February 16, 2025 • 25 mins
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Unfortunately, the Church, to a lodge extent, has missed the Kingdom,
and the Church exists more for the Church than it
does for the Kingdom.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Doctor Tony Evans says the Church needs a vision bigger
than its own survival.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
If we can ever get this rule of God over
every area of life mindset, it changes everything because there's
nothing that sits out of the Kingdom.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings
from the archives of doctor Tony Evans.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
The Book of.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Acts is more than the written history of how the
Church started and grew. It's the key to understanding our
role in what's become known as the Church Age or
the Age of Grace. Doctor Evans will begin a new
series today by explaining why that new reality is so important.
Let's join him.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
The Book of Acts is unique in the New Testament
because it represents a major transition from the Old Covenant
of the Old Testament to the New Covenant of the Church.
It is a transitional book giving the history of the
(01:12):
beginning and expansion of Christianity. The stage was set throughout
all the Old Testament related to the prophecy of a
coming kingdom and a coming king. The whole Old Testament
looked forward in anticipation to God fulfilling his prophecies regarding
(01:34):
the Messiah, the one who would come to bring about
what the first atom failed to bring about, and that
is the rule of God on earth. That rule of
God on earth is called his Kingdom. The unifying theme
of scripture is the glory of God through the advancement
(01:57):
of his kingdom, and his kingdom is of divine rule.
The word kingdom means authority. When Jesus Christ is born,
it is announced that he is king, and with that
God is with us, because in becoming King, God became
(02:17):
a man and the second person of the Trinity.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Jesus Christ, during.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
His earthly walk through the Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
he is saying, the Kingdom of God is at hand.
What has been waited for for generations is now here.
The King is here, But the establishment of his kingdom
on earth would be dependent upon you accepting him as king.
(02:47):
We come to the crucifixion. Jesus Christ is crucified. The
leaders predominantly have always been against him, but now the
crowd turns on him. Crucify him, crucify him, give us
rabbits the insurrectionists, you crucify him. Of course, three days later,
Jesus raises from the dead in a glorified body. If
(03:13):
the resurrection is true, then everything else is very believable.
So the reason I have no trouble with anything else
is because I believe in the resurrection. So the resurrection occurs.
He's been rejected by the Jewish nation. Jesus prophesied to
his disciples and the Gospels that he would now go
(03:36):
beyond the Jewish nation to receive him in order to
bring in the Kingdom, meaning Gentiles, thus the establishment of
another interim group through whom his kingdom program would operate.
It was to operate from Israel to the whole world,
(04:00):
but because of their rejection, it will now operate through
the Church to the whole world until he re establishes
his program with Israel. So the Book of Acts is
a book that shows the continuity of God's Kingdom. We
(04:21):
open up in chapter one by reading the first account
I composed. Theophilis about all that Jesus began to do
and teach until the day was taken up to heaven,
after he had by the Holy Spirit given orders to
the apostles whom he had chosen.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
To these.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
He also presented himself alive after suffering by many convincing proofs,
appearing to them over a period of forty days, and
speaking of the things concerning the Kingdom of God his
rule from heaven into history. Unfortunately, the Church to a
(05:04):
log extent has missed the Kingdom, and the church exists
more for the church than it does for the Kingdom.
The kingdom is bigger than the Church. The job of
the Church is to serve the Kingdom and it's king.
So once you lose sight of the Kingdom, then you
become ingrown, you become narrow, you become divided all kinds
(05:27):
of things because you're not thinking about the Kingdom. That's
why we try to thread everything through that thing. Kingdom, man, kingdom, woman, kingdom, marriage, kingdom, kids,
you know, kingdom. Churches seek ye first, the.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
Kingdom of God.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
If we can ever get this kingdom, this rule of
God over every area of life, mindset, it changes everything
because there's nothing that sits out of the Kingdom, nothing
sits outside of that because it's the comprehensive rule of God.
So he's teaching them about the Kingdom. To show you
(06:03):
how comprehensive this is. Quickly turn to the last chapter
in the Book of Acts, chapter twenty eight, the last
two verses he and he Paul stayed two four years
in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who
came to him, preaching the Kingdom of God and teaching
(06:24):
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered. So
where we start in Acts is where we finish in Acts.
