To listen to the audio version, click here.
Tuesday, September 30
Acts 2:42-47
And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
A few years ago I read the story of Joe Ehrmann, a former NFL football player who became a volunteer coach at a small local high school. What made his story unique was his coaching philosophy. After every practice and every game he asked his players 2 questions.
He would gather the sweat and dirt covered players and ask, “What’s our job as coaches?” To which the 16-18 year old boys would respond, “To love us.”
Then he would say, “What’s your job as players?” And again the players would yell back, “To love each other!”
At first it seems like some kind of weird oxymoron; coaching young men to play an aggressive and sometimes violent game by teaching them to love each other; but the more I thought about it, the more I got it.
It’s one thing to block the guy in front of you because it’s your assignment and the coach will yell at you if you don’t. It’s quite another thing to block the guy in front of you because you love your teammates, and because you know your coach loves you.
It should not surprise us that Joe Ehrmann was not only a very smart football coach but a committed follower of Jesus Christ. He knew that the greatest motivation in the world is not fear, but love; and he knew that that love for each other is the foundation of both a team and the church.
Read again how Luke describes this early body of believers:
And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship,
And all who believed were together and had all things in common...
They were devoted to each other.
The word Luke uses is koinonia, an ancient Greek word that carried the meaning of communion, joint participation, the sharing of life. The English word most often used to translate koinonia is fellowship. Now “fellowship” is a good word but I fear its meaning has been watered down a bit so that many of us think of a potluck supper rather than the deep and powerful bond that Luke is trying to describe.
Koinonia fellowship is what high school football players feel after sharing 100 days of body breaking practices and then 10 games during which they give their blood, sweat and tears to reach the goal of becoming a championship team. Even though they are just kids playing a game, they give real commitment; feel real pain, and exult in real joys; and they do it together.
The men and women Luke is talking about did more than worship together on Sunday morning, they shared life. They worshiped together, prayed together, ate together, shared their homes and possessions with each other. One gets the sense that they needed each other for survival.
I’m not sure we can recreate that same sense of intensity and devotion to koinonia today. We live in a different time and culture. The threats to our faith and to the church are not opposition and persecution but, rather, comfort and busyness. We have our own homes and our own stuff and we live our own lives. If we have time we will worship together for an hour on Saturday night or Sunday morning. That’s good, but it’s not koinonia!
But the truth is that we do still need each other, we just don’t feel the same need to need each other!
Just yesterday I received a text message in the middle of the day that informed me that a person from our church family had been rushed to the hospital in critical condition. The message said some FBCG staff were gathering for prayer at the East Campus. By the time I arrived 10 minutes later there were about 20 FBCG staffers gathered in the sanctuary praying together for the hospitalized person. About 20 minutes later I was at the hospital where 10 more people were already gathered to care for and pray with the family of the person who was in the Intensive Care Unit. There were tears and hugs and more prayer as we all learned the gravity of the situation. But there was more than just concern over a friend who was very sick. There was the joy of koinonia.
As I left the hospital an hour or so later I realized I had just been blessed to be part of an Acts 2 experience. I realized I was part of a church family of people who are devoted to one another. I realized that the koinonia that the Holy Spirit forged 2000 years ago is still possible today, even for self-sufficient and hyper-busy people living in the suburbs of North America.
May we be people who do more than worship together. May we also pray together, serve together; laugh together and cry together. May we be a people and a church devoted to the fellowship.
Pastor Brian Coffey
Monday, September 29th
To listen to the audio version, click here.
Monday, September 29
Acts 2:42-47
And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
A number of years ago I had a very good friend who was serving as a Youth Pastor in a church in Florida. He had been hired to build a ministry that would attract junior and senior high school students and their families from the surrounding community. My friend was a creative and outgoing guy so he threw himself into the task and within a few months was filling the church with teenagers. His approach was to create an environment that kids would enjoy and that meant lots of loud music, lots of noisy and sometimes messy games, and lots of food. His reasoning was simple; if students were having fun and enjoying being at church they would be more open to hearing and responding to God’s word.
But the church had never had a Youth Pastor like him before and the music and the messiness of a dynamic and growing youth ministry made some of the long-time members a bit nervous. Eventually one of the elders in the church took my friend aside and encouraged him to tone down the volume a bit and run a more conventional (and quiet) ministry.
At one point he said, “Son, you won’t find this in the Bible, but God says...” and then finished the sentence with something about loud music not being God’s preferred choice for youth ministry, especially not for youth ministry in his church!
My friend is no longer at that church but that story still makes us laugh. We laugh because it’s a humorous example of how we tend to prefer to create our own truth than to seek God’s truth.
In Acts we find that one of the signs of a healthy church is devotion to truth.
And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching...
The natural question to ask is, “What teaching is Luke talking about?” What did the Apostles teach?
Well, if we look back just a few verses in Acts 2 we see Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost. When a mocking crowd accused the Apostles of being drunk at 9 in the morning, Peter delivered what amounted to the first sermon in church history. He simply preached what he knew.
What had just happened was the fulfillment of what the prophets had written.
Jesus was sent by God, crucified by sinful men, and raised from the dead as Lord and Christ.
And finally that forgiveness from sin and the Holy Spirit are received in the name of Jesus Christ.
Peter preached what we know as the Gospel; the good news that salvation is found not in religion, but by faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Now, a couple of things about truth.
First; truth, by definition, is exclusive. To say one thing is true is to say another thing is not true. Two plus two cannot equal both four and five at the same time.
Second; truth makes us uncomfortable. Not all truth makes all of us uncomfortable, perhaps, but certainly some truth makes some of us uncomfortable. I can’t imagine who might find “Two plus two equals four” to be offensive, but many, many people find, “Jesus is Lord” to be offensive.
When it comes to mathematics, most of us agree on truth. But when it comes to spiritual matters, many would prefer to create our own truth. If Jesus is truly Lord, then we are all accountable to him and there is no forgiveness or salvation without him. Many would rather believe that salvation is based on good deeds or good intentions rather than the grace of one who died in our place.
But the gospel is either true for everyone or it is true for no one. The early church, and every healthy church since then, was devoted to the truth of the Gospel.
Pastor Brian Coffey
Monday, September 29
Acts 2:42-47
And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
A number of years ago I had a very good friend who was serving as a Youth Pastor in a church in Florida. He had been hired to build a ministry that would attract junior and senior high school students and their families from the surrounding community. My friend was a creative and outgoing guy so he threw himself into the task and within a few months was filling the church with teenagers. His approach was to create an environment that kids would enjoy and that meant lots of loud music, lots of noisy and sometimes messy games, and lots of food. His reasoning was simple; if students were having fun and enjoying being at church they would be more open to hearing and responding to God’s word.
