Acts 1:1-2 by Gail Mays (09-17-2013)

alright the book of Acts we're going to talk about the book of Acts the book of Acts acquaints us with the Ministry of the Holy Spirit he is mentioned or referred to no less than seventy times throughout the book and remember now that we are going to take Acts nice and slow we're going to take two years to go through what it has to teach us and instruct us and so the first half we're going to take the first fourteen chapters and then the following year we'll tackle the last fourteen chapters the message of the book of Acts is that the comforter has come the Paraclete and he's more than just a warm fuzzy feeling the Holy Spirit consoles us in times of tragedy as he is in the world today doing just that not only on the East Coast in Washington DC with those military families and friends that are suffering so horrific Lee today that we are assured that that the Holy Spirit consoles people more than than we can one another we have a responsibility to pray but it's when the Holy Spirit comes in those times of tragedy and pain and hurt and confusion and he can come and console us it's something that he does deep within it's that comfort of God that goes way beyond human comfort although human comfort is important as well but this is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives as believers he consoles us or becomes our friend in times of when we feel forsaken or we feel friendless have you felt like that that you just don't have a friend in the world in the things that you go through maybe a friend that just couldn't understand just one friend is all we need but sometimes you're just in that place of friendless you just don't have a friend that you can really just bare your heart - well that friend is the Holy Spirit that's what we're gonna learn about this year how about in those times when you have been misunderstood or forsake or abandoned though that's when he comes in and he is able to console us in a way that no human can in those times of trial the Holy Spirit convicts and converts people he does he's the one that sends out the conviction and he is the one that does the converting that's not our job although as women we sometimes feel that is our job to convict and to convert not just to convict but to convert as well that would be the end goal but we do a lot of things that might try to convict somebody or make them feel guilty or some ways somehow shake them up and you know let them know they're going the wrong way but that's not our job that's the job of the Holy Spirit and it's a reminder throughout the study that it's not our job to convict and to convert now we love to fix things and that's a good thing that God has given to us we are fixer-uppers women just love not so much to take control just fix things your heart goes out when something is broken when a relationship is broken and you want to fix things and you and if you can you should there's a lot of situations where we we are instrumental in fixing a situation or a circumstance or we are a contributor to helping in a certain situation or circumstance one of my granddaughter's is a very active child this child is Ruby she runs on Full Tilt until she hits the pillow at night and then she's out like a light nothing could wake that child up but she is just a very active child and I would say that she has gone through more booboo buddies than her two sisters combined because she's also an accident ready to happen and she will you know I don't know scratch her knee knock she falls down all kinds of things while I was watching her one time and she had the flu and she was not feeling good at all and this very active child was just lists list and there she sat on the couch I felt so bad for her you know you want to give her the water the juice and give her her her little aspirin whatever it is that Mommy gave instructions of how to take care of this child while she's you know kind of under the weather so to say we read books I thought well that will pass the time but we also prayed so it would just pray for her that God would touch her and healed the you know take away the fever and take away the pain and so after every story we would say a little prayer and then pretty soon she began to instigate that and she said grandma would you pray again because it's helping and okay we're gonna pray again and pretty soon that child was up off that couch and and her old self so when you can help when you can when you can be a part of helping a situation then we should do that but we have to keep in mind that we are not to fix people that's not our job we can give people to God that he can fix them but we don't fix them the Holy Spirit is our enabler he's the one that equips us to be that witness to be that to give us the strength to be a witness to be holy women of God led by the Spirit of God doing the will of God the emphasis in the book of Acts is the workings of the Holy Spirit and the dramatic changes that take place in people made possible through faith and the power of the Holy Spirit that's what it's all about the dramatic changes you have the Apostle Paul in his testimony and how he got saved you have the testimony or the conversion of Cornelius you have the how the Gentile Church came into being all kinds of marvelous stories and accounts in the book of Acts all how the Holy Spirit just was poured out and did these miraculous things how God takes ordinary people to do the extraordinary those things that are beyond our own human capability this is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and this is what it emphasizes as we go through the book of Acts Acts includes those in the calling now I like that because each and every one of us has a calling of God upon our