"THINGS PERTAINING TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD"
“THINGS PERTAINING TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD”
(Acts 1:3)
SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2012
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
“Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God.” (Mark 1:14)
“ And when they had appointed him(Paul) a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets from morning until evening.” (Acts 28:23)
Christianity is not a movement carried on in memory of a dead founder, but one which is energized by His presence as its Living Leader!
The news on the streets in Jerusalem is shocking:
JESUS DISAPPEARS!
JESUS ARRESTED!
JESUS FOUND INNOCENT!
JESUS CRUCIFIED ANYWAY!
JESUS RISES FROM THE GRAVE!
JESUS APPEARS AGAIN!
JESUS RE-APPEARS!
JESUS DISAPPEARS ONCE MORE!
…and on and on, because the Lord appeared and disappeared again and again in the 40-days that followed His resurrection.
The Lord wasn’t after sensationalism. However, if he wants to get a crowd, he certainly knows how to do it. No doubt sensationalism works. His appearing was performing a delicate task of revealing that even though He was out of sight, He was still alive. He was teaching them to live by faith, “the evidence of things not seen.”
He told Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed, blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (Jn. 20:29).
Luke 17: 20-21: When the Pharisees demanded when the Kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said," the kingdom of God comes not with observation". Neither shall they say, Lo here! Or Lo there! For behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”
John. 29:31: “Jesus did many signs, “but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”
Acts 1:2-3: “…until the day when He was taken up, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. To the apostles, He presented himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs being seen by them forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.”
What was the job he had for the apostles to do? The disciples were going into the building business. He called the twelve for the building of His Kingdom. His Kingdom would be built on the foundation of His Church which foundation He had finished.
“And I say unto you that you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”(Mt. 16: 18-19)
“For no man lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 3:11).
On the Cross, Jesus said, “It is finished!” What was finished? He had fulfilled all of the Old Testament Law, prophecies, temple, tabernacle, offerings, feasts and priesthood. By the death of Jesus Christ we have been redeemed and sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all…He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God…by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified…This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord, I will put My laws upon their heart, and upon their mind, I will write them.” (Heb. 10)
Upon the foundation of this New Covenant, the apostles were to build His Church witnessing, testifying, preaching and proclaiming His Kingdom to the remotest parts of the earth. (Acts. 1:8)
With the Cross behind Him, the Lord could roll up his sleeves (standing at the right hand of God) with no sweat. His greater ministry lay beyond the Cross. The Church within His Kingdom would be a supernatural creation with supernatural power.
John 3:5: “Jesus answered, verily, verily; I say unto you, except a man is born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.”
When people accept the invitation to receive Christ, He would apply the atonement to their souls. These disciples were entrusted with the commission to tell the world that salvation is to be had on gospel terms, and no other. Those, whom the gospel acquits, shall be acquitted, and those whom the gospel condemns shall be condemned.
Jesus’ Kingdom will now be carried on by the person of the Holy Spirit through His disciples.
Acts 1: 4-8: “Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, which He said, you heard of from me; for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. And so when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times, or epochs, which the Father has fixed by his own authority; but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
The Lord wanted the early church to start at Jerusalem in the very place where His Son was crucified. His glory was to be displayed in power by conversions, signs and wonders. The disciples’ commission read, “Beginning at Jerusalem…” (Luke 24:47) Jesus’ plan called for the gospel to go forth from Jerusalem, thence to the uttermost parts of the earth. It is His city, and His choice of Kingdom headquarters. We can receive the Holy Spirit any place, on any continent, but the Lord chose Jerusalem for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
When John the Baptist began to herald Jesus’ coming, he didn’t say, “the Messiah is Coming!” which was true, but he said…”A Baptizer is coming! He put it this way:
“As for me, I baptize with water; but He who is mightier than I is coming, and I am not fit to untie the thong of his sandals; He himself will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Luke 3:16).
The 40 days from Passover (crucifixion) to Pentecost was of the utmost importance after the tremendous fact of the crucifixion. He is clearly instructing them not to be concerned with times and events of political kingdoms, but to keep their focus on the building of a Spiritual Kingdom.
They will receive power, but not the kind they think. They are going to be able to release captives from Satan’s kingdom and transplant (or convey) them into Christ’s kingdom (Col. 1:13). No military force can do that. Military force can’t capture the minds of men, let alone their hearts. Ah, but spiritual power is unseen and works by faith.
