A Panoramic View of Acts

Acts 1:1-11

“John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Take your Bibles this morning. We’re going to be looking at the book of acts chapter one, verses one through 11. How many of you have with you a scripture journal of the book of acts. It’s very encouraging and those of you that have gotten one and didn’t bring it today. I encourage you to bring it other times we are working on.

I think we may have a source to get more. We actually, w w we basically depleted all the resources of every publisher in the world. Um, we really can’t find any more, but we’re, I think we may have found some so hoping to get some more and soon be able to order some more. We had somewhere about 240 or 250 adults that have gotten them already really excited about that.

We’re going to read acts chapter one verses one through 11. We are beginning a new series this morning. Um, there a little bit of an echo. Okay. There’s a little bit of an echo if we can. Um, thank you.

Acts chapter one, verses one through 11 and hated right now by the sound guys, uh, in the first book. Oh, Theopolis 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 to the holy. To the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during 40 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 now many days from now. So when they had come together, they asked him, Lord, will you, at this time restore the kingdom to Israel.

He said to them, it is not for you to know times or seasons that the father has fixed by his own authority, but you will receive power when the holy spirit has come upon you and you will be witnesses my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up and a cloud took him out of there.

And while there are gazing into heaven, as he went behold, two men stood by them in white robes and said, men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven. Let’s pray,

Lord, we love your word. Love the scriptures, grateful for each verse chapter book that is in this, this thing, the Bible, but Lord, for many of us, this book, the book of acts has become a source of deep encouragement, deep challenge, deep solace. Even in reaching the days. And so Lord, it is my prayer again, that the spirit that was so prominent in the record of these 33 years of history, and he would move among us again, even in this series that Lord, as we reflect on what these men and women experienced, as they just lived wholeheartedly in desperate dependence on the spirit of God and the way you literally changed an empire through ordinary common people with an extraordinary God.

So Lord teach us today. Even as we try to get this panoramic overview of the book, May you use it to speak into our lives. May you use it to encourage us to want to be listeners and learners in Jesus name? I pray. Amen.

Just a few years before Christ birth Rome had constructed its first ever heated pool. They had put it on a hill called the Equiline hill. It was actually on the outskirts of the ancient walls of the city of Rome. And it was put on a unique location. It was a hill that had never been built on because it actually had a particular purpose in the, in the Roman empire and Roman in particular, it was the place where slaves were crucified.

Whenever there was a result of revolt in that part of the Roman empire, they would bring the vanquished slaves and they would crucify them all over the. When someone revolted or acted rebelliously within the city as a slave, which crucifixion was usually designed and designated for slaves, they would crucify them there.

And now after many generations, just a few years before Jesus’ birth, some developers have gotten permission to create what will be on the Aqualine hill, the most opulent villas, and a state in the entire Roman world. The most wealthy, the most distinguished, the most well-known among Roman leaders will live on this hill.

That had been always the place of crucifixion of slaves. There was no place in the Roman empire that presented such a contrast, a contrast of the most distained of the Roman world. And the most privileged for crucifixion was reserved for slave results. In some cases, society, societal, SOC psychopaths would also be crucified people who are a harm, not only to others, but to the whole order of goodness and order of the Roman empire, when a slave result happened, what they would actually do if it was not right in Rome, they would actually take all the slaves that had been, uh, now conquered and were still alive.

And they would line the road leading into the local city and put the slaves on crucifixes. There was no better way to remind people. This is what happens when you mess with Rome, because crucifixion was the place where people rised on a cross in unspeakable pain for hours, often days before they. Those that were crucified within the empire were considered the least worthy of remembrance.

Very few plub public records of crucifixion list ever have the names of the victims. Their insignificance was declared by being buried in a common unmarked grave, which marked the hill of out quinine hill. And when they actually began to dig the footers for the foundations of these majestic estates, they found thousands of skeletons of slaves that had just been marked.

