Acts chapter 1. The passage begins, the former treatise, the former declaration, have I made, O Theophilus, O friend of God, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach. of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after that he, through the Holy Ghost, had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen, to whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. and being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which saith he, you've heard of me, for John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, it's not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power, but you shall receive power. After that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me, or witnesses of me, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost parts of the earth, And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up. And a cloud received him out of their sight.

And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said, ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven.

I titled this The Word and Acts of Christ. And my two points were gonna be the word of the Lord and the acts of the Lord. I do not know that I will get to the second point. We'll probably just cover the first one. This would probably just be the word of the Lord. But what I want to show you this time, and then hopefully next time we will look at the other, but the book of Acts, this book called Acts, like all the other books of the Bible, is the word of the Lord. This is not Luke's word, it's the word of the Lord. And it is the acts of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's not the acts of the apostles. It's the acts of our Lord Jesus.

Through the preaching of God's word, through this book, the preaching of this word, the Holy Spirit gives discernment and faith to each sinner who Christ redeemed. Through the preaching of this word, he gives us life and faith in Christ and leads us through the preaching of this gospel all our days, so that we most surely believe that Christ is all our salvation. We are persuaded that he's all our salvation. That means every point that we need, he is. Everything we need, he is. There is nothing in us, there's no works that we can do. When we Here the books say salvation is of the Lord. That means there's nothing we contribute. There's nothing we can do to save ourselves. It means Christ is all. He is salvation.

Now, the first thing I want to look at, and we may spend all our time here, the Bible is the word of God. The Bible is the word of God. He begins and he says the former treatise, declaration, have I made, O Theophilus, O friend of God, that's what it means. Nobody knows who this was, but it means friend of God, and Abraham was called the friend of God, and all his people, sanctified by our Lord, are the friend of God. That's who it's written to, it's written to God's people, his saints.

But it's the declaration of all that Jesus began both to do and teach. until the day in which he was taken up. The former treatise, that means the former declaration, this was what Luke had already written in the book that is titled The Gospel According to Luke that we're going through now.

It's that book he's referring to. It used to be just one book, and they divided it around 120, 130 AD, and they called this one the Acts of the Apostles, and they called the other one the Gospel according to Luke. The translators did that. It's not in the original. But it means the former declaration.

The word of God is not a word left up to a sinner to interpret and infer what he thinks it means and come to a conclusion of what he thinks it means This book is the word of God and the spirit of the Lord reveals it to us. He reveals Christ to us and reveals what this book is saying and gives us spiritual understanding. And this is not an offer for us to accept or to reject.

When the gospel comes, it comes in power and the word Christ himself being the word, the living word, the incarnate word, Christ enters, and there's a sinner born, I mean a new holy man born in a sinner. He's the life, and that word, Christ the word, is the incorruptible seed, the life by which we're born through the preaching of the gospel. And he's revealed to us, and we know him. You have an unction from the Holy One and you know all things. He makes you know Christ is all. He makes you know that so that we most surely believe this word.

Go with me over to 2 Peter 1. While you're turning there, let me read this to you. Paul said, he told Timothy, from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures. which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and it is profitable for doctrine and for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing in his kingdom, preach the word, preach this word.

Be instant, in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering in doctrine. He said, because the time will come when they will not endure sound teaching, sound doctrine. They'll heap to themselves after their own lust, they'll heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, and turn away from the truth, and they'll be turned to fables. This is God's Word. Now look what he says here. Peter had seen the Lord Jesus Christ. He saw the Lord Jesus Christ transfigured. in all his glory, and he heard God speak from heaven and say, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.

Peter saw that and heard that, and he said, you have a more sure word than my witness to you of that. A more sure word than Peter's witness of that. Here it is, 2 Peter 1, 19. Knowing this first, well, sorry, Verse 19, we have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto you do well that you take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts, knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. This is a more sure word, he said, because it's the record, the witness, the testimony of God himself concerning his son. That's what this whole book is. It's the word of the Lord God concerning his son given to us through many witnesses. 1 John 5, 9, he said, if we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater. For this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his son. That's what this book is. This word is the word of God. The Bible is the word of God. God's given us his word.

And the whole book is concerning his son. Paul began the book of Romans, he said, Paul, a servant of Christ, called an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God. And then he tells us what it is. He said, which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures concerning his son, Jesus Christ our Lord. That's what this whole book's about. On that road to Emmaus, those brethren were walking along, they were dejected, full of unbelief, because Christ had gone to the cross and died. We thought this was him. And our Lord said, ought not Christ to have suffered and entered into his glory?

