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Glory Everywhere!

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Glory Everywhere!

January 18, 2025

Series: What Is Church?

Topic: gospel, Missions

Book: Acts

Glory Everywhere!

Scott Melton

Introduction

The context—Jesus, the risen Lord, has proven himself to be risen from the dead and has given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he has chosen. (The remaining 11, because Judas, who betrayed him, is dead).

For Us—these commands carry forward to us from the risen Lord to today until his return.

We are told in this passage to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth…to take his glory everywhere.

We are content to live in the purposes and mission of our risen Lord, but we live with a holy discontent until the mission is accomplished just as he gave it.

We declare his glory to our homes. We declare his glory to our neighbors. We declare his glory at work, at the grocery store, at the coffee shop. We declare his glory across the television, the radio, and yes, the internet. You want a good use for social media? Declare his glory across the circle of the globe!

The creation declares the glory of God. How much more should we who have been redeemed and rescued by the sacrifice of the risen Lord?

Psa 19:1-4 (ESV) The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. [2] Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. [3] There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. [4] Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

So, how do we accomplish the mission of taking his glory everywhere?

A. Our life purpose is not a suggestion. (1:1-5, 8)

  1. We follow the commands of the risen Lord. (1:2)
    • Act 1:2 (ESV) until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.
    • We’ve been commanded by the risen Lord, who died to save us, to go and to tell the glory of his name everywhere.
  2. We’ve been immersed in the Holy Spirit. (1:5)
    • Act 1:5 (ESV) for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
    • We live in the Spirit and the Spirit lives in us. Those in Christ, the Spirit of Christ indwells them. The imagery of being baptized with the Holy Spirit is powerful. Plunged into and surrounded with the Holy Spirit of God. Saturated by his presence. Everywhere we go, we go with Him.
  3. We’ve been empowered by the Holy Spirit. (1:8)
    • Act 1:8 (ESV) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…you will be my witnesses.
    • As we are saturated in and with the presence of the Spirit of Christ, we are empowered for the mission. We go in his power. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead flows through us to accomplish the mission of sharing the life-giving message of Jesus Christ. We declare his glory and it is the glory of the risen Jesus that raises dead souls to new life!
  4. We’ve been called, chosen, and equipped. (chosen to be apostles) (1:2)
  5. We’ve been given the example of going and witnessing by Jesus himself.
    • Jhn 20:21 (ESV) Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

B. Stay focused on the mission. (1:6-8)

  1. They asked the wrong question. (1:6)
    • Act 1:6 (ESV) So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
    • Their question centers around the idea of “Lord, when are you going to set us free and get us out of this mess?” That’s the wrong question, because that is a question born out of selfishness. It’s self-centered. We are called to die to self. To live for the Lord and to be focused on loving others. We are called to enter into the mess of this broken world and broken lives and point it to the glory of Christ.
  2. They were focused on the wrong thing. (1:7)
    • Act 1:7 (ESV) He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.
    • Stop fixating your attention on how God is going to bring his final kingdom. That is fixed. The time is set. It’s almost like Jesus is saying, “Stop focusing on the wrong job! God has given you a job to do and worrying about when God is going to usher in his kingdom is not your job.
  3. Jesus identified the right focus. (1:8)
    • Act 1:8 (ESV) …and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
    • Our mission is to be a witness everywhere we go! Focus on that. Think about that. Do that.

C. Get busy and stay busy until Jesus returns. (1:9-11)

  1. We’ve been given the final marching orders. (1:9)
    • Act 1:9 (ESV) 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.
    • As soon as Jesus gave them their marching orders, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. The words “but you will be my witnesses to the end of the earth” are still hanging in the air. We are to do what we’ve been commanded to do until we get our next set of orders.
  2. Problems come when we just stand around. (1:10-11a)
    • Act 1:10-11 (ESV) And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, [11] and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven?
    • Discontent is grown in the soil of idleness. Would the Lord come down right now and say this same phrase to us? “Why do you stand looking into heaven? I have given you work to do! Get busy. When we are standing around not doing the Lord’s commands, we find more time to focus on our preferences rather than his priorities and that always creates problems.
    • Is it possible that these two angels are the same two angels that were present at the tomb after Jesus’ resurrection? It’s interesting to me that a question was asked at the tomb as well, “why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here but has risen. Remember how he told you.” Why were they at the tomb that day? Jesus had told them multiple times that he was going to die, but on the third day he would rise.
    • Let’s be honest with ourselves. We have a problem doing what we’re told. Jhn 9:4 (ESV) We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.

3. The mission will be accomplished. Jesus will return. (1:11b)

    • Act 1:11 (ESV) This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
    • Jesus is going to complete the work of salvation and then he will return. Our job is to be a part of that work by telling of his glory everywhere we go.

 1Ki 8:60 (ESV) that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no other.

  • Among the nations
  • We get to be a part of God’s kingdom work to all the families of the nations falling in worship before the LORD.
  • Psa 22:27 (ESV) All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.
  • 1Ti 3:16 (ESV) Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

Conclusion

Let this be our heart’s cry until then: 1Co 15:8-11 (ESV) Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. [9] For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. [10] But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. [11] Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.