The Promise of Power for Unfinished Work

Alright, let's take our Bible. Let's turn to Acts chapter 1. Acts chapter 1, and yes, we're going to cover 11 verses, verses 1 to 11. Now last week we got started in our study through the book of Acts by looking at what I call the "who," the "what," and the "why" of the book of Acts. Obviously, that was an introductory message. We looked into who wrote the book, who the book was written to, why this letter or this book was written in the first place, what this book is all about, and then I did give you some information about breaking down the book that may help you. I know it helped me.

I gave you some information that will help you see the book in a good way. But simply, last week we saw that the book of Acts is all about the actions of the apostles and those early believers as they took the gospel to the ends of the earth starting in Jerusalem. The book of Acts is all about the work of the apostles and those early believers as they obeyed the Great Commission by making disciples of the nations and then forming those disciples into what we see as the church. But we could say what I just said in another way by saying the book of Acts is all about the actions of the Holy Spirit through the apostles and those early believers.

The book of Acts is all about the work of the Holy Spirit to birth the church and the work of the Holy Spirit to spread the gospel and the work of the church. And it was the spirit that empowered the apostles and those early believers to do these things. And of course, this empowerment started in Jerusalem and then it went all throughout the Roman world. Now I know I said this last week, but we need to see that this book is a book of action.

Yes, this book is a book of history and it is an important book of history, but we need to keep in mind that this is not boring church history, but this is the history of the New Testament church in action as they were accomplishing what Jesus called and commissioned them to do. And we will see that at times it really is a thriller when we get over in the chapter two and we see the outpouring of the spirit and people speaking in tongues. That's a thriller. Some of you are probably thinking, I can't wait till we get there. And that way the pastor can help us understand what speaking in tongues is all about. I'll do that. I'll do that.

Now, as we get started here in chapter one, we need to see two things and these things pertain to where we are in this story and in this history. Let me explain what I mean. We have seen that acts is a part two of a two part account given by Luke part one of Luke's writing in his account of the life of Jesus is called the gospel of Luke and part two of Luke's writing is his account of the birth and the history of the church, which is called acts or the acts of the apostles. But we need to see that right here in chapter one, we are in the middle of this story right in the middle of this two part history and story.

Jesus had completed his work of redemption. He had finished his earthly ministry. So part one was and he is complete. But it acts chapter one. The Holy Spirit had not yet been given in the church had not yet been born. So really part two is not started yet. Warren Wiersby says that chapter one of access is a bridge between Luke's gospel and the story in the history of the church, which really starts in chapter two. But also we need to see that we are dealing with in with a completed work, but also an incomplete work in part one or the gospel of Luke. He gives us all that Jesus did and taught simply.

He shows us that the work of redemption is finished. The work of redemption is completed, but starting in part two of the book of acts, he shows us that the story in the history of the New Testament church, but that work is not completed. We see that work in its beginnings here starting in the book of acts and we see this work continuing through the end of the book of acts really all throughout church history. But that work is not finished simply the work of the church is not completed and we are a part of completing that work. Now, right here, I want us to see our first lesson as we're really dividing and getting into these verses.

We must see that the work of the great commission that is evangelizing those lost in the world and organizing those that God saves into a local church that work is not finished and we are a part of this work. We are a part of the unfolding of what we would see as church history. Simply the history and the story of the church is still being completed. So we have the privilege of getting in on that and we must get to work.

And if we understand this and accept this, then we will not relegate the book of acts only to some distant boring history book, but we will see that this is a part of our story because we are a part of the story of the book of acts. Now, we will cover verses 111 and what I'm calling the promise of power for unfinished work. That's the title of the message. The promise of power for unfinished work. And that is what we see in the verses. The promise of power and that is Holy Spirit power and the unfinished work of the great commission. Now, let's read our verses and then we will dive into how we're going to divide them.

So starting in verse one, in the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day when he was taken up after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 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 the 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 into the end of the earth. And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight.

And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes and he said and said, men of Galilee, why do you stay in looking into heaven? This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven. Now, I have given us the broad breakdown of these verses, which is where the title comes from. But in dividing the verses, really jumping in, I want us to see five things that Luke gives us here. So number one, I want us to see the message of Jesus. Luke gives us or references the message of Jesus.

