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Acts 1 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams — Transcript

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0:01So, the next book is the book of Acts,
0:03and this book is written by Luke in
0:06about 63 AD.
0:09And it is the story of
0:13the birth of the church.
0:15And it can be called the acts of the
0:17Holy Spirit [music]
0:18through the people of God.
0:20It narrates
0:22the birth of the church, the spreading
0:25message [music]
0:26of Christianity through the the world in
0:28those first 30 years, approximately. It
0:31focuses [music] on Paul and Peter, and
0:34it deals with some of the intense
0:37conflicts [music]
0:37and persecution that the church was
0:40going through.
0:42The author is Luke, the same man who
0:44wrote the Gospel of Luke. And so, he
0:47starts it by saying, "The former account
0:49I wrote [music] to you, Theophilus, was
0:51of all that Jesus began to do."
0:55And so, the implication is that he's
0:57saying, "This is what Jesus continued to
1:00do [music] through his disciples,
1:03through his church."
1:05It is
1:06one of the most important books in the
1:09entire Bible because for Christians,
1:13it does not subject itself as much to
1:16our own private doctrinal
1:19interpretations. Instead, [music]
1:21it is the lived and explained and
1:24narrated outworking of truth of truth
1:27and doctrine.
1:29So,
1:30it's the most important pivot. How did
1:32they interpret repentance? How did they
1:35interpret baptism? [music] How did they
1:37obey the things you say we should accept
1:41and believe from the letters, such as
1:43from Paul?
1:45So, it's the bridge between the Gospels
1:46[music] and the letters. It's the story
1:48of how the church was born. And it's
1:51critically important because it helps us
1:54understand how
1:56they were interpreting and obeying
1:58the teachings that have so often been
2:00distorted, such as from Paul and the and
2:02the rest.
2:04So,
2:05it's an exciting pivot in the [music]
2:08study of the New Testament. Without
2:10further ado, let's get into the book of
2:13Acts. Acts chapter 1.
2:16The first account I composed,
2:18Theophilus,
2:19about all that Jesus began to do and
2:21teach, until the day when he was taken
2:24up to heaven,
2:25after he had by the Holy Spirit given
2:27orders to the apostles [music]
2:29whom he had chosen.
2:31To these, he also presented himself
2:33alive after his suffering
2:36by many convincing proofs,
2:39appearing to them over a period of 40
2:41days
2:42>> [music]
2:42>> and speaking of the things concerning
2:45the kingdom of God. I'm going to stop
2:48right there and say that the central
2:50tension in all four of the Gospels
2:53pivots on the nature of the kingdom.
2:57They were expecting a political kingdom.
2:59They were expecting a kingdom with the
3:01weapons of this world.
3:04They were expecting a kingdom with
3:05carnal weapons.
3:07They were expecting political power and
3:09that they would be included in that. And
3:11Jesus is bringing something different.
3:15And all the dozens of parables that he
3:17gives,
3:18"What shall I compare the kingdom of God
3:20to? The kingdom of God is like." All of
3:23that, the entire ministry of the Lord is
3:27to tell them
3:28the kingdom of God is powerful,
3:31the kingdom of God is real, the kingdom
3:33of God is now, but it is not political.
3:38It is not what you expect.
3:41Now, Pentecost is going to be the
3:44revelation of that kingdom to us.
3:47>> [snorts]
3:48>> The book of Acts is going to introduce
3:50us to what that kingdom was that he was
3:53trying to explain all that time.
3:57Do you understand? So, Jesus has told
4:00them in Mark chapter 9 verse 1, "There
4:02are some of you who will not die until
4:05you see the kingdom of God come with
4:07power."
4:09And Jesus has told them in Luke in
4:12Luke's Gospel,
4:14"Wait in the city of Jerusalem until you
4:16be clothed with power."
4:18So, there's a power event coming. And
4:22this power event is going to mark the
4:23birth of the spiritual kingdom that
4:26Jesus has come on earth to bring.
