We've just had the Paris Olympics 2024.
I wonder if anyone in this room went to the Sydney Olympics 2000.
Raise your hand.
Quite a few of you actually were there.
Keep your hand up if you actually saw Cathy Freeman win the 400.
You were there to see that.
I am so jealous.
It was really quite difficult actually in days gone by,
if I may speak as looking back, to witness something.
You had to kind of be there in person in order to witness it.
But then with the advent of television of course and more recently with now,
in fact we have a phone in our pockets that has a camera and a video camera in it
and we've got the internet,
it's almost impossible not to see something that happened
because it gets filmed and goes up online.
Not much can happen these days without someone recording it.
The emergence of this technology means that we have an enhanced capacity to be witnesses.
But really that's just one side of witnessing,
being the observer, the one who sees an event.
Acts 1 describes for us Jesus' instruction to his disciples,
and we'll see it there in verse 8.
I'll put it up on the screen there for you.
It says,
This is the other side of disciples simply witnessing an event.
They did that.
But they are now not just to be the witnesses of,
but to witness to others.
Telling others of what they have seen and heard.
This morning I want us to see two things.
Firstly, how the disciples were to be witnesses
in both the observing and the telling of what they'd seen.
And secondly, significantly,
what it means for us to be witnesses today,
here in Chatswood 2024.
Firstly though, let's have a look with you
at what disciples are to be witnesses of.
Luke wrote a big chunk of the New Testament.
He wrote what we call Luke's Gospel,
but then he wrote his volume 2,
which is Acts.
And in fact, Luke's Gospel
and the beginning of Acts kind of overlap.
The events at the very end of Luke's Gospel
and the events at the very beginning of Acts overlap.
Jesus, we read, had suffered,
he'd died, he'd been buried,
and then he rose again from the grave.
And then for about 40 days,
there was a period before he was taken up into heaven.
Luke 24 describes how after Jesus' resurrection,
he met with various disciples.
He met with two disciples on the road to Emmaus,
and then he asked them about the things they had witnessed.
Jesus explained to them
how he was the fulfillment
of all the Old Testament scriptures.
Jesus then appeared in the very midst of the disciples.
He showed them his hands and his feet.
He even ate broiled fish with them.
In other words, he proved that he was alive.
He had physically, bodily risen from the dead.
We read then in the end of Luke's Gospel,
and I'll put it up on the screen there
where you can open your own Bibles.
Luke 24 from verse 44,
Jesus said to the disciples,
This is what I told you while I was still with you.
Everything must be fulfilled
that is written about me in the law of Moses,
the prophets, and the Psalms.
In other words,
everything must be fulfilled about me
that is written in the whole of the Bible.
And then he opened their minds
so they could understand the scriptures.
Jesus told them,
This is what is written.
The Messiah will suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day,
and repentance for the forgiveness of sins
will be preached in his name to all nations,
beginning at Jerusalem.
And then there's that word again,
You are witnesses of these things,
see what he told them.
Notice the reminder here
that the disciples,
they are witnesses,
and they are to be witnesses.
Then we read in Acts chapter 1,
the very first verse we read just a moment ago,
Luke writes,
In my former book, Theophilus,
that is, he's referring to Luke's gospel,
I wrote about all that Jesus began to do
and to teach
until the day he was taken up into heaven,
after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit
to the apostles he had chosen.
But don't you think that's a curious expression?
It says,
All that Jesus began to do and to teach
until he is taken up into heaven.
That implies that Jesus is going to continue to do
and to teach
after he's been taken up into heaven.
How can that be?
Well, Acts 1 gives us the answer.
In Acts chapter 1, verse 3,
we are reminded
that the risen Jesus
presented himself to many people
and gave many convincing proofs
that he was alive.
So for 40 days,
Jesus appeared to people
to confirm that he had physically,
bodily,
risen from the dead.
They witnessed that.
They saw that with their own eyes.
And they were in turn then
to be witnesses of the things they had seen.
Jesus then went on to speak about the what next.