Think it's something like thirty two times. You'll see the
phrase kingdom, Kingdom of God in the Book of Acts,
so it is pregnant with the kingdom motif or kingdom theme.
(06:44):
So what I want you to get is I want
you to, as we walk through this, to learn to
think kingdom rule of God. As we walk through this
beginning and development of the church which ludes us. He
gathers his disciples together in verse four, and he commands
(07:04):
them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what
the Father has promised, which he said you heard from me. Well,
if you read John sixteen, God made a promise that
he was going to send someone verse five. For John
(07:27):
baptized you with water, but you will be baptized with
the Holy Spirit, not many days from now. So he says,
there is another kind of the word Baptizzo Greek word
for baptism means to immerse. There will be another immersing,
(07:48):
like taking a glass of water and immersing it in
the water. It's totally consumed by that which you immerse
it in. We're going to send you John baptized in water,
that is in prepara for the king. But you are
to wait in Jerusalem until you are immersed with what
I promised would come. So when they had come together,
(08:11):
they were asking him, saying, Lord, is it at this
time you are restoring the kingdom to Israel? Okay, So
that man reconnects you. They have lived all their lives
expecting the kingdom to come, and thus when Jesus came,
they thought the kingdom was going to come right then.
But of course the rejection has occurred. So with the rejection,
(08:32):
of course they want to know, or, now that you've
risen from the dead, are you going to establish your
kingdom right now? Parentheses The reason why they chose Barabbas.
Barrabbas is an insurrectionist. The scripture says he's a zealot,
the Zealots were a revolutionary group that tried to bring
(08:55):
in the kingdom by force. They were basically terrorist against Rome,
and so they would roam the hills and reac havoc
against the Roman government in order because Rome was the
authoritarian party or government over Israel that they hated. But
(09:18):
they chose Barabbas because they did not believe any longer
that Jesus would bring in the Kingdom. Of course, these
disciples are following Jesus, and they want to know, well,
now that you've risen from the dead, are you now
ready to bring in the kingdom or restore the Kingdom Israel?
He says to them, it is not for you to
(09:40):
know the times or epochs which the Father has fixed
by his own authority. It's not for you to know
exactly when God is going to establish this earthly rule
that you have just asked me about. And then he
gives verse eight. But you will received power when the
(10:01):
Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be
my witnesses, both in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria,
and even to the remotest parts of the earth. You
cannot know when the Kingdom will be physically established on earth,
(10:22):
because that's the Kingdom of Israel that they were expecting.
While you don't know when the kingdom will be established,
you do not have to wait for the power of
the Kingdom to be experienced. Follow me now, they ask
(10:43):
him about the presence of the Kingdom. When will you
restore the Kingdom of Israel that is an earthly, physical
through Israel kingdom. Well, that's going to come later. But
the Father has got that, and you don't know the time.
But even though you don't have the physical presence of
the Kingdom, you can now have the power of the Kingdom.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
When doctor Evans continues our message in just a moment,
he'll explain why the New Testament tells us more about
one side of God than the Old Testament ever did. First, though,
I want to let you know that the lesson we're
hearing today is the first in an inspiring series diving
deep into the birth and explosive growth of the early
Church as described in the Book of Acts. This complete
(11:31):
two volume collection explains how we can experience the same
power and presence of the Holy Spirit as the first
century believers did, and its available as our thank you
gift when you make a contribution to help support the
ministry of the Alternative. This offer will only be available
for a limited time, so visit us right away at
(11:51):
Tonyevans dot org to request your copy of Acts the
Birth of the Church. As I mentioned, you'll receive all
fourteen audio messages on CD or digital download, along with
an extra bonus Doctor Evans insightful book, Kingdom Purpose, which
will guide you and discovering your divine calling and living
(12:12):
out your faith with intention and impact. Visit us at
Tonyevans dot org before this limited time offer runs out,
or call us at one eight hundred, eight hundred thirty
two twenty two to get some in person help from
our resource team. I'll have our contact information for you again.
