Dependence on Christ: Faith, Spirit, and His Return

Thank you for coming and joining us this morning.

We have a children's ministry for those sixth grade and below. If you have a youngster that age, they are more than welcome to go into that class. During the course of the service, we will dismiss all the kids for junior church. Please have the kids go out the back door to meet the children's Pastor.

After our worship service, we are doing a smorgasbord type meal. You are welcome to stay and join us. We don't have any evening ministries, but we will meet back here on Wednesday for a prayer night from seven o'clock to eight o'clock. We will be focusing on praying for our country.

Next Sunday, things will be looking a lot different up here because we will start our VBS program. By the time you come back on Wednesday, some of it will have already been done. We will be looking like an amusement park.

Getting ready for Wednesday, we're going to have a group go out starting at quarter of seven. You can join them or see Pastor Kim, and he'll gladly give you a neighborhood or an area or take from you an area that is close to you that you can do that outside of that.

You can look in the bulletin. I've explained a lot of different announcements already in Sunday school and talked about the prayer needs. What we want to do is focus in on worship, and so with that in mind and with the wafting of the aromas of the food, we need to pray that we are focused here this morning.

So while the instrument is playing through a song just for meditation, let's have a personal time of prayer asking the Lord to help us to worship in spirit and in truth. So let's have that personal prayer time, please.

Thank you, Father. I pray that you would help us this morning to honor you, to praise you, to lift you up. We are concerned about our nation; we pray that there will be revival across our land, but before that can happen, it has to be in our hearts first.

So please speak to our hearts, challenge our hearts, help us to grow closer to Jesus, to magnify Him, to manifest Him in our everyday, to talk like Him, to walk like Him, to work like Him, to treat our friends and our neighbors like Christ would, to share His sufferings in a spirit of gratitude and trust.

And Father, I pray that you would use this day to help us to be drawn to be more like Him. Bless the Children's Ministries, thank you for the workers in the nursery, thank you for the laborers helping with the media and the sound so we can even do a live stream. Thank you for these people helping with the instruments as well as with the singing to give even better background to singing and leading in the congregational service.

And I pray that what we do would bring honor and glory to you. Help me, help my friends to be focused on you, to give you glory, to sing to your glory. We pray this in Jesus' name, Amen.

Glory to His name, let's lift up our voices as we bring Him glory.

Down at the cross where my Savior died, saying I cry there to my heart was the blood of life, for in glory to His name. Glory to His name, come to this richness. Glory to His name, glory to His name, thank you goodness.

While they start playing through, let's share with one another the blessings of being in this land and being born here. Truly we can give God some glory for allowing us to live at this time in this moment in this place.

So you share some testimonies just briefly while they play through a stanza of the song, please.

Okay, Thomas Jefferson. Okay, and what did the Declaration of Independence declare?

Okay, it declared our independence from Great Britain.

We celebrate the Declaration of Independence on the Fourth of July. On July 2nd, 1776, the Continental Congress declared their independence from Great Britain. The official Declaration of Independence took place in Philadelphia. 56 men signed the Declaration of Independence on August 2nd. Thomas Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration, and it declared our independence from Great Britain.

The beginning of what Jesus did and taught, and so he's going to go on and he's going to record all the things that Jesus did and taught, and he's going to show us how the church is to be based upon the words and works of Jesus Christ. That's the first essential.

The second one is found in verse four and five, and it's the dependence upon the Holy Spirit. Watch how he starts the book of Acts in the fourth verse and fifth verse. How he begins it, he says, being assembled together with them, he commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem but wait for the promise of the Father, which saith he, ye have heard of me.

Okay, so he's going to show us that the church is to be based upon the power of the Holy Spirit. That's the second essential.

The third one is found in verse eight, and it's the dependence upon the witness of the apostles. Watch how he starts the book of Acts in the eighth verse. He says, and ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

So he's going to show us that the church is to be based upon the witness of the apostles. That's the third essential.

The fourth one is found in verse twelve, and it's the dependence upon the Word of God. Watch how he starts the book of Acts in the twelfth verse. He says, then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey.

And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room where abode both Peter and James and John and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and with his brethren.

So he's going to show us that the church is to be based upon the Word of God. That's the fourth essential.

The church is to be based upon four essentials: the words and works of Jesus Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit, the witness of the apostles, and the Word of God. This is highlighted in the first chapter of the book of Acts. Jesus began to do and teach, and the disciples were commanded to wait for the promise of the Father. They received power after the Holy Spirit came upon them and were to be witnesses unto Jesus. They returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, and when they were come in, they went up into an upper room. They continued with one accord in prayer and supplication with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and with his brethren.

