Unstoppable: The Birth, Growth, and Progress of The Church Today, I want to begin a series of messages analyzing the book of the Acts of the Apostles. A lot of people feel discouraged right now about Christianity and about the state of the church around the world. In some areas, there is intense persecution. In Switzerland seven churches have closed over the winter due to climate change. Here in the Western world, including America, there is attempted marginalization. And not all the statistics about the church right now are not as encouraging as I would like. Churches are faced with empty pews and are fighting to keep their doors open, while former houses of worship are being converted into bars, clubs and luxury condos. In the late 1940s, nearly 80% of Americans said they belonged to a church, synagogue, mosque or temple, according to Gallup. Today, just 45% say the same, the analytics company noted, and only 32% say that they worship God in a house of prayer once a week. But I am not discouraged, not a bit. And it's because of what a particular man said long ago. Now, this man was not himself a believer, although I hope that he came to faith in Christ before he died. I don't know whether he did or not. His name was Gamaliel, and he was a Pharisee and a teacher in Israel during the time of Jesus Christ. Gamaliel came from a long line of rabbis and teachers. We know that from other historical sources. Among his students was a certain Saul of Tarsus. In Jewish tradition, Gamaliel is considered one of the greatest teachers of all time among all of the Jewish teachers in history. Gamaliel shows up in the New Testament in the fifth chapter of the Book of Acts, when the twelve disciples were hauled before the Jewish ruling council, which was called the Sanhedrin. They were hauled before the council because they had been preaching the Gospel. The Jewish leaders were just beside themselves. They were enraged by the growth of Christianity, and they said, what shall we do with these men? I think that's one of the most interesting questions. What are we going to do with these Christians? They are filling Jerusalem with this teaching and some in the Sanhedrin wanted to execute them. But the Bible says there in Acts, the fifth chapter, but a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was honored by all of the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and he ordered that the apostles be put outside for a little while. And then he addressed the Sanhedrin.” “Men of Israel, he said, consider carefully what you intend to do with these men, for if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men. You will only find yourselves fighting against God.” What a statement. He said, if the spread of the gospel is from God, the world will not be able to stop it. In other words, the world will not be able to stop us. They will not be able to stop the church. It is unstoppable. Now I know some will say that this was some sage advice but not biblical truth. I understand that. And we do need to be careful when the Bible expresses people’s opinions. At the same time, I believe this is a true statement. Jesus said, “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. I also think it might have been prophetic. It’s really interesting how some people in Jesus’ time unintentionally uttered prophecies in his favor—even though they were his enemies. One well known example is Pilate, the Roman governor, who had a sign fashioned and nailed to the vertical post of Jesus’ cross. The sign was written in Hebrew, Latin and Greek, and stated, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews” (Mt 27:37). In Jn 11:45-56, it was is the high priest Caiaphas who unwittingly utters a prophecy about Jesus. “Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.” John‬ ‭11‬:‭49‬-‭52‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ So the church is unstoppable. And that's the title of the series of messages, Unstoppable, A Study of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. So if you're ready, and if you have a Bible handy, turn with me to the Book of Acts, Chapter 1. And I just want to deal today with verses 1 and 2; but really just with that one surprising word in verse 1.” “So the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, and the very first verse. Luke the writer says, In my former book, Theophilus, referring to his Gospel of Luke, in my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.” I want to emphasize the critical importance of that verb that Luke used, that little word, began. The sentence would have flowed just fine if Luke had said, Theophilus, in my former book, The Gospel of Luke, you can read about all that Jesus did and said. But Luke did not use those words. He said, My former book. The Gospel of Luke, is all about what Jesus began to do and what he began to say. And in that one word, we have an entire philosophy of ministry. Let's begin here with some background. The Gospel of Luke and the Book of the Acts are written by the same man, and he was not a Jewish man. He was a Gentile. The only Gentile