To Do and To Teach: Preparation for the Great Transition

To Do and To Teach: Preparation for the Great Transition

Acts 1:1-5 AMP

Slide #1

1 The first account I made, Theophilus, was [a continuous report] about all the things that Jesus began to do and to teach

2 until the day when He ascended to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given instruction to the apostles (special messengers) whom He had chosen.  

3 To these [men] He also showed Himself alive after His suffering [in Gethsemane and on the cross], by [a series of] many infallible proofs and unquestionable demonstrations, appearing to them over a period of forty days and talking to them about the things concerning the kingdom of God.

4 While being together and eating with them, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Of which,” He said, “you have heard Me speak. 

5 For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized and empowered and united with the Holy Spirit, not long from now.”

Always a part of my preaching preparation process in time given to reflection. Reflecting on how the scriptures have impacted my life. Seeing myself in the text. But this one hit a bit deeper as I thought about the very essence of who we are as Christians and how we got here. And how did we get HERE? How did we get to have a Savior who died for our sins? And because he rose from the dead, I can have my sins forgiven and have everlasting life. How did we get to have the very Spirit of God living in us to help us to guide us to “Bring all things to our remembrance”. How did we get the ultimate level of access to the things of God by being Heirs of God and Joint Heirs with Christ giving us Access to the very power that Turned water into wine, that fed the 5,000 with two fish and 5 loaves of bread, That healed the sick, that gave sight to the blind, that Called Lazaruz to wake up and come forth out of that grave! How did we get to have a High Priest who can be touched by our infirmities? How did we get to have a body of brothers and sisters that we can fellowship with and strengthen each other, that called out body of the believers, the Eklesisa, THE CHURCH. How did we have Apostles, Prophets, Preachers, Evangelists, and Teachers to equip and edify the church?

Slide #2

A lot of good questions with only one answer: God Loved

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Because God loved, He acted, and because He acted, we have Jesus as Lord on the throne.

How did we get here?

Slide# 3

Here is the roadmap of how we got here in reverse

  1. The Holy Spirit was sent by Jesus as He promised (Acts 2:1)
  2. Jesus assumes His rightful place in heaven after the Ascension, Revelation (5:1-8)
  3. Christ ascended back to heaven, Acts 1-
  4. The Great Commission was given Matthew 28:18

All of these things were the foundation upon which the church was built. Peter’s Revelation

 

Slide# 4

 

But the key to the church’s expanding was the Disciples.

 

It was like Jesus was the CEO and founder of a company that had a regional footprint.

His product was a new approach to an age-old operational system.

Everything about the company and its impact on the region depended on the Founder. The company was founded with the intention of making a global impact. Now was the time that the to take the company global. All of the prework had been completed, and the foundation was set. Now it was time to decentralize the operation and send this product all over the world. Jesus would be the CEO and Ultimate Head. There were no Investors or Boards of Directors. The Disciples would be responsible for Global distribution and expansion. They would do the work on the ground after Christ Accended or was elevated to His rightful place as Head!

 

Their Sole Job was Matthew 28-19-20

 

 Slide #5

Matthew 28-19-20

 

19 Go therefore (everywhere) and make disciples of all the nations [help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words], baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age.

 

 

 

Go make Disciples

  • They would be the ones to testify of the Goodness and the Godness of the product
  • They would be the ones who would convince others to try it

 

Teach them (Onboarding)

  • What I taught you so that they can join the company and recreate their experience in others

 

The Disciples were critical to the mission but there was one problem: they were not ready.

So here we are

Text

 

Slide #6

Before the Great Commission and Ascension 40 Days

 

In Biblical terms, the number 40 appears over 100 times and is typically associated with a period of testing, trial, probation, or preparation. Often representing a complete cycle that leads to transformation or a new beginning

 

These 40 days were the most significant consecutive 40-day period in history.  During this time, Jesus engaged in what I call his 40-day mission, and as the Text tells us, that mission was simply 

 

To Do and To Teach

This time, Jesus’s final moments with His Disciples before His time on Earth ended, and He handed this thing off to the Holy Spirit.

