"Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister (serve to bring up) questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith " (1Tim. 1:4)

I'm going, to begin with the book of Acts called Acts of the Apostles. It was written during the first century between somewhere around 65 and 85 Common Era or Ad. As you used to say, between 65 and 82.

Actually, it's thought of the author has always been acknowledged as Luke, the beloved physician. Okay. It's a very well-written book by a person that is Luke, who had a great vocabulary, very wonderfully written Greek special words, and a high vocabulary.

You could tell this person was educated and very intellectual. Okay, so we'll start with this book of Acts. And it's extremely significant.

And this is the pre-Pentecost services leading up to what happened following the book of Luke. Okay. And he starts with Acts, chapter one, verse one.

Here is the first account I'm reading from the New American Standard version. The first account that I composed, Theophilus, is about all that Jesus began to do and teach. So he refers back let me read this in a different Greek translation, goes like this.

The first book. Now, the word account or book is the Greek word logos. L-O-G-O-S.

Logos. Translated word, in the beginning, was the Logos. The logos was with God's translated word.

Here it refers to a work that he did, the words that I did. So he says the first account that I composed, okay, the first book I wrote, Theophilus, concerning all that Jesus did and taught. Obviously, he's referring to the book of the Gospel of Luke.

The first book and the first book of Luke are all about Jesus' Gospel and of what he taught, where he went, what he did, where they sermon on the plane, and the things that he taught. Blessed are the meek and all that. So this is the second book, then the first book.

This is then the second book of a large historical work, two books, and it was dedicated to a person by the name of Theophilus. Now, how many Theophiluses there were? That's a combination of Greek words. It's probably a Jewish person whose name was Theophilus and the word Theophilus, is just like a lot of words.

My name, David means beloved. And there are other names like Timothy, which means crown, I mean Stephen, which means crown. And Timothy means another thing.

And so there are all kinds of names that mean things. Theophilus meant friend of God. Friend of God.

A theo Philos. Here he was looking back. Now in this verse one, he's looking back for a glance at the first book.

The first had given an account of everything Jesus did and taught. He says, giving you everything I know about the things Jesus did and taught. Now, here is a major issue occurrence, a major step in the world of Christianity.

The Christian religion he's saying right here is now adopting a literary writing format. No longer is it going to be just word of mouth, you know, the original gospels and things that Jesus did were passed on by word of mouth. What did he say? What did you say? What did you hear? People weren't writing it down at first because remember in that early church, they thought everything was coming to an end, the kingdom of God would be here, so they didn't write it down.

Okay? So here we are. Now he's writing it down. No longer.

We're going to depend on word of mouth and oral teachings. And so what Jesus did, we're not going to write it down. His works, his teachings.

Christianity now, at this point was entering the world of literature, the cultural world of the world of antiquity, of the world that went by, the world of literature. So he's saying the first book I gave you was about all the Jesus. Now he's going to do this book, you see? So this is the first dedication that what Jesus taught was going the first indication, I mean, of what Jesus taught is going to go on into the future, okay? It's going to go to the future that Christianity was going to become more of a widespread world religion rather than a local one, going beyond Palestine and Judea.

Here we have Luke has the determination to collect the whole of the traditions and teachings of Jesus. That was from the book of Luke, you see, and the gospel of Luke, and not he wasn't going to lose any fragment. He wanted to collect everything that Jesus said, everything that he could substantiate that Jesus taught on which the Church was founded, okay? And put it down in writing so we don't lose it.

So here was a major step for you, for me, otherwise we would not be able to see these things. Acts one and verse two. Now the second verse, I wanted to write down everything that Jesus did and taught until the day the Greek implies, including the day when he was taken up to heaven after he had by the Holy Spirit, given orders to the apostles whom he had chosen.

Now, right here, Luke is telling us that the authority of the apostles, okay, came from the Holy Spirit, came from the Holy Spirit, and his orders, the authority they got came from the Holy Spirit, and the orders they got from Jesus came from the Holy Spirit. So we have here's another translation of verse two, up to everything that Jesus did and taught, up to the day on which, after giving instructions to the apostles whom he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, he was taken up. So we see it right here in verse three.

