← ArchiveActsSunday, May 5, 2019DateMay 5, 2019Speaker—TextActs 1Passages in this sermonActs 13:232 Timothy 1:79:34Isaiah 4311:44Acts 1:813:57TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00Music playing Okay, how's everyone doing? Excellent. You guys are awake. I love it.0:31If you have your Bibles with you, and we hope that you do, we believe that the Word of God is living, it is active, and it will soothe our parched souls. And so join me in the book of Acts. And David, I may have given you wrong information. This is our second week, but it's part 1B of our journey into Acts. And so if you're going to be with us for a while, go ahead and mark that because we're going to be in Acts throughout the summer. Today is a special day. No, not Cinco de Mayo.1:01Some of you are already craving guacamole and chips and salsa, but today is what we call our great day. And we believe that we have a great Savior. And we believe that He has redeemed great sinners of who we are, the chief. And so today we just set aside to pray for the nations, to give to the nations. And we want the world to know about this Jesus. We want people in Thailand to know that Jesus rescues.1:29And we want people in Alabama to know that Jesus still rescues. And that no one here is beyond the love of Christ. Because if anyone was beyond the love of Christ, I would be. And praise God that He sought me, He pursued me, and He can do the same for you. That is what today is about. And we believe that through the generosity of this church that the nations will know that He is the King of Kings1:51and that He is the Lord of Lords. Hudson Taylor, one of the first missionaries to China, said this about missions. And I love this imagery that he paints. He says that, See, I believe that all around the world today that God is building His church.2:12And He is using His people to build the scaffolding. When we give, you're building scaffolding in Thailand. And you're building scaffolding in the foster care community in this county. And you're building scaffolding in our local schools and in Nashville and New Hampshire and in Zambia2:42and throughout the world through the Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong. And we're setting up scaffolding as we watch the Lord build His church. And if you forget, I want you to know that this church that God is building, not even the gates of hell will prevail against the church of Christ. That's the kingdom that God is building. And that's the opportunity that we have to participate in this glorious kingdom.3:10And so praise God He invites us into His work. So let's read what Jesus is continuing to do in His people in the book of Acts. Acts chapter 1, beginning in verse 6. And the reason I preface that, because in verse 1, Luke, the writer of the Gospel of Luke, says to Theophilus, Hey, in Luke, I wrote to you about all that Jesus began to do. And in Acts, I'm writing all that Jesus continues to do.3:38And we said last week that a better title for the book of Acts is the Acts of the Holy Spirit through His church. Hey, y'all, that's us. Right, that's us. Verse 6. So when they had come together, they asked Him, Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time? And Jesus said to them, It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by His own authority.4:07Now, highlight this. But you will. Highlight that in your Bible. If you don't like to write in your Bible, mentally highlight it. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And you will be my witnesses in all of Jerusalem, in all of Judea, and Samaria, and to the uttermost ends of the earth.4:31So I want to challenge you today to be a missionary, and I want to give you two thoughts. And it's around this challenge. You will. See, in Christ, it matters more what you will be in Jesus than what you were. Let me say that again. Jesus is very clear. You will.5:02You will. So if you are in Christ, your identity is more about what you will be and who you are in Jesus than what you were. And if you knew my heart before I came to Christ, you would rejoice at who I am now. Dead has been raised to life. And so let's pray, and then we will look at these two thoughts in the Word of God. Father, without your Spirit, we can never understand your love towards us. So we ask that you would fill us with power.5:31Fill us that we would be witnesses to the uttermost ends of the earth. That we would not shrink back from this new identity that we have in Jesus. But that we would constantly tell others that we have found the rescuer, and they can be rescued too. Lord, if there is someone here right now that does not know you, that has never experienced abundant life, we pray that you would convict them through your Spirit, and that conviction would bring them to your throne,5:56where they will find mercy today in their time of need. Lord, change us. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. And amen. So first, Jesus says in verse 8, You will receive. We read in these scriptures a very pivotal time in the history of the church. You see, right here in Acts chapter 1, so preceding Acts 1, Jesus has come and He was born of a virgin.6:25Everyone agree with that? Yes, is the right response. And He lived a sinless life. Everyone agree with that? Yes. And He died on the cross. Yes. And now He has risen again to the praise of the Father. And between the resurrection and the ascension, Jesus has told the church this. He's told His people, I will never leave you. I will never forsake you.6:55And right after this, in verses 9, 10, and 11, Jesus leaves His disciples. He leaves His church and He leaves this world and He ascends to the right hand of the Father. So how can Jesus, who says, I will never leave you or forsake you, then say, peace out? How do we understand that? And this is exactly what the early church is struggling with.7:23So this is post-resurrection, pre-ascension, and Jesus is saying, look, don't hold on to me. Because I'm about to leave you. But I'm not going to leave you because I'm sending someone else. It's the Comforter. It's the Holy Spirit. And you will receive this. You see, the gift of the Holy Spirit is a sign to the world that the end time restoration has begun. Jesus will never leave you. If you are in Christ, He will not leave you, just as He said.7:53It's like the angels at the tomb. Mary comes and these women come and they say, look, He's