After part two of today's lesson and this what if you.
Speaker 4 (12:33):
Could unlock the mysteries of life, the universe and everything
in between.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Genesis one to eleven is the foundation for everything.
Speaker 4 (12:40):
The Tony Evans Training Center presents a transformative course from
special guest lecture Ken Hamm, founder CEO of Answers in Genesis.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
If you want to understand anything about the universe and
anything about life and.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
This Earth, we have to jump into God's world.
Speaker 4 (12:54):
This course dives deep into the origins of life, the
harmony of science and scripture, and how to build a
solid biblical world view.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
The science conflict with the Bible, No, not at all.
Observational science confirms the Bible over and over and over again.
Speaker 4 (13:08):
Equip yourself to face today's toughest cultural challenges with clarity
and confidence.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
If we're going to deal with issues in our culture,
we need to start from our foundation first of all,
to understand what we should believe.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
Discover faith strengthening truths from Genesis, and explore more courses
to deepen your understanding of God's word at Tony Evans'
training dot Org. Explore the Kingdom anytime anywhere.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
You and I today are living in the Age of
the Holy Spirit. The Old Testament was the age of
the Father. You see scant references to the Holy Spirit
in the Old Testament. You see scant references to Jesus
Christ in the Old Testament. But you see God all
(13:55):
over the Old Testament because that's a focus on the Father,
supported by the two other members of the Godhead. But
in the Gospels Matthew, Mark Luke, and John Jesus is
the superstar. It's all about Jesus Christ and the Gospels,
and the Father and the Spirit takes supporting roles to
(14:15):
the Son. Remember when Jesus was baptized, sky opens up.
This is my beloved son. Hear him, and the Holy
Spirit like a dove, comes down from heaven and sits
on Jesus Christ. The Father sent the Son, God's all
love the world. He gave his only be gotten son.
(14:36):
The Father sent the Son. But now in the church
age beginning with acts, the Holy Spirit is the superstar
supported by the Father and the Son. Jesus told them
and John fourteen, John sixteen, I'm going to send you
another comforter. I am leaving, but I'm not leaving you alone.
(14:59):
I'm going to leave you with the power of the Kingdom.
And that power is the Holy Spirit. So he's the
star of the show, so to speak. He is called
a number of different called the Holy Spirit. He's called
the Spirit of Christ. He represents Christ. So he is
the one who is to facilitate the Kingdom and its power.
(15:22):
First print is four twenty says for the Kingdom of
God does not exist in words, but in power. So
now you can see the role of the Holy Spirit.
He is the link between the Kingdom.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
Of God and power.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
What electricity is to your appliances, the spirit of God
is to your Christian life and to the authority of
the Church and its members. The Kingdom of God is
not just words, not just talk. It's supposed to be demonstration,
(16:02):
he says. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit
has come. How will that power be manifested? He says,
And you shall be my witnesses.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
The power of.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
God is manifested in concert with your witness Giving testimony
to Jesus Christ. To the degree you give testimony to
Jesus Christ is to the degree you experience kingdom power
because you shall be my witnesses Jesus's witnesses and power
(16:44):
is connected to that witness which should not surprise us
that Jesus would say, if you deny me before men,
I will deny you before my father. If you confess
me before men, I will confess you before my father.
Because it is giving testimony to Jesus Christ. That is
proof that the Holy Spirit is at work. So any
(17:07):
shunning away from Jesus Christ is unplugging from the outlet.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
After he had.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
Said these things in verse nine, he was lifted up
while they were looking on, and a cloud received him
out of their sight.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
I want to rerun of that one in heaven.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
And as they were gazing intently into the sky while
he was going up, two men in white clothes stood
beside them, two angels, and said, men of Galilee, why
do you stand looking into the sky. This Jesus, who
has been taken up from you into heaven, will come
(17:51):
in just the same way as you have watched him
go into heaven. So they returned to Jerusalem from the
mount called Olive, which is near Jerusalem, a saventh day's journey.
