Someone said and I quote, “You cannot work in the Acts of the Apostles if you do not know the ways of the Apostles.” It is on this foundation that we build today’s lesson (the last official post before TRC’s new year… I believe you’re as excited as I am!)
Acts of the Apostles amongst other books of the New Testament has always fascinated me. I liked that asides Jesus’ story and the epistles, we had another story we could relate to in the New Testament on our acts and conducts as believers. If you do not yet know, know now that the book of Acts is fully known as “Acts of the Apostles,” and I strongly believe that by the name of this particular book of the Bible, we can, even before reading through the book have an understanding of what the book is all about.
Personally, after Jesus Christ, I strongly advice that the next sets of individuals to take after are the early Apostles. Physician Luke, the author of the book of both Luke and the Acts of the Apostles did a good job giving us details about what Jesus and his Apostles did.
First off, the early Apostles were the kinds that carried Jesus on their head. They hanged upon his every Word. Did the word come from the mouth of Jesus? Then be rest assured that the Apostles would rather die than not hang upon that Word. The very last instruction Jesus gave to His disciples can be found in Acts 1:1-8, and in the succeeding chapter, we see them waiting for that promise of Jesus; which is the Holy Spirit. Jesus is God’s gift to us (John 3:16), while the Holy Spirit is Jesus” gift to us (John 14). If this point is your only take home from this article. You’re good to go!
Hanging upon someone’s word means first that you do trust the person, and you believe every word they say. It also signifies that you are obedient as well and this is true of the Apostles. In Acts 1:4, Jesus told them to “wait.” One would think the waiting would take a few hours or at most, a couple of days, but these men waited for almost two weeks. Approximately, ten (10) days. Sincerely, we need not go too deep on this matter.
If God has asked you to wait, wait! Has He promised you something? Wait! See, when the Bible says “trust in the Lord with all your heart” (Pro. 3:5-6), trust Him with all your heart! Father Abraham’s story comes in handy when we’re talking about waiting. He waited for donkey years, and God did eventually come through for him. If you do not wait patiently on God, you’ll end up birthing the Ismael that will forever spite your Isaac. Hagar, Sarah’s handmaid who gave birth to Ishmael is referred to as the bondwoman because she’s a slave (Gen. 21:10, Gal. 4:30-31). All Muslims came to be as a result of the product of that affair- Ishmael. There are his descendants, and since then up until now, he is still fighting the believers, the heirs to the promise of God. Waiting is definitely not easy, but the way you wait matters and ‘twill help you very well in your waiting journey.
The early apostles did not just go into the upper room, sitting and catching up with themselves about wait Jesus did while He was on earth or about some other things. It was recorded that they prayed as they waited.
Acts 1:14.
“These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren."
NLT version says they were constantly united in prayer. In prayer! That is how to wait for and on God’s promise to you. In prayer, believe that you will receive whatever it is you asked for.
It is also worthy of note that they were in one accord, united. There was no case of strife or such as is named among them whilst they waited. They waited with the right attitude and behavior. The Holy Spirit did come, and this is where the story gets intriguing!
Jesus cannot be everywhere at the same time. This is why He gave us our own personal Jesus, the Holy Spirit. He is everyone’s personal Jesus. If the disciples hadn’t waited, who knows? (I’d rather not to go there). I borrowed this thought from Pastor Mildred Kingsley-Okonkwo. She taught this one of her recent messages. The Holy Spirit dropped it on my heart as I write. That was why I made the point that, “if the disciples hadn’t waited, who knows?”
I believe I am safe if I make a point that, “It is in the obedience of the early Apostles that we get to have the Holy Spirit.” The instruction was “wait till the promise of the Father.” He also said they will receive power, “after” and not “before.” If they had decided to leave the upper room before the time, I believe we wouldn’t be reading about them today. Maybe our Lord Jesus would have prompted someone other sets of individuals who followed Him about while He was on earth to wait for that promise.
Continuing with Pastor Mildred’s thoughts, if Jesus were to suffer, die, resurrect and remain on earth, then other parts of the world asides Israel will be at a disadvantage. He would definitely take abode in Israel, and from whatever country you’re in, you’re going to have to take a flight to Israel which doesn’t sound like an easy journey. Imagine having to book a flight to Israel each time you need something from the Lord? Just take a moment to think about it. It’d be the most inconvenient thing in this world, but you’d have to take the journey whether you like it or not. Or try imagining having to email Jesus? How many billions of individuals are on earth? How many of those emails do you think He was going to be able to read and respond to?
It wasn’t recorded that Jesus was in at least two to three places all at the same time. He could only be in a place at a time. More reason why if He had stayed back, some other people will be at loss because we will never get access to Him. I said “we” because it is each and every one of us that will be disadvantaged. However, as kind and loving as our Lord is, He gave us His Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God! Read John 14 to get a better grasp of what the Holy Spirit can do for you here on earth, as opposed to how many things Jesus would have done for you if He were present here physically.
The same Holy Spirit in me, is the same in you, in other believers, and in as many as call upon the name of the Lord faithfully, truthfully and genuinely. The juicy part is He can be in each and every one of us at the same time! How fascinating that is!