The apostles were chosen, and Jesus had chosen them through the Holy Spirit. So their authority comes from God. Right? In verse three to these, he also presented Himself alive after his suffering by many convincing proofs appearing to them over a period of 40 days.

Listen to this historical work telling you that Jesus appeared to them by many convincing proofs. Now, Luke is not saying I saw it. He's saying other people saw it over a period of 40 days.

And speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. So Jesus kept talking about this kingdom of God, the world-ruling government of God. Also, the kingdom of God is a part of all of us because we're under God's authority.

In verse four, gathering them together, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem. Now, here, after these 40 days, here they are now. And he's got them all together and he's saying, don't leave here.

Don't leave Jerusalem, but wait for the promise. Wait for the Father who had promised, which he said, you have heard from me, but to wait for what the Father had promised. Wait for what the Father had promised, which you he which he said, you have heard from me.

You heard about it from me. So he's talking to the disciples here in verse four. Now, a Greek alternative of the way of the translation goes and as he was eating with them, you see, in verse four, the New American Standard says gathering them together.

But as he was eating with him is also another translation of that Greek word. As he was eating with them, he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father which you have heard from Me, he said. Now, Luke had to be aware of the statement in the words in Mark's Gospel.

For instance, in Mark chapter 14, verses 27 and 28, after Jesus was resurrected, Jesus said to them, his disciples, you will all fall away. Before he was crucified, you will all fall away. Because it is written I will strike down the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.

But after I have been raised. This is verse 28, Mark 14, verse 20 I will go ahead of you to Galilee. So he's telling them, I'm going to meet you in Galilee.

Chapter 16 of Mark and verse seven. But go tell his disciples and Peter, he is going ahead of you to Galilee. And there you will see Him just as he told you.

So Luke had to be aware of this, that they were going to go first of all to Galilee. But in the Book of Acts here Luke is telling them that. He told them as he gathered and ate with them during those 40 days don't leave here in Jerusalem until they get what the Father had promised.

Stay here. Now, in Luke 24 and verses five through nine, we read this and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground from the angels, the men said the so-called men, their angels that appeared as men said to them why do you seek the living God among the dead? He is not here, but he has risen. He has risen.

Remember how he spoke to you while he was still in Galilee saying that the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified. And on the third day rise again. And they remembered his words.

They returned to the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven. Now Judas Iscariot is not there. So to the eleven and to all the rest.

So here now Luke is saying at the end of this Jesus, now he was for some 40 days and part of those 40 days had to be in Galilee. But now getting close to the time, okay, 40 days. But the 50th day, what it will see about that, acts one and verse five.

Now we see why the instruction was to wait for John baptized with water. This is Jesus now telling you, don't leave Jerusalem until you get what God promised for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. Now the only occasion where Jesus speaks of the Spirit in the Synoptic Gospels is in Mark chapter 13.

And you'll see the parallels in Luke and Mark's chapter in Matthew, chapter one. Matthew, chapter ten and verse 19. And Luke chapter 21, beginning in verse twelve and forward, going forward.

But I'm going to read you Mark's rendition, Mark, chapter 13, verse eleven. And when they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but to say whatever is given you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit in you.

The only time Jesus calls in these three passages the Spirit is the Holy Spirit. And here we have in Acts one and verse five, he calls it the Holy Spirit. You'll get the Holy Spirit.

And they've talked before of the Spirit. The Spirit took him into the wilderness and this and that, but called here the Holy Spirit. Acts one.

Now and verse six. So when they had come together they were asking him, lord, is it at this time you are restoring the kingdom to Israel? Is that what you're doing? Do you want us to wait here? Are you going to restore the kingdom? Notice where the kingdom is going to be restored. They're not thinking outside of the world ruling.

They're thinking restore the kingdom where? To Israel. Get those Romans off our backs. Let us be free to do what we want to do and not have to be subject to the Roman soldiers.

So when they had come together, here's another translation of verse six. So the assembled group then asked him, lord, do you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? Now Luke chooses an indefinite expression because verse 21 implies that not only the apostles were there, but others. So he uses the group, the assembled group.

Or it says when they had come together, he doesn't use a specific impression because we're now going to see that women were a part of that group as well. Here we have the issue of when. Now here comes the win.

When are you going to do it? Is it just for Israel or for others? Something that makes itself felt throughout the Book of Acts. You'll see this point is it just for Israel or just for others too? And this is what the whole Book of Acts is going to bring in to show you that Christianity went beyond Jewish, went beyond just Israel. Israel was fine, but it went beyond, okay, acts one and verse seven, he said to them, it is not now they're asking, is it at this time? When is this going to happen? He said to them, It is not for you to know times and epochs or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority.

I'm reading that from the New American Standard version. Jesus is here expressing a rather stern injunction that must be obeyed. It is not for you to know when is it at this time that you're going to restore.

It's not for you to know, okay? So stop thinking about it. It's not for you to know the times and the seasons and the epochs which God has placed under his own authority. And Luke then, is following what we saw in the Book of Mark in chapter 13, verse 32.

But nobody knows when that day or hour will come. Jesus said, okay, not the angels in heaven and not the Son. Nobody knows it.

Only the father knows that. Mark, chapter 13, verse 32. Now, I know dozens of people thought they knew.

They knew when he was going to be. They knew the day, they knew the hour, they knew the season. They knew it was going to be in the fall of this, and it's going to be in the spring of that.

It's going to be on this holy day, it's going to be on here, it's going to be here. It's going to be 1975, it's going to be 1982, it's going to be 1989, it's going to be 1990, it's got to be 2000 because it's Y, two K and all that. You'd be surprised.

Let me read Mark, chapter 13, verse 32 in the complete Jewish Bible. However, when that day an hour will come, when that day, an hour will come, no one knows. Not the angels in heaven, nor that, not the Son, just the Father.

Jesus says, I don't know when that day will come, but I know people have thought they knew. Matthew, chapter 24, verse 36, but of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. Let me read that from the new English translation, Matthew 24, verse 36.

That as for that day and hour, no one knows it, not even the angels in heaven, except the Father alone, not even the Son. That's a big statement. Not even the son of God knows it.

So he's telling them, it's not for you to know it okay? So stop worrying about it. Stop seeking it.

And yet the churches and ministers and evangelists and radio evangelists and personalities and TV evangelists have never stopped trying to figure out what day, 1 hour, what year, what season, what time is it going to be this it's going to be the famous 1860s thing from the William Miller group. They thought they knew. They said it's going to be here.

And of course, they had all the people gathered and so on. And every time it happens, it didn't happen on that day. Oh, we forgot the year zero.

It'll be the next year at the same time, the next year. We're not wrong, we just miscalculated. It'll be next year.

How many people have predicted the end of the world? How many people have predicted the time of Christ's return? Never has happened. Every one of those prophecies has failed. Prophecies fail, but the people keep going on.

And for some reason, you could be as wrong as anything, but people still believe you, believe you. You must be right. You oh, yeah, you got to be right about something else.

You're right. This it's amazing to me. If that person had been in business and failed that many times and so on come on, come on.

All your prophecies have fallen, failed. What's going on? Acts one now in verse eight, but you will receive. Okay, he says to them, it is not for you to know the times and epics in verse seven, which the Father has placed under his own authority, but you will receive power.

This is verse eight. When the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest parts of the earth. Remotest part of the earth.

Now, after Jesus makes clear what Christians must renounce, what do we have to renounce? We have to renounce this thing of trying to figure out when the end will come when the Father is going to restore the kingdom. Then he tells them that they will receive the Holy Spirit and they will be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. This is a command and a promise all in one.

This word of Jesus contains at once the gift of the Holy Spirit and the obligation is the last. Listen to this. These are the last words Jesus speaks on earth.

You see that verse eight. Jesus is saying, it's not for you to know the times or the epochs, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you in verse eight, and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria, and to the remotest part of the earth. Those are his last words on this earth.

Verse nine. And after he had said these things, he was lifted up while they were looking, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And verse ten.

And as they were gazing intently into the sky while he was going up, behold two men. And Luke always shows him as two men in white clothing standing beside them. Now here they have two men listen in Luke chapter 24 and verse four.

They didn't know what to make of this. Suddenly two men were standing beside them in gleaming bright apparel. Let me read that in the new English translation.

While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men stood beside them and dazzling attire. Now, Luke, chapter, I mean Acts chapter one and verse eleven. So these men said, they also said, now, men of Galilee, they're all from Galilee, of course, that's what the Galileans they were looked on as a lower class, not so educated, not so smart.

They didn't get trained down in Jerusalem by the schools down there. So they also said, men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus. I'm reading this from the New American Standard version.

Acts one, verse eleven. 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. Okay, so now we know the pattern.

He's going to come back, feet are going to land on the Mount of Olives. He's going to take off from there. But notice this, not a word about when he's coming back.

He's going to come. We know how he's going to go. We know he's going up.

He's going to come back the same way you've seen him go, but we don't know when. Not a word. Verse twelve.

Acts one, verse twelve then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, I can tell you, a Sabbath day's journey away. I can tell you. We walked it.

There wasn't one on the Sabbath. We walked it from the top of the Mount of Olives, down this hill, down toward the old city of Jerusalem, where the temple and so on the Temple Mount was and all that where Pilate got his presentation and made his statement in front of a crowd, where all those portions were there. And walking, that was one of the most difficult things for me with my knees.

That hill was down like this, really steep, and it was just a road. Yeah, you say, well, what's wrong with road and road? But you have to keep breaking. I have to keep breaking, putting the brakes on, not breaking my legs, but putting the brakes on my thighs and knees.

And I was afraid if I let go and I started to rumble and run, I would not be able to stop. I'd just not be able to stop. And I'd go flying headlong.

I didn't have the knee capacity. So they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olive. Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, is definitely a Sabbath day's journey away.

Verses 13 and 14. When they had entered the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying, that is. Now he names them here Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Elphaus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas, the son of James, but not Judascariot.

These all were with one mind and were continually devoting themselves to prayer. Now they had just heard Jesus telling them, to go there and wait along with the women. Notice that along with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers, here is the first Christian congregation, the first congregation of the Church of God from that early time.

Luke tells us all the names of those who were in attendance. However, Luke shows no interest in the wives of the apostles. He does not name them or Jesus' brothers.

He does not name them the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers and his brothers, but he does not name them. He doesn't show any interest in naming the wives or Jesus' brothers. And you see here in the Book of First Corinthians that the apostles had wives.

First Corinthians nine and verse five. I'm going to read here's Paul quoting, do we not have a right to take along a believing wife? I'm quoting Paul now in One Corinthians nine five, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas, meaning Peter, so he says, do we have this? No, but rather to the women who supported Jesus, he mentions them. The women.

He just mentions the women and the mother of Jesus, but he doesn't talk about anybody. But the women who supported him were mentioned in Luke's chapter one of Acts and verses verse 13. And Luke, in chapter eight of the Book of Luke Gospel, luke says verses two and three also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses, Mary, who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod steward.

Some of these people were just normal, everyday people, but they worked for Herod's Temple, Herod, Stewart and Susannah, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means. These women helped Jesus with his work, Luke 23 and verse 49. And all his acquaintances and the women who accompanied him from Galilee were standing at a distance seeing these things.

You see it in Luke chapter 23, verse 55. Now the women who had come with him out of Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how the body was laid in verse ten of Luke chapter 24, Luke 24, and verse ten. Now they were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, mother of Mary, the mother of James, and the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles.

Now those same women, some of those same women were with the apostles waiting there in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit. Okay, I'm going to pick it up in verse 18 and read through the rest of the chapter, verse 18. Now, for he had counseled among them and received let's see.

We're going to pick it up in verse 15. Verse 15. At that time, Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren.

