WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.280 Well, good morning, friends. This morning we're starting a new sermon series in the book of Acts. 00:00:07.280 --> 00:00:18.160 ! So would you turn with me to Acts chapter 1. Acts chapter 1. We're going to look at the first 14 verses of Acts chapter 1 today. 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:27.940 So let me pray as we come to God's Word together. Father, we thank You for this morning. God, thank You for Your Spirit 00:00:27.940 --> 00:00:37.840 who dwells so powerfully among us, and thank You that He has given us a Word through which, God, You continue to speak. 00:00:38.579 --> 00:00:45.380 So as we come to Your Word this morning, Father, we ask that we would see not just truths to believe or things to do, 00:00:45.480 --> 00:00:50.620 but we pray that we would see You in all Your glory, that we would see Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:56.219 in all of His beauty and grace, in all of His power and sovereignty, 00:00:56.219 --> 00:01:05.560 and that by Your Spirit we would be formed and transformed as followers of Him. We pray this in His mighty name. Amen. 00:01:06.840 --> 00:01:09.959 All right, Acts chapter 1. Let me read 1 through 14 for us. 00:01:11.640 --> 00:01:12.599 Acts begins like this. 00:01:12.599 --> 00:01:16.840 In the first book, O Theophilus, I've dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach 00:01:16.840 --> 00:01:22.539 until the day when He was taken up after He had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen. 00:01:22.540 --> 00:01:31.120 He presented Himself alive to them after His suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 00:01:32.460 --> 00:01:37.580 And while staying with them, He ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, 00:01:38.260 --> 00:01:46.260 which, He said, you heard from Me, for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. 00:01:46.260 --> 00:01:49.680 So when they had come together, they asked Him, 00:01:50.340 --> 00:01:53.080 Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? 00:01:54.080 --> 00:01:59.400 He said to them, it is not for You to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority, 00:01:59.600 --> 00:02:03.360 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, 00:02:03.719 --> 00:02:09.840 and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. 00:02:09.840 --> 00:02:18.000 And when He had said these things, as they were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him out of their sight. 00:02:18.920 --> 00:02:23.680 And while they were gazing into heaven as He went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes and said, 00:02:23.780 --> 00:02:27.340 Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? 00:02:28.199 --> 00:02:33.439 This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven. 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:40.039 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. 00:02:40.859 --> 00:02:45.620 And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room where they were staying, 00:02:46.319 --> 00:02:50.900 Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, 00:02:51.439 --> 00:02:55.319 James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the zealot, and Judas the son of James. 00:02:56.039 --> 00:02:59.860 All these, with one accord, were devoting themselves to prayer, 00:02:59.860 --> 00:03:05.180 together with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and His brothers. 00:03:08.680 --> 00:03:10.660 Where are we going? 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:13.240 Are we there yet? 00:03:14.760 --> 00:03:17.820 Are you sure we don't need to pull over and ask for directions? 00:03:18.880 --> 00:03:22.020 These are some typical questions you might hear on a family car ride. 00:03:22.680 --> 00:03:24.860 Of course, no one really asks for directions anymore, right? 00:03:24.920 --> 00:03:26.740 Because now we have GPSs on all of our phones. 00:03:26.740 --> 00:03:31.900 Now, of course, in the confines of a minivan, such questions can become a bit irksome. 00:03:32.980 --> 00:03:36.480 But on the whole, they are good questions. 00:03:37.400 --> 00:03:40.620 And not just when you're packed into the car for a weekend road trip. 00:03:41.920 --> 00:03:44.000 Where are we going? 00:03:46.020 --> 00:03:49.460 It's a good question to ask of one's life, is it not? 00:03:49.460 --> 00:03:54.439 And here we are this morning on the brink of a new season, right? 00:03:54.580 --> 00:03:57.219 For some of us, it's the start of a fresh semester at school. 00:03:57.640 --> 00:04:00.600 For others, you've moved to New Haven for the start of a new job. 00:04:00.700 --> 00:04:03.719 For others, you've welcomed the addition of a new family member. 00:04:04.540 --> 00:04:08.280 Perhaps you've just arrived to New Haven from another part of the country or another part of the world. 00:04:09.580 --> 00:04:15.680 Or perhaps you've been around for some time and are just feeling the air of newness as well. 00:04:15.680 --> 00:04:20.959 And in this season, it's right to be asking, where am I going? 00:04:22.019 --> 00:04:23.280 What am I going to be about? 00:04:24.060 --> 00:04:25.759 What direction will I take? 00:04:28.280 --> 00:04:30.780 And of course, it's not just a new season for many of us individually, 00:04:31.040 --> 00:04:33.340 but also for us as a church, it's the start of a new season. 00:04:33.639 --> 00:04:37.500 As another school year begins, it's another ministry year for us that's beginning. 00:04:38.160 --> 00:04:41.699 And so, for us now, it's right to be asking, where are we going? 00:04:42.079 --> 00:04:43.100 What are we going to be about? 00:04:43.100 --> 00:04:44.100 What are we going to be about? 00:04:45.100 --> 00:04:49.180 So, both individually and corporately, there's a great opportunity before us. 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:57.800 An opportunity to set our sights afresh on what God will have us be and do. 00:04:59.240 --> 00:05:05.700 An opportunity to kind of get down to the essentials, to sort of clear the barnacles off the hull 00:05:05.700 --> 00:05:11.680 and to open up the sails and to hit the open water with fresh vigor and purpose and direction. 00:05:11.680 --> 00:05:26.340 You see, in any congregation and in any Christian's life, really, there's a danger of kind of falling into what we might call maintenance mode, right? 00:05:27.240 --> 00:05:30.439 Of settling into a kind of comfortable status quo. 00:05:30.439 --> 00:05:38.459 But what we see in the book of Acts is the church on a mission. 00:05:39.719 --> 00:05:45.060 A church that's not comfortable or complacent, but on the move. 00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:50.939 But, of course, the shift from kind of maintenance to mission is not easy, right? 00:05:50.980 --> 00:05:52.220 Often, we don't like change. 00:05:52.279 --> 00:05:53.939 We don't like to step out of our comfort zone. 00:05:53.939 --> 00:05:57.819 But, in addition, it can be a little dangerous. 00:05:59.480 --> 00:06:04.120 We can rush forward without the proper kind of biblical moorings and priorities. 00:06:04.459 --> 00:06:11.839 We can go forth with a frenetic urgency and passion and then quickly lose heat and lose heart. 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:18.859 There will be a lot of talk, a lot of running around, a lot of activity, but no real lasting fruit. 00:06:19.500 --> 00:06:22.399 We can launch our ship from the harbor with excitement, with enthusiasm. 00:06:22.899 --> 00:06:29.319 But if the compass is off just a few degrees, we'll find ourselves eventually lost at sea. 00:06:31.120 --> 00:06:31.559 Discouraged. 00:06:32.919 --> 00:06:33.319 Frustrated. 00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:35.399 Thirsty. 00:06:35.399 --> 00:06:47.759 But if we come again to the Bible and listen to what God is telling us about our identity to God. 00:06:50.560 --> 00:06:51.739 So, what do we learn then? 00:06:51.859 --> 00:07:00.000 What do we learn about our mission as a church, this mission of the King, from this passage? 00:07:00.819 --> 00:07:05.299 Well, I want to point out four things this morning that we learn about our mission from this passage. 