WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:11.960 Now, if you have your Bibles, we have a couple of short readings. This first one from Luke 00:00:11.960 --> 00:00:20.460 chapter 24, and at verse 45, which you'll find on page 1062, and then we're going to 00:00:20.460 --> 00:00:30.820 flick over to Acts chapter 1. So let's hear God's Word in Luke chapter 24, and at verse 45. 00:00:34.520 --> 00:00:41.679 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, 00:00:41.679 --> 00:00:49.200 this is what is written, the Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 00:00:49.759 --> 00:00:55.679 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, 00:00:56.280 --> 00:01:03.359 beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has 00:01:03.359 --> 00:01:11.260 promised, but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high. And then over in 00:01:11.260 --> 00:01:20.540 the book of Acts, page 1092, we're going to read the first 11 verses, part 2 of Luke's work. 00:01:21.080 --> 00:01:27.280 In my former book, Theophilus—there he's speaking about the gospel—in my former book, Theophilus, 00:01:27.300 --> 00:01:32.900 I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven 00:01:32.900 --> 00:01:40.920 after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, 00:01:40.920 --> 00:01:49.799 he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over 00:01:49.799 --> 00:01:57.799 a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with 00:01:57.799 --> 00:02:05.060 them, he gave them this command, do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, 00:02:05.060 --> 00:02:11.460 which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you'll be 00:02:11.460 --> 00:02:18.000 baptized with the Holy Spirit. Then they gathered round him and asked him, Lord, are you at this time 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:24.800 going to restore the kingdom to Israel? He said to them, it is not for you to know the times or dates 00:02:24.800 --> 00:02:31.000 the Father has set by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:38.340 and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. 00:02:39.360 --> 00:02:46.060 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes and a cloud hid him from their sights. 00:02:46.740 --> 00:02:52.560 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white 00:02:52.560 --> 00:03:00.580 stood beside them. Men of Galilee, they said, why do you stand here looking into the sky? 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:08.640 This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have 00:03:08.640 --> 00:03:17.259 seen him go into heaven. Amen. So we are thinking together for the next few weeks about the person 00:03:17.259 --> 00:03:25.179 and work of the Holy Spirit. And here in Luke's gospel and in the book of Acts, we're reminded 00:03:25.179 --> 00:03:34.959 of what Jesus said as he promised the sending of the Spirit. We're reminded that the promised Spirit 00:03:34.959 --> 00:03:42.560 gives us power to witness for Jesus. That's what I hope we'll see today, that the promised Spirit 00:03:42.560 --> 00:03:51.060 gives us power to witness for Jesus. Before we get into our text, let's think about gifts for a moment. 00:03:52.120 --> 00:03:58.159 Boys and girls, if I can have your attention for just a moment, I wonder if you can think about 00:03:58.159 --> 00:04:04.560 the worst gift you ever gave. Not the worst gift you ever received. We don't want to think about that. 00:04:04.599 --> 00:04:12.539 The worst gift you ever gave. I have a list. My poor mother has a list. I remember when I was either 00:04:12.539 --> 00:04:19.120 eight or nine, it was my mum's birthday. I lived in Skye. There weren't many shops. I'm beginning my 00:04:19.120 --> 00:04:25.420 defence already. We went down, myself and my brother, went down to the local Christian bookshop 00:04:25.420 --> 00:04:33.039 and we found ourselves what we thought was a great gift. It turns out that we had bought my mum 00:04:33.040 --> 00:04:43.819 a car tax disc holder. Doesn't that sound special? With a driver's prayer. Okay, it was a terrible 00:04:43.819 --> 00:04:50.040 present for many reasons, not least of which my mum didn't have a car and didn't know how to drive. 