1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:01,680 Well, good morning brothers and sisters. 2 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:04,760 My name is Andrew Dinardo. Thank you for the warm welcome. 3 00:00:04,840 --> 00:00:07,880 It's great to be here. I work at First Presbyterian 4 00:00:07,880 --> 00:00:11,280 Church and, and grew up there and now I'm serving on the 5 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:14,960 pastoral staff with young adults used to work with Henry. 6 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:18,040 So that's our connection. And it is just great to be here. 7 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:21,160 It's weird not to see Henry and Kelly while being here, but it's 8 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:24,480 great to see you all. And if we haven't already met, I 9 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:27,520 look forward to to meeting you friends. 10 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:30,680 Today we look at another EPC essential. 11 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:32,800 It sounds like you all have been going through those. 12 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:37,120 And today I want to look at the missional aspect of the EPC. 13 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:40,000 And I want to direct our attention to the book of Acts 14 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:44,320 chapter 1. So if you have your Bibles, feel 15 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:46,080 free to flip there and open there. 16 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:57,520 Acts chapter 1, verses one through 11 In my former book, O 17 00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:01,560 Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and teach 18 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:03,800 until the day he was taken up to heaven. 19 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:07,080 After giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the 20 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:12,120 apostles he had chosen after his suffering, he presented himself 21 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:16,120 to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. 22 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:20,560 Appear He appeared to them over a period of 40 days and spoke 23 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:25,120 about the Kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was 24 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:27,360 eating with them, he gave this command. 25 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:32,160 Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, 26 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:34,080 which you have heard me speak about. 27 00:01:34,960 --> 00:01:38,240 For John baptized with water. But in a few days you will be 28 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:43,080 baptized with the Holy Spirit. Then they gathered around him 29 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:49,400 and asked him, Lord, are you at this time going to restore the 30 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:53,920 Kingdom to Israel? He said to them, It is not for 31 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:57,560 you to know the times or the dates the Father has set by His 32 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:01,080 own authority. But you will receive power when 33 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:05,040 the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in 34 00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:10,039 Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the 35 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:13,680 earth. And after he said this, he was 36 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:17,880 taken up before their very eyes, and the cloud hid Him from their 37 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:20,680 sight. They were looking intently up 38 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:23,680 into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in 39 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:28,800 white stood beside them. Men of Galilee, they said, Why 40 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:30,880 do you stand here looking into the sky? 41 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:36,600 This same Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven will 42 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:40,360 come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven. 43 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:42,560 Friends, this is the word of the Lord. 44 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:45,040 Thanks be to God. Would you pray with me? 45 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:51,280 So God, open our ears, give us ears to hear your word, open our 46 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:58,400 hearts, give us eyes to see. Lord God, transform our minds so 47 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:01,880 that we would know you and knowing you, love you, and 48 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:06,000 loving you love one another. We thank you, Lord God, that 49 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:10,640 your love toward us and for us is one that's inseparable, the 50 00:03:10,640 --> 00:03:14,840 best thing that we can't escape. So we come before you now with 51 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:18,920 Jesus, our hope, our Redeemer and our friend. 52 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:21,000 And it's in his name that we pray. 53 00:03:21,920 --> 00:03:25,200 Amen. So I think in the e-mail that 54 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:29,080 went out, it said that my wife and I, we live, live in Menaca, 55 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:32,840 I'm at Trinity Seminary, work at First Presbyterian Church. 56 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:35,760 And it said that we had, I think it said we had two kids with a 57 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:38,560 third on the way. And, and the third came a couple 58 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:41,400 weeks ago on November 2nd. Oh, thank you. 59 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:42,880 Don't have to clap for that, but thank you. 60 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:47,760 And but having three kids now, I already found myself repeating 61 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:51,680 myself a good bit in our house, having to say things over and 62 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:54,680 over again, especially when our four year old doesn't take a nap 63 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:57,600 midday. And now with three kids, I know 64 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:01,360 that I'm just going to become a broken record eventually. 65 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:03,200 That's kind of my future destination. 66 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:06,120 I always thought my parents were just like that. 67 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:09,560 And now as a parent and as a dad, I think I'm, I'm starting 68 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:13,080 to understand sometimes my wife and I will look at each other 69 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:15,120 and think, are we not being clear enough? 70 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:18,040 Are we not good communicators? Our, our kids just sometimes 71 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:20,959 aren't getting it. But I'd be remiss and actually 72 00:04:20,959 --> 00:04:25,320 like completely wrong and misled if I told you that was just my 73 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:30,360 kids because I need told things time and time again as well, 74 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:33,280 especially lately. I'm going to blame it on having 75 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:35,720 three kids with a newborn in the mix. 76 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:39,480 But I've been told things by my wife and, and she will say we 77 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:44,600 talked about this and I will say I don't remember a thing about 78 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:47,040 that conversation. I saw a couple of you look at 79 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:50,680 one another when I said that. So I'll let you sort that out 80 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:52,400 afterwards. I didn't have that as the 81 00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:54,640 intended application of the sermon, but it can be. 82 00:04:56,240 --> 00:05:00,760 Friends, we are, we are very forgetful people, right? 