1 00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:03,080 Good. So Acts chapter 1, starting at 2 00:00:03,080 --> 00:00:10,840 verse 1 of chapter 1. In my former book Theophilus, I 3 00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:15,360 wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day 4 00:00:15,360 --> 00:00:18,920 he was taken up to heaven. After giving instructions 5 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:24,120 through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen after his 6 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:29,120 suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing 7 00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:33,640 proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a 8 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:38,680 period of 40 days and spoke about the Kingdom of God. 9 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:43,800 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them 10 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:48,880 this command. Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait 11 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:53,840 for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak 12 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:57,840 about. For John baptized with water. 13 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:03,840 But in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. 14 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:08,600 Then they gathered around him and asked him, Lord, are you at 15 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:11,840 this time going to restore the Kingdom to Israel? 16 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:19,000 He said to them, It is not for you to know the times or dates 17 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:25,120 the Father has set by His own authority, but you will receive 18 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:29,760 power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my 19 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:34,800 witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to 20 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:39,960 the ends of the earth. After he said this, he was taken 21 00:01:39,960 --> 00:01:45,640 up before their very eyes and a cloud hit him from their sight 22 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:52,080 as they were looking intently up into the sky as he was going. 23 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:55,640 Sorry. They were looking intently up 24 00:01:55,720 --> 00:02:00,280 into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in 25 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:05,160 white stood beside them. Men of Galilee they are, they 26 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:08,080 said. Why do you stand here looking 27 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:12,280 into the sky? This same Jesus who has been 28 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:18,120 taken from you into heaven will come back in the same way you 29 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:26,920 have seen him go into heaven. But again, as Chris has said and 30 00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:30,000 ahead of next week, I just want to say a huge thank you to 31 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:35,160 everyone for the last three months when as a gift to us as a 32 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:38,960 family, you allowed me to have a three month sabbatical as pastor 33 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:41,320 here at Ave. Thank you for praying for us 34 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:43,960 during that time, for me, for Lily, for Noah and Clara. 35 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:47,840 And yeah, it was a really precious three months, a great 36 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:51,920 time to rest, time together as a family, to pray, to reflect, to 37 00:02:51,920 --> 00:02:56,120 study and to prepare for the next season of ministry. 38 00:02:56,120 --> 00:02:59,080 As I say, the plan is next Sunday night at the family 39 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:01,080 meeting, we'll share a little bit more about that. 40 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:04,320 But actually, yeah, we just struck several times in that 41 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:06,200 time. Just that's such a generous gift 42 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:08,280 from you guys to let me just rest. 43 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:12,720 And I think when we presented the idea, Joel very wisely said, 44 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:15,160 well, actually, everyone should have a sabbatical and, and, and 45 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:17,360 I would vote for that, but, but no. 46 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:18,680 But it was a really precious time. 47 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:20,800 Thank you for praying for us. Thank you for messages during 48 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:23,240 the time for a really warm welcome back as well. 49 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:26,040 So it is good to be back and it's good to be starting this 50 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:30,360 new series in the book of Acts. The plan is that we're going to 51 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:34,040 be preaching through Acts 1 to 8 in the lead up to Christmas, 52 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:36,280 doing that on Sunday mornings. Our home group's going to be 53 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:38,880 looking at this book as well with a particular focus, each 54 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:41,680 passage thinking what is the Lord saying to us and how do we 55 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:45,480 apply that to our lives as individuals and as a church? 56 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:48,800 But every time we begin a new series at Ave. we always want to 57 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:51,800 ask the question, why? Why are we looking at this 58 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:54,640 particular book at this particular time? 59 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:57,680 Because Ave. we believe the whole Bible, Old and New 60 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:03,000 Testament, all 66 books are the living Word of God to us, given 61 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:07,000 to us by God to grow our love, knowledge and worship of Him and 62 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:10,160 our ability to live for Him in this world. 63 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:13,360 And we believe that every book of those 66 books has something 64 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:17,760 distinctive to tell us about who God is, who we are, what our 65 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:21,440 world is like, what it means to live as his people. 66 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:25,440 So why Acts, Why is this book in our Bibles? 67 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:28,040 This isn't just an end in itself to read a book. 68 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:31,920 We want this to change us as God's spirit works. 