Nobody knew who they were. Nobody had any record of their names to be crucified was a far worse stigma than receiving the electric chair. In our day. It was a symbol of unspeakable shame, revulsion and contempt. We begin our series. With this question, how could a religion who central belief was in the work and teaching of a crucified man become the dominant belief system in the Roman empire.

The book of acts gives us the answer in this book, Luke, the historian will actually write his second volume of a two book set. He’s written volume one. It’s called the book of Luke and it’s basically Jesus at work through his life, death and resurrection in Luke 24, verse 49. The last part Jesus is at the end of the book of Luke recorded as leaving his disciples.

And here’s what he says to them in verse 49. And behold, I am sending the promise of my father upon you, but stay in the city until you’re clothed with power. From on high, the beginning of acts here in verses one through 11, the verses I just read are basically the beginning of season two. And it’s the series season, our opener.

That’s saying we want to recap here’s what’s happened before and it picks up the story where Jesus has says, wait in Jerusalem, wait, wait, wait, wait for the promise. Wait for the promised one. And then we come at the beginning of volume two, and we find a book that is presenting the holy spirit at work through Jesus.

Following. And we’re reminded in acts one eight, but you will receive power when the holy spirit comes on upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth, 55 times, the holy spirit is mentioned in the book of acts. He is everywhere. He is at work in everything.

He is changing. Those that are willing to in every one of their lives. I want to just make some general comments. And again, this message is designed to try to give us the, the snapshot aerial view of the book of acts. And there’s going to be four principles, four things that I’m going to encourage you to jot down in your journal or in the side of your Bible, or somewhere to constantly go back to, because these will be the big ideas of the book of acts.

Luke is trying to tell us, but a couple of general ideas, access history. It is a history book. It is a history book of the early church. However, acts is a selected history. Luke has reasons for what he records for years, Luke, who has become a Christian later in life. He’s a Gentile. He’s actually the only Gentile author in the new Testament.

He is writing later. He has joined Paul on his missionary journey, but, but Luke was not there for years of the start of the church. And the story of Jesus is, is only known to him. Through the lives of other people that have encountered the, the, the walking incarnated Christ in volume one, he makes it clear that that is a part of his multiple interviews that he’s done in these years.

Leading up to 80, 62, where he’s writing the book and looking back over those many actually decades, as he’s looking back as he’s gathered data, one of the person he certainly interviewed was the Virgin Mary and Mary, the mother of Jesus gives the personal account in her in Luke’s gospel that we don’t get anywhere else.

She talks about how she felt. She talks about her own processing after hearing from the Andrew. This is what you’ll find in the book of acts. He’s constantly climbing into the heads. I mean, you see him in, in the presence of, of governors and hearing their private conversations. How did he know that? Well, the.

Isn’t just a magic book where God just pours into somebody’s head here. I wasn’t gonna tell you what they did here and what they were thinking here. Some of that may have happened, but ultimate the primary way people know is they have insiders. They get insider information. We find out that one of the elders in the church at Antioch, it says was a life long friend of Herod these.

He had insiders and, and to really understand acts, you need to see, this is a living document where people were interviewed and talked to and, and he’s telling their story. And he tells so many stories, but they’re selected stories in this 33 year history, church history, 10 different sermons are recorded.

Three of Peter’s, one of Steven’s and six of pulse. It takes one third of the history of. To just record 10 sermons. So obviously it took up a lot of space for a lot of very small amount of time. And though the book will cover history and walk us through Palestine and Turkey and Greece and Italy, even up to Spain, those that will go down to S to north Africa.

It is highly selective in what he’s chosen. There are obscure stories. Here are some of the stories he’s going to talk about. 40 terrorists assassins, church squabbles encounters with demon possessed people, an elder, as I mentioned in, in a church at Antioch who was a lifelong friend of Herod Jesus’ apostles are arrested stoned.