4:29Okay? So,
4:31we say, "I thought the kingdom was going
4:33to come when Jesus returned." Yes,
4:36that's the return of Christ in the mode
4:39of the Spirit. So, when he descends upon
4:42them at Pentecost, that's when the
4:44kingdom comes. He had told them, "I will
4:46not leave you as orphans. I will come to
4:50you."
4:51So, Luke says that in the 40 days
4:54between his resurrection and ascension,
4:58that Jesus was speaking to them
5:01concerning [clears throat]
5:02the kingdom of God.
5:05That's why he stuck around for 40 days
5:08to continue trying to open their minds
5:10and change them
5:12in how they were expecting the kingdom
5:14of God.
5:15Gathering them together,
5:18he commanded them not to leave
5:20Jerusalem, but to wait for what the
5:23Father
5:24had promised.
5:27Which he said, "You have heard
5:30from me."
5:32So, the Father has made a promise.
5:35And that promise is going to fulfill the
5:37kingdom hunger and expectation.
5:41But who did the Father make that promise
5:43through?
5:45It's a promise the Father made that you
5:47heard from me.
5:49When Jesus speaks the utterance of the
5:52Holy Spirit, it is the Father's words.
5:56It is the Father speaking through him
5:58what he should say and how to say it.
6:00So, when he told them, "Tarry in
6:02Jerusalem until you be clothed with
6:04power," that was the Father making a
6:06promise.
6:08When John the Baptist said, "I baptize
6:11you with water, but there is one coming
6:13after me who is mightier than I, and he
6:16will baptize you with the Holy Spirit
6:18and fire."
6:19That's the Father making a promise.
6:24So, he says,
6:26he commanded them not to leave
6:28Jerusalem, but to wait for what the
6:30Father had promised, which he said you
6:33heard
6:34from me.
6:36For John baptized with water,
6:39but you will be baptized with the Holy
6:42Spirit not many days from now.
6:45You will be dunked. You will be
6:48immersed. You will be overwhelmed.
6:52You will be drowned in the Holy Spirit
6:55not many days from now.
6:57So, when they had come together, they
7:00were asking him,
7:01saying,
7:03"Lord,
7:04is it at this time
7:06you are restoring the kingdom to
7:08Israel?"
7:10They don't understand why he was killed.
7:13They don't understand why he was
7:14resurrected. They don't understand
7:16what's about to happen.
7:18They're wondering, "Okay, we've gone
7:20through a lot, but is this the moment?"
7:23It's as if the last words
7:26that human beings speak to Jesus before
7:29he ascends into heaven are,
7:31"We don't get it."
7:34We don't get it.
7:37And he's just told them that the Spirit
7:39is going to come.
7:41And they're like, "Uh-huh, Spirit. But
7:44when is this political kingdom going to
7:45come?
7:47When are we going to get rid of Rome?
7:49When are we not going to have to worry
7:50about these horrible oppressive
7:53Pontius Pilate and Herod and
7:56when are we going to get out of this?"
8:00And he answers them by saying, he said
8:02to them,
8:03"It is not for you to know times or
8:05epochs
8:06which the Father has fixed by his own
8:08authority,
8:10but
8:11you will receive power
8:15when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.
8:18And you shall be
8:20my witnesses
8:22both in Jerusalem
8:25and in Judea
8:26and Samaria and even to the remotest
8:30part of the earth."
8:32They say, "Are you going to restore the
8:34kingdom?"
8:35And he doesn't really answer, but he
8:37kind of answers. He says, "What you're
8:39seeking is going to be realized when you
8:43receive power.
8:44And you won't be my warriors. You won't
8:46be my mayors or governors. You won't be
8:49my centurions.
8:51You'll be my witnesses." And that word
8:53is marturion.
8:56You'll be my martyrs.
8:58You'll be heralding a message. You'll be
9:01exemplifying a life.
9:04And it's after you receive power. Now,
9:07what kind of power did they expect to
9:08receive?
9:11Did they expect to receive an armory of
9:14swords and shields and spears and lances
9:17and
9:18what did they expect to receive?