We need to give the Apostles a hug when we get to Heaven; for waiting for the Holy Spirit. Ten days seems like a wee number, but wait, let someone promise you something and then asks you to wait for a week. Not just wait now, but also patiently while praying. The Apostles did not even know how long there were going to wait. They just waited! They were consistently waiting in prayer day and night. They sleep off while praying and wake up praying. They waited and the Lord wasn’t slack concerning His promise (2 Pet. 3:9a).
What has the Lord promised you?
Josh. 21:45. I love this scripture a lot. You know why? Despite the hard-headedness of the Israelites, God still brought all His Word to pass in their lives. The Holy Spirit only took ten days to arrive, right? Do you know how long it took Jesus to be born? Jesus that had been promised to the world since the days of the Old Testament. It took about 1500-2000 BC to compile the Old Testament and it then took another long quiet period of 400 years before the New Testament was written. It has been established in our other articles that Jesus’ birth had been prophesied and is littered all over the Old Testament, from Genesis to Revelation. Therefore, the promise of His birth did not start with Mary. Even as far back as He had been promised to us, we still hear of a certain Anna and Simon who waited for the birth of Christ, and they didn’t wait for no small number of years (Luke 2:25-38).
This wasn’t my initial plan for this topic, but I guess this new week, someone needs an encouragement to wait on the Lord, be of good courage and that which He has promised you shall come to manifestation (Ps. 27:14). When His promise if finally fulfilled, I promise you that you’ll look back on how long you’ve waited and bless God that you did wait. It isn’t always easy at first, but if you persevere, you will definitely reap the fruit of waiting and trusting God. The gift of Jesus and the seal of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13) is the biggest and greatest gift God has and will ever give to us. Wealth, affluence, children, spouse, name it, anything. It is little compared to the gift of Jesus to us. You should thank God for that daily, and trust that He is able to supply the rest of your needs! Therefore, what is that little thing He asked you to wait for that you think He wouldn’t give to you?
This question leads to our next point, and the lesson I had initially had in mind…
The Apostles ministry was not to serve tables. I recall when we were treating the case of John the Baptist that it was stated that it shouldn’t be heard that you that you were not found in that office where the Lord has placed you. Say, you’re supposed to be in the Bible study group went to join the ushering department… You’re only wasting time and God’s investment in your life. Jesus told Peter when He rose from the dead after He caught him fishing that He will make him a fisher of men. If Peter had gone back to fishing even after Jesus had told him he would be a fisher of men, he was wasting God’s investment and gift in his life and we wouldn’t have known him as one of the great and frontier pioneer of the movement of Christ in the early church.
As a believer, the basic instruction Jesus gave is to be “witnesses unto Him in all parts of the world.” Acts 1:8. (This right here is the sole goal of TRC. We are witnessing for Him in all parts of the world through the power of the media). The early Apostles did follow this instruction to the letter and they were willing to die for it. Matter of fact, they did die for that course.
If nothing struck me about the Apostles, it’s how as earlier stated, they carried Jesus on their head. They carried it so much that they exhumed power. I cannot imagine having a toothache (if you’ve ever had one, you’ll know how much hurt this brings) and someone passes by, and only with their shadow, I am healed! I mean, c’mon, that’s some power right there!
How big is Samaria? Only one person, in the person of Phillip rose up to preach and everyone received Christ! (Acts 8:1-40). By one man, an entire city got saved! Even when you’re serving tables (because Phillip was one of those appointed to serve tables in Acts 6:1-5), you should serve the Word of the Lord alongside. Even Simon the sorcerer believed. Meaning, nobody wey the power of God no fit reach (there’s no one that God’s power cannot get to).
Acts 8:35- virtually all the Apostles understood and knew the scriptures, and by scriptures I mean (Genesis to Revelation). The New Testament was not written then. I use it generally when I’m referring to the Bible, but in actual sense, when you hear “the scriptures,” it is referring to Genesis to Revelation. Jesus used it in Luke 24:45- and it is explained all over the Acts of the Apostles, and first Timothy.
Stephen was stoned with rocks. He was serving tables, but by this man, God’s Word was preached and taught. He didn’t conclude that because he worked in the welfare department of the church, he wouldn’t arm himself with the knowledge of God’s Word. What department are you in church that you think is will debar you from having an understanding and the knowledge of God’s Word, and walking in the power thereof. If the pastor is not around and you were asked to preach in a meeting, can you successfully do it without preaching Rhemus? (Rhemus is the opposite of Rhema. Rhema is the revelation gotten from God’s Word).
Agreed you might not be asked to lead the meeting, but what if you were asked to preach to someone? Will you successfully lead the person to Christ or you will further push them into darkness? Yes, it is the Lord that changes a man, not human words. However, it is the words of your mouth that the Holy Ghost breathes upon when you’re preaching to someone and they end up changing their ways.
At no point were these men tired of teaching and preaching God’s Word. They held meetings upon meetings. Apostle Paul was teaching one time and someone fell and died. He went, resurrected the guy and continued teaching. Did you notice that in Acts 20:8-10, there was no record that the people rejoiced and were astonished that a man was raised from the dead. You know what that means? That the supernatural was a normal for them. It wasn’t a big deal. What would have been a big deal is if the guy did not wake up.
What then is the lesson from this second point? I’m counting on you to tell me.
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