And beginning at Moses, that means Genesis, and all the prophets, all the Old Testament, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. He wasn't picking and choosing. He started at Genesis and went through and showed them this whole book speaking about me. The whole book. Everything from Genesis to Revelation is concerning the Lord Jesus. declaring he is salvation. This is God's record. This is God's testimony, God's witness. He's declaring two things.

All flesh is grass. He's declaring you and me can't do a thing to save ourselves. We don't contribute. We don't contribute to our righteousness. We don't contribute to our holiness. We are not, as some men have have added their word to the word of God and written down in creeds and confessions that sinners, by their works, become more and more holy and less and less sinful and get control over themselves and walk more and more in holiness and godliness, get more and more holy and less and less and less sinful until they're ready to go to glory. That's not what this book teaches. This book teaches us Christ is our righteousness and he is our holiness.

He is the holiness without which no man will enter into glory and behold the Lord. Christ is that one. Look to the thief that he saved on the cross. What did he do? Nothing, nothing. And yet he had the righteousness and the holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. He had it and it's Christ.

That's what this book is teaching us. It's showing us how that Christ is the righteousness God has provided his son. He's the righteousness who declared God's righteousness. He showed how God is a just God and a savior. How that God can be just because he paid the wages owed for his people. Christ did. He satisfied justice. And so God's just to be merciful to us. He's a just God and a Savior because of what Christ accomplished. And He justified us. He made us righteous. He is our righteousness. We don't have a righteousness of our own. We can't make one. He's the righteousness we must have, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The reason it's certain that he will send the gospel to each of his people, and the reason it's certain he will give each of his people spiritual discernment and faith and keep us all our day, the reason that is certain is because he redeemed his people.

He was made a curse for us, and by that, redeemed us from the curse. In doing so, he paid the ransom price. He paid his blood. and all God's elect became his purchased possession, and he will have what he purchased. He will not lose one. They must be given faith to believe, and they must be kept, and he shall do so. That's what this book's teaching.

Go to 1 John 5, and let's just read what I've just been saying to you. 1 John 5, 9. 1 John 5, 9, If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater. For this is the witness of God, which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself. That's how come you believe. You have the witness in yourself. He that believeth not God hath made him a liar, because he believeth not the record. that God gave of his son, and this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his son.

He that hath the son hath life, and he that hath not the son of God hath not life. Go with me to 1 Corinthians 2. 1 Corinthians 2. I don't know why I didn't go here and read this to you Sunday. I said it and declared it to you, and I don't know why I didn't come here and just read it. But here's, let's read it. 1 Corinthians 2 11.

We have to be made to believe by the Holy Spirit bearing witness in us. He that believeth hath the witness in himself. God has given you the Spirit. What man, verse 11, what man knoweth the things of a man save the spirit of man which is in him? In other words, you don't know what I'm thinking unless I tell you. You don't know. So it is, with the things of God knoweth no man but the spirit of God. Now we have received, we've been given, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God. that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

Do you think God's able to make his people know? Yes. He doesn't fail to make his people know. And everything he gives is free by his grace, because it costs Christ his blood. It's free to us, freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak. This is the word of God, we preach this word.

Not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth. God's preacher doesn't preach like the worldly preacher preaches. The man that's preaching in the world and got hundreds of people flocking to hear him has hundreds of people flocking to hear him for one reason. Psalm 12 says, the vilest of men walk on every side, they gather around to hear, when man's exalted, when the vilest of men are exalted. When you put it in man's hand, man will flock to hear it. We're not preaching like men preach.

Here's how we're preaching, which the Holy Ghost teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. The Holy Spirit gave us this word, and we take this word, and we compare scripture with scripture. We support what it says. You're looking at other scripture that says the same thing. And we just say what it says. We're not adding our words. We're not trying to give you some interpretation to tickle your ears. We're just telling you what it says.

And he says, but the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. Their foolishness to him, neither can he know them because they're spiritually discerned. Carnal men have to have something carnal. You gotta write it down in a list for them, a catechism, so they can memorize, okay, this is what we believe. Just like they memorized the Ten Commandments. Now they can memorize, here's ten things we believe. That's not, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God, by the Spirit of God, bearing witness in the heart He's given.