They enter the city to the upper room where they're
the disciples. These were all with one mind, were continually
(18:15):
devoting themselves to prayer along with the women, and marry
the mother of Jesus with his brothers. Prayer is the
link between earth and Heaven, and it is the route
that the Holy Spirit takes to deliver the mail. Peter
(18:36):
stood up in the midst of the Brethren, a gathering
of one hundred and twenty persons Brethren, Verse sixteen. The
scriptures had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold
by the mouth of David. Concerning Judas, there's a whole
lot in there. It is necessary then that the men
(18:58):
who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord
Jesus went in and out among us, beginning with the
baptism of John, until now one of these must become
a witness with us. So they've got to replace Judas,
they say, we got to replace him with somebody who
has been with us, who has shown himself to have
been with Jesus, seen Jesus walk with us, been part
(19:21):
of our company. They put forth two men, Joseph and Matthias.
In verse twenty three, they prayed, you, Lord, who know
the hearts of all men, show which one of these
you have chosen. Look at the prayer. We know what
(19:42):
these men did. They both look good. That job descriptions
look great, but we don't know their hearts. We can't
read hearts. We re resumes, but we can't read hearts.
So we need you to select the person who you
have chosen. So we're confused. You're not help us to
(20:05):
occupy this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas turned aside
to go to his own place. And they drew lots
for them, and the lots fell upon Matthias, and he
was added to the eleven apostles. We might say today
(20:29):
they drew straws. Now, this raises the question of the
sovereign God and chance on this chance, or what we
would call chance. It wasn't that chance in their mind,
because they said God knew who he had chosen, but
(20:49):
he allowed them to participate in the vote. Whatever mechanism
they used, lots was a way of getting divine discernment
that had to make a decision. When you were prayed
about a matter and sought God's will in the matter
who you have chosen, you then come down to the
(21:12):
place where you make a choice, and then you leave
the problem to God in the choice.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Because they still don't know hearts.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
They just know who showed up with the lot, who
showed up with the vote. Perhaps it was a unanimous
thing or all of them, because it doesn't go into
the details, but all of them agreed on Matthias.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
They all felt.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
This is the one and so the unity since they
were all in one mind in the casting of these lots.
But they made a decision and assumed it was the
Lord's choice because both options were great. And so when
you have to make a decision, you pray about it.
You invite God to make his choice. Then with the
(21:56):
best twos available, you make a decision. Trust Him with
that decision. Let me say something about the Holy Spirit coming,
the Spirit's presence in a situation in your life. When
(22:17):
these men and women are filled with the Spirit, they
wind up doing things that are not natural to them,
which was the one thing we see there is the
gift of tongues. They do things that were not natural
to them, that was not languages that they knew. Because
(22:42):
when He comes, you shall receive power ability beyond you.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
So when you're in the will of God and.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
It's beyond you, unique kingdom power and kingdom power is
the work of the Holy Spirit. So as we walk
through this book, we're going to hopefully grow in an understanding, knowledge, appreciation,
and utilization of the work of the Spirit. In our last.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
Doctor Tony Evans with the introduction to our study of
the Book of Acts, and don't forget that today's lesson
is part of Tony's captivating series on that book. And
as I mentioned, you can get the full length version
of all fourteen messages in this two volume audio collection
available on CD or digital download when you make a
(23:36):
donation to support our mission of spreading biblical wisdom and renewal.
Plus as a special bonus, you'll receive doctor evans insightful book,
Kingdom Purpose, which will guide you in discovering your divine calling.
Call us to make the arrangements at one eight hundred
eight hundred thirty two twenty two. Our resource center is
open twenty four to seven, so you can reach out
(23:59):
any time the day or night. That's one eight hundred
eight hundred three two two two, Or visit Tonyevans dot
org to take advantage of this exclusive offer. You'll find
all the details right on the homepage. Again, that's Tonyevans
dot org. Doctor Evans says being under the influence can
(24:20):
be either good or bad, depending on what's doing the influencing.
