Romans 10:13-14 (NLT)
13 . . . “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?

 

“About 45% of religiously unaffiliated are unopen to talking with a stranger about their faith.” – Lifeway Research

 

“About 85% of people who come to faith in Christ come through the influence of a family member or friend.” – Various Studies

 

Acts 16:31
. . . “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

 

Acts 1:1-2
 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.

 

  • Luke was the only Gentile (or Non-Jewish) author in the New Testament.

 

  • Luke wrote the book of Acts about 30 years after Jesus’s resurrection.

 

Genesis 18:19; Acts 2:17-18

 

A Great Commission Equipping Session

 

Acts 1:3
After his (Jesus) suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

 

  • An EMBOLDENED

 

John 20:19
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”

 

Ephesians 6:19-20 (NASB)
19 and pray in my behalf, that speech may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

 

Ephesians 4:11-15; Luke 16:19-31; Ephesians 4:15

 

  • To embolden – to give someone the courage or confidence to do something or to behave in a certain way

 

  • John Wesley taught wherever confidence is emboldened like it was in Acts 1:3, the kingdom of God will grow.

 

  • An EMPOWERED

 

Acts 1:4-8
1 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. ”6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

 

John 14:16-17; 1 Corinthians 2:11, 12:11; Ephesians 4:30; John 20:22

 

“We might preach until our tongues rotted, until we should exhaust our lungs and die but never a soul would be converted, unless there were mysterious power going with it-the Holy Spirit changing the will and heart of man.” – Pastor Charles H. Spurgeon

 

 

 

Questions:

  1. What did you hear from the Holy Spirit?
  2. What will you do because of it?
  3. How can we pray for you?

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