ADVANCING THE KINGDOM Acts 1:8-11 (Adult Lesson) By Terry Coy, SBTC Missions Consultant

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1 ADVANCING THE KINGDOM Acts 1:8-11 (Adult Lesson) By Terry Coy, SBTC Missions Consultant The Goal of this Study: In short: To challenge us to be witnesses in all places at all times. A bit longer: To challenge your small group to realize that between the time that Jesus first came and inaugurated the kingdom of God and the time when he returns to fulfill all kingdom promises, they are to advance the kingdom by being witnesses in their Jerusalem, their Judea, their Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth. How to use this study:! Begin by praying. Ask the Holy Spirit to prepare your heart and the hearts of the members of your study/small group to hear and apply what will be learned. Ask Him to provide clear confirmation and clarification to each person in their role of being a witness. Also ask Him to begin showing each person how they should define Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.! As a facilitator/leader/teacher work through the entire lesson before you lead others: o Work through the Opening Activity section yourself. Try to anticipate questions, possible answers, and comments. o Read through the Scripture passages. Write down your initial impressions of the passage: Who is talking? Where did this take place? What exactly was said? What are some possible meanings of the passage? Again, anticipate your group s answers, questions, struggles, and comments. o Read through the commentary section. This is the study author s comments, many of which are based on other commentaries and studies. Do some of your own digging and studying by using a study Bible or commentaries. Write down your thoughts and possible questions for group discussion. o Read through the questions after the commentary section. Use these to prepare for group discussion and to stimulate further questions. o The application section is the culmination of the study. Make sure all group members have an opportunity to reflect on and contribute to the questions, suggestions, and challenges. 1

2 Memory Verse: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (HCSB). Opening Activity:! Ways to witness: According to the Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, besides the legal and courtroom implications, witnesses in Scripture could be understood in several ways. They could be like Israel, who witnessed to the existence of God, to his uniqueness, holiness, power, and love. They could be, like the followers of Jesus, witnesses to the person and character of Jesus. In our Acts 1:8 passage, we see how followers of Jesus were specifically commissioned to be the witnesses of the person, character, and work of Jesus. Based on that understanding of witness, answer the following questions: Bible Reading. o What are some ways Christians commonly define and understand witness? o What are some ways you have been able to witness to the person, character, and work of Jesus? o How important is verbal witness? o How important is non-verbal witness? o What are some challenges many people face when it comes to verbal witness? How could these be overcome? o What are some Biblical ways to offer non-verbal witness? How and when are these effective and when may they not be that effective? Background passage: Acts 1:3-7 (HCSB) 3 After He had suffered, He also presented Himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 While He was together with them, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father s promise. This, He said, is what you heard from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. 6 So when they had come together, they asked Him, Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time? 7 He said to them, It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by His own authority. 2

3 Jot down some initial impressions of the passage: Background Commentary: 1:3. Luke, the author of Acts, leaves no doubt as to the reality of the bodily resurrection of Jesus. He says that after Jesus had suffered, referring to the cross, he also presented himself alive. Now, Luke himself never saw the resurrected Christ, but being a man of research (see Luke 1:3-4) he knew that Jesus had been seen alive by them, meaning the apostles (and many others, as we see in the Gospels). Jesus gave, says Luke, many convincing proofs of his bodily resurrection, appeared repeatedly over 40 days, and continued to speak about the kingdom of God. It is important for Luke to establish the truth and reality of the resurrection because everything which follows in the book of Acts presupposes a risen Lord who has sent his followers to be witnesses. Had the resurrection been simply symbolic or a legend, it is doubtful that the apostles would have sacrificed as much as they later did. 1:4-5. Jesus knows his post-resurrection days on earth are coming to an end. He does not, however, give his disciples their marching orders quite yet. They are to wait until they are baptized with the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus had told them about, who is the Father s promise and which was going to happen soon. 1:6-7. As their time together was coming to a close, the disciples ask Jesus about the kingdom of God. He had been speaking to them about it, but they still had difficulty understanding its nature 3

4 and its timing. After the death and resurrection of Jesus the disciples had finally begun to set aside some of the commonly held political and military expectations of the kingdom. They discovered that Jesus was not going to pick up the sword and run the Romans out of town. Jesus kingdom was different. It was grounded in his person and work. It required costly sacrifice and brought grace, love and forgiveness of sin. So, the disciples wanted to know if the Lord was going to restore the fullness of the kingdom to Israel at this time. Jesus simply and directly tells them the timing is up to the Father. It is not something for them to know. But, in the meantime...! Focus Passage: Acts 1:8-11 (HCSB) 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. 9 After He had said this, He was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took Him out of their sight. 10 While He was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them. 11 They said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen Him going into heaven. Jot down some initial impressions of the passages: 4

5 Focus Passage Commentary: 1:8. With his life, death and resurrection Jesus had embodied and established the kingdom of God present, 1 which will be consummated when he returns. In v.7 the disciples wanted to know about this fulfilled kingdom. As Jesus noted, the Father decides when the time is right. In the meantime, however, there is work to do. During these last days, the age in which we live between the times of the first and second coming, there is a task to accomplish. Jesus thus lays out the pre-condition, the description and the goal of the task:! The pre-condition is the power of the Holy Spirit, who is about to come upon the disciples. His disciples are to wait before they start carrying out the instructions because they are going to receive power they will need for the task. Without that power, it would be impossible for them to carry out Jesus instructions. By v. 4 Jesus had done all the teaching he needed to. He had prepared the disciples, they had lived the story, they had all the knowledge and training they needed at that point. Jesus was getting ready to send them out on a life-long dangerous mission. But, as important and powerful as Jesus teachings and the disciples experiences were, they were not enough his disciples needed supernatural power. So, Jesus instructed them to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Then and only then would they have the energy, the insight, the wisdom, the fortitude and the perseverance to carry out the task.! The task description is to be witnesses, which means the disciples are to testify or tell about the person and work of Jesus. This job description complements perfectly the different Great Commission passages found in Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; and Luke 24: Whether preaching the gospel, making disciples, or being witnesses, disciples of Jesus are pointing to his person and work.! The goal is that they are to be witnesses everywhere, in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Although how these four locations apply today is quite different than it did for the disciples, the point is the comprehensiveness of the command. The disciples are to start being witnesses right where they are and then from there to every corner of the world. 1 Boyd Hunt, in Redeemed! Eschatological Redemption and the Kingdom of God, (Nashville: B&H Publishing, 1993), 66-67, notes that the Bible has four primary uses of the term kingdom, including God s universal kingdom, The kingdom of Israel, The kingdom present, and The kingdom consummated. The kingdom present is a New Testament concept that refers to the kingdom of God between Christ s first and second comings. Furthermore, Hunt says that Because Jesus not only proclaimed the kingdom but also embodied the 5

6 1:9. Once Jesus gave his clear instructions to the disciples, he was taken up right before their eyes. What a sight that must have been! Imagine how they felt. After the crucifixion they thought they had lost their Master forever. Miraculously, for 40 days they have enjoyed his presence once more. Now, here they are once again witnessing the departure of their Lord. They most likely felt grief, sorrow mixed with joy and a good bit of anxiety over what he had just told them. 1: The disciples held their gaze on the ascending Lord until two men, apparently heavenly messengers, appeared and chided them. Why are they standing there looking into heaven as if this were, once again, the end? This same Jesus, will come the same way when he returns. The text does not say so, but the implication seems to be that the disciples need to snap out of it, go back into Jerusalem, wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit and then set out to be witnesses. Isn t that what Jesus just told them to do? Focus Passage Commentary Notes: Questions for Reflection and Discussion: kingdom in His person, to proclaim Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord was to proclaim the kingdom. The kingdom is Christ! Therefore, to Advance the Kingdom is to advance the name of Jesus Christ! 6

