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ON MISSION WITH GOD
Christ Will Return—Be Watching and Ready!
Oh, and in the Meantime—Get Busy!
Acts 1:1-14; 2 Peter 3:3-9
November 28, 2004

1) Since the book of Acts is considered to be a continuation of the gospel of Luke (both written by the beloved physician, Luke--a close friend of the apostle Paul, let's look see what the early church was doing prior to Christ's ascension into heaven to again be with the Father. (Luke 24:13-53) What was the reaction prior to seeing Christ's risen body and after? By the way, has your heart ever burned inside you and has God ever replaced your sorrow, confusion, and disbelief with great rejoicing? Explain.

2) Acts 1:3 states that Jesus gave his apostles "many convincing proofs" that He was alive. Do you think He still does this today? How? Have you personally experienced any of these proofs? Explain.

3) Jesus' earthy mission had been accomplished and he was returning to the Father. His last words to his disciples was the command, "wait." Why do we find God's command to "wait" so difficult? Are you presently "waiting" for God to work a work in your life? How are you responding?

4) Jesus choose the feast day of the Passover to die for our sins. God had commanded the Hebrews to keep this feast forever in remembrance of the day God delivered his children from the land of Egypt and the death angel had passed over them, yet did not spare the firstborn of the Egyptians. Remember, the Hebrews had to slay a lamb without spot or blemish and smear its blood on their doorposts? Well, with this in mind, what was the significance of the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, commonly called the Feast of the Weeks? Christ walked the earth and showed Himself for 40 days following his resurrection--Pentecost followed ten days after Christ's ascension into heaven? (See Deuteronomy 16:15-16; Leviticus 23:15-16--See also John 4:35)

5) Acts 6-7--This is not the first time the disciples showed an interest in the establishment of Christ's earthly kingdom (See Mark 9:33-35; Mark 10:35-43.) What does this reveal about a possible motive behind this question? Even after Christ has died and risen things had not totally changed for the disciples. What do you contribute this to? (Acts 1:8 puts a light on this matter.)

6) Jesus told his apostles that they would receive power from the Holy Spirit to be His witnesses. The word witness is used twenty-nine times in Acts. What do you think witness means--showing others what we can do for God, or showing or telling them what He has done for us? Can we expect everyone we tell about Jesus to accept our testimony? Why or why not?

7) Jesus outlined His great plan for evangelism. See vs. 8b. Where are we suppose to start and where does our commission end. Was this command given to every Christian or a select few with special gifts?

8) What is the reward for those who plants and those that water the harvest field (souls of the unsaved?) Do you sometimes feel like your work for Christ's kingdom is not as important as someone else’s? What does 1 Corinthians 3:8 tell us?

9) Why was Christ's ascension into heaven such an important part of His ministry? (See John 16:5-15).

10) Do you ever catch yourself just staring up in the sky waiting for Christ to return? In what way(s) can doing so be a good thing? How can this be counter-productive? What should we be doing instead? In essence, what were the angels telling the apostles to do?

11) Verses 12-14 indicated that the apostles and disciples made good use of the 10 days they waited for the Holy Spirit. What were they doing? You will notice that after this event, no one ever argued over who was the greatest!

12) 2 Peter 3:3-9 tells us that in the last days others will scoff at us for watching and waiting for the Lord's return. Have you experienced this type of persecution already? Are you glad God is showing mercy towards others--is there someone you are desperate to see come into God's family? Another thought--are you being a wise or foolish virgin (Matthew 25:1-13)?