Latest / Topeka Bible Church Audio Archive / November 3, 2021 | Chronological Bible Study with Patty Diliberto - Session 31: The Ascension & The Church

Transcript

November 3, 2021 | Chronological Bible Study with Patty Diliberto - Session 31: The Ascension & The Church · Topeka Bible Church Audio Archive

0:00
SPEAKER_00: Hey, welcome to Crono Today.
0:02
SPEAKER_00: Today we're going to look at the last things that Jesus said and did before he ascended up into heaven.
0:09
SPEAKER_00: So these are familiar verses to you, or should be, probably are.
0:14
SPEAKER_00: And but today we're also going to see how those things directly apply to us.
0:19
SPEAKER_00: So let's pray and thank God for this time.
0:22
SPEAKER_00: Father, we do pray and ask that you would just come again and emphasize the things to each one of us that you want us and need us to see and understand.
0:33
SPEAKER_00: We thank you for your Holy Spirit, that that's how you work and what you do.
0:38
SPEAKER_00: We thank you that we get to study your Holy Spirit, the Spirit today, and I just ask you to bless our time in Jesus' name.
0:46
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
0:49
SPEAKER_00: We first look at the Great Commission and what Jesus called us to do.
0:54
SPEAKER_00: Matthew 28, 18 through 20.
0:57
SPEAKER_00: Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
1:07
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you, and surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.
1:26
SPEAKER_00: All authority, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus.
1:36
SPEAKER_00: After his resurrection, Jesus became the one through whom God now mediates all authority.
1:44
SPEAKER_00: I use the term that term in my prayer life often.
1:48
SPEAKER_00: When I start out, I will I will declare that to him and say, God, you have all authority in heaven and on earth.
1:56
SPEAKER_00: The one who has all authority is the one that we are praying to, that we are beseeching.
2:03
SPEAKER_00: And I'm appealing to him in prayer.
2:33
SPEAKER_00: That he has the authority.
2:35
SPEAKER_00: Whether he deems something that we are asking him to do as something that will fulfill his purposes and is in his will, he will answer it.
2:44
SPEAKER_00: So let's analyze Jesus' words here in Matthew 28.
2:50
SPEAKER_00: The distinct commands, and these these are distinct commands, and they're not just for the disciples.
2:59
SPEAKER_00: These commands continue right up to today until the rapture of the church.
3:05
SPEAKER_00: They are for us.
3:06
SPEAKER_00: And the first one is go.
3:08
SPEAKER_00: Go with his universal authority.
3:11
SPEAKER_00: Jesus gives them a universal mission to go.
3:15
SPEAKER_00: They could go confidently and with that authority, knowing that Jesus has the sovereign control over everything in heaven and on earth.
3:25
SPEAKER_00: Let me tell you, one of the biggest privileges of my life has been to go to Haiti.
3:33
SPEAKER_00: And about six or so times I've been to Haiti to minister to the people there and to minister to women specifically.
3:41
SPEAKER_00: And I love these women.
3:45
SPEAKER_00: Every time I get to go, I just look forward to seeing the same familiar faces.
3:50
SPEAKER_00: And I love pouring into them and loving on them.
3:55
SPEAKER_00: Pastor Leo Steen is there in the middle picture, and we were able to go and attend the dedication of the church that we helped build.
4:04
SPEAKER_00: I'm on a committee that's that is trying to build 25 churches in 10 years.
4:10
SPEAKER_00: And we're on track to complete that.
4:14
SPEAKER_00: And it was such a blessing to go and see that.
4:17
SPEAKER_00: But God tells us to go.
4:19
SPEAKER_00: That's what he wants us to do.
4:20
SPEAKER_00: And then he wants us to make disciples.
4:23
SPEAKER_00: The Greek word for disciple here means not only to learn, but also to become attached to one's teacher and to become his follower in doctrine and in conduct of life.
4:37
SPEAKER_00: We are all disciples of Jesus.
4:40
SPEAKER_00: We don't make disciples that will look like us and follow us.
4:46
SPEAKER_00: We make disciples who will follow Jesus the way we are following Jesus, baptizing them in the name of the triune God.
4:57
SPEAKER_00: This is the first time that all three members of the Godhead are listed, explicitly listed, side by side in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
5:12
SPEAKER_00: And then teaching them.
5:13
SPEAKER_00: What are we to teach them?
5:15
SPEAKER_00: We are to teach people to obey everything that Jesus commanded that his disciples should do.
5:22
SPEAKER_00: Since we are all his disciples, we have to teach.
5:25
SPEAKER_00: Now, this commission to make disciples is just as important today, maybe more so than it's ever been before.
5:34
SPEAKER_00: We still need to bring people to Christ and to life in Christ, and then we need to help them grow as his disciple.