00:04:50.879 --> 00:04:57.320 Okay, the worst kind of gifts are ones that we do not need and we have no use for. And when I was a 00:04:57.319 --> 00:05:03.319 child, my mother got lots of those. That is never, ever true, boys and girls, of any of the gifts that 00:05:03.319 --> 00:05:10.939 God gives. Every good gift comes from God. And we're thinking about a wonderful gift. God giving the Holy 00:05:10.939 --> 00:05:20.279 Spirit. And we need that gift. We need Him to believe in Jesus. We need the Spirit to obey Jesus. And we need 00:05:20.279 --> 00:05:28.000 the Spirit so we can live for Jesus as King. Let's turn the question around. What's the best gift, 00:05:28.139 --> 00:05:32.319 boys and girls, you ever got? It's a lot more fun to think about that. When I was thinking about that, 00:05:32.719 --> 00:05:37.379 I guess we always think about gifts to do with our childhood. I remember, this is like a history 00:05:37.379 --> 00:05:44.319 lesson for you kids. I remember waiting and longing for the classic video games console, the Sega Mega 00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:51.099 Drive, back when Sonic had just arrived in the world. And when I got that, it absolutely lived 00:05:51.099 --> 00:05:59.259 up to expectation. It was a brilliant console. Infinitely better. Way, way, way better is God's 00:05:59.259 --> 00:06:09.300 gift of the Holy Spirit. Way better. Brings God to live in our hearts. Means if we believe in Jesus, 00:06:09.300 --> 00:06:17.280 we have the power of God. So we're thinking about a wonderful, wonderful topic today. Luke is recording 00:06:17.280 --> 00:06:23.540 the story of the church as it began. And as he ends his gospel, and as he begins the book of Acts, 00:06:24.259 --> 00:06:30.160 he takes us to Jesus promising that the Holy Spirit would be sent, the Holy Spirit would be poured out 00:06:30.160 --> 00:06:36.800 on them. So Jesus is saying, we thought about this last week, he was leaving, but he wouldn't leave them 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:45.780 alone. Jesus is leaving his work on this earth, but he won't stop his work. Now what we have, 00:06:46.259 --> 00:06:52.740 especially recorded in the story of Acts, and then as we think about the story of the church in history, 00:06:53.080 --> 00:07:02.400 and the church in the world, is that Jesus continues to be at work. Now by his Spirit, 00:07:02.399 --> 00:07:12.879 now through his people, the apostles, now through his church. Think about it in the negative. If Jesus 00:07:12.879 --> 00:07:20.679 never sent the Holy Spirit, there would be no Christians, and there would be no Christian church. 00:07:21.239 --> 00:07:24.939 We need the Holy Spirit. So we're going to think about the Spirit and promise, 00:07:24.939 --> 00:07:34.399 the Spirit and power, and the Spirit and witness. If you want a third P, proclamation will do. The Spirit 00:07:34.399 --> 00:07:44.120 and promise. So in Luke chapter 24 and verse 49, we heard Jesus say, I am going to send you what my 00:07:44.120 --> 00:07:52.139 Father has promised. And then in Acts chapter 1 and verse 4, he told them, do not leave Jerusalem, 00:07:52.139 --> 00:07:59.479 but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. So we put those two 00:07:59.479 --> 00:08:07.360 verses together, and we are led to discover that God the Father and God the Son have both spoken about 00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:14.259 the promised gift of the Spirit, that the Father and the Son will both send the Spirit of promise. 00:08:14.259 --> 00:08:21.300 the Father. The Father promised to send the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament as he spoke through 00:08:21.300 --> 00:08:28.099 the prophets. The Son, Jesus, promised throughout the Gospels in his teaching as the true prophet that 00:08:28.099 --> 00:08:38.139 he would send his Spirit. So let's reflect on those texts that we read together. First of all, 00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:43.259 where does the Father promise the Spirit in the Old Testament? That's why we read from Joel chapter 2. 