The Sequel | Acts 1:1-5

Intro

Let's begin now by reading Acts 1, verses 1 to 5.

In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during 40 days, and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit, which he said, You heard from me, for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.

Friends, I want you to think of your favorite book or movie series. Not just a book or movie, but a book or movie series like Star Wars or like The Hunger Games or like The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. Standalone books, standalone movies are great, but a good series or a good sequel is even better. It's hard to beat.

And people, as you know, will wait. They will wait with great anticipation for the next part of that movie or the next book or the next episode to finally come out. Why? Well, because they want to know what happened in the story. A story needs a good ending, and if it ends abruptly in the middle of it without clarity and closure, then it is not a good story. Tell us what happens next, right?

My wife Ashley and I could never watch TV like we used to in the old days where you have to wait an entire week to see the next episode. No, no, give me the whole season. We'll binge it in a few nights together. But friends, sometimes that's not possible because sometimes the story is still being written.

At Redeemer Fellowship, before we started the Book of Acts, we took five quick weeks to study the Gospel of Luke at a very high level. Five weeks, we looked at the incarnation of Christ. We looked at the transfiguration of Christ, the crucifixion of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, and then finally the ascension of Christ back into glory. It was wonderful to study the life of Christ through the lens of the Gospel of Luke.

And here's how that study in Luke began. Luke chapter one, verse one. It seemed good to me also, Luke says, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things that you have been taught. That's the start of volume one. Luke is writing an orderly historical account for this man named Theophilus. He's writing a book.

And friends, my my, what a book it is. Volume one, amazing. It is brilliant. It is a page turner. It is dramatic. There are angelic beings in the story. There are miraculous pregnancies and births within the story. There are miracles of various kinds. There is a betrayal. There's a gross miscarriage of justice. The hero of the story is executed. What a turn of events, sorrowful turn of events. But then the hero of the story, he comes back to life. Bad guys in the story, not expecting that at all. But then how does this extraordinary book end? Does it have a clean and tidy ending, pulling together all the loose ends? Is there full and complete character development along the way? No, no, the first volume that Luke writes is about as big a cliffhanger as you can imagine.

In Luke 24, the hero of the story, his name is Jesus, by the way, the hero ascends into the sky and leaves his followers looking up from down below. But there are so many unanswered questions.

What about his kingdom? He's clearly king. He just ascended into the heavens in an extremely royal way. But what about the citizens of his kingdom? They're still down below, that they still have many problems. The Romans are still in control. His people are still weak and fearful and uncertain.

Oh, poor Theophilus, as he reads this first volume. He's been reading the book of Luke one chapter at a time, and he has just one more chapter to read. And he knows it's going to be a good one. The story is coming to an end. And so he makes himself a cup of coffee. He puts a fire in the fireplace. He chooses his favorite reading chair. He is ready for chapter 24 of Luke, the climactic finish to the story that he has been reading and enjoying so much.

But as he begins to read, he notices, wait, this chapter doesn't have that many verses included in it. There's a lot of unanswered questions that remain. He begins to ask the question, what is Luke doing? What kind of author leaves so many questions unanswered? Theophilus is about to jump on his Goodreads account and leave a one star on Luke, this new author. Not really because the gospel is hard to drop a one star on, but still, how could it end this way?

But then, as Theophilus reads the final verses, he realizes what is happening in the very last sentences of the first volume. The hero of the story says that he is still going to send the fulfillment of a promise to them. Something good is going to happen. They just need to wait.

Oh, now Theophilus understands. The story is not over. The people in the story just need to wait. They need to wait for something else. And so does Theophilus. Why? Because the sequel was still being written. So, friends, can you imagine the anticipation that Theophilus must have felt for the Book of Acts and its publishing? When will it be published? When is the release date on this new work? When can he read about what happens next? And can you imagine the moment when he finally has the sequel in his hand? He makes his coffee, he finds his favorite chair, and he unrolls that scroll, and he reads this in the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day when he was taken up.

There it is. The brilliance continues. What a great tie back to volume one. Theophilus must have been so excited, so eager to learn what happened to the hero of the story and what happened to the followers of that hero.

And friends, Emmaus Road, we should be as excited. This morning, we should be eagerly anticipating what happens next. Friends, the Book of Acts is a remarkable gift to us. Many people have entitled this book the Acts of the Apostles, or some people say the Acts of the Holy Spirit. But in reality, those titles are not right. I think a better way to title this is the Acts of Jesus through the Holy Spirit and through his apostles.

