[0:00] Hallelujah! We thank God you have tuned in to this message by David and Tree at Carus Church. No hand can help you with the fulfillment of your destiny but the Word of God. May God hand a line with you further into your destiny through this Word.
[0:15] Acts chapter 1, reading from verse 6. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, will thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?
[0:30] And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has put in his own power, but ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in Judea, in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.
[0:55] And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight.
[1:08] And while they looked steadfastly towards heaven, as he went out, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?
[1:23] This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner, as ye have seen him go into heaven.
[1:34] Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath day's journey. And when they were come in, they went up into the upper room, where abode both Peter and James and John and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomeo and Matthew, James the son of Alphys, and Simon Zelote, and Judas the brother of James.
[2:06] These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication with the women, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
[2:19] Here ends the reading of God's holy word. Let's pray. Father, as we have gathered to hear your word, we pray that give us understanding. For the entrance of your word brings light and gives understanding to the simple.
[2:33] I pray and submit my faculties, my sensitivities under your influence. Holy Spirit, use me to speak your word, to bring your word to your precious people, both in this building and beyond.
[2:47] I pray that as your word is taught, let grace be caught. As your word is taught, let grace be released. As your word is taught, let faith come alive. Heal the sick, convict sinning, set captives free through the teaching of your word.
[3:02] Let the power of the gospel be on display as I teach your word. All this to your glory in Jesus' mighty name. Amen. Hallelujah.
[3:15] Last week, in our last session, we spoke about how the apostles, for those who are just joining us, we are dealing with the book of Acts.
[3:26] And this is the third teaching on the book of Acts. Last week, we understood that Jesus said, after he spoke to them for 40 days about the kingdom, the disciples now began, like from today's reading, when they had assembled, they asked him, at what point are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel?
[3:51] They are talking about natural kingdom. And Jesus said that it's not for you to know. That means that the kingdom will be restored, and God has a plan to do that. I mean, he's always prophesied it, as I explained.
[4:04] It will be done, but not at the time you are expecting. And you don't need to be distracted with when it's going to happen. But there's something that is more essential to your existence and to your connectivity to heaven, which is you becoming witnesses.
[4:20] When you look at the first parts of Acts. So, Jesus, in verse 8, says that, you shall be witnesses of me after the Holy Spirit has come upon you. He mentions, that's not the first time he mentioned the Holy Spirit.
[4:33] In fact, the Holy Spirit was mentioned. When you look at the opening parts of Acts, you find out something very interesting. It is very difficult, or it is not easy and possible, to understand the Christian message without appreciating the place of the Trinity.
[4:52] The core of the gospel cannot be properly understood or appreciated in the absence of the reality of the Trinity. Trinity is not three gods. It's triune.
[5:04] It's different from triteism. Not triteism. This is triune. Three in one. Okay, so, God is one God. It's very clear.
[5:15] There's never anywhere you see in Scripture which says that God is three. God is one God. But just to be sure which God we are talking about is God who is one God in three persons.
[5:26] So, in the opening book of Acts, you see the representation of the Trinity already there. First part, he spoke about Jesus Christ, the things that Jesus Christ began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up.
[5:42] Then he spoke about the promise of the Father. So, you see, Jesus represented the promise of the Father there. And then he says that John, first five verses, verse five says that John truly baptized.
[5:53] Verse four, talk about the promise of the Father. Verse five, John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit or the Holy Ghost. First, Trinity, first five verses of Acts, you already see the representation of the Trinity because it's essential for the understanding of the Trinity.
[6:12] Two weeks ago on Thursday when I was teaching about Jesus, the Son of God, I took my time to explain from the book of John how Jesus said that if you dishonor the Son, you dishonor the Father.
[6:23] You can't honor the Father and not honor the Son. When you honor the Son, you are invariably honoring the Father. In other words, you can't separate the two. He said all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father.
[6:36] He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father. So, in other words, you can't claim to worship God, the Father, and not the Son because the Son is God, the Father is God, the Spirit is God.
[6:51] It's inseparable. And this is very important, fundamental understanding of Christian doctrine. Because if you miss that, some things about the Christian doctrine will not make sense and you won't get it.
[7:03] Now, here we saw how Jesus told them, wait for the Holy Spirit. He said, I am going to go. Don't rush and go and preach. He told them that wait until you are endowed.
[7:14] And then he told them, they asked the kingdom question. And he says that the kingdom of Israel is not a subject matter on God's mind at the moment. So, you wait in Jerusalem.
[7:25] And he says, verse 8, you shall receive power after the Holy Spirit comes upon you. John's baptism didn't bring power. This baptism of John didn't introduce them to power.
[7:37] But he said, the baptism that is coming is about to introduce you into power. You will have the power to be witnesses of me. Because it's not just good intentions that it takes to be a witness of Jesus Christ.
[7:51] It takes power. Because you cannot convince anybody or you possibly can convince somebody, but you can't convict them. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to convict people as you speak.