00:08:44.259 --> 00:08:50.539 And it's really interesting, isn't it? As soon as we come to Acts 2, we find Pentecost, we find the 00:08:50.539 --> 00:08:58.960 Spirit coming, Peter goes to Joel chapter 2, and he explains that what's happening, as the disciples are 00:08:58.960 --> 00:09:05.799 able to preach in different language about Jesus, what's happening is that Joel chapter 2 is being 00:09:05.799 --> 00:09:12.340 fulfilled, that the Spirit has been sent. And do you know what's really important for us to recognize 00:09:12.340 --> 00:09:21.600 is that the Spirit is now for all believers? How Joel puts it, I'll pour out my Spirit on all people. 00:09:22.540 --> 00:09:27.500 Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:35.340 In the Old Testament, key figures would have the Holy Spirit come upon them for a time. But now 00:09:35.340 --> 00:09:41.519 that Jesus has returned, and the Father and the Son have sent the Spirit. Young and old, women and men, 00:09:41.600 --> 00:09:50.480 we enjoy God in us, and in us, and with us, always. The second example where the Father promises the Spirit, 00:09:50.560 --> 00:09:58.040 that was Ezekiel chapter 36, where we were told that God would put his Spirit in us. 00:09:58.039 --> 00:10:02.980 And we see all those wonderful connections in Ezekiel 36, those connections with being 00:10:02.980 --> 00:10:08.899 made clean from impurity and from idolatry, being given a new heart, a new heart of flesh 00:10:08.899 --> 00:10:17.740 that can love God, a new desire to love and to obey God's Word, because he would send the Spirit. 00:10:19.480 --> 00:10:25.419 Now, where does Jesus promise the Spirit in the Gospels? There's many places we could turn. 00:10:25.419 --> 00:10:31.159 And we're going to turn back just for a moment to what we heard last week. John chapter 14, 00:10:32.179 --> 00:10:39.659 and verse 16 to 18. Such significant words from Jesus. The night before he went to the cross, 00:10:39.779 --> 00:10:45.939 I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever, 00:10:46.759 --> 00:10:52.419 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him because it neither sees him nor knows him, 00:10:52.419 --> 00:11:00.539 but you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans. 00:11:01.039 --> 00:11:09.539 I will come to you. So the Spirit will come, another advocate. He will reveal the truth. He'll 00:11:09.539 --> 00:11:15.559 lead us in the truth. He'll live with us and be in us. He will bring the presence of the risen Christ 00:11:15.559 --> 00:11:23.659 to live in the hearts of his people. To put it another way, Luke chapter 24, verse 49. 00:11:25.519 --> 00:11:31.519 Here's Jesus promising, I am going to send you what my Father has promised. Stay in the city until 00:11:31.519 --> 00:11:40.979 you've been clothed with power from on high. The Father and Son promise to send, speak of the sending, 00:11:40.980 --> 00:11:49.960 because it is clear that we need the promised Holy Spirit. Why do we need the promised Holy Spirit? 00:11:52.960 --> 00:12:02.460 We need him for salvation. We go back to Ezekiel again. What we're being reminded of is that it is 00:12:02.460 --> 00:12:12.400 only the Holy Spirit that can apply the truth of the gospel of the Lord Jesus to our hearts for real 00:12:12.400 --> 00:12:20.480 change. Unless the Holy Spirit acts in us, we will never come to Jesus seeking his forgiveness. 00:12:21.080 --> 00:12:30.300 We will never be transformed unless the Spirit works. So when Jesus is trusted, when Jesus is loved 00:12:30.299 --> 00:12:41.879 as Savior and Lord, we know that the Spirit is working and working for salvation. We also need the Spirit 00:12:41.879 --> 00:12:55.620 to understand Scripture. Luke chapter 24 and verse 45 says this of Jesus. Jesus opened their minds 00:12:55.620 --> 00:13:06.460 so they could understand the Scriptures. Jesus helped the disciples then to understand at the center of God's 00:13:06.460 --> 00:13:16.220 story of salvation is Jesus. His death on the cross for sin and for sinners, and his resurrection victory. 