ACTS 1

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For the next 28 days (7 days a week) I want to move back through the book of Acts. I suggest that you read the full chapter from whatever version each day and I will comment on a paragraph that seems to stand out to me out of that chapter. PASS IT ON TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY.
Don't be distracted away from this dynamic book of Acts. In a very real sense it's the 5th Gospel, specifically a continuation of the Gospel of Luke. I've always heard of Acts being a transitional book, but I see it differently in this season of my life. You've probably heard Acts called the "Acts of the Apostles", but I find it helpful to refer to Acts as the "Acts of Jesus." You see, although Jesus ascended into heaven, He is still quite active in our lives individually and as we gather in fellowship with one another. We grossly miss the point of the experience of walking with Jesus, if we don't see it this way.

Today in ACTS 1 check out verses 6-8: 6So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" 7He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 8but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

First NOTE their question. It's a little like "Jesus, are you going to unfold life and the world the way we've been taught and believed?" I've spent entirely too much time trying to figure out how God is going to unfold the world and bring it to some glorious conclusion. I've used the "signs of the times" to stir up people's interests and have been quite successful doing it. However, Jesus seems to relieve us of that knowledge or responsibility to know these things and points us to something far more important and strategic.

And He uses a big "BUT" to refocus our attention toward the most important things-the power of the Holy Spirit is to come upon Jesus' disciples and the disciples are to be Jesus' witnesses. FIRST, the power of the Spirit is to come upon Jesus' disciples. The way Jesus will remain active and powerful among His disciples is for the Spirit to do His work in us and among us. And, because the Spirit takes up permanent residence in those who believe, Jesus will have the opportunity to touch so many more lives than He could have. They were looking for political or organizational power. What Jesus wanted them to possess was a new kind of power-the transformational power of His Spirit for the spreading of the Gospel throughout the world. Jesus said that we would do greater works than He did and this is how it's done-with Spirit power!

SECOND, the disciples are to be witnesses of Jesus. We are not to be witnesses of a denomination or a cultural bent of Christianity. We are not told here to be witnesses of Bible doctrine or creeds or of the many teaching gurus. Literally Jesus says He wants His disciples to be "witnesses of Me" or My witnesses. The purpose for the power is to bear witness of Jesus, not Jesus plus anything, but Jesus plus nothing.

A question arises here. Why is it that we disciples are to bear witness of Jesus? It's because Jesus is all that is needed and nothing more. Jesus is the Good News in a bad news world. Jesus is the Gospel! The meaning of Jesus' name says it all. "God Saves!" Is there anything you can add to your witness to improve upon Him? No, there is nothing more to be said. It's all about Jesus!

Now NOTE the strategy for bearing witness of Jesus. We are to bear witness of Jesus to the remotest part of the earth. Also, NOTE that this witnessing has an order to it. You begin right where you live-IN JERUSALEM. Then be sure to witness of Jesus in your surrounding area. Now watch this--and in Samaria. Samaria is the place where you might not be invited, because they are not "your kind". in fact, the Jews believed the Samaritans were half-breeds and they didn't get along at all. Yet Jesus made it clear that this was a strategic part of the plan for bearing witness, even to the Samaritans. Then, Jesus' disciples are to bear witness of Him to the remotest part of the world. This begs the question, "Who or what is the object of your witness?" Is it Jesus or is it Jesus plus something else?

BELIEVING ENOUGH TO FOLLOW

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Today I want to show you why being a believer is not enough. On the road to becoming a disciple and then making disciples, there is another level of growth and maturity. Let's rehearse the levels up to this point:
1. People who are not followers of Jesus-family, friends, acquaintances. 2. People who are interested-the seekers after more about Jesus. 3. People who are interested enough to become a believer.

Now, today we come to the final level of progression in order to be ready and able to respond to Jesus' command to "make disciples of all nations." 4. People who believe enough to follow Jesus.

Most of my life I have bought into the importance of being a believer or more specifically, a believer in Jesus. In the past few years as I have been focused on the teachings and principles of Jesus, I have come to realize that being a "believer" is probably not the best way to identify yourself with Jesus. If you perform a quick overview of the five Gospels (Matthew-Mark-Luke-John-Acts), you will discover that with few exceptions John is the only one who uses the term "believe" extensively.