[8:04] So, as I speak, he is doing the speaking through my speaking. And that is what the witness, the power behind the witness is concerned. No one gets saved only because they heard something nice.
[8:18] They heard some convincing arguments. Those things might be necessary. God can use anything. But primarily, it takes the power of the Holy Spirit behind the speaking of a saved person or behind the activity to save somebody.
[8:35] Say amen. So, he said, you shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon me and you shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the world.
[8:51] And it looks like this is the structure of Acts. So, you see, it starts, the focus was on Jerusalem, then in Judea, then from Acts chapter 8, it goes into Samaria, and then from Acts chapter 11, it goes to the Gentile territories, to the uttermost parts of the earth.
[9:10] Do you know the last word Jesus spoke according to this text or according to scripture? The last word, no words, the last word in Jesus' mouth on this earth is earth.
[9:22] They were thinking about Israel, but he was thinking about the entire earth. How could these few disciples who didn't have resources be able to spread this to the whole earth?
[9:34] He takes the Holy Spirit. And watch this. After he said to the uttermost part of where? Not Jerusalem. Earth. What happened? Let's look at the next verse. The next verse says that, And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up.
[9:52] And a cloud received him out of their sight. Wow! That was the last words he yelled at. And then after he said these things, he was taken up.
[10:03] So they saw him going. They saw him going. And they were thinking, wow! Ah! You know, I was thinking, sometimes when you read the Bible, it's good to think. Not only the feelings, there's the thinking aspect as well.
[10:16] It's a beauty transformed by the renewing of your mind, Romans chapter 12. So, sometimes, when you read the Bible, ask questions and think. Don't just ask questions. I'm not talking about being skeptical or cynical.
[10:29] But you have to make sense. Because there's a lot of sense. Everything the Bible says is sensible. So, just that sometimes you may not understand it. But there's meaning to everything.
[10:39] So, I was thinking, did you remember when Jesus resurrected from the dead, he appeared to the disciples? Did he? Oh, you are not sure? It's not a trick question.
[10:51] Come on. Did he appear to the disciples? Yes. I mean, it's obvious, John chapter 21, verse 1. We saw it last week. In Acts chapter 1, verse 2 and 3.
[11:02] He appeared to them. In the 40 days, he was, he was appearing to them. He was showing and teaching them. He showed himself alive. But what was interesting in John chapter 20, verse 19, Bible says that that same evening, talking about the first day, when Sunday morning, when he resurrected.
[11:20] Okay? That Sunday he resurrected. That same day. Say that same day. That same day. And you don't have to take phrases like that for granted. That same day, not in the morning, but at evening, being the first day of the week, Sunday, right?
[11:34] Right? Being the first, that's why the church worships on Sunday, not Sabbath day, Sunday. Being the first day of the week, that was the day after Sabbath day. The first day of the week, when the doors were shut, doors shut.
[11:48] What does that mean? No one comes in and no one is going out. Doors shut. When the doors were shut, when the disciples were assembled, you know, this assembling thing is just so part of spiritual life.
[12:04] Congregating, gathering, assembling. When the disciples, when they were assembled for fear of the Jews, they had shut their doors because they were afraid of the Jews. Why were they afraid of the Jews?
[12:16] Because they have killed Jesus and now Jesus is not in the tomb. So they have to get rid of these witnesses who say Jesus has, because they said the disciples will come and steal their body. So they paid soldiers to go and tell Pontius Palli that whilst we were there, we were asleep, the disciples came and stole their body.
[12:33] He didn't resurrect. So they didn't like this Jesus and the Jesus people. So they were afraid that they've killed our master. Now we are next.
[12:44] They were afraid, but they won't be scattered. They were still one. In the room, and they shut their doors, and Jesus didn't knock their door. He didn't knock their door, He didn't use their key.
[12:57] He didn't open their door. He just shows up. He shows up, and He talks to them. He breathes upon them. He said, receive in the Holy Spirit.
[13:08] And then He said, as the Father has sent me, so I'm sending you. So He has interactions with them, and guess what? He goes again. The following week, Thomas was with them this time, and Jesus shows up again.
[13:20] That means that He wasn't always with them. He showed up, spent time, ate with them. The Bible didn't tell us the details, where He went. Did He go to heaven?
[13:31] That's where I'm leading to. Or was He living somewhere, or He was just in the air? He was just there, in the air, and then shows up. The reason why He was doing that was to, I thought you, to train them to be used to His presence without seeing Him.
[13:47] So He came back, and Thomas was there this time, and He said, Thomas, you want to see me? Let's look at my wounds. So then, that means that whilst Thomas was speaking, even though He was physically, could not be seen there, He was still with them.
[14:04] That's why He shows up the next week to tell them, Thomas, you see, I've been around. I've not gone anywhere. I'm just showing up and going, showing up and going, showing up and going, so they'll be used to His presence without seeing Him physically.
[14:17] Now watch this. So then, if it was time for Him to go to heaven, why didn't He just go on one of the vanishes? Go! You know, not leave us, but you know what I mean.