00:07:06.099 --> 00:07:10.679 The first thing we see is what we might call the nature of our mission. 00:07:11.099 --> 00:07:12.339 What is the nature of our mission? 00:07:12.599 --> 00:07:16.759 Well, Jesus says in verse 8, you'll be my witnesses, right? 00:07:17.019 --> 00:07:22.959 Now, words like witness or testimony, they can often have sort of a religious ring to them these days, right? 00:07:22.959 --> 00:07:26.379 We often talk about someone giving their testimony in a church service. 00:07:26.879 --> 00:07:31.399 But instead, picture yourself when you hear this word in a courtroom. 00:07:31.399 --> 00:07:31.959 Someone's on trial. 00:07:31.959 --> 00:07:33.979 Someone's on trial. 00:07:34.539 --> 00:07:44.819 And you're called to the stand because you've seen, heard, or experienced something that's relevant to the case. 00:07:45.639 --> 00:07:50.439 In other words, you're a witness and you're being asked to give your testimony. 00:07:50.439 --> 00:07:58.100 These words have that same kind of courtroom connotation here in Acts. 00:07:58.180 --> 00:08:02.379 The apostles have seen and heard and experienced something. 00:08:02.879 --> 00:08:08.899 And Jesus is telling them that now they're going to share it, to state it, to testify to it. 00:08:08.899 --> 00:08:21.279 And that's the first reason why, if we think about it, the first reason why the nature of the church's mission is witness. 00:08:21.279 --> 00:08:31.099 The first reason why is because Christianity is, first and foremost, about what Jesus Christ has done in history. 00:08:31.739 --> 00:08:39.799 What he's done objectively, such that people could see him with their eyes and hear him with their ears and even touch him with their hands. 00:08:41.279 --> 00:08:45.799 It wasn't just a subjective kind of religious experience that they had. 00:08:46.740 --> 00:08:49.799 Luke kind of goes out of his way, doesn't he, to make this clear in our passage. 00:08:49.799 --> 00:08:51.620 In verse 3 he says, 00:08:52.259 --> 00:09:17.099 There is, friends, a kind of facticity to the Christian message of Jesus. 00:09:17.100 --> 00:09:23.399 And that's why the nature of our mission is one of witness. 00:09:24.759 --> 00:09:32.879 Because at its root, it's built upon something that men and women had seen and heard and touched and experienced. 00:09:34.740 --> 00:09:41.019 And what that means is that Christianity offers itself for genuine investigation. 00:09:41.019 --> 00:09:46.960 Christianity doesn't ask you to sort of suspend your reason when considering Christ. 00:09:47.059 --> 00:09:47.980 In fact, just the opposite. 00:09:49.059 --> 00:09:56.679 It invites you to come to the Gospels with all your mental faculty sharpened and to ask the tough questions. 00:09:57.500 --> 00:10:02.019 Friend, don't think that Christianity is threatened by questions. 00:10:02.720 --> 00:10:04.220 In fact, it welcomes them. 00:10:04.220 --> 00:10:14.600 So if we are being true to the nature of our mission, to testify, to witness, to the Christ who acted in history, 00:10:14.960 --> 00:10:19.860 then our church should be a place where more and more people are asking some genuine questions and seeking honest answers. 00:10:19.860 --> 00:10:27.759 But, you know, there's a second reason why the nature of our mission is witness. 00:10:27.860 --> 00:10:28.300 It's witness. 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:30.820 It's this. 00:10:30.820 --> 00:10:42.740 The reason why the nature of our mission is witness is because Christianity is not primarily something that we do, 00:10:44.160 --> 00:10:48.180 but something Christ has done for us. 00:10:50.100 --> 00:10:57.560 Therefore, witness testifying to something outside of us has to be the essential nature of this mission. 00:10:58.180 --> 00:10:58.760 Think about it. 00:10:58.759 --> 00:11:03.120 If Christianity were basically a list, right, of rules that we had to keep, 00:11:03.759 --> 00:11:05.759 then Christ would have said to the apostles, 00:11:06.399 --> 00:11:11.519 okay, you're going to be my police officers to keep people in line, right? 00:11:11.840 --> 00:11:15.240 Or I'm sending you out as judges to evaluate how people are doing. 00:11:16.259 --> 00:11:19.319 But instead, Jesus says, you're going to be my witnesses 00:11:19.319 --> 00:11:26.200 because I, Jesus, have accomplished all that's necessary to reconcile sinners to God. 00:11:26.200 --> 00:11:33.160 So we testify to what Jesus has done at its core. 00:11:35.520 --> 00:11:36.660 And what does that mean? 00:11:36.759 --> 00:11:40.120 If we're witnessing to something that Christ has done, 00:11:40.180 --> 00:11:43.460 not something that we have to perform or upkeep. 00:11:44.940 --> 00:11:49.300 Well, friends, it means that our mission needs to be marked. 00:11:49.360 --> 00:11:50.020 It must be marked. 00:11:50.019 --> 00:11:52.779 It will be marked by genuine humility. 00:11:55.019 --> 00:12:01.939 Now, not the kind of humility that's sort of never certain whether anything is true or not, right? 00:12:02.960 --> 00:12:05.000 That's not the kind of humility we're talking about. 00:12:05.919 --> 00:12:08.399 Rather, we're talking about the kind of humility that realizes 00:12:08.399 --> 00:12:14.059 our own ability and ambitions are not what matter at the end of the day. 00:12:14.059 --> 00:12:20.500 This is the kind of humility that realizes we have nothing in ourselves to boast about. 00:12:21.219 --> 00:12:24.279 This is the kind of humility that sort of forgets itself 00:12:24.279 --> 00:12:27.179 and focuses on the greatness of Christ. 00:12:30.379 --> 00:12:32.479 So, this is the first thing we see, 00:12:32.639 --> 00:12:35.479 that the nature of our mission as a church is witness. 00:12:35.659 --> 00:12:37.379 It's testifying to Christ. 00:12:37.379 --> 00:12:43.259 Second, let's consider the scope of this mission that we have, 00:12:44.019 --> 00:12:45.000 the scope of our mission. 00:12:45.100 --> 00:12:47.279 In verse 8, Jesus says to the apostles, 00:12:47.500 --> 00:12:49.939 you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, 00:12:50.799 --> 00:12:51.980 in all Judea and Samaria, 00:12:52.580 --> 00:12:53.659 and to the ends of the earth. 00:12:55.360 --> 00:12:57.639 In short, what we see here is that the scope 00:12:57.639 --> 00:13:01.379 of the mission of Jesus for His church is worldwide. 00:13:03.659 --> 00:13:06.700 Now, consider just a moment what this verse is telling us about God. 00:13:08.379 --> 00:13:11.419 In short, it's telling us that God is faithful to His promises, actually, 00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:13.860 if you were to hear this sort of commission of Jesus 00:13:13.860 --> 00:13:15.840 in light of the Old Testament, right? 00:13:16.100 --> 00:13:18.000 God is faithful to His promises. 00:13:18.500 --> 00:13:20.860 You know, one way to think about Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria here 00:13:20.860 --> 00:13:24.059 is that that was the kind of old geographic extent of ancient Israel. 00:13:24.379 --> 00:13:27.159 Throughout the Old Testament, God said that He would bring His salvation 00:13:27.159 --> 00:13:29.559 to His people, to His Old Testament people, to Israel. 00:13:29.620 --> 00:13:30.879 And now Jesus is saying to the apostles, 00:13:31.340 --> 00:13:34.200 you're going to be the witness bearers of salvation 00:13:34.200 --> 00:13:36.320 to the Jewish people. 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:38.300 You're going to be my witnesses to them. 00:13:38.400 --> 00:13:40.540 But, you see, it goes further than that. 00:13:40.980 --> 00:13:43.640 Just like the Old Testament pushed further than that. 00:13:44.760 --> 00:13:47.680 Because God's salvation wasn't just for ethnic Israel. 00:13:47.940 --> 00:13:50.020 It was a salvation that God had planned 00:13:50.020 --> 00:13:51.920 through Israel for everyone 00:13:51.920 --> 00:13:53.900 to the ends of the earth. 00:13:53.899 --> 00:14:01.000 Even sometimes when it made us a little uncomfortable, 00:14:01.120 --> 00:14:02.340 made the apostles a little uncomfortable. 00:14:02.419 --> 00:14:04.740 In the first century, you'll remember that Samaria 00:14:04.740 --> 00:14:07.480 was sort of that region sort of north of Jerusalem and Judea. 