Jesus has physically ascended back into the heavens, but friends, that does not mean that his ministry on earth is now over. No, the story is still about Jesus and his work in this world and in our lives. It just now happens from heaven through the Holy Spirit and through his people.

And friends, what you are going to see over the next year in these 28 chapters, it will be food for your hungry souls. This book is deeply edifying. It is richly encouraging. It is envisioning and emboldening. If you are unfamiliar with the Book of Acts, you are in for a treat. It will not disappoint.

The main idea for our sermon this morning, if you're taking notes, is just simply this. Jesus promised that his ministry would continue through his Spirit and through his church. Jesus promised that his ministry would continue through his Spirit and through his church. We have three points this morning. Number one, historical accuracy. Number two, kingdom mentality. And number three, spiritual vitality.

Historical Accuracy

The Bible, as you very well know this morning, the Bible is one book, but it is made up of many smaller books. And within those books, there are many genres of writing. There's prophetic literature that you find. There's poetic literature that you can enjoy. There are epistles, theological works, written in letter form. There's eschatological literature about the future and the end times.

There is also historical narrative. Historical narrative where real life story is told. Historical narrative in God's Word. It's not fairy tale. It's not mythology. No, it's real history. And that is true for the Book of Acts.

Luke is the author of this book, and he was the careful historian for the Gospel of Luke as well. His writing is orderly. His writing is logical. It is based on eyewitness accounts. And the goal of Luke's writing is to give certainty. The goal of writing fiction is not to give certainty. That's the role of history, accurate history at that.

The Book of Acts is the careful historical recording of the first 30 years of the early church after Jesus was raised from the dead and ascended back to the Father. 30 years of church history written for you.

Luke, the author, was known to be a physician. We know that from Colossians chapter 4, where Paul describes him as our beloved physician. As a physician, we can imagine that Luke was particular about details. You don't want a doctor who's indifferent to details. You want the doctor to care about the small things, about accuracy. Luke himself is mindful of details. He's also an eyewitness. Maybe not of Christ himself, we don't know, but of the events in Acts for certain. He traveled with Paul and others of the apostles. We know that he was even imprisoned with Paul. He was there. You'll see that he even uses the word we throughout the second half of the book. He places himself into the story. Friends, this is history, and there is much evidence that it is accurate history for us.

In fact, much of Luke's writing correlates very well with other ancient historical documents. For example, Acts chapter 12 verse 21, we read about this extremely strange moment in church history. It says this,

Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them, and the people were shouting, “The voice of a god and not a man.” Immediately, Luke says, an angel of the Lord struck him down because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

What in the world? That's such a strange historical moment to include. It feels far-fetched, it feels even mythological. But now, listen to this historical record from the ancient historian Josephus. Josephus was a very well-known non-Christian in the first century, and he records the same moment as well. Look at what he says, speaking of the same Herod. He says, “this Herod put on a garment made holy of silver, the sun's rays upon it shone out after a surprising manner, and was so resplendent and presently his flatterers cried out that he was a god. “

And then Josephus further states that while Herod was receiving that praise that “a severe pain arose in his belly and he began in a most violent manner.” And the account goes on to speak of Herod's violent death.

Josephus, though not a witness to Christ, is a witness to the historical reliability of Luke. Friends, what a gift this book is. What a gift that we, friends, we don't have to wonder about what happened in those first days. The foundations of the church, the initial advance of the gospel, it's not based on our speculation. No, it's based on historical fact. And friends, listen, this is and this will is supposed to and it will serve your soul this next year. Luke says to Theophilus that he has written in this historical way so that Theophilus might have certainty. That's what Luke, friends, that is what God wants for us as well. God has lovingly and graciously and even miraculously preserved this book of Acts for you.

About a year ago, I had the privilege of visiting ancient Greece with my wife and her family, and I was able to go to places like ancient Ephesus. I was able to stand in the actual stadium, where Luke says in Acts 19, a riot arose against Paul's teaching. I was able to walk the pathway that they likely hurried him away from the crowds, lest he be torn to pieces. I went and I visited ancient Corinth, and I was able to stand on the exact beemacy, maybe a little bigger than this stage, where Paul stood and gave his defense in Corinth. There's no question about it. They're not like, well, he might have stood there, but they know exactly where Paul stood. Why? Because the events that we were going to study in this book happened in real life, in real places, with real historical people.