He says, but he that is spiritual judgeth, discerneth all things. Yet Christ himself is judged, discerned of no man. For who's known the mind of the Lord that Christ may instruct him? He's back to his illustration. No man knows the things of a man save the spirit of that man that's in him. So no man knows Christ unless Christ gives him a mind to know him, unless Christ gives him his spirit so that you know Christ.

So he says there, but we have the mind of Christ, of God, his Christ made unto us wisdom. He gave you the mind of Christ. He gave you His Spirit and taught you what this book said, so that you know this is the Word of God and the whole book is concerning His Son, the Lord Jesus. And it's declaring, this is the record God had given to us, eternal life, and this eternal life is in His Son. If you have the Son, you have life. That's not, you don't contribute a thing to it. Everything that we thought was contributing Paul said it was all in the minus column And it's done and I count it lost and I don't even count it as lost.

It's just it's good thing It's gone that it might be found in Christ only his righteousness only now go with me to Luke 1 I'll show you why I got on this Acts 1 1 where our text is He said, the former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach to the day in which he was taken up. Now he began Luke the same way, and I'll say to you again, there used to be just one book. Luke wrote both, and he didn't break it into two books, he just wrote, they had two rolls they carried around, because they wrote on a scroll, but it was just one long letter. And he just said what it's all about. It's all about what Christ did and taught from his birth till he was taken up.

That's what he wrote. That's why I say to you, Acts should not be called the Acts of the Apostles. It ought to be called the Acts of Christ the Lord, because that's what it is. Now look here, but here's what I'm trying to show you. He said, verse one, for as much as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration, a treatise. Here he calls it a declaration. A declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word.

He's talking about Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Matthew, Mark, John. He said even as they wrote these things down, He said, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent friend of God, that thou mightest know the certainty of those things wherein thou hast been instructed. Now I showed you, all the word is the word of God. The Holy Spirit gave it to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and they wrote it down. just like he did to Moses, just like he did to Isaiah, to Jeremiah. They wrote what the Lord gave them to write. And we just saw he gave us the spirit and made us know the things God has freely given to us. And he made us to know Christ is all. We have all in Christ. And so Luke said, and I'm writing here to you the word that you might know the things we most surely believe. we most surely believe these things, that you might know the certainty of those things wherein thou hast been instructed.

What did God say to us through Peter? He said, this word is the word whereunto you do well that you take heed. This is the light, this word. This word, the Bible, is the only rule of faith and practice for God's people, this book right here. We learn everything about God and in Christ through this word. And this is where we learn to believe him, to repent from trusting anything in us, to follow him, to trust his spirit to lead us. This is where we learn everything that has to do with faith and how we walk through this world, right here.

Not the words of men, not the words of men. The Pharisees, the Lord said the Pharisees have added to God's word. They had written out their things like Luke did. The difference was they weren't writing by the Spirit of God. A man who's not writing out the things we most surely believe by the Spirit of God, that's not what we take heed to. We take heed to what God wrote. This is the Word God gave. This book right here, it's all written down. We don't have to write anything else down. It's right here. This is what we believe.

And the Lord said, but the Pharisees, they wrote down these things. And so then he said, now what you've done is you follow the words that men have written and you have completely ignored the word of God. You've made it completely null and void because you're following the traditions of men and you can't hear me. That's what we don't want to do. You take heed to God's word, not those things. We are darkness. We are total darkness. It's God making this word be light to us by Christ the light shining in our hearts, giving us an understanding so that you remember when you were reading the word of God and it just never made sense to you.

You try to find something to do, And you'd sit down at the first of the year, New Year's resolution, I'm gonna read the whole Bible. And you'd get to the begots, and that winded up, you wouldn't read any further. Couldn't get past the begots. Every year, you'd read the first few chapters. He begot this one, he begot that, and you're like, I can't make sense of this. Let's skip over that, let's get to the stuff where it tells me what I need to do. And you'd read that, and then you'd find something else, and it contradicted that. And you were just like, it's like a puzzle with pieces missing, I don't know. And then one day the Lord gave you the spirit, and gave you discernment, and the whole book began to shine. It was a light. And you began to see, truthfully, this whole book is glorifying God's son.

It's God's word concerning his son. This whole book, When he gives you the sermon, it's just like what Peter saw on the Mount of Transfiguration. You see the glory of God for the first time in Christ Jesus. And you hear this book speak. You hear God speak, just like they heard him speak from heaven. And you hear God saying it. Every word in this book, every picture, every figure, every prophecy, every New Testament word, you hear God saying, this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased to hear him.