00:14:08.019 --> 00:14:12.559 It was a place where people who were kind of multi-ethnic lived. 00:14:12.639 --> 00:14:14.100 They were half Jewish, half Gentile. 00:14:14.399 --> 00:14:16.559 Their religious beliefs were sort of an amalgam 00:14:16.559 --> 00:14:19.299 of some Old Testament beliefs, 00:14:19.359 --> 00:14:21.519 but some beliefs imported in from other cultures. 00:14:23.199 --> 00:14:24.739 And because of that, 00:14:25.519 --> 00:14:28.839 Samaritans were despised by many Jews of Jesus' day. 00:14:28.840 --> 00:14:32.759 But the gospel was for them too. 00:14:34.759 --> 00:14:36.700 And then it pushes even further out. 00:14:37.200 --> 00:14:38.960 The ends of the earth, Jesus says. 00:14:40.220 --> 00:14:40.500 Right? 00:14:41.300 --> 00:14:43.240 To the ends of the earth, 00:14:43.399 --> 00:14:45.820 which is inclusive of all ethnicities, 00:14:45.899 --> 00:14:46.800 and all cultures, 00:14:46.899 --> 00:14:48.100 and all language groups. 00:14:48.100 --> 00:14:50.580 And again, in the Old Testament, 00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:53.700 God had promised that through the Messiah, 00:14:54.700 --> 00:14:57.379 He would bring His salvation to all people, 00:14:57.980 --> 00:14:59.019 to the ends of the earth. 00:14:59.320 --> 00:15:00.879 That the Messiah, when He came, 00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:02.360 wouldn't just be Israel's King, 00:15:02.820 --> 00:15:04.980 but He would be the world's true Lord. 00:15:06.259 --> 00:15:08.639 That He would bring God's kingdom, 00:15:09.379 --> 00:15:11.379 that is God's saving rule, 00:15:11.920 --> 00:15:13.879 God's world-healing reign, 00:15:13.879 --> 00:15:17.259 and then across the globe, 00:15:17.799 --> 00:15:18.779 to the ends of the earth, 00:15:19.419 --> 00:15:21.559 even all the way to the ends of the earth, 00:15:21.840 --> 00:15:22.840 right here in New Haven. 00:15:24.179 --> 00:15:25.240 Have you considered, friends, 00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:26.519 from the perspective of Jerusalem, 00:15:26.679 --> 00:15:29.120 we are like in the far-flung reaches 00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:31.200 of nowheresville, 00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:32.679 right here in New Haven, right? 00:15:33.159 --> 00:15:34.360 And yet, lo and behold, 00:15:34.860 --> 00:15:36.080 God's faithful to His promise. 00:15:36.240 --> 00:15:36.799 Here we are, 00:15:37.159 --> 00:15:38.840 hearing the message of His salvation. 00:15:41.000 --> 00:15:41.820 Now, incidentally, 00:15:41.820 --> 00:15:43.860 this verse here that we're looking at, 00:15:43.900 --> 00:15:45.440 it kind of provides a rough outline 00:15:45.440 --> 00:15:46.260 of the book of Acts, 00:15:46.320 --> 00:15:47.060 if you think about it. 00:15:47.600 --> 00:15:48.240 In the book of Acts, 00:15:48.260 --> 00:15:48.760 what we're going to see 00:15:48.760 --> 00:15:50.020 is that chapters 1 through 7 00:15:50.020 --> 00:15:52.260 deal with the apostles' witness 00:15:52.260 --> 00:15:53.000 in Jerusalem. 00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:54.740 And then in 8 through 12, 00:15:54.940 --> 00:15:56.680 we consider Judea and Samaria. 00:15:57.040 --> 00:15:59.460 And then in chapters 13 through 28, 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:00.940 we see the gospel beginning 00:16:00.940 --> 00:16:02.420 to go to the ends of the earth. 00:16:03.700 --> 00:16:04.879 Or at least it makes it 00:16:04.879 --> 00:16:05.580 all the way to Rome, 00:16:05.620 --> 00:16:06.300 which was the center 00:16:06.300 --> 00:16:08.120 of the empire at the time. 00:16:08.120 --> 00:16:13.100 Now, this scope of the mission 00:16:13.100 --> 00:16:13.919 that we see here, 00:16:14.419 --> 00:16:15.240 what does it tell us? 00:16:16.620 --> 00:16:18.940 It tells us about the universality 00:16:18.940 --> 00:16:20.740 of the gospel, right? 00:16:21.500 --> 00:16:23.379 The Christian message is good news 00:16:23.379 --> 00:16:25.139 for everyone. 00:16:27.139 --> 00:16:28.259 No matter what country 00:16:28.259 --> 00:16:29.240 or culture you're from, 00:16:30.080 --> 00:16:32.379 the message about Jesus 00:16:32.379 --> 00:16:34.039 is the message that 00:16:34.039 --> 00:16:35.860 you desperately need 00:16:35.860 --> 00:16:38.700 and that God graciously offers. 00:16:40.659 --> 00:16:41.220 Now, of course, 00:16:41.240 --> 00:16:41.659 that's the thing 00:16:41.659 --> 00:16:42.940 that kind of trips many of us up 00:16:42.940 --> 00:16:45.720 when they consider Christianity, right? 00:16:46.440 --> 00:16:47.019 How could you say 00:16:47.019 --> 00:16:48.000 that Christianity is the truth 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:48.840 for everybody? 00:16:49.899 --> 00:16:51.480 Sounds a little exclusive 00:16:51.480 --> 00:16:52.480 or intolerant, right? 00:16:54.360 --> 00:16:55.980 There can't just be one answer 00:16:55.980 --> 00:16:57.120 for everyone, right? 00:16:57.139 --> 00:16:57.620 We think that. 00:16:59.000 --> 00:17:00.019 And yet, friends, what if? 00:17:00.399 --> 00:17:01.420 What if as humans, 00:17:01.680 --> 00:17:03.039 there were one problem 00:17:03.039 --> 00:17:03.920 that we all shared? 00:17:03.919 --> 00:17:06.659 One problem that we all experienced 00:17:06.659 --> 00:17:07.779 and acknowledged 00:17:07.779 --> 00:17:09.420 and spent our whole lives 00:17:09.420 --> 00:17:10.119 living under, 00:17:10.379 --> 00:17:11.680 many of us spend our whole lives 00:17:11.680 --> 00:17:13.139 ignoring, right? 00:17:13.399 --> 00:17:15.079 What if there was one problem 00:17:15.079 --> 00:17:16.319 we all experienced 00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:19.159 and what if there were 00:17:19.159 --> 00:17:20.399 one person 00:17:20.399 --> 00:17:22.399 who actually overcame 00:17:22.399 --> 00:17:23.019 that problem? 00:17:24.700 --> 00:17:25.879 What if there was someone 00:17:25.879 --> 00:17:27.420 who actually defeated 00:17:27.420 --> 00:17:28.680 that problem for good? 00:17:28.680 --> 00:17:33.840 wouldn't you want to share 00:17:33.840 --> 00:17:35.380 the news about that person 00:17:35.380 --> 00:17:35.860 with everyone? 00:17:37.039 --> 00:17:37.900 Wouldn't you want to commend 00:17:37.900 --> 00:17:39.000 that person to everyone you know? 00:17:39.039 --> 00:17:39.700 I mean, think about it. 00:17:39.960 --> 00:17:40.840 You listen to a podcast, 00:17:41.140 --> 00:17:41.880 it gives you some, like, 00:17:42.360 --> 00:17:43.420 hot takes on how to improve 00:17:43.420 --> 00:17:43.960 your sleep, 00:17:43.980 --> 00:17:44.360 and you're like, 00:17:44.460 --> 00:17:45.900 you've got to hear this, right? 00:17:46.980 --> 00:17:47.539 But, friends, 00:17:47.820 --> 00:17:49.299 there is someone who has come 00:17:49.299 --> 00:17:50.840 who has solved 00:17:50.840 --> 00:17:53.060 the problem of human existence. 00:17:53.059 --> 00:17:55.299 Because, listen, 00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:56.799 each of us 00:17:56.799 --> 00:17:58.460 is going to die one day. 00:18:00.700 --> 00:18:03.139 It is the universal problem, 00:18:03.720 --> 00:18:05.460 and there's only one person 00:18:05.460 --> 00:18:07.119 who's ever overcome death, 00:18:07.799 --> 00:18:09.019 the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:18:10.220 --> 00:18:11.579 He rose from the dead 00:18:11.579 --> 00:18:13.200 never to die again. 00:18:14.799 --> 00:18:15.319 Why? 00:18:15.879 --> 00:18:16.740 Because in His death 00:18:16.740 --> 00:18:17.279 and resurrection, 00:18:17.500 --> 00:18:18.159 He defeated 00:18:18.159 --> 00:18:20.039 the cause of death, 00:18:20.339 --> 00:18:21.299 which is sin, 00:18:21.299 --> 00:18:22.480 the very thing 00:18:22.480 --> 00:18:23.859 that separates us from God, 00:18:24.059 --> 00:18:25.059 the life giver 00:18:25.059 --> 00:18:26.039 of all things, 00:18:27.039 --> 00:18:28.339 and separated from God 00:18:28.339 --> 00:18:29.639 through our own waywardness 00:18:29.639 --> 00:18:30.399 and idolatry, 00:18:30.500 --> 00:18:31.319 we die. 00:18:32.359 --> 00:18:34.079 And yet, Jesus has overcome that 00:18:34.079 --> 00:18:35.639 and risen from the dead. 00:18:36.619 --> 00:18:38.599 He has conquered death. 