lives I think of as a as women our seasons of life change and there was a season in my life where I was a mom I mean I'm still a mother and I'm still a mom but in my seasons of life there was a time when I had little kids at home and I raised those children but now my my season has changed and now I have adult children and my relationship with those adult children is totally different than when I was raising those children and now I am a grandma and now I'm influencing the grandchildren I'm a wife and you know still a wife us but some for some of you it's in your seasons of life that there's that time when you become a widow or maybe you become divorced and you're not you're not a wife anymore in some in in those ways and so the seasons of life changes as does a calling what is it that the Lord has called you to do now and he talks about being faithful in our calling and encouraging us and strengthening us in our calling it also records or includes the Gentiles now the Gentiles were considered as lowlife they were you know really not not human as far as the Jewish mind was concerned and so they were once excluded but here in the book of Acts we find out that the Gentiles are now engrafted in and we also partake of the promises of God and then there's the acceptance of women as important contributors to society and to the ministry and they were once excluded as well and remember the Jewish man's prayer that he would pray I thank you God every day he'd wake up and he'd say thank you God I was not born a Gentile a dog or a woman and they thought it was very unfortunate to be born a woman really I'm kind of liking the fact that I was born a woman and the older that I get it's like you get more nice treatment because you know you're more fragile I guess and when I did this conference up in Northern California this weekend they had steps that would go up to the stage a lot of steps in the front and then they had the side rails there well they suggested or actually told me that Gayle you need to use the side steps because it has a rail the other pastors wives were bouncing up and down these little steps you know and I'm thinking oh now isn't that precious they're just they just want to make sure that I don't fall down their steps so you know I mean it's wonderful to be a woman it's wonderful to see what God wants to do in the lives of a woman and our power of influence and the sphere of influence that God gives us we can get in and I don't know we just have a way to soften a situation or circumstance as we allow the Spirit of God to use us and motivate us and lead us and guide us just wholly women of God led by the Spirit of God do doing the will of God the fact is in the book of Acts is that no one is an is excluded not one person and today God is still looking for a willing vessel to pour his kingdom through he is looking for women who are convinced that they have been called to the kingdom for such a time as this you know as I look at the world today and hear the tragedies and just the chaos that the world is in i I just think to the Lord I asked him I said and so Lord do you think obviously since I am alive today and I am part of the Ministry of the Lord and part of the you know doing Kingdom work that he felt that that you and I were perfect for to be alive during the last days and I don't know about you that's mind-boggling to me because in and when I look at myself I am weak I am I things intimidate me things frighten me things scare me you know I think do I actually have what it takes and the and the Lord reminds me we have the whole spirit we forget don't we and that is how we have that power and that urgency to be all that God wants us to be and to go where God wants us to go and to do what he wants us to do and experience the work of God's Spirit in our lives the book opens with both a conclusion and a beginning it is it ends Jesus's earthly ministry and it begins the ministry of the church and that the ministry of the church is to carry on the work that Jesus left us to do how long do we carry on that work how long do we get involved in ministry until he comes again so there in verse 1 as we take a look at that it says here chapter 1 verse 1 it says the former treaties which really is what is talking about is the former book or the former writing Luke is the writer of the book of Acts and he's referring to his gospel that the Gospel of Luke is really part one and then here he says have I made so the former book or the writings have I made all Theophilus of all that Jesus began both to do and to teach and so Luke is saying that his gospel is part one and Acts is part two of the writings he mentions this Theophilus öthey ofle us he says his name means a lover and friend of god in luke's gospel he refers to Theophilus as all most excellent Theophilus meaning that this man is some type of a maybe a dignitary someone of high ranking with a lot of power and a lot of authority someone that luke evidently looked up to and and he is now addressing Theophilus and he's writing and he says all that Jesus began both to do and to teach until the day he was taken up after that he through the Holy Ghost had given Commandments or instructions to the apostles whom he had chosen and then going on to verse 9 it says when he had spoken these things while they beheld he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight and while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up now can you imagine this why I like the book of Acts it is so descriptive and women like details it wasn't just oh Jesus rose from the dead and he sent the Holy Ghost no we have details this this picture is being told out to us in a very picturesque way so you can imagine us you can Majan yourself seeing