Now, we've already seen that here in verse one, Luke is referencing the first book that he wrote, Theophilus, and we know that is the gospel of Luke. But if we pay attention to verse one, we can see two things about the message of Jesus that Luke references. First, he references the message that Jesus lived. Luke says, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do. And this is important because just like Mark in his gospel account, Luke in his account stresses what Jesus did, not just what he said. Luke emphasizes what Jesus did in his life and his ministry. I'll give you an example.

Luke's gospel account shows Jesus praying more than any of the other gospel accounts. So if we want to know how Jesus prayed and at times what he prayed, well, we can turn to the gospel of Luke. But then second, he shows us the message that Jesus taught or he references the message Jesus taught. Luke says, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach. So not only does Luke give us or mention what Jesus did, but he mentions what Jesus taught as well. But what needs to be seen here is this. Luke did not just give us how Jesus lived and what he taught. He showed us that Jesus was powerful in what he did and what he taught.

In Luke chapter 24, verse 19, the disciples said that Jesus, and I'm quoting the verse, was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. And this is important to see because this tells us that most, if not all in Jerusalem, knew of Jesus. And many throughout the land of Israel even beyond knew of Jesus. They knew what Jesus did and they knew what Jesus taught because what he did and what he taught, he did it in might and power. And then also on a more practical level, we see that Jesus practiced what he preached. He did not just preach powerful sermons, but he lived those things out powerfully as well.

So Luke references the message of Jesus from his first volume. He references what Jesus did and what Jesus taught. Again, these were mighty deeds. These were mighty works. These were mighty words. These were mighty sermons. Now there's a lesson, a quick lesson for us here. What we do must line up with what we teach. What we do and how we live must line up with what we say. There should be no disconnect there. And if there is, we need to see that really we are hypocrites and our hypocrisy ruins our Christian witness and it ruins our Christian effectiveness. And it starts in the home.

Look, parents, if you are hypocritical, if you say one thing and do another, well, then you will ruin your witness with your children and then beyond. And I think you get the idea and the understanding of how that applies. And then number two, Luke shows us the men that Jesus chose. Notice this at the end of verse two. I'm going to start with verse one. In the first book of Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day when he was taken up after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.

Here we see Luke mention the chosen apostles, which of course were the 12 disciples that were chosen by Jesus. And those disciples were later designated as apostles. We see that in Luke chapter six, verse 13. But I want us to see something here in the language. Luke used the same verb chosen in his gospel account when he shows that Jesus chose the 12. Luke used it again in Acts chapter one, verse 24, when two men were put forward to replace Judas. And Luke used this same verb again when he's mentioned the fact that Paul was chosen to be an apostle. So the point I want to make here is this.

Luke is referring to the apostles who truly were chosen men by God and of God and for God. They were chosen by God and for God for a particular office and a particular work. And as we progress in the book, we will see the uniqueness of their office and the uniqueness of their work. Now, this leads me to a couple of questions that you may have here. What do we make of Judas? What do we do with Judas? Was Judas truly an apostle chosen by God? Think about it. He sold out Jesus for 30 pieces of silver and later only hung himself. So that leads us to ask the question, was he a chosen apostle and disciple?

And also, what do we make of the apostles choosing a replacement? Here soon we're going to see that they chose a replacement and they chose a replacement by casting lights. What do we do with that? And then another question, Paul. What do we do with Paul? Was Paul truly an apostle? How can he have been truly an apostle when he comes much later on than those original apostles? Now, we'll answer those questions and more. But notice what Luke tells us right here. He mentions what they saw. Simply, they saw all that Jesus did through his earthly ministry, but most importantly, they saw his death, resurrection and ascension.

And then second, what they heard. Simply, they heard all that Jesus taught throughout his earthly ministry and they heard the things he taught them after his resurrection and before his ascension. So we see the men that Jesus chose. That would be chosen apostles. They were chosen by God, for God, and they had a unique particular office in a unique particular work. Now, what is the point here? These men were witnesses. They were first-hand witnesses to the life, the teaching and the works of Jesus. They saw all of his glorious and powerful works and they heard all of his glorious and powerful teaching.

And they testified to the things that they saw, heard and experienced firsthand as they went out. Now, there's a lesson here for us. We should testify of all of the great things that we have seen God do. Now, we are not like the apostles, no. But we should testify of how we have seen God save the lost. We should testify of how we are seeing God grow the saints. We should testify of his wonderful teaching. We should testify of first-hand knowledge and experience and experiences of how God's working in our life and he's working in the lives of people that we know. And let me go ahead and give you a tip here.

If you're not a true believer, you can speak of those things, but you cannot experience those things because you don't know him. But then number three, the manifestation of Jesus to these men. Luke gives us the manifestation of Jesus to these chosen men. We see this in verse three. Now, here Luke adds to what he just said in verse two. He said that the chosen apostles were witnesses to Jesus' life and ministry. He said that they were witnesses to his death, resurrection and ascension. But here Luke really emphasizes, he highlights that Jesus revealed himself to them for a period of 40 days after his resurrection and before his ascension.

Now, notice what Jesus did here. First, he presented himself. Here we see that he, this is Jesus, presented himself to be alive after his death and he did so for a period of 40 days. And notice, it is not that he lived with them constantly and continuously for 40 days. It is implied, and we know from the Gospels, that Jesus presented himself to them at different times over a period of 40 days. But the point is this. He presented himself, and this was undeniable, because he presented himself to the apostles many, many times over a period of 40 days. And then second, we see that he proved himself.

Here we are getting into the heart of what Luke was doing and saying here. Luke was emphasizing that Jesus proved himself to be alive. Now, the English standard uses the term "many proofs." Here in verse 3, the New American, the legacy standard, says "many convincing proofs." Now, two examples of these convincing proofs are seen in Luke chapter 24. In verse 39, Jesus presented his hands and his feet to his disciples, and he called them to touch him. Why did he do that? Proving that he was alive. And in verse 41, he asked for something to eat. And verse 43 says that he ate fish before them and with them. Why did he do that?

He was proving that he was alive. Simply, Luke tells us in his part 1 and here in his part 2 that Jesus offered many, many proofs, many convincing proofs that he was alive, and he did this for 40 days. But then third, he continued to teach his men. Here, Luke tells us that Jesus, during these 40 days, he continued to teach them concerning the kingdom. This means that he revealed more and more truth related to the salvation of men and mankind, and also what we would call the Christian life, and the kingdom and the kingdom work that was before them, and kingdom work to come.

So here, Luke tells us that Jesus manifested himself to the chosen apostles. He revealed himself for a period of 4 days, and he offered many proofs, many convincing proofs, that he certainly was alive. And this was for 2 reasons. First, to give irrefutable evidence and proof, and many convincing proofs that he was alive. And second, he did this so as to teach them more about the kingdom. Now, a question here. In application, what proof do we have for a risen Christ? They had proof. They saw him, talked with him, even touched him. They watched him eat. A ghost doesn't eat. What proof do we have for a risen Christ?

What is the irrefutable evidence that we have that we have to offer that Jesus is indeed risen and is alive? We do not physically see the male scarred hands. We do not physically eat with him or talk with him. But the irrefutable evidence that we possess and that we have to offer to others is to change life through the new birth. 2 Corinthians 5, 17. Paul says, "Therefore, if any one," we can translate that as any man, any woman, any young person. "If any person is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has passed away, and the new has come." And look, church, being a new creation is Christ.

Living a life whereby the old has gone away and the new self is alive and well, that is proof that Jesus is indeed alive. Galatians 2, 20 says, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. In the life I now live, in the flesh or in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." And look, church, living a crucified life, living in Christ, Christ living in us, and Christ living through us, living a life by faith in the Son of God, that is proof that Jesus is indeed alive. And look, church, we present Christ in one of two ways, only one of two ways here.

We either present Christ as a historical figure, someone who lived long ago, kind of like what we see on the Discovery Channel, or we present Christ as the risen Christ who lives in us and through us as individual believers and as a church. And when we progress through the Book of Acts, we will see these apostles and others present Christ, yes, as a true historical figure, yes, as the promised Messiah of the Old Testament, but powerfully, wonderfully, we will see that they present him as alive in them, working in them, and working through them. You see the difference?