69 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:35,200 I think the book of Acts, there's loads of reasons why we 70 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:37,680 we would study it. But I think looking around the 71 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:40,720 world today, it's easy to ask the question, Sir, what is God 72 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:46,400 doing in our world right now? What is God up to with all the 73 00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:50,480 chaos of history, all the chaos of the present moment? 74 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:53,040 And linked with that question, if you're a Christianer today so 75 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:55,960 well, what is God calling his people to do? 76 00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:59,680 How are we supposed to live in this world? 77 00:05:00,840 --> 00:05:03,240 I think the book of Acts gives us an answer to that, that that 78 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:06,520 leads us to a deeper dependence on God, but also a greater sense 79 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:09,960 of purpose than we'd ever arrive at on our own. 80 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:12,440 Because according to the book of Acts as a whole and the passage 81 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:16,840 we're looking at this morning, we have an amazing identity and 82 00:05:16,840 --> 00:05:20,880 purpose in this world. Our identity and purpose is that 83 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:25,520 we are witnesses for Jesus in this real world, in the power of 84 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:28,760 the Holy Spirit. We are witnesses for Jesus in 85 00:05:28,760 --> 00:05:31,680 this world in the power of the Holy Spirit. 86 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:34,360 That word power is going to fluctuate a bit as we do. 87 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:38,760 I say power, You say power, power, power, power, power. 88 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:40,240 I'm going to change it sometimes. 89 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:42,440 But someone said to me last week, oh, don't change. 90 00:05:42,840 --> 00:05:46,840 So I hope you understand me, but it is we are witnesses for Jesus 91 00:05:46,840 --> 00:05:50,720 in the power of the Holy Spirit and this book of Acts, Some 92 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:54,920 people have described it as if you like a theological history. 93 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:58,520 First of all, it's a history. So look, he is a reliable 94 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:01,840 historian who spoke with eyewitnesses, the beginning of 95 00:06:01,840 --> 00:06:04,520 his gospel that is going to be given out to students all over 96 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:07,720 the country this coming year and talks about how Luke says he 97 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:10,400 spoke with eyewitnesses. He carefully investigated 98 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:14,680 everything from the beginning to write an orderly account for us. 99 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:17,320 So he wrote Luke's gospel and now we're reading Acts, his 100 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:19,640 sequel to that. But actually an act is even 101 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:22,800 better because Luke himself is an eyewitness. 102 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:26,400 Towards the end of Acts, Luke travelled with the Apostle Paul. 103 00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:29,440 So there's a few moments in the, the closing chapter of of Acts 104 00:06:29,440 --> 00:06:32,840 where we hear, we did this, we did that because Luke was there, 105 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:36,800 he was an eyewitness. This is good, reliable history, 106 00:06:38,120 --> 00:06:42,640 but it's also theological history because at the heart of 107 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:46,040 the book of Acts, it's a record of the risen Jesus powerfully at 108 00:06:46,040 --> 00:06:48,840 work in the world through the Holy Spirit. 109 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:50,880 What is God doing in our world, we ask? 110 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:53,960 Acts gives us an insight into what God was doing in the years 111 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:57,320 following Jesus life, death, resurrection and ascension. 112 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:00,720 And actually, he's the same God today. 113 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:06,160 This book has so much to teach us about what it means to live 114 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:09,200 as witnesses for Jesus in this world. 115 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:11,080 Just some of the things going to see. 116 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:14,040 We're going to see the power of the gospel in people's lives. 117 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:16,800 To quote the apostle Paul, the gospel is the power of God that 118 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:20,320 brings salvation to everyone who believes, even the most unlikely 119 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:23,840 people, even the people, I presume are beyond God's reach. 120 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:27,480 This book talks about the power of prayer because God uses the 121 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:31,560 the prayers of ordinary, weak, flawed people to accomplish His 122 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:33,240 purposes. This book's about the place of 123 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:36,760 suffering in the Christian life. A lot of the early Christians 124 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:38,360 suffered greatly. Why? 125 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:40,280 What was God doing through that suffering? 126 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:44,680 This book's about how deeply Jesus loves his church, how 127 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:48,480 committed he is to building it through his people. 128 00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:51,840 This book has got huge amounts to say that and what it means to 129 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:55,160 live as witnesses for Jesus in the power of the Spirit. 130 00:07:56,400 --> 00:07:59,400 So let's look at this opening section together. 131 00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:02,800 Now, Acts 1 verses 1 to 11 was read to us earlier. 132 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:07,400 And Luke begins with like an explicit link to his previous 133 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:09,720 book to that Gospel of Luke we mentioned. 134 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:12,480 He talks about my former book and we know Luke is still 135 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:15,320 writing to someone called Theophilus. 136 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:17,960 That's the same person. He addresses his gospel to you. 137 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:20,600 And who was Theophilus? Well, we don't know exactly. 138 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:24,400 It's it's a Roman name. Luke refers to him as most 139 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:27,800 excellent Theophilus in the beginning of Luke's gospel. 140 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:29,800 So he may have been of noble birth. 141 00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:32,720 Maybe he's a Roman convert to Christianity. 