[14:29] Because He could have not come back after one of the shows, He could have said, guys, this is my last time appearing. Because He was actually going to go to heaven. So He should have said, guys, this is my last time appearing and I want you to know after this time, I'm not coming back again physically.
[14:46] He didn't say that. He actually was talking to them, teaching them, and they went to the Mount Olivet. And when they got to the Mount, according to, He was teaching them on the coming of the Holy Spirit.
[14:58] And they were asking him questions about the Kingdom of Israel. and He took their focus from the Kingdom of Israel to the church. He took their focus from the law of Moses, just keeping the law of Moses, to being witnesses of the Lord.
[15:15] He took them from just thinking, being nationalistic, Israel, to be the church, worldwide, to the ends of the earth. He was teaching them, after He has taught them these things, Bible says that He took them to the mountain and when He has said these things, He was taken up in their sight.
[15:38] They saw Him go. They saw Him go. In Acts chapter 1 verse 2, Bible says that the things that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day He was taken up. He was actually taken up. In Acts chapter 1 verse 22, He was actually taken up.
[15:52] In Acts chapter 1 verse 22, beginning from the baptism of John until the same day He was taken up from us. So, now watch this. They realized that now He's actually gone to heaven.
[16:04] So, during the appearances and disappearance, He was still on earth. But now, He had actually gone to heaven. This raises some interesting points in my mind as I was studying because, you know, those of you who remember Easter Sunday, that day, a few things happened.
[16:22] What was the main thing that happened on that day? I can't hear you. Oh, come on. What was the main thing that happened on resurrection Saturday morning? He was resurrected. Is this also a trick question?
[16:32] It's not. So, the day of resurrection, Jesus resurrected. And then when He resurrected, we saw in John chapter 20, Mary went to the tomb.
[16:45] And then when He got to the tomb, He realized that Jesus was not there. So, He was looking inside. And then He saw two angels. Say, two angels.
[16:55] Two angels. He saw two angels. One sitting on the headboard and then the other one. It's in your Bible. He said, And seeing two angels in white sitting, one on the head and the other on the feet, where the body of Jesus had laid.
[17:12] The next verse says that. And they said unto, Woman, why are you crying? She was crying. Why are you crying? Because she thought they have taken Jesus' body away and did not know where they had laid Him. And then when she said, she turned back.
[17:24] After she said it to the angel, she turned back and saw Jesus standing. And then, but he didn't know it was Jesus. That's interesting. After the resurrection, even though they knew Him so well, He could come in a way you wouldn't recognize Him.
[17:36] That's why they rode to Emmaus. They were walking with Him, having Bible study with Him, but they didn't know it was Him. That's the glorified body. Until He spoke to them, they realized, Oh, He's the one. He showed, when He shows His wounds and everything.
[17:48] Now watch this. So Mary didn't know it was He. She thought it was the gardener. Yeah. So He said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you seeking? What are you looking for?
[17:59] Let's give it a new King James, please. She supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where He is and I will take Him. I will take Him.
[18:11] You show where you have put Him. I want to go. That's how committed some people were. This woman was very committed to, I believe God is raising some Mary's like that here. Committed to the cause of Christ.
[18:24] She said, You are a woman. You think you can go and carry Him? She said, Don't worry. You just show me where He is and I'll organize everything. Then, Jesus mentions her name. Mary.
[18:36] And she knew how Jesus called her. So when she hears the name, she tells her, Rabboni! Rabboni! Which means teacher. That's their language for teacher. That's rabbi. Rabboni!
[18:47] Teacher! If you were married, what would you do? Just watch, if you are watching, what would you do? You would rather, like the way they do. Jesus said, Don't touch me. Ah!
[18:59] Do not cling to me! King James said, Don't touch me. Another translation, Don't touch me. One translation, Don't cling to me, for I have not... He said, Don't touch me!
[19:11] For I have not yet ascended to the Father, but I go to my Father and go and tell... What? Go and tell my brethren...
[19:21] Did he have brethren? Oh yeah, he had natural brothers. But is that what he meant? Go and tell my brethren and say unto them, I ascend to my Father and your Father. That's the first time Jesus referred to His disciples as brothers.
[19:33] That's the first time you could call God the Father of His disciples. All along, there was never once Jesus referred to God as the Father of the people. He only said, My Father, My Father, My Father.
[19:45] On the resurrection, he said, My brothers are Father. But watch this. He said, Go and tell my brothers, I am ascending unto my Father and your Father and to my God and your God.
[20:00] And your God. Watch this. I'm bringing your attention to something. That means that was in the morning. Don't forget. That was in the morning. Before the evening.
[20:10] When you look at the next verse. Look at the next verse. My motherly came and told the disciples that he had seen the Lord and that he had spoken these things to her. So, this is before they all saw him.
[20:23] She came and told them, I have seen the Lord. And this is what he said to me in the morning. Now, look at the next verse. That same day in the evening. So, not the next day.
