Call to Commitment

  

The ascension and promise of His return

6.  Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" 

7.     And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 

8.     But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." 

9.     Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 

10.  And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 

11.  who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." 

 The disciples were preoccupied with the question posed in verse 6 the entire time that they followed Christ..."Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" For that reason, James and John asked to sit on His right and left hand in His glory (Mr.10:37). It expressed the same concept, which the Jews, in general, had concerning the coming of the Messiah. They thought that He should be a great Prince of Peace, who would deliver Israel from the oppression of their enemies, especially the Romans, who ruled over them, during His time on earth. After He fed 5,000 men, plus women and children, there was a strong contingent among the people, who wanted to make Him king: “Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone” (Jn.6:15). He refused to walk the road that led to popularity and for that reason, He commanded those, who had experienced His miraculous power, that they should restrain from publicizing the good that had been done to them.  

 Why then have these good deeds been publicized in our Bibles and commonly proclaimed among the nations? The reason is clearly understood by the command given to Peter, James and John, as they descended from the Mount of Transfiguration: "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead" (Mt.17:19). The admonition not to declare His supernatural works was a matter of timing, not principle. His immediate mission was a cross, not a throne. His physical reign would come in the Millenium; at the time of the book of Acts, He was beginning to develop a spiritual kingdom. One composer wrote, “He surveyed His kingdom from a cross.”

 

KJV    1611

Infallible proofs of the resurrection

1. The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,

2. until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 

3. to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. 

4. And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me; 

5. for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."  

Luke wrote both of his books to an acquaintance, whom he addressed, in his introduction to the Gospel of Luke, as the most excellent or most noble Theophilus.  Because the name means, Friend of God, some think that Luke used the name symbolically to address the reader of his books. However, the common believer is never given such a highly dignified title as most excellent, so I am sure that Theophilus was a member of the nobility, a high Roman or Greek official. Both Felix and Festus were addressed identically. Theophilus had been converted and Luke wrote his accounts to him, personally, to establish him in the faith.

 

Today, we begin a study, which is of utmost importance to every true Christian in the 21^st Century. It is an expositive consideration of the book of Acts. I say it is of supreme importance, especially in these days, because the church is living in an age, prophesied by the apostle Paul, when he wrote the second letter to his son, in the faith, Timothy: “Know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves… having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” (2 T. 3:1, 2, 5).  

First of all, I want to point to the word power, reading from the Amplified New Testament: “For [although] they hold a form of piety (true religion), they deny and reject and are strangers to the power of it.” The word power, of course, is the same word we read in Acts 1:8… “You shall receive power…” The Greek dictionary, Strong’s, defines it: Dunamis… gr. Force (literally or figuratively); specifically miraculous power (usually by implication a miracle itself): ability, abundance, meaning, might… and Strong’s continues with a full page of definitions, due to the common usage of the word.

 At the time, when humanity comes to the end of its history, there will be a period that is especially dangerous. Now, let’s look at the word perilous in 2 Timothy 3:1 (NKJV). Curiously, this word is only used here and one other time, in Matthew 8:28, in the New Testament. Strong’s defines the Greek word, chalepos, difficult, that is dangerous, or (by implication) furious: - fierce, perilous, and Matthew uses this word to describe the Gadarene demoniacs.  

 One of the reasons that this time will be dangerous or fierce is because “men will be lovers of themselves… having a form of godliness but denying its power.” It is typical that in the formality of his religion, an individual will not abandon it, but in a practical sense, what he or she believers, becomes inert and dead. However, the faithful members will continue to defend it, violently and fanatically, as the prophets of Baal before Elijah on Mount Carmel (1 K.18:25-29).

 There is a good deal of teaching these days, which could easily bring believers to that state, by assuming that miraculous power ended with the apostles and today, the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit have been annulled. They teach the book of Acts, as purely historical. And precisely for that reason, I want to begin a study of this book, to see it as something more than history, as it relates to the works of the apostles, but as a model to show, what the church should be anywhere, at any time.

  

 

Jose speaks in the chapel at the inaugural service

Hotel and Bible School, "The Great Commission"

 Jose figures that the hotel can accommodate about 20 students, but some of us, along with Jose, feel that that will not be enough in the future. Recently Jose put in a bid on a beautiful property on a lake shore in the same town, with a chapel and other buildings to house another 30 students. Although two other people put in higher bids on the same property, it landed in Jose´s hands.

 Last Sunday, he and Marga, along with the students and staff, held a special inauguration on the new property. Here, I will let you read Jose´s report of the event: 

 I left for a trip to arrive in Dals-Ed, Suecia on March 1. I arrived first in Barcelona and the girls had prepared a terrific lunch. My friends, Mateo and Irina, Dani, Sofi and the twins, were also invited and Olga, who I´ve known for many years, was the cook. I spent a good part of the afternoon, answering questions and then returned to Ripollet for a meeting with couples. (Jose and Ana had been on a trip and returned to attend part of the meeting.) The following day, I spoke at the regular Sunday meeting, and later that afternoon, after a meal with Ángel, Rebeca and their children, I was taken to the airport.