142 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:39,559 But back to the name Theophilus. It means lover of God and 11 143 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:42,440 writer I was looking at this week on this just made this 144 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:45,840 suggestion that Luke's goal in writing this book of Acts is to 145 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:51,160 create a multitude of lovers of God and Luke wants that group to 146 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:55,200 include us. He's writing to a lover of God 147 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:59,600 to grow his love for God. And that's a great way for us to 148 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:02,600 see this book. This is to grow our love for 149 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:06,280 God. And verses one to five, sort of 150 00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:10,400 they they look back to summarize the closing section of Luke's 151 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:13,720 gospel and they look forward to what Luke is about to say. 152 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:16,440 And tucked away in verse one, it makes a statement. 153 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:18,840 It's very easy to miss. But that's a hugely significant 154 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:21,440 for everything that's to follow. Just first one on the screen 155 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:24,320 there, he says in my former book Theophilus, I wrote about all 156 00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:29,080 that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken 157 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:33,800 up to heaven. And it's that little word began 158 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:37,920 that's easy for us to miss because easy to presume that 159 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:41,160 actually Luke's gospel and the other three gospels, that's 160 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:44,520 about what Jesus did and taught when he was on earth. 161 00:09:44,680 --> 00:09:48,080 And we come to Acts, that's about what the early church did 162 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:50,520 and taught after Jesus had ascended to heaven. 163 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:53,640 And in one sense that's true. But we need to see the point 164 00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:57,480 Luke is making here. The years of Jesus earthly 165 00:09:57,480 --> 00:10:01,760 ministry up to and including his death, resurrection and 166 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:06,120 ascension, they are only the beginning of what the Risen 167 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:11,120 Jesus wants to do in this world. Across the book of Acts, Jesus 168 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:15,000 is living and active through the Holy Spirit in the lives of his 169 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:19,040 people from beginning to end. The risen Jesus continues to 170 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:22,560 teach and to transform lives in this world even after he 171 00:10:22,560 --> 00:10:25,880 descended into heaven through His Holy Spirit working in the 172 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:30,560 lives of his followers. So if you like the traditional 173 00:10:30,560 --> 00:10:32,720 title of this book, again, it wasn't given a title in its 174 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:36,000 original manuscript, but we call it the Acts of the Apostles. 175 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:38,280 Some people have argued, actually a better title, a bit 176 00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:41,880 more wordy is the Acts of the Risen Jesus through the Holy 177 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:44,960 Spirit. Is he saying Jesus is alive and 178 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:49,320 well throughout this book? He directs his church on their 179 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:51,320 mission. He shows them the way they 180 00:10:51,320 --> 00:10:53,360 should go. He encourages them when they are 181 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:55,440 persecuted. His power enables them to 182 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:58,120 preach, to perform miracles in his name. 183 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:03,400 If like Acts is what Jesus did next, Jesus hasn't completely 184 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:06,240 left the scene. He's actually still working 185 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:09,360 through his spirit, through his people. 186 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:12,720 And that's what Jesus said to his disciples at the end of 187 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:15,000 Matthew's gospel. When Jesus preparing to leave 188 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:19,480 them, he says this, surely I am with you always to the very end 189 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:22,800 of the age. And the book of Acts shows the 190 00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:26,320 reality of that. And it's a reality that still 191 00:11:26,320 --> 00:11:29,160 holds for followers of Jesus today. 192 00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:32,720 But we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves. 193 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:37,040 Before Jesus physically leaves his disciples and ascends into 194 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:41,040 heaven, he spends a significant period of time with his closest 195 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:43,280 followers. So Luke tells us in verses one 196 00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:47,920 to five that Jesus spent 40 days with his apostles. 197 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:52,440 It's verse 3 on the screen there, after his suffering, he 198 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:55,480 presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that 199 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:57,800 he was alive. He appeared to them over a 200 00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:02,200 period of 40 days and spoke about the Kingdom of God. 201 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:07,320 Now that time period, 40 days, that's a really significant one, 202 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:10,720 right the way through the Bible. So in the Old Testament, Israel 203 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:14,160 spent 40 years in the wilderness and after that period of time 204 00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:17,640 God LED them to enter and conquer the promised land of 205 00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:19,960 Canaan. Early in the New Testament, 206 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:23,840 Jesus spent 40 days praying and fasting in the wilderness, being 207 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:26,400 tempted by Satan. And after that period of time, 208 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:29,480 Jesus embarked on his public ministry. 209 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:35,560 In the Bible, 40 days is often a time of preparation ahead of a 210 00:12:35,560 --> 00:12:39,800 time of mission. Before God sends his people on a 211 00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:43,640 mission, he prepares them. And this 40 days is significant. 