He walks into the marketplace, and it's Happy Chopra again, and he's alive and he's well and he's healthy, and he's back, and he's telling stories of what happened to him. He's telling stories of how he was dead and he was buried and he was cremated, and then he was resurrected, and he was alive again, and he was back in the marketplace, and he was telling stories of what happened to him.

Jesus began to do His work in the Gospels until the day He was taken up. After that, He gave commandments to the apostles He had chosen through the Holy Spirit. The author wants us to understand that there is a real dependence upon Jesus for the work of the Church and the Gospels. It was not man-made, but a work of Jesus Christ.

When Jesus ascended to Heaven, He continued to work, but this time He was working through the Holy Spirit instead of face to face. This is highlighted multiple times in the book of Acts. We read phrases such as "in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ," "by the hand of the Lord," and "by the name of the Lord," which emphasize that Jesus is behind the scenes, doing the work.

Jesus also appeared to the Apostle Paul, Peter, and Stephen, the first martyr. One of the greatest works of Jesus Christ, upon which all of Christianity is based, is the resurrection of Christ. In Acts, we read that Jesus showed Himself alive after His Passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them for 40 days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

To emphasize this, the author mentions the story of Jay Chopra, who left his hometown of New Delhi due to addictions and family conflicts. His brother later found him in the marketplace, emaciated, and brought him home. After a celebration, he died in his bed that night. The family cremated him and spread his ashes the next morning. Later that same day, Happy Chopra walked into the marketplace, alive and well, telling stories of his resurrection.

He shows up at the door and he says he's happy and looks the same. The family is going, but they never did find out who they just cremated. Jesus is not a bizarre story at all. Luke makes sure to highlight that our faith is based on many infallible proofs and irrefutable convincing facts.

Visual evidence was seen, and not only that, but there was verbal confirmation as well. This went on for 40 days. Jesus is alive, and some of the infallible proofs are that the apostles were eyewitnesses, there were multiple witnesses, up to 500 at one time, he ate with them, it's in his word, the empty tomb, and the changes in the disciples.

Jesus appeared morning, night, and noon, at multiple different places, to multiple different people, sometimes alone, sometimes quickly, and sometimes for an extended length of time. All of this indicates that this was real and not exaggerated.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is a critical aspect of our beliefs. It is essential to Christianity and to our salvation. Luke says it is infallible proof. Jesus himself said he had the power to lay down his life and take it up again. He was obedient to the Father, and his work was done.

When Jesus appeared to the disciples, they were skeptics and critics. He conversed with them, and they touched him. What's more amazing is that the disciples were willing to die for this belief. They wouldn't give their lives for a lie.

Without the Resurrection, our faith and preaching would be in vain. Christianity would be a false religion. There would be no resurrection of any of us, no Savior, no Ascension, no mediator in heaven, no intercessor, and no Advocate. The Holy Spirit could not come.

The Resurrection is essential to our beliefs. We must believe that God has raised him from the dead. It is a critical aspect of our faith. We must proclaim Jesus Christ as essential to our beliefs and work as a church. He died, was buried, resurrected, and ascended into heaven.

In the book of Acts, we are introduced to the ministry of the Holy Spirit, which is absolutely essential for our beliefs, our work as a church, and our success in our Christian life or ministry. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit would come upon people at times and anoint them for special occasions and tasks.

John the Baptist was the first one to mention this, saying that Jesus would baptize in the Holy Spirit. On the last night of his ministry, Jesus talked about the Holy Spirit and said that He would come and be with us forever. In Psalm 51, David even prayed that God would not take His Spirit from him.

Jesus was saying that the past was going to change. He was going to send His Holy Spirit to be with them forever. The world cannot receive the Spirit of Truth, but the disciples knew Him, and He would dwell with them. This was new, as in the Old Testament, the Spirit was not always with them.

Jesus said the Holy Spirit would teach them all things and bring all things to remembrance. He was not talking about remembering where they parked their car, but rather the truth that Jesus had spoken. The Holy Spirit would help them to be witnesses and testify of Jesus.

Jesus said it was necessary for Him to go away so that the Holy Spirit could come. The Spirit would be with them and guide them in all things. The disciples were thrilled to know that they would receive the Holy Spirit and He would stay with them all the time.

This was going to be an ongoing ministry to guide them, help them, and give them remembrance of what Jesus said. He had said just days before that when they got in new trouble, they all of a sudden forgot the capacity or the lessons he had taught the day before. Not that they would do that, but the disciples struggled with that.

The Spirit, Jesus said, was going to teach them further and help them to learn even more, and to help them to be witnesses. According to John 16, he would be there to bring conviction upon those to whom the Word was given. They were excited about this, knowing that the Holy Spirit was an essential part.