risen, just as He said. And He will not leave you, just as He said. You see, the Holy Spirit is a constant promise to believers of Jesus' power. And it's a constant prompt to the world of God's glory. Think about that.8:22The Holy Spirit living in you is a promise of God's glory for you. And it's a prompt to the world. Hey, something's different. You're not who you once were. Praise God. You're not who you once were. This is what you receive. This is who you are. And I don't know if you think this way, but the Holy Spirit is not some watered-down demigod. It's not some part three of the Trinity and it's like the younger stepchild of the Trinity that if you have to, you know, the Old Testament, they got God the Father, who is this powerful God who would smite people with His wrath.8:48And the New Testament, they got Jesus and now we just get the Spirit. No, this is the same God. This is not a watered-down version. This is the same one that Jesus said you will receive what? Power. Do not miss.9:18It's the same word from the Greek that you get the word dynamite. It's the same word in the New Testament over and over again, that when God shows His power through miracles, it's the same word. This is the power that the church has through the Holy Spirit. That's why in 2 Timothy 1.7, God tells us He has not given us a spirit of fear, but of what? But of power and love and sound mind. This is the power and the plan of God in your life.9:46Church, if you know Jesus Christ, you will receive, point one, you will receive what? Power. I have a prompt here. I think visually. And I know sometimes my brain takes like a sharp left turn, but just stay with me. Hopefully this will be beneficial. This is a glove, right? Everyone agree, I'm not a magician.10:17There's nothing strange about this glove. I stole it out of someone's office. I repented of that sin. I think of the Holy Spirit like this glove. That in itself, it doesn't do anything. But if I were to put my hand in this glove, it is now useful. And I think very much the same God is reminding us that you and I are like gloves.10:44Apart from ourselves, apart from ourselves, we can do nothing, but when the Holy Spirit fills us, as every finger of this glove is filled with my hand, when the Holy Spirit fills you, what power is in the person who seeks the Lord? And how useful we can be. Church, we are gloves. Be filled with the power of the Spirit. This is the promise of God.11:13You can have that. You can have that, Matthew. There you go. Secondly, not only will you receive power, but you will receive power in what? You will be my witnesses. Every self-respecting Israelite would have heard this, and they would immediately raise their hand and say, Jesus, in Sunday school, in Jewish Sunday school, I remember that.11:33I remember that in Isaiah 43, the Lord God himself said the same thing. God says in Isaiah 43, 10, you will be my witnesses. This is the Lord's declaration. Besides me, there is no Savior. You see, Jesus was using an allusion back to the Old Testament. This idea that we should be the witnesses of God is not a novel concept to Acts.12:03From the very beginning, God has told his people, you will be witnesses. You will demonstrate the glory of God to the world. For the Jews, they were to be lights to the Gentiles, to Christians. What does Jesus pray? He doesn't pray, Lord, take them out of the world and take all this trouble. You know they can't handle this. He says, God, I don't pray that you take them out of this world, but that you will protect them from the evil one.12:31You see, you receive power to be a witness for Christ. That is who we are. That is our new identity in the Messiah. That is your new way of life. So just look at someone to your left real quick and say, I am a witness. If no one's on your left, turn to the right and just look at them and say, I am a witness.12:58If nothing else, you have heard that twice. That's who you are. That's not for these super spiritual evangelists. That's not for the Billy Grahams. That's not for the people that we put on pedestals. That is for anyone who says, I follow Jesus Christ. Alistair Begg, who we love to listen to in our house. He's a pastor in the Northeast. He says it this way. So whether you want to, whether you like to, you are a witness right now of either yourself or your Savior.13:26So I just simply say this, embrace your identity and exalt the Savior. Embrace your identity and exalt the Savior. Now, let me put these two thoughts together. You will receive power, right?13:54That's what Acts 1.8 clearly says. Jesus says, you will receive power. If you don't feel like you're living in the power of the Holy Spirit, that's not God's fault. He's already promised that. So you will receive power. Why? And because you will be a witness. And now we link those two things together. This is not a self-seeking power or a self-serving power. This is a supernatural, missional power.14:24The power that will one day transform the world. Think about that. That one day in the kingdom of heaven, every nation, every tribe, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ was Lord. And I researched earlier this week. I tried to find the first missionary to Alabama. I don't know who it is. But praise God that someone felt convicted enough to bring the gospel to the uttermost ends of Alabama. That one day you and I might believe that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.14:54And one day, I grew up in Mississippi. I'm probably going to interact with someone. He's going to say, Josh, or she's going to say, Josh, you don't know who I am. But I want you to know, 200 years before you were born, the Holy Spirit moved in my life. I was reading this passage, and I believed in the power of the Holy Spirit, and I believed that I should be witnesses. And I felt convicted to go to this strange place called Mississippi. And I shared Christ with someone who shared Christ with your granddad, who shared Christ with your dad, who shared Christ with you.15:27And that one day I'll be able to hug that person and say, thank you for living out your identity in Jesus. Because of you, I know the good news. And how many more people need to know? And they're looking at us and saying, you call yourself God-fearers. Now, show us the good news. Show us this hope.15:56Live in the power of the Holy Spirit. Alan Redpath said this about missions. He said, if you