A gathering of about 120 people was there together. And he said, Brethren, the Scriptures had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested him. Arrested Jesus.

He brought them there. He also reported on Jesus, too, for he was counted among us and received his share of this ministry. Now, this man acquired a field with the price of wickedness and falling headlong.

He burst open in the midst, and all his intestines gushed out. Now, this is what Peter is telling them. And it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem that.

So in their own language, that field was called Hakal Dama. That meant the field of blood, for it is written in the book of Psalms. Now he's quoting Psalms prediction, David, let his homestead be made desolate.

Let no one dwell in it, and let another take his office in quotes. This is from Psalm 59, verse 25, and Psalm 109, verse eight. Therefore, it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time pardon me from the men who have accompanied us all the time, that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning with the baptism of John, even to the day that he was taken up from us.

One of these men. So there were other you have the Twelve, but there were other men who accompanied, and they were being trained, and they listened to what Jesus said, but they were not among the Twelve. The Twelve had a certain portion, a certain specific reason.

We know that now, and we know why. Because they're going to be over the twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus said it, one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.

So they put forward two men called Joseph, called Barsavis, who was also called Justice, and Bethias. Okay, these two men. Suppose you're one of those two men, and they're telling you one of us is going to be chosen to be in the Twelve, in the Twelve.

And they all knew what the Twelve meant because Jesus had told them, Passover, you're going to be over the twelve tribes of Israel, and so on. So they all knew that, and they prayed, and they said, you, Lord, who know the hearts of men, show which of these two you have chosen to occupy this ministry. And apostleship, from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place, and they drew lots.

Now, they were going to choose him, but they're asking God to do it through the lot. And the lot fell on bethias and he was added to the eleven apostles. I often thought I wonder what the other guy thought.

They put forth the names, right? One of them was called Joseph, called Barsabus, also called Justice, and the other so Joseph called Barsabus. He didn't get chosen. Matthias got chosen.

I wonder what happened to him? I wonder how he felt. I wonder what he did? Did he come up and congratulate Matthias? Did he say, oh, that's what God spoke, God has spoken, I accept it. I accept what God said. What did he do? How would you feel if you were there? Just as qualified.

You went everywhere and for whatever reason the lot didn't fall on you, you have to ask that question. You have to ask yourself that question. Could you take that? Do you have the character? We don't even know what happened to him.

You have the character, he just kind of fades out of the writings of the New Testament. But he probably was a stalwart in some church and they said, well, you were there with Jesus, what he did. Yes, I knew what he did.

And Luke may have talked to this guy and other people get gathering information for the Book of Luke, the Gospel of Luke. We don't know where he went, what he did, how he did. But I'll tell you if he stayed in a good attitude if he said whatever God says, you have to give this man a lot of credit to be this close and not be part of the Twelve.

I'm not part of the Twelve. You're not part of the Twelve. We can be good Christians and rejoice in God's word and love God and thank God that we're part of anything, that God will accept us into his great family, into his kingdom.

That's wonderful. And I'm sure he felt the same way. I hope I'm right.

But we don't know. We know about you. We know about me because we're still here.

Join me in prayer as we end today's service. Heavenly Father, you who choose on the basis of the hearts of people, you know things that none of us know about, even ourselves, to pierce down into our own lives and separate our thoughts from our feelings and everything. You know more about us than we know about ourselves.

We just give you thanks for everything. We give you thanks for those who love you, still calling on you for their healing, asking you, Father, for your mercies to direct them in the right ways if they're getting surgery, to direct their doctors to do a really good job, if they're getting some other help in the hospitals or wherever they are. My brother Gary, that he's getting good physical therapy and is responding well and healthful.

We know, Father then all those. It's a blessing and it's a great thing for us to be. Able to call on you and to continue in prayer.

We give you thanks for every blessing. We ask your blessing on your people, we ask your blessing on the Church overall wide, and that you will give us your faith and strength during times of trial. We ask you to bless your people and we give you thanks for everything and for today's service.

In Jesus' name, amen.