One of them beheaded, a Roman emperor, his close associate, a man, very intimately connected to the emperor is struck down by God, as he holds a massive political. Shipwrecks poisonous snake, citywide riots, people raised in the dead Paul’s nephew being an informer to a Roman Centurion. How many knew that story?

The husband and wife struck down dead in a worship service, all these little stories and many others. And yet they’re selectively chosen over this history that Luke is writing. There are large time periods that are summarized by statements like this. And it in acts 1910, Paul was reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus.

This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord. And just want to say, wait. Two years, all the residents of Asia, let’s talk about emphasis and all the area of modern day turkeys has these people work, we’re coming. And he actually says Jews and Gentiles, all the people of Asia and it’s all summarized two years.

And you’re just going to say, man, a history seems like you’d have more information. No, not if it’s a selected history. Everything chosen with a particular reason, whatever is recorded is done. Intentionally to understand the book, we need to understand why he’s writing this history, why he chooses what’s in the book.

He is highlighting certain elements intentionally to show that the holy spirit is at work and the holy spirit is doing four primary things. The history emphasize. These four objectives of the spirits work, the promise spirits work. And these are the basically are the outline of the remaining things I’m going to mention.

And I do encourage you to, to have these on your mind, because I think you’ll find these are really practical things for us as well. But the first thing we find that Paul tells us his Luke tells us his history for is to show us that the spirit has the objective to carry God’s gospel to all nations.

This is the one you might’ve gotten acts chapter one, verse eight. I read it earlier. You receive power. Jesus said when the holy spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and enjoy all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth, this. Portrays that and acts one through seven.

Most people divide the book up. We do as well. I think it’s a good way to divide it up. I think it’s intentionally designed, uh, in a, in a chronological, uh, geographic, uh, division, but in chapters one through seven, he is talking about the ministry of the spirit in taking the gospel witness primarily to Jerusalem.

You’ll notice the dates, 80 29 to 35. There are six years there. And so when you read acts one through seven, you want to remember, it’s talking about six full years and when you, cause you can read through it, we, we, we actually read through aloud as pastors this week has just, I mentioned, we read through acts as one through seven, just nobody taken a breath.

We just had one guy chapter, chapter chapter went around the room and just listened to these taps. Well, it’s a great exercise, but remember what you’re reading about. It’s not just what took place in a week. It’s six years of time acts chapter eight through 12 is talking about the events of 36 to 45. Ady where the gospel now spread to Judea and Sumeria.

And then an acts 13 to 28, where the gospel goes to the rest of the, the Roman world to the ends of the earth. As it says, verses four first, four years, 45 to 60. The gospel is being carried. The gospel is going forth. It’s the spirit that’s doing it. It’s a spirit that is empowering it. And there are two particular ways in the book of acts where this is highlighted.

First of all, the spirit empowers the gospel to go forth by providing signs and wonders and mighty works. That phrase is used continually in the book of acts. You will find it throughout the book, particularly in the first two sections of the book up through chapter 12, but it is a continual manifestation of the Spirit’s work.

And it is just like the ministry of Jesus. Jesus also had a ministry where God did astounding things where the spirit manifested miraculous works and they’re similar works. Uh, people are healed. Demons are cast out. People are raised from the dead. There are signs. And we’re told that these are not only wonders and mighty works, but they’re signs signs of why.

Signs of authenticating the messenger. It’s exactly what happened with the ministry of Jesus shirt. Certainly deep Jesus did miracles to benefit people. He didn’t just create, you know, a bird into a stone to just say out, you know, let’s what, no, he did things that were beneficial, but he also did things that enabled people to see the, the authenticity of who he was as a messenger because of his power.

The same thing is granted to the apostles. And usually when it says signs wonders and mighty works, it says of the apostles. There are a couple of times where they apparently were, were able to designate that to Philip or, or Stephen who also were leaders in the church, but it’s striking that in acts chapter seven in Stephen’s great message.

