Would you please take your Bibles and turn with me to the book of Acts in chapter 1. As you turn in your Bibles to Acts chapter 1, the book of Acts, we ask ourselves as we've looked through this book and we've studied through the best we could, through all the chapters, through all the verses, we see that the book of Acts really sets forth the continuing work of Christ. The book of Acts is not, as it is maybe called in your Bibles, the Acts of the Apostles. That's not it. It should be understood as the continuing work of Christ through the Apostles by the power of the Holy Ghost. We also noted that the book of Acts shows us really the geographical propagation of the gospel through the establishment of churches. This historical account should not be read as some, just any other doc, historical record, but as the work of the church, and the church is, and how they multiplied, and really how we have churches today in the 21st century. The book of Acts, as I've alluded to, can be divided into maybe geographical sections. You have chapter 1 through 7 is the work of the gospel in Jerusalem. And then chapter 8 through 12 is the work of God in Judea and Samaria, south of Jerusalem and north of Jerusalem. And then chapter 13 through chapter 28 is the uttermost parts of the earth, and that's the fulfillment of Acts chapter 1, verse 8. But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and Judea, and Samaria, and the uttermost part of the earth. And so Acts 1A says, here's what I want you to do. And the book of Acts is the fulfillment of that command of what the church is to be. We see chapter 1 through 12 a focus on the church at Jerusalem, and then chapter 13 through 26 we see the church of Antioch and the work of the church of Antioch reproducing and planting churches. And then we see, I guess you could say, the church of Rome in chapter 27 and 28. The first half is really the ministry of Peter. The second half of the book is the ministry of the Apostle Paul. I would like to bring your attention here. We just read it a moment ago in Acts chapter 1 verse 8, and the Bible says, But ye shall receive power. After that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Clear command. If you turn with me now to chapter 5. chapter 5 and verse 42 we have a summary statement Acts chapter 5 verse 42 and daily in the temple and in every house They ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. I want us to read that verse together. Ready? Begin. And daily in the temple and in every house they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. I'd like to preach a message that I've entitled, maybe a few messages I've entitled, Lessons from the Churches and Acts. Lessons that we learn from the churches in Acts. Let's pray. Father, we thank you this morning for your word, for the wonderful song, the wonderful reminder about what you went through for our sins. And now that we have the message of the gospel, how we are to take that to the uttermost part of the earth. So Lord, I pray that you would help us to take from the book of Acts what you desire for us to take as a church. that we would be like those first century churches and that we would not resemble or be similar to those 21st century churches that we see all around us, but that we would return to biblical Christianity, the propagation of the gospel and the things that you've set before us in this historical record. And we ask all these things in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. What I'd like to do in this study is to really take some, make some summary statements about the book of Acts, now that we've studied the entirety of the book, and to step back and to say, alright, it's been a number of messages that we've studied through chapter by chapter and verse by verse through the book of Acts, but What can we remember or what are to be the takeaways, the lessons that we can learn as a church today in the 21st century so that we can be more like those first century churches? There's a great movement today, and by the way, it's always been that way, that in whatever age, ages the church is in, there is a influence of a world or an influence of a consensus of churches that say, well, here is a new century, here is a new era, and here is what the churches ought to look like in this new century or in this new era. And what we must be very careful as to not do is to follow the modern trends of churches. To follow the ideas today of well here is how you build a crowd. Here is how you can establish a church and have great buildings. Here is how you can in whatever the way man has ascribed and says this is how you ought to do things. I hope that the book of Acts we can take away from the book of Acts that there has to be a return to biblical Christianity. And through the book of Acts we've learned some lessons and I would like to just give you those by way of reminder. We've certainly looked at those but by way of summary I would like to consider those and ask ourselves this question. Is what we read in the book of Acts what we are? Is what we read in the book of Acts what we are. As we see here, really at the beginning of the book in Acts chapter 1 and verse 8, as Jesus Christ, if you have a red letter Bible, you'll see that these words are from Jesus Christ himself. Jesus says that they would receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon them and that they would be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Now if you notice here as you read through the book of Acts, you could read through the book a number of times and if I were to give you an assignment