83 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:04,600 And actually that that is the story of Israel throughout 84 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:08,920 Scripture, the story of God's people, a huge part of their 85 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:10,920 story is that they are forgetters. 86 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:14,720 They are not rememberers, even though God throughout his 87 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:16,960 Scriptures tells them to remember. 88 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:19,760 That's one of his more common commands to remember. 89 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:24,600 And yet they forget. So he brings them out of Egypt, 90 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:27,960 tells them to remember his name, and they spend time wandering 91 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:31,240 because they've forgotten who he is, and therefore they forget 92 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:36,640 who they are. And this doesn't stop as Jesus 93 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:41,680 explains his Kingdom and His way and His will to his disciples as 94 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:44,640 he's actually physically presently with them. 95 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:48,400 We all know that the story of the disciples is not one of 96 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:53,560 perfect following and obedience, but rather it's actually 1 of 97 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:56,840 forgetfulness. This like spiritual amnesia 98 00:05:56,840 --> 00:06:00,600 where we just can't get it. Even those with the sharpest 99 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:06,480 minds, the keenest memories seem to forget who God is and our 100 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:08,800 lives fall out of order from there. 101 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:13,000 And the apostles in in the book of Acts are no different. 102 00:06:14,080 --> 00:06:18,720 Friends, this morning I come to remind us and remind myself of 103 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:21,280 of some very basic things. In some ways. 104 00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:26,440 Often times we want to get deep in our faith, but we forget the 105 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:30,960 very essentials and the roots of it, the apostles of the book of 106 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:34,360 Acts. And we too needed a reminder of 107 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:38,960 somewhat basic truths that are at the root of who we are and 108 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:42,600 who God hopes for us to be. And today I hope we will 109 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:46,960 together see that the missional church, our church, this church 110 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:50,960 here, Hebron Church, First Presbyterian Church, the Church 111 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:54,720 Catholic, meaning worldwide, the missional church is to want what 112 00:06:54,720 --> 00:07:01,160 God wants, is to know God well and to go transformed by his 113 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:03,960 power and by the work of his Spirit. 114 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:08,640 So first we see that the missional church wants what God 115 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:11,640 wants. In Acts chapter 1, when the the 116 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:15,240 gospel writer Luke is recounting his former book, he says in my 117 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:18,880 former book, O Theophilus, he's just harkening back to Luke. 118 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:22,600 He quickly makes reference to one of the final interactions 119 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:26,800 that Jesus has with his disciples before being taken up 120 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:30,400 into heaven. So after all of Jesus's earthly 121 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:34,480 ministry, after his one-on-one meetings, after all of those 122 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:38,560 like taking disciples aside to to teach them really important 123 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:43,160 lessons, the mission trips, the the quasi retreats, you know, 124 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:45,480 things that we how we would call them these days. 125 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:50,520 Luke says that the question that the disciples have to offer to 126 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:58,520 Jesus after all of that is this Lord, are you at this time going 127 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:00,840 to restore the Kingdom to Israel? 128 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:03,920 That's their culminating question. 129 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:07,680 It makes me want to hang my head at times in disappointment or 130 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:11,440 roll my eyes. Were they daydreaming when Jesus 131 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:13,960 was with them? You know, maybe like a like I 132 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:16,440 was in middle school and my teacher would be speaking and 133 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:18,640 teaching. Often times I'd they'd say, 134 00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:20,760 Andrew, are you listening? And I'd have to kind of have 135 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:23,360 someone snap me back back into this world. 136 00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:27,200 How could they forget what his Kingdom was like after the 137 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:31,480 parables were given and many explained and spelled out. 138 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:35,600 You spent all that time with Jesus disciples and still you 139 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:39,480 are missing the point. It's not what he came for, to 140 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:46,000 restore the Kingdom to Israel specifically in that region and 141 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:49,920 geographic area. And I think, and I wonder 142 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:54,760 perhaps it wasn't so much a lack of listening, but more so a fear 143 00:08:56,760 --> 00:09:02,000 of what's unknown, wanting to put Jesus and the Kingdom of God 144 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:05,760 in their terms. You see, all of this was 145 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:09,640 happening many, many years ago. So often times we can see it and 146 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:11,760 think, well, I can't really understand because I didn't know 147 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:13,240 the context. We don't live there. 148 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:16,920 Now. This world is unlike that world, 149 00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:19,400 but at the same time, these are human hearts. 150 00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:24,520 And therefore this same condition is shared by us again, 151 00:09:24,520 --> 00:09:29,280 this forgetfulness, this spiritual forgetfulness, this 152 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:34,160 desire to control Jesus, to make him like us rather than for us 153 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:36,560 to be conformed and made into his image. 