9:20Chariots, maybe?
9:22What did they expect to receive?
9:25Well, he they didn't He didn't tell them
9:27right then,
9:28but he had just told them a few
9:30sentences before, "When the Holy Spirit
9:32has come upon you, you're going to be
9:34baptized in the Spirit."
9:37And he says, "Wait until you get the
9:39promise." And the promise had said,
9:42"Stay in Jerusalem until you receive the
9:44power."
9:45So,
9:46the promise is going to bring the power.
9:49What is the power? Well, it's the Holy
9:51Spirit, but what does that look like?
9:53They wouldn't have known.
9:56But it whatever this kingdom is going
9:58be, it's going to reach to the uttermost
10:00ends of the earth.
10:02And after he had said these things,
10:05he was lifted up
10:06while they were looking on,
10:09and a cloud received him out of their
10:12sight.
10:14While he's talking to them,
10:16there's no let's hug and say goodbye
10:19because he doesn't see himself as
10:21leaving.
10:22>> [clears throat]
10:23>> He sees himself as ascending to the
10:25throne of the Father so that he can give
10:28the gift of the Spirit.
10:31Now, there's a custom here
10:34that
10:35when a man becomes a king,
10:38he gives gifts to his citizens.
10:41So, there's this idea that Jesus is
10:45going to ascend into heaven to take the
10:48throne of God,
10:50and when he takes that throne,
10:53there's going to be a blessing poured
10:54out.
10:56So, Jesus is ascending both as a king
10:59and as a high priest.
11:03The Book of Hebrews tells us that when
11:05Jesus served as our high priest,
11:07he did not go into a room in the temple.
11:12Instead, it says he went into the holy
11:13place, which was heaven itself.
11:18Now, when the high priest went into the
11:20holy place on what day was that? It was
11:22the day of atonement, right?
11:25And how did the high priest go into the
11:28holy place on the day of atonement? He
11:30went in wearing a breastplate with all
11:33the tribes of Israel printed on that
11:36plate so that he would symbolically take
11:40the people in with him
11:42before the presence of God at the ark of
11:44the covenant.
11:46And dividing that holy place from the
11:48people was a very thick veil.
11:52We don't know exactly how thick, but a
11:53very thick veil.
11:56And that veil protected people from the
12:00presence of God on the other side
12:02because there they were sinful.
12:05Their hearts were condemned. They were
12:07darkened in their consciences. And so,
12:10to come into the presence of the living
12:12Lord in that condition would have meant
12:14their judgment, their condemnation.
12:18And so, they couldn't go in. Only once a
12:20year was a priest allowed to come in.
12:23And that priest was symbolically
12:26showing what Jesus was going to do. When
12:29Jesus took his own blood, the blood of a
12:33sinless lamb,
12:35not an animal, but the blood of God's
12:37only son,
12:39and he entered into heaven itself
12:42bearing not just us
12:45on a breastplate, but us in his humanity
12:50and bringing this complete union between
12:54[clears throat] the divine and the
12:55mortal.
12:57And this union is called glorification.
13:01It was foreshadowed. It was pictured
13:04when Jesus heard the Father speak from
13:06heaven and said, "This is my son." It
13:09was pictured on the Mount of
13:10Transfiguration
13:12when he shone
13:14like light and his garments were whiter
13:16than any launderer could make them. But
13:19it was only going to be fully realized
13:21when the humanity of the Son of Man
13:23ascended into heaven itself and sat down
13:27on the throne of the Father, and the
13:29indwelling Father
13:31was completely one
13:33with the Son in whom he was tabernacled.
13:37And the Son became
13:40the the the outshining of his essence,
13:44the exact representation of his being,
13:47the throne and power and voice and
13:51reality of God forever and ever, the
13:54lamb upon the throne, the alpha and the
13:57omega, the beginning and the end.
13:59Do you understand?
