Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: I now can sing Since I've been redeemed I'm on the everlasting, everlasting rock I faith in Christ my Redeemer King I'm on the everlasting everlasting rock Then roll, roll pillows roll I'm on the everlasting rock of ages Roll, roll billows roll I'm on the everlasting rock.
We bless thy name, O Lord Thy goodness We record we tell thy great and wondrous love we publish it abroad we look to thee on high we praise and glorify for only Thou art ruler over earth and sky For Thine is the kingdom, the power, the glory forever and ever Thy praises we will sing as thine is the kingdom, the power, the glory for thou art almighty and the wise are king.
Thy word is Lord divine in the all host combine for thee the buried fields pro green the skies with sunlight shine Thy wish is nature's will Thy plan she must fulfill Creation proves the marvels of her maker skin For Thine is the kingdom, the power, the glory Forever and ever Thy praises we will sing yes, Thine is the kingdom, the power, the glory For Thou art almighty and thou art our king.
Through thee, O Lord Most High ascends the joyous cry A thousand hills take up the song A thousand hills reply Dominion wide and broad O' erlancing glad accord be unto thee forever more Almighty Lord for thine is the kingdom, the power, the glory Forever and ever Thy praises we will sing yes, thine is the kingdom, the power, the glory For Thou wise, Almighty and the.
[00:04:04] Speaker B: Welcome to the Voice of Hope. I'm your host, Anthony High.
Today we're beginning a new Bible teaching series on the Book of Acts, a book that tells us how Jesus is still working in the world today.
Although Jesus has ascended to heaven more than 2,000 years ago, his mission did not stop.
Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus continues to build his church and advance his kingdom.
For our regular Voice of Hope listeners, this series will be a little different.
First, you'll notice that I'm joined by a familiar voice of Arlen Horst. He taught in our previous series on Ruth and Jonah.
Second, we've divided the series into three distinct units.
Following the outline given in Acts chapter 1, verse 8, unit 1 will look at chapters 1 through 8, focusing on Jerusalem.
Then unit 2 will examine chapters 9 through 12, covering Judea and Samaria. And unit 3 will follow chapters 13 through 28, tracing the gospel's spread through the uttermost parts of the earth.
Finally, the teaching in this series will be presented by various Teachers from Heralds of Hope, offering a variety of perspectives while remaining rooted in God's word. With that in mind, today's program will serve as an introduction to the series.
So whether you're opening the Book of Acts for the first time or for the hundredth, we invite you to join us as we discover how Jesus, who was at work then, is still at work today.
[00:05:52] Speaker C: Well, welcome back, Arlan.
Today we're going to start this fascinating book called the Acts of the Apostles, or a lot of places, a lot of Bibles, is just simply Acts right throughout this series. We're going to have bring in a few other people, we're going to have you do a couple of episodes and then we're going to have share the load a little bit with it. And so I'm looking forward to hearing different perspectives throughout this book. We're going to continue the series but simply have different speakers on it.
[00:06:20] Speaker D: Yeah, I'm also looking forward to that change.
[00:06:22] Speaker C: Looking at this book, I think my biggest question is, is it telling us
[00:06:28] Speaker B: what simply happened, or does it tell
[00:06:30] Speaker C: us how we should be doing church or how we should be living our lives?
[00:06:35] Speaker D: That is a good question, and it's a big question, a common question with the Book of Acts, are we supposed to be seeing these types of things in our churches today?
If not, why not? And are we supposed to be modeling some of the things that we see there? And I hope to get to that question at the end because it's such a common question. However, before we get there, I would like to do a preview of how we'll be looking at the Book of Acts, taking out some of the major, major themes and discussing it here today. And then next time we'll start with chapter one and start working our way through the book.
So the title that we've come up with is Turning the World Upside down with Jesus. And as we look at the Book of Acts, the title, as you mentioned earlier, is called the Acts of the Apostles, but it's, it's more the Acts of Jesus. Like Jesus work transitions here and he's no longer in person on the planet. He's ascended, but his work is continuing and he's doing his work through the apostles.