Jesus he's been raised from the dead he's in his glorified body he's been hanging around for 40 days or so he's been eating with the disciples his disciples his followers the apostles it's like we don't want him to leave and then all of the sudden because he has to go so that the Holy Spirit can come and that his work can be carried carried on and now he's going to be raised up ascend into heaven and so they're looking here can you imagine I bet their mouth was just hanging open I mean you would have to be in awe of this what you're witnessing and so they're just staring steadfastly um it says they looked steadfastly I don't think they were moving a muscle in their bodies it's just so descriptive I like that I really like that and while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up as Jesus went up it seems like no noise was made it wasn't like a big clamor or like a big boom you know or like jets taking off and he's he's just is slowly being raised up to heaven can you can you cut I mean that's how I would picture it and it was a very peaceful but yet an armament to watch this event take place these they were eyewitnesses of what happened and he went up and behold two men stood by them in white apparel well that will tell you they were probably angels white apparel I can imagine so brilliant and said you men of Galilee why stand ye gazing up into heaven now they're golfing now they can't get their eyes off of Jesus and probably they don't even want to leave I mean this is a holy moment this is an awe moment you know to just to to gaze upon him I love the words that are being used very very descriptive gazing up into heaven wait why are you gazing up into heaven this same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall come in like mine as you have seen him go into heaven he is going to come back from heaven and so we have really the whole gospel message Jesus came as a babe he suffered he died on the third day he rose again and then he ascended into heaven but he's coming again and that's where we are today as a church anticipating his soon soon return the book of Acts covers about a 32 year period it was written in 65 AD but it gives us a detailed picture of what the church life was like what would how did the early Christians live what were the churches like what did they do and it gives us the history the writer of course is Luke he is a doctor being a doctor he is so full of compassion and you can see that in his writings as the Spirit of God leads him you're just wood in because you see somebody that really cares and pours out that compassion and that understanding of no matter what it is that we might be going through that trials and tribulations they are real and they hurt and they're devastating at times and yet as a doctor he is able just through the way that God created him and the Spirit of God moved that he can put salve on our wounds and and we can sense the healing work of the Holy Spirit in the way that that he was directed to right he was a close friend and traveling companion of Paul the Apostle and we know that Paul needed doctor didn't he he had health issues on you know like pastor Steve pastor Steve he's got a lot of doctor friends if you need anything if you have a problem or you're trying to you know work through the health care thing listen he's got he's got answers he is the answer man for health you know so but this is this is a doctor dr. Luke was definitely a close friend in a traveling companion of Paul the Apostle he was a Gentile it was not Jewish he was a Gentile so he's got our heart he was a historian and he writes for us the facts and it is important to him that he does not distort those facts not one iota he wants it to be right everything that is written has to be exactly right if you have the facts then you can build your case and these are the correct facts his purpose was to inform us of the certainty of our Christian faith and then show us how we are to continue all that Jesus began to do and to teach and that that's the purpose that was the reason for the writing this is a the book of Acts as an invigorating motivating story about the early church its birth its growth the work that they accomplished its miracles miracle after miracle after miracle its joys its sorrows there's a lot of martyrdom that takes place in the book of Acts the struggles the successes and how they influence their whole world chapter one is records the miraculous moment when the Holy Spirit came we call it Pentecost and that we we need to understand what Pentecost is all about that the comforter has come the Paraclete that word Paraclete is so pregnant with meaning and understanding that it's the work of the Holy Spirit he wants to do it all he will mortify the deeds of our flesh he will take care of our bad habits if we ask him to he will then equip us and fill us with wisdom and knowledge and insight he'll open the eyes of our hearts he'll open the our hearing so that we will hear what the Spirit has to say with understanding and comprehension he wants to literally do a transformation in each one of our lives that is his work and so it records right away we get right into the meat of the whole message of the book of Acts is that the Holy Spirit came and how we are to receive the Holy Spirit in verse 4 it says being no is that right is that right yeah no no yes being verse 4 being assembled together with them Jesus commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem but wait for the promise of the Father now I don't know about you but when I read the word sometimes I something just jumps out at me and it says here that them being assembled together we're all semble together here and I'm thinking here we are and Jesus commanded them and