5:43
SPEAKER_00: If you've been a believer for any length of time, you know more than someone who is just coming to Christ for the first time, who is a newly proclaimed follower of Christ.
5:58
SPEAKER_00: You know more than you even realize.
6:00
SPEAKER_00: And now that you've almost completed going through the Bible this year, you know even more.
6:06
SPEAKER_00: You are even more equipped with knowledge and understanding than you were when you started a year ago.
6:13
SPEAKER_00: So this applies to you.
6:16
SPEAKER_00: Go make disciples, teach, and help them.
6:21
SPEAKER_00: Now we move to the ascension of Jesus.
6:24
SPEAKER_00: The Gospels end with the emphasis on the ascension of Jesus, and the book of Acts opens with this ascension.
6:33
SPEAKER_00: And both of those books, Luke and Acts, are uh were written by by um by Dr.
6:42
SPEAKER_00: Luke.
6:44
SPEAKER_00: All of the, almost everyone identifies Luke as the writer.
6:49
SPEAKER_00: He says, Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things that you have been taught.
7:05
SPEAKER_00: And then Acts 1.1.
7:07
SPEAKER_00: In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach.
7:14
SPEAKER_00: The book of Acts is basically the second of a two-volume book that Dr.
7:19
SPEAKER_00: Luke put together.
7:20
SPEAKER_00: He was a physician, he was one of Paul's closest companions.
7:24
SPEAKER_00: He was even imprisoned with Paul when he was in Rome.
7:27
SPEAKER_00: He was a historian and a diplomat, a doctor, and paid great attention to detail.
7:34
SPEAKER_00: Luke records what happened during those 40 days after Jesus' resurrection before he went to heaven.
7:42
SPEAKER_00: It's in Acts 1, 3 through 8.
7:44
SPEAKER_00: After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.
7:52
SPEAKER_00: He appeared to them over a period of 40 days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
7:56
SPEAKER_00: On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave this command Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my father promised, which you have heard me speak about.
8:07
SPEAKER_00: For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
8:14
SPEAKER_00: So when they met together, they asked him, Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?
8:22
SPEAKER_00: He said to them, 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.
8:42
SPEAKER_00: This forty-day period of time accomplished three major things.
8:48
SPEAKER_00: It convinced the disciples of the fact that Jesus had been physically and bodily resurrected from the dead.
8:57
SPEAKER_00: Physically and bodily resurrected from the dead.
8:59
SPEAKER_00: It gave the disciples direction when Jesus commands them not to leave Jerusalem.
9:06
SPEAKER_00: And the 40 days enabled the risen Lord Jesus to clarify and correct certain misconceptions held by the disciples.
9:18
SPEAKER_00: There was so much the disciples could not understand about the life and ministry of Jesus until after his resurrection, until after his death and resurrection.
9:34
SPEAKER_00: And that's partly because so much prophecy would be fulfilled when he died and when he was resurrected.
9:43
SPEAKER_00: So now during this 40-day period of time, he's able to clear everything up, not everything, but he's able to plainly tell them what everything was about, why he had to die, why he was resurrected.
9:59
SPEAKER_00: But even after those 40 days, there's still truths and insight that they could not fully understand.
10:09
SPEAKER_00: Only after his departure and after the promised Holy Spirit came upon them would they be able to comprehend the great truths of the Old Testament prophecies and what the gospel truly meant.
10:26
SPEAKER_00: Luke 24 says, When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them.
10:35
SPEAKER_00: While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.
10:39
SPEAKER_00: When they then they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.
10:44
SPEAKER_00: And they stayed continually in the temple, praising God.
10:48
SPEAKER_00: Acts chapter one.
10:50
SPEAKER_00: After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10:57
SPEAKER_00: So they were looking intently into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.
11:05
SPEAKER_00: Men of Galilee, they said, Why do you stand here looking into the sky?
11:10
SPEAKER_00: This same Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.
11:20
SPEAKER_00: The apostles and the other Jewish believers would have been joyous after witnessing the ascension, right?
11:28
SPEAKER_00: I mean, it would have been so cool to see, but at the same time, they were sad that they were not going to see Jesus any longer.
11:37
SPEAKER_00: So they they remain, they are told to remain in Jerusalem.
11:41
SPEAKER_00: They didn't know exactly for how long.
11:43
SPEAKER_00: He said, in a few days, what's a few days?
11:46
SPEAKER_00: And what are they waiting for?
11:47
SPEAKER_00: They really don't know.
11:49
SPEAKER_00: Can you imagine their uncertainty?
11:52
SPEAKER_00: Think about it.
11:54
SPEAKER_00: They didn't have any idea what or how or when things would happen.