Next time, he'll take us to Acts chapter two for
a look at the fulfillment of God's promise to empower
his people through the intoxicating presence of.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
The Holy Spirit.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
I hope you'll be with us
Unfortunately, the Church, to a lodge extent, has missed the Kingdom,
and the Church exists more for the Church than it
does for the Kingdom.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Doctor Tony Evans says the Church needs a vision bigger
than its own survival.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
If we can ever get this rule of God over
every area of life mindset, it changes everything because there's
nothing that sits out of the Kingdom.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings
from the archives of doctor Tony Evans.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
The Book of.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Acts is more than the written history of how the
Church started and grew. It's the key to understanding our
role in what's become known as the Church Age or
the Age of Grace. Doctor Evans will begin a new
series today by explaining why that new reality is so important.
Let's join him.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
The Book of Acts is unique in the New Testament
because it represents a major transition from the Old Covenant
of the Old Testament to the New Covenant of the Church.
It is a transitional book giving the history of the
(01:12):
beginning and expansion of Christianity. The stage was set throughout
all the Old Testament related to the prophecy of a
coming kingdom and a coming king. The whole Old Testament
looked forward in anticipation to God fulfilling his prophecies regarding
(01:34):
the Messiah, the one who would come to bring about
what the first atom failed to bring about, and that
is the rule of God on earth. That rule of
God on earth is called his Kingdom. The unifying theme
of scripture is the glory of God through the advancement
(01:57):
of his kingdom, and his kingdom is of divine rule.
The word kingdom means authority. When Jesus Christ is born,
it is announced that he is king, and with that
God is with us, because in becoming King, God became
(02:17):
a man and the second person of the Trinity.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Jesus Christ, during.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
His earthly walk through the Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
he is saying, the Kingdom of God is at hand.
What has been waited for for generations is now here.
The King is here, But the establishment of his kingdom
on earth would be dependent upon you accepting him as king.
(02:47):
We come to the crucifixion. Jesus Christ is crucified. The
leaders predominantly have always been against him, but now the
crowd turns on him. Crucify him, crucify him, give us
rabbits the insurrectionists, you crucify him. Of course, three days later,
Jesus raises from the dead in a glorified body. If
(03:13):
the resurrection is true, then everything else is very believable.
So the reason I have no trouble with anything else
is because I believe in the resurrection. So the resurrection occurs.
He's been rejected by the Jewish nation. Jesus prophesied to
his disciples and the Gospels that he would now go
(03:36):
beyond the Jewish nation to receive him in order to
bring in the Kingdom, meaning Gentiles, thus the establishment of
another interim group through whom his kingdom program would operate.
It was to operate from Israel to the whole world,
(04:00):
but because of their rejection, it will now operate through
the Church to the whole world until he re establishes
his program with Israel. So the Book of Acts is
a book that shows the continuity of God's Kingdom. We
(04:21):
open up in chapter one by reading the first account
I composed. Theophilis about all that Jesus began to do
and teach until the day was taken up to heaven,
after he had by the Holy Spirit given orders to
the apostles whom he had chosen.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
To these.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
He also presented himself alive after suffering by many convincing proofs,
appearing to them over a period of forty days, and
speaking of the things concerning the Kingdom of God his
rule from heaven into history. Unfortunately, the Church to a
(05:04):
log extent has missed the Kingdom, and the church exists
more for the church than it does for the Kingdom.
The kingdom is bigger than the Church. The job of
the Church is to serve the Kingdom and it's king.
So once you lose sight of the Kingdom, then you
become ingrown, you become narrow, you become divided all kinds
(05:27):
of things because you're not thinking about the Kingdom. That's
why we try to thread everything through that thing. Kingdom, man, kingdom, woman, kingdom, marriage, kingdom, kids,
you know, kingdom. Churches seek ye first, the.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
Kingdom of God.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
If we can ever get this kingdom, this rule of
God over every area of life, mindset, it changes everything
because there's nothing that sits out of the Kingdom, nothing
sits outside of that because it's the comprehensive rule of God.
So he's teaching them about the Kingdom. To show you
(06:03):
how comprehensive this is. Quickly turn to the last chapter
in the Book of Acts, chapter twenty eight, the last
two verses he and he Paul stayed two four years
in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who
came to him, preaching the Kingdom of God and teaching
(06:24):
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered. So
where we start in Acts is where we finish in Acts.