212 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:47,840 But actually when I was reading this the last few weeks, I just 213 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:52,680 thought what a precious 40 days this was for Jesus disciples. 214 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:56,560 And during this period, Luke says, Jesus gave many convincing 215 00:12:56,560 --> 00:13:01,600 proofs that he was alive. Jesus wanted his apostles to 216 00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:05,600 know he really had risen. Remember, these disciples had 217 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:08,800 seen Jesus arrested and kneeled to a cross and buried in a tomb. 218 00:13:09,040 --> 00:13:12,280 And dead men do not usually rise from the dead. 219 00:13:12,280 --> 00:13:14,600 The disciples knew this. Jesus knew this. 220 00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:18,720 So Jesus takes this period of 40 days to convince them and assure 221 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:23,240 them his resurrection was real. Jesus really was alive. 222 00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:26,560 He wasn't a ghost or a spirit or a failure of their imagination. 223 00:13:26,680 --> 00:13:30,080 Jesus is alive. He is physically risen. 224 00:13:30,200 --> 00:13:33,520 He really has defeated sin and death once and for all. 225 00:13:33,520 --> 00:13:37,280 He was dead once, but now he's alive forever and ever. 226 00:13:38,240 --> 00:13:40,400 And that matters because the resurrection of Jesus is at the 227 00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:43,560 heart of the Christian message. It's at the heart of our hope 228 00:13:43,560 --> 00:13:46,880 that we have to hold on to ourselves and to offer a dying 229 00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:50,200 world. So Jesus spent 40 days with his 230 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:54,240 disciples to prove them beyond a shadow of a doubt he really is 231 00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:57,160 alive. That would be their message for 232 00:13:57,160 --> 00:14:02,880 this world. But even alongside that, I think 233 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:06,480 the risen Jesus spent this time with the disciples, I'm 234 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:10,320 convinced because he loved them and he wanted them to spend this 235 00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:13,360 time with him. This 40 day period was an act of 236 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:16,960 love on Jesus part towards his disciples. 237 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:22,480 I wonder if if this summer or a different point in your life, 238 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:25,840 you've ever spent a holiday with friends and family that you 239 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:27,880 loved so much you just never wanted it to end? 240 00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:30,200 One of those holidays where everything clicked. 241 00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:35,480 Often holidays don't click, but sometimes they do. 242 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:39,320 So the weather is perfect, you're never bored, the 243 00:14:39,320 --> 00:14:42,960 conversation flows freely, the food is really good, there's 244 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:45,560 laughter and honesty and rest and refreshment. 245 00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:47,960 You can be yourself because you're with people who know you 246 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:52,360 and love you. If you've ever enjoyed a holiday 247 00:14:52,360 --> 00:14:55,640 or a season like that, I want to suggest that is just a pale 248 00:14:55,640 --> 00:15:00,720 reflection of this 40 day period Jesus spent with the apostles. 249 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:06,360 Just imagine it. 40 days with the risen Jesus. 40 days with 250 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:10,360 the Son of God who loves you and gave himself for you. 251 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:13,920 This was a precious gift for these disciples here. 252 00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:18,880 Time to talk with Jesus. It's time to listen to Jesus, to 253 00:15:18,920 --> 00:15:22,000 ask Jesus questions and hear his replies. 254 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:26,480 And I love that Luke emphasizes time to eat with Jesus. 255 00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:31,240 They share meals together, they rest together, they they enjoy 256 00:15:31,240 --> 00:15:34,720 time with their risen Lord. I believe this is a little 257 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:38,440 picture of what awaits everyone who puts their faith in Jesus in 258 00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:42,640 the new creation. Life with the risen Jesus, with 259 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:46,800 him, enjoying him, eating with him, resting with him, receiving 260 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:50,760 his love for us. It's almost a glimpse of the new 261 00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:55,080 creation before the apostles are sent out into the world. 262 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:59,880 And what was Jesus doing in that 40 day period? 263 00:15:59,880 --> 00:16:04,400 Well, Luke tells us he was instructing his apostles. 264 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:07,840 Jesus knew that before they could begin the task of making 265 00:16:07,840 --> 00:16:11,440 disciples for him in the world, they had to know the message 266 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:14,600 they had for the world and they also had to know the power that 267 00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:17,720 was available to them in that. So they had to know their 268 00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:20,320 message, but how much they would need to depend on God's Holy 269 00:16:20,320 --> 00:16:24,000 Spirit to deliver that message. So Jesus is kind of two big 270 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:25,720 things he wanted to teach them were like sort of the the 271 00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:29,520 Kingdom of God and the Spirit of God. 272 00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:33,760 So the Kingdom of God that was that was the heart of Jesus own 273 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:36,720 public teaching ministry. He announced himself onto the 274 00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:38,160 scene beginning of Mark's Gospel. 275 00:16:38,280 --> 00:16:42,240 The time has come, the Kingdom of God has come near repent and 276 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:46,000 believe the good news. And what is the good news about 277 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:49,040 the Kingdom of God? It's this God's king has come 278 00:16:49,400 --> 00:16:53,160 and his name is Jesus. God's king has come, and he's 279 00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:56,760 not come to condemn the world. He's come to save everyone who 280 00:16:56,760 --> 00:17:00,440 puts their faith in him. God's king has come to put all 281 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:03,960 things right in the mess that is our world. 