Luke was giving a little bit of history now because the Spirit had only come on the scene later on in the book of Acts. He said, "I want to make sure you understand: Jesus resurrected, Jesus is alive, the Holy Spirit which God had promised and Jesus had promised, he was told that he would come."

In Acts chapter 4, Jesus was saying, "This promise is coming, this Holy Spirit, when he comes he's going to help you and the disciples do what we do."

All of a sudden, when Jesus was teaching, someone had a question about something he mentioned a while back. They were particularly concerned about the kingdom because when the kingdom comes, does it benefit them? All the problems go away, they get to be on seats that Jesus had promised, it's going to be glory.

Jesus said, "I'm not going to tell you when you're going to get out of here, I'm not going to tell you when the kingdom comes, that's up to God's timetable. But what I want you to focus on right now is I want you to focus on I told you the Spirit's going to come, I told you the other night that the Spirit's going to be in you, I told you that he's going to help remind you, he's going to guide you so you can be witnesses. I told you that, and so that's what I want you to focus on right now is how can you be witnesses."

He said, "I want you to be able to do it, not to be worried about the future so much as be busy in the present. So to help you to do that, I'm going to send my Holy Spirit that I promised because it's not going to be easy for you."

It's going to be difficult. He was talking to men now, think this through. He was talking to individuals who he said he chose, he was talking to individuals who were called apostles, he was talking to individuals who had walked with Jesus for up to two years.

They had also been very close to him; some had gone in the garden to pray with him, they had seen him weeping, they had seen him struggling. They had already cast out demons, they had already done some preaching already. They had been people who had been very clearly the leaders of all of the followers when crowds would come, they would do the ushering, they would handle any kind of gifts.

The disciples were very active in ministry already, but Jesus said they needed help. He promised to send his Spirit to give them assistance. Just like the United States trains people and equips them, Jesus had trained the disciples for months and months and was not going to send them into battle without the necessary equipment.

He said he had to return to heaven, and when he did, he would send the Spirit. This is the promise God made to them.

The Holy Spirit was essential for the disciples and is essential and needed for us. We ought not grieve or quench him and need to be filled with the Spirit on a regular basis. He is an essential part of our belief, behavior, families, and church. We need to be relying on the Spirit and the words and works of Jesus.

Obedience is also critical to the success of Christianity and Christians. Jesus said to wait in Jerusalem, and this passage shows us the importance of obedience.

Jerusalem is the city of the great king, so he's telling them to wait in Jerusalem. Now why? Why would he tell them to wait in Jerusalem? Why not go out and start preaching? Why not go out and start witnessing? Why not go out and start doing what he's commanded them to do?

Why wait? Why wait in Jerusalem? Why not go out and start doing it right away? Well, the answer is because they need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. They need to be empowered; they need to be given the power to do what he's commanded them to do.

And so he's telling them to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit comes to you, and then you shall receive power after the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and then you shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

The command given in Acts 1:8 is to be witnesses of Jesus Christ. This means to share the facts, give a testimony, and testify about Him. We see in the book of Acts that this was an important part of the disciples' lives.

Before they could do this, however, they were commanded to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came upon them. This was so they could be filled with the Holy Spirit and be empowered to do what was commanded of them.

After they received the power of the Holy Spirit, they were to be witnesses of Jesus in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth. Maintaining this vision is the hardest part of being a Christian, as it is easy to become complacent and focus on our own needs.

We must remember to obey the command to witness and share the gospel. They say what they say, they say please fasten your seatbelts and put your seatbelts on, and I'm always so amazed at how obedient people are. They just do it. They just do it. They don't argue; they don't say, "Why do I have to do this?" They just do it, and I'm always so amazed at how obedient people are.

Recently in Jerusalem, Jesus was crucified. In the last few weeks, the leaders of the Jews have been propagating that the disciples are liars, body snatchers, thieves, and guilty of giving false witness. Jesus told the disciples not to go back to their hometown, but to stay in Jerusalem.

During the 40 days, some of them went back home for some of those days, but when Jesus gathered with them, he said to get back to Jerusalem and stay there. Jesus wanted them to wait for his timetable, so they stayed in a dangerous spot and were obedient.

Obedience is essential to the Christian life and to the church. When people get on an airplane, the steward or stewardess will tell them to fasten their seatbelts, and people just do it without arguing. This shows how obedient people can be.

Someone was announcing instructions for what to do in an emergency while somebody else was going through the Vanna White-like demonstration of showing everything on a card. Most people weren't paying attention, but first-time flyers were following along word by word, ready to pull up the seat cushion that was a flotation device.