Stephen in presenting the history of the, the work of God. Through the centuries goes back to Moses and he talks about how Moses did signs and wonders and mighty works. And then he traces the history of Israel and then he comes to Jesus. And again, it’s the focus Jesus and his followers signs and wonders the money.

What’s he doing? He’s saying, as you, as you look at our history, speaking to Jews there, as you look at our history, realize there have been unique moments in God’s working of humankind, where he has brought in great momentous revelation. Like when a guy went up a mountain and came down with 10 commandments, And God established laws for a nation to be his people were, God gave the old covenant God, a friend, the messenger.

And he said, now come through the centuries. Here we are. And God’s doing it again. I mean, look through the old Testament, find any period where messages are authenticated and miracles will done like the time of Moses up until the time of Jesus. They’re not there. These two moments, the old covenant, the giving of the new covenant, the spirit was at work continually authenticated in miraculous ways, the ministry of the apostles, as they took forward, the message of the new covenant that had happened through the risen Christ.

But it is not only to the apostles that we see the. Work of the spirit, enabling the witness. There is a spiritual empowerment to witness for Christ and acts chapter four, verse 13, when they were brought before the religious leaders. Now, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated common men, they were astonished and they recognized they had been with Jesus.

It is not only in their miraculous gifts, but it is in, it is in the transformed character of all of these followers of Christ. That the message was empowered by the spirit. The believers have a boldness to bear witness for Christ and a confidence to trust Christ that his spirit infused. They have little confidence in themselves and they have every reason to have no confidence in themselves.

We’ll see this as we play out. There’s no reason this worked. There’s no reason this church survived. There’s no reason that that, that this thing spread, except there was an infused power that these people experienced. The emphasis on prayer in the early church demonstrates their sense of dependence and the dependence on the spirit results in an amazing movement by God’s spirit.

I remember hearing David Hocking speak a preacher from California years ago, and he was telling about the story that he had, had the opportunity to go and speak in Korea. And, uh, people were aware, um, Of the great prayer emphasis in South Korea and the expansion of the church, but he was going for the first time to speak and it was going to be speaking at a large gathering.

And it was a gathering where many believers were there, but there were also many unbelievers that would be there and he’s supposed to preach a gospel. And David hockey told the story and he’s talking to a bunch of, he was at a pastor’s conference. Who’s telling us all. He said, I went and he said, everything went wrong.

He said I was sick. Uh, I missed flight. If we had flight delays cancellations, I had, you know, I got rerouted and he said, I, I wasn’t ready in my mind for my message. Uh, and he said, and I literally got, there was driven from the airport and literally walked up on stage. And he said, and I had a translator I’d never met.

And he said, I don’t know if I have ever felt less prepared to preach a message. And he said, my message manifested it. He said, I was struggling. I lost my train of thought. I didn’t feel connection with the translator. So I really got messed up. And he said, honestly, also I could think was that I hope this ends soon.

And he got done and the translator just went up and closest service with an invitation. And David Hawking was sitting there and he watched this dozens and then hundreds into the low thousands of people. And he said this in this giant theater where they were amphitheater, where they were. And they said he just sat there and he’s just watching.

And the sense of the spirit of God was so profound. He said, I just weeping. And he said, finally, as, as all of these, this mass of humanity was meeting with individual councilors. I turned to the translator and I said, What is happening. He said, that’s the worst sermon I’ve ever preached. And the guy turned to him and he said, Dr.

Ha Dr. Hocking, God is at work in Korea. God is at work in Jerusalem. God was at work in Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. But it’s our God, it’s our spirit that was moving in ordinary people act six, verse seven says this. And there are so many, one of the things to watch for as you’re reading through acts are the summary statements.

There’s a bunch of them there. And it just gives you a feel like, okay, you gave me this little story, but this is really what’s going on. Here’s what it says in acts six, verse seven disciples, the disciples multiplied greatly, including a great many of the priests. Who had become obedient to the faith. I mean, isn’t that an exciting thing to read the priest of, of Judaism, there are embracing the gospel.