Think it's something like thirty two times. You'll see the
phrase kingdom, Kingdom of God in the Book of Acts,
so it is pregnant with the kingdom motif or kingdom theme.
(06:44):
So what I want you to get is I want
you to, as we walk through this, to learn to
think kingdom rule of God. As we walk through this
beginning and development of the church which ludes us. He
gathers his disciples together in verse four, and he commands
(07:04):
them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what
the Father has promised, which he said you heard from me. Well,
if you read John sixteen, God made a promise that
he was going to send someone verse five. For John
(07:27):
baptized you with water, but you will be baptized with
the Holy Spirit, not many days from now. So he says,
there is another kind of the word Baptizzo Greek word
for baptism means to immerse. There will be another immersing,
(07:48):
like taking a glass of water and immersing it in
the water. It's totally consumed by that which you immerse
it in. We're going to send you John baptized in water,
that is in prepara for the king. But you are
to wait in Jerusalem until you are immersed with what
I promised would come. So when they had come together,
(08:11):
they were asking him, saying, Lord, is it at this
time you are restoring the kingdom to Israel? Okay, So
that man reconnects you. They have lived all their lives
expecting the kingdom to come, and thus when Jesus came,
they thought the kingdom was going to come right then.
But of course the rejection has occurred. So with the rejection,
(08:32):
of course they want to know, or, now that you've
risen from the dead, are you going to establish your
kingdom right now? Parentheses The reason why they chose Barabbas.
Barrabbas is an insurrectionist. The scripture says he's a zealot,
the Zealots were a revolutionary group that tried to bring
(08:55):
in the kingdom by force. They were basically terrorist against Rome,
and so they would roam the hills and reac havoc
against the Roman government in order because Rome was the
authoritarian party or government over Israel that they hated. But
(09:18):
they chose Barabbas because they did not believe any longer
that Jesus would bring in the Kingdom. Of course, these
disciples are following Jesus, and they want to know, well,
now that you've risen from the dead, are you now
ready to bring in the kingdom or restore the Kingdom Israel?
He says to them, it is not for you to
(09:40):
know the times or epochs which the Father has fixed
by his own authority. It's not for you to know
exactly when God is going to establish this earthly rule
that you have just asked me about. And then he
gives verse eight. But you will received power when the
(10:01):
Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be
my witnesses, both in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria,
and even to the remotest parts of the earth. You
cannot know when the Kingdom will be physically established on earth,
(10:22):
because that's the Kingdom of Israel that they were expecting.
While you don't know when the kingdom will be established,
you do not have to wait for the power of
the Kingdom to be experienced. Follow me now, they ask
(10:43):
him about the presence of the Kingdom. When will you
restore the Kingdom of Israel that is an earthly, physical
through Israel kingdom. Well, that's going to come later. But
the Father has got that, and you don't know the time.
But even though you don't have the physical presence of
the Kingdom, you can now have the power of the Kingdom.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
When doctor Evans continues our message in just a moment,
he'll explain why the New Testament tells us more about
one side of God than the Old Testament ever did. First, though,
I want to let you know that the lesson we're
hearing today is the first in an inspiring series diving
deep into the birth and explosive growth of the early
Church as described in the Book of Acts. This complete
(11:31):
two volume collection explains how we can experience the same
power and presence of the Holy Spirit as the first
century believers did, and its available as our thank you
gift when you make a contribution to help support the
ministry of the Alternative. This offer will only be available
for a limited time, so visit us right away at
(11:51):
Tonyevans dot org to request your copy of Acts the
Birth of the Church. As I mentioned, you'll receive all
fourteen audio messages on CD or digital download, along with
an extra bonus Doctor Evans insightful book, Kingdom Purpose, which
will guide you and discovering your divine calling and living
(12:12):
out your faith with intention and impact. Visit us at
Tonyevans dot org before this limited time offer runs out,
or call us at one eight hundred, eight hundred thirty
two twenty two to get some in person help from
our resource team. I'll have our contact information for you again.