Demons are said to be believers. The false teachers Jesus mentions are believers. Jesus refers to people who act like believers, but that's not good enough. Look at what Jesus says: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" Here was a group of people who spoke in the name of Jesus, cast out demons in the name of Jesus and performed many miracles in His name, yet Jesus didn't know them. He had no personal relationship with them.

In addition to demons and false teachers, many of you who are reading or listening to this daily see yourselves as believers, too. So, what's the difference? There must be more to it than just being a believer!

Jesus clarifies this. Jesus makes it clear that the only ones who will enter the Kingdom of heaven are those who do the will of the Father. And what does Jesus mean by this? In the next paragraph He illustrates what this means:
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

Those who do the will of the Father are those who hear the words of Jesus and practice them! That's more than just being a "believer". Don't get caught up in the clichés and sound bites of religiosity. Pray for ears to hear and eyes to see, then listen to what Jesus says and do it. Don't miss this! You must believe, but you must believe enough to follow Jesus and His teachings! Whether you are Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jew, Christian or agnostic, follow Jesus and enjoy the results!

Believe enough to follow Jesus. Being a follower of Jesus is the best identification. This ID is straight from Jesus and the writers of the Gospels. All of them use this term. It's possible to be a believer without being a follower of Jesus.

So, what does it mean to be a follower of Jesus? There are many ways to describe this. Here are three habits that we have found most helpful to teach how to follow Jesus. FIRST-WALKING WITH JESUS. Walking with Jesus means you are devoted to Jesus in four ways:
1. Devoted to copy Jesus-to walk, talk, love and think like Jesus. The question to check this is "What Did Jesus Do?" (WDJD?). Follow Him.

2. Devoted to consult with Jesus regarding your personal, family and professional decisions. The question to check this is "What Would Jesus Do?" (WWJD?). Follow what Jesus would do in this situation.

3. Devoted to converse with Jesus throughout your day. Prayer is simply a conversation within your relationship with Jesus. The question to check this is "What Is Jesus Saying?" (WIJS?).

4. Devoted to community like Jesus-disciplining yourself to do life with a few others. The question to check this is "What Is Jesus Doing?" (WIJD?).

SECOND-WALKING WITH OTHERS WHO WALK WITH JESUS. The early disciples modeled this by spending time together, studying the teachings of Jesus, eating, praying and fellowshipping with one another. Walking with others is a commitment to be in community with a few, in conversation with Jesus with that few and in copy-mode to stimulate one another to be like Jesus.

THIRD-WAITING ON JESUS TO LEAD OUT WITH OPPORTUNITIES AND ORDERS. This may be the toughest, but is made much easier by walking together with a few others.

INTERESTED ENOUGH TO BELIEVE

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On the road to becoming a disciple and then making disciples there seem to be four levels of progression. Yesterday we saw the first level-the entire world around you who is not presently following Jesus. Our goal is that by showing Jesus off we might find people who are interested. 

I want to clarify a little more who these interested people are. They are not interested in joining something. They are not interested in becoming religious. They are not interested in learning a new language. Nor are they interested in leaving their culture or religious identification to become like you in your culture. BUT we are looking for those who are interested in how Jesus might fit into their culture and how their culture fits with Jesus and His teachings.

People who are interested in this way are open to knowing and discovering more about this Jesus. I call this kind of stance 'leaning in' for more. It reminds me of becoming like a little child-open, trusting and in more of a learning mode. When a person 'leans in' in this way, he will inevitably come to the point of personal faith-to be a believer in Jesus.

Being interested enough to believe is what we want. The progression goes like this: First-a person sees Jesus displayed through the lives of those who are following Jesus. Second-once a person sees Jesus displayed, there is a good chance he will become interested in knowing more. Third-when a person follows his interest in Jesus and is leaning in, he will likely become a believer.

For most of my spiritual journey I have found calling myself a believer most comfortable. It's a clean term and has little religious baggage to it. Three observations come to mind here.

FIRST-Being a believer has become a threshold experience-the very doorway into salvation. After sharing a time of counseling a desperate man in the psych ward of a local hospital, I told this particular study group that it was so exciting to see this man's attitude of fear change into a sincere seeking for God. One of our group members quickly said, "So he became a believer?" In other words, "Did you close the spiritual deal and now this non-believer is a believer?" We seem to want this magical moment that a person becomes a believer and then all will be OK.