that's a sharp word isn't it that Jesus commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem just hunker down stay where you are but wait and I think to myself is that what Jesus is asking of you tonight in your circumstance in your situation that you are to wait wait upon the Lord wait until God tells you what the next step is will time go by before you will know what the next step is the waiting wait for the promise of the Father wait for God to speak to direct to tell you what to do or what not to do are you in a waiting are you waiting for something for God to fulfill and so it's um I just thought to myself I think we are I think each and every one of us there's something in our lives it's a message it is a word from the Lord and he says wait so don't depart the only reason that you would get out of the situation that you are in is because either you're in sin or your life is threatened otherwise hunker down God has a work to do he wants to ground us he wants to build this firm foundation that will not shake us no matter what comes into our lives no matter what happens in the world no matter if World War three comes no you know we just don't know what's going to happen attacks threats of this and threats of that natural disasters we just don't know but we are - we are to hunker down because God is doing a work in us to concrete our foundation so that we don't slip how about as far as the race is concerned stay your course and don't let anyone or anything move you out of that course God has a plan and he we're moving forward with that way he goes on to say wait for the promise of the Father which saith he you have heard of me for John truly baptized with water talking about water baptism but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence and this is a submersion just like water baptism you go all the way under in that water so it is with the Spirit of God we are to be saturated we are to be immersed in the Spirit of God to let him have full control of our lives and by the way everything was really wonderful and blissful I love that word heavenly so to say harmonious delightful for about 10 years as the early church got off its ground got off its feet and and became stable and then suddenly all hell broke loose persecution hit the church and the question arose arises as will this infant church survive but were reminded what Jesus said he said that the gates of Hell will not prevail against my church my church will stand the true believers we will stand as we trust him more and more as we allow the Spirit of God to have more success and reign in our lives as we let him do what he wants to do no weapon formed against us will prosper I think we need to be reminded of these solid promises that that God is in control and he has ordained us to be alive at this time the church grew and was a powerful influence in the world because it changed people people were radically changed they were different they were on fire the world behind them and the cross before them my sister and I were raised as twins there's less than three years between us and yet even though there were that many years between us we were raised like twins my mother dressed us in the same outfits and then when she got to sewing she sewed the same outfits we were like identical twins and in fact it in our relationship was like we were could co-joined twins not really you know joined in that way but I mean we were inseparable we did everything together we had we partied together we you know we shared a room I mean we just we did everything together we got our drivers licenses together we got our first jobs together we were inseparable until the day I gave my life to Jesus and then a severing took place now for me I went on because I was set free I was like I was like a prisoner in a in a prison and I was set free but my sister was devastated she could hardly carry on because she didn't have me not only was I the big sister and she's the little sister but there was no there was no fellowship that we didn't have anything in common she continued on the road that she was on and I had a totally different Road that I was on and her mom and I her mother my mom in her head I guess conversations and they talked about me trying to figure was trying to figure out what happened to me and my mom being a Christian already was trying to explain to her what had happened to me through this born-again experience and that my sister could have it too if she wanted it and my sister evidently my mom tells me the story and she says that my sister came up with this conclusion that she figured out what happened to Gale and that the Gale that she knew died and that the Gale that is now is a brand new person and that is the work of the holy spirit the dramatic change that takes place in the lives of people that's the work of the holy spirit homes were changed communities were changed cities were changed society changed when the early church came into being and this is what happens when Christianity infiltrates an area infiltrates a home infiltrates a marriage in the raising of the children today America is in desperate need of a third Great Awakening the early church motivates us and spurs us on because it is our history this is how it all began and as we study this book and we see what happened in in in this time God is the same yesterday today and forever and so he can do the same work today as he did then and I think he's got to do a greater work because this is the Latter day church in a sense we're in great need of a third Great Awakening in America the moral decay of this nation is rapidly spinning out of control I would say to you how many remember the Jesus Movement how many remember the Jesus okay how many are forty-five