14:01And so, he has to ascend to give his
14:05brothers in the flesh the outpouring of
14:07the Spirit. He has to get to the throne,
14:10and then he gives the gift that the king
14:13gives to his new citizens. And the gift
14:16is going to be the gift of the Holy
14:17Spirit. So, he tells them,
14:21"Wait in Jerusalem until this moment
14:24comes."
14:27And what is the moment?
14:28It's when the priest returns
14:32from inside the veil, from the Holy of
14:34Holies,
14:35and proclaims the blessing on the
14:37people.
14:39The blessing of that the priest was
14:41going to proclaim on the people, the
14:43Lord had said through Moses, "Tell the
14:45priests to put my name on the people."
14:49Okay?
14:50And so, the blessing is going to be when
14:53God puts his identity on us.
14:56And the blessing is going to be when he
14:58fulfills the benediction, "The Lord
15:01bless you and keep you,
15:04hold you as his own, keep you.
15:07The Lord be gracious unto you," which
15:10means show you his favor and his
15:11forgiveness.
15:13"The Lord lift up his countenance upon
15:16you," which means
15:18let the Lord allow you to feel his
15:21presence. His face was his countenance.
15:24His presence and his countenance are the
15:25same thing. "The Lord lift up his face
15:28upon you,
15:29be gracious unto you, and give you his
15:32settledness, his shalom, his rest, his
15:35Sabbath." Do you understand? Now, all
15:37that's going to be fulfilled on the day
15:39of Pentecost.
15:41Okay?
15:42So, Jesus tells them
15:45that they're going to be these witnesses
15:46to the remotest parts of the earth, and
15:48then he goes to the throne
15:50while they're watching.
15:51They see a cloud receive him.
15:54And he's he's going up into heaven. No
15:56more are they going to interact with
15:58Jesus in his bodily expression. They're
16:01going to interact with Jesus in the mode
16:03of the Holy Spirit.
16:05After he had said these things, he was
16:07lifted up while they were looking on,
16:09and a cloud received him out of their
16:10sight.
16:12And they were gazing intently into the
16:14sky while he was going.
16:17This is similar to Mary Magdalene
16:19clinging to him. They're gazing intently
16:22at the human form while he was going.
16:27Behold, two men in white clothing stood
16:29beside them. So, he's still going.
16:33They're looking on intently, and two
16:35angels are standing there with them.
16:38They also said, "Men of Galilee, why
16:42do you stand looking into the sky?"
16:46Now, that is a remarkable question.
16:48Who wouldn't stand looking into the sky?
16:51Who wouldn't be going, "Huh?"
16:54But the point is,
16:56don't attach to the physical form
17:00because it's expedient that he goes away
17:03because what's coming is even greater.
17:05It's the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
17:09"Why do you stand looking into the sky?
17:11This Jesus who has been taken up from
17:15you into heaven will come in just the
17:18same way as you watched him go into
17:21heaven."
17:22So, they're saying,
17:24"He's going to come upon you in the same
17:26way you saw him go." And you say, "Does
17:28that refer to the end when Jesus
17:30returns?" Yes,
17:32but it referred immediately
17:34to Pentecost that was going to happen in
17:36just a few days.
17:39Okay? Now,
17:41I've told you that this is when the king
17:44takes the throne, and I've told you that
17:45it's when the high priest like Aaron
17:47goes into the Holy of Holies and comes
17:49out with the blessing,
17:50but it's like something else.
17:53It's like when Moses went up on the
17:55mountain and a cloud covered the
17:58mountain,
17:59and then Moses came back down.
18:02What we're envisioning here was
18:04foreshadowed in the actions of Moses
18:07when he went up on the mountain,
18:09disappeared into the clouds
18:11that were shadowing the mountain, and
18:13came down. When Moses came down, what
18:16did he come down bearing?
18:18The law, the covenant of the law, and
18:21that was the birth of Israel as a
18:24kingdom, as a nation because of the
18:27covenant of the law. So, what is about
18:29to happen is going to be the birth of
18:32the new nation in the covenant that
18:34replaces the law.
18:37Then, they returned to Jerusalem from
18:40the mount called Olivet.