Then number four, Luke gives us the message of Jesus during this manifestation. Luke gives us the message of Jesus during this manifestation. Now we see this in verse four to five, and then in verse eight. Now here we see some specific instruction in teaching that Jesus gave those chosen apostles. And let's read the verses, verse four to five. "And while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart Jerusalem," in other words, don't leave town, "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.'" Verse eight.

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.'" Now we must see something right here. What we have here is the key to the success of the apostles and those early believers. Yes, they had been taught by Jesus. Yes, they had seen his life and his ministry. Yes, they had seen his crucifixion, his resurrection, and they would see his ascension. We could say it like this. They truly had proper doctrine and theology. They truly had proper Christology, but they lacked one thing which was the key to their success.

So notice the message Jesus gave them. First, he commanded them to wait. Plainly, we see that Jesus ordered them. He commanded them not to go, not to leave, stay in town, wait, wait in Jerusalem. And if we look into the Gospel account, we see that Luke is repeating what he said in Luke 24, verse 49. But simply, Jesus ordered his men to wait and to wait specifically in Jerusalem. Second, he promised them the Holy Spirit. We see that in verses 45. Here we see what he ordered them to wait for. That would be the promise of the Father, which wasn't his, the Holy Spirit. Now get this.

This was not a new promise, but a promise they had heard from Jesus many, many, many times before. Luke chapter 11, verse 13, Luke 24, 49, John 7, 39, John 14, 16, John 14, 26, John 15, 26, John 16, 7, John 20, verse 22. All those verses tell us how the Father had promised to give them the Holy Spirit. And get this. This was a personal promise in two ways. First, this was a promise from God the Father to them. Second, this was a promise to send the Holy Spirit who was and is the third person of the Godhead. So this is all personal. So God the Father promised to send God the Holy Spirit.

And here Luke is showing us that Jesus repeated this promise he had given this to them many, many times before. Now, before we get into verse 8, we need to see what we have here in verses 6 to 7. Notice I didn't read those verses again. Here the apostles revealed their misunderstanding concerning the kingdom. And Jesus reveals the mystery concerning the kingdom. Simply, verse 6 shows us that the disciples believed that an earthly kingdom ruled by Jesus would be established very soon in their time. Simply, they misunderstood the kingdom.

But Jesus corrected their misunderstanding by explaining to them that the times for those things were not for them now. He simply tells them that those things were to be a mystery to them. Now, you might not realize it, but this is a very, very big lesson that many need today. Although we can study our eschatology, now that's a big word that describes end times. Although we can study eschatology or end times or the views on the end times, and we can even have a firm grip on how we view the end times, we must see that there is a mystery here. Simply, we do not know when the end will come.

Jesus said in verse 7, "It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father is fixed by his own authority." So there is a mystery here. Then he transitions to the important things at hand, and that is their need for Holy Spirit power to accomplish kingdom work on earth. So third, he promised them power. You see that in the beginning of verse 8. Here in verse 8, he goes back to what he was saying in verses 4 to 5. It's really as if verses 6 to 7 were an interruption, and it was. But here he ordered them to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father, and that is the giving of the Holy Spirit.

And here he promised them that they would receive the Holy Spirit and Holy Spirit power when the Holy Spirit came upon them. And this word power here, in the original, it means strength, it means power, it means ability. It means strength and power and ability to do. One thing that's interesting, and you may come across it in your own study, this word in the original, this is where we get our word dynamite from. But we must say that Jesus is not speaking of a power to blow things up, but a power or an ability to do certain things. This is something that resonated with me in my study. There's a lesson here.

There are some today who have the power to blow things up in the church. And even though they may do those things in the name of God, and for spiritual reasons, they are not operating in the power of the Spirit. Blowing things up, that's a power from the enemy. But there are some who have the power to do the work of reaching the lost. They have the power to do the work of growing the saints. They have the power to work and to do the things that we do to grow the church. They are able to do God's work, and it is because they are operating in the power of the Holy Spirit, the power to do. But then fourth, he promised them power for the work.

We see this at the second part of verse eight. Here in the rest of the verse, Jesus tells them what this power, this ability, or strength was for. He tells them that they were promised the person of the Holy Spirit and the power of the Holy Spirit to do. And he tells them what this doing is all about. He tells them that they would receive Holy Spirit power to be his witnesses. And this witnesses, this word, it comes from a word in the original which means to witness in a legal sense. This means that they would be witnesses, his witnesses, and they would testify of him.