And for the first time you believed. You realized Christ is salvation and you believed. And God bore record in you that you have my son and you have eternal life. You have all. God gave you the unction from the Holy One and you knew all things because you knew Christ is all.

I've been looking at all this stuff I thought I needed to know and all this stuff I thought I needed to do, and now I see Christ is all. He's all. The book says He is. He's all in all. When He takes up His dwelling in you, He is made all to you. He's all. So this book's a light.

This gospel that Luke penned and the acts of Christ are addressed to Theophilus. Nobody knows who that is. Don't even know if it's a real man. But it means friend of God. And that's what he called Abraham. And everybody that Christ sanctifies and makes holy so that we now behold the word of God and behold Christ and believe, you're the friend of God. This book's written to you. That's who it's written to. And you know him now.

And here's why we don't go to Revelation 22, 18. Here's why we don't add to it. Here's why we don't write anything else. We preach it and we wait on the Lord to teach us. Because everything we need to know is in this book. And I'll tell you this while I'm thinking about it.

If you hear one of God's sent preachers, one preacher Christ sent, you hear him preach. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. And how shall they believe on Christ if they haven't heard of Christ? And how are they gonna hear of Christ without a preacher? And how are they gonna preach unless they be sent? And Christ sends his preacher. You can listen to one message, one message that his preacher preaches and you're gonna know what he preaches.

I promise you. You listen to one message and you're gonna know this man preaches salvations of the Lord and he preaches that all flesh is grass. He preaches behold your God, he's salvation, and sinners don't contribute. He preaches salvation is of the Lord. And if you listen to three or four or five, if you listen to three or four or five messages I preach, you're gonna hear everything I've ever said in 18 years of being a pastor. Everything I've preached since for 23 years of preaching or however long it's been, it's been nothing but all flesh is grass, Christ is our salvation. You listen to three or four messages, you're gonna hear everything I'm gonna preach. And that's so with all of the Lord's preachers.

And that's how I want it. Isn't that how you want it? I don't wanna have to guess what a man's preaching. I want him to speak plainly and clearly so when I hear him, I know what he's saying. And that's how his preacher's gonna preach. Because we just gonna show you what the book says and use scripture to show, yep, that's what the book says.

We're sent to deliver a letter to you. This is a love letter from Christ to his people. We're just a mail carrier bringing you the mail. We're not supposed to open the mail and add our words to it and take stuff out of it and try to word it just right to give it to you. Christ did a fine job. putting it right here. And we're just to bring it to you and tell you what the letter says. That's all. That's all we're supposed to do. And here's what he said. Here's why we don't add to it or take from it.

Revelation 22, 18. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book. If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life and out of the holy city and from the things which are written in this book.

You know what that means? Well, that means somebody's name could be blotted out of the book of life. That means one of God's elect could fall and be taken out of the holy city. No, it means because Christ is going to send the Spirit and make his preacher preach the truth.

That ain't going to happen to any of them. because they're gonna preach what the book says. Every one of them, they're gonna be faithful to preach what the book says. Because none of them, nobody's gonna be blotted out of his book. Nobody's gonna be taken out of his city, because it's all of grace, and it's all in Christ, and Christ's gonna make his preacher faithful to preach the words of this book.

So here's my point, and I'm gonna end it here. We preach what this book says, and we don't look to what men said 500 years ago or 300 years ago, we preach what this book said. We don't go back. I'm saying creeds and confession. We're not going back to that. And we're not making any more of ourselves.

Right here, we have what we need. And the Lord said he gave this so that you will most surely know most surely what we believe right here. And it's going to be by his spirit, by Christ teaching us. the words of the Lord, the declaration, the treaty of our God right here. All right. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you, Lord, that you've blessed it to our hearts and give us an understanding. Lord, make us to know everything that's needful.

You've written it down in this book. You saved it, you preserved it. You've kept your preachers preaching it. You've made your people believe in all of your spirit, Lord. You continue to do this and we have what we need in this book. Make us understand that, make us believe that, and make us believe Christ. Make us follow your word and trust your precious promises made sure in the blood of the lamb. Lord, forgive us for our unbelief, forgive us for looking other places and looking at other things and looking at ourselves and looking at this world. Keep us looking to Christ above. Keep our hearts set on him and keep us heeding this book and this light that you've given and beholding our salvation, the Lord Jesus. It's in his name we ask you, Lord. Amen. We'll cover the second point another time, the acts of Christ. All right, brother.