To accommodate this thinking and to motivate people into becoming a believer, many have created tangible ways to confirm this threshold act of belief. Some urge people to respond during what is called an altar call, such as what is done at the end of a Billy Graham service. Others have what is called an "I believe" service, where a person stands to his feet and says "I believe." Still others rely on urging a person to pray a prayer of belief. Each of these sort of memorializes the time a person becomes a believer.

SECOND-Being a believer has become a time to reference as the time your relationship with God began. Remembering the day you became a believer-your threshold experience of salvation-becomes a sure sign that your faith is genuine and not being able to nail down that date means that maybe you never actually have come into a salvation experience at all.

Recently, a pastor told one of his elders that if you can't identify that specific time of salvation faith in your life, then you are probably not a genuine believer. That night the elder interrogated his wife and she could not give him a specific day, but she felt she had come into a personal faith gradually. When the elder shared this experience with a group I was leading, he was really saddened by his discovery and it showed in his countenance. Then I asked him, "When was Peter's specific day?" The elder sat there for quite some time and said, "I don't know." I said, "Troubling, isn't it?" "What about the other disciples? What was their specific day?" The elder saw what I was showing him and said, "So, my pastor was wrong."

THIRD-Being a believer can miss the point of the ongoing process of believing. To make "being a believer" so paramount, it is too easy to miss out on what happened with the early disciples and rely on man-made sound bites and clichés. Think about it! The early disciples were not "believers" in the sense that most think of it today. They were followers of Jesus and His teachings, but were a work in progress with respect to becoming believers. By the way, that process took them over three years!

So, we want people to become interested-interested enough to believe. But there is a catch here. Becoming a believer is more than a threshold experience. It's not just a moment in time where a person has expressed his belief or faith in Jesus. The act of believing is progressive and continual. It's a journey of faith. It's important to encourage those who are interested to be interested enough to believe. Just make sure that when a person believes, this believer learns to keep on believing-living this faith out in his life.

As important as it is to be interested enough to believe I want to show you tomorrow why believing is not enough to get you into a relationship with God. On the road to becoming a disciple and then making disciples, there is one more level that must be reached.

LOOKING FOR THE INTERESTED

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On the road to becoming a disciple and then making disciples there seem to be four levels of progression. The first is found all around you-your family, friends and acquaintances. Or, to put it more specifically, the entire world that is not now presently following Jesus.
Over the years I've come to realize that God is into what I call "divine appointments." A divine appointment comes up in, at least, three ways. First is a scheduled appointment. You know you are going to see a certain person today, but you may not know what may come up there that is all about the move of God. Second is a spontaneous appointment. You know the person, but had no idea you would run into him today. Third is the surprise appointment.

You don't know the person you are encountering and it is a surprise to everyone, but God that you are thrown together into this appointment. In every case God is busily setting up divine appointments for each of us all day long. All He wants from us is to show up! In other words, God has something special for you to do as you touch this person. This is why I pray: "Lord Jesus, what is it that you have for me today?" I want to anticipate these divine appointments and look for them throughout the day.

When it comes to being obedient to making disciples of Jesus of all the nations, I think it's best to start right here where God is setting up the appointments for you. It's at this level that we are thinking in terms of exposing as many people to Jesus as possible.

So, how is this done most effectively? I mean, a street preacher on the corner or a spiritual march with signs and bullhorns may have some effect, but I know these approaches are not the most effective. As I have examined the ways we might show Jesus off, I have discovered only five in the New Testament.

FIRST-By lifestyle. Jesus says: "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16) Your lifestyle-how you live your life-will speak so loudly to those who are watching. How you handle your problems and stresses, how you love your spouse and how you treat your family and friends are all on display. People can see Jesus in this way!

SECOND-By loving one another. Jesus says: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35) People can also see Jesus by our love for one another. This is so attractive and contagious.

THIRD-By giving a blessing when you are insulted. Peter says: To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. And later, Peter says: "Always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you." (I Peter 3:8-12, 15) People who give a blessing when insulted are acting in a counter-cultural sort of way. It's moving to the beat of a different drummer by the name of Jesus.