And they would do this in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Simply he was promising them the person of the Holy Spirit, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the person and the power of the Holy Spirit to do the work of the Great Commission. So look at what we have here. This is what I call Jesus' message to his men during his manifestation to them for 40 days. He ordered them to wait for the promised Holy Spirit who would empower them for the work at hand, the work that he had commissioned them to, the work of the Great Commission. Now, what do we need to learn here? And how does any of this apply to us today?

First and foremost, we need to see and understand that we have the Holy Spirit. We do not live in the time of Acts chapter 1. We live in the time where the Holy Spirit has been given. All true believers possess the Holy Spirit. Now, I have taught you thoroughly on the Holy Spirit, and if you need some teaching on the Holy Spirit, I can point you to some of the messages that I have taught. As a matter of fact, a good systematic theology will help you here. John MacArthur has a very good systematic theology. Survival doctrine is what it's called. It's a big, thick, white book.

And it is extremely good because you can study things like the person of the Holy Spirit. And if you need some help there, I'll be glad to help you. But although we do live on the other side of Acts 1, and although we do possess the Holy Spirit, as born-again believers, we need to see that the example of the apostles waiting should do us some good. We should be good at waiting on the Holy Spirit so as to be empowered with the Holy Spirit to do what he's called us to do. I heard this story years and years ago, and I'm probably twisting it a little. But even though I may twist it, it'll get the point across.

I heard the story of the Chinese Christian who was able to visit America during the '50s when they had been experiencing such strict restriction under the communist government. But the story of the Chinese Christian went like this. He came to America and he visited the American church, and he went back home. And the Chinese Christians there asked him what he saw and what he understood. And he was gripped. And he said that he saw all the great things that American Christians could do without the power of the Spirit. So what I want us to see here is this. We need to do some Holy Spirit waiting.

As a small group leader, we should study our lessons, and we should pray for our people. We should pray over our responsibility and the work at hand. And we should pray and wait on and hunger for and express our great need for power to do what we cannot do. Those of you who are going to small group, you need to pray over your leader, pray for your leader, pray for your lesson, pray for your own mind and your heart and your attention. And you need to pray for the Holy Spirit to enable you to do what you can't do, and that is receive His Word. Vacation Bible school workers, children's workers, those who teach the Word to our teenagers.

We need to pray and study and pray for those that we will teach. And we need to pray and ask God to give us the ability to do what we cannot do. Now let me show you something. We probably have never, and if we have this been a long time, sat back and said, "Lord, I really cannot do the task that is before me." That tells us that we think we can do it. As we deal with the lost, how are we going to reach our mothers and fathers? How can we impact our wife, our husband, our children, our coworkers? How can we impact them with the gospel? We don't have the power to do that. So we need to take the example of the apostles to heart.

It applied in our life. Pray and wait and hunger for the power of the Spirit. But I ran across some good application here from Jim Boyce. Some of you know who he was. Jim Boyce, James Montgomery Boyce. But I came across this in his commentary on Acts. He says that believers face two great temptations when it comes to the application of waiting. First, there is the temptation to idleness. Now he describes this idleness by saying, "Well, Jesus has saved me, my wife, my husband, and my children. We're all Christian. We have a nice church, a healthy church, and a strong church. Everything is comfortable in my life.

I think I'll just sit around and wait for Jesus to come back one day. Let's just be patient and we'll wait." See, that is the sin of being idle. But then second, there is the temptation to get caught up into the mistake of the disciples. Let's not think that those verses, where it seems that they interrupt Jesus, were there by mistake. No, they were there for a purpose. Let's not make the mistake of getting caught up into the mistake of the disciples that we see here. This is the temptation to think that we are to do the Lord's work the world's way for the wrong purposes.

And the mistake they made and the many mistakes that many make here today is this, thinking that we as believers are to establish the kingdom of God politically or by law. Do you realize that that's what the disciples wanted? They wanted an earthly kingdom. They wanted Jesus to kick out the Romans and to reinstitute an earthly kingdom like in the days of King David. And if we're not careful, we can think that we can establish the kingdom of God politically or by law by getting Christians into high positions in government and by imposing our vision, our Christian vision, on society and on the world. Look, church, listen close.