00:18:40.159 --> 00:18:42.559 No other great world leader 00:18:42.559 --> 00:18:43.720 or religious figure 00:18:43.720 --> 00:18:45.259 can make such a claim. 00:18:46.399 --> 00:18:46.639 Right? 00:18:47.539 --> 00:18:49.079 If Christ has risen, 00:18:49.220 --> 00:18:50.259 then surely all people 00:18:50.259 --> 00:18:51.000 should know about Him, 00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:51.579 should they not? 00:18:53.460 --> 00:18:56.019 Both here in our Jerusalem 00:18:56.019 --> 00:18:57.299 and Judea and Samaria, 00:18:57.420 --> 00:18:58.119 as we might say, 00:18:58.279 --> 00:18:59.400 and to the ends of the earth. 00:19:01.299 --> 00:19:03.380 The scope of this mission 00:19:03.380 --> 00:19:04.619 shows us not just 00:19:04.619 --> 00:19:06.319 God's lordship 00:19:06.319 --> 00:19:07.519 over all cultures 00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:08.480 and people groups, 00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:10.599 but the scope of this mission 00:19:10.599 --> 00:19:12.480 tells us about God's love 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:13.859 for all cultures 00:19:13.859 --> 00:19:14.759 and all people groups. 00:19:15.299 --> 00:19:16.420 All the earth is His. 00:19:16.420 --> 00:19:20.019 God doesn't play favorites. 00:19:20.140 --> 00:19:21.759 His grace extends to everyone 00:19:21.759 --> 00:19:22.700 who will receive it, 00:19:22.740 --> 00:19:23.660 no matter what their background 00:19:23.660 --> 00:19:24.640 or language or ethnicity. 00:19:24.980 --> 00:19:26.500 All are welcome to come to Christ 00:19:26.500 --> 00:19:28.060 and receive the newness of life 00:19:28.060 --> 00:19:28.640 that He offers. 00:19:31.600 --> 00:19:33.019 Now let me say just a quick word 00:19:33.019 --> 00:19:33.840 of application 00:19:33.840 --> 00:19:35.220 before moving on to the third point. 00:19:35.220 --> 00:19:37.100 First, 00:19:37.920 --> 00:19:38.259 Trinity, 00:19:38.380 --> 00:19:38.960 our church, 00:19:39.420 --> 00:19:40.259 we want to be a church 00:19:40.259 --> 00:19:41.039 that continues 00:19:41.039 --> 00:19:42.299 to invest 00:19:42.299 --> 00:19:43.700 in the global mission 00:19:43.700 --> 00:19:44.220 of the church. 00:19:45.319 --> 00:19:46.519 The work of God 00:19:46.519 --> 00:19:46.880 in the world 00:19:46.880 --> 00:19:47.960 is so much bigger 00:19:47.960 --> 00:19:48.960 than what's happening 00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:50.220 here in New Haven. 00:19:50.759 --> 00:19:51.180 So friends, 00:19:51.259 --> 00:19:52.100 take some time 00:19:52.100 --> 00:19:53.680 to learn about 00:19:53.680 --> 00:19:54.299 the missionaries 00:19:54.299 --> 00:19:54.900 that we support. 00:19:55.259 --> 00:19:55.779 Pray for them 00:19:55.779 --> 00:19:56.720 in your quiet time 00:19:56.720 --> 00:19:57.660 in your small group. 00:19:57.660 --> 00:20:00.080 But second, 00:20:01.160 --> 00:20:02.600 we need to continually 00:20:02.600 --> 00:20:03.900 remind ourselves 00:20:03.900 --> 00:20:05.900 of how strategically 00:20:05.900 --> 00:20:07.019 we are placed 00:20:07.019 --> 00:20:07.900 as a church 00:20:07.900 --> 00:20:09.040 to impact 00:20:09.040 --> 00:20:10.220 the worldwide mission 00:20:10.220 --> 00:20:10.700 of the church. 00:20:12.220 --> 00:20:13.200 People come to New Haven 00:20:13.200 --> 00:20:14.880 from all around the world. 00:20:15.840 --> 00:20:16.680 Some people come to New Haven 00:20:16.680 --> 00:20:17.420 even from countries 00:20:17.420 --> 00:20:17.960 where Christianity 00:20:17.960 --> 00:20:19.500 is illegal, 00:20:19.680 --> 00:20:20.000 where Christians 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:20.600 are persecuted, 00:20:20.779 --> 00:20:21.460 and where most people 00:20:21.460 --> 00:20:22.560 have little or no exposure 00:20:22.560 --> 00:20:22.980 to Christ, 00:20:23.240 --> 00:20:24.100 and God providentially 00:20:24.100 --> 00:20:25.040 brings them here 00:20:25.040 --> 00:20:26.380 right into our backyard, 00:20:26.500 --> 00:20:26.920 as it were, 00:20:26.920 --> 00:20:29.180 right into our apartment complexes 00:20:29.180 --> 00:20:30.279 and our residence halls. 00:20:31.600 --> 00:20:33.019 And all this means, 00:20:33.360 --> 00:20:33.980 what it means 00:20:33.980 --> 00:20:35.000 is that you and I 00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:35.940 here 00:20:35.940 --> 00:20:37.120 can reach the ends 00:20:37.120 --> 00:20:37.539 of the earth 00:20:37.539 --> 00:20:38.240 with the gospel 00:20:38.240 --> 00:20:39.600 without having to walk 00:20:39.600 --> 00:20:40.720 to the end of our street. 00:20:42.820 --> 00:20:43.300 Right? 00:20:46.779 --> 00:20:48.620 Let me be somewhat direct. 00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:50.840 Do not think 00:20:50.840 --> 00:20:52.519 that God brought you 00:20:52.519 --> 00:20:53.160 to New Haven 00:20:53.160 --> 00:20:55.320 simply so you can 00:20:55.320 --> 00:20:56.340 get an education, 00:20:56.920 --> 00:20:58.160 or work for a few years, 00:20:58.279 --> 00:20:59.080 and then move on. 00:21:00.160 --> 00:21:00.880 God brought you 00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:01.500 to New Haven 00:21:01.500 --> 00:21:02.680 to be a part 00:21:02.680 --> 00:21:03.620 of His kingdom work. 00:21:04.900 --> 00:21:05.600 So whether you're 00:21:05.600 --> 00:21:05.920 going to be here 00:21:05.920 --> 00:21:06.600 for four months 00:21:06.600 --> 00:21:07.080 and move on, 00:21:07.140 --> 00:21:07.700 or four years 00:21:07.700 --> 00:21:08.140 and move on, 00:21:08.240 --> 00:21:08.700 or whether you're 00:21:08.700 --> 00:21:08.880 going to be here 00:21:08.880 --> 00:21:10.039 for the rest of your life, 00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:12.300 join a church, 00:21:13.180 --> 00:21:14.420 get in on the action, 00:21:14.940 --> 00:21:16.160 and don't miss out. 00:21:17.300 --> 00:21:18.600 The scope of this mission 00:21:18.600 --> 00:21:19.300 is worldwide, 00:21:19.560 --> 00:21:20.860 and the world's right here, 00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:22.259 right at our doorstep, 00:21:22.580 --> 00:21:23.900 ready to hear the good news. 00:21:23.900 --> 00:21:27.700 So that's the scope 00:21:27.700 --> 00:21:28.160 of the mission. 00:21:28.700 --> 00:21:30.280 Third, we see in this passage 00:21:30.280 --> 00:21:31.840 not just the nature 00:21:31.840 --> 00:21:32.519 and the scope of the mission, 00:21:32.580 --> 00:21:33.320 we see the power, 00:21:33.620 --> 00:21:34.680 the power of mission. 00:21:35.259 --> 00:21:35.759 Now at this point 00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:36.280 you might be thinking, 00:21:36.400 --> 00:21:37.180 how in the world 00:21:37.180 --> 00:21:37.680 can I, 00:21:37.780 --> 00:21:38.320 can we, 00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:39.800 possibly do this? 00:21:40.900 --> 00:21:41.280 Right? 00:21:42.280 --> 00:21:43.500 The first obvious problem, 00:21:43.860 --> 00:21:44.380 given the nature 00:21:44.380 --> 00:21:45.200 of our mission as witnesses, 00:21:45.380 --> 00:21:46.120 is that we aren't 00:21:46.120 --> 00:21:47.340 eyewitnesses of Christ, 00:21:47.400 --> 00:21:47.640 right? 00:21:48.100 --> 00:21:48.900 The apostles, 00:21:49.160 --> 00:21:50.180 whom Jesus chose, 00:21:50.259 --> 00:21:51.360 are fundamentally different 00:21:51.360 --> 00:21:52.060 than anyone else 00:21:52.059 --> 00:21:52.740 who came after them 00:21:52.740 --> 00:21:53.440 because they were 00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:54.440 literal eyewitnesses 00:21:54.440 --> 00:21:55.159 of Jesus Christ, 00:21:55.659 --> 00:21:56.319 of His ministry, 00:21:56.559 --> 00:21:57.119 of His death, 00:21:57.279 --> 00:21:57.940 of His resurrection, 00:21:58.139 --> 00:21:58.919 and of His ascension. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:01.240 We aren't witnesses 00:22:01.240 --> 00:22:01.879 in the same way 00:22:01.879 --> 00:22:02.919 the apostles were witnesses. 00:22:03.059 --> 00:22:03.960 In what sense then 00:22:03.960 --> 00:22:05.899 can we be witnesses at all? 00:22:06.319 --> 00:22:06.500 Right? 