After part two of today's lesson and this what if you.
Speaker 4 (12:33):
Could unlock the mysteries of life, the universe and everything
in between.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Genesis one to eleven is the foundation for everything.
Speaker 4 (12:40):
The Tony Evans Training Center presents a transformative course from
special guest lecture Ken Hamm, founder CEO of Answers in Genesis.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
If you want to understand anything about the universe and
anything about life and.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
This Earth, we have to jump into God's world.
Speaker 4 (12:54):
This course dives deep into the origins of life, the
harmony of science and scripture, and how to build a
solid biblical world view.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
The science conflict with the Bible, No, not at all.
Observational science confirms the Bible over and over and over again.
Speaker 4 (13:08):
Equip yourself to face today's toughest cultural challenges with clarity
and confidence.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
If we're going to deal with issues in our culture,
we need to start from our foundation first of all,
to understand what we should believe.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
Discover faith strengthening truths from Genesis, and explore more courses
to deepen your understanding of God's word at Tony Evans'
training dot Org. Explore the Kingdom anytime anywhere.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
You and I today are living in the Age of
the Holy Spirit. The Old Testament was the age of
the Father. You see scant references to the Holy Spirit
in the Old Testament. You see scant references to Jesus
Christ in the Old Testament. But you see God all
(13:55):
over the Old Testament because that's a focus on the Father,
supported by the two other members of the Godhead. But
in the Gospels Matthew, Mark Luke, and John Jesus is
the superstar. It's all about Jesus Christ and the Gospels,
and the Father and the Spirit takes supporting roles to
(14:15):
the Son. Remember when Jesus was baptized, sky opens up.
This is my beloved son. Hear him, and the Holy
Spirit like a dove, comes down from heaven and sits
on Jesus Christ. The Father sent the Son, God's all
love the world. He gave his only be gotten son.
(14:36):
The Father sent the Son. But now in the church
age beginning with acts, the Holy Spirit is the superstar
supported by the Father and the Son. Jesus told them
and John fourteen, John sixteen, I'm going to send you
another comforter. I am leaving, but I'm not leaving you alone.
(14:59):
I'm going to leave you with the power of the Kingdom.
And that power is the Holy Spirit. So he's the
star of the show, so to speak. He is called
a number of different called the Holy Spirit. He's called
the Spirit of Christ. He represents Christ. So he is
the one who is to facilitate the Kingdom and its power.
(15:22):
First print is four twenty says for the Kingdom of
God does not exist in words, but in power. So
now you can see the role of the Holy Spirit.
He is the link between the Kingdom.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
Of God and power.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
What electricity is to your appliances, the spirit of God
is to your Christian life and to the authority of
the Church and its members. The Kingdom of God is
not just words, not just talk. It's supposed to be demonstration,
(16:02):
he says. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit
has come. How will that power be manifested? He says,
And you shall be my witnesses.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
The power of.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
God is manifested in concert with your witness Giving testimony
to Jesus Christ. To the degree you give testimony to
Jesus Christ is to the degree you experience kingdom power
because you shall be my witnesses Jesus's witnesses and power
(16:44):
is connected to that witness which should not surprise us
that Jesus would say, if you deny me before men,
I will deny you before my father. If you confess
me before men, I will confess you before my father.
Because it is giving testimony to Jesus Christ. That is
proof that the Holy Spirit is at work. So any
(17:07):
shunning away from Jesus Christ is unplugging from the outlet.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
After he had.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
Said these things in verse nine, he was lifted up
while they were looking on, and a cloud received him
out of their sight.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
I want to rerun of that one in heaven.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
And as they were gazing intently into the sky while
he was going up, two men in white clothes stood
beside them, two angels, and said, men of Galilee, why
do you stand looking into the sky. This Jesus, who
has been taken up from you into heaven, will come
(17:51):
in just the same way as you have watched him
go into heaven. So they returned to Jerusalem from the
mount called Olive, which is near Jerusalem, a saventh day's journey.