00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:25.200 What Jesus did for his disciples then, the Holy Spirit does for us now. 00:13:25.620 --> 00:13:35.220 Without the Holy Spirit, we would never understand in such a way that our hearts would be changed 00:13:35.220 --> 00:13:44.700 God's Word. Yes, we could understand it perhaps in an intellectual sense, but we would never understand 00:13:44.700 --> 00:13:46.980 so as to be transformed. 00:13:46.980 --> 00:13:57.820 As Christians, you'll know this experience of Bible reading moving from being very ordinary. 00:13:58.860 --> 00:14:03.399 Perhaps you do it because you have your daily reading plan or you have your Bible reading notes. 00:14:03.800 --> 00:14:08.480 We know that experience. We read the Bible and it seems ordinary, but we also know those moments, 00:14:08.580 --> 00:14:13.840 don't we, where it comes wonderfully alive. It's like the apostles on the road to Emmaus, 00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:21.600 their hearts burning within them. We know that to be true. We have that experience of delighting 00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:30.680 in God as his Word comes alive to us. When that happens, the Spirit is working. It's one of the 00:14:30.680 --> 00:14:38.379 reasons why we pray asking that God would speak to us from his Word and that we would listen and obey. 00:14:38.379 --> 00:14:43.620 So we need him for salvation. We need him to understand the Scripture. We also need the Spirit for 00:14:43.620 --> 00:14:53.240 sanctification, for growing in holiness. Again, back to Ezekiel 36. Remember that when the Spirit would 00:14:53.240 --> 00:15:02.080 come, God promised that his people would be moved to follow God's law. That's not a natural movement. 00:15:02.080 --> 00:15:14.300 So when people turn from sin to pursue holiness, when we resist temptation to choose obedience, 00:15:15.460 --> 00:15:23.560 when we find ourselves little by little growing in the likeness of Jesus, the Spirit is working. 00:15:23.559 --> 00:15:33.419 By ourselves, we would have no desire and we would have no strength to obey and to want to be conformed 00:15:33.419 --> 00:15:42.859 to God's law. So we need, simply put, we need the personal ministry of the Holy Spirit within our lives 00:15:42.859 --> 00:15:51.399 personally and in our church together. And we also need, I think, to remember to give thanks. 00:15:51.399 --> 00:16:00.220 When we see and when we experience God working by his Spirit, when people are saved, when God speaks 00:16:00.220 --> 00:16:06.100 from his Word, when we see people growing in faith and obedience, we are to be a thankful people. So 00:16:06.100 --> 00:16:14.639 that's the Spirit and promise. Let's think secondly about the Spirit and power. Again, let me share 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:23.379 something that I imagine is very familiar to all the drivers in the room. Friday afternoon travel 00:16:23.379 --> 00:16:29.439 chaos in Edinburgh. We understand it, don't we? Busiest time of the day. Everybody's recognizing 00:16:29.439 --> 00:16:35.000 there are so many more road closures, potholes diversions. Well, this particular Friday, not this 00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:41.939 one, but the one previous, I was trying to get out of our junction onto the main roads. There's another 00:16:41.940 --> 00:16:48.340 junction this way. There's the main road coming that way. And in the middle, blocking three out of the 00:16:48.340 --> 00:16:56.260 four lanes, was this poor van driver, desperately trying to turn right, and his engine cut out, and he 00:16:56.260 --> 00:17:06.299 could not get it going again. Mix of frustration and sympathy. He wanted to move, but his engine had no 00:17:06.299 --> 00:17:14.799 power. Now, without the Holy Spirit, God's people in God's church, it would be like that van. You know, 00:17:14.819 --> 00:17:21.879 we're called to go on a journey of discipleship. We're called to go on a journey to be on mission. 