and say, alright, I want you to read through the book of Acts five times and I want you to find me the great command for the church. And as you read through those 28 chapters, I want you to come away with the number one emphasis, the number one work of the church that the church is supposed to be engaging in. And you would have to come away because there is no other commandment as this commandment is established here in the entirety of the book of Acts. You find that commandment, really, and that command in Matthew chapter 28. You find it in Luke chapter 24. You find it in John chapter 19. You find it also in Mark chapter 16. And now once again you find this command given to the church in Acts chapter 1 and verse 8. And here's what we learn from the onset and beginning in chapter 1 verse 8 through the entirety of the book. Here's what we learn. The Lord Jesus Christ left the responsibility of world evangelism to those who believe in him. Is that correct? The Lord Jesus Christ left the responsibility of world evangelism to those who believe on him. Jesus did not say, alright, you believe on me, now you don't worry about anything, I'll take care of everything. He establishes a command for them. Here is what you must do. And not only must you do it, but you must do it here in Jerusalem. You must then go into Judea. Then you must go further into Samaria. And ultimately, your responsibility is to go to the uttermost parts of the earth. And so that responsibility of world evangelism is committed to those who believed on Him. Those who believe on Him, we find in the book of Acts, fulfilled this responsibility through their local churches. I say this really as a way of, well that's obvious pastor, you've talked about it and we've read through it, but I guess we have to ask ourselves this question, have we taken this one responsibility seriously? I ask myself this question and I ask you this question, have we taken this one responsibility seriously? Are we engaging in this God-given responsibility? You see, when we think about evangelism, yesterday we gathered and there was a good group of people and we assembled the John Romans to get the Word of God in the community, to get the Gospel in the community. Why do we do these things? Why, why do we spend thousands of dollars Assigned from the church budget to evangelize our community to support missionaries around the world Why do we do these things because that is God's divine responsibility that's been committed to us to us and That work is accomplished through local churches And let me ask it this way is the Lord is the Lord worthy of our obedience Well, after we heard that song, I think we could all say, absolutely! Jesus Christ is absolutely worthy of our obedience. And so, so that we can move together as a church, we have to give the same mindset that when we come through the book of Acts, we have to say, okay, well, the Lord Jesus Christ left the responsibility of world evangelism to us. to this church, to First Saint Baptist Church, and I don't want us to be concerned. Well, Pastor, these churches are not doing that out here, and it's not out of our concern. Our concern is the responsibility that we have, under the authority of Jesus Christ, to evangelize the world. And notice, if you know, there's not initially an order given. Here he says, you're going to be witnesses in Jerusalem. That's their community. Judea, that's the area where Jerusalem was, those neighboring communities. Then Samaria, that you could say now a neighboring community, but beyond the neighboring community. And then ultimately he says, and to the outermost part of the earth, and that is what first state baptizers must do all at the same time. We have to evangelize Wilmington, Delaware. We have to evangelize our Judea, New Castle County. We also have to evangelize our Samaria, Kent County and Sussex County and the neighboring counties in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and in Maryland. And ultimately, we also have the responsibility to go into the entirety of the world and to preach the gospel to every creature. You say, well, that's beyond our scope. This is too much that we can do. Well, Acts chapter 1, there was 120. By the time you get to Acts chapter 28, the gospel has reached into Europe. You say, well, God can't do it in the 21st century with all the resources that we have today. We cannot do it. I say to us that we can do it. And so let us come together as a church and take this responsibility seriously and not be agitated that I as a pastor say, hey, we have to get out and knock on doors. We have to get out and witness. We have to put John Packard's Romans together. We have to plan church. We have to do those things. Why? Because that is our responsibility. If the church does not fulfill its responsibility, no one else will. No one else will. There's a second thing we find. You come to Acts chapter 2 and you remember it was in Acts chapter 1 that Jesus said you have to wait for the promise of the Father, the Holy Ghost. Jesus had said that the Comforter would come. And we know that in Acts chapter 2, really in verse 1, the Bible says when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as a rushing mighty wind. and infilled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." The principle we learn here, although there is only one Pentecost in church history, there only needs to be one. The principle that we learn from the first chapter coming into the second chapter is that the work of world evangelism is accomplished by the power of the Holy Ghost. And also at the direction of the Holy