282 00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:09,400 And earlier in Luke's Gospel, the first book he wrote, Luke 283 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:11,800 records for us a sermon Jesus preached right at the beginning 284 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:15,920 of his ministry, which like his manifesto for the Kingdom of 285 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:19,040 God, he says in Luke chapter 4, he says the Spirit of the Lord 286 00:17:19,040 --> 00:17:23,079 is on me because he's anointed me to proclaim good news to the 287 00:17:23,079 --> 00:17:25,640 poor. He sent me to proclaim freedom 288 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:28,680 for the prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, to set the 289 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:33,360 oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour. 290 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:38,640 See, the message of the Kingdom of God is good news for everyone 291 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:44,520 who knows they need saving. It's interesting who Jesus says 292 00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:46,200 it's a message for. It's not a message for the 293 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:49,680 strong, the the wealthy, the powerful, the beautiful, the 294 00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:53,840 people winning life. Now Jesus says he's come with 295 00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:59,760 this message for the poor, for the prisoners, for the blind, 296 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:05,240 for the oppressed. Amazingly, God's King has come 297 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:08,520 in all his power and authority. But in order to benefit from his 298 00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:12,080 coming, you have to admit you need him. 299 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:15,800 You don't get to go. Oh, I'm quite strong and and 300 00:18:15,800 --> 00:18:16,760 wise to Jesus. I'll. 301 00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:20,000 I'll join your side. Yeah. 302 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:21,480 Yeah, I've got stuff to bring. Jesus. 303 00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:26,520 I'll, I'll, I'll sign up. We have to come saying, Jesus, I 304 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:30,680 needed you to come. I needed you to rescue me 305 00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:38,640 because on my own, I'm poor. I'm a prisoner of my own sins 306 00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:40,080 and selfishness. I'm blind. 307 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:43,280 I don't see God clearly. I'm I'm oppressed. 308 00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:45,640 I just feel like the things I want to do, I don't do. 309 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:49,800 I don't do. I just feel trapped. 310 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:53,720 Jesus come. Jesus, you are God's king. 311 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:56,600 Please help me. That is the message of the 312 00:18:56,600 --> 00:18:58,680 Kingdom of God. God's king has come. 313 00:18:59,120 --> 00:19:01,200 His name is Jesus. He's come to put things right 314 00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:04,680 and to benefit from that we need to admit how much we need him 315 00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:10,640 and to come to him. And then about the Spirit of 316 00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:13,800 God, Well, Jesus really clear. The only way we can live as his 317 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:17,400 witnesses is by depending on the Holy Spirit he sends to us. 318 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:22,040 Verse 4, Do not leave Jerusalem, he says, but wait for the gift 319 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:24,960 my father promised, which you've heard me speak about for John 320 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:26,920 baptized with water. But in a few days you'll be 321 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:30,880 baptized with the Holy Spirit. Who is the Holy Spirit? 322 00:19:31,680 --> 00:19:34,120 Well, Luke's going to tell us a huge amount about the Holy 323 00:19:34,120 --> 00:19:37,240 Spirit in his book. The things we learned even in 324 00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:40,000 this opening preamble is that the Holy Spirit, he's promised 325 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:43,400 by God in the Old Testament, we see him all the way through the 326 00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:47,280 prophets, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Joel, promising there will come a day 327 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:51,240 when the Spirit comes near the Holy Spirit. 328 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:54,840 He empowered Jesus for his earthly ministry. 329 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:57,680 Luke's gospel in particular is really clear in that Luke 330 00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:01,560 chapter 4 verse, one says Jesus full of the Holy Spirit went 331 00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:04,160 into the wilderness. Luke 414 Jesus returned to 332 00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:06,520 Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit. 333 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:10,400 Amazingly, the same Spirit who empowered Jesus for his life and 334 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:14,760 ministry and mission is about to come to empower Jesus followers 335 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:17,920 for their life and ministry and mission. 336 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:22,760 This Holy Spirit, he's an awesome power. 337 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:26,960 But ultimately, supremely, he's a person. 338 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:32,600 He's God himself come to live in his people. 339 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:36,200 He's the third person of the Trinity, God the Father, God the 340 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:39,680 Son, God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is fully God 341 00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:43,800 with God in the beginning. And so in a few weeks time when 342 00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:48,600 we come to his coming at Pentecost, this is God himself 343 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:57,120 coming to live with his people. So Jesus teaches his apostles 344 00:20:57,120 --> 00:21:00,000 about the Kingdom of God and the Spirit of God. 345 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:04,640 And then comes the day when he is about to leave them and he 346 00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:06,720 gives them their identity and their mission. 347 00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:10,200 He says, you will be my witnesses in the power of the 348 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:13,280 Holy Spirit. Verse 6. 349 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:16,680 The apostles gather Ryan, Jesus. They ask him a question that 350 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:18,560 reveals a lot about their priorities of that moment. 