[20:33] he now makes an appearance to them. After he had ascended to the Father, he made a brief trip. Oh. But this ascension was a secret ascension.
[20:46] No one saw him go. It was secret. It wasn't public. He went to the Father because he told Mary, I'm going to the Father and tell my brothers that I'm going to our Father.
[20:57] and he went to the Father and in the evening he shows up. But, okay, maybe he was talking about later when he goes to the Father. Why would he tell Thomas, come and touch me?
[21:09] In the same chapter. When the next week came, he said, Thomas, touch me. Meanwhile, I told Mary, don't touch me. Thomas, you can touch me. Because he has made the presentation. When he resurrected from the dead, his first ascension, which was his secret ascension, was for a certain reason.
[21:26] For a certain reason. That's interesting how the Bible, there's no way you can understand the things of the New Testament if you blank the Old Testament. Most of the things that happened in the New Testament were already hinted in the Old Testament.
[21:41] Jesus Christ, according to 1 Corinthians chapter 5 and 7, Jesus says our Passover. Jesus says our Passover. So, what they were doing in the Old Testament, the Passover lamb, that God told Moses that they should do this every year.
[21:54] Every year, Jews celebrate the Passover to remember how God brought them out of Egypt. And the nights before he was betrayed, just when they were about to celebrate Passover, he now takes bread and he said, now, this is my body and this is my blood.
[22:08] Don't be juicing. Anytime you do Passover, don't remember Moses and the lamb again. Anytime you do Passover, this whole Passover thing is about me. Watch this. You know when he died? He died at what we call Easter.
[22:21] That's the Passover. He died at the Passover. And he died at 3 p.m. The same time the lambs were to be slaughtered. So, at the time he says, scream, it is finished many lambs.
[22:36] It coincided with, it's the same time. Now, watch this. But, there's something that Jews used to do which I'll talk more about when it comes to Pentecost.
[22:46] after the Passover, the Sunday or three days after Passover, they were supposed to do what is called the harvest.
[22:57] Okay? So, first fruits to represent how God has blessed them with their crops and they bring the first, the sheaf, it's called, they bring the first fruit and present it to the priest and the priest will wave it.
[23:10] So, the first fruit belonged to God and the time to present the first fruit was the third day after the Passover and you have to send the first fruits of what has come from the blessings God has given presented to God by Leviticus 23, verse 9.
[23:27] Look at it. Quickly. This one is Bible squeezing it. Yeah, there's no problem. And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to the children of Israel and say unto them, when you come into the land which I give you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the first fruit of your harvest to the priest.
[23:48] The next verse, verse 11, he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord to be accepted on your behalf on the day after the, that's the Sunday.
[24:01] That Sunday you have to bring the first fruit to be presented to God but because you can't go to God, bring it to the priest and the priest will take it to God. Now, these are things that God instituted in the whole Old Testament and on the resurrection day which was the Sunday, the third day or the day after the Sabbath, after the Passover, Jesus now, him being the first fruits.
[24:30] Why are you saying Jesus is the first fruit? 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 20, 21, 22, and 23. But now, Christ is risen from the dead and has become, ah, let's not read it from the screen.
[24:50] Let's go. Some of you are not reading it. Let's not read it. Let's go. But now, Christ is risen from the dead and has become the first fruit of those who are, those who are, those who are dead.
[25:03] The first person ever to come out of the grave, return, come from the dead. All those resurrections you see in the Bible, the seven resurrections are really theologically called resuscitations because they all died.
[25:16] So, but this one, he conquered death and came back. But others are also going to do it, we the believers. But he was the first fruit.
[25:27] So, okay, let's go to the next verse. Verse 21, for since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. Let's go on quickly, please. For us in Adam all died, in Christ all shall live.
[25:40] Verse 23, now look at verse 23. But each one in his own order, Christ the first fruit afterwards, those who are Christ at his coming. So, Christ is our, is the first fruit.
[25:53] What is the first fruit meant to be for? For God. So, the first fruit, in fact, do you remember, that's how he became, he's called the first born. Say, Christ is the first born.
[26:04] Christ is the first born. It's like, the first out of the many. Hebrews chapter 2, verse 10, it says that, for it is fitting for God by whom and all things in bringing many sons to make the captain of their salvation perfect true suffering.
[26:17] Let's go to, we are going to verse 12, verse 11. For both him who sanctifies and those who have been sanctified are of one, for which reason it is not a shame to call them brethren. Let's go to the next verse.
[26:28] Saying, I will declare your name amongst my brethren. Now he's talking about brethren. And in the midst of the congregation, I will sing your praises. Let's go to verse 9. I think the verse 9 I wanted, actually. Verse 9.
[26:41] Okay, he takes this for all of us. Verse 13. There's a text there. What does the verse 13 say? And, I will put my trust in him and again, he said, you are the children you have given me.
[26:52] Alright, the point here is that Jesus Christ, after resurrection, now we become his brothers. We become his brothers. In what way? He is the first born from the dead.