00:17:22.879 --> 00:17:31.419 We're called to worship. But without the Spirit's power, we would get nowhere. 00:17:31.420 --> 00:17:39.680 That's why Jesus teaching on the Spirit as a source of power is so important. Again, 00:17:40.200 --> 00:17:49.440 to hear Luke chapter 24 and verse 49 is to hear Jesus say, you will be clothed with power 00:17:49.440 --> 00:17:59.080 from on high. God's power. Or in Acts chapter 1 verse 5, he says, John baptized with water, 00:17:59.079 --> 00:18:06.079 but in a few days you'll be baptized with the Holy Spirit. And then in verse 8, you will receive power 00:18:06.079 --> 00:18:15.019 when the Holy Spirit comes. When God sends the Spirit, there is power. The Spirit brings the 00:18:15.019 --> 00:18:23.740 transforming power of God. He is the engine that drives our faith. One helpful way, I think, that we 00:18:23.740 --> 00:18:32.120 can see the transformation is to compare the disciples, and especially to compare Peter before 00:18:32.120 --> 00:18:39.980 and after Easter, but especially before and after Pentecost. So to just think, what do we know about 00:18:39.980 --> 00:18:47.079 Peter before? Well, think about the number of times where Jesus predicted his death. And he said very 00:18:47.079 --> 00:18:54.679 clearly to his disciples, this must happen as part of God's saving plan. Now, the first time Peter heard 00:18:54.679 --> 00:19:03.519 that, he said, no way. You'll never experience that. And the other times, he simply didn't understand 00:19:03.519 --> 00:19:11.799 the gospel writers say. When Jesus is arrested, Peter is among those who run, among those with a sense of 00:19:11.799 --> 00:19:18.500 despair. When Peter then arrives to where Jesus is on trial, and somebody questions him, 00:19:18.659 --> 00:19:27.180 weren't you with Jesus? He denies even being his friend. And after Jesus dies on the cross, we find 00:19:27.180 --> 00:19:37.039 Peter and the other disciples behind closed doors. The door is locked there in hiding. That's Peter before 00:19:37.039 --> 00:19:46.399 Easter Sunday and before Pentecost. Now, if you have a Bible, turn to Acts chapter 4. I just want to read 00:19:46.399 --> 00:19:56.099 Acts chapter 4 from verse 8 to verse 13. And notice how different Peter is, and why is he different? 00:19:56.099 --> 00:20:26.079 Verse 8. 00:20:26.099 --> 00:20:35.259 Jesus is the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone. Salvation is found in no one 00:20:35.259 --> 00:20:41.659 else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. 00:20:42.899 --> 00:20:49.939 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, 00:20:49.940 --> 00:21:00.680 they were astonished. And they took note that these men had been with Jesus. Now filled with the Spirit, 00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:09.720 Peter has a new understanding of Jesus' identity. In the previous chapter, verse 14, he's called Jesus the 00:21:09.720 --> 00:21:17.380 holy and righteous one. He's called him the author of life. And now here, he makes plain that salvation 00:21:17.380 --> 00:21:26.400 comes because Jesus died, was crucified, and is now risen. That's all part of God's plan. He has this new 00:21:26.400 --> 00:21:35.380 understanding of God's way of salvation. The only way to be saved is through trusting in Jesus, what he has 00:21:35.380 --> 00:21:44.000 done for us on the cross. And now, with the Spirit, there's a new courage to stand up for Jesus. 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:52.480 Here is Peter facing the same kind of opposition that made him run and hide, but now he boldly speaks 00:21:52.480 --> 00:22:06.559 truth. In the same way, we need the power of the Spirit at work in us. In the first place, we need the Spirit 00:22:06.559 --> 00:22:16.639 at work in us so that we can understand Jesus. To understand that we need him to be our Savior. 