They enter the city to the upper room where they're
the disciples. These were all with one mind, were continually
(18:15):
devoting themselves to prayer along with the women, and marry
the mother of Jesus with his brothers. Prayer is the
link between earth and Heaven, and it is the route
that the Holy Spirit takes to deliver the mail. Peter
(18:36):
stood up in the midst of the Brethren, a gathering
of one hundred and twenty persons Brethren, Verse sixteen. The
scriptures had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold
by the mouth of David. Concerning Judas, there's a whole
lot in there. It is necessary then that the men
(18:58):
who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord
Jesus went in and out among us, beginning with the
baptism of John, until now one of these must become
a witness with us. So they've got to replace Judas,
they say, we got to replace him with somebody who
has been with us, who has shown himself to have
been with Jesus, seen Jesus walk with us, been part
(19:21):
of our company. They put forth two men, Joseph and Matthias.
In verse twenty three, they prayed, you, Lord, who know
the hearts of all men, show which one of these
you have chosen. Look at the prayer. We know what
(19:42):
these men did. They both look good. That job descriptions
look great, but we don't know their hearts. We can't
read hearts. We re resumes, but we can't read hearts.
So we need you to select the person who you
have chosen. So we're confused. You're not help us to
(20:05):
occupy this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas turned aside
to go to his own place. And they drew lots
for them, and the lots fell upon Matthias, and he
was added to the eleven apostles. We might say today
(20:29):
they drew straws. Now, this raises the question of the
sovereign God and chance on this chance, or what we
would call chance. It wasn't that chance in their mind,
because they said God knew who he had chosen, but
(20:49):
he allowed them to participate in the vote. Whatever mechanism
they used, lots was a way of getting divine discernment
that had to make a decision. When you were prayed
about a matter and sought God's will in the matter
who you have chosen, you then come down to the
(21:12):
place where you make a choice, and then you leave
the problem to God in the choice.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Because they still don't know hearts.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
They just know who showed up with the lot, who
showed up with the vote. Perhaps it was a unanimous
thing or all of them, because it doesn't go into
the details, but all of them agreed on Matthias.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
They all felt.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
This is the one and so the unity since they
were all in one mind in the casting of these lots.
But they made a decision and assumed it was the
Lord's choice because both options were great. And so when
you have to make a decision, you pray about it.
You invite God to make his choice. Then with the
(21:56):
best twos available, you make a decision. Trust Him with
that decision. Let me say something about the Holy Spirit coming,
the Spirit's presence in a situation in your life. When
(22:17):
these men and women are filled with the Spirit, they
wind up doing things that are not natural to them,
which was the one thing we see there is the
gift of tongues. They do things that were not natural
to them, that was not languages that they knew. Because
(22:42):
when He comes, you shall receive power ability beyond you.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
So when you're in the will of God and.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
It's beyond you, unique kingdom power and kingdom power is
the work of the Holy Spirit. So as we walk
through this book, we're going to hopefully grow in an understanding, knowledge, appreciation,
and utilization of the work of the Spirit. In our last.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
Doctor Tony Evans with the introduction to our study of
the Book of Acts, and don't forget that today's lesson
is part of Tony's captivating series on that book. And
as I mentioned, you can get the full length version
of all fourteen messages in this two volume audio collection
available on CD or digital download when you make a
(23:36):
donation to support our mission of spreading biblical wisdom and renewal.
Plus as a special bonus, you'll receive doctor evans insightful book,
Kingdom Purpose, which will guide you in discovering your divine calling.
Call us to make the arrangements at one eight hundred
eight hundred thirty two twenty two. Our resource center is
open twenty four to seven, so you can reach out
(23:59):
any time the day or night. That's one eight hundred
eight hundred three two two two, Or visit Tonyevans dot
org to take advantage of this exclusive offer. You'll find
all the details right on the homepage. Again, that's Tonyevans
dot org. Doctor Evans says being under the influence can
(24:20):
be either good or bad, depending on what's doing the influencing.
Next time, he'll take us to Acts chapter two for
a look at the fulfillment of God's promise to empower
his people through the intoxicating presence of.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
The Holy Spirit.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
I hope you'll be with us
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com