[27:05] That first born from the dead became the first fruit. In other words, what's first fruit? The first proceeds of your labors.
[27:16] Or you, you see, when those times they were in the agricultural community. So you go and plant and then the first ripe ones that come that are supposed to be harvested. When you first set of the harvest it's called the first fruit.
[27:30] That one doesn't go to your house. It goes to God. It goes to the house. That's why it's called bring the first fruits. Now, three days after Passover, he said they should bring first fruits to the priest.
[27:41] Jesus Christ, when he resurrected, he became the first fruit or, you can put it, the first born from the dead. Colossians chapter 1 verse 18.
[27:52] Colossians chapter 1 verse 18 talks about and he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning. The first born from the dead.
[28:04] In Revelation chapter 1 verse 5. Revelation chapter 1 verse 5, he calls Jesus the first born. So Jesus, first born in what sense?
[28:17] From the dead. Now, this is very important. For God's soul that he gave his what? His what?
[28:28] His only, God had an only begotten son. Now, that son, according to John chapter 1 verse 14, and the word became flesh and dwelt amongst us and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father.
[28:48] So Jesus was actually the only begotten. In eternity, he was the only begotten son. He came on the earth. He was walking on this earth as the only begotten son. The only begotten son in eternity took humanity and wrapped divinity with humanity.
[29:05] So as he walked on the earth, he was God and at the same time, man. This is important Christian doctrine. He was God and at the same time, man. And now guess what? He was crucified.
[29:15] He went into death and when he went into the grave, for the first time in human history, the humanity was brought back into life and that was when he was born.
[29:26] Okay? Now, we, at that time, he became the first born from the dead which is not the same as like the only begotten. The only begotten means that the one who was one with God.
[29:39] Now, the first born means the people who have the human nature who has now been elevated into divine nature. So then, when he resurrected from the dead, he became the first born.
[29:52] When we talk about first born, means that there are other borns. No wonder I said, go and tell my brothers. Are you confused? This is not confusing at all.
[30:05] Now, Romans chapter 8, verse 29, for those he foreknew, he predestined to be conformed into the image of God's son that Christ, God's son, might be first born amongst the men.
[30:22] Now, this first born is the first fruit. The rest, the harvest. When God was harvesting humanity to become his children, Jesus was the first. Do you understand that?
[30:34] But he was already the son of God. He was God in the flesh. But humanity for the first time came out from there. It took the resurrection to be declared the son of God.
[30:47] Not the eternal son of God, but this time the humanity has now entered divinity. So that's why I said there's one God and one mediator between God and man.
[30:57] The man Jesus. And in heaven at the moment there is a man in heaven. That's what I'm talking about. There's a man in heaven before the resurrection there was no man anywhere in heaven.
[31:08] There was only God the father, God the son, God the spirit. But after the resurrection God the son took the human nature into heaven. That's why they saw him. He was going. He was going.
[31:19] They had to see humanity going into heaven. Ah. So the secret ascension was to present himself as the first fruit.
[31:32] That one, Mary don't touch me. I got to go to God. He must be the first to enjoy me. Ah. It must be God. God must be the first to enjoy this harvest. He must be the first. Mary you love God.
[31:43] God said okay, okay you can. I will allow you to see him but you can't touch him. So because of her heart for God, God gave her a privileged access to what only God must enjoy.
[31:56] Hallelujah. Oh hallelujah. God gave her a privileged access by allowing Mary to see him and he said don't touch me. No one is supposed to touch me.
[32:06] I'm on my way to the Father. I have to go and present myself to the Father as the first fruits and for God to enjoy my presence. For God to enjoy this harvest and then when I finish I'll come.
[32:18] That is why the first ascension was a secret ascension. It wasn't for us. But now the second ascension we are dealing with.
[32:30] Why was it for us? Because don't underestimate the fact that we said when I was teaching recently I spoke about it's not enough to say Jesus died on the cross.
[32:43] He resurrected from the dead. Actually when you study the book of Luke or the gospels it speaks about the incarnation which means when Jesus arrived as a human being as a baby the ministry of Jesus with the Holy Ghost and then the death of Jesus and then the resurrection of Jesus.
[33:02] Don't stop there. It is necessary Christian doctrine to emphasize on his ascension because his ascension is making a statement.
[33:14] His ascension had to be public because it was also part of the witness it was also part of the plan of God it was also part it's also part of the fundamental doctrine of Jesus Christ.
[33:27] So don't stop at his resurrection because he didn't stop at the resurrection. After the resurrection they all saw him until they saw him being taken up.
[33:38] So they saw his ministry some saw like Mary I'm happy Mary was part of the disciples. Why? Because Mary was there to witness his conception.
[33:51] not even Joseph. Mary saw his conception and his arrival. She was part of the disciples so the disciples knew about his arrival his conception and arrival his ministry that's human living and ministry they saw him die and they saw him resurrect and then finally they have seen him ascended and the angel now tells them that the same Jesus.