00:22:07.799 --> 00:22:08.419 And second, 00:22:08.819 --> 00:22:10.419 given the immensity 00:22:10.419 --> 00:22:11.259 of the scope 00:22:11.259 --> 00:22:11.879 of the mission 00:22:11.879 --> 00:22:12.960 to the ends of the earth, 00:22:13.019 --> 00:22:13.919 how can we possibly 00:22:13.919 --> 00:22:15.159 even make a dent in that? 00:22:15.179 --> 00:22:15.940 It seems overwhelming. 00:22:18.019 --> 00:22:18.559 Well friends, 00:22:18.599 --> 00:22:19.119 the answer, 00:22:19.639 --> 00:22:20.039 actually, 00:22:20.039 --> 00:22:22.079 to both of those problems 00:22:22.079 --> 00:22:24.740 is found in verses 4 and 5 00:22:24.740 --> 00:22:26.399 and in the first half 00:22:26.399 --> 00:22:26.899 of verse 8. 00:22:27.220 --> 00:22:27.879 In a few days, 00:22:27.980 --> 00:22:28.980 Jesus told His disciples, 00:22:29.720 --> 00:22:30.759 you will be baptized 00:22:30.759 --> 00:22:31.980 in the Holy Spirit. 00:22:33.259 --> 00:22:33.839 And in verse 8, 00:22:33.859 --> 00:22:34.079 He says, 00:22:34.139 --> 00:22:35.180 you'll receive power 00:22:35.180 --> 00:22:37.039 when the Holy Spirit 00:22:37.039 --> 00:22:38.019 comes upon you. 00:22:39.819 --> 00:22:41.039 The Holy Spirit, 00:22:41.920 --> 00:22:42.980 God Himself, 00:22:43.159 --> 00:22:43.920 the third person 00:22:43.920 --> 00:22:44.480 of the Trinity, 00:22:44.920 --> 00:22:45.339 the Lord, 00:22:45.420 --> 00:22:46.259 the giver of life, 00:22:46.940 --> 00:22:47.799 as the Creed says, 00:22:47.799 --> 00:22:49.319 the Holy Spirit 00:22:49.319 --> 00:22:50.220 is the power 00:22:50.220 --> 00:22:51.399 of our mission. 00:22:52.539 --> 00:22:53.240 Now, we're not going 00:22:53.240 --> 00:22:53.639 to go into all 00:22:53.639 --> 00:22:54.419 of the detail we could 00:22:54.419 --> 00:22:55.259 concerning the Holy Spirit 00:22:55.259 --> 00:22:56.180 this morning 00:22:56.180 --> 00:22:57.700 because His ministry 00:22:57.700 --> 00:22:58.480 is going to unfold 00:22:58.480 --> 00:23:00.039 as we walk through Acts 00:23:00.039 --> 00:23:00.700 this year. 00:23:01.559 --> 00:23:02.039 And if you want 00:23:02.039 --> 00:23:02.579 to go even deeper, 00:23:02.659 --> 00:23:03.180 you can come to the 00:23:03.180 --> 00:23:03.839 adult ed class 00:23:03.839 --> 00:23:04.559 starting next week 00:23:04.559 --> 00:23:05.240 at 9 o'clock. 00:23:06.619 --> 00:23:07.440 We're going to explore 00:23:07.440 --> 00:23:08.180 the person and work 00:23:08.180 --> 00:23:08.879 of the Holy Spirit 00:23:08.879 --> 00:23:09.639 in more depth. 00:23:09.980 --> 00:23:10.680 But for now, 00:23:11.259 --> 00:23:12.359 here's the relevant point 00:23:12.359 --> 00:23:13.440 that Jesus is pulling out 00:23:13.440 --> 00:23:14.639 in the context of mission. 00:23:14.640 --> 00:23:17.000 Jesus is promising 00:23:17.000 --> 00:23:18.580 that the Holy Spirit 00:23:18.580 --> 00:23:20.280 will come upon 00:23:20.280 --> 00:23:21.280 His disciples 00:23:21.280 --> 00:23:22.360 in abundance 00:23:22.360 --> 00:23:23.640 and they will be 00:23:23.640 --> 00:23:25.240 empowered by the Spirit 00:23:25.240 --> 00:23:26.340 to carry out 00:23:26.340 --> 00:23:27.180 this mission. 00:23:28.200 --> 00:23:28.920 Think about that word 00:23:28.920 --> 00:23:30.180 baptize, right? 00:23:30.740 --> 00:23:31.440 Baptize means 00:23:31.440 --> 00:23:33.460 to immerse something, 00:23:33.580 --> 00:23:34.720 to plunge something 00:23:34.720 --> 00:23:35.280 underwater. 00:23:35.820 --> 00:23:37.000 And Jesus promises them 00:23:37.000 --> 00:23:37.820 that in a few days 00:23:37.820 --> 00:23:38.300 they're going to be 00:23:38.300 --> 00:23:40.620 plunged into the Spirit's 00:23:40.620 --> 00:23:41.920 presence and power. 00:23:42.880 --> 00:23:44.100 Just like the prophets, 00:23:44.099 --> 00:23:45.500 like Joel and Isaiah 00:23:45.500 --> 00:23:47.099 and Ezekiel had promised, 00:23:47.219 --> 00:23:48.119 just like John the Baptist 00:23:48.119 --> 00:23:48.859 had promised, 00:23:49.799 --> 00:23:51.679 the Holy Spirit 00:23:51.679 --> 00:23:52.819 was going to flood 00:23:52.819 --> 00:23:53.659 their lives, 00:23:54.119 --> 00:23:54.639 as it were. 00:23:56.480 --> 00:23:57.039 Now, of course, 00:23:57.119 --> 00:23:57.319 again, 00:23:57.379 --> 00:23:58.419 these earliest disciples, 00:23:58.579 --> 00:23:59.240 especially the apostles, 00:23:59.339 --> 00:23:59.819 they occupied 00:23:59.819 --> 00:24:01.099 a unique place, right, 00:24:01.179 --> 00:24:02.699 in the history of redemption. 00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:03.959 They had a unique place. 00:24:04.899 --> 00:24:05.119 I mean, 00:24:05.139 --> 00:24:05.559 one of the ways 00:24:05.559 --> 00:24:06.480 in which they were unique, 00:24:06.579 --> 00:24:06.679 right, 00:24:06.679 --> 00:24:07.500 is that they were followers 00:24:07.500 --> 00:24:08.000 of Jesus 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:09.859 before Jesus had completed 00:24:09.859 --> 00:24:10.799 His redemptive work 00:24:10.799 --> 00:24:12.059 and before He inaugurated 00:24:12.059 --> 00:24:12.619 the New Covenant. 00:24:12.619 --> 00:24:14.659 So they sort of received 00:24:14.659 --> 00:24:15.579 the Holy Spirit 00:24:15.579 --> 00:24:17.459 in New Covenant fullness 00:24:17.459 --> 00:24:18.599 after they had already 00:24:18.599 --> 00:24:19.599 become disciples of Jesus, 00:24:19.699 --> 00:24:20.059 as it were, 00:24:20.099 --> 00:24:20.319 right? 00:24:21.479 --> 00:24:22.379 But today, 00:24:22.500 --> 00:24:23.339 we are in the position 00:24:23.339 --> 00:24:24.319 living on this side 00:24:24.319 --> 00:24:25.199 of Pentecost 00:24:25.199 --> 00:24:27.579 that we are baptized 00:24:27.579 --> 00:24:28.319 with the Spirit, 00:24:28.399 --> 00:24:29.059 we are flooded 00:24:29.059 --> 00:24:29.939 with His presence 00:24:29.939 --> 00:24:31.959 upon our conversion 00:24:31.959 --> 00:24:32.579 to Christ, 00:24:32.659 --> 00:24:34.299 upon receiving Him. 00:24:36.539 --> 00:24:37.019 Now, 00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:37.939 we can experience 00:24:37.939 --> 00:24:38.839 fillings with the Spirit, 00:24:38.939 --> 00:24:39.279 no doubt, 00:24:39.379 --> 00:24:39.539 right? 00:24:39.599 --> 00:24:40.839 These fillings can range 00:24:40.839 --> 00:24:41.779 in depth and duration, 00:24:42.159 --> 00:24:42.419 but friend, 00:24:42.539 --> 00:24:44.099 every genuine 00:24:44.099 --> 00:24:46.099 New Testament Christian 00:24:46.099 --> 00:24:48.500 has been baptized, 00:24:48.919 --> 00:24:49.439 so to say, 00:24:49.480 --> 00:24:50.399 with the Holy Spirit. 00:24:52.559 --> 00:24:53.000 Now, 00:24:53.019 --> 00:24:53.579 what does that mean? 00:24:54.959 --> 00:24:55.259 Well, 00:24:55.259 --> 00:24:55.859 it means a lot. 00:24:57.039 --> 00:24:58.039 It means that God 00:24:58.039 --> 00:24:59.279 Himself, 00:24:59.419 --> 00:24:59.879 in the person 00:24:59.879 --> 00:25:00.659 of the Holy Spirit, 00:25:00.959 --> 00:25:01.679 is present 00:25:01.679 --> 00:25:03.139 to believers today 00:25:03.139 --> 00:25:04.579 in a real, 00:25:05.099 --> 00:25:05.519 personal, 00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:06.959 and powerful way 00:25:06.959 --> 00:25:08.240 through the Holy Spirit. 00:25:08.240 --> 00:25:10.480 we may not be 00:25:10.480 --> 00:25:11.339 eyewitnesses 00:25:11.339 --> 00:25:12.299 of Jesus' resurrection 00:25:12.299 --> 00:25:13.500 like the apostles were, 00:25:13.720 --> 00:25:14.799 but we have 00:25:14.799 --> 00:25:15.980 their eyewitness testimony 00:25:15.980 --> 00:25:16.960 preserved for us 00:25:16.960 --> 00:25:17.779 in the New Testament, 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:19.660 and that Spirit-inspired 00:25:19.660 --> 00:25:20.400 written witness 00:25:20.400 --> 00:25:21.680 still speaks today. 00:25:23.000 --> 00:25:23.599 And moreover, 00:25:23.680 --> 00:25:24.680 we have the same Spirit 00:25:24.680 --> 00:25:25.759 dwelling in us 00:25:25.759 --> 00:25:26.559 as in them, 00:25:27.720 --> 00:25:28.440 so today, 00:25:28.559 --> 00:25:29.279 we may not be able 00:25:29.279 --> 00:25:31.140 to physically experience 00:25:31.140 --> 00:25:31.720 the risen Jesus, 00:25:31.859 --> 00:25:32.819 but we can still 00:25:32.819 --> 00:25:34.819 no less experience 00:25:34.819 --> 00:25:35.799 His spiritually 00:25:35.799 --> 00:25:37.079 transformative power 00:25:37.079 --> 00:25:38.240 through the operation 00:25:38.240 --> 00:25:39.259 of the Holy Spirit. 