00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:24.440 To understand that he is the Son of God. The truth of the cross is not understood by human wisdom. 00:22:25.399 --> 00:22:30.919 Paul will say in 1 Corinthians, it seems foolish. It seems pointless. It seems hopeless. 00:22:30.920 --> 00:22:39.039 But by the power of the Spirit, we are able to see that it is the power of God for salvation. 00:22:40.140 --> 00:22:49.300 We need God's revelation. We need the work of the Spirit. So we say yes to investigating and exploring 00:22:49.300 --> 00:22:55.240 God's Word, to reading it for ourselves. If you're not a Christian here today, absolutely yes to 00:22:55.240 --> 00:23:03.039 readings trying to discover more about Jesus. But we also say yes to the need to pray, 00:23:04.759 --> 00:23:10.859 recognizing that we need God to work by his Spirit. To pray, teach me. Show me you're real. 00:23:11.319 --> 00:23:20.420 Show me Jesus in your words. As C.S. Lewis said, pray, may the real me meet the real you. 00:23:20.420 --> 00:23:27.060 So we need the power of the Spirit to understand Jesus. We also need the power of the Spirit to be 00:23:27.060 --> 00:23:36.320 saved by Jesus. The Spirit in one sense functions as a spiritual eye doctor dealing with our natural 00:23:36.320 --> 00:23:43.259 spiritual blindness. Left to ourselves, we are spiritually blind to the glory of God, 00:23:43.740 --> 00:23:49.960 to the good news that he sent his Son into this world to be a substitute, to be a sacrifice, 00:23:49.960 --> 00:23:58.600 to save us. We are blind naturally to how serious our sin is, how awesome God's holiness is, how much 00:23:58.600 --> 00:24:06.840 we need Jesus. So he functions like an eye doctor, revealing our need of salvation. But he also functions 00:24:06.840 --> 00:24:17.700 as that spiritual heart surgeon bringing life in the place of death, bringing new birth by the grace of God. 00:24:17.700 --> 00:24:24.680 And again, this encourages us, and we'll think about mission in just a couple of moments. 00:24:25.460 --> 00:24:32.120 But we are called as the church to do what we are called to do. We go to live for Jesus, to speak for 00:24:32.120 --> 00:24:39.900 Jesus. But we always do that in the power of the Spirit, recognizing that it's this power of the Spirit 00:24:39.900 --> 00:24:47.920 that applies God's grace. It's the power of the Spirit at work to save sinners. And in the same way, 00:24:48.320 --> 00:24:56.259 we also need the power of the Spirit at work in us to live for Jesus. It's a wonderful statement, 00:24:56.380 --> 00:25:04.320 isn't it, in 4.13, that the enemies saw the courage of Peter and John and realized they were ordinary men, 00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:11.740 but they took note that they'd been with Jesus. The Spirit does this wonderful thing of connecting 00:25:11.740 --> 00:25:17.819 us with the risen Lord Jesus, so he comes to be present in our hearts. And that reminds us, as 00:25:17.819 --> 00:25:25.700 Christians, we have the Spirit. If you're a Christian, you have the Spirit. We have all the power that we 00:25:25.700 --> 00:25:36.140 need, but we must be connected to the power source. So the Bible will say, you have the Spirit, but you 00:25:36.140 --> 00:25:43.480 must keep in step with the Spirit. God sends his Spirit to live in our hearts, but we must walk in step 00:25:43.480 --> 00:25:51.000 with the Spirit. Because it's the Spirit who will guide us into God's truth, and it's the Spirit who will 00:25:51.000 --> 00:25:59.579 enable us to obey, even when it's costly. It's the Spirit, Jesus says in Luke chapter 12, who will give 00:25:59.579 --> 00:26:10.000 us words to speak when we face opposition. It's the Spirit's power that will strengthen us to stand 00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:18.359 in our spiritual battles, and to help us to spread the gospel. Because we're not left alone, 00:26:18.359 --> 00:26:25.419 and we're not left to do it in our own power. That takes us to the third thing we want to see. We 00:26:25.419 --> 00:26:33.119 want to think about the Spirit and witness. Back to our initial summary statement, the promised 00:26:33.119 --> 00:26:41.119 Spirit gives us power, and we've seen Jesus talk about that, lastly, to witness for Jesus. 