[34:20] That's why you don't have the complete Christian doctrine and Christian gospel if you ignore or marginalize his return because let's look at the text again is someone learning something at all?
[34:33] Let's look at the text again in Acts chapter 1 verse 9 and when he had spoken these things while they beheld he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight and guess what after the cloud received him out of their sight I believe that it was so beautiful wow Jesus is God look at the next verse while they still look stepfully towards they didn't realize that you remember the two angels are the tomb two angels have appeared again there were angels when Jesus was born they came to announce and sing when Jesus Christ was doing his ministry and Satan tempted him just before his ministry Bible says that angels came and ministered to him when he resurrected angels were there as witnesses Bible said in fact this one it said two angels one Luke chapter 24 verse 4 look at Luke chapter 24 verse 4 it says that and it came to pass as they were much perpless thereabouts behold let's keep it in
[35:41] New King James and it happened as they were greatly perplexed about this that behold two men stood by them in shining garments these are not ordinary men these two angels is it like they were always around anyone who tells you angels are not real is not Christian doctrine the Christian doctrine is that angels are real but you don't need to be praying God send me I want to see an angel a demon will show up to you oh yes that's how some religions start because they saw angel but Christianity starts because we see Christ that's why he showed himself alive alright so angels have been part of the story they are actually an essential have been intrinsic part of the story and two angels standing there said calls them he said men that's so nice as the angels came in shining garments then as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth the angels said to them why
[36:53] Acts chapter 1 we are going back to Acts verse 10 the two angels appeared so whilst they looked steadfastly towards heaven as he went up behold two men stood by them in white I told you the color of heaven is what not blue but that's for another day in white who also said men of Galilee they could have said Galileans remember John Mark chapter 14 verse 70 they said Peter you are one of them you are Galilean verse 70 7-0 Mark 14 7-0 they said Peter when he was denying Jesus and swearing but he denied him again and a little later those who stood by said to Peter again surely you are one of them why because you are Galilean Galilean in Acts chapter 13 verse 31 Bible says that Jesus Christ revealed himself to those who came from Galilee to Jerusalem with him so he originally was based in
[37:56] Galilee and he had these people who were moving his disciples were Galileans and it's Judas was the only one who was a not not the right that's why I think he had some issue oh yeah yeah this is not my topic but they were Galileans Galileans and the angels knew who they were the angels who stood there said men of Galilee men let's all say men of Galilee do you remember in Acts chapter 2 verse 7 when the Holy Ghost came and they all spoke in tongues the people were amazed and they said they were all amazed and marveled saying look are not all these who speak what is it about Galilean Jesus was moving with the Galileans Jesus was all European please he was Galilean so the angel said men of Galilee he didn't say Galilean it was a very polite way of actually men of
[38:58] Galilee men of Galilee why stand gazing up into heaven then he says something the same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will so come in this is a serious thing he's going to come in the same way he's going to come in the same way that means that he's going to return there's a returning of Jesus that's about to happen that it will be everybody will see him come he said he will come in the same way you see him go he's going to return so they needed to see him go to give them the assurance that he's actually gone but he told them he will come and the angel came and confirmed that Jesus is going to come back in Zechariah chapter 14 verse 4 it was prophesied that his feet would step on the Mount of Olives that's where he went and he prophesied that his feet would step on the
[40:00] Mount of Olives when you go to Jerusalem and some places there are three different places a group of Christians and church said this is where he left but he left from the side of Bethany on the mountain so Jesus left now what's the point here Jesus had to make it public he could have vanished because he was disappearing and appearing and he actually made a secret trip to the father and came so he could have just gone but this had to be public for as a witness that what he said he is that's what he is he showed himself and they saw him go so in Luke chapter 24 verse 51 it's recorded that he was taken up in their sight that's in the gospels the gospels actually mentioned it now it came to pass while he blessed them that he was parted from them and carried up into heaven and they saw him go which was can you imagine that was enough motivation when he told them he was going to go you know they were not happy initially in
[41:07] John chapter 16 sorrow verse 6 or so sorrow has filled your heart because I'm going to him to go but look at Luke chapter 24 verse 51 and 52 51 says that he was taken into heaven and look at 52 this is interesting 52 and they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy how come the master has left and they were happy about it why would they be happy the Holy Spirit had not even come at that time but why were they happy why they happy he had left because now it has even boosted their faith they know that everything he said he said he was going to die he died he said he was going to go and he gone and so every instruction he had given them they were happy to carry out that's why Jesus had to say to them to wait because if he had not told them to wait in Jerusalem they would have gone because they had enough reason why they should begin to go everywhere and tell everybody but it wasn't in the human strength that it needed to be witnesses the human evidence was not enough the power of the