God was at work. The second thing that the book of acts will continually remind us of is of the spirits priority to sustain God’s people amidst every opposition. The opposition in acts is continual acts 1422, where Paul is revisiting some new believers that he had led to Christ. And he’s trying to help them get sustained in their faith.

Here’s what he says in acts 1422, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith and saying that through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God. I mean, how many follow-up programs. Build that in as one of your three priorities, but it is part of the Christian journey.

And saying, guys, there’s going to be opposition. God’s spirit is at work, but there are other powers that, and, and, and where there is an anti opposition where there isn’t any, it just means you’re not aware. You’re not sensing it. There’s a subtlety going on. The darkness is always opposing the people of God and the kingdom of God in acts two, acts two, verse two, excuse me, acts chapter two to chapter seven.

Again, it’s a six year period. Remember it’s the same religious establishment that had crucified Jesus, right? Same people, same leaders, the same guys that, that, that Jesus got taken before are the people that Peter and John get taken before. And, and a little while later, all of the apostles are taken. It is the same individuals and the same establishment.

And here’s Peter, this guy that, I mean, I mentioned this to the fastest. I just had this visual, when we were reading through of hearing about this, this roaring lion, Peter and I. So what must it have been like for that little servant girl? You know, that, that, that, uh, he had been in the high priest courtyard and, and Jesus has been betrayed and, and Peter’s there and she turns to him and says, you are with Jesus.

He’s not made no. And he curses him. He uses foul language. He, he and she’s no, no. I recognize your, there was something about his dialect from gala, I reckon. No, no, no, no, no. Three times when, what that little girl was thinking as she watches Peter boldly declaring in the temple and coming against all the religious mucky mucks, these were changed, man.

And they make statements like this in Peter’s first sermon. Here’s what he says. This Jesus in acts chapter two, verse 23, this Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan. And for knowledge of God, you crucify and killed by the hands of lawless men. Again, I tried to say briefly just what crucifixion meant it was for the, the, the dirtiest of the dirt of the, to the Roman authorities.

He says, you not only rejected him, you treated him as the most disdainful commonplace criminal. And yet God. I had him here by definite plan and for knowledge, other things that happened sometime later, going into the temple, Peter and John are there and this cripple is paralyzed, man. They have healed.

He’s congenital. He’s been that way from birth. And it says the guy was clinging physically. He clung to Peter and John and John and Peter are now preaching actually Peter preaching. And here’s what he says there and accept a three verse 14 and 15, but you denied the holy and righteous one and asked for a murderer to be granted to you.

And you killed the author of life.

Who wants to hear that you kill the guy to create an all of us. That’s who you killed.

It’s no wonder there was opposition. It’s no wonder there was heat. But when you, when you really read acts and you, and you get the sense of how much was against the church power authority, and yet God continued things moving Pharisees are recorded as believing priests. It says the great number of police were leaving.

We also see the opposition is very political powers will work against the church heritage soon after being put in charge. And one of the things we did, we, we, we tried to do timelines and that bring in the secular history as well. It’s fascinating when you do this, because what you find out is somebody like this Herod Agrippa was actually.

I can’t. I could, there’s so much I could go into cause I love history and you don’t, but I mean, a lot of you do a lot of you do a lot of you do. Sorry, but Herod Agrippa was a buddy of the Roman emperor, a buddy friend. They spend time together as families Herod Agrippa was given the role, not only of being overall Judea, but he just got graduated to having the entire Eastern seaboard of the Mediterranean sea.

This all happened historically. He’s been put in charge of the entire Eastern seaboard and is put in charge. One of the first things he does is flex his muscle and he takes James, the brother of John, the apostles. And beheads, it says the executed and by the sword, but most believed that’s what it means.

And at the same time he arrests Peter and plans after the holiday to kill him, it says along with the other leaders of the church, That’s when Herod got invited to go up to, up to the area of Syria, the town of Cesarea and speak because the people there realized, wow, he’s now in charge of us too. So they come and there is this moment where he’s at the political rally and it says, they’re trying to suck up to him.