00:26:41.119 --> 00:26:48.919 This is where we are called to live by faith. This is where it can sometimes be hard and a bit scary to 00:26:48.919 --> 00:26:58.259 live out the truth. It's truth for tomorrow, or it's truth for Tuesday. Boys and girls, when you go back 00:26:58.259 --> 00:27:03.919 to school, or when you find yourself in your university seminar group, or in your workplace, or among 00:27:03.920 --> 00:27:12.100 unbelieving family members and friends, to remember we have the promised Spirit to give us power to be 00:27:12.100 --> 00:27:18.980 witnesses. Verse 8, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you'll be my witnesses in 00:27:18.980 --> 00:27:26.700 Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Jesus calls his church into global 00:27:26.700 --> 00:27:32.539 mission to go to the ends of the earth, but also and always to go to the other side of the room, too. 00:27:34.480 --> 00:27:39.779 Maybe the question we have is, how is this ragtag bunch of Jesus followers, this small group, this small 00:27:39.779 --> 00:27:46.220 band, going to turn the world right side up for Jesus? Remember their context, so many different 00:27:46.220 --> 00:27:55.759 worldviews, so many different gods, so much opposition, and yet they did. How will it happen today? 00:27:55.759 --> 00:28:05.039 So many different worldviews, so many other gods, so much opposition. It's the same way. The mission of 00:28:05.039 --> 00:28:14.700 Jesus continues as he sends his Spirit with power to us, and to churches, and to Christians just like us. 00:28:17.200 --> 00:28:24.839 It's interesting how that verse, verse 1, verse 8, the context for it. In verse 6, we find the 00:28:24.839 --> 00:28:29.319 disciples asking the question, is this the moment you're going to restore the kingdom to Israel? 00:28:30.679 --> 00:28:36.439 They had this expectation still that the kingdom of Jesus would come now, and it would come on this 00:28:36.439 --> 00:28:42.579 earth, and it would be political in nature, but they're going to discover that Jesus' kingdom is 00:28:42.579 --> 00:28:48.939 gradual and growing, and it's a spiritual kingdom. They're going to discover that power in the kingdom of 00:28:48.940 --> 00:28:59.420 God works differently, that Christ sets up his rule, where? In people's hearts, by his Spirit, causing us to 00:28:59.420 --> 00:29:10.940 proclaim by faith that Jesus is Lord. And they discover that for the kingdom to grow, and for mission to take 00:29:10.940 --> 00:29:20.380 place, they're told in verse 4, do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised. They must 00:29:20.380 --> 00:29:26.580 wait for the Spirit of promise, the Spirit of power to be sent. And when that comes, the book of Acts records 00:29:26.580 --> 00:29:32.180 the record of the beginnings of global mission by the power of the Spirit, as they're sent out to boldly 00:29:32.180 --> 00:29:41.640 proclaim the good news of the Lord Jesus. There's a really interesting pattern that Luke records at the 00:29:41.640 --> 00:29:49.120 beginning of Acts. In verse 2, we discover that these apostles are those that Jesus has chosen. And then in verse 3, 00:29:49.200 --> 00:29:57.160 we discover that these are apostles who have had Jesus reveal himself to them personally after his 00:29:57.160 --> 00:30:03.240 resurrection. And then in verses 4 and 5, they're promised that they'll be given the Holy Spirit for 00:30:03.240 --> 00:30:10.540 their task. And then in verse 8, they are going to be sent and commissioned to be witnesses. So that's a very 00:30:10.540 --> 00:30:16.340 specific pattern for the apostles, but that becomes the general pattern for all Christians and for all 00:30:16.340 --> 00:30:25.340 churches. We discover this good news as we're