writer of the New Testament. Luke was a medical doctor. He was an intellectual, one of the most brilliant men in the Bible. And he also became a missionary who traveled with the Apostle Paul and a historian and an apologist who interviewed the individuals related to the events in the Gospels and in the Book of Acts. He would apparently take meticulous notes and out of those notes and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and from the perspective of a historian, he created a two-volume set of books that we call the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts. Both of them are addressed to a man named Theophilus, who may have been a wealthy Christian who underwrote the expenses involved in the writing and the publishing of these two books. The name Theophilus means lover of God. So there is also a play of words involved in that. Because in a sense, these books are addressed to all of us who are lovers of God. Now compare the two books. The Gospel of Luke tells us how the Gospel began, when the Virgin Mary was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit and Jesus was born in Bethlehem. The Book of Acts tells us how the church was born when the followers of Jesus were overshadowed and overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem. The Gospel of Luke tells us how the Gospel spread from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, and the Book of Acts tells us how the Gospel spread from Jerusalem to Rome. Both books cover a period of about 30 years, and so we have an unbroken history of the first 60 years of Christianity from the pen of this one great academic historian, Luke. As to when and where the books were written, I have a theory about that.” You may remember from the Book of Acts that after Paul was arrested at the end of his third missionary journey, he was arrested in Jerusalem and then taken to Caesarea, Caesarea by the sea, where he was imprisoned for two years, and then he and Luke were shipped to Rome by government officials, and Paul was under house arrest there for another two years. So my theory is that Luke wrote his Gospel during the two years of Paul's imprisonment in Caesarea, and he wrote his Book of Acts during the two years of Paul's imprisonment in Rome. A man named TD. Bernard, Thomas de Haney Bernard, was an Anglican priest in the 1800s. In 1864, he gave a series of lectures at the University of Oxford, and they were subsequently published under the title The Progress of Doctrine and the New Testament.” He points out “that we would be absolutely lost in reading the New Testament without the Book of Acts. It's a vital link between the Gospels and the Epistles. First of all, the Book of Acts links to the Gospels so naturally that we turn from the last page of the last Gospel to the first page of the Book of Acts without skipping a beat. And then we turn from the last page of the Book of Acts, which describes Paul being in the city of Rome, to the Book of Romans without missing a beat. Without the Book of Acts, we would have to go immediately from the Gospel of John to the Book of Romans. And we would say, who is this fellow, Paul? And what have you done with Peter? At the end of the Gospel of John, Jesus is recommissioning Peter. But when we look at the Book of Romans, suddenly there is this new fellow, Paul, who is giving the Gospel. And we would say, what have you done with Peter? Who is this man?” Nothing would make sense. Acts is the crucial historical link that tells us what happened after Jesus returned to heaven, and which provides for us the historical foundation and the context for the Epistles and for their teaching. Let me tell you something else that Bernard taught. The four Gospels tell us what Jesus did, what Jesus did embryonically, and what. He said embryonically. According to Acts 1, verse 1, there were two aspects of our Lord's ministry on earth. What He did and what He said. “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach” Now, what Jesus did was very underdeveloped in the Gospels. His influence was largely limited to a remote, hilly area of one tiny nation under foreign occupation. His primary work was really done in Galilee, which was an impoverished, small area with a few side trips to Jerusalem, where He was executed. At one time, He had several thousand followers, but by the end of His ministry, eleven. His own twelve hand-picked disciples had either denied Him in one case or deserted Him in the other eleven. And He didn't have a whole lot in one sense to show for His ministry after three short years. Now, yes, in retrospect, we know that He died and rose again for the sins of the world, but in the real time of the moment, without the benefit of hindsight and without the record of the Gospels and without the teachings of the epistles, the works of Jesus are embryonic. But what did He tell His disciples in John chapter 14 and verse 12? He said, There is coming a day when those who believe in Me will do greater works than I have done. One day you, He said to the disciples and to all of us, will do greater works than I have