And friends, this is one of the greatest realities of the Christian faith that we are a part of. This book is a strong apologetic for our faith as Christians as a whole. Our identity as Christians is based on historical, verifiable truth in a way that is very, very, very different from other religions. It bases our faith in fact. And Luke wants this for us. And so this book is for all of us here this morning. Those who find faith in God easy, and those who struggle with doubt and wrestle for faith on a daily basis, this historical book is going to serve your soul.

Kingdom Mentality

So yes, it's very clear that Luke is writing for the sake of historical accuracy. Absolutely, he's giving an orderly account. But that is not the only reason why Luke is writing. No, no, Luke wants us to not only be certain about these historical things, no, he also wants us to worship God as a result of reading this book that he is writing.

Look at what he says in verse three. He says that Jesus presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God. Before Jesus ascends back to the Father, he speaks to his disciples about the kingdom of God. We see it again in verse six, when the disciples want to know more about the kingdom of God and their part in it and the effect that it will have upon their souls.

Friends, this book is historical narrative, but it is also theological narrative. Luke writes in a very intentional way to describe and even to prescribe God's design for the early church and for your life today. He describes from chapters 1 to 28, kingdom life, kingdom living. Chapter 8, Philip preached the good news about the kingdom of God. Chapter 19, Paul sought to persuade them about the kingdom of God. Chapter 28, he was proclaiming the kingdom of God. Throughout this whole book, we are going to see a beautiful description and depiction of life as God intends for it to be for his people, as citizens of his kingdom. And friends, it is beautiful to behold. It is powerful, it's such a wonderful display of God's grace at work in his people.

The Book of Acts shows us what Jesus continued to do among his people and how his people humbly responded to him. Acts is written in a way to take us back to the basics of Christian life and church life. What we will see here is the most basic picture of what it means to live as citizens of God's kingdom, even while we remain in this fallen and broken world.

Friends, that should excite us. Because it's going to give you really helpful tracks to run on. It's going to take you back to the basics. It's going to instruct you on what God is calling you to be and to do as his people, individually and corporately as his body.

I don't know if you are basketball fans or not or if you like sports. Who do people cheer for in Sioux Falls? Timberwolves? Yeah? Is that a safe bet? All right. Well, I like basketball. One of my favorite movies is the Hoosiers movie. It is about a high school basketball team in Indiana and a new coach that comes into town and seeks to help them to win a championship. I was just in Indiana for some meetings. There are a few places on earth that like basketball as much as Indiana. And so this coach comes in, and there are, because it's Indiana, many, many opinions for how this coach should lead this basketball team, many different philosophies for what they should be doing, many perspectives on what is needed. But what does this coach do? Just like in many other sports movies, he goes back to the basics. He tells them that you're going to win games by dribbling and by passing and by defending and by team execution.

And the players, the players don't like it at first. They want something more, something more flashy, something more exciting. And the parents don't like it either. But the coach says, these are the things that a basketball team is made of. If we are consistent in these things, we will be who we are designed to be.

Listen, friends, Luke is going to coach you through the Book of Acts. This book is like a coaching handbook for local church life. It takes us back to the basics of kingdom living. And though it might not at first seem flashy or exciting, it is exactly what God has for you in order for you to be all that God has graciously and lovingly called you to be. And I know that your pastors, your pastors here at Emmaus Road believe that your church family needs this and is going to thrive in this over this next year.

Kingdom living according to Acts, it's not complicated. It's pretty simple. These men and women saved by God's grace remembered together that Jesus was alive and well, that he had conquered sin and death. They remembered that he was ascended on high, that he is sitting on his throne and sovereign Lord over all, and that he is still at work in and through them by the power of the Holy Spirit.

They believed those things. And friends, it changed everything about them. It changed their mentality. They were radically, radically devoted. You're going to see the word devoted a lot as you study the Book of Acts together. They were radically devoted to the fundamentals, and the result was extraordinary.