12:01
SPEAKER_00: And they also had to be sad that he was no longer with them.
12:06
SPEAKER_00: Not to mention the weight of leadership that has just landed on their shoulders.
12:12
SPEAKER_00: They are going to lead something now.
12:16
SPEAKER_00: And how they and they but they did the right thing as they were waiting.
12:21
SPEAKER_00: And we read about it in Acts chapter 1.
12:24
SPEAKER_00: Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill country, the hill called Mount of Olives.
12:31
SPEAKER_00: When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying.
12:36
SPEAKER_00: They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
12:46
SPEAKER_00: As they are waiting, they all are praying together constantly.
12:53
SPEAKER_00: That was the right way to handle that waiting period.
12:59
SPEAKER_00: You know, we kind of feel like we're in a waiting period right now.
13:04
SPEAKER_00: At least I do, and I know a lot of people that I talk to do.
13:08
SPEAKER_00: We don't know what we're waiting for exactly, but we're waiting.
13:12
SPEAKER_00: And so while we are waiting, we need to be praying constantly, constantly in prayer.
13:20
SPEAKER_00: Their ten days, ten days after the ascension, all that mingling of joy and prayer and waiting vanishes at Pentecost.
13:34
SPEAKER_00: And we see the advent of the Holy Spirit.
13:37
SPEAKER_00: The books of Acts could more accurately be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit rather than the Acts of the Apostles, because that is exactly what we see.
13:46
SPEAKER_00: From here on out, we see the role of the Holy Spirit during the entire church age.
13:54
SPEAKER_00: The book of Acts covers the first 30 years of the Church of Jesus Christ.
14:00
SPEAKER_00: Chuck Swindah says, one of the most significant words in the book of Acts is that little word began in verse 1.
14:10
SPEAKER_00: The first account, which was the Gospel of Luke, was the report of what Jesus began to do and teach.
14:18
SPEAKER_00: The book of Acts records what our Lord continued to do and teach through the Holy Spirit to his body, the church.
14:26
SPEAKER_00: What Jesus began, he was continuing to do.
14:30
SPEAKER_00: The day of Pentecost was an annual spring feast.
14:34
SPEAKER_00: So there was the Passover, then there was the unleavened bread, and then Sukkat, which was the Feast of Tabernacles, and then comes Feast of Pentecost.
14:48
SPEAKER_00: It was also called the Feast of Weeks or the Feast of Harvest.
14:53
SPEAKER_00: And so many, many Jews would have been gathered in Jerusalem for this whole feast week, this whole time.
15:01
SPEAKER_00: The Jews celebrated Pentecost, and this is important to understand.
15:05
SPEAKER_00: The Jews celebrated Pentecost as the anniversary of the giving of the Mosaic Law.
15:13
SPEAKER_00: So somewhere tied in all of that.
15:16
SPEAKER_00: This was the anniversary to them.
15:18
SPEAKER_00: This was the anniversary of the Mosaic Law.
15:20
SPEAKER_00: Church history began on the day of Pentecost.
15:28
SPEAKER_00: When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
15:32
SPEAKER_00: Suddenly, a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
15:40
SPEAKER_00: Those of us living in Kansas and probably in other places know what a violent wind sounds like.
15:48
SPEAKER_00: This wind must have had that similar sound of when it comes sweeping in and hits the house all of a sudden.
16:06
SPEAKER_00: The doctrine of pneumatology is the study of the person and the work of the Holy Spirit.
16:14
SPEAKER_00: This noise, the violet wind, symbolized the coming of the Holy Spirit in power.
16:21
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said in John 3 8, the wind blows wherever it pleases.
16:26
SPEAKER_00: You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.
16:31
SPEAKER_00: So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.
16:34
SPEAKER_00: Acts 2 3.
16:36
SPEAKER_00: They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.
16:41
SPEAKER_00: Why would it be significant for the use of fire?
16:44
SPEAKER_00: What would that remind us of?
16:46
SPEAKER_00: It would remind us of Moses and the burning bush.
16:50
SPEAKER_00: It would remind us of the pillar of fire that guided the children of Israel in the wilderness by night and the cloud by day.
16:58
SPEAKER_00: Fire was, as well as wind, symbolized the presence of God to them.
17:04
SPEAKER_00: In the tabernacle, the the fire and the cloud would come down and rest over the tabernacle when God was meeting with them.
17:12
SPEAKER_00: John the Baptist even said in Matthew 3:11, I baptize you with water for repentance, but after me will come one who is more powerful than I.
17:23
SPEAKER_00: He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
17:27
SPEAKER_00: So that is exactly what just happened.
17:30
SPEAKER_00: These believers received a visual as well as audible indication of the promised Holy Spirit of God that He had come.