We are to take the saving message of the gospel and the work of the church around the world into the nations, not some physical earthly form of external Christianity. And I don't know if you know it, but there are a lot of people in the American church today that are trying to institute some kind of a Christian nation. It's called Christian nationalism. And see, this is why the book of Acts is important. Because we see the apostles and those early believers, the birth of the New Testament church, and we see what their main task was. It was to take the gospel around the world, the work of the church around the world.

They did not get mixed up in politics. And look, church, you can look at church history to verify what I'm going to say right here. Anytime the church marries the church's purpose with politics, earthly government, and some kind of a physical kingdom, that always ruins the message of the gospel and it ruins the work of the church. It always does. And then number five, Luke gives us the motivation for this work. This is in verses 9 to 11, the motivation for the work. Let's read those verses. "And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes and said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who is taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.'" Now, I'm not going to be very long here, not because we're running out of time, but because we can see what we need to see right here by being brief. But what we have here is this. Here Jesus ascended, he left earth, and he left his disciples, and he returned to heaven to his formal glory. We see this referenced in John 17, 1 to 6.

And in ascending like this, Jesus was leaving his chosen men with one last dramatic event that would be for them a great motivation to jump into the work and to carry out the work of the Great Commission. Now, notice what we see here. First, he ascended, verse 9. Here we see that Jesus physically, bodily ascended. In his real body, they touched him, but a glorified body, for he was unlike he was before. He left the earth, he ascended into heaven before their very eyes, into his formal glory, the glory that he had before. But then second, we see their confusion. We see this in verse 10. Here we see that they were left gazing into heaven.

We see that we could put it into our words. I did. They were standing there saying, "What in the world did we just see?" Is he going to come back down? Where are you, Lord? What just happened? So in their confusion, Jesus gave them some help. Third, we see that he is coming back again, verse 11. Here we see that two angels appeared to them, dispelling their confusion and explaining to them that he would certainly return. So their confusion was turned to confidence, because these angels told them that he would certainly return. So what we have here is this. Any confusion and doubt was dispelled and corrected.

The angels promised them that he would return, and these things were meant to give them confidence and to motivate them to obey all that Jesus had commanded them to obey. Simply, this was to be motivation for the unfinished work that was before them. And for us, this should be motivation for us. Jesus is certainly going to return. Do the promises of verse 10 and 11 apply today? Well, of course they do. Jesus is certainly going to come. He will come again. And the question we must ask is this.

If Jesus were to return while we are alive, we only find us working with Holy Spirit power and Holy Spirit ability, finishing the unfinished work of the Great Commission. So this should be motivation, confidence, motivation, confidence. Now, in closing, we have seen that chapter one is the midway point. I think you can understand that. I like what Warren Wiersby says. He calls this the bridge between Luke's gospel account of the life of Jesus and Luke's account of the works of the church, the actions of the church. But notice that in this bridge, we certainly see a lot, and we certainly learn a lot.

And we see that we are just like those apostles and first believers. We have the unfinished work of the Great Commission that is before us, and we need Holy Spirit power, Holy Spirit ability to do what we cannot do without the Holy Spirit filling us, empowering us, and enabling us for the work and in the work. I'll give you an example, an example that some of you know of. Within our Anchored in Truth family, you can go to the Anchored in Truth website, you can look up the churches that have been planted out of Anchored in Truth, and you can read the story of Josh Tancardo. Josh Tancardo came to Grace Life Church of the Shoals as an intern.

He felt called of God to pastor, and he felt called of God to plant a church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. And when Josh went to Pittsburgh to plant that church, he went in great weakness and in great strength. He went with an army. It was Josh, his wife, and one other person. Well see, the strength didn't come in his numbers. The strength came in the empowerment of the Spirit of God. And God blessed the work, and today there is a healthy, thriving church in Pittsburgh. They've grown, they've reached all kinds of lost people.

God's enabled them to reach people, grow the saints, and now they're being very New Testament because they're sending people out to plant other churches. And if you were to ask him how it all started, he would say it started out in great weakness and in great strength. The weakness was it was Josh, his wife, and one other lady. But the strength came because they were empowered to do. They were given the ability to do what they could not do. So tonight, verses 1 to 11, it's all about the promise of power for unfinished work.