351 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:21,360 Verse 6 Then they gathered around Jesus and asked him, 352 00:21:21,360 --> 00:21:24,280 Lord, are you at this time going to restore the Kingdom to 353 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:28,880 Israel? No, actually there's a lot wrong 354 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:32,760 with that question. The French reformer John Calvin 355 00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:35,440 on these verses said there are as many errors in this question 356 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:39,560 as there are words. Basically, this reveals what the 357 00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:44,120 apostles priorities are. The apostles care about their 358 00:21:44,120 --> 00:21:46,360 people. They care about their nation of 359 00:21:46,360 --> 00:21:48,800 Israel. They're concerned solely for 360 00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:52,600 what God's going to do for us and people like me. 361 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:57,840 It's clear the apostles need to have their vision widened by 362 00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:01,000 Jesus to give them love for the whole of God's creation for 363 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:04,880 people not like them, Gentiles as well as Jewish people. 364 00:22:05,040 --> 00:22:07,920 And the Holy Spirit keeps having to do that in his church 365 00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:11,040 throughout every generation, not just this is for people like me. 366 00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:12,920 I want these sort of people around me. 367 00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:18,160 We need our vision widen just as Jesus widens the vision of these 368 00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:21,040 apostles, but he's also gentle with him. 369 00:22:22,040 --> 00:22:26,320 Verse 7, he just says pretty much that questions above your 370 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:29,560 pay grade apostles. Don't worry about that. 371 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:34,600 That's God the Father's call. Your responsibility is the 372 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:37,840 mission. I'm going to give you verse 8. 373 00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:41,000 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, 374 00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:44,800 and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and 375 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:47,400 Samaria to the ends of the earth. 376 00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:51,000 As Chris has already said, that was our verse for the term. 377 00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:53,640 Last term. We were around for a little bit 378 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:56,560 of it, so we didn't learn it as rigorously as you all did. 379 00:22:57,080 --> 00:22:59,840 But but that verse, it's kind of like John Stott says, it's like 380 00:22:59,840 --> 00:23:03,320 a table of contents for the whole book to come because Luke 381 00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:06,560 seems to organise his book around the three movements that 382 00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:08,360 are in that verse. So busy. 383 00:23:08,360 --> 00:23:11,520 Acts 1 to 7 is about the disciples being Jesus witnesses 384 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:14,160 in Jerusalem in their home city. Then Acts 8, through 385 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:17,280 persecution, they get sent out to Judea and Samaria. 386 00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:20,320 Then Acts 9 to the end, the apostle Paul becomes a Christian 387 00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:23,360 and they're off to the ends of the earth. 388 00:23:23,360 --> 00:23:26,280 We're going to see how that command's fulfilled in the 389 00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:28,520 coming weeks. But for now, we just need to 390 00:23:28,520 --> 00:23:34,000 say, you will be my witnesses. See, our message for the world 391 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:40,080 is Jesus, who he is, what he's done for us, all that he offers 392 00:23:40,360 --> 00:23:43,600 us who he is. He's God's king, He's the Son of 393 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:45,320 God. He loved us, gave himself for 394 00:23:45,320 --> 00:23:48,640 us. He offers us eternal life, life 395 00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:51,560 in all its fullness if we come to him. 396 00:23:51,720 --> 00:23:55,280 And he does all that because he died and rose again in our place 397 00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:58,120 to win the victory over sin and death we could not win. 398 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:02,800 Our message is Jesus. We are his witnesses. 399 00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:05,680 And we say what he has done objectively, but also we say 400 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:08,520 what he's done subjectively, what he's done for me, who Jesus 401 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:11,760 is to me, what he's done in my life, what is like for me to 402 00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:15,120 live for him and with him in my life. 403 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:20,720 As worth pointing out, we are different witnesses to the first 404 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:23,160 apostles. This country is worth making 405 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:26,920 that clear that they were genuine eyewitnesses of Jesus. 406 00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:30,480 They spent three years with Jesus on earth, including this 407 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:32,000 40 day period we've been talking about. 408 00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:34,200 They saw Jesus with their own eyes. 409 00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:35,880 They listened to him with their own ears. 410 00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:37,840 They touched him with their own hands. 411 00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:40,640 Christians today are witnesses in a secondary sense. 412 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:42,040 We're not eyewitnesses ourselves. 413 00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:46,440 We weren't alive 2000 years ago, but actually in a sense we're 414 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:50,000 like Luke writing Acts. He wasn't one of the 12. 415 00:24:50,120 --> 00:24:53,240 He hadn't spent that time with Jesus, but he believed the 416 00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:57,600 message of the apostles through the Holy Spirit opening his 417 00:24:57,600 --> 00:24:59,280 eyes. And that is every Christian in 418 00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:02,640 this room. We believe that message of the 419 00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:06,760 apostles through the power of the Spirit, and we know who 420 00:25:06,840 --> 00:25:10,960 Jesus is and we can be witnesses for him in this world. 421 00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:15,320 Our message is Jesus, and it's called the Holy Spirit who gives 422 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:17,760 life to everyone who receives that message. 423 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:20,480 Again, it is the Spirit who saves, not us. 424 00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:22,800 It's the Spirit who opens blind eyes, not us. 425 00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:25,120 No one here is a Christian because they worked it out for 426 00:25:25,120 --> 00:25:27,360 themselves, because they're smarter than anyone else, that 427 00:25:27,360 --> 00:25:31,520 they're wiser than anyone else. It's the Holy Spirit who saves. 