17:41
SPEAKER_00: That's what they received.
17:42
SPEAKER_00: I think they received even more though, because think about it.
17:47
SPEAKER_00: These men and women had been with Jesus for three plus years through his entire earthly ministry.
17:55
SPEAKER_00: They had been in his presence and they knew what being in his presence felt like.
18:11
SPEAKER_00: Everything about him was part of the spirit, and they knew experientially what it felt like to be in his presence, the presence of God in the flesh.
18:25
SPEAKER_00: After the resurrection and before the ascension into heaven, they were periodically with him, and then he would leave again, and then they would be with him again.
18:33
SPEAKER_00: And every time they were with him, they experienced his presence again.
18:40
SPEAKER_00: It's been ten days since they had been in his presence, since his ascension into heaven, and they were um they knew he was gone and that he was not coming back.
18:57
SPEAKER_00: But all of a sudden, they felt like he was present with them.
19:04
SPEAKER_00: I think they would have been looking around like we thought he was gone, he must be here because we feel him here.
19:12
SPEAKER_00: But this time they were feeling him in a completely different way.
19:17
SPEAKER_00: They were feeling him not by him and by his presence, but they were feeling him in themselves.
19:25
SPEAKER_00: All of a sudden, he was in a very different place than he had ever been before.
19:30
SPEAKER_00: He was now tabernacled with them and in them.
19:36
SPEAKER_00: This was totally new.
19:38
SPEAKER_00: These men and women had the privilege of experiencing the Holy Spirit in and through the incarnate Christ, and they had the privilege of experiencing him inside of them.
19:56
SPEAKER_00: Do you see what I'm saying?
19:58
SPEAKER_00: I just think it would have been this incredible moment when they realized He's here with us, but He's in us.
20:07
SPEAKER_00: They knew what it was like to what it was like for the Spirit to be with them and in their midst through Jesus, and what it was like for the Holy Spirit to be in them.
20:20
SPEAKER_00: We tend to take the Holy Spirit for granted in our lives.
20:24
SPEAKER_00: And what what if he was suddenly gone?
20:27
SPEAKER_00: What if what if he was suddenly taken away?
20:29
SPEAKER_00: Which will never happen, it won't happen.
20:32
SPEAKER_00: But if it did, I think that we would suddenly realize how much the Spirit impacts us.
20:40
SPEAKER_00: We would feel like He was gone.
20:43
SPEAKER_00: We would feel that.
20:46
SPEAKER_00: These disciples would have never taken the Spirit's presence for granted because they knew what it represented.
20:53
SPEAKER_00: That it represented Jesus Christ living in them.
20:58
SPEAKER_00: Acts 2, 4.
20:59
SPEAKER_00: All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
21:07
SPEAKER_00: It's clear from the context of all of these verses, before and after, mostly after, that this sign involved the ability to speak in a language that the speaker had never been able to speak before.
21:20
SPEAKER_00: This was very important because this language ability would be very helpful as the disciples and the other believers began to carry out the Great Commission to take the gospel to the whole world.
21:34
SPEAKER_00: Now, track with me for a minute here.
21:38
SPEAKER_00: Acts 2 5.
21:40
SPEAKER_00: Now there were staying in Jerusalem God fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.
21:46
SPEAKER_00: Why were there Jews in every nation?
21:50
SPEAKER_00: Because of the exile, the diaspora.
21:54
SPEAKER_00: In the first century, large numbers of Jews lived outside of Palestine.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: The Jews of the diaspora, the exile, were scattered throughout the Greek-speaking world.
22:06
SPEAKER_00: Why are they there?
22:08
SPEAKER_00: Because God disciplined the Jewish nation, scattered them first with the Assyrians, and then the southern kingdom, Babylon, came in and conquered the southern kingdom of Judah, and they're relocated all over the known world.
22:27
SPEAKER_00: So a few centuries later, the Hebrew language is neglected and forgotten.
22:32
SPEAKER_00: But during that 400 years of silence, what happens?
22:35
SPEAKER_00: The culture is Hellenized, and the Greek language becomes the universal language.
22:41
SPEAKER_00: The Old Testament is translated into the Greek language.
22:44
SPEAKER_00: It's called the Septuagint.
22:45
SPEAKER_00: You remember all of this?
22:47
SPEAKER_00: Why does all of this happen?
22:48
SPEAKER_00: So that the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is taking shape right this moment in this narrative, could be known throughout the whole world and carried by his disciples.
23:02
SPEAKER_00: This almost feels like a reverse Tower of Babel.
23:06
SPEAKER_00: At the Tower of Babel, God scattered them and gave them separate languages to keep them from doing something, and now he scattered them, but he unified them with the Holy Spirit and with the gift of languages.
23:21
SPEAKER_00: That's very interesting.
23:24
SPEAKER_00: Why were all these Jews in Jerusalem?
23:27
SPEAKER_00: For the feasts, for the feast of first fruits, for all of those feasts.
23:31
SPEAKER_00: So the Jews from every language group were in the city at this exact time for this exact purpose.
23:38
SPEAKER_00: Acts 2.6.
23:40
SPEAKER_00: When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment because each of them heard speaking in his own language.
23:48
SPEAKER_00: Utterly amazed, they asked, Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?
23:53
SPEAKER_00: Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own language?
23:56
SPEAKER_00: God is so totally awesome how he sets all of this up, right?
24:03
SPEAKER_00: We saw how in control Jesus was of his arrest and the trial and the crucifixion, and now we see how in control he is, God is of the whole spread of the gospel.
24:15
SPEAKER_00: Sonic Light says, at least three distinct things were accomplished on the day of Pentecost concerning the relationship of the Holy Spirit with men.
24:25
SPEAKER_00: First, the Spirit made his advent into the world where were to here to abide throughout this dispensation, the church age, the entire church age.
24:39
SPEAKER_00: This is the Spirit indwelling.
24:41
SPEAKER_00: Just as Jesus made his first advent, now the Spirit makes his permanent advent right here at Pentecost.
24:52
SPEAKER_00: He had come on men for specific purposes at specific times, but now he has come to stay.
24:59
SPEAKER_00: The second thing, it marked the beginning of the formation of a new body, an organism, which is which in relationship to Christ is called the church, which is the body of Christ.
25:11
SPEAKER_00: This is the Spirit baptism.
25:14
SPEAKER_00: And third, at Pentecost, the lives that were prepared were filled with the Spirit.
25:19
SPEAKER_00: The Spirit came on them with power as promised.
25:23
SPEAKER_00: And this was the Spirit filling.
25:26
SPEAKER_00: Without this divine enablement, the disciples would have only been able to follow Jesus' example and to communicate what he had said and what he had done.
25:38
SPEAKER_00: But now, now they have a power that they have never had before, so that they could literally continue the work that Jesus was doing.
25:51
SPEAKER_00: When the people found the source of that sound, they were amazed to discover it was Galileans who were speaking it, but it was their language, the language of the dispersed Jews.
26:03
SPEAKER_00: The sound probably came from the upper room and then made its way down to the streets of the city.
26:10
SPEAKER_00: And they were talking out loud in these languages, and they probably didn't even understand what they were saying, just that they were able to say them.
26:19
SPEAKER_00: Can't you just picture this?
26:21
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I've played the icebreaker game where each person is given an animal and you have to make the sound of that animal, and then everybody has to find everybody.
26:34
SPEAKER_00: Everybody's talking at once, but you have to find your own group.
26:38
SPEAKER_00: And that's kind of how this would and would have been.
26:41
SPEAKER_00: Perhaps the wind or the flames got their attention first, but then they start hearing things in their own language and they start gathering.
26:53
SPEAKER_00: There was only one place that could hold thousands of people because that's what ends up.
26:57
SPEAKER_00: It's just like this whole parade that is going down the street.
27:01
SPEAKER_00: Just people continue to stream in.
27:04
SPEAKER_00: Since about 3,000 people were became Christians that day and were baptized that day, there had to be many thousands of people.
27:14
SPEAKER_00: The only place that could have could have held that many people was in the temple area, which would have held held about 200,000 people.
27:22
SPEAKER_00: So here they go, like this parade, just gaining speed as they go.
27:27
SPEAKER_00: Luke lists their their homelands beginning in the east.
27:31
SPEAKER_00: They were from Asia Minor and the Mediterranean areas, North Africa, Rome, Crete.
27:38
SPEAKER_00: They're all there for the feast.
27:40
SPEAKER_00: So perfect.
27:42
SPEAKER_00: Acts 2.
27:43
SPEAKER_00: Then Peter stood up with the eleven, raised his voice, and addressed the crowd.
27:48
SPEAKER_00: Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you.
27:54
SPEAKER_00: Listen carefully to what I say.
27:56
SPEAKER_00: These men are not drunk, as you suppose.
27:59
SPEAKER_00: It's only nine in the morning.
28:02
SPEAKER_00: Men of Israel, listen to this.
28:04
SPEAKER_00: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.
28:16
SPEAKER_00: This man was handed over to you by God's set, purpose, and foreknowledge, and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
28:29
SPEAKER_00: But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
28:37
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this.
28:43
SPEAKER_00: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.
28:50
SPEAKER_00: Basically, he's telling them he was the Messiah.