00:25:40.139 --> 00:25:41.720 We can hold forth 00:25:41.720 --> 00:25:43.980 the apostolic testimony 00:25:43.980 --> 00:25:46.099 and witness 00:25:46.099 --> 00:25:47.379 to our own experience 00:25:47.379 --> 00:25:48.379 of the risen Lord Jesus 00:25:48.379 --> 00:25:49.659 at work in our lives 00:25:49.659 --> 00:25:50.339 through His Spirit. 00:25:54.859 --> 00:25:56.059 But what are the power 00:25:56.059 --> 00:25:57.319 Jesus promises? 00:25:58.899 --> 00:25:59.639 It is true 00:25:59.639 --> 00:26:00.259 that on our own, 00:26:00.339 --> 00:26:01.039 we are too weak 00:26:01.039 --> 00:26:02.299 to carry out 00:26:02.299 --> 00:26:03.039 our mission, 00:26:03.679 --> 00:26:05.220 but God has given us 00:26:05.220 --> 00:26:06.399 exactly what we need. 00:26:07.579 --> 00:26:08.639 Zechariah 4, 6 says, 00:26:08.740 --> 00:26:09.500 not by might, 00:26:09.879 --> 00:26:10.819 not by power, 00:26:10.980 --> 00:26:12.480 but by my Spirit, 00:26:12.639 --> 00:26:13.699 says the Lord of hosts, 00:26:13.799 --> 00:26:14.099 right? 00:26:15.099 --> 00:26:16.240 So the question is, 00:26:16.639 --> 00:26:17.079 and the question 00:26:17.079 --> 00:26:18.379 we have to ask ourselves is, 00:26:19.199 --> 00:26:21.379 what power are we relying on 00:26:21.379 --> 00:26:22.339 to fulfill our mission? 00:26:23.980 --> 00:26:24.879 At the end of the day, 00:26:24.879 --> 00:26:25.539 are we relying 00:26:25.539 --> 00:26:26.619 on our clever intellect? 00:26:28.359 --> 00:26:29.740 Do we think we can argue 00:26:29.740 --> 00:26:30.799 or reason people 00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:31.759 into the kingdom of God? 00:26:31.759 --> 00:26:34.539 Are we depending 00:26:34.539 --> 00:26:36.000 on our kind disposition? 00:26:37.819 --> 00:26:38.519 Do we think that 00:26:38.519 --> 00:26:39.879 if we're super nice to people, 00:26:39.980 --> 00:26:40.879 we'll win them to Christ? 00:26:42.660 --> 00:26:43.440 Are we relying 00:26:43.440 --> 00:26:45.079 on massive programs 00:26:45.079 --> 00:26:46.539 or flashy technology 00:26:46.539 --> 00:26:47.059 to produce 00:26:47.059 --> 00:26:48.099 spiritual transformation? 00:26:50.299 --> 00:26:50.839 Friends, listen, 00:26:51.599 --> 00:26:52.140 all that stuff 00:26:52.140 --> 00:26:52.799 has its place. 00:26:53.319 --> 00:26:53.740 God wants you 00:26:53.740 --> 00:26:54.400 to use your mind. 00:26:54.500 --> 00:26:54.920 God wants you 00:26:54.920 --> 00:26:55.500 to use your love. 00:26:55.579 --> 00:26:55.980 God wants you 00:26:55.980 --> 00:26:56.700 to use the tools 00:26:56.700 --> 00:26:57.339 at your disposal 00:26:57.339 --> 00:26:57.980 to witness Him, 00:26:58.019 --> 00:26:58.720 but the truth is, 00:26:59.059 --> 00:26:59.599 none of that 00:26:59.599 --> 00:27:00.019 is going to do 00:27:00.019 --> 00:27:00.899 a hill of beans 00:27:00.899 --> 00:27:02.240 without the Holy Spirit. 00:27:04.619 --> 00:27:05.799 Without the Holy Spirit 00:27:05.799 --> 00:27:07.119 shining the light 00:27:07.119 --> 00:27:08.119 of the glory of Jesus 00:27:08.119 --> 00:27:10.059 into our hearts. 00:27:10.879 --> 00:27:12.299 Without that ministry, 00:27:12.379 --> 00:27:12.879 the Holy Spirit, 00:27:12.919 --> 00:27:13.500 we can argue 00:27:13.500 --> 00:27:14.379 and we can love 00:27:14.379 --> 00:27:15.159 and we can program 00:27:15.159 --> 00:27:15.919 all we want 00:27:15.919 --> 00:27:16.539 and it won't make 00:27:16.539 --> 00:27:17.039 a difference. 00:27:18.259 --> 00:27:19.740 But here's the good news. 00:27:22.059 --> 00:27:23.519 Just as Jesus promised, 00:27:24.199 --> 00:27:25.139 the Spirit's power 00:27:25.139 --> 00:27:28.099 is at work in us. 00:27:28.099 --> 00:27:30.459 We can rely on Him 00:27:30.459 --> 00:27:31.759 in our speaking, 00:27:32.359 --> 00:27:33.059 in our loving, 00:27:33.539 --> 00:27:34.339 in our planning 00:27:34.339 --> 00:27:36.219 to do the real work 00:27:36.219 --> 00:27:36.939 of changing hearts 00:27:36.939 --> 00:27:38.359 through those means. 00:27:40.759 --> 00:27:42.319 And what does that power 00:27:42.319 --> 00:27:43.139 look like? 00:27:44.839 --> 00:27:45.279 You know, 00:27:45.299 --> 00:27:45.619 when we think about 00:27:45.619 --> 00:27:46.599 the power of the Holy Spirit 00:27:46.599 --> 00:27:47.159 today, 00:27:47.679 --> 00:27:48.899 we immediately tend 00:27:48.899 --> 00:27:49.679 to think of the so-called 00:27:49.679 --> 00:27:50.939 sort of miraculous gifts, 00:27:51.019 --> 00:27:51.659 things like healing 00:27:51.659 --> 00:27:52.639 or speaking in tongues 00:27:52.639 --> 00:27:53.319 and prophecy. 00:27:54.599 --> 00:27:55.139 And we're going to talk 00:27:55.139 --> 00:27:56.079 about those as we go 00:27:56.079 --> 00:27:57.000 in the book of Acts. 00:27:57.000 --> 00:27:58.900 But can I share with you 00:27:58.900 --> 00:28:00.259 one of, I think, 00:28:01.099 --> 00:28:02.920 one of the key passages 00:28:02.920 --> 00:28:04.619 about the Holy Spirit's power 00:28:04.619 --> 00:28:05.579 in the New Testament? 00:28:07.400 --> 00:28:09.039 It's from Ephesians chapter 3, 00:28:09.119 --> 00:28:10.380 verses 14 through 19. 00:28:11.140 --> 00:28:12.000 And it says this. 00:28:12.700 --> 00:28:13.579 It's actually a prayer 00:28:13.579 --> 00:28:14.740 of the Apostle Paul. 00:28:16.140 --> 00:28:17.380 Paul says, 00:28:17.380 --> 00:28:35.820 Oh, why? 00:28:36.020 --> 00:28:36.520 For what? 00:28:36.519 --> 00:28:40.740 So that Christ 00:28:40.740 --> 00:28:42.920 may dwell in your hearts 00:28:42.920 --> 00:28:44.099 through faith, 00:28:44.639 --> 00:28:46.220 that you being rooted 00:28:46.220 --> 00:28:48.700 and grounded in love 00:28:48.700 --> 00:28:50.660 may have strength 00:28:50.660 --> 00:28:51.940 to comprehend 00:28:51.940 --> 00:28:53.579 with all the saints. 00:28:53.859 --> 00:28:55.359 Notice the power language? 00:28:55.740 --> 00:28:57.960 Strength to comprehend what? 00:28:57.960 --> 00:29:00.799 What is the breadth 00:29:00.799 --> 00:29:02.000 and length 00:29:02.000 --> 00:29:02.980 and height 00:29:02.980 --> 00:29:04.140 and depth 00:29:04.140 --> 00:29:05.539 and to know 00:29:05.539 --> 00:29:07.220 the love of Christ 00:29:07.220 --> 00:29:09.680 that surpasses knowledge 00:29:09.680 --> 00:29:12.319 that you may be filled 00:29:12.319 --> 00:29:13.600 with all the fullness 00:29:13.600 --> 00:29:14.400 of God. 00:29:16.920 --> 00:29:17.740 When the power 00:29:17.740 --> 00:29:18.480 of the Holy Spirit 00:29:18.480 --> 00:29:19.420 is at work in our lives, 00:29:19.539 --> 00:29:20.259 how do we know? 00:29:22.340 --> 00:29:23.380 It's when Christ 00:29:23.380 --> 00:29:24.259 dwells in our hearts. 00:29:24.259 --> 00:29:25.720 It's when the love 00:29:25.720 --> 00:29:26.299 of Christ 00:29:26.299 --> 00:29:27.879 shines forth 00:29:27.879 --> 00:29:28.480 in all of its 00:29:28.480 --> 00:29:30.220 multi-dimensionality, 00:29:30.319 --> 00:29:30.640 its height, 00:29:30.720 --> 00:29:31.039 its depth, 00:29:31.099 --> 00:29:31.420 its length, 00:29:31.480 --> 00:29:31.900 its breadth, 00:29:31.960 --> 00:29:32.980 when we're filled 00:29:32.980 --> 00:29:34.400 with all that fullness 00:29:34.400 --> 00:29:35.460 of God's grace 00:29:35.460 --> 00:29:36.379 and love for us. 00:29:38.619 --> 00:29:39.819 That's the Holy Spirit's 00:29:39.819 --> 00:29:40.740 power at its core. 00:29:42.180 --> 00:29:43.980 When instead of our hearts 00:29:43.980 --> 00:29:44.819 being caught up 00:29:44.819 --> 00:29:45.799 with false gods, 00:29:46.500 --> 00:29:46.799 right? 00:29:48.859 --> 00:29:50.000 When instead of that, 00:29:50.220 --> 00:29:52.140 Christ dwells there. 00:29:52.140 --> 00:29:54.840 When instead of seeing 00:29:54.840 --> 00:29:55.620 the love of Christ 00:29:55.620 --> 00:29:56.820 as a small thing, 00:29:58.259 --> 00:30:00.420 we gape and we gasp 00:30:00.420 --> 00:30:01.200 and our intellect 00:30:01.200 --> 00:30:02.480 reaches its limit 00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:04.160 because of the immensity 00:30:04.160 --> 00:30:05.620 of Christ's love for us. 00:30:06.060 --> 00:30:07.360 We know something 00:30:07.360 --> 00:30:09.080 that surpasses knowledge. 