Not a kind of a five-year plan
or a strategic plan
or a governance plan.
No, and not a modest plan either.
But a plan that was entirely in accord
with God's promises
from the beginning of time.
The Jesus plan
is about the coming
of the kingdom of God.
Now, here in Chatswood
and all around the place
on a couple of weeks' time,
14th September,
the New South Wales
local government elections will occur.
And probably in your letterbox,
like mine,
you've been getting outlines
of what candidates are promising to do
if they are elected.
And they're quite often
ambitious aims
that these candidates are suggesting.
Ambitious aims
but for the local area.
The Jesus plan
is entirely different.
It's on another level altogether.
It doesn't just pertain to
one part of one city
in one period of time.
But the Jesus plan
is for all people
for all time
in every part of the world.
So,
look again at verse 4
of chapter 1 of Acts.
Jesus,
Luke reminds us rather
that while Jesus
was having a meal
with his disciples,
he outlined
his plan.
Notice, of course,
it wasn't a suggestion.
It wasn't something
he was putting out there
to be kind of workshopped.
No, this was
a command.
It was to be understood
and obeyed.
Verse 4,
Do not leave Jerusalem,
said Jesus,
but wait.
And here I think we have
in what
at first blush
looks like a very
odd
plan.
In former days,
I worked for a couple
of large
multinationals,
including in the food industry.
And when a food manufacturer,
a global food manufacturer,
finds a product
that they believe
is going to
just go gangbusters
across the whole world,
then they work out
a strategic plan
in order to do
a global rollout
of this.
I was working
for the Mars group
at the time
they were going
to roll out
the Mars ice cream bars
around the world.
Now, I cannot imagine
for one moment
the director of sales
and marketing
saying to his
sales managers
that, hey,
we've got this
fantastic product
ready to go
and here's what
I want you to do.
Stay here in Chatswood
and wait.
You think,
that doesn't make sense.
Why would...
And you see,
but that's what
Jesus' command was.
I want you to see
the stark difference
between the Jesus plan
and the corporate world.
Why would Jesus
say to his disciples,
wait,
stay in Jerusalem?
Well, the answer
is found in the second
part of the verse.
Jesus' disciples
are called
to trust in him
and to wait
for the gift
that his father
had promised,
the gift of the Holy Spirit,
the gift that heard him
speak so much about.
Do not leave Jerusalem,
he says,
but wait for the gifts
my father promised.
You see,
if they were to charge off
and try and fulfill
the great commission
without waiting
for the Holy Spirit,
then they'll be doing it
in their own strength.
They'll be doing it
in their own capacities,
in their own power.
That's not the Jesus plan.
The Jesus plan
is that they will be
witnesses around the globe,
but not in their own strength.
They'll be doing it
in the power
of the Holy Spirit.
God's people
are to obey
his commands
and not witness
in their own strength,
but to receive
the power
of the Holy Spirit
and Jesus promised
in verse 5,
in a few days
they would be baptized
with the Holy Spirit.
That event,
which we know
as Pentecost,
did happen
just 10 days later.
We read in Acts chapter 2
that at that time
the apostles
were enabled
to do that,
which is humanly speaking
quite impossible.
They had people
from around the world
gathered there
and they were able
to preach the gospel
and be understood,
each person understood it
in their native language.
Now I did a little bit
of research
during the week
about Chatswood
and the census data
says that these
are the top languages
spoken at homes
in Chatswood.
English creeps in
at number one,
Mandarin,
Cantonese,
Korean,
Japanese and Hindi.
Now I'd be surprised
if there weren't people
in this room
this morning
who speak
these languages.
Imagine if I was then
preaching as I am
in English
and you were actually
hearing it
in Mandarin
or Cantonese
or Korean.
That's what was happening
at Pentecost.
That was the power
of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus promised them
that they would receive
power
when the Holy Spirit
came.
That word power,
the Greek word
is dynamon,
dunamon,
from which we get
the English word dynamite.
We're talking about
an extraordinary power
that came upon them
that they're able
to do that.
