Intro to Acts Alive Acts Alive - Series from Acts of the Apostles: Dave Rajoon

May 17, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Clouds and Waiting Men

The disciples stood gaping as Jesus vanished into the clouds. Two angels snapped them from their stupor: “Why stare at the sky?” They’d just received marching orders to wait in Jerusalem for power from on high. For ten days, they prayed in the upper room – fishermen, tax collectors, and Mary the mother of Jesus all sitting in unresolved tension. [01:00:14]

Jesus didn’t leave them orphans. The cloud wasn’t abandonment but an invitation to lean into His presence through prayer. Their waiting wasn’t passive – it was active preparation for fire. The same Spirit who hovered over creation’s chaos now readied to birth the Church.

Many of us rush ahead without tarrying in God’s presence. What if your next breakthrough requires sitting still? Identify one distraction you’ll silence today to wait on Him. When has impatience cost you more than waiting ever could?

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
(Acts 1:8, NKJV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to reveal areas where you’ve substituted hustle for holy dependence.
Challenge: Set a 10-minute timer today. Sit silently with your Bible closed, hands open.

Day 2: Scars and Unbelief’s End

Thomas thrust his calloused hand toward the resurrected Jesus. “Reach your finger here,” Christ said, exposing nail-pierced flesh. The skeptic’s doubt dissolved into worship: “My Lord and my God!” For forty days, Jesus ate fish, walked roads, and bore scars – irrefutable evidence for those who’d watched Him die. [01:18:49]

God knows our need for tangible grace. The resurrected Christ didn’t shame doubters but invited inspection. His scars became the disciples’ credentials – proof death lost its sting. Every broiled fish breakfast and footprint in the sand built their witness on unshakable fact.

You’ve likely faced moments where faith feels theoretical. What if you rehearsed Christ’s historical resurrection when anxieties arise? Where do you need to touch His faithfulness in your current struggle?

“Then He said to Thomas, ‘Reach your finger here, and look at My hands...Do not be unbelieving, but believing.’ Thomas answered...‘My Lord and my God!’”
(John 20:27-28, NKJV)

Prayer: Confess one area of doubt to Jesus, asking Him to meet you with concrete evidence of His care.
Challenge: Write down three past answers to prayer. Text one to a struggling friend.

Day 3: Stone Tables and Flesh Hearts

Moses descended Sinai with stone tablets as thunder rumbled. At Pentecost, tongues of fire rested on heads as a new law etched itself on hearts. The disciples who’d fled Golgotha now stood transformed – not by external rules but the Spirit’s internal flame. [01:35:27]

God always desired more than compliance. The law’s “you must” became the Spirit’s “you get to.” Where Sinai’s commandments exposed failure, Zion’s fire empowered obedience. Peter’s cowardice melted into boldness not through self-improvement but divine indwelling.

Like the disciples, you’ve likely strained under shoulds and shame. What if today’s struggle became an altar to receive grace? How would walking as God’s temple change your approach to temptation?

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you...I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes.”
(Ezekiel 36:26-27, NKJV)

Prayer: Thank Jesus for specific ways His Spirit has softened your heart this past month.
Challenge: Replace one critical thought about yourself today with “The Spirit lives in me.”

Day 4: Fish Nets and Fire Tongues

Peter stared at the empty nets – again. Three years earlier, Jesus had called him from these same boats to fish for men. Now the post-resurrection Peter nearly retreated to old rhythms until Christ’s command: “Wait for the promise.” The upper room’s fire transformed bait-scented hands into gospel weapons. [01:43:33]

Pentecost repurposed Peter’s story. The man who denied Christ beside charcoal fires now proclaimed Him amid Jerusalem’s hostility. His former identity as fisherman became a metaphor, not a fallback. The Spirit doesn’t erase our past but redeems it for witness.

What “old nets” tempt you to retreat to when God’s plans stall? Name one skill or experience He’s refining for His kingdom use. How might your past prepare you to testify?

“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
(Acts 2:4, NKJV)

Prayer: Ask for boldness to share how Christ has reshaped a specific part of your story.
Challenge: Tell one person today, “Jesus changed my life” without qualifying it.

Day 5: Theophilus and Certainty’s Charge

Luke dipped his quill, determined to give Theophilus an “orderly account.” He interviewed eyewitnesses, cross-checked facts, and documented scars. This physician knew faith rooted in myth crumbles under suffering. His Gospel and Acts became historical anchors for early believers facing lions and flames. [01:10:05]

God invites inspection. Luke’s meticulous research – Jesus’ fulfillment of prophecy, verifiable miracles, and resurrection appearances – builds confidence for those who weren’t there. Our faith rests not on clever tales but on apostolic witnesses who “ate and drank with Him after He rose.”

When doubts assail, do you retreat into emotionalism or investigate Christ’s reliability? What evidence of His work in your life could you document today?

“It seemed good to me...to write to you an orderly account...that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.”
(Luke 1:3-4, NKJV)

Prayer: Thank God for three concrete ways He’s proven faithful in your life this year.
Challenge: Write your salvation story in 100 words. Share it with a family member by Friday.

