Promise Acts 1.4

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TRANSFORMED: Easter to Pentecost May 4: The Promise: Wait for the Gift: Acts 1:4 Acts 1:4-5: On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Intro: This completes the first paragraph of The Book of Acts. The promise that Jesus makes about being baptized with the Holy Spirit is recorded five times in the NT, here and in each of the four gospels. I want us to look at that promise next week. This book is really Part Two in Luke’s account of Jesus and the disciples. Luke was the companion of Paul. Luke includes “WE SECTIONS” in Acts to let us know that he is actually right there with Paul in that particular part of his travels. Luke’s first book, the Gospel of Luke, tells the story of Jesus, his ministry and his death. His second book, the Acts of the Apostles, picks up with Jesus’ ascension and continues with the story of the founding of the church of Jesus Christ through the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. Jesus told them to WAIT FOR THE GIFT. I don’t know about you, but I hate to wait. Always have. I am perpetually impatient. This is true even at my advanced age. I feel like life is passing me by if I am waiting. I look for the shortest grocery line, which always seems to prove the longest. I change lanes to move faster, which usually makes me slow down. I zip through commercials at the highest speed possible, which generally makes me have to backtrack. Now a GIFT is a better thing to wait for than, say, a root canal. But waiting for a gift is still waiting. I really would rather open the present when you hand it to me than put it under the tree and wait until Christmas to open it. That’s just me. Jesus was having a meal with them when he told the disciples to wait. It’s amazing how many important things are communicated across the dinner table, especially with Jesus. It would happen at your house more often if you took time to sit down and have a meal together. Mealtime can be crafted into an important, memorable event in any home that is willing to take the time. I know that this command to wait had to bother Peter. He is the impulsive one, always speaking and acting before he thinks. He is the one who made the rash promise he couldn’t keep. He is the one who cut off the ear of the man in the Garden. He is ready to go, but he is not ready to sit. So this was tough news for him. Sitting in that Upper Room, waiting for 10 days, it must have seemed like an eternity to Peter. He tried to occupy the time. They chose Matthias to take the place of Judas and make their number TWELVE again. We never hear from Matthias again. I don’t know if choosing him was a good idea or a bad one, but it gave them something to do while they waited. They prayed continually. The faithful women joined them along with a hundred other people. They also had something else to do. They had time to think about the GIFT the FATHER PROMISED them. Jesus spoke about this gift. They were all there when he did so. Some think it was part of that last night together in that very same room where Jesus washed their feet and where he took the bread and the cup and said, “This is my body” and “This is my blood.” Jesus made THREE STATEMENTS about the Holy Spirit in the discourse recorded by the Apostle John. I want us to remember those statements this morning and to think about them just like Peter and the Apostles did in the Upper Room. The statements are found in John 14-16. We will focus on John 14:25-26, 15:26-27, 16:14. I. GOD IS WITH US: “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:25-26). A. The Miranda Warning (IMAGE ON SCREEN) requires a police officer to inform anyone who is arrested in these United States that they have a right to an attorney. If they cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for them. When you are in trouble, you really need someone looking out for you who knows what is going on and how the system works. B. The word for ADVOCATE is paraclete. This is one who is called to your side or called to your AID. He comes alongside you to give you strength and comfort. In the broadest sense the word refers to a COMFORTER.

C. ANOTHER COMFORTER (John 14:16: I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Comforter). The word “another” means one like the one you already have not one in contrast to the one you already have—the same kind of Comforter. Jesus was referring to himself with the term “another.” He was Comforter, Counselor, and Advocate to his disciples. D. IN MY NAME—The Father will send Another Comforter “in my name”—one that is consistent with my character and purposes and will do the very thing that I have been doing with you. E. TEACH AND REMIND: The Comforter is going to TEACH you what you need to know. ***The Holy Spirit is in this room right now acting as the Teacher. He is going to REMIND you of what you have already learned. He will bring these things to your mind when you need them. F. This is the Promise of the Father: “to be with you forever” (John 14:16). 1. The LIVING Presence of Jesus (John 14:18: “I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you.”) 2. This is the Promise of His Help, has ADVOCACY. “Are you with us or against us?” Through the Holy Spirit, God is with us. He is on our side. He is helping us in our need. 3. You need to get very personal about this promise. God is present in your life. He is with you in your challenges, trouble, and sorrow. He is not only with you, but he is on your side. He is the Good and Loving God who wants to see you do well. He is working to maximize life for you. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. II. GOD TESTIFIES ABOUT JESUS: “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning” (John 15:26-37). A. The Advocate, Counselor, Teacher, and Comforter WILL TESTIFY ABOUT JESUS. The lawyer has turned WITNESS. 1. Jesus is our Savior. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is God’s One and Only. 2. The Holy Spirit is in the world today to draw all people to the Savior, Jesus the Lord. He is testifying about Jesus. He is making his words and his actions come alive in our minds and hearts. He is energizing the Scriptures written about Jesus. He is communicating in an intimate and personal way the truth which is not only on the pages of Scripture and History, but also written in the fleshly channels of the heart. B. The Apostles are testifying about Jesus. 1. The Holy Spirit is not here to become the center of attention. He is here to make Jesus the center of attention. 2. “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die (John 12:32-33). 3. Making Jesus the center and KEEPING Jesus the center—that is the work of the Holy Spirit in the world. That is what the Apostle had to do—and did. C. That is OUR WORK as well—TESTIFY ABOUT JESUS. The generic “God” is acceptable in public testimony and prayer. “God” as you understand him. But the Savior, the Lord Jesus, is way too specific for the generic public. Above all things, they don’t want to hear the name of Jesus. That name is disruptive, sectarian, divisive, and combative. But there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12). III. GOD GLORIFIES JESUS: But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth... He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you” (John 16:13-14). A. THE TRUTH: Jesus is the One sent from the Father to rescue us. This truth will be reinforced by everything the Spirit does. B. THE CONSISTENCY: The Holy Spirit will always speak and act and teach and comfort in harmony with the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth, our Savior. JESUS TRULY AND FULLY REVEALED THE CHARACTER OF GOD THE FATHER. He was not the soft side of God or a splinter of God’s character or one aspect of his Being. “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (Hebrews 1:3). Conclusion: GOD IS ALWAYS PUTTING JESUS IN THE SPOTLIGHT. We have lighting up here in the catwalks. We can focus anywhere we want to on this platform. God has the same capability, but on the world stage. He is putting the spotlight on Jesus. He is doing this in your life as well. He is calling you to trust him.