how He appeared to his disciples.
Can you imagine what they all must have felt when Jesus suddenly appeared as they were all gathered together, and spoke those words from Luke 24:36, “Peace be with you.”
-First we’re told how completely terrified they were… and then, in verse 41 we read that “they stood there doubting, filled with joy and wonder.”
-Isn’t that great the way Luke describes this? These guys couldn’t decide between doubting what they were seeing and being blown away with joy over who they were seeing!
-He goes on to explain why He needed to suffer and die and be raised again… and then he offers this challenge and promise in verse 47. He says, “With My authority, take this message of repentance to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem; There is forgiveness of sins for all who turn to me. You are witnesses of these things. And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as My Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”
-Then Luke ends his Gospel with Jesus’ ascension up to heaven… and how the disciples returned to Jerusalem filled with joy… and how they were praising God!
Now why am I talking so much about the Gospel of Luke? It’s because the Book of Acts was written by Luke as well… as the second part to his two-part history.
-In fact, if you have your Bibles with you, go ahead and open to Acts 1:1.
-Luke writes, “Dear Theophilus, in my first book I told you about everything Jesus began to do and teach until the day He ascended to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions from the Holy Spirit.”
-Notice what Luke is saying here… that in his first book, the Gospel of Luke, he was telling us about everything Jesus BEGAN to do and teach.
-You see, the reason he uses the word BEGAN is because he wants us to understand that what Jesus is doing and teaching didn’t simply come to an end after his Gospel was written.
In other words, in the Book of Acts, we are still going to be reading about Jesus’ ministry… except now his ministry is going to be continued through His Church through the power of the Holy Spirit.
-Now I realize that some people are down on sequels… but what Luke is saying is that if you liked the first one… if you were under the impression that the most exciting part ended with the Gospel of Luke… then just wait! You’re about to get up and dance!
-In fact, the ministry of Jesus is just beginning to take off!
Now, before I go on, let me share a little background about the author of Luke/Acts and the person whom he’s writing to.
-In verse one of both the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts, Luke addresses a man named Theophilus.
-There’s been a whole lot of speculation as to who Theophilus was. In fact, some commentators feel as though he wasn’t any particular figure at all…
-That because the name Theophilus means “lover of God” (Theo-God; Phileo-love), Luke was addressing all those in the church who loved God.
-Personally, I think Theophilus was a real person… probably a fairly important person since Luke addresses him in Luke 1:1 as “most excellent,” which is the same word they would have used to address a Roman governor.
-If that’s true, then his intention was to lay out for this leader, whether he was a Christian or not, what was behind the birth and expansion of the Church.
The reason Luke is qualified to talk about this was because he was part of the very history he was chronicling.
-Referred to by the Apostle Paul as the “beloved Physician” in Colossians 4:14, this gentile believer from Antioch in Syria, remained passionate through his life to the demonstration and proclamation of the Gospel.
-In fact, Luke, who is the only Gentile writer in the New Testament, served on Paul’s missionary team and was mentioned in a number of Paul’s letters.
In verse three, Luke explains that “During the forty days after His crucifixion, He appeared to the apostles from time to time and proved to them in many ways that He was actually alive. On these occasions He talked to them about the Kingdom of God.”
-You know, throughout the Gospels we read that “wherever Jesus went, from city to city, He went preaching the Kingdom of God.”
-And now, after his death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, He’s still preaching on the Kingdom of God! Do you think this message of the Kingdom is important? I’m going to be talking more about that in two weeks.
But for now, keep in mind that Jesus didn’t just proclaim the Kingdom of God… but He demonstrated the Kingdom as well.
-Remember what Luke said… that he was writing about everything Jesus did and taught.
-In Luke 24:19 we read about two followers of Jesus who returning back to their homes in Emmaus after Jesus’ crucifixion.
-While on their way, the resurrected Jesus appears to them and asks them what they were talking about (they didn’t know it was Him).
-They told him that they were talking about “Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet, mighty in deed and word.”
-This is important because Jesus has called us to the same thing… to not only proclaim the Kingdom… but to demonstrate it as we pray for the sick and minister to the broken.
He goes on in verse 4… “In one of those meetings as He was eating a meal with them, He told them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you what He promised. Remember, I have told you about this before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
-Then in verse 6 he continues, “When the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking Him, “Lord, are you going to free Israel now and restore our kingdom? The Father sets those dates,” he replied.”
-Verse 8: “But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere… in Jerusalem, Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
This is a key verse, which you should memorize… because it serves as a table of contents for the rest of the Book of Acts.
-In other words, you’ll see as you begin reading through Acts that the first part of it begins with the birth of the Church at Pentecost and how the infant churches begin to bring the Gospel to Jerusalem.
-Then, after the stoning of Stephen in the eighth chapter, we read how the believers in Jerusalem are scattered through Judea and Samaria because of persecution.
-And after that comes the conversion and commissioning of Paul, and how the Gospel begins to spread to the ends of the earth.
Now again… imagine the roller coaster ride the disciples have been on over the past forty days.
-From that place of extreme brokenness and hopelessness at Jesus’ crucifixion… to untold joy at seeing the resurrected Jesus… if ever God was going to restore Israel it has got to be now!
-“Jesus… what do you want us to do? Should we have a meeting? Should we organize a movement? What do you want us to do?”
-And what does Jesus tell them? He says, “WAIT!”
-Now, from 1 to 10, how much do you think that bit of instruction excited the disciples? “I’m so excited… He wants us to wait?!”
Anyone here like to wait? Just the idea of waiting in a long line at the supermarket… with that mom shopping for her family of twelve in front of you, knowing that you’re never going to get out of there.
-And then, just as it’s your turn, another cashier comes with their tray… and so you’ve got to stand there another five minutes.
-Then the receipt tapes runs out… and so you’ve got another five minutes watching them change the paper!
Maybe you’re in a season of waiting right now in your life… the kind of waiting that is far more serious and painful than standing in line at a supermarket!
-There’s the waiting of a person suffering from depression who has to struggle every day to get out of bed…
-There’s the waiting of someone who longs to have work that’s meaningful and significant... the kind of work that seems to matter...
-There’s the waiting of a single person waiting to meet that one person they can spend their lives with.
-Or, the kind of waiting parents experience face as they wait for their child to return to the Lord.
-Maybe you’re desperately waiting for this sermon to finally end!
One way or another, we’ve all experienced these painful times of waiting. And yet, I think we’ve all learned that we grow more through these seasons of waiting than just about any other time.
-In a way, we learn that good things come to those who wait. This was certainly true of Jesus’ followers.
-But what we see here in Acts 1 tells us more than the fact that they waited… it tells us what they did through that time of waiting.
-And the first thing they did was to gather together in Community.
In Verse 15 Luke tells us that 120 people were gathered together in that upper room. In Acts 2:1 we read, “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.”
-Acts 2:44 says, “All the believers were together and had everything in common.” In verse 46 it says, “they worshipped together” and that they “shared meals together.”
-Acts 4:32 says, “All the believers were of one heart and mind.”
-In Acts 5:12 we’re told that the believers met regularly together.
Do you see what keeps jumping out here? They were committed to one another… they shared the same heart… to embrace both Jesus… and Jesus’ mission.
-Does that mean they didn’t have disagreements and conflicts and differences of opinions? Of course not.
-As we’ll see through the Book of Acts, as a community, they experienced all kinds of problems and tension. But they dealt with them in a way that preserved their unity.
-Do we want to see God’s power more profoundly released?
-Well, at end of Acts 4 we see the result of their being of “one heart and mind” was that “much grace” and “much power” came upon them.
You may remember that back in September of 1999 NASA lost something… something that was fairly expensive.
-They lost the 125 million dollar Mars Climate Orbiter. It just disappeared. Honestly, the fact that I was no longer able to get regular weather reports from Mars was very disturbing.
-But do you know why they lost it? They lost it because one set of NASA engineers were working with metric measurements while another set of NASA engineers were working with English measurements.
-Guys… these are rocket scientists, ok?! And, as a result, the orbiter flew too close to Mars and apparently burned up… or drifted into a wormhole or something.
You see, for people to be on the same page, they’ve got to be speaking the same language. And the language that brought this young church together was prayer.
-We read in Acts 1:14 that “They all met together continually for prayer.” Acts 4:24 says that “They raised their voices together in prayer.”
-They didn’t just pray once… but met together continually… they were persistent.
-Folks… through your own seasons of waiting, I want to challenge you to make sure you’re connecting with one another in community.
-And, I want to challenge you to be in prayer.
-You know, not only have I been feeling this over the past several months, but I’ve had a number of you tell me how you believe that God is about to do something new and wonderful here… that He wants to bring us to a new place of renewal and freedom.
But in the meantime, I believe Jesus is asking us, as a church, to do what He asked that group of 120… to not only wait… but to join together as a community, where we care for one another, love one another, and encourage one another…
-Remember, the 120 didn’t just go to church together; they faced life together; they met together; they drew life from being together.
-So, let’s join together in community… And also to join together in prayer.
-I think we will see God’s power and renewal released in our lives to the degree we live out both of these things.
-I think we’re going to see amazing things happen here… but it will start as you and I devote ourselves to what those early followers devoted themselves to do…
-That is being together in community and in prayer.
Now, of course, Jesus didn’t just ask His disciples to “wait for the sake of waiting.” What did He ask them to wait for? The Holy Spirit. And why should they wait for the Holy Spirit?
-We read in verse eight… to receive power.
-As we walk through the Book of Acts we will come to understand with even greater conviction that with the Holy Spirit, ordinary people are equipped and gifted and empowered to do extraordinary things…
-How the Spirit is the only source of power for kingdom life.
-And we’ll learn how, apart from the Spirit, we can do nothing of eternal value
One passage that I always get a kick out of is in Acts 19:15. Up to verse 15 we keep reading about extraordinary things that God has been doing through ordinary people in the power of the Holy Spirit.
-So one day some folks, who haven’t given their lives to Jesus and received the Holy Spirit want to get in on the power they’ve seen displayed through the disciples. They think it looks like fun to have that kind of power.
-So one day, the seven sons of Sivus, who was the Jewish High Priest, were trying to cast a demon out of some guy.
-And so they say, "In the name of Jesus, that Paul proclaims, come out."