Tally
Ho, The Fox!
Chapter
4
Acts 1:1-5 The Key That Hangs at the Front Door of Church History The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of
all that Jesus began both to do and teach, {2} Until the in which he was taken
up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the
apostles whom he had chosen: {3} To
whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible
proofs, being seen of them forty , and speaking of the things pertaining to
the kingdom of God: {4} And, being
assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not from
Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have
heard of me. {5) For John truly
baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many
hence. Acts 1:1‑5 We will begin this study at the "front door" of "The
Acts of the Apostles." Christian
history has been marked by some debate about the title of this book in the
Bible. You probably know that the
names of the books in the New Testament are not inspired. They were added many years after the
completion of the New Testament. Some
believe this particular book should be called "The Acts of Some of the
Apostles," because only the ministries of Peter, James, John and Paul
are referred to. Others think it
should be called "The Acts of the Holy Spirit" to highlight the
Main Worker and hide the lesser workers.
But, everyone retains the word "Acts" in the title. Note that it is not the intentions, or the
plans, or the hopes, or the ambitions, or the studies, or the meditations,
or the sermons (ouch!), of the
Apostles. It is the acts of the
apostles. If the apostles had stopped
with any of the possibilities mentioned above, the book would never have been
written. It is my prayer for us, as we
open the front door of the book, that we will get "caught in the
Acts"! We will begin with an extended look at the very first verse. "The former treatise have I made to do
and teach." Let me impose an outline on the verse. First, there is a previous document mentioned here ("the former
treatise"). Then, there is a personal disciple identified here (O
Theophilus"). Finally, there is
a plain declaration of purpose for
writing the previous document; and, by suggestion, a declaration of purpose
for writing the present document. Previous Document Mentioned
The Gospel According to Luke Let's think of the previous document that is mentioned
here. What is that "former
treatise"? The Phillips
paraphrase calls it "my first book." The Amplified Bible translates it "the
former account which I prepared." The previous document is, of course,
the Gospel According to Luke. The Gospel According to Luke is one of the four
Gospels in the New Testament. It is
comprised of 24 chapters in your Bible, and is roughly constructed around
some ten historical facts about the Person of Jesus Christ. The ten facts are: His Virgin Birth; His
Sinless Life; His Baptism; His Temptation; His Transfiguration; His Garden of
Gethsemane Struggle; His Crucifixion and Death; His Burial; His Resurrection;
and His Ascension. To see how remarkable this is, note the first of these
historical facts about Jesus, His virgin birth. Remind yourself that Luke was a medical
doctor. Medical doctors don't easily
believe in virgin births, but the most extensive account of Jesus' virgin
birth in the entire Bible is given by Dr.
Luke. He tells us in the first
chapter of his Gospel that he had researched the historical data about Jesus
perfectly, and that he wrote on the basis of his findings. So, we have another great evidence here for
the integrity and authenticity of the story of Jesus Christ. Who Was Luke and How Did He Get Into the Story? Who was Luke? And how did he get into the Gospel story?
He was a Gentile man, his name indicates this. He was a medical doctor called "Luke,
the beloved physician," in Colossians 4:14. Sometimes we have the idea that everyone in
the primitive world was backward, largely illiterate, and certainly not as
enlightened as we are today. But such
is hardly the case. Luke has been
often challenged as an historian and as a medical doctor, but "this
anvil (Luke and his writings) has broken many a hammer (his critics)."
In fact, at every point of challenge, the writings of Luke have stood the
test and won the day, both historically and medically. Entire volumes have been written about Luke, both as an
historian and as a medical doctor. For
example, Dr. But, how did this medical doctor become involved in
Gospel apologetics and the writing of two books which are in our New
Testament? Let's combine history,
revelation, and reason for a few moments: Paul and Silas came to
the region of In Galatians 4:13‑15,
Paul said to them, "You know how through infirmity of the flesh I
preached the Gospel unto you at the first.
And my trial which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but
received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus ... for I bear you
record, that if it had been possible, ye
would have plucked out your own eves, and have given them to me."
Note that God did not heal Paul of this serious defect. He had something much bigger and better in
mind than the healing of His Apostle! He was about to recruit (through Paul's
illness) one of His leading spokesmen! Paul and his team
pressed on from SE to NW in the "corridor" of Asia Minor until they
came to the city of While Paul waited,
puzzled, at While there, Paul (as
usual) shared Christ and His Gospel with this brilliant Gentile doctor and
"God turned on the lights" in his inner spirit." Dr. Luke became a Christian. He was radically convicted of his sins and
converted to the Savior. Of course,
Paul immediately began discipling him. But, the time was far too short. Paul and Silas were
"under orders." They were on a mission, and the itinerary and
schedule were determined by the Holy Spirit.
Paul gently said to Luke, "My brother, we must go now." Luke
probably replied, "Go? GO? You just arrived, and you have led me to the
greatest thing I have ever known or experienced, eternal life in Jesus
Christ, and now you must go? This can't be!" But when Paul
insisted, Luke pondered the situation for some while and then he said,
"Paul, how would you like to have another traveling companion on your
missionary team?" Paul's spiritual enthusiasm mounted, but he realistically
replied, "What a glorious possibility! But what about your medical
practice?" Luke replied calmly, "Oh, that wouldn't be any great
obstacle. The practice is in great
shape. I could dispose of it
easily." Now Paul realized how serious Luke seemed to be. "Do you
mean that you would sell your practice and come along with us on the
remainder of this journey? I can hardly believe it." "But
Paul," said Luke, "you need a medical doctor regularly right now,
and I need you at least as much as you need me. Yes, I'll do it!" Do you think I am manufacturing these ideas? Well, I'm not. Up to verse 10 of Acts 16, the historian's
(Luke's) narrative says, "They," as he writes about the missionary team; but at Luke 16:10 (at Troas, vs. 8),
the narrative says, "Immediately we endeavored to go into Tremendous Devotional Truths Let me interrupt our story to see some tremendous devotional
truths. You see, disciple‑making
is never a one‑way street. While
Paul is discipling Titus, Titus is comforting Paul (II Cor. 7:5‑6). While Paul is imparting his veteran wisdom
to young Timothy, young Timothy is supplying his youthful idealism to the
aging Paul. While Paul is discipling
Dr. Luke in Christ's life, Dr. Luke is imparting his medical knowledge and
expertise to Paul the theologian. 1. The
Analogy of the Church as "The Body of Christ" Did you ever wonder
where Paul humanly got his analogy of the Church as the very "Body of
Christ"? From a human standpoint,
is there really any question? Luke
would naturally talk about the marvelous workings of the miraculous human
body. He would "undress" and
explain the incredible human physical machine as he treated Paul's infirmity
as in other settings as well. Perhaps he said one
day, "Paul, how much intelligence
do you have in your body below your
chin? How much wisdom do you have in your body below
the head?" Paul would reply, "I hadn't thought
much about it previously, but the obvious answer is 'none.'" "That's correct," said Luke,
"but then how do the members of your body below the chin know what to do
if they have no wisdom or intelligence in themselves? The answer is another miracle in the body. You see, you have a
system of nerves in your body which connect the members with the brain. The nerves which go out from the brain to
the body members are called 'afferent nerves.' The brain flashes orders to the members,
and if the body is healthy, the members obey instantly and flash an
unconscious message back to the brain, ' All the time Luke is
speaking, the Holy Spirit is mightily moving in the mind of Paul. Suddenly he says, "That is precisely
the way the church operates, also.
Just as your body is the vehicle of your self‑expression, the
Church is Christ's Body, and is the vehicle of His self‑expression." And the Holy Spirit continues to expound
the doctrine of the Church as Christ's Body to Paul, the theologian, through
Luke, the first medical missionary! 2. Luke
Wrote Two Incredible Documents Some long time later,
this Gentile medical doctor, Luke, discipled personally and extensively by
the great Christian statesman, Paul, wrote two incredible documents which are
found today in our New Testament. How
did this happen? And what does it
reveal to us about the disciple‑making mandate of the Great Commission? Get ready for this
massive truth: Though Luke wrote only
two documents of the 27 in the New Testament, those 2 documents make up roughly one‑fourth of the volume of
the New Testament. What were they
written for? Did Dr. Luke have an idea
that these two documents would ever appear in a Bible? In the New Testament? Surely not, for he didn't even know a
"New Testament" was to be published. Then why did he write these two incredible
documents? <Illustration:
Because he was 'the awfulest" looking baby in...> Personal Disciple
Identified One-Fourth of the New Testament Was Written to One Person! Let's consider, secondly, the Personal Disciple to whom
both these documents were written. The
disciple's name is Theophilus. This
name sounds peculiar to us. In fact,
names are often peculiar to us. One
little boy was asked his name by his first grade teacher. He replied, "6‑7/8."
Astonished, she asked, "Where did you ever get a name like that?"
He answered, "My Daddy just drew it out of a hat." Another teacher
asked a lively little boy his name; and he answered, "My name is Johnny,
Don't An Indian chief ode went into the nearby township and said to the
judge, "Me wantum change name." Judge: "What is your present
name?" "Chief Screeching Train Whistle." "And what do you
want to change it to?" "Toots." This man's name, Theophilus, is a compound Greek
word. The first part,
"Theos," means "God." The last part, "philos,"
means "love." So, his name either means "lover of God,"
or "beloved of God." Because of this meaning, some interpreters
have said that this is likely not an individual person at all, but rather a
category of people. But this simply is
not so. The recipient is carefully
described as a person in the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Remember that the Gospel according to Luke and the Book
of Acts both had the same writer,
the same recipient, and essentially
the same subject. Now our second massive truth: One‑fourth of the New Testament was written to one person!
Here is the genius of the Gospel of Christ in boldfaced print! The Gospel of Christ
maximizes the value, the purpose, the meaning, the usefulness, and the
responsibility of each individual. If
you want to see how far we have strayed from the ideal and impetus of the
Biblical Gospel, ask yourself this question:
Have you heard of anyone recently who has written a document of any
length and sent it to just one person to reach that person for Christ? Why Did Luke Write These Two Documents to One Person? Back to our earlier question: Why did Luke write these
two documents to this one person? Do
we have any way of knowing? Yes, we
do. What was the condition of Theophilus when Luke wrote
his Gospel to him? He was quite apparently a lost man, an unsaved
sinner. Luke addresses him as
"most excellent Theophilus" (Luke 1:3). This is a Greek nobleman's title, so
Theophilus was a Greek nobleman, a man of rank and position. No
Christian is ever addressed by such a title in the New Testament, so this
man was a lost man. He had apparently
heard the Gospel (Luke 1:4), but was unconvinced. Remember that "the Greeks seek after
wisdom" (I Cor. 1:22), and are not easily convinced of ideas which may
sound so humanly unreasonable as the Gospel (on first consideration). So, Theophilus balked at the truth when it
was presented to him. But Luke was
also a Gentile, and Luke, had also, had intellectual problems with the
Gospel. But Luke also had become
perfectly convinced of the authenticity and integrity of Jesus Christ and His
Gospel, so he undertook to write an orderly presentation of the facts of
Jesus and the Gospel. What was Luke's purpose of writing? To win this one man to faith in Christ!
Perfect research, laborious work, and tedious writing all for one man that he might "know the certainty of those
things, wherein he had been instructed."
Did the Gospel of Luke accomplish this purpose? Yes, it did! How do we know? Because in the very first line of the
second document, Luke drops the title of rank and simply calls him
"Theophilus." So, the great
task of evangelism was accomplished in this case in this peculiar way. One Greek medical doctor, a brilliant
professional man, researched the Gospel perfectly and wrote an apologetic
Gospel to a serious Greek nobleman to convince him about Jesus and to bring
him to Christ and salvation. And it
happened. Then why did Luke write this second document, the Book of Acts (another 28 chapters in your
New Testament)? If the man was won to
Christ by the first document, then why is a second one necessary? Friends, the answer to this question discloses
the tragic sinful default of the modern church. The purpose of Christ has but barely begun when a person is
saved! It is His intention to
implicate each of His followers, all born‑again believers, in world‑visionary, world‑impacting
disciple‑making. It is His
design that each believer be a
reproducer of reproducers with the "uttermost parts of the
earth" continually in mind. It is
His intention that we follow His pattern to
see the masses through the man, and build the man to impact the masses. So, the Book of the Acts was written by Dr.
Luke to introduce Theophilus, in concept and conduct, to the world‑moving
strategy of Jesus. Did it work? Did
Theophilus become a visionary disciple maker, a reproducer of reproducers? We
simply don't know, and that is all the better, because it means that every
believer must be given maximum chance
through personal enlistment, personal equipment, and personal deployment
whether he "produces" or not.
So, Luke wrote a second lengthy document (28 chapters in your Bible)
to indoctrinate the mind and infect the heart and invite the participation of
one man in the greatest work in the
world. If the Holy Spirit of God models this qualitative
involvement in the lives of individuals in the New Testament, should I not
continually have at least a small group of individuals into whom I am pouring
my life and my vision? Should I not live with a burning Great Commission
consciousness and seek to share it qualitatively with groups of
"faithful men who will be able to teach others, also"? Personal Testimony I will risk a personal testimony at this point. With a vision that has been erratically
enlarging for about a quarter of a century, I have spent large amounts of time
with many individuals, with many small groups, with groups of pastors and
missionaries, and with many entire churches, seeking to impact this
standard. I have seen magnificent
successes so that people whom I have influenced are now in far‑flung
parts of the world winning and training disciples; and I have sadly seen
numerous failures (and have failed myself in ways which surely have grieved
the Holy Spirit). I could fill many
pages with easily verifiable accounts of disciples who have gone out to reproduce
this standard in their fields of service.
Quite a number of them are pastors (and I have had the great privilege
of teaching and encouraging many more pastors who are established in the
ministry), some are missionaries to foreign countries, and many are "lay
people" with a living vision to make disciples where they live, work,
and worship. I am grateful to God for
this matchless privilege, and am more committed today than ever before to
"turn men into disciples." Plain Declaration of
Purpose for Writing All That Jesus Began Both To Do and To Teach Now we consider the final division of our outline of
Acts 1:1, the Plain Declaration of
Purpose for writing the first document, the Gospel of Luke. Luke says that it concerned "all that
Jesus began both to do and to teach." Note the three verbs,
"began," "do," and "teach." The last two verbs form a descriptive
overlook of Jesus' entire ministry.
Jesus is the only person in history who had perfect balance between
the Divinely‑desired doing and teaching. In every other ministry, whether that of a
church or that of an individual Christian, there has been some measure of
imbalance between the two. Think of the churches you are acquainted with. Some are heavily over‑balanced in
favor of doing. Their modus operandi seems to be "get
saved and get busy." They are
heavy on activity but light on academics. They are forward on performance but backward on principle
and precept. One man expressed to
me a caricature of his own church by saying, "Brother Herb, you'll find
that our church is about 5 miles wide and about a quarter of an inch
deep." He meant that rushing
activity is constantly enlarging the numbers in the church, but that
spiritual depth has not kept pace with the numerical growth. On the other hand, there are churches that are heavily
overbalanced in favor of teaching.
They are constantly being fed on the Word of God, but there is no suitable
balance in aggressive active ministries.
The members of these churches tend to develop "hardening of the
hearteries," a kind of sluggish smugness that may tilt over into
articulate self‑righteousness.
These churches have some salving growth, but the Great Commission is
certainly not the overwhelming agenda in them. They will argue the identification of the
third toe of the left foot of Daniel's image, but give no real attention to
the billions of people who remain unevangelized in our world. Jesus had perfect balance between doing and teaching in
His ministry, and each of us should prayerfully seek for this balance in our
lives and in the churches which we attend and in which we serve. This brings us to the "big" verb in Acts 1:1,
the word "began." The Gospel
of Luke concerned "all that Jesus began
both to do and to teach." Those
historical events in the life of Jesus which are mentioned earlier are only a
beginning! Presumably then, if the
"former treatise" concerned what Jesus "began" to do and teach," then the present document, the
Book of Acts, will be about all that Jesus is continuing to do and teach.
But this creates an immediate problem.
Midway in the first chapter of the Acts, the "doer and
teacher," Jesus, disappears from sight!
Then how did He continue to
do and teach through 27‑1/2 more chapters if He is gone from their
sight? What is Jesus Doing Now? Let's enlarge the question. What is Jesus doing now? He is continuing to do and teach to the
level of His intent and purpose in our world today just as He did when He was
here in the days of His flesh. But how
is He doing it if He is not visible?
He is doing it in the same manner He followed when He was here in His
own physical body. What was His method
then? We call it
"incarnation," which means that "the Word (the
"logos," the logic of God) became flesh and dwelt among us." So, God came down to our level in the human
Person of His Son, Jesus, and did and taught among men. What is His method today? Exactly the same,
with these modifications: 1. He
occupies the bodies of all born‑again
believers for the purpose of His extending, His doing and teaching through
them; 2. Unlike
Jesus, each of them (us) is a sinner; 3. There is a qualitative
difference in that none of us is Jesus.
He is uniquely the only‑one‑of‑a‑kind Son of
God. With these modifications, each believer is to be an
extension of the incarnation of Jesus Christ! The instant a sinner is saved,
Jesus Christ enters that person's inner life by the Presence and power of the
Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has been
described as "Jesus' Other Self," and may be loosely understood as
"Jesus without a body." So,
each believer is a living container of the Personal Presence of the Son of
God, and a primary purpose for this is that the believer may be an ongoing
extension of the doings and teachings of Jesus. What Kind of Persons Did Jesus Use This raises another question, a very vital one. What kind of persons did Jesus use in the
Book of Acts to continue His doings and teachings after His Ascension? Interestingly enough, the opening verses of
the Book of Acts provide a perfect answer to this question. These verses provide an excellent profile
of Christ's earliest followers. Lets
reconstruct a portrait of His first followers: 1. Common
Men First, they were common men. We have only to be reminded of all we know
of them from the Gospels to know this.
They were a cross‑section of society, the most common of
men. All except one were from 2. Chosen
Men Then, these were chosen men. Look at verse 2 in Acts 1. His first men are called "the Apostles
whom He had chosen." What were they chosen for? The word "apostles" gives us a great
insight. The word "apostle"
means "one sent on a mission." He chose them so that He could send
them wherever He wanted them to go in order that they might be, say, and do anything
He wanted! And this is why He those
you and me! Note the word, "chosen," at the end of verse two. Every Greek verb "travels" in one
of three voices: the active voice, the passive voice, and the middle voice. In the active voice, the subject acts
through the verb, such as "I run," "I stand,"
"you walk," "you talk."
In each case, the subject acts through the verb. The passive voice means the subject is acted upon through the verb,
such as "I was run over"!
The middle voice combines the other two voices so that the subject acts through the verb, but in
such a way that the result of the
action comes back to the subject himself.
The action is like that of a boomerang when it is thrown. I heard of a man who bought himself a new
boomerang but he killed himself trying to throw the old one away! This verb,
"chosen,' is a middle voice verb and presents to us a stupendous
truth. It means that when God chose
you, He chose you, not merely for your own advantage your health, wealth, and
happiness, but for His own sake! You are saved for God's sake! You are a Christian for Christ's sake! You are alive for His sake! So, you are not a
Christian to get your needs met, or to gratify
and satisfy yourself, but to be employed and deployed by Jesus Christ as a
continuation point of His ongoing doing and teaching. Illustration: When I was a boy, my father taught me a
great love for the game of baseball.
My awareness of the game came from my father, and my competitiveness
came from my mother. The neighborhood
boys often played baseball on Saturdays in the vacant lot next to our
house. I can remember my anger at the
team captains when week after week I didn't get chosen and, thus, didn't get
to play. But, I also remember the
first day I got to play. There were
not enough players and someone had to choose me! It didn't take me long to
figure out that the captain who chose me didn't choose me just because he liked me. He
chose me primarily because he felt that his choice of me would help his side
win the game. Do you see the
application of the illustration? Jesus
Christ does love me, and there is nothing I can do to cause Him to stop! He doesn't love me because I am loveable,
lovely, or loving. He loves me because
He is love period. But, He did not
choose me merely because He loved me, as massive as His love is. He chose me (also) because He felt that His
choice of me would help His side win the game! Is my participation in His global mission such
that it would "justify" His choice of me? Or am I "at ease in Every Christian
reading these words should pause right now and say to himself, "I have
been picked out by the King of all Kings!
I have been hand‑selected by the Lord of glory! Am I fulfilling the purpose for which He
selected me?" 3. Convinced
Men Then, they were convinced men. Acts 1:3 says that "Jesus showed
Himself alive to them after His death by many infallible proofs (unanswerable
evidences), being seen by them forty days." The word "seen" translates the
Greek word from which we get our medical terms "ophthalmia,"
"ophthalmology," and "ophthalmologist." It is the technical root word for the human
eyeball. So, it could be accurately
translated, "Jesus was eyeballed
by them forty days" after His death and resurrection! Later, one of them wrote, "We have
seen with our eyes the Word of Life (1 John 1:1). Also, there is another
feature of this brief phrase from Acts 1:3 that needs careful attention.
There is a tiny preposition in the text that is very difficult to translate
in English. It is the Greek word
"dia," and is translated "between." Jesus was "seen
by them between forty
days." What a peculiar expression! What does it mean? It means that His visibility to the
apostles was not continuous for the entire 40 days. He appeared and disappeared at His own will
for those forty days. He materialized
to sight and de‑materialized to invisibility as He desired during those
forty days. Suppose that I and a
friend were engaged, even engrossed, in conversation. Our eyes are fixed on one another. But, SUDDENLY
another human body materializes between us! Friends, that would scare
whatever is in you right out! No
wonder Jesus typically began His communication with "Fear not," or
"Peace be unto you." Now,
both my friend and I become totally oblivious to our previous conversation
and completely occupied with the "intruding" person. And suppose, while we are transfixed by
him, he just as suddenly disappears, de‑materializing out of our
sight? This is what happened over and
over in the 40‑day period after His resurrection. Jesus hop‑scotched back and forth
from visibility to invisibility again and again during those 40 days. What a peculiar thing!
Why did He do that? He wanted His disciples to know without
doubt or question that He was no less present with them when they couldn't
see Him than He was when they could!
And the same is true today.
Jesus Christ is so much present in the Person of the Holy Spirit that
He could materialize into bodily form if He wished to. But His stated purpose is that each believer give Him "bodily
form" by letting his own body be the "temple," the "Holy
of Holies," the shrine through which Jesus exhibits Himself. Don't you think you
would be completely convinced if you saw Jesus the way they did? Be very
careful. Jesus Himself indicated that,
because of the indwelling Presence of the Holy Spirit, the advantage belongs
to us and not to the earliest
believers (John 16:7). How convinced are you about the reality of Jesus? About the validity of His claims? About the
integrity of His Person? About His ability and His authority? About His
universal missionary purpose? No great
movement of God has ever occurred through unconvinced men. May God open our eyes freshly and fully to
the Person and purpose of Jesus. 4. Commanded
Men Then, they were commanded men. Acts 1:2 says that
"Jesus through the Holy Spirit gave commandments" unto them. Verse 4 adds, "Being assembled
together with them, Jesus commanded them that they should not depart from Can you imagine what
impulsive, self‑aggressive Simon Peter might have thought at this
point? "Jesus, why don't you make up your mind? You have spent three years preparing us to
go, and now You tell us to wait!"
But no such protest arose. By
this time, the Apostles had learned not to argue with Jesus. After all, One Who is Absolute Lord of the
universe is always right! Today's
church should be so wise! It should
spend a great deal of its time in prayer and Bible investigation to be
convinced that it is operating exclusively by the Mind of Christ, then it
should spend the rest of its time obeying Him. The
ancient Arabs created a special breed of horses, sometimes called
"Arabian steeds." At first, they were bred for exclusive use in the
King's stables. As part of the
equestrian training, a trainer carried a whistle on a rawhide rope around his
neck. For months the horse was trained
to stop all activity at the sound of the trainer's whistle and make a
"bee line" for the trainer.
Rigid obedience was required.
The tiniest refusal was total disobedience. Then, for five days food was withheld from
the horse, and for three days the horse was refused water to drink. It was kept in a corral in these final days
of training. On the last day, a trough
of food and water was placed visibly about 100 yards from the corral. The horse would stampede in hunger and
thirst on the trough side of the corral.
Then suddenly, the corral door would be sprung open, and the surprised
horse would gallop toward the trough.
But, when the horse was yet about 25 yards from the trough, the trainer
standing off to the side would blow the whistle! Everything about the horse would tighten in
confusion. A choice had to quickly be
made. The choice? Trough or trainer? Which would it be? If the horse continued to the trough and
gratified its hunger and thirst, thus disobeying the command of the trainer,
it would either be recycled through the process or dismissed altogether. If the horse "voted" against its
own drives and instincts and in favor of the trainer and the training
process, thus going immediately to the trainer, it was then dismissed to go
to the trough for food and water. Friends, everyday such
a choice confronts us. Trough of self-gratification, or the Trainer's
commands? These were commanded men,
and Jesus expects nothing less from us. 5. Controlled
Men Finally, these were controlled men. In verse 4, Jesus spoke to them of
"the promise of the Father," a promise concerning the coming of the
Holy Spirit to empower His church on the Day of Pentecost. In verse 5, He said,
"Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days
hence." The King James Bible used
the old word "Ghost" instead of "Spirit," and in one
great sense, I like that translation.
A ghost (in our thinking) is the part of the person that remains
behind when the body has departed. The
Holy Spirit may be described as Jesus present without a body! So, the Holy Spirit will do the same
things, pursue the same purposes, and build the same kind of people Jesus
built when He was here in the flesh.
If Jesus produced wild and fanatical men, so will the Holy
Spirit. But Jesus didn't produce that
kind of people. He produced men who
were vocationally prepared, skilled, and involved. They were men who could re‑present
Him in any situation. They were men
who skillfully handled the intricacies of the Word of God and applied it to
every situation. And now, since the Day
of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit is our great "Stay‑Within
Friend," always present and willing to control and empower us for the
Master's |
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