The Holy Spirit empowers men and women to cast out devils. Mt. 12:28: “If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” Luke writes, “If I cast our demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”
Pentecost is 50-days after the second Passover Sabbath. A true Pentecost is the writing of the Law of God on our hearts. God wrote the Ten Commandments on the 50th day (Ex. 24). We can compare the Finger of God which wrote the Ten Commandments with the writing of the New Testament by the Apostles which followed Pentecost.
Pentecost was kept in remembrance of the Law upon Mt. Sinai. The sign given to the 120 was cloven tongues of fire. As the Law was given on Mt. Sinai in fire, so is the Gospel given in fire. The Spirit like fire, melts the heart, burns up the dross, and kindles passion in the soul. This is that fire which Christ came to send upon the earth.
The operations of the Holy Spirit are many. At one time I counted over 96 different operations of the Holy Spirit.
Bob Jones posted this week on the Elijah List, a vision the Lord gave him of seven stones, larger than his hands, each one of a different color of the rainbow. The Lord said the stones represent the seven eyes of the Holy Spirit of God or the seven attributes of the Holy Spirit according to John 14:26:
John 14:26: “But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name (in My place to represent Me and act on My behalf), He will teach you all things. He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you. (Amplified).
The Holy Spirit “Quickens (John 6:33) “It is the Spirit who gives life”;
Imparts power (Lk. 24:49);
Testifies of Jesus (Jn. 15:26);
Directs gospel work (Acts. 11:12);
Knows things of God (1 Cor. 2:11);
Imparts gifts to men (1 Cor. 12: 1-10);
Speaks mysteries through man (1 Cor. 14: 2; 14-16);
Imparts character of God (Gal. 5:22);
Works miracles (Rom. 15:19; 1 Cor. 12; Heb. 2:34);
Can translate men (Acts. 8:39);
Raises the dead;
Imparts skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts.
The Holy Spirit, the Third person of the trinity, is the One who empowers believers for spiritual work (to be witnesses).
In Acts, Chapter 1, we now come to the Ascension of Christ. It was the Lord’s good pleasure to provide a visible fulfillment of John 16:28: “I came from the Father and entered the world; now, I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
Acts 1:12 fixes the places as being the Mount of Olives in the vicinity of Bethany. How was He taken? In a cloud. Throughout scripture the cloud is symbolic of the Lord’s presence:
In Exodus a pillar of cloud guided the Israelites on their way and by night a pillar of fire gave them light.”
He visited Moses in a dense cloud. (Ex. 19:9).
The Glory of God settled on Mt. Sinai in a Cloud.
In Exodus 34:5: “Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, The Lord.”
Then the Lord came down in a Cloud and spoke with Moses, and took of the Spirit that was on him and put the Spirit on seventy elders;” (Numbers 11:25)
Judgment accompanied the cloud as with Miriam and the Israelites.
The Cloud filled the temple in 1 Kings and 2 Ch.
God appeared in a Cloud at the Mount of Transfiguration.
Ps. 104:3: “He…who makes the clouds His chariot; and who walks on the wings of the wind.”
He will return in a Cloud (Rev. 14:14).
I believe He visits his saints in this cloud. I have been in services where the cloud filled the temple.
Isa. 4:5: “Then the Lord will create over all of Mt. Zion (those born of the Spirit and water) and above her assembles a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night.”
Acts 1: 10-11: As they were gazing intently into the sky while He was departing, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them; and they also said, “Men of Galilees, who do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
I would say mesmerized was probably a better word that “gazing intently”. These angels make it very clear that Jesus went to heaven and that he will return in the same manner.
1 Cr. 6:9-10 “Know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God? Be not deceived neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor Extortioner, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”
1 Cor. 15:50: “For this I say brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption.”
Gal. 5:21: “Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like of which I tell you before, and I have also told you in times past that they which do such thing shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Rom 14:17: “For the Kingdom of God is not mean and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”
One cannot have Pentecost without Passover, and one cannot have Tabernacles without Passover and Pentecost. We cannot receive of the Baptism without first receiving our Savior. The Holy Spirit is to be received by Faith just as we receive our salvation by Faith. The Holy Spirit is not received because one is perfect, but it is the work of the Holy Spirit to perfect us. Pentecost is the earnest of the Holy Spirit, but there is more. The Feast of Pentecost is but a foretaste.
Passover and Pentecost were fulfilled in the Church. The Feast of Tabernacles (with the Trumpets and the Day of Atonement) is also being fulfilled in the Church. It is not to be given to another time or another people (Col. 2:8).
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
Eastgate Ministries, Inc.
Scripture from New American Standard and Amplified as indicated; Text from Bible Study on Book of Acts taught by Carolyn Sissom November 1999; C. S. Lovett’s Lights on Acts; quote from Bob Jones posted on The Elijah List.