28:55
SPEAKER_00: When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, Brothers, what shall we do?
29:02
SPEAKER_00: Peter replied, What did he reply with?
29:05
SPEAKER_00: Of course, repent.
29:07
SPEAKER_00: Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
29:18
SPEAKER_00: The promises for you and your children, who and for all who are far off, and for all whom the Lord our God will call.
29:29
SPEAKER_00: With many other words, he warned them, and he pleaded with them save yourselves from this corrupt generation.
29:37
SPEAKER_00: Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about 3,000 were added to their number that day.
29:45
SPEAKER_00: I love what Sonic Light says and the insight that Sonic Light has.
29:50
SPEAKER_00: Dr.
29:51
SPEAKER_00: Constable has.
31:09
SPEAKER_00: In Acts 10, Peter is teaching about the Lord Jesus in the house of Cornelius when suddenly, as he's teaching, the Holy Spirit come upon them.
31:21
SPEAKER_00: And then they get baptized.
31:23
SPEAKER_00: Scriptural proof that you do not have to be baptized to receive the Holy Spirit.
31:29
SPEAKER_00: I believe that at the moment a person believes in Christ for salvation, when they recognize that what he did on the cross was for them, that at that moment the Holy Spirit comes inside the person and that we are sealed.
31:44
SPEAKER_00: We're sealed with the Holy Spirit.
31:56
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
31:57
SPEAKER_00: I so wish there were more details.
32:00
SPEAKER_00: But baptizing 3,000 people, that had to take forever.
32:05
SPEAKER_00: And where did they do it?
32:07
SPEAKER_00: The Spirit of Jesus was just carrying them along, giving them knowledge of how to do things that they had never done before.
32:17
SPEAKER_00: How excited all of these disciples and apostles would have been, too, to know that God was still here working, Jesus was still working, including the women.
32:28
SPEAKER_00: I sure hope there's videos to watch in heaven because I would love to watch this when I get up there.
32:35
SPEAKER_00: The church is birthed in such a dynamic demonstration of the Spirit's power, such a dynamic way.
32:42
SPEAKER_00: So our next question is how did the church grow and expand from that point on?
32:50
SPEAKER_00: God used some amazing men and women to advance the church.
32:56
SPEAKER_00: In Acts, of course, we see Peter and Stephen, who was martyred, and Philip being greatly used by God.
33:03
SPEAKER_00: And then the Lord Jesus calls Saul of Tarsus on his way to wherever he was going to persecute the church.
33:12
SPEAKER_00: He was a Hellenized Jew who was persecuting the church, but he is changed into Paul and becomes the greatest asset of the church.
33:22
SPEAKER_00: There was a great harvest recorded in the book of Acts, and it's and it's just a remarkable ingathering of believers by God's Spirit that worked through the apostles, primarily Paul and Peter.
33:38
SPEAKER_00: How do we know this?
33:40
SPEAKER_00: Here's the verses in Acts that kind of go through this.
33:43
SPEAKER_00: The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved, Acts chapter 2.
33:47
SPEAKER_00: The disciples were increasing in number, Acts sent, Acts 6.
33:52
SPEAKER_00: The words of God spread, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, Acts 6, 7.
33:58
SPEAKER_00: The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
34:03
SPEAKER_00: Acts 11.
34:05
SPEAKER_00: But the word of God continued to increase and spread, Acts 12.
34:09
SPEAKER_00: So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers, Acts 16.
34:15
SPEAKER_00: All the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord, Acts 19.
34:23
SPEAKER_00: In this way, the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
34:28
SPEAKER_00: So cool.
34:30
SPEAKER_00: God just kept adding and adding and adding, and it kept growing and growing and growing.
34:37
SPEAKER_00: The early church experienced persecution and disputes about ethics and doctrines, and almost all of Paul's letters reflect controversy in the church, controversy that he's clearing up for them.
34:52
SPEAKER_00: The church was spoken against everywhere.
34:56
SPEAKER_00: And at the same time, the word of God was growing mightily and prevailing.
35:04
SPEAKER_00: Both good and bad existed in the church, just like it does today.
35:11
SPEAKER_00: Just like it does.
35:14
SPEAKER_00: But here's the good news controversy and conflict cannot stop the power of the Holy Spirit working through the church because nothing, nothing can stop God's church.
35:35
SPEAKER_00: Nothing.
35:39
SPEAKER_00: Someone has said to study church history is to see the hand of God at work amidst the strife, transgression, and glory of man's ways.
35:51
SPEAKER_00: God Himself made it clear that the gospel was just not for the Jews, but that the church would be made up of Jews and Gentiles.
36:01
SPEAKER_00: How do we know that?
36:03
SPEAKER_00: Biblical evidence.