They’re saying, it’s the voice of a God, not a man. And he’s, he’s taken it in at that moment. God, smote him. And you have this picture. Here’s the emperors guy who dared to take out the church. Who’s just been given the greatest pat on the back of the emperor, but God took him out. God is at work. God is moving.

We see there are political powers. There are demons constantly bringing in your face attacks. There are Christian there’s trouble in the church. There are major conflicts. They have theologically some strategically, what should we do? Certainly those personally, even among the most godly Judaizers, insisting Gentiles do more than embraced Jesus and more than just embraced Jesus.

One of the hardest things for the Jews in the early church, when they saw this thing is if they see these Gentiles being brought in, who they weren’t even allowed to eat with or go or, or, or go in the homes of, and now these guys are being brought in on. All they have to do is say, I believe in Jesus as the Messiah.

And they’re like, really? That’s it. We’ve given a whole line. To keep the law to protect into keeping the Sabbath to two beings, davening our children, circumstance, every part and all these guys do they just walk in and say, yeah, I’m going to embrace Jesus. Do he’s my guy too. So hard. There was conflict.

But the spirit is at work in the midst of all of this conflict winning victoriously. So the church can go forward. Third, the two fulfilled God’s sovereign purposes in setting the timetable of events in chapter one, verse seven, Jesus says to them, you know, they say, Lord, you know, just before he leaves is this one you’re going to establish a kingdom.

And he, and just before he says, in verse eight, you’re going to receive power. He says this, it’s not for you to know times or seasons. The father has fixed by his own authority. You’re not going to know the plan. God is working a sovereign purpose. You’ll receive the power, but you will not get all the ingredients of the plan in accomplishing the overall plan for redemption acceptor.

16. Paul wants that he’s up in, in modern day Turkey and he wants to swing left, which would take him to Ephesus the second role in the second, most prominent city in the Roman empire. And God says, no, can’t go there. He says, the spirit restrained him. And he says, all right, I’ll go north because there’s all kinds of things is lots of reasons.

Historically wanted to go. North spirit says, no, I want you to go this way. So he actually goes north to the west and he’s run out of space. He’s at the ancient Troy, the city of ancient Troy. It’s called Troas in his day. And there he is. He’s run out of space. Stephen, go. Now, what do I do? And he’s asleep.

And he gets this thing called the Macedonian vision. A vision comes and it’s a guy across the ocean, the agency in Philippi, sin, come on over here. God is working his sovereign plan. For redemption, what you find as you read acts is there was no methodology that they were following all they needed to do.

Paul did it every time he said I’m supposed to go to the Jews first then to the Gentiles. That’s what I do. I try to find the Jews. If they’re in the synagogue, I go there. If there’s somewhere else, I go there, but I go to the place and, and, and I, I, I preach there and if they respond, I stay there. If they don’t, I go to the gents, but I don’t know, but they didn’t have a big strategy.

And what they found was in one city, they go and they’re welcomed. It says many of the Jews believed. And, and even the agenda and the next city, they go to in his first sermon, he gets stoned. They didn’t know, they didn’t have a strategy. They were utterly dependent for their methodology and for what to do next, I gotta move fast, um, and bringing people to himself.

God is at work. It’s the Lord. It constantly read statements like X 16, where it says the Lord opened her heart. The whole story of Saul becoming Paul is just the, the invasion of God into her life. God did things intended for intense things for good. When it was intended for evil. We’ll find when we get to the end of the chapter seven, and it says that, uh, Stephen was killed and it then says in the beginning of verse eight chapter eight, that Paul was ravaging the church.

He was the attack dog of the, of the religious establishment. And so what happened? It says it was so hot in Jerusalem that most of the believers were forced out of the city. And guess where they went, they went to Judea and Sumeria God inaugurated the second phase by what was utterly intended for. But he intended it for good to fulfill his purposes.