years or younger how many of you are forty-five years and younger yeah yeah be proud of that all right we have today two generations we have my generation and we have the younger generation a generation that didn't that was not affected by the Jesus movement whatsoever but rather has been affected by society by this pagan culture that they've been raised in my generation even though we went off course for a while had god-fearing parents who went to church and taught us morals that was a given but this younger generation 45 years in younger I would have to say has been raised in a pagan cultural culture that has no morals a culture that is out to destroy the family unit to actually cause it not to exist it's a it's a it is an attack on the family in 1963 prayer was taken out of school not too long after that Bible reading was also taken out the schools in 1973 abortion was legalized and for you that were born in the 70s if you know that was just if that's the law that you can abort a baby why would why would be wrong and so you see the culture that the younger generation was raised in and then 2013 gay marriage we are on a spiral going down down down and in desperate need of a revival and I feel that with my generation I feel a an urgency I feel a stirring that I need to show the younger generation the way the way to life that is fulfilling and pure and holy just as we learn the history from the early church and how that inspires us I think a modern day understanding the history of a modern day revival will also do the very same thing bringing that generation gap we cannot have a generation gap in the church today that no matter if you're my generation or you're the younger generation the X Generation the Y generation the Lost Generation whatever kind of generation that in the church there can be no generation gap but the younger generation needs the eyewitness account just as we do from the book of Acts and through the Bible eyewitness accounts of what they saw passed on to us I have that urgency because I was an eyewitness of the Jesus Movement I want to pass that on not only to those that that were not involved in it but to the jungle younger generation as well the Jesus Movement began something give you a little history lesson I hope this inspires you it began 46 years ago and it changed organized religion it changed the way church services were it changed the way that we worship it changed the way that we fellowship I think we have a PowerPoint here that can show you the remembering the Jesus Movement and you're going to hold that up for a second as you as I just walk through a couple things here the Jesus people are here I love that little poster and that was the one way sign the one way sign was expressed with arms raised and for the index finger arms raised an index finger pointing toward heaven and that was a symbol that we knew that Jesus was the only way he was the one way that was the one way sign it was famous during that Jesus Movement if we would see somebody driving down the street with a bumper sticker or a Bible on the dashboard we'd honk and we'd give the one way sign and they would give it back and we knew we were Jesus people it was an exciting time the Jesus Movement began in 1967 in a small building in the Haight Ashbury district in San Francisco by what they called street Christians they called it the living room no organized group was behind this no church this was a sovereign work of God there were young people that the Spirit of God just fell upon them they got born again and they had an urgency to reach their generation that's where it all began and within a short time this revival was spreading all across North America in Seattle they had what they called the Jesus people army this would be teenagers marching for Jesus on the Sunset Strip we had Arthur blessed he's the guy that carried the big life-size cross yeah you remember there on Sunset Strip he would go down and just carry that cross and and preach the gospel he opened up a place called his place it was a 24-hour coffeehouse where they would invite anybody that would want to come in and off them free soup and and coffee and listen to the gospel and as they shared the gospel then Campus Crusade was raised up and they went onto the they went to the college campuses to bring in the radicals at the time also on the Campus Crusade our o'the college campuses was the Christian liberation world front and they also were reaching out to their generation the radicals the students that were such radicals this fast growing movement challenged the conservative pastors to open the doors of their churches to the converted hippie generation a generation that the world said was a lost generation Chuck Smith was it is said that Chuck Smith and the calvary chapel ministries were the ones that benefited the most from the jesus movement and he found his church literally transformed as these christian hippies began to to attend his church now why did he get most of the harvest because he put no restrictions on us he didn't care if we had shoes or not he didn't care if we were long hair if we looked like we needed a bath or we didn't he just he you didn't have to have a suit and tie you could have bib overalls and a flannel shirt peasant blouses and jeans he just opened the door and so he benefited the most by allowing us to come in and be a part of his church and they had a little a little excerpt on the it was called the Church of the week or something like that the 700 club did and it was called the big tent revival Church and you want to know where you came from you'd want to know how it all started and you want to know the house ministries are mentioned in this little clip and I just thought you know in