[42:15] Holy Spirit was necessary for them to be able to go and talk but the point is that they left very happy because they saw him go they saw him didn't tell Elisha that you want the anointing is a big situation but it's possible if you see me go there's something about keeping an eye on the anointed one and Jesus is the anointed one they saw him go so they would die for this cause they saw him go they returned the angel said so one it boosted their faith and two it made them know that no one can change their mind he is going to come back so they actually anticipated he coming so much that he became part of the foundational doctrine of Christianity he's coming he's coming the return of Christ he's coming in fact the way he's going to come in Matthew chapter 24 it is very clear that Jesus Christ is going to return and his return is not going to be secret verse 30
[43:16] Matthew 24 verse 30 the Bible talks about how watch this this very then the sign of the son of man will appear in heaven and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the son of man coming on the clouds oh when he's coming he's going to be public everybody will see him coming he's coming on the clouds he's coming on the cloud where is he going to the Bible says that he's going to come back on Mount Olin so it's better we get ready if we knew when he was going to come I'll be the first to go to the area because if he's coming today I'll go there but no one knows when he's coming but his coming is going to be public he won't come and no one knows but now watch this between ascension and the public ascension was 40 days right 40 days between the final ascension which is public ascension and public coming is going to be a few years nobody knows but that gap is called the dispensation of grace that is the gap which is called the church age the dispensation of grace that's why people could sin and do anything in grace there's enough grace to give us opportunity to cry out on him on the cross he carried out accomplished redemption the thief on the cross said remember me he said oh boy you'll be remembered because
[44:52] I paid the price to allow you to be redeemed I paid the price so the cross he was paying the price but between the cross or between the after he left and the next coming it's called the church age or it's called the age of grace you will not lack grace grace in the name of Jesus and let me add this point finally from the text it says that the same Jesus you see go he will come back in the same way look at the next verse then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olivet which is near Jerusalem a Sabbath day journey I used to struggle with what's a Sabbath day journey I thought it was a whole day but Sabbath day journey there's a Sabbath day journey and there's an ordinary day journey you know the Jews were strict Sabbath day you are not supposed to work right so even they considered any activity as work so working can be classified as work but they were leaving the temple was in the center and the communities have spread around the temple now if someone is at the farthest point of the community and has to come to the temple to come and pray he might do some walking but if you say maybe 20 steps or anything over 100 steps is work then they can't come but they have to come so they calculated from the temple to the father's camp that's the longest any
[46:25] Jew should work on a Sabbath day which is about three quarters of a mile it was about three quarters of a mile if you do a mile you have broken the Sabbath because you have worked maybe you went to work that's why you did night night shift that's there that's amplified then the disciples returned to Jerusalem from the Mount called Olive Grove which is near Jerusalem only a Sabbath day journey less than one mile away one mile away so a Sabbath day journey was three quarters of a mile so they were not too far from Jerusalem the Mount of Olive was not too far but they returned to Jerusalem what did they do there the last text I read today in the verse let's go to the next verse quickly they returned to Jerusalem Sabbath verse 13 says that and when they were come in they went into the upper room where about both Peter always Peter's name seemed to be the first to be mentioned read the scriptures you find out
[47:30] Peter always James John and Andrew Philip and Thomas Bartholomeo and Matthew James the son of Althus and Simon the zealot and Judas the son of James not Judas is carrot okay Judas the carrot guy we'll talk about him we'll talk about him later next week we'll talk about Judas but this one is Judas the carrot this one is Judas the son of James so it's clear look at the next verse verse 14 says that and all continue with one accord in prayer this is also interesting for 120 people these were the only few amongst the 12 that were mentioned but there were more than that okay so Jesus had disciples not all the disciples were apostles not all the disciples he had 12 apostles next week by God's grace I might touch a bit more on that he had 12 apostles to represent the 12 tribes of
[48:33] Israel however the 12 tribes of Israel but the number 12 is a very interesting number in scripture 12 months in a year 12 hours in a day supposedly and 12 hours in the night the number 12 is significant he says that you sit of 12 tribes you disciples you sit on 12 Matthew chapter 19 verse 20 you sit on 12 tribes so 12 is matters 11 why don't you take it like that Jesus mentioned 12 he wanted 12 so let's look for one and replace we'll go to that next week will you look forward to next week but let me finish this one he said that these names were mentioned and James and verse 14 all this continue with one accord can you imagine about 120 people continuing for 10 days with one accord that takes a lot of discipline a lot of true harmony that's all natural harmony God Jesus his resurrection has actually been bound them together that they could continue for 10 days in one accord in the same place because if you put people to sometimes when we are praying we give prayer to you and you pray too long you change it yourself and pray that things we pray for revival some of revival revival okay in
[49:53] Jesus name amen Lord let my car come let my husband come so that people will see that the revival is true the revival is true but these guys pray with one accord God was already working in their hearts but that's what is interesting I'm going to end on this with with their women shall we all say that together I can't hear you the men don't want to say okay women shall we all say with the women can you say louder please men now let's let's learn men shall we all say together with the women with the women how important is that very important Christianity is the only religion that starts with women as part of the starting they went the church was about to be born when the Holy Ghost came Bible was clear that women were part of the team it didn't say they were sitting in the back they were sitting in front but it was a team it was brethren including women women it's