 

This time was critical because Jesus had to prepare them to receive the holy Spirit, which would empower them to carry out the assignment of the Great Commission.

 

Slide #7

”This time would be a time of:

 

  • Reconnection
  • Revelation
  • Preparation

 

He reconnected with His followers

 

Reconnection in that Jesus had not been with His Disciples since before he was betrayed and arrested

Between Jesus’ arrest and his resurrection, the majority of his disciples scattered in fear and went into hiding to avoid being captured alongside him. Peter followed at a distance to the courtyard of the High Priest, when he was recognized he, denied Jesus three times. Biblical accounts identify John as the only male disciple present at the cross, where Jesus entrusted the care of his mother, Mary, to him.

 

The Disciples were disconnected

 

They were literally heartbroken

They were hurt, confused, and Afraid

Many of them were suffering with guilt because, in their fear, they had distanced themselves from Jesus

They were people who believed

They gave up all that they had to follow Jesus

Then He was gone

Because He was dead their hope died too

 

Is there anybody in here that been there and just when you were just about to give up and

Something in your atmosphere shifts, and you feel an unexpected, unexplainable peace.

 

Slide #8

TO DO (What did Jesus Do?)

 

He showed Himself to them several times

  • All at the right times when they needed Him most
  • This act catered to the Eyes (Sometimes when our faith is lacking, we have to see a thing before we believe a thing)
  • These appearances provided unquestionable proof that He was yet alive
  • Even in this He was often misidentified as a Spirit or a Ghost, if you will (A Haint for those old-school country people)

 

He let them touch Him (

  • The nail prints in His hands and feet,
  • the holes where he was pierced in His sides

 

He shared meals with them

  • (Re-established the communion), including ones where
  • He himself fed them

 

To show that he was not a ghost but alive in the Flesh by eating physical food

 

The good News is that He is still doing all of these things for us right now

 

He performed miraculous Acts

  • Appearing in and disappearing out of spaces, even when the spaces were behind locked doors
  • As Pastor Phil mentioned last week, Jesus orchestrated a massive catch of fish for the Disciples

 

Slide #9

TO TEACH

 

He revealed Himself to them

 

In this period of Revelation, they needed to know who Jesus is.

 

He revealed Himself through the word.

Sometimes the vicissitudes of Life can get us so out of whack that the only thing that can pull us back into ourselves in the Lord is the Word of God. During the Emmaus Road experience, the Disciples got just that.

 

  • On the very day of the resurrection 2 disciples were on the way to Emmaus
  • They were talking about what had happened to Jesus
  • Jesus showed up and started walking with them, and they did not recognize Him
  • He asked what they were talking about, and they stopped in their tracks, looking heartbroken
  • They told him about how this powerful Prophet of God was handed over by their leaders
  • And he was tortured and executed
  • They were talking about how they had hoped that Jesus would redeem Israel and free the nation from captivity.
  • Some of the Sisters went to the tomb that morning and He was not there
  • Some of the other went to verify, and He really was not there
  • Jesus rebuked them for being slow to believe what the Prophets had spoken.
  • He posed a question referring to what was written

 

Slide #10

 

6 Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and [only then to] enter His glory?

 

During his ministry, the disciples often missed the “why” behind his suffering.

He had to connect the dots:

 

On the road to Emmaus, he:

Gave the Rhema Word (That right now spoken word specific to the situation)

During this time, the word initiated a series of Openings

 

Slide #11

Opening of their minds

 

To understand how the entire Old Testament—from Moses through the Prophets—pointed toward the necessity of his death and resurrection

 

Jesus showed them that what they saw as a brutal murder that ended with a funeral was actually not a funeral but a Future.

 

It was necessary!

 

 

Opening of the Scriptures

 

 Slide# 12

 

Luke 24:27

27 Then beginning with Moses and [throughout] all the [writings of the] prophets, He explained and interpreted for them the things referring to Himself [found] in all the Scriptures.