these days the Hollywood free paper came up they had Tet they had tracts they had ways of this generation that these saved hippies they had a way just to reach out yeah there's a there's the the Hollywood free paper that Jesus people are here that's what it was all about all kinds of tracks in a way to reach young people of course the controversial music the Jesus music where the Conservatives felt this was too much of a compromise because they're mixing rock music in the Gospel message but you see these these converted hippies felt that they wanted to use what the world had but put a spiritual twist on it to minister to to their generation that caused a big stir but again in Calvary Chapel Pastor Chuck allowed guitars just we didn't have any of the electrical stuff just a guitar and and rock music mixed with that spiritual message was pretty powerful the revival was going strong but you know years went by actually and not one story was written in the mainstream media well has anything changed they don't report the real good news however in 1971 finally Time magazine did an article on these Jesus people Jesus freaks the converted hippies that they would call them and they became a religious phenomenon of the late 60s and early 70s and at that time they decided that this was more than just a California event but it was a movement and the Jesus Movement was in full fledge full full-on revival so I'm going to show you that clip and let you see where your roots came from because I think that's inspiring and then I'll come back in just one second a big tin in a field revival Jesus people the 1960s right wrong it's 2007 and things are as exciting now at Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa as they were in 1965 that's the year Pastor Chuck Smith and his wife Cathy began an outreach to hippies that became known as the Jesus Movement the ministry exploded as the Love Generation came to know the love of Christ they had these communal houses all over the area here and so we opened a communal house and invited the young people of other first week we had 35 young people accept the Lord and move into the house and then that just started it and it just went from there Donna was one of those hippies and she's been at Calvary Chapel ever since I've gotten went to a few other churches where they kind of like just asked us to leave because we were just kipping you so when we first went to Pastor Chuck and we went into that church he opened his arms up to us and he said come you know that we were just accepted and loved with no judgment thousands accepted Christ and the church desperately needed more space so they erected a tent to hold their services while they built a larger sanctuary there's just something about the tent that people feel a togetherness there's sort of an informality and it sort of draws people I think together and recently history repeated itself with over 35,000 members and growing gallery chapel once again needed to expand we thought let's make it a positive you know let's call it a big tent revival and go back to the tent days and it has had the same kind of excitement and enthusiasm that we had thirty five years ago when we were in the tent for your commitment and creativity and bringing the message of Christ to the world we salute Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa America's Church of the week you're part of that awesome awesome awesome work and it's not Cathy it's Kay that was a disclaimer but we know that's mama Kay today I stand before you and I can tell you it is an exciting time to be alive no doubt we are in perilous times times that can frighten the best of us as we look at the events of the world we can see prophecy being fulfilled moment by moment all everyone is turning against Israel we see no real leadership in the world today the threat of world war 2 of 12 3 I should say and it's said it's being set up for the Antichrist to come on the scene and fix everything the only hope is the church another Great Awakening another revival you and me asking God would he in his sovereignty bring about another revival and I think that he might answer our prayers that's our prayers that we would say god grant us one more revival and let us experience just a harvest a work of God's Spirit that we don't do the work the Spirit does the work we're just the instrument the time is short and there is much work yet to be done otherwise he would have called us home we would have gone in Rosh Hashanah a couple weeks ago when the trumpet blew and we didn't so evidently we got a little more time here and in that time we want to be all that God would have us to be we are seeing the beginning of a radical push for a global government the one-world government is here however it isn't all bad news it just reveals that the end time issues are in play and that all that the Bible foretells foretold is on schedule King Jesus is coming soon to deal with the ungodly and set up his kingdom we are here on assignment the call of God upon your life we have special gifts and talents you are particularly endowed with gifts designed skillfully and artfully for these last days that was the question that I had to the Lord Lord why am i alive during this day little o me little o timid me because we are equipped with certain gifts and talents for these last days and I pray that encourages you immensely God knows what he's doing we are not a mistake we may have been a surprise but we are not a mistake time is short use your gifts to further the kingdom of God go and tell others what God is doing in you let's pray

Channel: Gail Mays

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Length: 42min 19sec (2539 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 30 2017