They were humble before God because they knew that their salvation was by grace alone, through Christ alone. They were prayerfully dependent because they knew their own weakness, but the power and strength of Christ. They prayed and fasted a lot because they hungered for more and were not yet satisfied. They knew daily that they could do nothing without the help of King Jesus. This was their mentality. They would not shrink back in their Christian witness. They knew that they were living as citizens of a new kingdom and they were to be witnesses to and of Christ. They were resolved to tell everyone that Jesus' kingdom is in fact the very best kingdom. And it leads them towards kingdom living in extraordinary ways. They're devoted to biblical fellowship. The kingdom mentality leads to a vibrant and a robust Christian community. They spend a whole lot of time in God's word and in prayer. It's not complicated, but they commit themselves to it. And they listen to the Spirit. Not just the pastors listening to the Spirit, the members of the church listening to the Spirit and following what He says.

Friends, here's what we see in the Book of Acts. The leaders were not professionals of an organization. And dear friends, the members were not just passive members of a social club. No, there was no corporate professionalism about what they were doing. They were not just trying to create a new social experience, one of many options in the community.

No, they were living in an entirely new kingdom. And within that kingdom, there was a beautiful and wonderful and gracious king who lovingly ruled over them and who lovingly changed all of their priorities and all of their pursuits in all of life. Oh, Emmaus Road Church, we do not want to be a professional or westernized Christian church, do we? We want nothing to do with corporate Christianity, where everything is based on systems and programs and is all nice and tidy together.

So no, that's not kingdom life. That is manmade structures and it will ultimately produce nothing. What God has for us is so much better. And it comes to us when we live with this kingdom mentality.

Friends, let me ask you, what is your mentality right now? What was your mentality even this past week since last Sunday? Was it a career mentality or a kingdom mentality? Was it a kingdom mentality or a kids-centered mentality? Was it a kingdom mentality or was it a political climate mentality? None of those things are inherently bad or evil, but what we see in the Book of Acts is different from all of that. And it is in many ways very basic. It's not complicated. It's fundamentals basketball, but it's God's design and it has a profound and powerful effect.

The Book of Acts shows us that God has great things in store for his church and it is intended to cause us to believe that he has great things in store for each of our local churches when we rightly think about these things.

And so friends, God is going to address you through the Book of Acts. He is going to coach you. He's going to take you back to the fundamentals of what it means to follow Jesus and to be led by his Spirit. This will not be just emotionalism. This is not just hyper-spirituality. No, this is God's holy and authoritative word. And it is basic kingdom living that leads to beautiful and powerful life and prosperity by God's design. And so a few things before we move to point number three.

Let me encourage you as you begin the series in the Book of Acts to consider your mentality. What do you give yourself to? What do you focus on most? What do you value and prioritize in life? Is it Christ and his kingdom or is it your reputation and your kingdom?

Second of all, let me encourage you to pray. Pray individually, pray together, as you begin this study in the Book of Acts. I know that you studied it several years ago, but God has a whole lot in store for you over the next year. And so pray. Prayer is everywhere in the Book of Acts. And so pray for God to speak to you. Pray that he would speak to you and inform you and your family by the truth of this book. Prayer and fasting is one of the best ways for us to avoid this professionalism or this social club mentality.

Third, friends, I want to encourage you to listen to the Spirit of God. Often, often in the Book of Acts, they pray and then they listen. And God often speaks to them. And so Emmaus Road, be listening to the Spirit as you study Acts together. And if you feel like you hear from the Lord something important for your church family, don't just assume that the pastors have heard the same. Go and share that with them and allow them to benefit from your prayerfulness and from your listening.

Fourth, I want to encourage you to be open to your pastor's direction. Because your pastors really believe that the Lord is going to refine you as a church family through this series in Acts. And listen, I just promise you, we've already experienced it at Redeemer Fellowship. It's not always going to be comfortable or easy. It is going to stretch you. It's going to press you. It's going to challenge you. But that's a good thing. And so be eager to follow your pastors as they listen to the Spirit and lead you through this book. Please consider your mentality. Pray for the sermon series. Listen to what the Spirit is saying. Be quick to follow your leaders. Then real quick, real quick, Emmaus Road, let me honor you as a local church family.

Emmaus Road, your reputation precedes you in the best possible ways. The grace on this local church is spoken of regularly and highlighted as a profound evidence of God's kindness to sovereign grace. Not only are your pastors a gift to us in sovereign grace, you, the members, are a gift to us in sovereign grace. I have heard of your faithfulness. I've heard of your prayerfulness. I've heard of your generosity and your sacrifice. I've heard of your radical willingness to follow God, even when it is uncomfortable, even when it means sending out a church plan, even when it means sending your best with Caleb and Grace leaving you today. You are a church with big faith in God and an eager willingness to follow him wherever he might lead. Praise God. Be encouraged and don't stop. The Lord has more.