For those of us who have done it before, we were getting settled in and doing our own thing. The disciples in Acts were paying attention to what Jesus was saying because things had gotten serious and critical.

Are we paying attention to the words of Jesus in our everyday life? Are we following his commands? If we want blessings in our life, we need the essential of obedience.

The incentive of Christ's return is also an essential. Jesus said he would send someone after he was taken up into Heaven. Two men in white apparel appeared and said that Jesus would come back in the same manner as he had gone. This promise is a tremendous essential in our lives.

If Jesus hadn't ascended into Heaven, we would be without faith and left destitute. But he is going into Heaven and doing all these things, and that is a great comfort.

You probably cook some food, you probably get some extra chairs, you probably get some extra beds, you probably get some extra towels, you probably get some extra blankets, you probably get some extra pillows, you probably get some extra food, you probably get some extra drinks, you probably get some extra snacks, you probably get some extra plates, you probably get some extra silverware, you probably get some extra cups, you probably get some extra napkins, you probably get some extra toilet paper, you probably get some extra soap, you probably get some extra shampoo, you probably get some extra conditioner, you probably get some extra lotion, you probably get some extra toothpaste, you probably get some extra toothbrushes, you probably get some extra razors, you probably get some extra shaving cream, you probably get some extra deodorant, you probably get some extra mouthwash, you probably get some extra floss, you probably get some extra band-aids, you probably get some extra tissues, you probably get some extra toiletries, you probably get some extra cleaning supplies, you probably get some extra laundry detergent, you probably get some extra fabric softener, you probably get some extra bleach, you probably get some extra dish soap, you probably get some extra sponges, you probably get some extra garbage bags, you probably get some extra air fresheners, you probably get some extra candles, you probably get some extra matches, you probably get some extra firewood, you probably get some extra fire starters.

Jesus said that none of us know the time when he will come back. If someone claims to have figured it out, don't listen to them as they will just confuse you. We don't know the hour of the day, but we know he's coming back, and that should impact us.

For example, if someone is 16 years old, they may be planning to get their driver's license. To prepare for this event, they should read the manual, take tests, and practice. Similarly, if someone is going on vacation, they should pack, make reservations, and put gas in the car.

If relatives are coming to visit, they should clean the house, cook food, and get extra supplies such as chairs, beds, towels, blankets, pillows, food, drinks, snacks, plates, silverware, cups, napkins, toilet paper, soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, toothpaste, toothbrushes, razors, shaving cream, deodorant, mouthwash, floss, band-aids, tissues, toiletries, cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, fabric softener, bleach, dish soap, sponges, garbage bags, air fresheners, candles, matches, firewood, and fire starters.

It'd be nice to buy groceries and feed them; maybe that'll shorten the visit. Do you remember that old saying, "Sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite"? In colonial days, everything was in the mattress, and they would use ropes to tighten the box spring so it wouldn't sag. It was a common practice to loosen the ropes to make people leave.

Jesus is saying in this text, "Be prepared, I'm coming back." This is an essential incentive to our everyday service. We should be faithful, live a pure life, serve, and have hope because Jesus is coming back.

Are these essentials in our hearts and lives? Something we value and impact? It helps us, encourages us, and gives us incentive.

At the Crystal Palace Exhibition, there was a contest to bring devices, and the winner had a machine with 7,000 moving parts that operated by steam and made noise, but it was totally unproductive. Are we productive in our faith or just making noise?

Father, help us to be believers who apply the word of God and believe in the resurrection, be reliant on the Spirit, be obedient to the Spirit, and be motivated by the return of Jesus Christ.

This morning, we want to share with you from the Word of God how you can be sure of your eternal destiny relationship with Christ. If you would like to go and talk with somebody right now and get your eternal security settled, then feel free to get up and go with those other folks that are walking.

Just follow them over to that area, and they'll take you aside in a private room and show you how you can be sure of your eternal destiny relationship with Christ.

But you're here this morning, and you're a believer. You have already done that prayer and called upon Christ. Are you living by the essentials? Are you proclaiming the resurrection of Christ? Are you relying on the Spirit? Are you obedient? Are you living as if Christ could come back any moment?

If not, then make changes. Tell Jesus right now what you will do differently and make a commitment.

For these next moments, but for tomorrow and the next day and the next day, help us to dwell on the essentials and how that should impact our thinking and our living this week.

With your heads bowed, your eyes closed, the instrumentalist is playing through a song of surrender, and here you are.

Father, help us to be surrendered. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Let's go eat, folks. Thanks for being here, and have a wonderful holiday.