So maybe, maybe it'd be better titled the Acts of Jesus or the Continuing Acts of Jesus instead of the Acts of the Apostles. But it's the Apostles that were fleshing it out and they were healing people and casting out demons, and his work was going forth without him in person.
[00:08:01] Speaker C: But in the beginning of the book, it does Start out with him there,
[00:08:05] Speaker D: right, right at the beginning. We see him right before he's ascended. And he makes a few comments that are crucial to the Book of Acts.
It says he was resurrected and he was with the disciples and was teaching them for 40 days and talking about his kingdom.
And you know, Jesus life was focused on his kingdom.
And what we see here in Acts is no exception as those, those 40 days between his resurrection and ascension, the focus was still on preparing the apostles, his disciples, for his coming kingdom.
And it's, it's interesting how the Book of Acts is bookended front and back.
His kingdom. If you read the very last chapter and the very last verse, Paul is there teaching his kingdom to, in Rome to the people that come to him.
And if you read the Book of Acts, you know, the story of Paul, Paul didn't start out that way, but at the end he's doing the same thing. Jesus was at the beginning. Jesus is at the beginning promoting his kingdom and teaching about it. And that's what Paul is doing at the end. And the Jews from Rome are coming to him and he's persuading them from the Old Testament. He's persuading them about Jesus and his kingdom. And so I would like to think of that kingdom as.
That's the overarching theme of the Book of Acts. That's what it's about. It's about Jesus kingdom.
It's a new phase. It's kind of like at a new level because the Holy Spirit comes and is guiding the believers. And Jesus isn't here in person, but his kingdom is going out, it's going forth.
[00:09:44] Speaker C: And Luke wrote the book, correct?
[00:09:47] Speaker D: Yes. We don't actually. It doesn't actually say that in Acts that Luke wrote it, but it's addressed to Theophilus. We don't know much about him. You can learn a little, and there's some ideas that we have, but we don't know a lot. And I wasn't planning to discuss it a lot. But since Luke has addressed the Theophilus and Acts is addressed to Theophilus, we think Luke wrote it.
Also, when traveling with Paul, the pronoun we is used.
So it's pretty certain that Luke wrote it, although it doesn't say that, as far as I know, in the Book of Acts, I want to look at our theme, turning the world upside down with Jesus. And it comes from two verses from the Book of Acts. I would like to look at those two verses and think about how with Jesus we can turn the world upside down in A positive way.
Acts 4:13 describes the apostles, the disciples, as unlearned and ignorant men.
They were uneducated. They hadn't been to school for years, untrained.
But the Pharisees, the Jewish people, noticed that they had been with Jesus.
And I think that's a challenge for all of us.
Can other people see that you have been with Jesus? That I've been with Jesus.
And so that's where the with Jesus part of our theme comes from.
And then in Acts 17:6, it makes a comment, these who have turned the world upside down have come here too.
They went into the next city, and that was the reputation that followed them. It's these men that are turning the world upside down.
And so I think that's a very positive thing.
[00:11:27] Speaker C: I'm just thinking, what a reputation to
[00:11:29] Speaker D: turn the world upside down. Yeah.
And you know, Acts is the account of Jesus Kingdom doing exactly that, turning the world upside down. Look at the Jewish culture and the upheaval that Jesus teaching brought to that part of the world.
However, it's not just limited to that part of Jerusalem.
Two thousand years ago, as the gospel spread and as the gospel goes out, it continues to upset cultures, it continues to revolutionize kingdoms. And so this idea of turning the world upside down with Jesus is kind of like the theme that we're going to use as we study the book of Acts.
[00:12:08] Speaker C: Yeah. One of the things I thought about there is why does. Why does the Gospel always turn the world upside down? And one of the things that I thought of is Jesus specifically told us that that would happen. He said it's actually going to drive a wedge between families and. Between parents and children and brothers and sisters, and it's going to be a difficult thing. And for me, that hasn't necessarily been the case.
Like, becoming a believer in Christ was a good thing in my family, but there's a lot of parts of the world where that is not. And you get driven out or you get ostracized and pressured and maybe even killed.
[00:12:48] Speaker D: Right, right.
[00:12:50] Speaker C: But yeah, it does turn the world upside down.