done. Now, that's involving His doings, what He did. Now let's think about these things and what He meant. First, His teachings. By and large, Jesus did not give us established systems of theological doctrine. His teachings were embryonic. They were germinal. He spoke in parables and proverbs. He used signs and symbols. He said He was the bread of life, the light of the world, the good shepherd.” His words were simple and His teachings were basic. But what did He tell His disciples on the last night of His life? This is such an important passage. You may want to jot it down. John the 16th chapter, the 12th verse in the Upper Room Discourse, on the night before His crucifixion, He said, John 16:12, I have much more to say to you. This was on the last night of His life and the last teaching that He gave before His crucifixion. I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you unto all of the truth. He will not speak on His own. He will speak only what He hears and He will tell you what is yet to come. In other words, I have so much more teaching to give to you. What I've given to you so far is embryonic. I'm going to fill it out and it's going to be by the Holy Spirit and He's not going to speak on His own.” I’m going to tell Him what I want you to know and He's going to give it to you. And look down at verse 25 in the same chapter, John 16. This is truly amazing. Jesus said, Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father and the things having to do with His Kingdom. This is truly remarkable. Jesus came to the end of His life, His last hours with His disciples, and He said in effect, I have much more to say to you. You cannot bear it now. You cannot understand it now. You cannot comprehend it now. It involves things not yet even done. But in a short time, I will send the Holy Spirit and I will give these further teachings to the Holy Spirit and He will see to it that they are recorded for you in the Epistles. There is nothing in the Epistles that Jesus did not previously mention embryonically in the Gospels. And there is no point of truth in the Gospels that isn't developed fully and completely in the Epistles. When you read Romans through Revelation, you are reading the words of Jesus just as truly as you read the red letters in the four Gospels. When you think of it like this, it changes the way that you read the writings of Paul and Peter and John and Jude and the writer of Hebrews. In fact the writer of Hebrews said, God, who at various times and in diverse ways spoke long ago to the fathers through the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son… Hebrews 1:1-2a In the Upper Room Discourse (John 13-17) where Jesus is telling them He has much more to teach them, there are at least 25 by my count, seed truths. The Upper Room discourse is the seed plot of many forms of doctrine which are later developed in the Epistles. It is not strange that the New Testament writers take up these truths for greater explanation and clarity. Scripture has to be read as a whole. Some want to read only the gospels. Some say only read writings of Paul. In other words, when Jesus came to the end of his ministry, he had much more to say, and he wasn't going to do it through parables and proverbs. He was going to do it plainly and thoroughly and theologically and practically. He had much more to say, but the method through which he would speak would change. And so he died on the cross and rose from the dead. He ascended to heaven, and the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles. And what did the Holy Spirit come to do?” He came as a channel through which Christ Jesus would continue doing the things he had been doing, and saying the things he had been saying just as truly and authentically as he did in the days of his flesh. What Jesus continued doing is recorded in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. It is the ongoing continuing ministry of Jesus Christ. And what he continued saying is recorded in the Epistles. The Holy Spirit of Jesus came upon Paul, and Peter, and John, and Jude, and James, and Jesus filled out in theology, doctrine, and in behavioral instruction what he had begun to give in embryonic form in the Gospels. For example, Jesus gave us John 3.16 in the Gospels, but later he explained it all in the Book of Romans.” He spoke embryonically of his return in Matthew 24, but later he expanded it to the Book of Revelation. He told us in Matthew 16, I will build my church, but he then explained to us how the church was to function in the pastoral epistles. He told us he was the fulfillment of the law, but he explained his relationship to the Old Testament in the Book of Hebrews. So with that in mind, let's go back to Acts 1, verse 1. In my former book Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and began to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven. When Jesus ascended to Heaven, He was not retreating. When Douglas McArthur left the Philippines he said, “I will return.” And then he said,”We are not retreating, we are advancing in another direction. When Jesus