00:30:12.259 --> 00:30:12.720 In short, 00:30:12.840 --> 00:30:13.300 the Spirit 00:30:13.300 --> 00:30:14.460 is powerfully at work, 00:30:14.520 --> 00:30:15.240 not just when there are 00:30:15.240 --> 00:30:16.100 signs and wonders, 00:30:16.400 --> 00:30:17.220 but when our hearts 00:30:17.220 --> 00:30:18.580 are filled with the assurance 00:30:18.580 --> 00:30:19.900 of the love of Jesus 00:30:19.900 --> 00:30:20.600 in the gospel. 00:30:22.140 --> 00:30:23.600 When we know 00:30:23.600 --> 00:30:25.400 that Jesus has forgiven 00:30:25.400 --> 00:30:26.160 our sins 00:30:26.160 --> 00:30:28.500 and reconciled us to God, 00:30:28.880 --> 00:30:30.440 when the reality of that 00:30:30.440 --> 00:30:32.220 washes over us, 00:30:32.780 --> 00:30:36.500 then we will speak 00:30:36.500 --> 00:30:38.360 and we will serve 00:30:38.360 --> 00:30:41.020 with extraordinary boldness, 00:30:41.400 --> 00:30:43.240 just like the early church. 00:30:44.340 --> 00:30:44.600 Friends, 00:30:44.660 --> 00:30:46.660 that is the power 00:30:46.660 --> 00:30:47.460 of our mission. 00:30:47.460 --> 00:30:48.960 The power of our mission 00:30:48.960 --> 00:30:50.039 is the Holy Spirit. 00:30:54.160 --> 00:30:54.700 All right, 00:30:54.779 --> 00:30:55.120 fourth, 00:30:55.279 --> 00:30:55.740 finally, 00:30:55.860 --> 00:30:56.420 last point. 00:30:57.279 --> 00:30:58.059 What is the end? 00:30:58.160 --> 00:30:58.920 What's the end 00:30:58.920 --> 00:30:59.620 of our mission? 00:31:00.600 --> 00:31:00.779 Well, 00:31:00.799 --> 00:31:01.680 the end of our passage, 00:31:01.799 --> 00:31:01.900 well, 00:31:01.960 --> 00:31:03.720 the end of the passage 00:31:03.720 --> 00:31:06.539 about the ascension 00:31:06.539 --> 00:31:08.240 shows us 00:31:08.240 --> 00:31:10.079 that there is 00:31:10.079 --> 00:31:11.259 a hope 00:31:11.259 --> 00:31:12.360 to our mission. 00:31:12.920 --> 00:31:13.940 We're going somewhere. 00:31:14.579 --> 00:31:14.960 We're headed 00:31:14.960 --> 00:31:15.519 in a direction. 00:31:15.519 --> 00:31:16.920 There's actually 00:31:16.920 --> 00:31:17.639 an end, 00:31:17.700 --> 00:31:18.220 a goal 00:31:18.220 --> 00:31:19.519 of our journey. 00:31:20.779 --> 00:31:21.720 And that end, 00:31:21.819 --> 00:31:22.440 that goal, 00:31:23.639 --> 00:31:24.299 is what? 00:31:25.220 --> 00:31:26.160 It is the 00:31:26.160 --> 00:31:27.519 kingdom-restoring, 00:31:28.220 --> 00:31:29.400 world-renewing 00:31:29.400 --> 00:31:31.319 return of Jesus Christ. 00:31:32.980 --> 00:31:34.319 This same Jesus 00:31:34.319 --> 00:31:36.079 who has been taken 00:31:36.079 --> 00:31:36.980 from you into heaven 00:31:36.980 --> 00:31:38.559 will come back 00:31:38.559 --> 00:31:39.240 in the same way 00:31:39.240 --> 00:31:39.779 you have seen Him 00:31:39.779 --> 00:31:40.440 go into heaven. 00:31:41.980 --> 00:31:42.180 Now, 00:31:42.240 --> 00:31:42.379 of course, 00:31:42.420 --> 00:31:42.759 we don't know 00:31:42.759 --> 00:31:43.660 when Christ will return 00:31:43.660 --> 00:31:44.680 to restore all things, 00:31:44.820 --> 00:31:45.660 and there's no use 00:31:45.660 --> 00:31:46.640 speculating about the end, 00:31:46.660 --> 00:31:46.840 right? 00:31:47.380 --> 00:31:48.040 Jesus tells us 00:31:48.040 --> 00:31:48.740 the Father has set 00:31:48.740 --> 00:31:49.380 the time by His own 00:31:49.380 --> 00:31:49.700 authority, 00:31:49.880 --> 00:31:50.700 and it's not for us 00:31:50.700 --> 00:31:51.000 to know. 00:31:52.600 --> 00:31:53.540 It's funny how often 00:31:53.540 --> 00:31:54.320 in the history of the church 00:31:54.320 --> 00:31:55.000 we've sort of ignored 00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:55.680 that very clear 00:31:55.680 --> 00:31:57.040 command of Jesus, 00:31:57.160 --> 00:31:57.340 right? 00:32:00.940 --> 00:32:01.960 But we know 00:32:01.960 --> 00:32:04.120 that Christ 00:32:04.120 --> 00:32:05.060 will return, 00:32:05.660 --> 00:32:07.240 and when He does, 00:32:08.160 --> 00:32:09.140 He will restore 00:32:09.140 --> 00:32:10.340 and renew 00:32:10.340 --> 00:32:11.560 all things. 00:32:13.780 --> 00:32:14.480 Brothers and sisters, 00:32:14.800 --> 00:32:16.380 here's how our story ends. 00:32:16.759 --> 00:32:17.259 Here's how the story 00:32:17.259 --> 00:32:18.080 of Trinity Baptist Church 00:32:18.080 --> 00:32:18.420 ends. 00:32:18.900 --> 00:32:19.420 Here's how the story 00:32:19.420 --> 00:32:20.120 of your life ends 00:32:20.120 --> 00:32:20.680 if you're a believer 00:32:20.680 --> 00:32:21.160 in Jesus. 00:32:22.680 --> 00:32:23.480 God wins. 00:32:25.020 --> 00:32:26.020 The church prevails. 00:32:29.240 --> 00:32:29.820 And of course, 00:32:29.860 --> 00:32:30.680 it doesn't look 00:32:30.680 --> 00:32:31.520 often 00:32:31.520 --> 00:32:33.080 like that's going 00:32:33.080 --> 00:32:33.720 to be the case. 00:32:33.780 --> 00:32:34.560 The world's full, 00:32:34.680 --> 00:32:34.940 right, 00:32:34.980 --> 00:32:35.540 of injustice 00:32:35.540 --> 00:32:36.400 and unbelief. 00:32:37.360 --> 00:32:38.000 The church faces 00:32:38.000 --> 00:32:39.259 persecution from without, 00:32:39.640 --> 00:32:40.720 dissension from within. 00:32:42.839 --> 00:32:43.680 At times, 00:32:43.759 --> 00:32:44.480 we are tempted, 00:32:44.640 --> 00:32:45.420 just like the apostles 00:32:45.420 --> 00:32:46.099 who witnessed 00:32:46.099 --> 00:32:47.279 Jesus' ascension, 00:32:47.960 --> 00:32:48.680 to just kind of 00:32:48.680 --> 00:32:49.339 stand here 00:32:49.339 --> 00:32:50.640 gazing into the sky. 00:32:54.000 --> 00:32:54.660 Do you wonder 00:32:54.660 --> 00:32:55.140 what must have been 00:32:55.140 --> 00:32:55.980 going through their minds 00:32:55.980 --> 00:32:56.920 that day 00:32:56.920 --> 00:32:58.039 when Jesus ascended 00:32:58.039 --> 00:32:59.700 to the Father's presence? 00:33:00.759 --> 00:33:01.559 Certainly one part 00:33:01.559 --> 00:33:02.200 amazement, 00:33:02.519 --> 00:33:03.099 to be sure. 00:33:03.279 --> 00:33:03.579 Wonder? 00:33:03.759 --> 00:33:04.000 Awe? 00:33:05.099 --> 00:33:05.559 But I wonder 00:33:05.559 --> 00:33:06.359 if it was another part 00:33:06.359 --> 00:33:06.900 confusion. 00:33:06.900 --> 00:33:08.480 In fear 00:33:08.480 --> 00:33:09.640 and maybe doubt. 00:33:11.580 --> 00:33:12.700 Because what the ascension 00:33:12.700 --> 00:33:14.060 meant was that Christ 00:33:14.060 --> 00:33:15.000 was returning 00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:15.700 to the Father 00:33:15.700 --> 00:33:16.620 definitively. 00:33:17.920 --> 00:33:19.080 That the 40 days 00:33:19.080 --> 00:33:19.640 of His appearing 00:33:19.640 --> 00:33:19.980 to them, 00:33:20.080 --> 00:33:20.560 teaching them, 00:33:20.660 --> 00:33:21.259 being with them 00:33:21.259 --> 00:33:21.980 after the resurrection 00:33:21.980 --> 00:33:23.180 was coming to a close, 00:33:23.300 --> 00:33:25.400 coming to its conclusion, 00:33:25.540 --> 00:33:26.220 its consummation 00:33:26.220 --> 00:33:26.740 as He was going 00:33:26.740 --> 00:33:27.620 to be enthroned 00:33:27.620 --> 00:33:28.620 in heaven. 00:33:29.740 --> 00:33:30.500 He was no longer 00:33:30.500 --> 00:33:31.220 going to be present 00:33:31.220 --> 00:33:31.900 with them physically 00:33:31.900 --> 00:33:32.820 and that probably 00:33:32.820 --> 00:33:33.880 scared them a little bit. 00:33:33.880 --> 00:33:36.500 How on earth 00:33:36.500 --> 00:33:36.880 were they going 00:33:36.880 --> 00:33:37.220 to make it 00:33:37.220 --> 00:33:37.660 without Him? 00:33:38.400 --> 00:33:39.140 So they gaze 00:33:39.140 --> 00:33:39.920 longingly 00:33:39.920 --> 00:33:40.680 into the sky, 00:33:43.160 --> 00:33:43.780 partially afraid 00:33:43.780 --> 00:33:44.340 that with Jesus 00:33:44.340 --> 00:33:44.920 gone to heaven 00:33:44.920 --> 00:33:45.380 they would be 00:33:45.380 --> 00:33:46.480 abandoned and alone. 00:33:49.060 --> 00:33:49.880 But the angels 00:33:49.880 --> 00:33:50.740 remind them 00:33:50.740 --> 00:33:53.460 that the end 00:33:53.460 --> 00:33:54.700 is secure. 00:33:55.700 --> 00:33:56.540 After all, 00:33:57.840 --> 00:33:59.240 Jesus is not 00:33:59.240 --> 00:34:00.380 abandoning them. 00:34:00.380 --> 00:34:02.580 Did you notice 00:34:02.580 --> 00:34:03.440 in the first verse 00:34:03.440 --> 00:34:04.520 of this passage 00:34:04.520 --> 00:34:06.260 that we read, 00:34:06.400 --> 00:34:07.480 the first verse 00:34:07.480 --> 00:34:09.440 of Acts, 00:34:10.260 --> 00:34:11.599 Luke sort of starts 00:34:11.599 --> 00:34:12.480 this book 00:34:12.480 --> 00:34:16.180 which is the second part, 00:34:16.240 --> 00:34:16.440 right, 00:34:16.500 --> 00:34:17.500 of a two-part work 00:34:17.500 --> 00:34:18.220 that Luke wrote. 