 

Slide #13

Isaiah:

  • Predicted the “Suffering Servant”
  • The Miraculous Birth,
  • Prophesied that the Messiah would be a descendant of King David (Shoot of Jessie)
  • Jesus’s rejection,
  • His silent submission to death
  • He would be buried in a rich man’s tomb

 

 

 

 

Slide #14

Daniel: 

  • Revealed the timing of the Messiah’s coming and his divine authority.

Zechariah: 

  • Predicted the triumphant king riding a donkey
  • the piercing of the Messiah
  • The 30 pieces of silver

Slide #15

Psalms (David): 

  • Detailed the betrayal, suffering, and resurrection of the Messiah
  • Piercing of His hands and feet

 

All of which is no longer Prophecy but Reality

 

And When Fulfilled Prophecy about the Savior meets New Testament Reality where He operated in them, we now have a picture of what was written in John 1:1, where it says:

 

Slide#16

 

In the beginning was the word (The Logos, the word living) and the word was with God and the word was God. The same was in the beginning with god.

 

Drop down to John 1: 14

 

And the word was made flesh and dwelt among them.

 

 But let’s finish the story. Not only did he fulfill Old Testament Prophecy, he also unified it with New Testament Reality as themselves in the NEW Testament

 

Slide #17

 

Matthew The Promised King

Mark The Suffering Servant

Luke The Perfect Man

John, the Son of God

 

Slide #18

Acts: The Risen Lord

Romans: The Justifier.

Galatians: The source of freedom from the Law,

Ephesians: The Head of the Church

 

Slide #19

Philippians: The Humble God

Colossians: The Firstborn of all creation,

Hebrews: The Great High Priest

Revelation: The King of Kings and The Lamb of God

Slide #20

Opening of the Disciples’ Eyes (Luke 24:29- 31)

 

29 But they urged Him [not to go on], saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening, and the day has just about ended.” So He went inside to stay with them. 

 

30 And it happened that as He reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. 31 Then their eyes were [suddenly] opened [by God] and they [clearly] recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.

Result: This converted the disciples’ confusion into a message they could actually share.

Slide #21

Opening of their mouths (Luke 24:32-35)

The Testimony

 

32 They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was talking with us on the road and opening the Scriptures to us?” 33 They got up that very hour and went back to Jerusalem, and found the eleven [apostles] gathered together and those who were with them, 34 saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon [Peter]!” 35 They began describing in detail what had happened on the road, and how Jesus was recognized by them when He broke the bread.

 

The result of a convinced mind is a testifying voice

 

 

Why was all of this important?

Let’s go back to the Company That I mentioned in the beginning

 

The Preparation

 

Slide #22

The Preparation for the Great Transition

 

The Great Commission

Preparing for what was to happen after Pentecost

 

Pentecost would be the defining moment in History where the culmination of Jesus’ earthly work and that culmination would be the birth of the Church.

 

More importantly, what was to happen after the church was birth the growth of the church through the establishment of the Faith (Go ye therefore and teach all nations)

 

That movement would be ushered in by the promised Holy Spirit

 

The Holy Spirit in dwelling would be the final piece because of what it would do. Acts 1:8

 

Jesus was preparing them to Go Make Disciples

 

They had to spread the Gospel

 

  • To do that, they needed to understand fully who Jesus was

They had to have a testimony (You cannot minister without a testimony

 

(Apple example) If I had an apple in my hand, if I studied, I could tell you everything about that apple. I could describe how it looks, I could give you scientific names, I could tell you where it comes from, and what it could be used for. But the one thing that  I could not tell you, which is the most important thing to someone who has never had one before, is how it tastes. The only way that I could tell you how it tastes is to what? Taste it myself.

 

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.

 

We are Now Generation of Disciples.

The mantle is ours

Some of us are disconnected

Heartbroken

Confused

Have given up hope

Time to Open Your Mind

Be open to the Scriptures

  • Engage Jesus through the word
  • Receive what they say
  • By faith, let them minister to you

Open Your Eyes

  • So you can see that he is right here with you
  • He said that he would never leave nor forsake you

Open your Mouths

  • Tell of His goodness
  • Other people need your testimony

 

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