Kick-Starting a Plan to Reach the World, Part 1

January trucks window open.

The Gospel according to Matthew the past 11 months is wanders through a verse by verse study through all 28 chapters's in-depth study came to a grand crescendo with the great commission of Jesus to go and make disciples today on Insight for living trust begins an essential follow-up study about the practical implications of this great commission will start by showing us how the disciples implemented the marching orders of Jesus titled this first message in the series kickstarting a plan to reach the gospel by Matthew all we found it almost unfinished in that we were left with Jesus and his disciples together but we might say hanging on his words almost as if saying and what next.

Thankfully of took up his pen after writing his gospel and the Lord led him to write an entire book that would trace the events that would answer the question what next and that book we know as the book of acts.

Interestingly, name the acts of the apostles, though, except for one occasion when the apostles were named only for apostles appear by name in the book of acts is really the acts of the Holy Spirit and were looking at that book together. At this time and next is resort of finish up the account of the gospel by helping each of us understand what followed in how the Lord implemented a plan that was designed to reach the world.

I'm reading from acts chapter 1. If you've not already located that in your Bible, please do so. Acts one verse six so when the apostles were with Jesus. They kept asking him Lord is the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom. He replied the father alone has the authority to set those dates and times and they are not for you to know, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. After saying this he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching and they could no longer see him as they strained it to see him rising into heaven to white robed men suddenly stood among them. Men of Galilee, they said, why are you standing here staring into heaven. Jesus is has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven.

In the same way you saw him go look at that verse, I just read. We are in between the last part of the last phrase Jesus has been taken up from you. That was a long time ago.

In our past, but someday he will return from heaven. In the same way you so I'm go and that's yet future. We are in the in between awaiting his return here to download his searching the Scriptures.

Studies by going to Insight world.or/studies. Another message from Chuck titled kickstarting a plan to reach the world.

One of our major goals in life is to simplify the complicated because my world is so directly connected to the Bible. My desire is always to simplify what is written in the Scripture at first glance, the Bible can appear to be intimidating. It's a big book.

Lots of pages. Lots of words often in small print, filling one chapter after another with with the thoughts and statements that are somewhat unfamiliar to the person who doesn't know the content of the Bible and it also contains words that are sometimes not use in our generation. So that has to be clarified. I have a small framed sign that sits in my study and I read rather regularly.

It says Indios and chronically eccentric phraseology is the promo gator rep returnable obfuscation will sign sits in my study when you turn around the other side it says big words cause confusion. That sign is saying that, but it's not saying that so it needs to be simplified, sometimes big words are misleading, making you think one thing when in fact they mean another photo that would one of our church members send me an email this past week that illustrates it perfectly. He wrote I called an old classmate and ask him what he was doing my former classmate replied that he was working on awkward thermal treatment of ceramics, aluminum and steel under a constrained environment.

Well, I was impressed. However, upon further inquiry, I learned that he was washing dishes with hot water under his wife's super supervision say that when it comes the Bible is no reason to be intimidated.

There really isn't.

I spent my life studying it, and I've learned that it really is readable and it is all understandable, some parts of it of course or mysterious hard to grasp. But that would be a very small portion of Scripture.

In fact give you a tip.

Everything in the Bible falls under one of three categories.

Everything the Bible is either including information about people or events are great ideas returns sometime called doctrines. Again, people, events, great truths are great ideas for everyone from the Scriptures you're dealing with a person or people your reading of an event or events and you're learning about a great idea or a great truth a great doctrine when it comes to people.

The main character of the Bible is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. I'll give you another tip when you're in the Old Testament, and I will stand here to illustrate it.

Everyone in the Old Testament is looking forward to his coming because all through the Old Testament. He is not present. They are anticipating his arrival. So everything in the Old Testament looks forward to his coming when you get to the Gospels Matthew Mark Luke and John. Everyone is looking at Jesus's birth, his boyhood.

The brief story of his growing up years. His ministry, his suffering, passion, death and resurrection, and finally his Ascension is all about Jesus who was present among the people, the ones who are writing the Gospels Matthew Mark Luke and John Old Testament. Looking forward Gospels. Looking at then you get to the letters of the New Testament all the way to Revelation.

Everything is looking back at Jesus. He is already been here, so he is now history there. Looking back on what he did what he said what he meant how he did what he did and why he did and on and on we could go all that is in the letters which make them so vital to the Christian life because it links the life to Jesus, who has lived his life and now empowers us to live the same life today as one man put it in the life that he lived qualified him for the death that he died in the death that he died qualifies us for the life that he lived that you pay close attention you've noticed, I've left out a book between the Gospels and the letters there is a bridge, a literary bridge called acts written by one of the men who wrote the gospel Dr. Luke so Luke is the most prolific of the four Gospel writers all the gospel and then he takes up his plan and writes a bridge book that covers the transition after Jesus left the earth all the way through the story of the church being born missions getting underway into the life and ultimately the depth of Paul the apostle. It is, in fact, with Paul reaching the silicone on of his life as he comes to Rome, albeit under house arrest, and here he lives hopefully stand before the Emperor and present his Savior to the one who was the Emperor of the Empire, the Roman Empire, but I get ahead of myself.

The book of acts is a transitional book. Please remember that because that's true, be careful about establishing any major doctrine based on a transitional book. Be very careful when you study the Holy Spirit in the book of acts that you don't establish a lot of information in your mind thinking that it applies to the era of the letters when in fact it applies to the bridge for the writer is taking us over a bridge and getting us into the truth of the letters. I love this book is a wonderful book to cover information about Jesus when in fact it really begins with his leaving all this information to those who had been his disciples, and were now being chosen as his apostles.