7 ! What does the power of the Holy Spirit imply? What does that look like in the Bible? How could it look like in daily life? How could it be manifested or expressed when witnessing?! How could we define or describe Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth? It is pretty safe to say that none of you working through this study live in the modern country of Israel. Therefore, some kind of definition and understanding of these four locations need to be worked out. This is important. On the one hand, we don t want to keep the command to witness as an historical event that only applied to the first hearers. On the other hand, we don t want to leave the command in the abstract. In other words, it is a specific command, but until we wrestle with how it applies to each one of us and each local church, we may end up ignoring or overlooking many of those who need to hear about Jesus. So, how would you answer these questions? o What are some ways you have heard these four locations described? Do you agree or disagree? o How could they be understood geographically? (For example, the state convention says that Texas is our Jerusalem. That is definitely true, but does that definition need to be tweaked for your local church?) o How could these four be understood if they were defined as different groups of people? What would that look like? Think about it. How would this work? " Jerusalem = those people very close and quite like me. We share the same worldview, are family or close friends; we are comfortable around each other. " Judea = those people who are more like acquaintances. I am fairly comfortable with them and we are quite alike, but we are not that close. " Samaria = who were the Samaritans in the New Testament? The despised people! The ones everyone wanted to avoid. So, who are the people in my life I... really can t stand? Who are those I am uncomfortable around, don t understand, who make me nervous, who disgust me? Who are those I hold grudges against or have secret (or open) prejudices and biases against? Ouch! They need to hear the gospel from me, too. " Ends of the earth = these could definitely be on the other side of the world, but they could also be the people across the street from me. They could be those I have absolutely nothing in common with; those I know nothing about. o How could you define and describe these four locations? How do you suggest your church define them? 7

8 ! What are the implications of what the two men told the disciples? What does this verse tell us about the timing of Jesus return? The manner of his return? What we are to do in the meantime? Doing it!! One of the primary elements in witnessing is being able to share your own testimony and give a basic gospel presentation. o If you haven t already, write out your personal testimony so that you could share it in simple language in less than three minutes. Once you write it out, practice sharing your story to make sure you have it down and it communicates clearly. You will want to tell about your life before you met Jesus, how you came to faith, and what your life has been since then. o Learn a simple gospel presentation like the Roman Road or One Verse Evangelism. Practice this presentation with family or friends.! Write out your definitions and descriptions of your (and your church s) Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and end of the earth. You may want to include both geographical and people elements in your definition.! What are some ways you could witness in all four areas? As an individual? As a family? As a small group? As a local church? Think about different ways to be witnesses: o Who can you befriend and build a relationship with? o Who can you serve? o Are there local ministries you can support in prayer, financially or with volunteer help? o Can you go on a mission trip? o Can you volunteer in Disaster Relief? o Can you serve in Vacation Bible School, work in your church s evangelism and outreach ministry, serve in the benevolence ministry? o Is there a church planter you can pray for and support? o Are there international missionaries you need to pray for and support? o Above and beyond your regular tithe, who can you support financially? o Think about Texas: " Who in your community needs to hear the gospel? How can you communicate the love of Christ clearly to them? 8

9 " What region of Texas could you work in by partnering with a church planter? " Think about SBTC s Reach Houston emphasis. Is there a way you can partner to be a witness in that city? " What about other urban areas in Texas? What about the Borderlands?! Commit to pray about being a witness in your Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Commit to challenging others in your church to do the same. Concluding Words: The reality is that we could list witnessing needs and opportunities for pages and pages. It can be quite overwhelming! Don t let that stop you from allowing the Holy Spirit to point out one, two, or more ways you can be a witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ wherever you may be. 9

82 SESSION LifeWay

82 SESSION LifeWay 82 SESSION 7 The Point Jesus ascended to heaven but did not leave us alone. The Passage Acts 1:3-11 The Bible Meets Life We come to faith in Jesus when we realize we cannot come to God on our own. We are