But the church had never had a Youth Pastor like him before and the music and the messiness of a dynamic and growing youth ministry made some of the long-time members a bit nervous. Eventually one of the elders in the church took my friend aside and encouraged him to tone down the volume a bit and run a more conventional (and quiet) ministry.
At one point he said, “Son, you won’t find this in the Bible, but God says...” and then finished the sentence with something about loud music not being God’s preferred choice for youth ministry, especially not for youth ministry in his church!
My friend is no longer at that church but that story still makes us laugh. We laugh because it’s a humorous example of how we tend to prefer to create our own truth than to seek God’s truth.
In Acts we find that one of the signs of a healthy church is devotion to truth.
And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching...
The natural question to ask is, “What teaching is Luke talking about?” What did the Apostles teach?
Well, if we look back just a few verses in Acts 2 we see Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost. When a mocking crowd accused the Apostles of being drunk at 9 in the morning, Peter delivered what amounted to the first sermon in church history. He simply preached what he knew.
What had just happened was the fulfillment of what the prophets had written.
Jesus was sent by God, crucified by sinful men, and raised from the dead as Lord and Christ.
And finally that forgiveness from sin and the Holy Spirit are received in the name of Jesus Christ.
Peter preached what we know as the Gospel; the good news that salvation is found not in religion, but by faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Now, a couple of things about truth.
First; truth, by definition, is exclusive. To say one thing is true is to say another thing is not true. Two plus two cannot equal both four and five at the same time.
Second; truth makes us uncomfortable. Not all truth makes all of us uncomfortable, perhaps, but certainly some truth makes some of us uncomfortable. I can’t imagine who might find “Two plus two equals four” to be offensive, but many, many people find, “Jesus is Lord” to be offensive.
When it comes to mathematics, most of us agree on truth. But when it comes to spiritual matters, many would prefer to create our own truth. If Jesus is truly Lord, then we are all accountable to him and there is no forgiveness or salvation without him. Many would rather believe that salvation is based on good deeds or good intentions rather than the grace of one who died in our place.
But the gospel is either true for everyone or it is true for no one. The early church, and every healthy church since then, was devoted to the truth of the Gospel.
Pastor Brian Coffey
Friday, Sept. 26
Friday
Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. - Acts 2:36-41
"These things," Peter says, "are proof that Jesus of Nazareth is Lord and Christ." "Lord" means ruler of all things, king over all men, the One who holds the key to life and death, heaven and hell, in his hands. All power in heaven and in earth is committed unto him. And there is no authority or power that exists which does not take its direction and its limitation from him. "Christ," of course, means "Messiah." We say the words, "Jesus Christ," and many of us think that Jesus is his first name, and Christ his last. But that is not the case. Jesus is his name; Christ is his title. Christ means Messiah -- the promised One, the Deliverer, the only hope that mankind has ever had. Suddenly all this made perfect sense to this multitude. The full force of Peter's arguments thudded home, and they realized that they were in a very precarious position. This One whom he had proven, by indisputable evidence, to be Lord, was the One they had crucified 50 days earlier.
Can you imagine how they felt? It would be very much as if you went down to apply for a job, and on the way you got into an automobile accident. And when the other driver got out, you started beating and cursing and kicking him in anger. Then you got into your car and drove off, and went on to apply for the job. When you were all cleaned up and ready, you were ushered into the presence of the man whom you had just beaten and cursed out in the street. That is what these people felt. No wonder they were cut to the heart and cried out, "Brethren, what shall we do?"
This is where Christianity rests its case. Jesus Christ is Lord, whether we know it or not. The very forces which control our lives are dependent upon Him. It would be almost laughable, if it were not so sad, to hear people - old and young alike - dismiss Jesus Christ as though he were an option, as though they had the choice either of believing or not believing in him, whatever they felt like, and it did not make much difference one way or the other.
The declaration of Peter on this day is that Jesus is inevitable, and unavoidable. There is no way you can avoid him. Your very life is dependent upon him. He is Lord over all things. And, sooner or later, you have to deal with Jesus Christ, whether you like it or not. The appeal of this crowd is, "What shall we do?" Peter's answer is wonderful - it is the Christian gospel.
Our Father, we thank you for the truth in this mighty declaration that Jesus Christ is indeed Lord, that you have exalted him and give him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father - Amen.
Jeff Frazier
Thursday, Sept. 25
Thursday
Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. - Acts 2:22-24
Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah. - Acts 2:36
Right here in Peter’s great sermon, we see the power of God among men — the resurrection power of God, a power which man cannot duplicate. Resurrection power is the ability to bring life out of death, to restore a situation which is hopeless, to change a person who is irremediable — that is resurrection power!
Years ago I met with a young man in high school who told me about his conversion, and the reaction of his father. His father was baffled by this conversion. It fit no psychological pattern he knew of. He could not explain why his son was so suddenly and drastically different. Because he could not explain it, it angered him, and he reacted against it, and was fighting it all the way. This is not an infrequent reaction of those who come into contact with this power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.
Man is always dreaming of finding ways to beat death. Baseball great Ted Williams had his head frozen in the hopes that he might someday be restored. There are people today believing that you should get yourself deep-frozen, and your body put away in a storage vault and kept there for 50 to 100 years. Then, when science has supposedly solved the problem, found a cure for the disease you are dying of, they will thaw you out, and you will get a chance to go on living then.
What a far cry from resurrection! This is not what happened to Jesus Christ when he rose from the dead in all the fullness and vitality of his person.
Peter says, “We disciples are the witnesses of these things. We saw him.” The remarkable thing is that not one voice is lifted in protest in this whole crowd of people. One of the greatest proofs of the resurrection of Jesus is right here — that this man could stand up in the city where these events had taken place, a little more than a month earlier, and tell these people that Jesus had risen from the dead, and not one voice challenges him! They had not seen him — he appeared only to his disciples — but they had known that the body was not there. They could go out to the tomb and see that it was empty. They knew that the authorities could not produce the body of Jesus. They had heard all the wild rumors that spread through the city that Jesus was alive and that he was appearing to his own disciples from time to time. There is not one voice who challenges what the apostle says. Instead they stand there in mute and stricken silence as the apostle drives home with powerful blows the sword of the Spirit, convicting them of the truth of his claim.