That's not the same term, chances are you've never heard the two defined for you. We mix them up and therefore we misunderstand a disciple is the word monthly tastes.

In the Greek and it means all learner listen carefully one who engages in learning through instruction from another solar still disciples you are disciple. If you are in a Bible class. Perhaps a whole Bible class a class at the church. A class that you're involved in outside the church and you're learning from teachers. You are a mother tastes in the sense that you are sitting rather passively and learning absorbing perhaps taking notes asking questions. You're like the disciples while Jesus walked among them. For those three, 3 1/2 years. Your order and apostle is not the same as a disciple. The word itself apostle loss means. Listen to this one sent forth with authority for the achievement of a specific objective one sent forth with authority for the achievement of a specific objective. Does this sound like a mirror learner to me and apostle has been handed the baton of the teacher and now carries the baton into his generation. There are no more apostles many disciples, but the apostolic band died off in the first century when these original 1112 apostles died off, they pass the baton on to those they dislike and they became what we call apostolic delegates, not apostles.

Timothy was not an apostle. Titus was not an apostle and ordinal.

We could go no matter what you read or who you listen to. They are not apostles. They are learners, just as I am a learner summer teachers just as I'm a teacher summer preachers as I'm a preacher summer evangelists summer engaged in other spiritual gifts, but the apostle selling gift ended with that first century. These men who took the baton from Jesus and carried it to their beginning of their generation and on into until their death. Most of them by martyrdom.

They carried the role of apostle when you get to the book of acts you begin to read of apostles because they are the ones on the bridge carrying the message of the gospel to the people of the world. We do a work of evangelism as we take the message of Christ and spread abroad, we do it under the authority of Christ, but not with any special authority within ourselves. The apostles have authority within themselves the authority to work miracles the authority to establish churches the authority to discern evil. These were apostolic gifts that were given to those men, but not passed on down through the generations.

Pay attention to the transitional time or you will be forever confused and you will miss use words and that will not be a matter of using the big word, but of misusing words that have no business being a part of your vocabulary. Now when we get to acts chapter 1. Jesus is not yet left the earth.

He's about to leave, and when we get to verse nine, that's exactly what occurred but until then, he has a few last words to say to his men, who are now beginning to fill the role of apostle you will read the word three or four times right here in this first chapter and you read it frequently as you read through the book of acts not observed verse six so when the apostles were with Jesus.

They kept asking him Lord has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom. They are still hung up on that kingdom rule of Christ.

You know why because they wanted to reign with him. They want to be a part of his leadership.

They will be in the future when he returns the desert but not now, and in fact the Lord is going to tell them. Would you please get past the concern about the time of the kingdom. What he says the father alone verse seven. The father alone has the authority to set those dates and times and they are not for you to know see it. I'm not making it up. It's right there at the end of verse seven. Acts one. Please hear my warning if you are under the teaching of an individual who sets dates your under a false teacher. If you are reading books by those who are setting dates and telling you the era in which Christ will return you are reading the book written by a false teacher. He will never tell you that she will never tell you that but they are because Jesus says it's not for you to know it's always been remarkable to me that we get so interested in the very things Jesus tells us is none of our business that amazing.

It's not for you to know he is going to return just as he said and I think we are to be careful here. I am not sure how close but were close and every evil day that passes were getting close because he said in the last days, savage times will come in men and women we are in savage times, most would agree that the intensity of the conflict is escalating and it appears the end is drawing near.

You're listening to a message from Bible teacher Chuck Swindoll titled today's talk kick starting a plan to reach the world.

This is insight for living and chuckles your closing comment in just a moment. So please stay with us and learn more about the ministry of insight for living.

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Many people been asking about Chuck series in the Gospel of Matthew and you'd be pleased to know that Chuck has written an in-depth commentary on Matthew that comes into hardbound volumes.

You'll find all the details for requesting a copy@insight.org/store Chuck throughout our study in Matthew's gospel we had occasion to witness the behavior of the legalist.

These religious extremists had a dismissive way of shaming people and driving them away from God rather than to God when you're right Dave. Anyone who's been verbally dressed down by the legalist knows the ugly feeling of shame that follows is never been there. I sure have. Let me print a picture for you.

You made a foolish mistake your read your lowest moment. You need someone to guide you to safety, but instead the legalist kicks into judge and jury mode drags your most embarrassing flaws in the public view, and then celebrate your failures like a rabid dog with a juicy bone. Satisfying his craving for self validation, slobbering his way to the next victim, and the next and the next, look the preacher sermon here are only to say that Jesus reserved his greatest expressions of anger for the self-righteous Pharisees who preyed upon weakness but with the same intensity and even more Jesus opened his arms to the brokenhearted, the marginalized, the lonely and embrace them with grace, my friend more than ever insight for living ministries is determined to serve as a lavish garden for people all around the world who longed to smell the aroma of God's matchless grace, a safe place where imperfect, sinful people or forgiven taught the truth and redeemed in this emotionally charged era were shouting matches were commonplace for people feel voiceless and overlooked and even condemned. Would you be among those who give generously so that we can spread the fragrance of God's grace to those desperate for a second chance today are needs of insight for living ministries are urgent as we wrap up another year. Your special year end donation will make all the difference. Please don't delay in your response. Together, let's introduce people to the God who says, as Paul wrote in second Corinthians 12 nine my grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness. Here's how to respond.

Chuck Swindoll give us a call right now listening in the United States dial 1-800-772-8888 or if you prefer, maybe quicker and more efficient to give online@insight.org/donate 90 inviting you to join us again Tuesday. Chuck Swindoll talks about kickstarting a plan to reach the world right here on insight for living.

The preceding message kickstarting a plan to reach the world and the sound recording were copyrighted in 2018 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. all rights reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited