THE BOOK OF THE APOSTLES - The Normal Christian Life - Faith Is Obedience

The Call of Jesus

Welcome to lesson 18
"The Book of the Apostles".

I love talking about the Book of the Apostles,
the Book of Acts,

as we see in the New Testament.

Here we have the Bible,
the Old Testament, the New Testament.

And in the New Testament
we start with the four gospels:

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.
Amazing.

In those four gospels we read about Jesus,
how He walked around here on earth.

All four gospels end up with Jesus dying
and how He rose up again.

And then, after the four gospels
we have the Book of Acts,

the Book of the Apostles.

It is a very special book

because the Book of the Apostles
is the only historical book

we have from the early church,
here in the Bible,

where we read about how they
were living the life of Christ,

how they obeyed the call of Jesus.

We are now living after the cross.

We are now living in an amazing time
that was prophesied about,

many, many, many years ago.

When Jesus was hanging on the cross,
He said: "It is finished!"

What is finished?
What was finished?

Or what has begun?

The old thing was finished
and something new has begun.

We, when you understand it,
we are living in an amazing time today,

a time that was prophesied about
many hundreds years ago.

For example, Ezekiel and Jeremiah,
400 years BC prophesied about

the time we today are living in.

Ezekiel prophesied this
in Ezekiel 11:19-20:

"I will give them an undivided heart
and put a spirit in them;

I will remove from them their heart
of stone and give them a heart of flesh.

Then they will follow My decrees
and be careful to keep My laws.

They will be My people,
and I will be their God."

Listen to these words.
These words Ezekiel prophesied

400 years BC is something we today
are living in.

In the time Jesus was walking on earth,
in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John,

they did not experience it.

Why? Because they were still
before the cross.

When Jesus walked on earth
He could not give them the new spirit

Ezekiel prophesied about.

But after He ascended to Heaven,
He sent His Holy Spirit down here,

and we are living in this exciting time.

We, in Christ, can be forgiven,

and we, in Christ, can get a relationship
with God where we can know Him.

In the Old Testament it was only
for a few.

It was only for the prophets
and a few selected people.

But now, in the time we are living in,
God will pour out His Spirit on all flesh.

Last time we looked at religion.

Religion tries to change a person and
make a person looks nice outside.

But Jesus is giving a new heart.

Jesus is putting a new spirit in us.

Jesus is doing what we have just
read about.

And one thing I really love about
the Book of Acts.

In the Book of Acts we see this
being fulfilled.

We see in the Book of Acts
how the early church, after the cross,

was preaching the gospel.

We also see how they responded
to the gospel they have heard.

We also see how they got born again.

The Book of Acts gives a lot of examples,
pictures of how the early church

was obeying Christ,
how the believers were obeying Christ,

how they actually went out in that harvest
that was ready,

how they found that person of peace.

For example, Acts 10,
with Peter and Cornelius,

or Acts 16, with Paul and Lydia.

There are clear, clear examples
in the Book of Acts

how they continued the work of Christ.

The Book of Acts is like a mirror where
we see how the early church was living,

how they obeyed Christ.

It is like a diary.

There was a time in my life
where I looked at my life,

and I was a Christian,
I loved Jesus, and I was radical,

and I went to church,
and I did a lot of good things there.

But then I started to see
the Book of Acts.

And my life did not, at all,
looked like the Book of Acts.

I dressed up every Sunday,
I went to church,

I was even doing a few preaching
in the church,

and I was helping in the church,

but I was not led by the Holy Spirit
like we read here,

I did not lead people to Christ,
like we read here,

I did not baptize people in water and
Holy Spirit, like we read here,

I did not cast out demons and heal the sick,
like we read here.

So, I had religion in one hand
and I had the life in the other hand.

And there was a mistake somewhere.

And I believe the mistake is not found
in the Bible.

The mistake is found in our life.

So, I needed to change something.

I needed to change something,
and I did it.

I changed something in my life.

And now, my life looks so much more
like what we read here, in the Book of Acts.

One of the things I needed to change
was obedience.

We need obedience.

Faith is obedience.

You don't have faith
if you don't have obedience.

Try to imagine if I'm standing
in the middle of a road here

and there is a truck coming
from a side, and I don't see the truck.

The truck is coming in full speed
towards me.

And you are standing there,
on the side road,

and you see the truck and you shout:
Torben! Move! Move! A truck is coming!

And I look at you.

I believe you.

I believe you are real.

I believe you exist.

I believe in your words.

And stand still.

No, it doesn't make sense.
Why?

Because if I believe in you,
in your words,

I will move.

I will not be able to believe
what you are saying and stand still.

Yeah, only if I want to die.

But if I want to survive,
and I believe in you -

I need to move.

Why? Because to have faith in you
is not to have faith that you are real,

that you walk on earth.

No. I have to have faith in your words.

Like, to believe in Christ is not only
to believe that He one time lived.

It is to believe Christ.

Believe His words.

And if we believe His words
we move.

We obey His words.

That is the only way we can, actually,
show that we believe.

Faith without obedience is dead.

And it's so clear. I want to read
the following from the book of James.

And when you read these words here,

it's so important to understand that
when we talk about works,

it's not talking about works of the law.

It's not about trying to earn
our salvation, because we cannot.

It's not about trying to obey the law

and then we obey so good that we are saved.
No.

It's not talking about works by the law,

but it's talking about obedience /
works by faith.

And this is what we need.
James 2:14-26:

"What good is it, my brothers and sisters,

if someone claims to have faith
but not have deeds

(or works, or obedience)?

Can such faith save them?

Suppose a brother or sister is
without clothes and daily food.

If one of you say to them,
'Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,'

but does nothing about the physical needs,
what good is it?

In the same way, faith by itself,
if it is not accomplished by action

(or obedience), is dead.
But someone will say,

'You have faith, and I have deeds.'

Show me then your faith without deeds,
and I will show you my faith by my deeds.

You believe that there is one God.
Good!

Even the demons believe that -
and shudder.

You foolish person, do you want evidence
that faith without deeds is useless?

Was not our father Abraham considered
righteous for what he did

when he offered his son Isaac
on the altar?

You see that his faith and his actions
were working together,

and his faith was made complete
by what he did.

And the scripture was fulfilled that says,
'Abraham believed God,

and it was credited him to righteousness,'
and he was called God's friend.

You see that a person is considered righteous
by what he does and not by faith alone.

In the same way, was not even Rahab
the prostitute considered righteous

for what she did
when she gave lodging to the spies

and sent them off in a different direction?

As the body without the spirit is dead,

so faith without (obedience, works)
deeds is dead."

These were not my words.

That was the Bible.

Faith without obedience (works)
is dead.

Faith alone is dead.

We are not talking about
faith + works by the law,

but we are talking about real faith
that leads to obedience.

If you believe in Jesus,
and Jesus says: "A truck is coming! Move!"

- then you move.

Why? Unless you want to die,
then you move.

Now Jesus doesn't just say:
"A truck is coming!"

He said many other things.

And what we read here
we need to obey.

And when we start to obey
the call of Jesus

and start to step out
on His words,

our life is going to look like
the Book of Acts.

Why? Because Jesus is the same
yesterday, today and forever.

But if you don't obey Jesus' words,

if you don't have true, biblical faith
in Christ, and therefore don't obey,

of course your life will look like this,

while the Book of Acts
will be like this.

So, take some time and really
go through the Book of Acts

and see their life, how they obeyed
the call of Christ.

See how they were preaching
repentance, baptism in water

and baptism with the Holy Spirit.

And as we said last time,
you don't see a sinner's prayer.

Many of the things we do today
in the churches

we don't see in the Book of Acts.

Many of those things we do today
in the churches

we don't see in the Book of Acts,
and sadly,

many things that were done
in the Book of Acts

many don't see in the churches.

But, there is a reason
God gave us the Word.

Because it's not our religion
that is the truth.

It's the Word of God.

So, I encourage you,
keep it simple.

You have religion in one hand,

and you have the Book of Acts
in the other hand.

What is correct?

Don't build on your own experience.

Experience can change over night.

We need to obey this.

Until now we have been talking about

how the harvest is great

and how the workers are few

and how we need to be sent out

as sheep among wolves.

And there's persecution out there.

What do we see in the Book of Acts?

We see that the harvest is great.

We also see that there is a few workers.

We even see how God used persecution
one time to get the sheep out among wolves.

And we see that when they are out there,
among the wolves,

they experience persecution.

They paid a price, and it was not easy.

Paul experience stoning and
many other things.

He was thrown into jail.

But he could also testify
that Christ was with him.

When he went out there
Christ was with him.

What do we see?
What have we been looking at?

We have been looking at how
you find the person of peace,

and how, when you find that
person, as Jesus said,

you go to their house and you sit,
and eat and drink what they serve.

And then you there heal the sick
and preach the gospel.

And stay there.

And this is what we see
in the Book of Acts.

The Book of Acts is a confirmation
of the call Jesus gave us in Luke 10.

You don't see fine, nice churches
and programs in the Book of Acts,

like we do often today.

You see raw and real life,

the spirit of Christ
working in His body.

And this is what we need to do.
This is what we need to obey.

Next time we are going to continue
and look at the gospel,

but I want to start here
with the Book of Acts,

because the Book of Acts is where
we really see how they were preaching.

The Book of Acts is where we really see
how they responded to the preaching.

The Book of Acts is where we really see
the biblical life,

like how they got born again
and all of that.

So, next time, I'm going to use
more time

where we are going to look at the gospel
of the Kingdom,

where I will give you the big picture,
from the beginning to the end,

and what people need to do
to be born again.

And what you are going to see,
when we show the big picture,

is what people need to be born again

maybe goes against
what you have been told,

maybe goes against
your church tradition.

Sadly, I think it does,

because we have come so far away
from the Bible,

but it will not go against
what we read in the Book of Acts.

That's why I took the time
in this video

to really focus on the Book of Acts
and what that life was all about.

And start, until the next time,
just read through the Book of Acts,

and then see if that fits
with your life today.

It should be like that.

God bless you,
and see you next time

where we are going to continue
looking at the gospel.

Bye-bye!

The Call of Jesus