Sermon Summary

We gather around the resurrection and the promise of the Father and refocus on Jesus as the center of our lives. We remember that the post-resurrection appearances proved without doubt that Jesus lives, and those proofs shaped the earliest witness and the church’s mission. We accept that Pentecost means more than an event; it signals God planting his law and power within our hearts so that obedience springs from love rather than obligation. We see that the risen Lord commanded waiting in Jerusalem for the promised baptism of the Spirit, and that waiting prepared the community to receive an inward work that changes motives, purifies vessels, and equips ordinary people to be courageous witnesses.

We trace the book of Acts as a continuation of Luke’s orderly account and understand that the gospel rests on eyewitness testimony and verifiable events. We hold that the gift of the Spirit does not remove responsibility; it transforms character so that the fruit of the Spirit becomes the proof of God’s law written on our hearts. We acknowledge the call to be witnesses to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth, and we accept that witness may require true courage and costly fidelity. We prepare ourselves by removing what crowds the heart, by embracing new vessels for the new wine, and by stewarding the treasure of Christ in our fragile lives so that the excellence belongs to God and not to us.

Key Takeaways

1. Our faith rests on resurrection We center our confidence on the empty tomb because the risen Christ provided infallible proofs that moved the disciples from fear to proclamation. We refuse to reduce faith to mere opinion; we ground it in verifiable events that changed eyewitnesses’ lives. We therefore preach and live with the seriousness that evidence demands, not with a flimsy sentiment that can be dismissed. [76:40]
2. The Spirit writes God’s law We expect the Spirit to transplant God’s will into our affections so obedience flows from love rather than compulsion. When the law becomes inward, our moral choices gain life, mercy, and discernment that stone cannot supply. We practice spiritual formation that invites the Spirit to reorder our loves and to produce the fruit that proves God’s presence. [52:36]
3. We receive power to witness We acknowledge that the promise of being witnesses arrives with power; proclamation without empowerment will wither. We accept that authentic witness often risks reputation and safety, yet the Spirit emboldens ordinary people to testify with clarity and cost. We therefore prepare to speak the truth with courage, trusting that power accompanies the commission. [60:14]
4. We must prepare new vessels We commit to clearing the clutter of old loyalties and sinful comforts so the Spirit can fill us anew. We understand that receiving new wine requires emptied, cleaned vessels; spiritual renewal demands intentional removal of what resists God. We pursue holiness as readiness for the ongoing work of the Spirit rather than as a checklist. [103:33]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[48:30] - Opening Prayer and Focus
[49:12] - Present Moment Worship
[50:31] - Acts and Our Mission
[51:37] - Sunday as Recharge
[52:15] - Pentecost Background
[54:49] - Fruit of the Spirit Explained
[55:28] - Acts as Acts of the Spirit
[57:11] - Luke, Theophilus, and Purpose
[60:14] - Promise of Power to Witness
[76:40] - Resurrection’s Infallible Proofs
[103:33] - Preparing New Vessels for Spirit

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Acts 1:4-8 (ESV)
“And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, ‘you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’ So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’”

2 Corinthians 4:7 (ESV)
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”

Observation Questions

In Acts 1:4-8, what specific command did Jesus give the disciples before ascending, and what promise did He attach to their obedience?
According to the sermon, how does Pentecost redefine obedience to God’s law compared to external compliance? [52:36]
What metaphor does 2 Corinthians 4:7 use to describe believers, and what does it emphasize about God’s power?
The sermon mentions “infallible proofs” of Jesus’ resurrection. What examples were given to show these proofs changed the disciples? [01:16:40]

Interpretation Questions

Why did Jesus command the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit instead of immediately sending them out? What does this reveal about the relationship between preparation and mission?
How does the inward work of the Spirit (writing God’s law on the heart) produce a different kind of obedience than rule-following? [53:51]
The phrase “treasure in jars of clay” implies fragility and purpose. How does human weakness uniquely showcase God’s power in our witness?
The sermon states, “Our faith rests on resurrection.” Why is the resurrection’s historical veracity foundational to Christian courage? [01:21:14]

Application Questions

What does “waiting on God” look like in your current season? Are there areas where impatience or self-reliance is crowding out dependence on the Spirit?
The Spirit transforms obedience from obligation to love. Where in your life does obedience still feel like a burden? How could inviting the Spirit to renew your affections shift this? [54:49]
The sermon says witnessing requires “true courage and costly fidelity.” What fears or comforts make it hard to share your faith boldly? What practical step could you take this week to lean on the Spirit’s power? [01:00:14]
“New wine requires new vessels.” What habits, attitudes, or loyalties might God be asking you to remove to become a “cleaned vessel” for His Spirit? [01:43:33]
How can you intentionally ground your daily choices in the reality of Jesus’ resurrection rather than treating it as a distant doctrine?
The disciples’ witness flowed from encountering the risen Christ. How could regularly reflecting on God’s faithfulness in your past strengthen your courage to testify today?