[51:02] Christianity that actually has helped this women emancipation team you see the New Testament it's interwoven with look Jesus when he was going to heaven he showed himself to heaven the secret one he had to show a woman if it was maybe Judaism and other religion we will not mention it but it's so the first person to go and tell people about a man I have seen come and see is he not the measure was a woman who had married five times already a woman with history Matthew chapter 1 verse 2 3 4 5 6 7 to verse 16 when the genealogy of women they only usually will say Abraham gave back to Isaac where is Sarah it's not necessary Matthew chapter 1 verse 2 Abraham begat Isaac Isaac begat Jacob where is Rebecca not necessary Jacob begat Judah and his brothers they were not mentioning women but because women are not second class women are part of the essential story even in the conception of
[52:13] Jesus they included five women and all the five but one had sexual bad stories they included them is that look at the first woman was mentioned the next verse it says that Judas begat Perez and Zerah by do you know who Tamar is Tamar was a bad girl so to speak bad girl she managed to get her father-in-law to sleep with her to produce these children these children shouldn't have been factored in Jesus's genealogy what are they doing there cover it up it's no good but God said everybody is part of the picture hallelujah they included this Tamar Tamar couldn't have a husband to marry he said I have to have a child no my clock is ticking I have to have a child she played the hallelujah in other words she turned herself into a girl and she sat at the corner where the father-in-law normally passes and that day father-in-law saw her and
[53:23] I think he was in his week days in his early verse he said his husband is dead and Bible said he went into her and the woman said before any action you have to pay I just need your staff and your signet just give me those ones before anything you know at those times men don't mind anything goes Tamar said give me and Tamar collected it and then when the man has had rest I'm sure he fell asleep and Tamar vanished and took those things away and she did it at the time where she was in her fertile moment and she conceived and guess what God has a sense of humor why should such a woman conceive and she conceived twins she didn't miscarry no she won't miscarry
[54:25] God said this one it will miscarry and actually God said I'm going to use this as part of the genealogy of Jesus when I'm coming I'm going to use this and they mentioned the harlot Tamar and then after Tamar they didn't mention the good sisters they didn't mention the good sisters and then Tamar Perez and then they continue and then they mention Rahab Rahab she was not Tamar there's a difference between Tamar and Rahab Tamar was desperate so she used the desperate to catch a man I'm not saying it's good but Rahab was a worker she was a trade it was trade trades it was trade hey the money she had a secretary the counter and everything they call it the money Rahab what is Rahab doing in the genealogy of
[55:27] Jesus Rahab why because God Jesus came for everybody and when it comes to Christianity women are also part essential not less not some they are main features part of the main features and then the next one and then Ruth and then Moabite David had Solomon with someone who used to be somebody's wife David and Joseph began David the king David the king began Solomon with her who had been another person's wife what is this woman doing here oh boy women are part of the pictures even the bad girls and the bad boys they are all part of the picture because Christ God did not for God so loved the world John 3 16 that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life but you have left the verse 17 verse 17 says that
[56:33] God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved hallelujah he did not come with the red card he didn't come with condemnation he came with an open arms that is why the thief on the clothes he could tell the thief on the clothes Luke chapter 23 verse 43 I tell you the truth that today you shall be with me in paradise why he came for the sinners he came for the bad guys he came for all it doesn't matter your religion it doesn't matter your history it doesn't matter your past it does not matter at all if you can come to Jesus it doesn't matter your gender if you can come to Jesus there is room in Christ for you and the women and the women and that's why
[57:38] I see we are women sitting on the front seat sitting anywhere a man can sit a woman can sit in the church but I don't know how other religions including Judaism will handle it but the church brings everything everybody together in Christ we are one there is no male there is no female there is no slave there is no free there is no barbarian there is no Scythian that Christ is all Colossians chapter 3 verse 11 Christ is all and in all hallelujah in one minute let me end this so he said women and Mary the mother of Jesus that was the last time Mary appeared in the Bible she appeared on the congregation in the congregation amongst the congregation not behind the pulpit she was one of everybody one of everybody she wasn't elevated to any status no status they said and
[58:47] Mary so she also spoke in tongues she was one with the brethren one with the brothers and sisters one of the Galileans she was one not only the women but Mary the mother of Jesus was also among the congregation I'm sure she was sitting somewhere somewhere she was just one and that's how Mary the Bible finishes with Mary in the Bible Mary was one of us and we are all sons of God just for those who are very sensitive sons and daughters of we are all children of God including Mary that is why the first and the second ascension were slightly different first one was secret because he was going to present himself as the first fruit the second one was public because he wanted to make a statement that
[59:49] I'm coming back as you see me go I'm coming back did you receive something come on let's give Jesus praise hallelujah thank you thank you for listening to this message by David entry we pray you have been strengthened and enlightened you can connect to David entry on all relevant social media platforms including Instagram and LinkedIn you can also hear many more messages from David entry on all relevant streaming platforms and the Carriage Church app don't forget to like and share the message be blessed and I'll go That's my God other achievements very much you