Ghost. Notice here, Jesus Christ had already given them the command. He says, you're going to be witnesses. Preach the gospel to every creature. Matthew chapter 28. But he says, before you do so, you need to wait for something. What is that? You need to wait for the Holy Ghost. What is the Holy Ghost? He is the power. He is the one, if you would, we could say, He is the energizer. He is the one that brings vitality to the church of God. Just as God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life and man became, in Genesis chapter 2, a living soul, so today God breathes in the church life through the Holy Ghost. And the church is to accomplish His work in the power of the Holy Ghost and at the direction of the Holy Ghost. Now what does that mean practically? When you look through Acts, you see in Acts chapter 2, the Holy Ghost comes down, the church is empowered. But you find that consistently through the entirety of the book of Acts, that they operated by the power of the Holy Ghost and at the direction of the Holy Ghost. What does that mean? It means this. If you turn with me to Acts chapter 4 in just a moment, it means that the result of a Holy Ghost empowerment is threefold. First, it is boldness to preach. Secondly, it is unity and commitment. And thirdly, it is clarity and direction. Now let me say this again. The result of Holy Ghost empowerment is boldness to preach, unity and commitment, and clarity in direction. And let me say here that direction is only received in the act of obedience. I'm going to explain here in just a moment. But notice with me in Acts chapter 4. So in Acts chapter 2, Acts chapter 3, Peter preaches. In Acts chapter 3, you have the lame man who is healed, and when everybody's amazed at Peter, he preaches to them the gospel. And the council, the Sanhedrin council, hears about the preaching of Jesus Christ, and they have to stop it. And so in Acts chapter 4, they get a hold of Peter and John. They bring Peter and John after they put him in bonds before the Sanhedrin council. And they are told in Acts chapter 4 that they cannot preach or teach in the name of Jesus Christ anymore. After they are threatened and let go, in Acts chapter 4 in verse 23, notice what the Bible says, And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. Okay, so they reported, they began to pray. They pray together as a congregation. And notice what happens at the bottom there of their prayer. Verse 29, And now, Lord, behold their threatenings, this is them praying, and grant unto thy servants that with all boldness they may speak thy word by stretching forth thine hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. And when they had prayed, The place was shaken when they were assembled together, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost." And notice, "...and they spake the word of God with boldness." The speaking with boldness was the result of the moving of the Holy Ghost. "...to empower them to preach the gospel." They had just been told, you can't preach or teach in the name of Jesus Christ anymore. But yet they were empowered by the Holy Ghost to do what? To preach with boldness. And so what we have to do as a church is we have to ask God for boldness, and that boldness will happen when we are empowered by the Holy Ghost. Say, Pastor, I have a lack of boldness in my life. Seek for the power of the Holy Ghost, the enablement of the Holy Ghost. You see, the church, the believers, were dependent on the Holy Ghost to accomplish God's work. Not dependent on self. when Jesus Christ was teaching them about the Holy Ghost back in Acts chapter 14, 15, and 16. Remember what he said to them, to the disciples? Without me, ye can do nothing. But then he says, I'm going to give you a comforter, and he shall teach you all things, and guide you in the truth, and so on. And so the church was dependent on the Holy Ghost. And I guess we have to get to the place as a church where we ask God, actively, God, would you give me boldness? to preach the gospel? Would you help me not to be afraid of their faces? Would you help me, Lord, not to cower down at the face of opposition or mockery? But God, would you give me boldness because I'm dependent on you?" The church was dependent on the Holy Ghost. We also see that the church was submitted to the Holy Ghost. uh... notice would be in action for thirteen if you go there with me and after thirteen as i mentioned this morning and sunday school you have the church of antioch And in the church of Antioch, there's a number of men that are serving there, but I want us to hear the interworking of the church in Antioch. And we see wonderful things happening. Notice Acts 13.1. Now, there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers as Barnabas and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manan, which had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch, and Saul, as they ministered to the Lord. What are they doing here? They're serving God, are they not? They're ministering to the Lord. They're serving God. They're being obedient. Notice, as they ministered. You see, you know, the emphasis here, I believe, is on as they ministered. As they were already obeying God. You see, well how can we get the direction of the Holy Spirit in our lives when we obey Him? When we obey Him in the areas where we know what we ought to do, He will guide us in the areas where we don't know what to do. As they ministered to the Lord, notice, and fasted, here it is, the Holy Ghost said unto them. The Holy Ghost will not direct, will not empower, if we are not obedient to Him. In the areas