Sermon Clips

48s

#WorthyVessel

“Make me a worthy vessel. Make me a worthy vessel. Let me be a vessel in which Christ can dwell. Because when Christ dwells within me, the world will see and know that he's alive. He's the one who is dead and is alive and is alive forevermore. That's my purpose, God. My only purpose here is to give glory and honor to you, God. So father, as we move this week, oh God, let this be a week of waiting, oh God. Let this be a week in which we wait on you. Wait on you, oh God, to fill us afresh, oh God. We are reminded of Paul said, be filled with the spirit. Be filled with the spirit. Not to be drunk with wine, but to be filled with the spirit of God. So we know it's an ongoing process.”

37s

#BePartOfTheStory

“I want you to understand something. Now Jesus ascended into heaven, that was not the end of the story. And disciples may have felt at one point that this is where it's in fact, after the resurrection, they kind of felt that this is the the end of the story. You just had to call him back and say, no. That's not the end of the story. There's a second part to this whole, and you're gonna be a part of it. You're gonna be a part of that story. You're gonna be a part of the mission going forward, and I wanna encourage you. I wanna empower you. I wanna give you the facts so that you can go forward. The thing that we need to understand about the gospel of Saint Luke and the and and the book of Acts is that the gospel story is true. Somebody say amen to that. Amen.”

37s

#RefilledByTheSpirit

“We know that you're with us, oh God. Holy Spirit, you are with us today. I know that you're with us, oh God. But every now and again, we need to be reminded who we are. We need to come back to the filling station like we are here today on this Sunday morning, oh God. And ask you to restore us, to fill us once again so that we could continue this journey, so we can continue the mission, so that we will not fall short, oh God, so that we can take up the whole armor of God, and that we can stand with the righteousness of God upon us, with the helmet of salvation, with the belt of truth and our feet shot with the preparation of the gospel.”

30s

#BelieveToPersuade

“You see, because we our job is to persuade men, but you can't pursue no one if you don't believe it yourself. Yes. If you don't believe the gospel story, if you don't believe the resurrection of Jesus Christ yourself, then you have no business trying to tell people and trying to convince people. So you have to believe it. You have to believe that it is true and to know that it's true. And Jesus says, you know what? I'm gonna give you the proof. I'm gonna show you for yourself that you will know. Amen. And then those forty days, kept the said that he went about speaking about the things of the kingdom of God.”

44s

#TreasureInEarthenVessels

“The apostle Paul said this. He said, we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellence of Christ may be of God and not of us. In other words, he's saying that there's something that you have, there's something that you have within you. You know, we don't understand what it means for God to dwell within us. But it's important to understand that that is what happened on the day of Pentecost. But when God comes and he dwells within us, then we have to get rid of all the other stuff. There's a lot of things that has to be removed. Amen? Now a lot of times people say, well, you know, I've got the spirit of God dwelling in me, but, you know, what if God says that, you know, you can't have clean water and dirty water in the same vessel.”

52s

#FaithOverDoubt

“You see, because unless the king don't sit on the throne, which is your heart, don't expect him to sit on a physical throne. He has to sit on this throne that's out here for us. Amen? And in order for him to sit on that throne, everything else has to remove. That brings us in the next week to what Pentecost is all about. You see, the day of Pentecost, in order for god to sit upon that throne in our hearts, then everything else has to be removed. How many of you understand that here today? Amen? Jesus is preaching the rest of the kingdom because because throughout his ministry, throughout the year, three and a half years of his ministry, Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom. You know, we preach a gospel of salvation to all the world. During the time of Jesus' ministry, he didn't preach a gospel of salvation the way we preach today. He preached a message of the kingdom of God. Right?”

57s

#GlobalKingdom

“And Luke being more of a researcher because we know that he's a physician. He's someone who has certain skills, certain training. The others didn't have that kind of training that Luke has. So Luke says, you know what? I want to write everything down in an orderly way. I want you to know in a chronological fashion what happened, the things that happened among us. So he said, it seemed good to me also having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first. It appears again that Luke was there from the beginning. He knew all that was happening. He saw. He may have walked with Jesus. He may have been may have been among the people that followed Jesus on a consistent basis. Remember, not only 12 disciples followed Jesus. There were many, many disciples who had followed Jesus. 12 were chosen, and they were made into apostles. But we had many disciples, hundreds of disciples of Jesus. And Luke may have been one of them from the very beginning.”

37s

“That's that's what a real father does. That's what a loving father does. Makes a promise that he keeps it. So I wanna tell you about the promise of the father. God has made a promise. If the father has made a promise to you, he will keep it. So here's what I want you to do, guys. Wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the father, which we spoke about. And then in order to give them context and help them to understand the promise of the father, he says, John baptized you with water. But when the holy spirit comes, the promise of the father, you will be baptized with the holy spirit from on high. In other words, there's gonna be a new spirit that's gonna be placed in you. So”

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