428 00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:35,600 And Jesus wants these apostles to know, wait, don't leave 429 00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:38,560 Jerusalem because you cannot live as my witnesses without the 430 00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:40,480 Spirit. We might say, well, of course 431 00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:42,400 they can, Jesus, they spent three years with you. 432 00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:44,760 They spent 40 days with you. They know loads about you. 433 00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:46,480 Of course they could be your witnesses. 434 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:50,800 Jesus goes, no, even if we had spent three years with Jesus 435 00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:56,000 ourselves, we need the Holy Spirit to work through our 436 00:25:56,000 --> 00:26:00,320 witness. And what does it mean to depend 437 00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:02,880 on the Holy Spirit? We're going to see that in the 438 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:06,200 coming weeks. I think one of the hearts of it 439 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:11,800 is it's through prayer. Living by the Spirit is to live 440 00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:14,960 in dependence on God. It is to pray. 441 00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:18,600 It is to admit our need. It is to say, Lord, I can't do 442 00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:21,520 this on my own. Lord, I need you to work in my 443 00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:23,560 life. I need you to help me see Jesus 444 00:26:23,720 --> 00:26:27,240 and then I need you to help me point Jesus out to other people. 445 00:26:28,120 --> 00:26:31,120 Prayer is the heart of depending on the Spirit. 446 00:26:31,480 --> 00:26:32,960 I am. It's my prayer that actually 447 00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:37,200 doing time in this book together will give us a greater appetite 448 00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:40,040 for prayer. Prayer depending on God and 449 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:45,720 expecting from God because we can only be witnesses in the 450 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:50,000 power of the Holy Spirit. And in the final verses of our 451 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:53,640 passage, finally the risen Jesus ascends into heaven. 452 00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:58,440 But I want to see something. Often we struggle. 453 00:26:58,440 --> 00:27:01,040 I know I have so many struggle to see the ascension of Jesus as 454 00:27:01,040 --> 00:27:05,760 good news, but actually I think Luke wants to see here that 455 00:27:05,880 --> 00:27:12,080 Jesus ascends to heaven for us. It's actually to help us. 456 00:27:12,280 --> 00:27:14,280 Let me read verses 9 to 11 for us again. 457 00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:17,680 After he said this, Jesus was taken up before their very eyes, 458 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:20,240 and a cloud hid him from their sight. 459 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:23,200 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going 460 00:27:23,320 --> 00:27:26,200 when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 461 00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:29,320 Men of Galilee, they said, why do you stand here looking into 462 00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:32,600 the sky? This same Jesus who's been taken 463 00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:36,240 from you into heaven will come back in the same way you've seen 464 00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:40,720 him go into heaven. See the ascension of Jesus. 465 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:42,600 It's a really important transition. 466 00:27:42,600 --> 00:27:45,560 It's the climax of Jesus life, death and resurrection. 467 00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:47,680 For those 40 days. Jesus would have come and gone. 468 00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:49,960 He would have appeared and gone and come back again. 469 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:55,120 The apostles needed to see Jesus leave the scene to know that he 470 00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:58,120 had gone. It's like we've got Ruby and 471 00:27:58,120 --> 00:28:00,840 Cayman and Mel up up the front. So we know they're leaving the 472 00:28:00,840 --> 00:28:02,880 scene for a while. So we're not expecting to see 473 00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:05,680 them next week. But actually they needed to see 474 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:06,840 Jesus go. OK, we're not. 475 00:28:06,840 --> 00:28:07,880 Oh, maybe he's going to come back. 476 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:10,480 They're looking intently from the comeback. 477 00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:13,520 And the angels say no, he will come back. 478 00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:17,040 But for now, there is work to be done. 479 00:28:17,040 --> 00:28:22,240 There is a mission to embark on. There is a Holy Spirit to wait 480 00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:30,200 for see Jesus ascended to heaven for us to rule over creation for 481 00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:36,040 us and then to send his Holy Spirit to empower us as his 482 00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:40,720 witnesses. But again, there's there's times 483 00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:42,480 that doesn't feel that comforting. 484 00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:46,160 Again thinking of those 40 days with Jesus. 485 00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:47,480 I would just love to have been there. 486 00:28:48,800 --> 00:28:51,240 And if we're honest, Moses would like Jesus to be physically 487 00:28:51,240 --> 00:28:54,480 present in front of us, standing in front of us, the way he stood 488 00:28:54,480 --> 00:28:57,560 in front of the apostles. And the ascension can sometimes 489 00:28:57,560 --> 00:29:01,360 have the effect of making Jesus feel like he's a long way away. 490 00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:04,120 Once he was Emmanuel, God with us. 491 00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:10,680 Now is he, God not with us? One writer put it like this. 492 00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:12,920 He said the question the ascension makes many of us ask 493 00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:15,920 is, where is Jesus when I need him? 494 00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:23,040 And there's a sense where we should long to be with Jesus 495 00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:25,640 again, the apostles looking up in the sky. 496 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:28,440 That's not a wrong longing. Jesus coming back one day. 497 00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:32,680 The Angel say he's not here yet and we should long for Jesus to 498 00:29:32,680 --> 00:29:34,600 return. One of the great cries of the 499 00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:37,680 early church was was was Jesus come, come Lord Jesus, 500 00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:39,440 Maranatha, we need you to come back. 501 00:29:40,280 --> 00:29:43,320 That's a normal longing, a healthy longing for a Christian. 