FOURTH-By sharing your own Jesus story. How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without someone to proclaim? (Romans 10:14) This is the only one of the ways we show Jesus off by our words. But NOTE that this is not you preaching to or arguing with anyone. The best thing to share is your own personal story. No one can argue with your own experience, strength and hope you have found through Jesus.

FIFTH-By ministering to Jesus through the needs of people. Jesus says something very unique: 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'" (Matthew 25:35-40) Once a month a group of us feed and minister to the needs of the homeless in Orange County. I always encourage each of the volunteers that by loving and ministering to these dear people they are actually ministering to Jesus Himself.

Now, each of these actions show Jesus off to the world-living a lifestyle like Jesus, loving one another, blessing when insulted, sharing your own story and helping those in need. In fact, when you do these things, you are living a lifestyle on a different level altogether and people notice. The people who notice are all of the people who are watching you day after day. We pray that through our interactions with our family, friends and acquaintances that they will become interested.

We're looking for those who are interested. This is really the only requirement that is necessary-to be interested. By the way, if you are interested and have a passion for Jesus and how His teachings and principles work in your life, you will find all kinds of people interested in the same thing. You will find interested people in Churches, Mosques, Temples, Synagogues, civic groups, schools, gyms, in the corporate setting, and in your community. Do you want to make disciples of Jesus, orbit around your world, looking for those who have ears to hear and eyes to see. You're not looking to close any spiritual deals or people to preach to; you're looking for the interested! They are all around you. God is setting up divine appointments all day long just for you. All He wants from you is to show up!

THE HOW OF DISCIPLE-MAKING

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Here again are Jesus' words, giving a very direct command to those who want to continue following Him: And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)
Remember, there is only one command here from Jesus and that is to make disciples-to make followers of Jesus of all nations. Also, keep in mind this is making followers of Jesus, not making followers of your religious persuasion. It's not making followers of your traditions and culture. This is all about making followers of Jesus, who supersedes all religious beliefs and systems and founders. This is Jesus without religious baggage of any kind.

Most people make the mistake of thinking the command here is to go, because of the English wording here. There is no commandment to go, to baptize or to teach. These are participles giving us guidelines on how to make followers of Jesus.

The first participle is BY GOING. This has to do with initiating the follow-through on the command to make disciples. I think this action is best described for us today as introducing everyone everywhere we can to Jesus. We are not to be taking mission trips for the purpose of conversion, but to advance the conversation of Jesus in whatever culture we enter. Jesus fits and is attractive to every culture; your religious system is not. When you go to convert people to your way of thinking, persecution is inevitable.

The second participle is BY BAPTIZING. To baptize means to immerse a person into something-literally to dip into. If you take a white cloth and dip it into a bucket of red dye, your cloth will have a new identification-red. This is the essence of baptism. It is the action of identifying a person with something. John was known as the baptizer. He baptized or identified people with repentance-changing their minds about their stance before God. Jesus identified Himself with John's baptism of repentance. Then Jesus baptized or identified or immersed people with His Spirit.

Listen to how John compared his baptism with that of Jesus: And he was preaching, and saying, "After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals. I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." (Mark 1:7-8)

The Gospel of John puts it this way: Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, and said to him, "Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" John answered them saying, "I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie." These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He on behalf of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.' I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water." John testified saying, "I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, 'He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.' I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God." (John 1:24-34)

Jesus extends this identification with His Spirit when He has His disciples wait for the Spirit to come upon them with power: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

NOTE the spread of the message of Jesus to make followers throughout the world is natural, when His Spirit comes upon you.

The third participle is BY TEACHING. This action of incarnating Jesus within the discipleship process is to teach all who will listen to observe and obey all that Jesus taught and commanded. It's learning to flesh out Jesus making Jesus your life's reference point and focal point. It's embracing Jesus as a lifestyle. This is not indoctrination, but incarnation of Jesus in every way possible.

Now, here is the key to the "how" of making disciples. There are two lines that cannot be overlooked. "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)

FIRST-"All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth." Authority is the rights and power to do whatever He wants. How much is "all"? All means everything; no other authority that matters exists.

SECOND-"I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Get this! The same Jesus who has all authority, rights and power in the universe is the one who is with you always-even to the end of the world.

If you are going to be effective in making disciples or followers of Jesus, you must be a follower of the one who has all authority, rights and power and who is always present with you. If this Jesus is present with you, then those you touch will not only see it; they will sense Jesus in you!