Father, thank you for the truth in this mighty declaration that Jesus Christ is indeed Lord. I pray that any who have never come to know this One as Lord may now open their life and cry out to him as these men and women did and hear this saving word to repent and to believe, and thus receive the promised Spirit - Amen.
Jeff Frazier
Wednesday, Sept. 24
Wednesday
Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine. Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
“‘In the last days, God says,I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
- Acts 2:12-18
The first thing Peter does is to explain to this crowd that it is not what they think. Literally what the Greek said was, “He stood up and said to them, ‘Not as you suppose are these men drunk.’” In other words, they are drunk, but not from what you suppose. It is not new wine that makes them drunk; it is what Joel said would happen — the Spirit of God has come upon them. It is true that to be controlled by the Holy Spirit does affect one somewhat like alcohol does. Paul implies the same thing in Ephesians when he says, “do not be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit.” (Eph. 5:18).
When this crowd looked at these men and women they noted they were excited and bold, speaking freely and easily, and acting rather strangely. It was not totally unusual that they should conclude that they were drunk. But Peter responds with some humor saying, No, you have the wrong explanation. The reason you're wrong is because it is only nine o'clock in the morning. Everyone knows that hardly anyone drinks before eleven o'clock! So it can't be that they are drunk with new wine; they are filled with the Spirit.
Peter then quotes an amazing passage from the prophet Joel in. His explanation is very simple. This, he said, is what Joel declared would happen. The key to this passage from Joel is the phrase, all people. “I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.” If you read the prophecy as it occurs in Joel, you will find that, before this passage, the prophet had predicted that the Lord would visit his people. He would come to them and would live in their midst. Then, after this visitation, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.” The contrast is between the visitation of God to Israel, and the pouring out of the Spirit upon all peoples everywhere — Gentiles as well as Jew.
The good news about Jesus Christ is to go out to the Gentiles as well as the Jews. Up to this point it had been confined to the Jewish nation. Now Peter announces that the time has come when God would pour out his Spirit upon Jews and Gentiles alike. Not only all people everywhere, but all kinds of people — young men, young women, male and female. “Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions.” Note the emphasis upon youth. God is saying that in this age of the Spirit, leadership, effectiveness, and power will not be limited to grey hairs, but also young men and young women shall speak and lead. Even servants, menservants and maidservants, obscure people, insignificant people, upon them God would pour out his Spirit; and they would prophesy. All classes are affected by this.
Thank you, Father, for this amazing phenomenon of the Spirit and for the fact that I still live in the age of the Spirit when all that you are doing today is done by the might and power of the Holy Spirit. Grant that I may understand and experience this - Amen.
Jeff Frazier
Tuesday, Sept. 23
Tuesday
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
“‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.
on the name of the Lord will be saved.
- Acts 2:14-21
I have read that the number one fear that people have is the fear of speaking in public. It ranks ahead of the fear of death! The fear of speaking in public would increase if a person knew that he would be speaking to a hostile audience. Add to that the fact that the audience is not just a small group, but at least five to ten thousand hostile people, and you must address them without a public address system! To make matters worse, you have made a fool out of yourself just weeks before in such a manner that many in your audience would have heard about it. And, you have no time to prepare your message. The opportunity presents itself and you’re on—without any notes!
Such was the situation facing Peter on the Day of Pentecost. The sound of the rushing wind from heaven had drawn a large crowd, which then heard all the believers speaking of the great deeds of God in the many different native languages of the crowd. This perplexed them as they asked, “What does this mean?” (2:12). But others in the crowd were mocking and accusing the believers of being drunk. It was to this Jewish crowd in the city of Jerusalem, where Jesus had been killed just over seven weeks ago, that Peter delivered the sermon that launched the church. In terms of results—about 3,000 got saved that day—it was one of the greatest sermons ever preached.
Peter begins with a touch of humor. Some mockers were accusing the believers who spoke in tongues of being drunk. Peter could have ignored them or responded defensively, but instead he says, in effect, “It’s too early for us to be drunk!” The Jews would not normally have eaten or drunk at this hour during the Feast of Pentecost. Then, Peter explains that the phenomena they had seen and heard were “what was spoken of through the prophet Joel. He proceeds to quote Joel 2:28-32. Later Peter will cite Psalm 16:8-11 and Psalm 110:1. He did not have a Bible in book form, since books as we know them were not yet invented. And he did not unroll several scrolls to the right text so that he could read these verses. Rather, he recited them from memory!
If you want to be an effective witness for Jesus Christ, you must memorize certain Scriptures that explain the gospel.
Jeff Frazier
Friday, Sept. 19
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. - Acts 2:1-4
This initial outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost was marked by three symbolic phenomena. First, there was the sound of a violent rushing wind that filled the house. Then, there was the visible sign of tongues of fire resting on each person. Finally, there was the miraculous speaking in foreign languages which none had previously learned.
The sound of the violent rushing wind was primarily a picture of invisible power. As you know, the wind, which you cannot see, exerts incredible power in a tornado or hurricane. In this case, the disciples heard the noise, but there is no indication that they felt it blowing. It was rather a miraculous sound that came from heaven. The noise was loud enough that it gathered the crowd to find out what was happening (1:6).
Both the Hebrew and Greek words for wind and spirit are the same. In Ezekiel 37, God commanded the prophet to prophesy to the winds to breathe on a valley of dry bones. When he did so, the breath of life came into them. God explains that He will put His Spirit within His people and they would come to life (Ezek. 37:9-14). In John 3, Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about the need to be born of the Spirit. He explained, “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (3:8). The Holy Spirit, like the wind, is a mighty power, but we cannot see Him. We can only see His effects. One of His most powerful effects is when He imparts spiritual life to those who were dead in their sins.
The second phenomenon was the appearance of tongues of fire resting on each person in the room. Throughout the Bible, fire symbolizes God’s holy presence. Moses in the wilderness saw the bush that was burning and yet not consumed. God Himself was in the bush. Later, Israel in the wilderness was guided and protected by the pillar of fire. John the Baptist predicted that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Hebrews 12:29 says that our God is a consuming fire.
The fire on the Day of Pentecost appeared in the form of tongues to symbolize God’s holy power through the proclamation of His Word, burning right to the heart of people. James 3 actually compares the tongue to a fire, able to destroy, or set the word ablaze with His glory!
Down through church history, the sovereign Spirit has moved unseen as the wind, where He wills, to bring revival to God’s people. Invariably, it starts with the church, purifying God’s people, igniting their cold hearts with a renewed passion for knowing God and burning in their hearts. Through them, it spreads as the gospel is proclaimed and the Spirit imparts new life in Christ to those who trust in Him.
