TO GOOD TO BE TRUE

Have you ever received a message or had an experience you felt was too good to be true? What God offers us may sometimes seem too good to be true. But is it true?

We are continuing our look at the love of God for us and his plan (his mission) to bridge the gap between us and him. His mission is to bring us back into a relationship with him; for some, it may seem too good to be true. Nevertheless, He wants us to become His disciples and members of his family. But it does not end with his call; a call without action from the one being called has no value.

In this series, we will look at some things that happened with the early followers of Christ that can give us guidance on what should be our motivation for action.(Split)

Review our past and present videos at SabbathSchoolDaily.com or visit my YouTube Channel, Sabbath School by Dr. Brenda Ware Davis

You also may obtain the study guide for this series at Sabbath.School or ssnet.org

Let Us Inviting God’s Presence:

Holy Father, though sometimes we read things in your word and experience things in our lives that seem too good to be true, help us by faith, grab hold of  the promises in your word, and never let go. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

God’s Mission, My Mission

(Lesson 5)

Motivation and Preparation for Mission

Part 3

Prophetic Foundation

It was too good to be true! At first, Jesus’ followers don’t believe He is alive. Read what happened in Luke 24:36–49 when Jesus’ disciples gathered in an upper room discover he was alive.

When they see Jesus, they are filled with fear. They think Jesus is a ghost! Then, they feel joy when they realize that He really is alive. They can’t believe it! He is alive. What joy and excitement filled their souls?

If you have ever heard such good news or had an experience that was too good to be true, then you know just how the disciples must have felt in that upper room.

But Jesus did not leave them there. To bring them back to reality, Luke tells us in Luke 24:41

41 But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?” (Luke 24:41)

But what if Jesus would have left them with only this upper-room experience? What would happen to their faith after He left them?

Perhaps their faith would have died out. Over time, the power of their upper room experience might have faded from their minds. Or worse, as many do after a divine encounter, maybe they would start to question what they really saw.

So, Jesus gave them additional evidence. He showed His disciples the scars on his hands and feet, and He ate fish with them.

Then, to solidify their experience, Jesus gave His followers what we today might call a Bible study. He took them to the Word. He gave them evidence; He gave them a prophetic foundation for His work on earth and for His future work in heaven.

For sure, the followers had a powerful upper-room experience with Jesus. But that experience alone was not enough. Jesus wanted their faith to be strong! He wanted them to be grounded in His Word.

In Luke 24:44, Jesus tells his disciples: “ ‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me’ ” (Luke 24:44).

Jesus remained with His disciples for forty days, causing them joy and gladness as He opened to them more fully the realities of the kingdom of God.

He commissioned them to bear testimony to the things which they had seen and heard concerning His sufferings, death, and resurrection, that He had made a sacrifice for sin, and that all who would might come unto Him and find life. (Early Writings, p. 189)

Luke 24:44 tells us He “opened their understanding.”

This tells us that our upper room experience is not enough to keep us going. (Split)

It is the Bible, the word of God, that keeps us going. It is our foundation, and it keeps us going when everything around us is shifting. It sustains us even when things get really bad.

Jesus knew He must help His followers trust their experience with Him. His disciples needed to understand why He had to die and what His waking up from the dead really meant.

They needed to change how they viewed the world. Their focus needed to be shifted from political and earthly power to a spiritual power capable of solving the sin problem.

Like us, they need to know that Jesus’ kingdom is spiritual. They needed to understand that Jesus came to earth to solve the sin problem by dying on the cross.

The Good News about Jesus was about more than giving the Jews freedom from Roman control. The Good News proclaims that Jesus won the war against Satan. It lets us know that His victory over death is a guarantee that one day, all wickedness in the world will be destroyed.

The Good News assures us that God will make the earth new, and those who accept his son will become His people (his sons and daughters) and live with Him as His family.

Thus, Luke in Luke 24:45 tells us that Jesus “opened their understanding” (Luke 24:45). He wanted them to understand the promises in the Word of God about Him so they could share His Word, the Bible trues, including prophecies that point to the history and events leading up to his first coming and include His second coming.

In other words, it takes more than an experience to be motivated to take action. We must have understanding. Once we obtain an understanding, then what? Read Acts 1:12-26 then Continue to the next segment of this video —Part 4: Waiting and Mission

God’s Mission, My Mission

(Lesson 6)

Motivation and Preparation for Mission

Part 4

Waiting and Mission

Luke 24 ends with Jesus ascending to heaven. It says in Luke 24:50–53

50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.

51 Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.

52 And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,

53 and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen. (Luke 24:50-53)

But the wonderful news is that the story doesn’t end there. Luke continues the story in the Book of Acts. Right before Jesus goes to heaven, He gives His followers their mission, a promise, and some immediate instructions. Jesus tells His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for “power from on high.”

“Power from on high?” What did Jesus mean? Luke provides the answer in Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:4-8

Luke 24:49

49 Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49)

Acts 1:4-8

4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;

5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.

8 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 1:4–8)

God promised to pour His Holy Spirit on them. God the Father promises them a helper. The Holy Spirit would empower them so that they would become powerful witnesses for Jesus in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and throughout the earth. (Split)

At this time, Jesus’ disciples included about 120 men and women. Read Acts 1:12–26 to find out what Jesus’ disciples were doing while waiting for God’s promise of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus gave his disciples a clear mission; He told them what he wanted them to do.  He tells them he wants them to be witnesses. He wanted them to share the Good News about Him with everyone on earth.

So, while they waited for the Holy Spirit, they prepared for their mission in two ways.

First, they prayed: Luke says they continued united in prayer. The work Jesus had given them to do was clear. Each one willingly accepted the call. So, they joined together to pray. 

What they prayed for Luke does not say. Most likely, they prayed for wisdom, strength, and courage to do God’s work. What they did is an example for us as Christ’s followers; we must pray for that same wisdom, strength, and courage to fulfill God’s mission.

Second, they organized. While waiting for the Holy Spirit, the disciples didn’t sit around doing nothing while they waited.

They knew they needed to replace Judas. Judas was the disciple who sold Jesus and handed him over to His enemies to be executed. Then, Judas took his own life.

So, there was a vacancy among the 12 disciples. There were 11 rather than 12, as Jesus had elected when he did his work on earth.

So, as the followers of Jesus waited for the Holy Spirit, they asked for God’s guidance. They asked Him to help them choose the best person to replace Judas.

As a matter of fact, the disciples were organizing themselves and making plans on the best approach to do the work God had ordained them to do.

Peter stepped in as their leader. None of the other followers challenged Peter’s leadership; all trusted that God was moving and leading Peter and them. (Split)

Like the disciples of old, we have been promised a later outpouring of the Holy Spirit to finish the work God has commissioned us to do. Thus, we must become united during this time of waiting encouraging and helping each other, as Paul has expressed in Hebrews 10:24, 25

24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,

25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24, 25)

May we pray for God to pour out His Holy Spirit in full measure. And in the meantime, while waiting, use our time effectively. What can we expect when the Holy Spirit is poured out in full measure?  Read Acts 2:1–41 and view my next video —Part 5 Whom You Crucified

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