18:44Now, what does
18:46the Mount of Olives signify?
18:50Olive oil signified anointing.
18:54Jesus prayed in Gethsemane,
18:58which means oil press.
19:01So, he ascends on the Mount of
19:04Anointing,
19:06and a cloud of presence receives him.
19:09And he's going to descend
19:12in Jerusalem
19:14>> [clears throat]
19:14>> on the people
19:16in a manner that is symbolically the
19:18same as when Moses descended.
19:22Then, they returned to Jerusalem from
19:24the mount called Olivet, which is near
19:27Jerusalem, a Sabbath's day journey.
19:31When they had entered the city,
19:33they went up to the upper room where
19:36they were staying, that is, Peter and
19:38John and James and Andrew, Philip and
19:41Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James
19:44the son of Alphaeus and Simon the
19:45Zealot, and Judas the son of James.
19:48These all with one mind were continually
19:52devoting themselves to prayer.
19:58Along with the women and Mary the mother
20:01of Jesus
20:03and with his brothers.
20:05So, Jesus' family is there
20:08and the disciples are there and they are
20:10devoting themselves to prayer.
20:13So, they are devoting The word devote
20:16means that which is sacrificed
20:19to God.
20:20So, they are sacrificing. They are
20:22really praying. They are seeking God in
20:25sincere prayer and
20:28supplication.
20:30At this time, Peter stood up in the
20:32midst of the brethren. So, as they pray,
20:35an anointing comes on them and Peter
20:38begins to move in it. At this time,
20:40Peter stood up in the midst of the
20:41brethren
20:42a gathering of about 120 persons
20:46were there together and said, "Brethren,
20:50the scripture had to be fulfilled which
20:52the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of
20:54David concerning Judas who became a
20:57guide to those who arrested Jesus.
21:01So, he's saying what Judas did when he
21:03guided them to the place where Jesus was
21:06and and arrested him, this was actually
21:08fulfilling the scripture.
21:10For he was counted among us and received
21:13his share in this ministry. Judas was.
21:16There's no eternal security here. He was
21:18counted among us. His name was in the
21:21book of life.
21:22He was counted among us. He received his
21:25share in this ministry.
21:28Now, this man acquired a field with the
21:31price of his wickedness and falling
21:33headlong burst open in the middle and
21:36all his intestines gushed out. And it
21:39became known to all who were living in
21:41Jerusalem so that in their own language
21:44that field was called [music]
21:46Hakeldama
21:48which is field of blood.
21:51For it is written in the book of Psalms
21:54let his homestead be made desolate and
21:57let no one dwell in it
22:00and let another man take his office.
22:03Therefore, it is necessary
22:06that of the men who have accompanied us
22:09all the time that the Lord Jesus went in
22:12[music] and out among us beginning with
22:14the baptism of John until the day he was
22:17taken up from us,
22:18one of these men
22:20>> [music]
22:20>> must become a witness with us of his
22:22resurrection.
22:25So, they're saying we need to choose
22:27someone of the 12 apostles. [music]
22:30We only have 11. We need to replace
22:31Judas because Judas lost his place.
22:35So, they put forward two men
22:38Joseph called Barsabbas
22:40who was also called Justus
22:44and Matthias.
22:45And they prayed and said, "You, Lord,
22:48who know the hearts of all men, show
22:50which of these [music] two you have
22:52chosen
22:54to occupy this ministry and apostleship
22:56[music]
22:57from which Judas turned aside to go to
23:01his own place."
23:03And they drew [music] lots for them
23:05and the lot fell to Matthias and he was
23:08added [music] to the 11 apostles.
23:12So
23:14right here, we see that as they are
23:16beginning to tarry in Jerusalem, they
23:18are praying and as they pray
23:21with devoted prayer, the spirit is
23:23falling on them in some measure and
23:26Peter is being moved to shore up the
23:29apostleship. And so, they are ready to
23:31start chapter two
23:34having been made whole through this
23:37season of prayer
23:38and by adding Matthias [music]
23:40to the 12.
23:53>> [music]

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