We should all be praying that our hearts would burn with a Holy Spirit fire and passion for God and His glory!
Jeff Frazier
Thursday, Sept. 18
Thursday
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. - Acts 2:1-4
What does it mean that these disciples were “filled with the Holy Spirit”? Before we can answer that question, we first have to understand just what (or who) exactly the Holy Spirit is?
The Holy Spirit is not just a force. He is the third person of the Trinity, He is God in every way. We know that He is a personal being in that He can be grieved (Eph. 4:30); you cannot grieve an impersonal force. Jesus calls Him the Paraclete, or Comforter. The word means, “one called alongside to help.” We know that He is God in that He performs deeds, such as creation, which only God can do. In Acts 5:3, Peter accuses Ananias of lying to the Holy Spirit and then adds, “You have not lied to men but to God” (Acts 5:5).
Before the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit regenerated men and empowered them for serving God. But He did not permanently indwell all believers. In the Upper Room, Jesus had told the disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit to be with them forever. He added, “You know Him because He abides with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17). Thus on the Day of Pentecost, the disciples were baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5), in fulfillment of Jesus’ promise. In Acts 8, the Spirit was poured out on the Samaritans through the apostles, so that both they and the apostles would realize that they were now members of the same body of Christ. The same thing happened with the Gentiles in Acts 10.
We need to be careful to distinguish several terms that are often confused. In Acts 1:5, Jesus said that the apostles would be baptized by the Holy Spirit, which occurred on the Day of Pentecost. Baptism refers to being totally identified with the Spirit and to the initial reception of the Spirit. Paul tells the Corinthians, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:13). The New Testament nowhere commands believers to be baptized with the Holy Spirit, since it is not an experience we are to seek, but God’s action performed on the believer at the moment of salvation.
We are, however, frequently told to be filled with the Spirit, which means to be controlled by the Spirit (Eph. 5:18). The disciples on the Day of Pentecost were not only baptized with the Spirit. Also they all were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4). We must yield ourselves fully to the Lord and depend on Him step by step (“walking in the Spirit,” Gal. 5:16).
The results of a consistent daily walk in the Spirit will be the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) in our hearts, or minds, our relationships, and our relationships.
Jeff Frazier
Wednesday, Sept. 17
To listen to the audio version, click here.
Wednesday
Wednesday
So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” - Acts 1:6-8
Notice that when the disciples ask Jesus this question, He does not correct their assumption that He is going to restore the Kingdom, He corrects their assumption that they can deduce the timing of it. He says, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority."
In other words, don't assume that the long-awaited outpouring of the Spirit will immediately bring in the kingdom and restore the fortunes of Israel. God has appointed the times and the seasons for all things, and they are kept in the secret of his own wisdom. Such things are not for us to know. They would not be good for us to know—anymore than knowing the time of our own death would be good for us. They would be harmful, in fact.
But then Jesus goes on to tell them what the baptism with the Spirit will mean for them. It does not mean immediate restoration of Israel; it does not mean the immediate, full establishment of the kingdom. BUT—notice this strong word at the beginning of verse 8—BUT, here's what it does mean. "You shall receive power"—in other words, even though I may seem to have popped your balloon in saying it doesn't mean the end is tomorrow, even though you may think I have taken the wind out of your sails, hear me! Hear me! Though the baptism with the Spirit doesn't mean that, YET . . . BUT . . . it does mean this: "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth." Jesus doesn't want to minimize the wonder of what he is promising them. It is not tomorrow BUT it is power—to the end of the earth!
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. - Acts 2:1-4
In one way, this text describes something entirely new and amazing. And yet what we read should not come as a complete surprise. We might compare the Pentecost event to having a birthday. You know that your birthday is coming, and that someone who loves you has a present for you. You are not sure exactly what the present is (although you’ve been told you will really like it), and you don’t know exactly when you will receive it. You know it is something good, and that it is coming soon.
And here is the really exciting part...that day has come! That promise has been and is being fulfilled as the Holy Spirit comes into the heart and life of every believer!
Jeff Frazier
Tuesday, Sept. 16
To listen to the audio version, click here.
Tuesday
Everybody loves an underdog – the unlikely hero, the one nobody believed in, the classic Cinderella story. In sports (NCAA tournament, the Masters) and in life, who doesn’t like to see the little guy succeed??
When you think about it, the Bible has some wonderful stories about underdogs and unlikely heroes. The most famous in the Old Testament is probably the shepherd boy David killing the Philistine giant Goliath. But there are many others:
The truth is that God seems to like doing things this way (1 Cor. 1:27). “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, the weak things to shame the strong.”
There is a sense in which our whole faith is a kind of underdog story – a story of an unlikely hero, born in a manger, in obscurity, to a poor family, lived a wandering, homeless existence, had no military background, wrote no books, founded no schools or political institutions.
And when we come to the story of the church, that may be the biggest Cinderella story of them all. Think of it. Only 120 confused and isolated Christians, uncertain about what to do (Acts 2 - Pentecost). The contemporary secular view of the church is usually the opposite: huge institution, wealthy, controlling, often corrupt, hardly an underdog.
But even secular historians marvel and wonder at how this tiny insignificant group of 1st century Jews could grow into something that would shake the Roman Empire and form the foundations of Western civilization.
How did this happen? What caused the rapid and explosive growth of the early church?
Former Yale Professor of History, Kenneth Scott Latourette:
He is pondering a question which simply cannot be answered from a purely historical point of view. And the book of Acts gives us the answer.
God is in their midst! God is doing something! The Spirit is on the move! “The cause underlying them all” is the Holy Spirit. That same Spirit lives in us today! We are a part of this remarkable story that God has been writing throughout history by His Holy Spirit.
Tuesday
- Old crazy Noah building a boat and saving the world.
- Abram, wandering the desert, having a son in 90s!
- Gideon, going from hiding in a hole to defeating the Midianites
- Moses, from living in obscurity in the wilderness to defeating Pharaoh!
“The more one examines the various factors which seem to account for the extraordinary victory of Christianity, the more one is driven to search for a cause underlying them all. It is clear that at the very beginning of Christianity there must have occurred a vast release of energy virtually unequalled in history. Without it, the future course of this religion is inexplicable. Why this occurred may lie outside the realm in which modern historians are supposed to move.”
- Acts 2:4 – “Filled with the Spirit”
- Acts 2:17 – “Pour out my Spirit”
- Acts 2:47 – “The Lord added to their number”
God is in their midst! God is doing something! The Spirit is on the move! “The cause underlying them all” is the Holy Spirit. That same Spirit lives in us today! We are a part of this remarkable story that God has been writing throughout history by His Holy Spirit.
Jeff Frazier
Monday, Sept. 15
To listen to the audio version, click here.
Monday
I am glad that God puts it in the heart of some doctors to do more than medicine. Every doctor I know in this church has dreams bigger than mending bodies and making bucks. I thank God for that. But the doctor I am most thankful for in all the world is the doctor called Luke. In Colossians 4:14 Paul calls him "the beloved physician." We meet him for the first time in Troas where he joins Paul and Silas and Timothy on the second missionary journey, he may have been converted there and joined the missionary team as a kind of staff doctor.
But O how much more than a doctor he became! He traveled with Paul for years and went with him finally to Rome where Paul died. I find one of Paul's most moving sentences in his last letter 2 Timothy 4:11, during his final imprisonment in Rome. He says simply, "Luke alone is with me."
All these years in all these travels, including two years in Palestine, Luke is taking notes about the works and words of Jesus and the progress of the church. Finally God moves him to write a two-volume work that makes up more of the New Testament than what any other New Testament writer wrote, including the apostle Paul.
Monday
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 forty 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 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.” - Acts 1:1-5
Now we should never minimize the finality—the once-for-allness—of the saving work of Jesus on the cross and in his resurrection. Hebrews 10:12 says, "When Christ had offered FOR ALL TIME a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God." When Jesus cried "It is finished," the debt was paid, the sins were covered, the wrath was removed and Satan was mortally wounded.
But we do need to understand that while Christ accomplished our salvation completely on the cross, that does not mean He is done working in the world! Notice what Luke says here—that what Jesus did on the earth in his tough, compassionate, loving, healing deeds and what he said on the earth in his truthful, authoritative, convicting, comforting teaching was only the beginning of his doing and his teaching. This is absolutely crucial for understanding the purpose of the book of Acts and who we are as a church and what this age is all about. Because the clear implication is that NOW—now that Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father—he is NOT finished. He is not done with his work and with his teaching. He is not dead and he is not absent. He is alive and he is present and He is active in the hearts and lives of His followers!
Jeff Frazier
Friday, September 12th
To listen to the audio version, click here.
Friday, September 12
Acts 1:1-11
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 forty 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 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.”
So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."
A few weeks ago I spent 3 days and nights in the Boundary Waters that separate Minnesota from Canada. A friend from FBCG helped me set up the trip in honor of my son’s 21st birthday, which was a year late because I didn’t apply for the permit in time a year ago.
My son invited 3 of his buddies from his high school Discipleship Group, all now working or in college, to reprise one of their favorite trips while in FBCG’s youth ministry years ago.
Now you have to understand that my son and I don’t fish or camp very often, so everything about camping and fishing for three days in the Boundary Waters was out of our comfort zone. In some cases, like taking a 30-inch northern pike off the hook, WAY out of our comfort zone. Fortunately we had a couple of guys who were pretty much wilderness survival experts and could not only take the fish off the hooks but cut them up and fry them for lunch as well.
But even though we lack most wilderness skills, we had a blast! We spent hours fishing on a pristine lake; we sat around a campfire at night roasting marshmallows; we watched bald eagles soar across the sky and coated ourselves in enough mosquito repellent to kill a moose.
It was fun because it was an adventure. It was an adventure precisely BECAUSE it was outside our comfort zone. And that brings me back to the great Book of Acts.
The Book of Acts tells the story of how 12 men (the 11 disciples plus the Apostle Paul) who knew Jesus and were filled and guided by the Holy Spirit changed the world. It’s a story filled with faith, courage and a relentless willingness to share the story of Jesus to anyone who would listen and often to those who wouldn’t. It’s a story filled with riots, angry mobs, prison, shipwrecks, snakebites, miracles and long journeys. It’s a story of adventure; the adventure of the church; the adventure of the gospel.
My brother was once returning from a short term mission trip somewhere in the developing world. He had just spent a couple of weeks sharing the love of Christ in tangible ways to some of the poorest people on the face of the earth. He had mixed concrete by hand in helping construct an orphanage for children; he had bathed in a river and slept on a concrete floor; he had held malnourished children in his arms; he had lived the adventure of the gospel in a way that brought joy and satisfaction to his soul.
On the last leg of his flight home he sat next to an extremely well-dressed man who appeared to be traveling for business. At some point my brother struck up a conversation. It became clear that the man was indeed a very successful executive in his industry and definitely enjoyed talking about his success. At some point he asked my brother what he did for a living and my brother explained that he was a pastor and was returning from a mission trip to the Dominican Republic.
When my brother tells this story he says the man nodded and said something like, “Hmmm, good for you,” but couldn’t have been less interested.
In that moment my brother says he felt intense pity for that man. He felt pity because even though that man might have had a net worth of 100 times his own, he wouldn’t have traded places with him for any amount of money in the world. The reason he wouldn’t have traded places with that man, no matter what the financial or material benefits, was the adventure of following Jesus.
Some mistakenly think that becoming a follower of Jesus will make one’s life tedious and boring. Read the Book of Acts and you’ll find that quite the opposite is true!
G.K. Chesterton said it this way:
“And the more I considered Christianity, the more I found that while it had established a rule and order, the chief aim of that order was to let the good things run wild.”
The Book of Acts is the story of what happens when the good things run wild; when the gospel is turned loose in the world. What happens is the great adventure of the church; and we are each invited to join the journey!
Pastor Brian Coffey
Friday, September 12
Acts 1:1-11
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 forty 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 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.”
So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."
A few weeks ago I spent 3 days and nights in the Boundary Waters that separate Minnesota from Canada. A friend from FBCG helped me set up the trip in honor of my son’s 21st birthday, which was a year late because I didn’t apply for the permit in time a year ago.
My son invited 3 of his buddies from his high school Discipleship Group, all now working or in college, to reprise one of their favorite trips while in FBCG’s youth ministry years ago.
Now you have to understand that my son and I don’t fish or camp very often, so everything about camping and fishing for three days in the Boundary Waters was out of our comfort zone. In some cases, like taking a 30-inch northern pike off the hook, WAY out of our comfort zone. Fortunately we had a couple of guys who were pretty much wilderness survival experts and could not only take the fish off the hooks but cut them up and fry them for lunch as well.
But even though we lack most wilderness skills, we had a blast! We spent hours fishing on a pristine lake; we sat around a campfire at night roasting marshmallows; we watched bald eagles soar across the sky and coated ourselves in enough mosquito repellent to kill a moose.