Spiritual Vitality

Look at what it says now in verse four. After Jesus spoke to them about the kingdom, it says,

He ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, You heard from me, for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit, not many days from now.

Friends, it's almost as if Jesus can tell that as he's speaking about kingdom life to his disciples and all of the implications of that, it's almost like he can tell his disciples are beginning to become very anxious and say, Lord, we can never live in that way. We could never be as committed to kingdom life as you are calling us to be.

It's almost as if Jesus anticipates that very real concern and so he says, listen, you can't. You can't do this on your own. Your strength is simply not great enough. And so he tells his disciples, wait. Wait in Jerusalem and what are they to wait for? They to wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit. The promise of the Holy Spirit, which you will see in the coming weeks is an Old Testament promise. It was prophesied about. God's people had waited for centuries for it. Jesus had specifically spoken to his disciples about it.

He said to them in Luke 24,

“You will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Friends, listen, this is really good news for us today. The Book of Acts inaugurates the age of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit who is the third person of the Godhead. He's always been present in God's Word. We've seen him, we've heard him, we've witnessed his activity, but never have we seen the Holy Spirit's activity in the Old Testament in the way that we will now see it in the Book of Acts and beyond.

No, there is something new that is happening here. There is going to be a baptism, an immersion, a repeated and ongoing filling, yes, even a flooding of God's Holy Spirit into the lives of his people. And the Book of Acts records everything that happens as a result for 30 years that follow.

But friends, if you are anything like my local church family, there are probably a good amount of you who when someone starts talking about the work and power of the Holy Spirit, you begin to lean back a little bit in your seat. Because conversations about the Holy Spirit and the work of the Spirit among his people tend to make you feel uneasy. It feels to you like the realm of the Holy Spirit is a little bit more uncertain, a little bit more fluid, a little bit more spontaneous. And in some ways it is. But that's scary to you.

And to a degree, rightly so, because, yes, there are many, many bad examples of people being obsessed over the Spirit, and it often leads to all kinds of distortions of God's Word and to mishandlings and messy use of the Sunday gathering. There are self-acclaimed, Spirit-filled churches that practice chaos and mayhem on a weekly basis. And they, in doing so, undermine the authority of God's Word in what they do.

But friends, that is not what we see in the Book of Acts. Now, where the Spirit of the Lord is, we see spiritual vitality and maturity. We see spiritual awakening. We see spiritual sensitivity. We see the presence of God in a more experiential way. But that does not mean that we need to lean back with concern. Not at all. We don't need to put our defenses up.

Why? Because when we study God's Word accurately, and when we understand the work of the Spirit rightly, and when we observe the example of Acts clearly, what we see is that the Holy Spirit is not a spirit to be resisted, but to be eagerly welcomed. He is not the unhinged family member that we need to quiet in the corner away from the guests. He is the sovereign conductor of the church. He is the one who is very intentionally and carefully and lovingly and skillfully empowering the church to be all that King Jesus expects us to be.

And listen, he's not making it up as he goes. The Holy Spirit's not spitballing along the way. He's not shooting from the hip and figuring things out along the way. No, he's the sovereign God who leads his people and empowers his people well. And do you know what this sovereign spirit is leading us towards?

He is leading us towards Jesus. This is why at Redeemer, we describe the Book of Acts, our sermon series is entitled Jesus Continued. Because Jesus is still the primary character in the story, not even the spirit.

Friends, would it not be weird to change the hero of the story from volume one to volume two? Can you imagine if a sequel told an entirely different story with many different characters? If Star Wars episode four ended, A New Hope, and then episode five comes out, and Luke and Leia and Solo and Chewie, they're nowhere to be found, but Harry Potter walks out. That would not work. That wouldn't be a good sequel, would it? No, and what we see in Acts is that even though the Spirit is poured out, and even though the Spirit is the most powerful experience of God during this time, the story is still about Jesus.