And it is in that
extraordinary power
that they are
to proceed
to be witnesses,
Jesus' witnesses
in Judea and Samaria
and then
to the ends
of the earth.
in the early chapters
of Acts,
we see that the world
was coming
to Jerusalem.
The model was
an attractional one.
People came
to the city of David
to Mount Zion.
Jerusalem was a very
attractive city
to go to.
Maybe not at the moment
but I imagine,
raise your hand
if you've been to Jerusalem.
Anyone here in the room
been to Jerusalem?
It's a really
interesting city.
People came
from around the world
to Jerusalem.
And when they came,
they heard the gospel
in the power
of the Holy Spirit.
Thousands of people
heard the gospel
in their own mother tongue
and responded
in repentance
and faith.
And then
those people
returned
to their
places of origin.
The Copernican
revolution
of global mission
came a short while later.
We read in Acts chapter 7,
so just a few chapters on,
of Stephen
speaks to the Sanhedrin.
Now Stephen
was asked
to come
and speak
to the
legal councils
of the day,
the heavies of the day.
And he delivered
what was an absolute
cracker of a sermon.
He drew on
a lot of Old Testament
references
and showed
how Jesus
was the fulfillment
of the promises
of the Old Testament.
It was an amazing sermon.
So at the end of that,
they decided
they would take
Stephen
on a road trip
to all the biggest
stadia
and all the
major synagogues
all around the world
so that more people
could...
No, they didn't do that.
Do you know
what they did?
They took him out
after he delivered
this incredible sermon
and they
stoned him.
And again,
we're kind of left
scratching our head
thinking,
how can this
be part of God's plan?
How can it be part
of God's plan
to take out
a man who
had the capacity,
one of the few
on the planet
at that moment
who had the capacity
to preach the gospel
clearly
and faithfully
and boldly
and after he
does so,
he's stoned
to death.
How can that
be part of God's
plan?
Well, we actually
see it in the next
verse,
the beginning of
chapter 8,
verse 1
and we read there
on that day,
the day when
Stephen was
stoned to death,
a great persecution
broke out
and all except
the apostles
were scattered
throughout Judea
and Samaria.
You see,
in God's economy,
the tragic
martyrdom
of Stephen
led to the
spread of the
gospel
across the
known world.
The model
of mission
moved from being,
if I remember
my school of
science correctly
here,
from being a
centripetal one,
that is the force
of kind of coming
in,
to it becoming
a centrifugal one,
the force then
the gospel
going out,
going out to
take the gospel
to the ends
of the earth.
Now,
over the centuries,
the church
has fallen
into this
era of
operating as
if our
mission mandate
is fulfilled
if we simply
build churches
on hills
and then expect
people to come.
Building churches
is important,
but friends,
our mission mandate
is to go out,
to be
witnesses.
Did the
first century
disciples do
that which
they were
commissioned
to do?
Yes,
they did.
How do I
know that?
Because we are
sitting here in
Chatswood,
two millennia
later,
and Chatswood,
beautiful place,
but if I may say
from a first century
perspective,
Jerusalem perspective
is the ends
of the earth.
The gospel
has come
to the ends
of the earth.
Verse 8,
Jesus said,
they were to be
witnesses in
Jerusalem
and all Judea
and Samaria
and to the
ends of the earth.
Let's consider
our context
here.
In Sydney
2024,
we do a
pretty good
job of
being witnesses
of Jesus
in our
Jerusalem,
our Judea,
that is,
in the Sydney
Diocese.
And we do a
pretty good job
of supporting
ministries that
go out from
here to the
ends of the
earth.
So organizations
like CMS
are supporting
ministries to
the nations.
nations.
But what
about our
Samaria?
What about
the 7 million
people who
live in regional,
rural and remote
parts of
Australia?
They're often
forgotten.
The BCA
mission is
entirely in
accord with
the Jesus
mission.
The BCA
strategic plan
is entirely
in accord
with Jesus
strategic plan.
That is,
to go the
distance,
to take
the gospel,
not just
to the
cities,
not just
to the
nation,
but to the
original rural
and remote
parts,
to all
people.