502 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:47,520 But alongside feeling Jesus physical absence, there's 503 00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:51,960 another life changing reality every follower of Jesus holds on 504 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:58,040 to and that is the risen Jesus is present with us today through 505 00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:01,120 the Holy Spirit. And that is why the gift of the 506 00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:04,960 Holy Spirit coming in chapter 2 is so life changing for 507 00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:07,080 Christians. The Holy Spirit makes Jesus 508 00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:11,720 present to us even when Jesus is physically absent. 509 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:16,320 Here's how Jesus puts it. In John chapter 14, he says I 510 00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:20,120 will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you. 511 00:30:20,760 --> 00:30:24,360 John 14 verse 18. So once he said, I'm, I am 512 00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:26,480 preparing to leave you. He's with his disciples right 513 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:28,360 before the cross. There's kind of got a time guys, 514 00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:32,680 I'm going to leave, but at the same time I'm going to come to 515 00:30:32,680 --> 00:30:35,160 you. I'm going to come near to you, 516 00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:38,840 nearer to you actually than you have ever known. 517 00:30:40,680 --> 00:30:44,840 Jesus is absent from us in body, but present with us through the 518 00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:48,560 Holy Spirit right here, right now. 519 00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:53,640 If we are trusting in Jesus, he is in US and with us, loving US, 520 00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:58,000 strengthening US, leading us, sustaining us. 521 00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:05,000 Jesus is present by his Spirit even as we long for him to 522 00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:08,120 return one day when our mission is done. 523 00:31:10,280 --> 00:31:13,200 There's some questions from the ascension as we as we finish. 524 00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:17,920 Really, who is Jesus now? Well, listen to how the Angel 525 00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:22,040 described him in verse 11. He says he is this same Jesus. 526 00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:23,440 It's all that Jesus sends into heaven. 527 00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:24,760 And now he's suddenly more frightening. 528 00:31:24,760 --> 00:31:25,960 Now he's like, he's a bit different. 529 00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:27,960 Oh, I liked him when he was on earth, but he's a bit scary in 530 00:31:27,960 --> 00:31:30,600 heaven. No, he is the same Jesus in 531 00:31:30,600 --> 00:31:32,960 heaven. He's still fully God and fully 532 00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:35,800 man, full of grace and truth and compassion. 533 00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:38,280 He's still one of us and one with us. 534 00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:42,120 He hears us, He helps us, He cares about us. 535 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:46,640 Where is Jesus now? He's both at the right hand of 536 00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:49,840 the Father in heaven, ruling over creation, and he's present 537 00:31:49,840 --> 00:31:54,080 with us by his Spirit. Surely, he says, I am with you 538 00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:56,800 always to the very end of the age. 539 00:31:56,800 --> 00:32:04,760 And what is Jesus doing now? He's resting and he's finished 540 00:32:04,760 --> 00:32:08,560 work. He's ruling over creation for 541 00:32:08,560 --> 00:32:10,560 us. So we cry out to him. 542 00:32:11,600 --> 00:32:14,080 He's praying for us here and now. 543 00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:17,880 Jesus prays for his people. It's an astonishing truth the 544 00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:23,320 New Testament gives us, and he's working through us to build his 545 00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:27,760 church. The Holy Spirit hasn't come yet 546 00:32:27,760 --> 00:32:30,720 at the end of this passage, but he's coming. 547 00:32:30,760 --> 00:32:35,120 And when the Spirit comes, Jesus is present again with his 548 00:32:35,120 --> 00:32:38,320 people. This book of Acts, the acts of 549 00:32:38,320 --> 00:32:43,960 the risen Jesus through the Holy Spirit, all that Jesus continued 550 00:32:43,960 --> 00:32:48,360 to do and to teach is because his Spirit is active among his 551 00:32:48,360 --> 00:32:52,560 people 2000 years ago and his Spirit is active among his 552 00:32:52,560 --> 00:32:56,000 people today. That is our hope. 553 00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:59,240 That is what we rest on. We are witnesses for Jesus in 554 00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:02,880 this world in the power of the Holy Spirit. 555 00:33:06,440 --> 00:33:12,000 Jesus is committed to us, Jesus loves us, and Jesus wants to 556 00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:15,160 lead us into this term in the way that we should go. 557 00:33:16,520 --> 00:33:18,280 Let me pray for us. Let's pray. 558 00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:29,440 Father God, you know that we live in a world where there is 559 00:33:29,440 --> 00:33:34,920 much confusion and we often don't know how to live. 560 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:37,960 There's so many different priorities in front of us. 561 00:33:39,040 --> 00:33:40,880 There's things that we're excited about, things that we're 562 00:33:40,880 --> 00:33:44,080 frightened of, things we think we're in control of, other 563 00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:50,680 things we know we're not. Lord Jesus, we pray that through 564 00:33:50,760 --> 00:33:55,280 our time walking through this book of Acts, this term by your 565 00:33:55,280 --> 00:33:59,120 Spirit, you would make us more and more aware of the identity 566 00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:03,680 and purpose you've given us and the power you put in us so that 567 00:34:03,680 --> 00:34:06,040 we can live out that identity and that purpose. 568 00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:09,440 Thank you, Lord Jesus, you haven't left us alone. 569 00:34:09,639 --> 00:34:12,120 You've ascended into heaven. You rule at the right hand of 570 00:34:12,120 --> 00:34:16,159 the Father, but you're also present with us through your 571 00:34:16,159 --> 00:34:19,920 Spirit, as close to us as it is possible to be. 572 00:34:21,719 --> 00:34:25,239 And Lord Jesus, we do long for the time when you as God's king 573 00:34:25,239 --> 00:34:29,320 come finally to put all things right, to put an end to sin and 574 00:34:29,320 --> 00:34:33,199 death and crying and pain. But in the meantime, help us to 575 00:34:33,199 --> 00:34:37,480 know that you are with us and Lord Jesus, by the work of your 576 00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:41,280 Spirit among us. Use us for your purposes, that 577 00:34:41,280 --> 00:34:45,520 we can point others to you so they will find new life, eternal 578 00:34:45,520 --> 00:34:50,159 life, life and all its fullness as they welcome God's King. 579 00:34:51,960 --> 00:34:54,600 Lord Jesus, thank you that you are our King. 580 00:34:55,880 --> 00:35:01,120 Help us to know You, to love you, and to depend on You in the 581 00:35:01,120 --> 00:35:04,720 days ahead. We ask that for your glory in 582 00:35:04,720 --> 00:35:08,080 the power of the Holy Spirit, independence on your Father. 583 00:35:09,480 --> 00:35:09,920 Amen.