And yeah, just why does it do that? And it seems like just when. When you totally change your worldview and the way you look at life through the lens of. Of the gospel, it just changes everything.
[00:13:09] Speaker D: Right. Jesus teachings go against human nature. And most cultures are built on human nature and what the human desires. And we're kind of selfish the world over. And so when left to ourselves and we develop systems and cultures, they're selfish. And the focus is me and what I can get Many times, maybe not 100% of the time. But then Jesus comes along and teaches self denial. He teaches his kingdom first, and then people start living that out. And it's, it goes against cultures, common culture.
I like the verse in Acts 17 and Acts 4.
Like putting those two ideas together, turning the world upside down with Jesus.
The second thing I want to move on to then is how we'll be teaching through the Book of Acts. In Acts chapter 1:8, Jesus says, you'll be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria and to the uttermost part of the earth. And many people have used that as an outline for the book, which is a good outline, I believe. Yeah. And that's how we're going to look at the progression of the Gospel. So it started in Jerusalem and that's basically Acts chapter one through eight.
And then persecution comes, and then it goes to Judea and Samaria, which is basically the next four chapters. And then chapter 13 to the end of the chapter, it follows Paul and looks at his missionary journeys and travels with him.
So you kind of have these three areas. And that's how we've divided the book of Acts. The first section will be probably seven lessons. And then we'll look at the next section for the next four. And then the last part of the Book of Acts will be the last session or last section.
[00:14:52] Speaker C: So I want to point something out there. A lot of times people look at that and say that. Take that same outline and say, so we should start at home and then go a little further and then beyond what Jerusalem was not the disciples home.
Galilee was.
They were, they were actually outside of home, but they were starting in a central area. It was, it was important that they started in Jerusalem. That's where it was supposed to start.
[00:15:18] Speaker D: Right.
[00:15:19] Speaker C: But it was not home necessarily for them.
[00:15:22] Speaker D: Oh, interesting.
[00:15:23] Speaker C: But there, that's where they began from and went from there.
[00:15:27] Speaker D: Because I've heard that illustration as well, and I kind of like it. Like, you should be faithful at home.
[00:15:32] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:15:32] Speaker D: We should be reaching our neighborhood and our neighbors.
So. Yeah, yeah.
[00:15:37] Speaker C: But that's. That is more the outline for the Book of Acts than necessarily a prescriptive model for how to do missions. Although starting at home. Absolutely. Start at home.
[00:15:48] Speaker D: Yep.
[00:15:49] Speaker C: Should.
[00:15:49] Speaker D: Yep, yep. I agree. So that's a, that's another thing just to keep in mind as, as we go through these lessons that we're going to start first seven lessons or so, we'll be looking at the gospel spreading there in Jerusalem. Then we'll look at Judea and Samaria, and then to the uttermost.
[00:16:06] Speaker C: The other thing that I've noted, I've heard this before, how the gospel doesn't always move willingly.
There are times when people. Yes. They take the gospel out. You see that in Antioch, like, people started taking the Gospel to the Gentiles.
But in the beginning there. My section that I'm supposed to teach is. Is Acts 7 and 8.
And there the. The church was just.
Just taking it kind of easy there in Jerusalem, they were all there and
[00:16:37] Speaker B: persecution pushed it out.
[00:16:39] Speaker C: And sometimes God has to come along and help us a little to get moving with it. But the gospel is supposed to continue to go.
[00:16:47] Speaker D: Yeah. Amen. Do you think he still works like that?
[00:16:50] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:16:51] Speaker D: We can see numerous examples of that. And down through the ages.
[00:16:54] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:16:55] Speaker D: Down through history, of when persecution comes and the church spreads. Yeah.
[00:17:00] Speaker C: And some of them. Some of those stories are kind of hard to read.
[00:17:03] Speaker D: They're challenging.
Yeah. The third area I want to look at is some of the overarching themes that we teachers will keep in mind as we work through the book of Acts, as we study the Scripture. It's always challenging to what does this mean for me now and how can we apply it now? And so this is addressing some of those areas. The first thing, the first area is to recognize that the church is turning the world upside down still.