To places
like, and
you can see
them on the
map there,
Exmouth and
Roxby Downs
and Cobar,
Cobar,
and what I was
speaking about
before,
in the western
part of New
South Wales,
and Newman
and Kununurra,
right up there
in the north,
in the western
Australia,
north of western
Australia.
I mentioned
before that
we have
more than
10,000
prayer supporters
in
New South
Wales,
diligently
upholding
these ministries
in prayer
using the
BCA prayer
notes.
Now,
last Thursday
in the
prayer notes,
if you
looked there,
last Thursday,
I remember
the date,
it was my
wife's birthday,
on the 29th,
George and
Carmel Ferguson
are listed.
Now,
they're in
Walgett and
Colorado,
and you read
there,
it's a little
bit too small
on the screen,
but you can
read it in
your prayer
notes later,
that George
and Carmel
are committed
to preaching
the gospel
and spreading
the good news
of salvation.
We might add
to the ends
of the earth,
or we could
use the language
of Acts,
chapter 1,
verse 8,
to Samaria.
They're out
there in
Walgett and
Colorado,
and I,
trusting in
the Holy Spirit,
thousands of
people across
the country
pray regularly
to support
the BCA
mission.
Not because
it's the
BCA mission
per se,
because that
mission aligns
with the
Jesus mission.
So let me
ask you this
morning,
will you
please join
us in
this part
of the
mission,
and pray
and give
to support
the gospel
going to
our Samaria.
As disciples
of Jesus,
our mission
and our plans
need to
continue to
be aligned
with Jesus'
plan,
to bring
people across
the globe
under the
sound of
the gospel,
so that
people in
the cities,
people in
the suburbs
of Chatswood
and beyond,
people right
across Australia
and across
the nations,
come under
the sound
of the gospel.
That is our
privilege,
and that is
our responsibility
as witnesses
of the gospel.
So,
here at
St.
Paul's,
you must
continue to
strategize as
to how to
reach the
many people
of Chatswood
who do
not yet know
Jesus as
their Lord
and Savior.
You must
continue to
strategize,
but if I
may say,
not rely
upon those
strategies,
but rather
rely upon the
power of the
Holy Spirit
that the Lord
has promised
to us before
his ascension.
salvation.
We've seen
how the
first disciples
were to be
witnesses of
the gospel,
and what
Jesus'
command is
for us
to in turn
be witnesses
of the gospel.
We've seen
the what.
Let me finish
this morning
with the why.
Why are we
to press on
to seek to
bring all
people under
the sound
of the gospel?
The compelling
reason is
found in the
final verse
of today's
passage.
After Jesus
had given
this command
to witness
to the
world,
he ascended
to heaven,
and then the
angels gave
those who
were standing
there this
reminder.
This is the
why.
Jesus is
coming back.
Why do we
keep going
the distance
to witness
the gospel
to all
people?
Who is my
friends?
Jesus is
coming back.
Let's pray.
Our
gracious God
and heavenly
Father, we
do thank you
that in your
love and
mercy you
sent your
son, the
Lord Jesus,
to be born
as a man,
to live among
us with all
the struggles
and temptations
of life,
but to live
without sin.
Thank you
that Jesus
so loved us
that he
willingly
suffered and
died to
pay the
price for
our sins.
God
and
thank you
that just
as predicted
Jesus rose
again from
the grave
and proved
that he
was alive.
Thank you
that Jesus
promised the
gift of the
Holy Spirit
and we
thank you
that in your
plan for the
salvation of
all mankind,
you've chosen
to include
us.
Father, we
praise you
that we do
not have to
proceed in
our own
strength,
but rather in
the power of
your Holy
Spirit.
As we
seek to
continue to
take the
good news
of the
gospel to
the ends
of the
earth, to
the remote
places of
Australia and
here in
Chatswood,
give us
courage and
a deep
trust in
you and
the power
of your
spirit.
We pray
this in
Jesus'
name as
we await
his return.
Amen.