It was fun because it was an adventure. It was an adventure precisely BECAUSE it was outside our comfort zone. And that brings me back to the great Book of Acts.
The Book of Acts tells the story of how 12 men (the 11 disciples plus the Apostle Paul) who knew Jesus and were filled and guided by the Holy Spirit changed the world. It’s a story filled with faith, courage and a relentless willingness to share the story of Jesus to anyone who would listen and often to those who wouldn’t. It’s a story filled with riots, angry mobs, prison, shipwrecks, snakebites, miracles and long journeys. It’s a story of adventure; the adventure of the church; the adventure of the gospel.
My brother was once returning from a short term mission trip somewhere in the developing world. He had just spent a couple of weeks sharing the love of Christ in tangible ways to some of the poorest people on the face of the earth. He had mixed concrete by hand in helping construct an orphanage for children; he had bathed in a river and slept on a concrete floor; he had held malnourished children in his arms; he had lived the adventure of the gospel in a way that brought joy and satisfaction to his soul.
On the last leg of his flight home he sat next to an extremely well-dressed man who appeared to be traveling for business. At some point my brother struck up a conversation. It became clear that the man was indeed a very successful executive in his industry and definitely enjoyed talking about his success. At some point he asked my brother what he did for a living and my brother explained that he was a pastor and was returning from a mission trip to the Dominican Republic.
When my brother tells this story he says the man nodded and said something like, “Hmmm, good for you,” but couldn’t have been less interested.
In that moment my brother says he felt intense pity for that man. He felt pity because even though that man might have had a net worth of 100 times his own, he wouldn’t have traded places with him for any amount of money in the world. The reason he wouldn’t have traded places with that man, no matter what the financial or material benefits, was the adventure of following Jesus.
Some mistakenly think that becoming a follower of Jesus will make one’s life tedious and boring. Read the Book of Acts and you’ll find that quite the opposite is true!
G.K. Chesterton said it this way:
“And the more I considered Christianity, the more I found that while it had established a rule and order, the chief aim of that order was to let the good things run wild.”
The Book of Acts is the story of what happens when the good things run wild; when the gospel is turned loose in the world. What happens is the great adventure of the church; and we are each invited to join the journey!
Pastor Brian Coffey
Thursday, September 11th
To listen to the audio version, click here.
Thursday, September 11
Acts 1:1-11
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 forty 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 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.”
So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."
Remember back in middle school or high school when the teacher would give an assignment and then leave the room? For me what happened next depended greatly on whether or not I believed my teacher was going to return before the class period ended!
If I was reasonably sure that the teacher was not coming back then I was quite likely to spend the class period goofing off with my friends instead of doing the assignment. But, on the other hand, if the teacher said she was coming back and I knew her to be true to her word, then I would make sure I finished the assignment before I did anything else to make sure I was prepared when she returned!
And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."
This is one of the great promises of our faith as followers of Jesus. He’s coming back! This promise is reiterated throughout the New Testament.
Jesus promises to return to take us to be with him (John 14).
Paul tells us that when Jesus returns the dead will be raised and we will receive our new spiritual bodies. (1 Corinthians 15)
In the Book of Revelation we see Jesus revealed as the King who will return to judge all sin and rule in absolute authority.
In 2 Timothy 4:8 Paul writes:
Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
It seems to me that there are two sides to the promise of Jesus’ return. First; as believers the promise of Christ’s return is to give us great hope! We can rest in his promise that whatever may happen around us, or whatever hardship of suffering we may endure, in the end he will take us to be with him forever. Second; the promise of Jesus’ return also compels us to invest ourselves fully in the mandate he has given. Time is finite. History as we know it will have an end. He has called us to take the gospel of salvation to the whole world before that time comes.
Many scholars believe the “crown of righteousness” that Paul talks about is a special reward - above and beyond salvation - promised by Jesus for those who have served the cause of the gospel here on earth. We don’t know what that reward entails, but we do know that Jesus left us with a mandate and that he will honor those who have served that mandate well.
May we be people who long for his appearing; but until then, may we also be among those who share the gospel of Jesus with the world.
Pastor Brian Coffey
Thursday, September 11
Acts 1:1-11
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 forty 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 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.”
So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."
Remember back in middle school or high school when the teacher would give an assignment and then leave the room? For me what happened next depended greatly on whether or not I believed my teacher was going to return before the class period ended!
If I was reasonably sure that the teacher was not coming back then I was quite likely to spend the class period goofing off with my friends instead of doing the assignment. But, on the other hand, if the teacher said she was coming back and I knew her to be true to her word, then I would make sure I finished the assignment before I did anything else to make sure I was prepared when she returned!
And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."
This is one of the great promises of our faith as followers of Jesus. He’s coming back! This promise is reiterated throughout the New Testament.
Jesus promises to return to take us to be with him (John 14).
Paul tells us that when Jesus returns the dead will be raised and we will receive our new spiritual bodies. (1 Corinthians 15)
In the Book of Revelation we see Jesus revealed as the King who will return to judge all sin and rule in absolute authority.
In 2 Timothy 4:8 Paul writes:
Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
It seems to me that there are two sides to the promise of Jesus’ return. First; as believers the promise of Christ’s return is to give us great hope! We can rest in his promise that whatever may happen around us, or whatever hardship of suffering we may endure, in the end he will take us to be with him forever. Second; the promise of Jesus’ return also compels us to invest ourselves fully in the mandate he has given. Time is finite. History as we know it will have an end. He has called us to take the gospel of salvation to the whole world before that time comes.
Many scholars believe the “crown of righteousness” that Paul talks about is a special reward - above and beyond salvation - promised by Jesus for those who have served the cause of the gospel here on earth. We don’t know what that reward entails, but we do know that Jesus left us with a mandate and that he will honor those who have served that mandate well.
May we be people who long for his appearing; but until then, may we also be among those who share the gospel of Jesus with the world.
Pastor Brian Coffey
Wednesday, September 10th
To listen to the audio version, click here.
Wednesday, September 10
Acts 1:1-11
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 forty 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 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.”
So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."
The songs and slogans are permanently embedded in our brains.
“I’d like to buy the world a Coke...”
“It’s the real thing.”
“Things go better with Coke!”
“Open happiness.”
Just by reading and remembering these marketing campaigns some of you are starting to crave a cold Coke!
I have often said that Coca-cola is arguably the greatest marketing success the world has ever seen. One researcher claims that the phrase “Coca-cola” is the second most recognized phrase on the planet, just after “OK.”
From its humble beginnings in Dr. John Pemberton’s back yard to sales in over 200 countries today, Coke has become the most recognized trademark in the world.