That's our theme. But it's not. It's not over back then. It's still going on. The same God is accomplishing his purposes. God is still at work. We have the same spirit and can accomplish the same things. The second thing, the same goals are still being pursued as we look at these new believers and notice how they were so evangelical, notice how they depended on prayer so much.
These are challenges for us.
Notice how the body of Christ work together and they work through these difficult situations. It's a challenge for us. We can learn from their example. So the same God is accomplishing his purpose. The same goals are being pursued. And the last one, the same gospel is being proclaimed.
Again, their example is a great one. They were taking the teaching of Jesus with them as they went. When they were persecuted and had a run, they took Jesus with them.
It was huge for the Jewish culture.
It was, you know, an earthquake.
[00:18:39] Speaker C: Right.
[00:18:39] Speaker D: Big things going on.
And maybe the same for your culture, but, you know, the same gospel is still being proclaimed. So we want to recognize that. The second thing we want to examine is how the Holy Spirit convicts, guides and empowers them. You know, you think about how much of a change this was when the, when Pentecost happened and the Holy Spirit came, like this was new and these, these believers, like it was all new and they were learning it for the first time. And we have record of it here in Acts. I think they did an exceptional job.
We can learn from that as well because it's the same Spirit. And he convicted believers, he guided them, he empowered them. And we want that, want to learn from that and apply it to our setting.
Then the last one is to demonstrate practical ways to participate as faithful witnesses of Christ.
This again is not just back then. It's not just a nice idea to think about. We want to actually flesh this out and live it out locally in our church bodies, but also globally. And I think we have some good examples here in Acts, maybe not globally as around the world, but they, I like the example in Acts 11. Where was it? The church in Antioch, I believe, gave support to the believers in Jerusalem.
And we can do that too.
Where, where the body of Christ is lacking or being persecuted or needs our help. Let's, let's do it. That's a good example for us.
[00:20:15] Speaker C: And that was a case of an outlying church helping the mother church. Right. The well established church. Yeah, was getting helped by the, by the children, as it were.
[00:20:27] Speaker D: You know, the, the gospel had, by that time the teachings of Jesus had crossed mental barriers.
Like it wasn't just Jews anymore, it was, it was expanding.
And then locally, like in our church congregations that we're a part of, notice how they had prayer as such a priority.
Notice how evangelism was.
It wasn't a program, it just happened.
[00:20:52] Speaker C: Right.
[00:20:54] Speaker D: And the other example I think I mentioned before, but working through the. Right here at the beginning, you had the trouble with the widows not getting enough food.
And you know, they worked through their problems and they were, they were committed and worked it out with each other.
So, you know, practical ways that we can participate in the gospel.
So those are the three ways that the teachers will try to keep in mind as we prepare and plan the lessons.
You know, the church is turning the world upside down yet, and we get to be a part of it. The Holy Spirit guiding, empowering, teaching us and practical ways we can participate in the church.
[00:21:35] Speaker C: Looks like an exciting series for sure.
[00:21:37] Speaker D: Yeah, we, we all have lots to learn and I think the examples we have in Acts are challenging for us.
Then the last area I'd like to talk about is the question you brought up at the beginning, because that, that is a big question. It's a valid question. And you hear people Talk on either extreme.
Some say, no, that's. That was for back then. Time of the axis passed. We shouldn't expect any of that to happen now. That was then.
The next person uses that as the church handbook, like, this is what we're going to do, just like they did it.
And yeah, it's a, it's a worthwhile question and it's good for us to think about.
For example, In Acts chapter 246, it says they continued daily with one accord in the temple, breaking bread from house to house.
They ate their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, but just from that they met in homes.
They broke bread every time.
Does that mean communion or does that mean they ate together?
We could have that discussion, but let's just say they broke bread every time, whether it was a meal.
Do you have a meal together every time or do you like have communion every time? Either one.
[00:22:47] Speaker C: This was daily.
[00:22:49] Speaker D: Yeah, it was every day, every time they met.
So they all. Acts 4:32 mentions that they also had all things common.
So that's a lot right there. And then later on in the book of Acts, you get to Acts chapter 15 where they had this big council meeting get together and then they send out the rules, the recommendations to the churches. And there was four of them.