where we already know what to do. Well, what do we know, what is the church supposed to be doing? Be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the outermost part of the earth. And as they were already obeying that, the Holy Ghost spoke and says, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. You see, the result of Holy Ghost's empowerment is not only boldness to preach, but also unity and commitment. When the entirety of the church at Antioch recognized that the Holy Ghost was moving and calling Barnabas and Paul to do a work that was outside of the church of Antioch, The whole entire church came together, and they agreed. Why? Because they were all submitted to the Holy Ghost. You see, when a missionary is sent out of a church, it's not, well, he is serving God. No, the entirety of the church says, we believe God is wanting us to do something together. Not the missionary. No, no, we're doing something together as a church. We're all involved together. You see, when there is Holy Ghost empowerment, the Church is submitted to the Holy Ghost. There is unity and commitment, but there is also clarity and direction. And direction is only received in the act of obedience. Let me give you some examples. Go back with me to Acts chapter 8. Acts chapter 8. So in Acts chapter 8, we see Philip. He was one of the deacons elected in Acts chapter 6. And he goes, Philip goes in Samaria. So that is north of Judea and Jerusalem. He goes northward in Samaria. Now by the way, the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans, but yet Philip goes up there. He ministers the gospel to them. And by the way, why? Because he was commanded, was he not? Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria. Philip is obeying God. That's all he's doing. And as he is obeying God, notice in Acts chapter 8, and let's go to verse 26. So the first part of Acts chapter 8, you see Philip ministering in Samaria. During that ministry, verse 25, And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans. And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go towards the thousand unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. Now we know that that's where Philip is going to go to the desert and he is going to minister to the Ethiopian eunuch. But do you notice here when he received word, when did he receive direction from God to go to the desert place while he was obeying God to go to Samaria? You know, sometimes we want the direction of the Holy Ghost of God, but we're not obeying Him. And the truth is we will never receive direction from the Holy Ghost until we first obey Him in the things that we know we ought to do. What were they to do? Be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria. Philip is obedient. We must go to Samaria. Let's go to Samaria. And while he finishes his ministry in Samaria, God says, I have a special assignment for you. It's not something that is specified in Acts 1.8, but assignment that I have for you specifically, Philip, to meet a man who needs the gospel. Now, at the time, he didn't know. He just said, go to the desert. He went to the desert. And that's where he meets the Ethiopian eunuch. So what I'm saying here is the church was dependent on the Holy Ghost. It was submitted to the Holy Ghost. And the church was led by the Holy Ghost. So the result of Holy Ghost empowerment is boldness to preach the Word, unity in commitment, and clarity in direction. And direction is only received in the act of obedience. Let me give you another example in Acts chapter 9. Acts chapter 9, we have the conversion of Paul, the first part of Acts chapter 9. He was on his way to Damascus to persecute the believers there. And you find after he meets the Lord in Acts chapter 9, notice verse 6. And he trembling in astonishment said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. So there are some steps. He believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and said, all right, what do I need to do? Step number one, go to Damascus. When you get there, you'll receive word. So what did Paul first have to do? He first had to obey God. When he obeyed God, God moved and sent Ananias to minister to Paul and to tell him, here's the ministry that the Lord has for you. He would not have received that revelation from God through Ananias had he not obeyed God to go first to Damascus. There's another example we find. in acts chapter sixteen if you go there with me you remember in the first missionary jury paul had gone through asia minor present-day turkey senate of the church of antioch after that first journey acts fifteen you have the debate over doctrine and uh... acts fifteen and after sixteen Paul and Barnabas divide into two teams over conflict, but Paul is going to go back to Asia Minor, and as he's traveling through those churches, his intent is to go northward in Asia Minor, where he hasn't been. But notice what happens in Acts 16, verse 6. The Bible says, Now, when they had gone through Phrygia, in the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the Word in Asia. Now notice, they're already obeying God. What's the command of God? Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. They're already obeying that. Paul is going everywhere. His intent is to go in the region of Galatia. There are many cities and towns there. Well, the Holy Ghost forbid him. You see, while he was obeying God, then the Holy Ghost can speak to him. And says, don't go there. What happens, verse 7, After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia, but the spirit suffered them not. And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas, and a vision appeared to Paul in the night. There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. We refer to this as the Macedonian vision, or call. And so Paul, in Asia Minor, was directed of God to go into Macedonia, where he hadn't planned on going. While he was obeying God, he was taking the gospel to the uttermost. In his obedience, the Holy Ghost directed him. See, here's the problem I have, that we have human nature. We want the direction of God before obedience. And we will just not get it. And we're frustrated that we don't have the direction of God. And here's the way to unlock the direction of the Holy Ghost, is obey Him in the areas where you know what you ought to do. And then surely, He will direct you in the areas where you don't know what you ought to do. We cannot have direction before obedience. There's a fourth thing we learn. If you go back with me to Acts chapter 4, Let me summarize and then we'll hit this one. The Lord Jesus Christ left the responsibility of world evangelism to those who believe on Him. That's us. The work of world evangelism is accomplished by the power of the Holy Ghost and not the direction of the Holy Ghost. And the result of the Holy Ghost empowerment is boldness to preach, unity in commitment, and clarity in direction. And direction is only received in the act of obedience. But there's a fourth thing we learn from the book of Acts that we take away as a lesson for us. And that is this in Acts chapter 4. The church does not shrink in the face of opposition, in the face of physical harm, in the face of public censorship, and in the face of persecution. The church does not shrink. Prayer was the church's primary response to opposition. For it is the place where men demonstrate that they fear God rather than men. In Acts chapter 4, they're told you cannot teach and preach in the name of Jesus Christ anymore. Remember what the reply was. We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. He says, you choose, you judge yourself. What should we do? Should we obey God, or should we obey men? Well, he knew what their answer would be. Their answer would be God. That's the Sanhedrin Council. They would have said, well, God, but they're not answering that question. But what we learn here, notice in Acts chapter 4, Again in verse 1, And as they spake unto the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day. For it was now eventide, albeit many of them which heard the word believed, and the number of the men was about five thousand. Notice verse 17. but that it spread no further." They don't want the gospel to spread, the Sanhedrin Council. "...among the people that have straightly threatened them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all, nor teach in the name of Jesus." But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God judge ye, but we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. Here's what we learn. The church, God's people within the church, do not shrink in the face of opposition, physical harm, public censorship, or persecution. Now that may be an off thing for me to pick out here. Why? You say, well because here's the, we don't have the opposition to the degree they have the opposition. We have not, none of us I would venture to say have faced the physical harm that these men faced in the first century. We do not face today the public censorship that they faced in that day. We do not face the persecution that they face in that day. But let me ask you this today, if you look at churches today, in our church today, and the churches then, you tell me, which one is more zealous for God? We just read the book of Acts, which one is more zealous for God? The church that has been opposed in such a way, that has dealt with physical harm, that's been publicly censored, that's dealt with persecution, which church is more zealous? Is it the first century churches or is it the 21st century churches who do not deal with the things that the first century churches dealt with? It seems to me that comfort then has not really helped the church. Freedom in America has not really helped the church. Why? Because it is when easy, it is when it is easy that You don't really need to be zealous. The work of Christ doesn't really matter if you take it up or not, if you treat it seriously. After all, other people are taking care of that. And so I wonder if we can learn from those lessons we find in the book of Acts. Would you ask with me that the Lord would help us in those four areas? You have free will, you do what you want. But have we taken on this responsibility to the degree that the believers took on that responsibility in the first century? Are we seeking to accomplish this work by the power and the direction of the Holy Ghost? Do we ask for boldness? Is there unity in commitment? Is there clarity in direction? That happens through obedience. And finally, have we shrunk? as a church, in the face of whatever opposition you want to put out there. Well, people are just, they just, they don't accept the gospel as they used to. What do you mean as they used to? Like that? What do you mean evangelism doesn't work? What do you mean knocking on doors doesn't work? What do you mean John Roman doesn't work? It's not about it working, it's about obedience. And when we are obedient, then the Holy Ghost can operate and move. He is not going to operate and move among a people who are resisting His clear command. He's not going to do that. So may the Lord help us to learn those lessons that today in the 21st century we might be like those 1st century churches.