What I want to point out is that Coke’s success didn’t happen by accident. It happened because somewhere, sometime, some executive cast a vision for Coca-cola as a global product and then set about the business of penetrating as many markets, cultures and languages as possible.
In other words, someone established a mandate for the Coca-cola company; we will sell Coke to the whole world! As the Book of Acts begins Jesus gives a similar mandate to a small group of his followers.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
See it? The mandate is clear: we are to be witnesses of Jesus and we are to be witnesses to the whole world.
What does it mean to be a witness of Jesus?
To “bear witness” is simply to testify to that which one has seen, heard or experienced. It doesn’t mean we have to have a theological degree or be able to quote whole books of the Bible from memory. It just means to be willing to share what we have seen, heard or experienced of Jesus.
The church I grew up in had a Sunday evening service. My Dad was the pastor and on Sunday evenings he often reserved a time for “testimonies” when people could stand up and share with their church family something that God had done or was doing in their life.
One Sunday night a lady stood up two rows behind where my brother and I were sitting with our Mom. I didn’t recognize the woman because it turns out that she was brand new to our church. I don’t remember everything she said but I do remember that she shared that she had only recently heard the gospel and invited Jesus into her life. Then she said, “I know I have a heckuva lot of changin’ to do, but with Jesus’ help I’m gonna change.” Only she didn’t say “heckuva,” she said a word that people aren’t supposed to say in church! My brother and I started elbowing each other as if to say, “Did you hear that? She said a bad word! I’m sure our mother had to give us “the look” to keep us from giggling right there in the pew!
Looking back there were two great things about that woman’s testimony. First, it was genuine. She didn’t know enough not to use that word in church but she knew Jesus had begun his work in her life. Second, everyone in church that night (with the exception of two little boys who giggled) celebrated with that woman and accepted her with love and grace because she simply bore witness to Jesus and what he had done.
She did what Jesus told his followers to do in the Book of Acts. She became a witness!
If you are a follower of Jesus; if you have believed the gospel and received the gift of eternal life; then you, too, are a witness. The only question is whether we are willing to stand up and share the story of what Jesus has done in us and for us, or just sit in the pew and keep it to ourselves.
Pastor Brian Coffey
Wednesday, September 10
Acts 1:1-11
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 forty 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 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.”
So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."
The songs and slogans are permanently embedded in our brains.
“I’d like to buy the world a Coke...”
“It’s the real thing.”
“Things go better with Coke!”
“Open happiness.”
Just by reading and remembering these marketing campaigns some of you are starting to crave a cold Coke!
I have often said that Coca-cola is arguably the greatest marketing success the world has ever seen. One researcher claims that the phrase “Coca-cola” is the second most recognized phrase on the planet, just after “OK.”
From its humble beginnings in Dr. John Pemberton’s back yard to sales in over 200 countries today, Coke has become the most recognized trademark in the world.
What I want to point out is that Coke’s success didn’t happen by accident. It happened because somewhere, sometime, some executive cast a vision for Coca-cola as a global product and then set about the business of penetrating as many markets, cultures and languages as possible.
In other words, someone established a mandate for the Coca-cola company; we will sell Coke to the whole world! As the Book of Acts begins Jesus gives a similar mandate to a small group of his followers.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
See it? The mandate is clear: we are to be witnesses of Jesus and we are to be witnesses to the whole world.
What does it mean to be a witness of Jesus?
To “bear witness” is simply to testify to that which one has seen, heard or experienced. It doesn’t mean we have to have a theological degree or be able to quote whole books of the Bible from memory. It just means to be willing to share what we have seen, heard or experienced of Jesus.
The church I grew up in had a Sunday evening service. My Dad was the pastor and on Sunday evenings he often reserved a time for “testimonies” when people could stand up and share with their church family something that God had done or was doing in their life.
One Sunday night a lady stood up two rows behind where my brother and I were sitting with our Mom. I didn’t recognize the woman because it turns out that she was brand new to our church. I don’t remember everything she said but I do remember that she shared that she had only recently heard the gospel and invited Jesus into her life. Then she said, “I know I have a heckuva lot of changin’ to do, but with Jesus’ help I’m gonna change.” Only she didn’t say “heckuva,” she said a word that people aren’t supposed to say in church! My brother and I started elbowing each other as if to say, “Did you hear that? She said a bad word! I’m sure our mother had to give us “the look” to keep us from giggling right there in the pew!
Looking back there were two great things about that woman’s testimony. First, it was genuine. She didn’t know enough not to use that word in church but she knew Jesus had begun his work in her life. Second, everyone in church that night (with the exception of two little boys who giggled) celebrated with that woman and accepted her with love and grace because she simply bore witness to Jesus and what he had done.
She did what Jesus told his followers to do in the Book of Acts. She became a witness!
If you are a follower of Jesus; if you have believed the gospel and received the gift of eternal life; then you, too, are a witness. The only question is whether we are willing to stand up and share the story of what Jesus has done in us and for us, or just sit in the pew and keep it to ourselves.
Pastor Brian Coffey
Tuesday, September 9th
To listen to the audio version, click here.
Tuesday, September 9
Acts 1:1-8
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 forty 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 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.”
So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
It’s the high school football season so maybe you can understand why I thought of football when I read this text. Then again, maybe not!
But imagine a locker room filled with high school football players gathered in front their coach before the first game of the season. Before the coach has a chance to give his pre-game speech, one of the players raises his hand and says, “Coach, is this when we get the championship trophy?”
I think the coach would be pleased that his players were dreaming of such an accomplishment, but he would also want to make sure they understood that such a dream would only become a reality if they, themselves, were totally invested in the process of making it happen. In other words, they would have to go out and make it happen on the field!
These early disciples had to be both overjoyed and overwhelmed to have the risen Jesus back with them for a time. I can certainly understand their enthusiasm!
So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"
They had to be thinking this was it! The “Kingdom of God” that Jesus was always talking about during his ministry was actually going to happen! Jesus would be King and each of them would play a prominent role in his kingdom.
In essence Jesus says, “Not so fast.”
He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
Simply put, Jesus is saying that his goal is to take the gospel to the whole world, and his method for doing that is his followers.
In Jesus we see that God is a “reaching God.” In Jesus God reached into human history with the good news of salvation. The Book of Acts tells us that the church is to be a “reaching community;” that the church is to carry out the mandate to take the gospel to the world.
That means that we are to be “reaching people;” that every believer has both the responsibility and the opportunity to reach others with the gospel.