Well, do you think we should do those four today? Like, should your church have those four rules as part of their handbook, part of their constitution?
Well, then we read them and we say, well, definitely we should do that.
That one probably doesn't apply. You know, we kind of pick and choose a little.
But how we look at it and how we interpret it is the question.
[00:23:40] Speaker C: Yeah, I think you can do that all throughout Acts, like the all things in common.
Sometimes some groups will take that and say, this is the way it must be. No, no personal property at all.
[00:23:51] Speaker D: Right.
[00:23:52] Speaker C: But then a chapter or two later, when you know the gifts of the Spirit come and they're talking in tongues, they're like, no, no, no, we don't do that anymore.
So, like, how do you handle the book then? If one part does hold and the other one doesn't, is that okay?
Yeah, when, whenever you start something like anything, organization, even, even your family, you do things differently at the beginning than you do after. It becomes more well established. Right.
[00:24:22] Speaker B: And I think you see some of
[00:24:24] Speaker C: that here you go into an area where the gospel is new.
Some of this stuff happens.
Like there are miracles, there's speaking in tongues, there's things that go on that maybe a more well established church you don't see. And I think there's a place there where God is showing himself and does still want to show himself back in the established church. But I think there's a progression kind of that happens. Yeah, there's an entropy that can happen too. No doubt about that.
[00:24:54] Speaker D: Yep.
[00:24:55] Speaker C: But I think there is. There are times when at the beginning, there's a new, there's excitement, there's huge changes happening, and it needs to be established first.
[00:25:04] Speaker D: Right. And I would agree with that.
[00:25:06] Speaker C: That's kind of how I see the Book of Acts.
[00:25:09] Speaker D: I would also say maybe this speaks to my limited knowledge, but I don't know of any church that does all of the things mentioned in Acts. I know of some churches that do some of them, but I don't know of any church that has all things common, meets in houses, meets daily meet, and has meal or communion every time it meets.
But there probably is that church out there that is doing that.
But so right there, it means that people have decided, like, no, this. This isn't for us.
And they. They're not taking Acts as a rulebook, which I think is a legit way of reading through the Book of Acts. I don't think it is saying that we must do everything that's written there. But if there's something that you want to apply and feel that we should put this into practice, I believe that God gives us that opportunity, taking the principles and applying it to our generation. And where we're doing church is where it takes wisdom. And that's where we need God and his Spirit to guide us.
And that's where I come back to our theme. His kingdom is still turning the world upside down with him.
Like, when you and I spend time with Jesus, others will notice. It'll come out in our relationships with our family, with our church people.
And that's the cool part. We get to be a part of the gospel advancing. Earlier we said how it started in Jerusalem, it went out. And some people have likened that to ripples, but I don't like the ripples because ripples get smaller as it goes out. So think of it as an avalanche. Think of it as something that gets bigger as it goes on, and it's compounding and growing. That's the work we get to be a part of. And that's exciting.
[00:26:58] Speaker B: You've been listening to the voice of hope. The Book of Acts reminds us that the gospel is not driven by human strength or clever plans, but by the power of the Holy Spirit and the continuing work of Jesus Christ.
The same God who worked through the
[00:27:15] Speaker C: early believers is still at work in
[00:27:18] Speaker B: the world today, calling his people to live faithfully and to bear witness to the gospel. If you've been encouraged by this introduction for our series in the Book of Acts, we invite you to listen to more of our Bible teaching at Heralds of Hope.
There you'll find past episodes, additional podcasts and videos, as well as ministry updates and links to our content on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts. Please be sure to follow and rate us. If you've enjoyed this episode, we'd love to hear from you. You can email us@Hope heraldsofhope.org or call 866-960-0292 and you can write to us at heraldsofhope, 6183 Lincoln Highway, Harrisonville, PA 17228.
And join us the next time as we turn to Acts Chapter one and listen to Jesus Final Words to His Disciples.
Until then, may God's Word strengthen your faith and remind you that his work in the world is far from finished.
Thank you for listening to the Voice of Hope.
[00:28:51] Speaker A: Jesus.