36:05
SPEAKER_00: Philip was sent directed by an angel and by the Holy Spirit to the desert region near Gaza, where he made the first Gentile convert, a court official who served Candace, the queen of Ethiopia.
36:21
SPEAKER_00: An Ethiopian eunuch was the first Christian Gentile convert.
36:27
SPEAKER_00: Philip preached Christ to the Samaritans.
36:31
SPEAKER_00: Their reception of the gospel and Philip's message was a significant step in the spread of the gospel.
36:38
SPEAKER_00: As the apostles continued to preach in many villages in Samaria, the Samaritans became an accepted part of the church.
36:48
SPEAKER_00: Do you remember how hated they were by the Jews before Jesus and during Jesus' times?
36:54
SPEAKER_00: And now they're part of the church.
36:57
SPEAKER_00: An angel directed a Roman officer named Cornelius to send for Peter.
37:02
SPEAKER_00: This is what I was talking about earlier, Acts chapter 10.
37:05
SPEAKER_00: Peter was led through a vision from the Spirit, and he was led by the Spirit to go to Cornelius, who was a Roman centurion.
37:15
SPEAKER_00: As Peter preached on Jesus' resurrection, the people received the Holy Spirit, and then they are all baptized.
37:23
SPEAKER_00: This was God's divine grace of coming to the Gentiles.
37:29
SPEAKER_00: The entire book of Acts is an expansion and fulfillment of the promise.
37:36
SPEAKER_00: You shall be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
37:44
SPEAKER_00: The gospel had already spread from Judea to Samaria, the Samaritans, to Ethiopia, and God-fearing Gentiles in Cornelius' house, and to the Greeks in Antioch.
37:57
SPEAKER_00: Think about it.
37:59
SPEAKER_00: In just a few short centuries, Rome becomes the seat of the Catholic Church and rules Rome, good or bad.
38:09
SPEAKER_00: But when we were in Italy, I was struck by how many amazing churches are on practically every street corner in Rome.
38:18
SPEAKER_00: They even turned pagan temples like the Pantheon into churches.
38:26
SPEAKER_00: At the ascension, there was approximately 120 followers of Christ.
38:32
SPEAKER_00: About less than 1% of the population of the Roman Empire were followers of Jesus, way less.
38:40
SPEAKER_00: But think about a number that small.
38:44
SPEAKER_00: By 350 AD, just a few centuries later, 56% of the Roman church was Christian.
38:52
SPEAKER_00: That's a growth of about 40% per decade.
38:56
SPEAKER_00: Christianity began as this tiny little sect in Judaism during the life of Jesus.
39:04
SPEAKER_00: But in just four centuries, it had become the dominant religion of the entire Mediterranean world.
39:12
SPEAKER_00: How did Christianity achieve this feat?
39:17
SPEAKER_00: Was it because they were better about arguing religion?
39:22
SPEAKER_00: No.
39:23
SPEAKER_00: Was it because they had more resources and money than anybody else?
39:27
SPEAKER_00: No.
39:29
SPEAKER_00: Was it because they had brilliant men and women teaching and spreading the gospel?
39:34
SPEAKER_00: They did, but that's not why.
39:36
SPEAKER_00: The growth occurred because our faithful God carried it out through the Holy Spirit, working through normal, everyday people, just like you and me.
39:52
SPEAKER_00: They were salt and light to those that they were around, and the gospel changed people and changed lives, the same way he's doing it today.
40:08
SPEAKER_00: In your handout, I've given you a simple chronology of church history adapted from Bruce Shelley's Church History in Plain Language.
40:17
SPEAKER_00: I encourage you to look at that later.
40:19
SPEAKER_00: But let me point out another thing, and I take this from Rodney Stark's The Rise of Christianity.
40:25
SPEAKER_00: He argues that one of the main reasons for the success of early Christianity was the Christian emphasis on caring for the sick.
40:34
SPEAKER_00: During the late Roman period, there were a number of devastating plagues.
40:38
SPEAKER_00: The Antonine plague, the plague of Cyprian, and the plague of Justinian.
40:43
SPEAKER_00: These periods coincide with some of the most prolific growth of Christianity.
40:50
SPEAKER_00: Christian communities had better survival rates during these plagues because of the health care that they provided for one another.
40:58
SPEAKER_00: Christians also cared for the sick in non-Christian communities, which increased the likelihood of their conversion, especially in times of death and uncertainty.
41:10
SPEAKER_00: During the beginning of the first century, persecutions of Christians were isolated and they were sporadic.
41:17
SPEAKER_00: But when Rome, the Roman emperor, banned blamed the great fire of Rome in 64 AD on the Christians, things heated up.