In fact, friends, it's always been about Jesus. The Imago Dei, the mission of God, has always had a consistent thread and a consistent theme running throughout it. In the Old Testament, when God the Father seemed to be more of the focus, it was still about his plan to send Jesus into this world. In the Gospels, when God the Son, Jesus is born as a baby and lives a human life, he's clearly the focal point and the climax of the story. And now what we see in Acts and beyond is that when Jesus ascends back to the Father, he sends the Holy Spirit, but the Spirit still makes it about Jesus. It never changes. The new covenant is just a continuation of Jesus' ministry in our lives and in this world. And so the truly Spirit-filled church is the church that never moves beyond Jesus and the Gospel. Amen?

I remember seven years ago when we first planted, we had a couple come to our church and they stayed with us for two or three months at most. And one Sunday morning before I got up to preach the word, my phone buzzed, I looked at it, he said, Joel, we're going to be leaving Redeemer, and I need to tell you why, can I talk to you after the gathering? Exactly the text you want before you preach God's word, right? Not exactly helpful, but I said, no problem, let's talk after the gathering. This brother comes up to me in a very serious way, and he had an English accent, what makes you want to take every word he says even more seriously. And he says, Joel, we are leaving Redeemer, and we wanted you to know why. And I was expecting from him some theological difference, or some relational strain, or some disappointment with the pastoral team. But he looks at me and says, Joel, it's just become evident to us over the last two to three months that you are a one trick pony type of pastor and a one trick pony type of church. I don't know if you know what that means or not, but one trick pony means you only do one thing well. And I just, I was confused. I said, what do you mean by that phrase, one trick pony? And he said with a very sincere criticism, he said, it's very clear that you just do the same thing over and over and over again. You just preach the gospel every single week again and again and again.

And I almost choked on my coffee because the man just gave me the best complimented ministry I had ever been given. One trick pony pastor, one trick pony local churches, never moving beyond the message of Christ and Him crucified. Why? Because we have no hope apart from it. The most spirit filled churches are those that celebrate Christ and Him crucified because they are men and women who know their need for a Savior and have found it in Jesus and only in Jesus.

Friends, this should help us. Because it grounds us. It grounds our pneumatology. It grounds and anchors our pneumatology, which is the study of the spirit, because we understand that pneumatology always leads to Christology. The doctrine of the spirit always leads to the doctrine of Christ and they must be tied together. And that is what we see throughout the Book of Acts. The people of God do not focus on the spirit, as present as he is. When they preach, they don't honestly preach about the spiritual gifts. They don't preach about speaking in tongues or healings or prophecy, all of which are in the Book of Acts and all of which are present in the church today. But they're not the focus.

What is the focus? The risen Christ, King Jesus who conquered sin and death for his people. And Emmaus Road, this is where our spiritual vitality comes from. Spiritual vitality is not just enthusiasm or emotionalism. No, true spiritual vitality comes from the old, old story, which is the gospel.

The people in Acts are able to live the way that they live because the Holy Spirit descends upon them and indwells them and enables them to see and experience Jesus in a new, in different way, a long-awaited way. God now living within them, which is amazing. But they're hoping their confidence is not even just in that. But it is in that the Spirit within them now helps them to focus on the Sovereign Lord and on His work in their lives and in the Church.

The apostles and the members of the Church are able to live boldly and sacrificially. They're able to live as faithful witnesses with a kingdom mentality, not because they have a new feeling welling up inside of them, but because the Holy Spirit who will come now enables them from within to see the kingdom in a new and greater way, and even more importantly, to see the king of that kingdom.

The Spirit's work, which is to bring vitality to the Church, it comes through illuminating Christ to our hearts. The best pneumatology is one that results in a robust Christology and in doxology. And friends, that is what Acts is all about. Doxology is the worship of God. There is no question in Acts. That these ordinary men and women, there's no question they are all about the name of Jesus. And it leads them to worship and sacrifice and obedience.

And so Emmaus Road, may God help us in this. Do we study Acts in order to get more of the Spirit? Yes, we do. We do. Do we pray for greater and greater experiences of the Spirit? Yes, we do. Do we long for more spiritual gifts to be manifested among us? Yes, we do, and we long for a stronger spiritual witness in our gatherings. Yes, but not for the sake of experiences alone, but rather because we want more of Christ and Him crucified. We want to be a church. We want to be a denomination. Lots of sister churches you just see and remember and who celebrate Christ and the work that He has done on our behalf.

May God give us the grace through Acts and beyond to be one trick pony local churches who never move beyond Christ.