left earth He made the promise,”I will return.” He could have also said, “ We are not retreating, we are advancing in another direction. That was true because He sent the Holy Spirit. So what does all of this mean to us? It means everything to us. It means everything to me. I can tell you that the philosophy of ministry that I was taught and which I've tried to pursue all of these years springs from the truth and the reality that comes from this one word and this one verse. Let me sum it up in three phrases. The first phrase is Jesus is continuing his work. He is continuing his work today. Some are teaching today that when Jesus came to earth, He gave up the use of His divine powers and worked all His miracles as a mere man, through the power of the Holy Spirit. So, contrary to what Christians have believed through the centuries, His miracles were not evidence of His deity. Jesus did seven, really 8 signs proving His Diety. The final being His resurrection. Such teaching that Jesus did all His miracles as a mere man (though not necessarily heretical) are rather subtle, which compounds their dangerous effect. As one person said, Let’s face it, if Jesus did all His miracles as God, I’m still impressed. But that is an impossible example for me to follow. . . . When I see that He did what He did as a man following His Father, then I am compelled to do whatever I need to do to follow that example. I’d still like to see someone raise themselves from the dead. John explained what the work of God is in his gospel, prior to John 14:12. John 6:29 Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." The miracle of the new birth is still the greatest. When Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost and 3,000 souls became believers in Jesus, that was a greater work than Jesus ever did on this earth. Jesus saved those people through the preaching of Peter who was empowered with the Spirit of Jesus. Jesus channeled His power to Peter through the Holy Spirit. We are advancing in another direction. It also about what Jesus did. John calls the miracles of Jesus signs because they point to Jesus and His divinity. Signs follow those who believe. There are plenty miracles in the book of Acts. Jesus was continuing His work. They are miracles today. Jesus is continuing His work. How does this flesh out. John’s gospel taught us it wasn’t about holy places, but the Holy person Jesus. The book of Acts teaches us it’s not about holy places, but holy people letting Jesus gift them and work through them. Jesus said, “Without me, you can do nothing.” …John 15:5 The work that we're seeking to do for Christ is not our work, but his. It is not our doing it, but it's him doing it. It is still his work, and that's why it cannot be stopped. If it were my work, it could be stopped, or if it was your work or the work of some particular individual church, it could be stopped. But because it is our Lord's work, it is unstoppable. When those in the upper room on the day of Pentost were filled with the Spirit it was the work of Jesus baptizing them with the Holy Ghost and fire. When Peter stood on the day of Pentecost, it was Jesus continuing his work. When the three thousand were saved and baptized, it was Jesus continuing his work. When Saul of Tarsus was transformed on the road to Damascus and became the evangelist that he became, it was Jesus continuing his work. When St. Patrick went to Ireland as a missionary evangelist, it was Jesus expanding his work.” “When William Carey went to India and Adonarum Judson went to Burma, and Hutson Taylor went to China, it was Jesus taking his message to the lost. When William Wilberforce campaigned for the abolition of slavery in the British Empire, and George Muller built his orphanages in Bristol, England, it was Jesus. When George Whitfield and Jonathan Edwards unleashed their great awakening, it was Jesus working in this world just as truly as in the days of the Gospels, When missionaries send the Jesus film to every corner of the globe, when the growth of the Church exploded in China, it was Jesus continuing his work. And whenever you read your Bible to your children, or teach a Bible lesson, or share the Gospel with a friend, or invite a neighbor to church, or support a missionary, or sing, or preach a sermon, it is Jesus himself continuing his work. It is his work on earth. I don't know how to fully visualize this, but try to think of something you've tried to do for the Lord in the last week. Take a mental photograph of yourself doing it, and then somehow substitute the form of Jesus standing there, doing it through you. I don't quite know how to see, or how to imagine, or fully how to understand it, but that's the reality of it. And when the reality of it hits you, it changes about the way you think, even about your life on this planet. And that leads me to the second phrase, through his people. Jesus is continuing his work. He is doing it through his redeemed people, like you and me. When the Apostle Paul would give reports to others about his ministry, he would tell them, as he put it, what the Lord has done