Have you ever thought of yourself as a “reacher?” It might surprise you that Jesus thinks of you as just that! Jesus is saying that we are his marketing plan!
As someone once wrote, “Christians are the only Bible most people will ever read.”
Pastor Brian Coffey
Tuesday, September 9
Acts 1:1-8
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 forty 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 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.”
So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
It’s the high school football season so maybe you can understand why I thought of football when I read this text. Then again, maybe not!
But imagine a locker room filled with high school football players gathered in front their coach before the first game of the season. Before the coach has a chance to give his pre-game speech, one of the players raises his hand and says, “Coach, is this when we get the championship trophy?”
I think the coach would be pleased that his players were dreaming of such an accomplishment, but he would also want to make sure they understood that such a dream would only become a reality if they, themselves, were totally invested in the process of making it happen. In other words, they would have to go out and make it happen on the field!
These early disciples had to be both overjoyed and overwhelmed to have the risen Jesus back with them for a time. I can certainly understand their enthusiasm!
So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"
They had to be thinking this was it! The “Kingdom of God” that Jesus was always talking about during his ministry was actually going to happen! Jesus would be King and each of them would play a prominent role in his kingdom.
In essence Jesus says, “Not so fast.”
He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
Simply put, Jesus is saying that his goal is to take the gospel to the whole world, and his method for doing that is his followers.
In Jesus we see that God is a “reaching God.” In Jesus God reached into human history with the good news of salvation. The Book of Acts tells us that the church is to be a “reaching community;” that the church is to carry out the mandate to take the gospel to the world.
That means that we are to be “reaching people;” that every believer has both the responsibility and the opportunity to reach others with the gospel.
Have you ever thought of yourself as a “reacher?” It might surprise you that Jesus thinks of you as just that! Jesus is saying that we are his marketing plan!
As someone once wrote, “Christians are the only Bible most people will ever read.”
Pastor Brian Coffey
Monday, September 8th
To listen to the audio version, click here.
Monday, September 8
Acts 1:1-5
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 forty 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 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.”
In my experience, it’s difficult for most movie sequels to measure up to their predecessors. I mean, there’s just no way “Rocky II” could measure up to the first “Rocky!” But in “The Book of Acts” we have a sequel that is, in almost every way, just as exciting and dramatic as the first episode.
The Book of Acts begins with these words:
In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach...
Scholars widely believe that Luke was the author of both the Book of Acts and the Gospel that bears his name. Therefore when he refers to his “first book” he is pointing to what we know as “The Gospel of Luke,” the third book of the New Testament.
In his gospel, of course, Luke tells the great story of Jesus’ birth; his public ministry of teaching and healing; along with his death and resurrection. In “The Book of Acts” Luke tells the story of the birth of the church and how the gospel of Jesus changed the world.
So who is “Theophilus,” and why does Luke seem to address his book to him? Throughout the centuries scholars have developed several main answers to these questions.
First, the name “Theophilus” is Latin and can be translated as “Friend of God,” so some think this was Luke’s way of addressing his second book to believers everywhere. In other words, if you are a “friend of God,” this book is for you.
On the other hand, since Luke refers to “most excellent Theophilus” in the opening of the Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:3) it is possible that Theophilus was a person of some significance, perhaps a Roman official of some sort who was either a believer himself or at least sympathetic to the story of Jesus.
In either case it is certain that Luke, as a Gentile, was writing primarily to a Gentile audience, which, of course, includes us!
He wants us to know that where his first book dealt primarily with Jesus; his second book is going to deal with the promise Jesus made to send the Holy Spirit!
And while staying with them 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.”
We’ll talk much more about the Holy Spirit in coming weeks, but here’s what Luke wants us to know as we begin our journey through Acts.
This story is for “friends of God” and those who are freinds of God will love what God loves. And what does God love?
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
God loved the world enough to send Jesus, and through Jesus to give us the gospel. Now we see that God also loved the world enough to send the Holy Spirit to build the church and that through the church the gospel would reach the world.
But I’m getting ahead of the story just a bit! The point is as those of us who are friends of God, who have received the gospel and follow Jesus; we are now part of the great adventure of the church.
So I hope you’ll pick up your personal Bible and start reading through the great Book of Acts this week because Luke isn’t just telling us a story, he’s telling our story!
Pastor Brian Coffey
Monday, September 8
Acts 1:1-5
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 forty 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 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.”
In my experience, it’s difficult for most movie sequels to measure up to their predecessors. I mean, there’s just no way “Rocky II” could measure up to the first “Rocky!” But in “The Book of Acts” we have a sequel that is, in almost every way, just as exciting and dramatic as the first episode.
The Book of Acts begins with these words:
In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach...
Scholars widely believe that Luke was the author of both the Book of Acts and the Gospel that bears his name. Therefore when he refers to his “first book” he is pointing to what we know as “The Gospel of Luke,” the third book of the New Testament.
In his gospel, of course, Luke tells the great story of Jesus’ birth; his public ministry of teaching and healing; along with his death and resurrection. In “The Book of Acts” Luke tells the story of the birth of the church and how the gospel of Jesus changed the world.
So who is “Theophilus,” and why does Luke seem to address his book to him? Throughout the centuries scholars have developed several main answers to these questions.
First, the name “Theophilus” is Latin and can be translated as “Friend of God,” so some think this was Luke’s way of addressing his second book to believers everywhere. In other words, if you are a “friend of God,” this book is for you.
On the other hand, since Luke refers to “most excellent Theophilus” in the opening of the Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:3) it is possible that Theophilus was a person of some significance, perhaps a Roman official of some sort who was either a believer himself or at least sympathetic to the story of Jesus.
In either case it is certain that Luke, as a Gentile, was writing primarily to a Gentile audience, which, of course, includes us!
He wants us to know that where his first book dealt primarily with Jesus; his second book is going to deal with the promise Jesus made to send the Holy Spirit!
And while staying with them 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.”
We’ll talk much more about the Holy Spirit in coming weeks, but here’s what Luke wants us to know as we begin our journey through Acts.
This story is for “friends of God” and those who are freinds of God will love what God loves. And what does God love?
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
God loved the world enough to send Jesus, and through Jesus to give us the gospel. Now we see that God also loved the world enough to send the Holy Spirit to build the church and that through the church the gospel would reach the world.
But I’m getting ahead of the story just a bit! The point is as those of us who are friends of God, who have received the gospel and follow Jesus; we are now part of the great adventure of the church.
So I hope you’ll pick up your personal Bible and start reading through the great Book of Acts this week because Luke isn’t just telling us a story, he’s telling our story!
Pastor Brian Coffey
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