00:34:18.559 --> 00:34:19.039 The first one 00:34:19.039 --> 00:34:20.079 we call the Gospel of Luke 00:34:20.079 --> 00:34:20.579 or better, 00:34:20.660 --> 00:34:21.900 the Gospel according to Luke 00:34:21.900 --> 00:34:22.980 and then he wrote 00:34:22.980 --> 00:34:23.640 the book of Acts. 00:34:25.039 --> 00:34:26.119 And Luke says, 00:34:26.559 --> 00:34:27.720 kind of picking up 00:34:27.720 --> 00:34:28.340 his second volume, 00:34:28.460 --> 00:34:29.079 he sort of looks back 00:34:29.079 --> 00:34:29.820 at his first volume, 00:34:29.820 --> 00:34:30.420 the Gospel of Luke 00:34:30.420 --> 00:34:30.880 and says, 00:34:31.200 --> 00:34:31.920 well, my first volume 00:34:31.920 --> 00:34:32.760 I wrote about all 00:34:32.760 --> 00:34:33.940 that Jesus began 00:34:33.940 --> 00:34:35.080 to do and teach. 00:34:36.360 --> 00:34:37.440 And what's the implication? 00:34:38.580 --> 00:34:39.780 That this second volume 00:34:39.780 --> 00:34:41.820 is going to be about 00:34:41.820 --> 00:34:42.480 all that Jesus 00:34:42.480 --> 00:34:44.059 continued to do 00:34:44.059 --> 00:34:44.480 and teach. 00:34:45.680 --> 00:34:45.960 You see, 00:34:46.019 --> 00:34:46.960 the ascension of Jesus 00:34:46.960 --> 00:34:48.480 to the Father's right hand 00:34:48.480 --> 00:34:50.620 means that He is enthroned 00:34:50.620 --> 00:34:51.960 as the King 00:34:51.960 --> 00:34:52.980 of the whole creation. 00:34:54.600 --> 00:34:56.180 And the ascended King Jesus 00:34:56.180 --> 00:34:56.920 has poured out 00:34:56.920 --> 00:34:57.920 His Spirit on the church 00:34:57.920 --> 00:34:59.720 so that His work 00:34:59.720 --> 00:35:00.800 might continue 00:35:00.800 --> 00:35:01.320 through them. 00:35:03.059 --> 00:35:03.740 And moreover, 00:35:03.840 --> 00:35:04.480 Jesus Himself, 00:35:04.579 --> 00:35:05.539 this same Jesus, 00:35:05.680 --> 00:35:06.559 will return 00:35:06.559 --> 00:35:07.900 to bring all things 00:35:07.900 --> 00:35:08.740 to their conclusion. 00:35:09.820 --> 00:35:10.320 So no matter 00:35:10.320 --> 00:35:11.700 what the present holds, 00:35:11.960 --> 00:35:13.680 we know how the story ends. 00:35:14.700 --> 00:35:15.460 There's no need 00:35:15.460 --> 00:35:16.280 to sort of wistfully 00:35:16.280 --> 00:35:17.380 gaze at the sky 00:35:17.380 --> 00:35:19.420 longing for the good old days, 00:35:19.559 --> 00:35:19.860 right? 00:35:21.400 --> 00:35:22.700 Or despairing 00:35:22.700 --> 00:35:23.820 at our perceived weakness 00:35:23.820 --> 00:35:24.740 and in abilities. 00:35:25.780 --> 00:35:26.019 Friends, 00:35:26.160 --> 00:35:28.200 Christ is on the throne 00:35:28.200 --> 00:35:29.800 at the Father's right hand 00:35:29.800 --> 00:35:30.480 when it says, 00:35:30.820 --> 00:35:32.460 a cloud took Him up. 00:35:32.820 --> 00:35:33.420 What are clouds 00:35:33.420 --> 00:35:34.220 in Scripture, right? 00:35:34.600 --> 00:35:35.760 He wasn't talking 00:35:35.760 --> 00:35:36.519 about a collection 00:35:36.519 --> 00:35:37.800 of moisture in the sky, 00:35:37.880 --> 00:35:38.120 right? 00:35:39.100 --> 00:35:39.860 Clouds in Scripture 00:35:39.860 --> 00:35:41.200 are manifestations 00:35:41.200 --> 00:35:42.039 of the presence 00:35:42.039 --> 00:35:42.880 of God's glory. 00:35:43.420 --> 00:35:44.160 Like the cloud 00:35:44.160 --> 00:35:44.820 that followed the people 00:35:44.820 --> 00:35:45.300 through the wilderness, 00:35:45.400 --> 00:35:46.039 like the cloud 00:35:46.039 --> 00:35:46.600 that came down 00:35:46.600 --> 00:35:47.019 in the temple, 00:35:47.280 --> 00:35:48.120 like the cloud 00:35:48.120 --> 00:35:49.120 that was there 00:35:49.120 --> 00:35:50.780 when Jesus was transfigured 00:35:50.780 --> 00:35:51.440 on the mountain. 00:35:52.099 --> 00:35:52.320 Jesus, 00:35:52.460 --> 00:35:53.340 when He ascends 00:35:53.340 --> 00:35:54.820 visibly before His apostles, 00:35:54.920 --> 00:35:55.460 is taken up 00:35:55.460 --> 00:35:56.559 into the glory of God 00:35:56.559 --> 00:35:57.740 to take His place 00:35:57.740 --> 00:35:58.920 as the King of all. 00:36:01.960 --> 00:36:03.019 Christ is on the throne 00:36:03.019 --> 00:36:04.159 at the Father's right hand. 00:36:04.559 --> 00:36:05.599 His Spirit has been 00:36:05.599 --> 00:36:06.800 poured out on us. 00:36:07.599 --> 00:36:08.780 And He's going to return 00:36:08.780 --> 00:36:09.420 in glory to draw 00:36:09.420 --> 00:36:10.460 all things together 00:36:10.460 --> 00:36:11.280 when He returns. 00:36:12.240 --> 00:36:13.200 Sure, along the way, 00:36:13.480 --> 00:36:14.639 we will face setbacks 00:36:14.639 --> 00:36:15.380 and discouragements 00:36:15.380 --> 00:36:16.059 and disappointments. 00:36:16.139 --> 00:36:16.639 There will be times 00:36:16.639 --> 00:36:17.280 when it seems like 00:36:17.280 --> 00:36:17.960 the mission feels 00:36:17.960 --> 00:36:18.700 a little futile, 00:36:18.800 --> 00:36:19.280 but remember, 00:36:19.700 --> 00:36:20.519 the end of the mission 00:36:20.519 --> 00:36:21.920 is not dependent on us. 00:36:23.960 --> 00:36:25.579 Just as God's grace 00:36:25.579 --> 00:36:26.739 sets our mission 00:36:26.739 --> 00:36:27.980 in motion at the beginning 00:36:27.980 --> 00:36:29.800 and keeps it burning 00:36:29.800 --> 00:36:31.099 with the light of the Spirit, 00:36:31.440 --> 00:36:32.280 so God's grace 00:36:32.280 --> 00:36:33.179 will bring it to completion 00:36:33.179 --> 00:36:34.079 when Christ returns. 00:36:36.480 --> 00:36:37.139 So friends, 00:36:37.179 --> 00:36:38.139 with that hope 00:36:38.139 --> 00:36:39.320 before our eyes 00:36:39.320 --> 00:36:40.800 and God's Spirit 00:36:40.800 --> 00:36:41.639 in our hearts, 00:36:41.699 --> 00:36:42.219 don't you see 00:36:42.219 --> 00:36:43.659 this mission that we're on? 00:36:44.659 --> 00:36:45.739 It cannot fail. 00:36:48.300 --> 00:36:48.900 Let's pray. 00:36:50.519 --> 00:36:52.639 Father, we ask 00:36:52.639 --> 00:36:53.420 that by Your Spirit 00:36:53.420 --> 00:36:55.039 that You would renew 00:36:55.039 --> 00:36:55.539 our minds 00:36:55.539 --> 00:36:56.219 and our hearts 00:36:56.219 --> 00:36:57.019 with Your grace 00:36:57.019 --> 00:36:59.840 so that we might receive 00:36:59.840 --> 00:37:00.679 fresh boldness 00:37:00.679 --> 00:37:01.259 and wisdom 00:37:01.259 --> 00:37:03.300 to faithfully witness 00:37:03.300 --> 00:37:03.780 to Jesus, 00:37:03.920 --> 00:37:04.500 our resurrected 00:37:04.500 --> 00:37:05.519 and ascended King. 00:37:07.019 --> 00:37:08.340 Jesus, we praise You. 00:37:08.960 --> 00:37:10.320 Thank You for Your ministry. 00:37:11.320 --> 00:37:12.719 It certainly didn't stop 00:37:12.719 --> 00:37:13.300 when You ascended 00:37:13.300 --> 00:37:14.179 to Your rightful throne. 00:37:14.179 --> 00:37:18.000 But Lord, 00:37:18.079 --> 00:37:18.339 thank You 00:37:18.339 --> 00:37:18.940 that You continue 00:37:18.940 --> 00:37:19.399 Your work 00:37:19.399 --> 00:37:20.519 extending Your reign 00:37:20.519 --> 00:37:21.440 of grace and peace 00:37:21.440 --> 00:37:22.839 through the outpouring 00:37:22.839 --> 00:37:23.619 of Your Spirit, 00:37:25.059 --> 00:37:25.779 through the proclamation 00:37:25.779 --> 00:37:26.779 of Your saving work 00:37:26.779 --> 00:37:27.359 in the Gospel. 00:37:29.519 --> 00:37:29.879 Father, 00:37:29.940 --> 00:37:30.919 we pray that as we study 00:37:30.919 --> 00:37:31.799 Acts this year 00:37:31.799 --> 00:37:33.000 that You would shape 00:37:33.000 --> 00:37:33.619 our minds 00:37:33.619 --> 00:37:34.359 and our hearts, 00:37:34.940 --> 00:37:35.559 that You would capture 00:37:35.559 --> 00:37:36.359 our wills 00:37:36.359 --> 00:37:38.460 and fire our imaginations 00:37:38.460 --> 00:37:39.299 to live 00:37:39.299 --> 00:37:40.679 as Your people, 00:37:40.779 --> 00:37:42.619 people of the risen King, 00:37:42.619 --> 00:37:44.880 witnesses to Your kingdom 00:37:44.880 --> 00:37:45.460 and grace. 00:37:46.739 --> 00:37:48.139 Pray this in Your mighty name, 00:37:48.199 --> 00:37:48.400 Jesus. 00:37:49.539 --> 00:37:49.960 Amen. 00:37:51.099 --> 00:37:51.539 Amen.