Acts 1:1-11: ‘Mission is the central purpose of the church’

Imagine a young woman, we’ll call her Sarah, and she becomes a Christian through the witness of a friend at work.  She was full of enthusiasm and wanted everyone else to experience what she had found in Christ.  Being told of the importance of meeting with other Christians she joined a local church—they were a friendly lot and she enjoyed the fellowship. 

Then one Sunday morning the preacher announced that there was going to be a ‘congregational meeting’.  ‘What’s a congregational meeting?’ she whispered to the person beside her.  ‘It’s when everyone comes together to discuss an important issue for the church.’

‘Wow’, she thought how exciting.  All week she wonders what could be so important that the whole congregation has to come together to talk about it!  ‘Maybe the leadership want to inform us of how we are going to reach the whole village for Christ.’  ‘Could this be the start of a revival?’

On the night of the meeting she arrives bubbling with enthusiasm.  She was one of the first there.  But as she looks at people coming in she is surprised that they do not appear as excited as she is.  Did they not know how significant a night this might be? 

The meeting was called to order.  The pastor rises to address the assembled crowd.  ‘My friends, thank you for coming out this evening, we have asked you here because the elders need your advice for making important decision.’  Sarah sat on the edge of her seat in anticipation.  He continues, ‘we cannot decide what colour we should paint the new toilet block’.  The meeting lasted for two hours and involves much heated debate. There are many mundane decisions that our church will have to make if we are going to function effectively.  Toilets do need to be painted; sound-systems do need to be purchased.  But buildings and structures are not what we are about.  These things will only have value if they help us fulfil our central purpose.  But what is our central purpose?  What is the primary thing that we are here to do?  I hope we will see as we look at Acts 1:1-11.

 1.  The continuing work of Jesus (1-5)

Luke begins by writing, In my former book, Theophilus I wrote about what Jesus began to do and to teach until he was taken up to heaven.  The implication is that in his second book—what we call ‘Acts’, Luke records what Jesus ‘continued’ to do and to teach having been taken to heaven.  This verse sets Christianity apart from every other religion.  They all regard their founders as having completed their ministry during their lifetime; Luke says that Jesus had only begun his.

But how does this ministry of Jesus continue?

We will see the special role of the apostles, whose sermons and miracles Luke records.  Indeed the teaching of the apostles forms the foundation of the church (Ephesians 2:20).  We will also see the vital role of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus continues to work in conjunction with the person of the Holy Spirit.  As we take the teaching of the apostles and depend on the enabling of the Holy Spirit Jesus will continue to work through us too!

In his book, Forgotten God, and it claims that the church has largely forgotten the person of the Holy Spirit.  It focuses primarily on the change the Holy Spirit brings in our lives as he transforms us from within and produces his fruit.  It also warns that in terms of appearance churches can think they are doing a good job by their own efforts.  Get an entertaining speaker, a good praise band and adequate buildings and you can see growth.  But if we want real God-honouring change that changes peoples life we need to rely on God the Holy Spirit.

Zechariah 4:6: ‘… not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.  Our programs, our events, our plans and our meetings need to be blessed by the power of the Holy Spirit if they are truly going to achieve anything for God.  So let’s humble ourselves, give up on doing anything merely in our strength, and together pray that we might see Christ at work. 

2.  The continuing commission of Jesus (6-11)

In verse 6 the disciples ask about the coming of the kingdom.  Jesus replies that it is not for them to know the times or dates that the Father has set in his own authority.  Then he gives them his commission:  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.  This commission reads like a table of contents to the book of Acts for the Holy Spirit is given and the gospel goes to each of these regions—at the end of the book Paul has reached Rome (the centre of the world at that time).

After Jesus had given them his commission he was taken up hidden in a cloud before their eyes.  We read that they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.  “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky?  This same Jesus, who was taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”  John Stott explains that ‘in the same way’ does not imply that his return will be like playing a film of his departure in reverse.  It does not imply that he will return to exactly the same spot on the Mount of Olives or be wearing the exact same clothes.  It does imply that his return will be personal, ‘the Eternal Son still possessing his glorified human nature and body’, and it will be visible and glorious.  And there are some differences between his going and his return.  His departure was witnessed by just eleven disciples, at his return ‘every eye will see him’.  While he departed on his own, he shall return ‘in blazing fire with his powerful angels’ (2 Thess. 1:7).

Here are a couple of the central things that strike me about this passage.  Firstly, Jesus’ command had to do with what they were to be at until he returned.  He has not yet returned so this commission applies to us.  Jesus commands us to be his witnesses here and to the ends of the earth.  Secondly, as we will see in a few weeks, the promised Holy Spirit came at Pentecost; we live after the time of Pentecost so the person of the Holy Spirit is now with us, his people, to equip us for the task. 

 So what is our primary purpose as a church?  What does Jesus commission us to do?  We are to be a reaching-out people.  Mission is to be at the centre of our concerns.  Indeed we should be concerned not only with our own mission but the mission of all God’s people!  Perhaps we need to be more in touch with those who are involved in missionary service overseas.  Hearing and praying about overseas work was a vital part of the spiritual diet of a previous generation—have we become too narrowly concerned with our small corner?  In our small corner do we realise that the mission we share in is God’s mission and that we share in it with other fellowships?  Do we see other local churches in this area as rivals or partners in the task? 

Conclusion: Are we Great Commission Christians?

The founder of the Salvation Army, William Booth, was too old and sick to attend one of the important anniversaries of the organisation.  So he sent a telegram, which was not to be opened until the anniversary meeting.  It contained just one word: ‘others.’  Our church exists not only for the benefit of our members but also for the benefit of those who are not our members.  Reaching those on the outside is largely to set our agenda.  Someone said that ‘the church that lives for itself will die by itself.’ 

When we look at those who don’t know Jesus we have concerns for them—like Jesus we should be moved with compassion when we see people in physical or emotional pain, but also like Jesus our greatest concern for those we come across is that they would know the forgiveness of sin, rescue from the coming judgement and new life with God.  

Swiss theologian Emil Brunner once wrote, ‘a church exists by mission as fire exists by burning.’  So the questions I want to finish with are these ‘Are we are Great Commission church?’, and ‘Are we Great Commission people?’  Do we have a desire to see people won for Christ?  Now I realise that sharing our faith can be difficult, we don’t always know what to say and we can lack the courage to say it.  I have been guilty of keeping my shut when I should have spoken.  As we move through Acts I hope that we will grow in confidence as we see how the Holy Spirit enables people.  But for the moment let’s just limit ourselves to motivation: ‘Do we have a passion to obey Christ, honour God and love people as we share the good news of the gospel?’   

Let that passion keep us praying for non-Christian family and friends.  Let that passion move us to give and pray for the work of evangelistic organisations that work at home and abroad.  Let that passion shape the program of our church.  Let that passion move us beyond our zones of comfort.  Let that passion cause us to want to speak to people about how we have experienced God’s love, forgiveness and acceptance that is offered to all through Christ.

 

Copyright note:

Unless otherwise stated all Scripture quotations taken from the HOLY BIBLE,

NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION.

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.  Used by permission.