look into the face of God and say, yes, Lord, whatever it costs, at that moment, he'll flood your life with his presence and his power. We need people who will stand up today and say, God, whatever it costs. God, whatever you need me to give, God, wherever you want me to go, I'll do it because you're worth it.16:23Because I believe that you've given me power that will overcome the world. I believe you've made me a witness. And Lord, I'm tired of living this puny Christian existence where I don't experience the power of God because the power of God was given. Why? To be a witness. And when we don't witness our faith, that's why we don't witness the power of God. Because the Lord is saying, Josh, I've recharged your batteries to be used, not to hoard it.16:52This is not self-serving or self-seeking power. This is Christ-exalting power. Oh, that's why I ask these parents with a dedicated child. We need to understand as parents that one day God might call my child a child.17:17I will go wherever you want me to go. I will give whatever you want me to give. And that's why I ask these parents with a dedicated child. We need to understand as parents that one day God might call my child a Thailand. And heaven forbid we as parents stand in the way and say, no, you can't do that. Because I want my child, I want my children, I want your children to be able to come up to you one day and say,17:44Dad, I know you don't, this is not in the plans that you painted for me, but God's called me to the uttermost ends of the world. And I want our kids to expect from us a hug and say, I don't know how, but I'm on board. Because I believe in the power of the gospel working through his people. And so son, daughter, I know it wasn't in my plans, but I prayed that God's plan is greater.18:10I know that God's plan is greater than my plan for you. And so I will be there for you because I believe in the power of the gospel. I believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. That's what our families need. That's what our children, they need to see us fanning the flame of the Spirit in their life. And this word witness, I don't want to scare you, but I'm about to. This word witness is the same word martis or martus.18:39It's the same word that we get our English martyr. It's the same word, you'll be my witness. You'll be someone that when you die, the world's going to say, wow, why did you do that? You're a witness even in death. Every apostle that died for their faith, that's what they called them. We call them martyrs. The world called them witnesses. And may we be willing to do the same. May we be willing to say, God, I will live a holy life of moral demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit.19:07And I will declare with my mouth that you are Lord. So what is a witness? Very simple in your life. Lips plus life plus the power of the Holy Spirit. What does it mean to be a witness? It's a life lived for the glory of Christ. It are lips who exalt the beauty of the gospel.19:37And it's a life lived in the power that God has promised us to live. So where do we go from here today? First, if you have never experienced the love of God, I want you to know that that's his desire for you. That he sent and demonstrated his love that while you were still a sinner, Christ Jesus died. And maybe you're thinking, well, if this story is true, if Jesus died on the cross, if he lived a perfect life, I want that.20:04And so here's the gospel witness, that God loved you enough that he sent his only son to live a sinless life that you could never live. And that this sinless Savior died on the cross, a death that you deserve. And he rose again, giving us power over death, giving us victory over our sin. If you, by faith, accept this free gift. If you believe in your heart that he rose from the dead, if you confess through your mouth that Jesus is boss.20:35If he is the Lord, you will be saved. And you might be thinking like I was thinking, well, I don't have it all figured out. I don't either. God doesn't ask you to have it figured out. He asks you to believe by faith that Jesus is who he says he is. If you believe that today, just pause right where you are right now. Put your hope and trust in Jesus. Who is the same God who can save this Pakistani man in Thailand.21:05Is the same God who can save a young man in Mississippi. And is the same God who can save a person sitting in a pew in Odinville, Alabama today on Cinco de Mayo. Oh, that you would understand the love of God for your life. This is the witness of the gospel. It's the greatest story the world has ever heard.21:33And we pray that this story would be your story by faith. Secondly, during our time of response, we're going to ask everyone to do something. I'm going to ask everyone, if you're not physically able to get up and move, that you just stay in your seat and pray. These are some of our ministries across the front here. But I'm going to ask that you would bring your family or bring someone that you're sitting with. And you come and you pray for one of these areas. That you pray for Zambia. These orphans that we're caring for.22:03You pray for our foster community. You pray for international missions. You pray for our North American Mission Board. That you spend time as the Lord leads you to the front. And you just come and say, Lord, I'm going to weep for the souls of men. Because someone was weeping for me at one time. And thirdly, we're going to ask today that you would give to missions. And you can do so by filling out an envelope. You can give online. I know many of you give. But you can give during our time of response right here. And everything that we give for this offering this morning will go towards missions.22:32We're going to collect our normal tithes and offerings on the way out. But everything that we do right now at this special offering will go to share Christ at the uttermost ends of the earth. So why does it matter? Because you will receive power in Jesus. You will be his witnesses. And church, the uttermost ends of the earth. We are counting on you today.23:02They're counting on me. They're asking us, will you be a witness? Do you care enough to pray for us, knowing that we will spend eternity in hell? Do you care enough to give? Oh, that we would be found faithful. Let's pray.← Previous in ActsSunday, April 28, 2019Next in Acts →Sunday, May 12, 2019More sermons on Acts →
