Acts 1:6-8

 

Big Idea: Church isn’t just a place to attend but a movement to be a part of. … Sometimes, those of us who have become comfortable can forget the church is a movement and just a place to go. 

 

The church is…

  1. A Redemptive - Historical Movement … The disciples asked Jesus when His kingdom would come and He answered by telling them that a movement would come. The Holy Spirit would descend upon believers and start a powerful, new movement. This would result in the church. In the Old Testament, Israel was God’s chosen people and the Disciples wanted to know when that kingdom would rise again, but they were thinking too small. Jesus tells them this movement won’t stop with Israel, but would go to the ends of the Earth. 
  2. A Spirit - Empowered Movement … The Holy Spirit would come upon believers and empower them. We see this in Acts 2. And we still see it today. The church is not a human institute, but one led by the Holy Spirit. We recognize we can’t change lives on our own, but we know that the power of the Spirit can. The Spirit should lead our churches in everything. 
  3. A Gospel - Witnessing Movement … Jesus tells His followers they will be witnesses for Him. How do we do that? 
    1. Gospel Proclamation … We must keep proclaiming the Message God has given us without watering it down or compromising it. 
    2. Gospel Demonstration … Demonstrating the Gospel is also important. We should live differently because we are different. We have been changed by the Holy Spirit and our lives should reflect that. If we don’t live differently, our message, our proclamations, will fall on deaf ears. 
    3. Gospel Proclamation + Gospel Demonstration = Gospel Power … This is what we see in the rest of Acts. The disciples (and later Paul) preach the gospel and live in a way that demonstrates it to others. 
  4. An Ever - Expanding Movement … Jesus told His followers that this movement would go from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria to the ends of the Earth. It would start locally and grow from there, becoming regional then eventually global. They had asked about Israel, but Jesus told them His Kingdom would be global. 

 

Here are three things to do to help fulfill this mission

  1. Pray expectantly. … Pray daily for open doors for your church to reach others. 
  2. Embrace change. … Any time we step out on faith, we will encounter changes. It’s important to embrace those changes. Sometimes, that means putting others first even if you don’t partuocularly like the change. 
  3. Don’t just attend. … Don’t just come and sit in a pew. Become involved. The church needs everyone involved to fulfill its mission. 

 

For Further Study/Resources Used to Prepare This Message

  • Exalting Jesus in Acts by Tony Merida
  • NIV Commentary (Acts) by Ajith Fernando
  • Acts: The Church Afire by Kent Hughes
  • Acts: The Christian Standard Commentary by Patrick Schreiner
  • The Gospel-Driven Church by Jared C. Wilson
  • The Mission of God by Christopher Wright