through him.” He didn't report what he did for God, but he said, this is what Jesus has done through me. We have that terminology repeatedly, but just notice, for example, Romans 15, verse 19, when Paul said, I will not venture to speak of anything except what God has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done. He said, it's not me saying it or doing it. I am just a channel. It is Jesus doing it through me. And it's not you singing for Christ on the worship team. It's Jesus doing it through you. It's not you teaching the children's class or whatever it is you do for the Lord. It's not you taking that missionary trip to Africa. It's Jesus who wants to do it through you. And that leads to the third phrase. How does this happen? How can it be? Jesus is doing His work today through His people and by His Spirit.” And that will unfold as we study this book of the Acts of the Apostles. As we'll see in Chapter 2 on the Day of Pentecost, Jesus sent His Holy Spirit to be with us and to be among us and to be around us and to be within us and to work through us. Now that really presents us with an obligation. We need the fullness and the anointing and the power of the Holy Spirit on everything we do and say. The moment we receive Christ as Savior, the Holy Spirit comes and resides within us. But the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit involves much more than a passive dwelling in our hearts. He wants to fill us with the personality of Jesus and to anoint us with the power of Jesus. The New Testament screams, not I but Christ. The Holy Spirit wants to fill you with the personality of Jesus and anoint you with the power of Jesus. I'm going to keep saying that over and over again, but we need to be yielded to. Him, surrendered to Him, utterly and absolutely and willing to give Him everything that He might have full clearance to work through us. And I believe that we need to ask for it. And I believe we need to claim it. And I believe the Bible indicates this when it tells us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I've read so many accounts of people who, while in the service of God, received a fresh anointing and understanding and empowering by the Holy Spirit. And I just think sometimes the Lord gives us a fresh anointing and a renewed filling of the Holy Spirit. After the famous 19th century evangelist D L. Moody, Dwight Lehman Moody had been in ministry for a number of years, he had a special encounter with the Holy Spirit which he later described in this way. He said, I was crying out. This was after the Great Chicago Fire and he was still going about his work, but he had been through this traumatic experience. He said, I was crying out all the time that God would fill me with his Spirit. Well, one day in the city of New York, oh, what a day, I cannot describe it. I seldom refer to it. It's almost too sacred an experience to name. He said, Paul had an experience of which he never spoke for 14 years. I can only say that God revealed himself to me and I had such an experience of his love that I had to ask him again to stay his hand. He said, I went to preaching again and the sermons were the same, and yet hundreds of people were converted every time I preached. I think sometimes, somehow, God just gives us an anointing.” There's an old song that says, Jesus, fill now with thy spirit, hearts that full surrender know that the streams of living water from our inner self may flow. Full surrender…holiness. It is about holy people. And that's referring to what Jesus said. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them and by this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. So don't misunderstand me. The moment you receive Christ, you are indwelled with the Holy Spirit. And yet the Ephesian Christians were all believers who were indwelled by the Holy Spirit, but Paul told them to be filled with the Spirit. And in the Book of Acts, as we'll see, the Apostles in the early Church are filled with the Spirit, not just once, but again and again. Jesus, fill now with thy Spirit hearts that full surrender know, that the streams of living water from our inner self may flow. In recent days, I've been praying and wondering if God wants to give me some kind of fresh anointing and empowering for His service. And there's nothing wrong with asking God for a fresh anointing of His Spirit's presence and power on our lives for this season that we're in, for whatever it is that we're facing, for what is next, because what is next is often greater than what came before and how we need a revival, a fresh anointing, a fresh filling, a fresh effusion of the Holy Spirit in our world and this nation and in our church today. We are still living in the 29th chapter of the Book of Acts, as it were, the story of what Jesus is continuing to do through His people, by His Spirit, and that's the role He wants to play in you and me. And that work, because He's doing it, cannot be stopped ever. He is building His church, expanding, bringing this world to Himself as He sees fit through us. And that work is unstoppable.