Promise Of The Father - Acts 1:1-5 - Comments by Mike Kines

The book of Acts is a continuation of the Gospel of Luke, written by Luke for Theophilus. Jesus baptized with the Holy Ghost, while John the Baptist baptized with water. After Jesus' resurrection, he proved to his disciples that he was alive through many infallible proofs. He instructed them to wait in Jerusalem to be baptized in the Holy Ghost. The Christian life is lived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and without the Holy Spirit, one cannot live for the Lord. It is a supernatural life lived by faith and walking in the Spirit. Christians should pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit. So we're starting on the book of Acts today, and we're going to look at the first five verses. Acts chapter one, beginning verse one. Now we know Luke is the person that God used to write the book of Acts. So when we look at this, remember the book of Acts is a continuation of the gospel of Luke. So you see in the very first verse, this Theophilus mentioned, he's also mentioned in the beginning of the book of Luke as well. And so these documents is a kind of a part one and a part two of a document that Luke compiled for Theophilus. Of course, it has benefited millions of people and has become part of the Holy Bible, inspired by the Holy Spirit. Acts chapter one, beginning verse one. Baptism of the Holy Ghost. So Jesus, so John, John the Baptist, he baptized people with water. But Jesus baptizes with the Holy Ghost. So, you know, we put a lot of emphasis on water baptism in the church, you know, and men can baptize you. You know, at the Great Commission, Jesus gave his disciples baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And that's what men do. They baptize people in water. But the Lord Jesus baptizes men in the Holy Ghost. We see here after Jesus died on the cross and he was buried, he rose again on the third day. This is what Luke calls his passion, the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. After his passion, he showed himself alive by many infallible proofs. So some of those proofs was, you know, when he asked Thomas, you know, put your fingers in the nail prints in your hand on my side. Jesus ate fish and honeycomb. Jesus had breakfast with his disciples beside the sea of Tiberias. So many infallible proofs. Jesus proved to his disciples that he had indeed resurrected from the dead. After he was crucified, after he died, after he was buried, he rose again and he proved to his disciples that he was risen from the dead by many infallible proofs. And he gave them instructions about assembling together in Jerusalem and waiting in Jerusalem until they would be baptized in the Holy Ghost. Remember, Jesus previously had said that the Holy Spirit had been with them, but would soon be in them. And he was talking about this promise to the Father, the Holy Spirit, the baptism in the Holy Spirit. So it is the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a very fundamental and very important part of the Christian life. Without the Holy Spirit, you cannot live the Christian life. The apostle Paul tells us that the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians chapter five, well, it's not the fruit of our self-effort. It's not the fruit of following religious traditions. It's not the fruit of trying to obey the Ten Commandments. It's the fruit of the Spirit. The Christian lives by the power of the Holy Spirit. We live by the life of the Spirit that lives within us. If we live in the Spirit, let's also walk in the Spirit. So the Christian life is a spiritual life, and it is a life that can only be lived by the power of the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, you can't do anything. You can't live for the Lord unless you're filled with the Holy Spirit. This is a Spirit-filled life. The Christian life is a Spirit-filled life. It is a supernatural life. But for the Christian, it's a normal way of life. We don't live by the way the world lives. We live by the Spirit. The world lives by what they can see, by what they can put their hands on, and by what they can control, and what they can understand with their mind. But the Christian lives by faith. We walk by faith. We walk by the Spirit. We walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. If you're a Christian, or if you think you're a Christian, if you believe the Gospel, pray and continue to pray each day that God will fill you with the Holy Spirit. Be ye being filled with the Spirit. As it says in the book of Ephesians, we are to be filled with the Spirit. Well guys, the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you, and the Lord give you peace.