41:27
SPEAKER_00: The persecution of Christians culminated in the great persecution under the reign of Emperor Diocin.
41:37
SPEAKER_00: But along with the persecution came great growth in the church.
41:43
SPEAKER_00: Did you hear that?
41:46
SPEAKER_00: God used plagues and persecution to advance the gospel.
41:52
SPEAKER_00: Plagues and persecution to advance the gospel.
41:57
SPEAKER_00: God can and will use anything to advance the gospel.
42:04
SPEAKER_00: Trash communities all over the world.
42:07
SPEAKER_00: Earthquakes and poverty in Haiti.
42:10
SPEAKER_00: Collapsed governments.
42:13
SPEAKER_00: ISIS, the Taliban, you name it.
42:17
SPEAKER_00: Our God can use it.
42:21
SPEAKER_00: These words from the book of Acts are kind of a summary of the description of the early church.
42:26
SPEAKER_00: They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.
42:37
SPEAKER_00: And the Lord added to their number daily those who are being saved.
42:40
SPEAKER_00: They enjoyed the favor of all the people.
42:44
SPEAKER_00: Eugene Peterson translates it, and people liked what they saw.
42:49
SPEAKER_00: People looked at the church and they liked what they saw.
42:55
SPEAKER_00: And 2,000 years later, we have to ask ourselves the question: do people still like what they see when they look at the church?
43:08
SPEAKER_00: We have the incredible honor of teaching and preaching this same gospel.
43:16
SPEAKER_00: It is our privilege, just as it was for the apostles and the disciples and those others through the centuries.
43:25
SPEAKER_00: We get to be sowers and reapers along with all of them.
43:32
SPEAKER_00: And listen how great this harvest is.
44:00
SPEAKER_00: 28,000 conversions occur in China.
44:02
SPEAKER_00: When China became closed to missionaries in 1950, there were reportedly a million Christians in China.
44:11
SPEAKER_00: Today, estimates are nearing 100 million.
44:16
SPEAKER_00: In Indonesia, the largest Islamic country in the world, at least a million people convert to Christianity each year.
44:23
SPEAKER_00: India has more than 85 million believers.
44:46
SPEAKER_00: More people have come to know the Lord in Iran in the last 10 years than in the previous thousand years combined.
44:54
SPEAKER_00: Thriving churches are found in almost every Iranian city, and the underground church of Iran is one of the fastest growing churches in the world.
45:04
SPEAKER_00: Daily, 20,000 conversions occur in Africa.
45:08
SPEAKER_00: 40% of Africa is said to be Christian now.
45:12
SPEAKER_00: And at the rate it is growing by 2050, it will be the first continent that is home to more than 1 billion Christians.
45:23
SPEAKER_00: Christianity is the fastest growing religion in the world and always has been, with a 6.9 growth rate compared to 7.2% for Muslims and 2.2 for Hindus.
45:38
SPEAKER_00: In 1900, there were more than half of the world's population was unevelized.
45:47
SPEAKER_00: That's 54.3%.
46:02
SPEAKER_00: Do those statistics encourage you?
46:07
SPEAKER_00: You and I are part of something so much larger than ourselves.
46:35
SPEAKER_00: During this plague pandemic, if we want to call it that, during this worldwide unrest, during the persecution that is here, and that may come to our doorsteps, it is imperative that we pray to the Lord of the harvest and ask him to open our eyes so that we can see the harvest and then watch for opportunities to share this glorious gospel and to preach and to make disciples.
47:26
SPEAKER_00: It's so short.
47:29
SPEAKER_00: Let's wholeheartedly join the church universal and do this thing until he comes back.
47:41
SPEAKER_00: We thank you.
47:42
SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.
47:45
SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much, God, for sending your son.
47:50
SPEAKER_00: We thank you so much, Lord Jesus, for sending your spirit to live in us, to powerfully advance your glory, your name, your gospel.
48:09
SPEAKER_00: We see it so beautifully.
48:12
SPEAKER_00: We can't help but see the way that you have worked.
48:17
SPEAKER_00: The way the control that you have had, the power that you have had to advance your gospel all over the world.
48:24
SPEAKER_00: You've done it, Lord, and you will continue to do it until you return.
48:30
SPEAKER_00: Because it is yours.
48:33
SPEAKER_00: We thank you so much that we get to be part of something so amazing.
48:41
SPEAKER_00: We love you, and we want to be found faithful by you, Lord.
48:45
SPEAKER_00: We really do.
48:46
SPEAKER_00: So make us faithful.
48:49
SPEAKER_00: Cause us to hang in there and to do what we can do where we can do it for your glory and for your honor.
48:57
SPEAKER_00: And we pray these things in your glorious name.
49:00
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
49:03
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for being here, and I'll see you next time.