saved by grace, that we've been chosen by God. That we have this 00:30:25.339 --> 00:30:32.500 personal encounter with the living God through Jesus. And then when we put our trust in Jesus, he sends us the Spirit, 00:30:32.819 --> 00:30:41.039 and then he sends us to go to represent him. The Holy Spirit fills his church to send us out to witness. Sometimes, as we 00:30:41.039 --> 00:30:50.059 said, that'll be across the world, and we always need to be willing and ready and open to God's call, but always he will 00:30:50.059 --> 00:30:57.359 send us to send us into the world. As we think about the idea of witnesses, maybe we can think about two 00:30:57.359 --> 00:31:03.940 different types of witnesses that we would see in a courtroom setting. You know, there are those eyewitnesses 00:31:03.940 --> 00:31:09.879 who bear witness to the truthfulness of events as they're recorded. And we know that about the apostles, 00:31:10.019 --> 00:31:17.879 don't we? We know that they were eyewitnesses of the truth. And Jesus would help them to understand 00:31:17.880 --> 00:31:25.120 the significance of what they had seen. Well, what about the church today? We are called to bear witness 00:31:25.120 --> 00:31:33.320 to the truth that the apostles have recorded. That the Spirit confirms to us that the Word of God is true, 00:31:34.260 --> 00:31:39.660 that Jesus is the Savior that we need as we meet him in God's Word, and that's the truth that we bear 00:31:39.660 --> 00:31:47.460 witness to. We pass on to others. But you also meet in a courtroom character witnesses. 00:31:47.880 --> 00:31:58.820 Those who speak for someone who is on trial. And I think that's a helpful reminder of part of our 00:31:58.820 --> 00:32:08.660 calling as Christians, that we go into the world to testify that Jesus is wonderful, that he is good, 00:32:09.540 --> 00:32:16.220 that Jesus gives true happiness. And we can speak of that from our own experience, 00:32:16.220 --> 00:32:23.980 that Jesus gives peace in the storms of life. And we can speak of how we know that to be true. 00:32:25.019 --> 00:32:31.759 We can testify that Jesus gives the deep love that people are looking for and longing for, 00:32:32.299 --> 00:32:40.880 that we can testify that there is no one that compares with our Jesus when we are trusting in 00:32:40.880 --> 00:32:50.100 him and resting in him. So the Spirit brings us Jesus, unites us with him, and we have good news to share. 00:32:51.300 --> 00:32:57.040 Good news we want to invite others to discover for themselves. 00:32:58.400 --> 00:33:04.260 Just as we finish, let's finish by filling in this blank together. 00:33:04.259 --> 00:33:18.259 Let me give three possible answers. Christ's people are saved and filled with the Spirit 00:33:18.259 --> 00:33:26.940 to model God's good purposes in the world. That as we live together in a fellowship of love 00:33:26.940 --> 00:33:33.500 under King Jesus, we are called to model the goodness, the beauty, the joy that's found, 00:33:33.620 --> 00:33:37.960 the peace there is in living under the good rule of King Jesus. 00:33:40.940 --> 00:33:49.180 Christ's people are saved and filled with the Spirit to, second answer, declare, to speak, 00:33:49.480 --> 00:33:55.120 to declare by our words and our worship that Jesus Christ is Lord. It should be so clear 00:33:55.119 --> 00:34:04.459 that what unites us is Jesus. What makes the church different is Jesus. What we talk about 00:34:04.459 --> 00:34:11.839 is Jesus. Third answer, Christ's people are saved and filled with the Spirit to 00:34:11.839 --> 00:34:20.719 fulfill God's promise. God's promise made from the very beginning to be God who is with us, 00:34:20.719 --> 00:34:29.219 God who is for us, the God who is in us. That is true for us as we gather together in worship. 00:34:29.879 --> 00:34:38.139 It's true as we scatter, as we go into the world, that God will fulfill that promise to bless the 00:34:38.139 --> 00:34:46.659 nations through Jesus, Jesus Christ the Lord. Let's pray briefly in his name together. 00:34:46.659 --> 00:34:46.899 Amen.