We begin the exciting book of Acts this week. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would come after He left. He certainly did.
Acts 1: The Promise of the Holy Spirit
1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach,
2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.
3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, "you heard from me;
5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
The Ascension
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"
7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes,
11 and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."
Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away.
13 And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James.
14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
15 In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said,
16 "Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.
17 For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry."
18 (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out.
19 And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
20 "For it is written in the Book of Psalms, "'May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it'; and "'Let another take his office.'
21 So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us---one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection."
23 And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias.
24 And they prayed and said, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen
25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place."
26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
Acts 2: The Coming of the Holy Spirit
1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.
2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.
6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.
7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?
8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?
9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome,
11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians---we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God."
12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?"
13 But others mocking said, "They are filled with new wine."
Peter's Sermon at Pentecost
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words.
15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.
16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
17 "'And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;
18 even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
20 the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.'
22 "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know---
23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
25 For David says concerning him, "'I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope.
27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.'
29 "Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne,
31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.
32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.
33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.
34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, "'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand,
35 until I make your enemies your footstool.'
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
38 And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself."
40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation."
41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
The Fellowship of the Believers
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.
44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common.
45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,
47 praising God and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Things to think about…
1. Luke writes his second book. The first of course is his gospel account, Luke’s gospel. He says here that what he is about to write confirms what he wrote in his gospel, Acts 1:1-5. Jesus appeared over 40 days after his resurrection to his disciples. Jesus didn’t appear to everyone. This is still the case today. Jesus appears to His people and confirms who He is and what He is about to do. What is the Lord saying to you at the moment? If the answer is ‘nothing’, then pray He gives you ‘ears to hear’.
2. The disciples still had the nation of Israel on their minds and hearts when they asked whether Jesus would now restore the kingdom, Acts 1:6-8. Jesus responds by saying that now is not the time, but the appointed time is set by the Father. This response of course flies in the face of those who say that the Lord has finished with the nation of Israel. God had made specific promises to the nation of Israel and Jesus confirms here that He will fulfil those promises. They need to accept Him as their Lord and Saviour from sin of course. Jewish blood in the veins does not save them.
3. In Acts 1:12-26 we read that Matthias was chosen to replace Judas. We don’t hear any more about this man. We do hear a lot about Saul who would become the Apostle Paul. Why do you think it was necessary to pick someone who had witnessed the full earthly ministry of Christ rather than someone who would clearly be the one who would take the gospel to the nations? The answer is of course that it affirms the earthly testimony of Jesus, His life and ministry, as well as being a fulfillment of the prophecy, “may another take his office”, Ps 109:8. The Apostle Paul would see the Lord in other ways even though he part of the original 12. Praise God that He shows us His grace. Matthias confirmed the truth of all the earthly testimony of Christ because he was an eyewitness to Christ’s earthly ministry. Paul would of course be a witness to the spiritual extension of the kingdom to the gentiles.
4. The Spirit blesses the ‘Galileans’ with the ability to speak in other known languages, Acts 2:1-12. Why was this the case? This is a reversal in some sense of the judgement that occurred from the Tower of Babel where the Lord divided languages. Here He is uniting languages under the gospel. This is a real call to the church to be united in truth and purpose.
5. In Acts 2:16-41 the Holy Spirit does something to Peter. Firstly, He gives Peter boldness whereas before he was a frightened man hiding away with all the other disciples and secondly the Lord gives Peter the ability to prophesy and understand scripture. He interprets Joel 2 and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit and also how Psalm 16 refers to Jesus and His resurrection. As Christians we are called to do the same with the bible. It needs to be living and we should interpret it to others by making it come alive by allowing it to speak.
6. Wouldn’t you like to see the church look like this, Acts 2:41-47. When true revival comes God’s people are consumed with talking about the Lord with others and spending time together, as well as having all things in common. I believe the Lord is beginning to do these same things within CBC. When there is love, unity, truth, hospitality and prayer all united together under the banner of Christ that is where the church grows and expands for the Lord’s glory and gospel purpose.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
a. We heard on Sunday that we all have enemies. Who is your greatest enemy? Would you ever consider that it is you? Discuss.
b. David prays that the Lord set a guard over his lips and over his heart. Do you see yourself as suffering from the same afflictions?
c. The sermon Jay preached on Sunday was not the same one found in the church bulletin. The one in the bulletin was generated by ChatGPT and AI (artificial intelligence) program. The antichrist will rule over such technology and force people to buy and sell with it as a result. Perhaps technology is our greatest enemy? Discuss.
d. Pray that the Lord shows you your heart and how you can fight against the temptations by 1. Praying 2. Read good material 3. Get a spiritual mentor. 4 Gathering together in a cell group/church attendance. 4. Pass it on – get involved in a ministry.
Prayer Points
1. Pray for the earthquake relief efforts in Turkey and Syria – over 35 000 dead. This, tragically will rise to many more over the coming days. Have mercy Lord Jesus! The leadership will be discussing our involvement through Baptist World Aid.
2. That our Kids@Church and Chuwar Youth group grow beyond anyone’s expectations.
3. Pray for Chuwar Youth and Jarrod for Friday’s. Pray for Jarrod – he sprained his ankle - pray for healing.
4. New ministry leaders and coordinators.
5. How you can serve in ministry this year.
6. Pray for other building projects – café turf to be redone, roof, the repair of the house, working bee 11th Mar.
7. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. More visitors on Sunday – pray they are integrated into the church
2. Kids Church ministry going really well. Thank the Lord kids Church Youth leaders Rosie and Jarrod. Thankyou guys!!
3. Those who faithfully serve in ministries, Worship, Sound/Technical/Kids Church/ Cell Groups/Admin - Bulletins/Finances/Property/Welcoming/Spiritual Leadership/Cafe
4. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Quarterly Members meeting 26th Feb after the service. Vision strategy and new members.
2. Chuwar Youth Friday nights – 6:30-8:30pm. Grades 7 to 12. Chat to the Youth Pastor Jarrod for more details 0478 845 123.
3. Working Bee - Saturday 11th March. Please get involved. Rob and Steve are team leaders.
4. Sign up for a cell group or welcoming team.
5. Remember to check your duty rosters.
6. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
7. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for February...
Q. 5. Why ought you to glorify God? A. Because he made me and takes care of me.
Bible References – Rom.11:36; Rev.4:11; Dan.5:23.
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” Jer 33:3