Um, let me jump down to unite. God’s churches to force thing. There are parallel descriptions of Peterson Paul’s ministry, which are obviously intentional. He’s trying to say, look, Paul went to the Gentiles. Peter was focused on the Jews, but realize that their ministries are parallel. Their ministries are equally because there were churches like Corinth that said we’re not of Paul.

Or usually they would say, we’re not a Peter because we’re not Jews we’re of Paul. And then there are others in the church that were Jewish. And they said, no, no, no, our Christianity we’re of Peter and we got our group and we’d like to meet at one o’clock and you guys, and Paul says, no, no, we’re not Paul or of Peter.

We’re both doing the same work. Luke emphasizes that both. Peter. And Paul raised somebody from the dead. Both of them had people want to worship them. And they had to say, no, both of them, uh, healed people who were paralyzed from birth. Both of them, uh, uh, healed people in unique ways. Peter, actually people would get in the shadow of Peter and get healed.

It says the Paul that they touched his handkerchiefs or his apron, both received visions, which gave vital direction to the church’s mission in acts 10 for Peter in acts 16 for Paul, the variety of people’s stories highlights the unity of the church. Jews Samaritans, Greeks, Romans, and countless other, uh, ethnicities.

Peter says in acts 10, he’s gone to Cornelius house, which is his Roman Centurion. He gets this house and, and, and, and he’s been led there by a vision. He doesn’t want to go and he’s there and, and he gets there and he’s supposed to meet with this guy, Cornelius and Cornelius pulls a fast one on him. The house is full of people.

They’re all Gentiles. And, and while he’s there, told the story of how the spirit had come upon them. And he’s just, this is Paul. And he’s almost like he says to the Gentiles. He says, you know, I’m not allowed to eat with you. I’m not allowed to be in your house, but God’s at work here in same ways that worked among us on the day of Pentecost, continually the book focuses on the unit.

As variety of people’s stories are told we see in the church are people that are physically handicapped slaves, governor of the island of Cyprus, Roman officers, demon, possessed girls and men for magicians, Greek philosophers, priests, prominent business women, Pharisees prostitutes, and they’re all doing church together because of the unifying reality of the spirit.

The connection of oneness with the expansion of the church is one of the beautiful visuals you find in the book of acts, even in chapter two, right at the beginning, and all who believed were together and had all things in common in chapter two, verse 44, and the Lord added to their number day by day.

Those who were being saved, the church grew as the church wrestled through being of oneness in the spirit. We’ve worked, uh, energetically to prepare for this series. As pastors, as Josiah mentioned this week, we actually came together for two days to just go through our own studies together. What we’ve been learning.

Um, I know many of you have been reading the book of acts. I hope others of you will feel prompted to do so. This book is our history, but it is also our model. It is a model reminding us of what living by the spirit is intended to look like a reminder of how challenging it can be and how much it must be.

Treasured. I received a letter from a man who attends FCC, a young dad recently when he heard we would be preaching from acts. He told me of a journey that he had been on in the months prior to the note and why ax had become so precious to him. I have his permission to just share it, following the story of the non-believing Jews, salt, turning into Paul and sharing his experience with other non-believing Jews really speaks to me and opened my heart toward Christ.

Since I grew up Jewish, it was a real eye-opener and the entire book holds a special place in my heart. The spirit is still at work. This book is still speaking into our lives. Let’s look for him to be so to us as we engage this book together, let’s pray, Lord.

I think my biggest takeaway that I want to be true in my own life.

It’s to live more fully dependent on the spirit.

Lord Jesus, I thank you that you came among us,

that you live, you suffered, you died, you rose and then sent to us the spirit. Lord, thank you that we can live life with your spirit. The third member of the tri unity of God, Lord, help us to lean into him the way these people just like us learning. Maybe glorified, may we be changed? Me. Jesus. Be exalted in whose name we pray.

Amen. Amen. New every semester. .