154 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:41,080 And it's such a temptation of ours as I think more and more 155 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:46,360 so, to have control, or I, I should say, to attempt to have 156 00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:49,320 control because we never truly have it, do we? 157 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:52,160 In a day and age where we can control things like the 158 00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:55,920 temperature in our homes down to the the degree where we can turn 159 00:09:55,920 --> 00:10:01,120 that on and off from our smartphones while we're away, we 160 00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:04,760 can control many things, or at least it seems like we can. 161 00:10:05,840 --> 00:10:10,320 But then we're reminded by things like often the weather in 162 00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:15,800 Pittsburgh is a good reminder traffic, that there are things 163 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:18,080 that we truly just cannot control. 164 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:22,160 No matter how hard humanity tries to squeeze and hold 165 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:26,200 something and try to control it and shape it into our molds and 166 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:31,080 images, we cannot control everything because we are not 167 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:35,320 made to control everything. We're not designed that way. 168 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:38,000 That's not in our fabric or our framework. 169 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:42,480 But still, when people see Jesus, and when I say people, 170 00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:45,640 it's not people out there, I'm talking about my heart and 171 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:50,040 yours, they try to describe him. We try to describe him by our 172 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:54,800 own terms, don't we? So we read passages talking 173 00:10:54,800 --> 00:11:00,200 about God's love and his mercy and we start to talk in a way as 174 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:06,440 if God is all love and all mercy and all compassion and it it can 175 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:10,600 almost become tyrannical and and take over our view of Jesus. 176 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:15,240 Or we may read other passages about his judgment and his fury 177 00:11:15,440 --> 00:11:19,200 and think, wow, the fear of God, he must be harsh. 178 00:11:20,960 --> 00:11:24,240 So this is how I understand God. We don't balance those well. 179 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:28,960 We don't often leave room for the complexity and the immensity 180 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:34,600 of God and our Lord. He's very complex, 181 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:38,440 understandable to us, but also still beyond our thoughts. 182 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:42,640 We begin to think then that he wants what we want. 183 00:11:42,640 --> 00:11:46,080 And so when the apostles then here, going back into this 184 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:50,360 passage, ask Jesus about restoring the Kingdom to Israel, 185 00:11:50,560 --> 00:11:55,160 it's an honest question that honestly reveals their human 186 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:58,840 hearts. It's an honest question and we 187 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:02,560 have to admire that. What they're most excited for, 188 00:12:03,440 --> 00:12:06,520 seemingly, is for Jesus to take up their cause. 189 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:10,080 And we love leaders who take up our cause, don't we? 190 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:14,880 My mom, the house I grew up in, there's a little alley behind it 191 00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:17,520 in Rochester, PA, small little town. 192 00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:21,160 And there was a pothole like right behind her driveway. 193 00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:23,560 And it was there for for years and years. 194 00:12:23,560 --> 00:12:25,960 And she kept calling the borough and saying, can you fill in this 195 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:29,560 pothole at at some point? And they kind of kept putting it 196 00:12:29,560 --> 00:12:31,920 off, putting it off. And then eventually she found 197 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:34,200 someone that would lend her an ear and they filled the pothole, 198 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:35,840 right? Even those sort of things. 199 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:38,400 Filling a pothole feels good, right? 200 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:42,000 When somebody kind of takes up our cause or maybe a a national 201 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:46,280 leader takes up our cause. And once what we want, those are 202 00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:50,360 good feelings because it feels like what we desire is coming to 203 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:53,440 fruition. It can be like, finally, I've 204 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:56,840 been hoping for this, even if it's outside of biblical 205 00:12:56,840 --> 00:13:00,520 qualities or values. We can find ourselves wanting 206 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:03,560 what we want. That's how we live our lives. 207 00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:09,200 The disciples here, they ask what I'm going to call an empire 208 00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:12,880 building question born out of self-interest. 209 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:17,200 Are you going to restore the Kingdom to not, not to the 210 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:22,160 people of God necessarily in their minds, but to Israel, to 211 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:26,440 this geographic center? Are you then at this time to 212 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:30,440 going to restore the Kingdom to Israel while we're here, while 213 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:33,640 we're living, so we can see it right now? 214 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:40,280 Jesus responds then to this empire building question with a 215 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:45,520 Kingdom witnessing answer. What does he say? 216 00:13:46,920 --> 00:13:51,440 It's not for you to know the times and dates the Father has 217 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:54,320 set. And then he follows it up by 218 00:13:54,320 --> 00:14:00,760 saying, But you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea 219 00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:04,560 and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, not just where they 220 00:14:04,560 --> 00:14:07,720 were, but to the ends of the earth beyond their comprehension 221 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:12,320 at the time. The disciples, the apostles here 222 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:15,640 want Jesus to want what they want. 223 00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:20,760 The missional church is oriented to want what God wants. 224 00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:22,920 And how do we know what God wants? 225 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:26,840 Because often times we can say, God, I'm here for you, I'm 226 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:29,080 available. I want to want what you want. 227 00:14:29,080 --> 00:14:32,040 I want to do what you design for me to do. 228 00:14:32,240 --> 00:14:35,560 And that can feel paralyzing. I work with young adults at our 229 00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:37,240 church. I worked with middle school and 230 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:40,360 high school students for years. And so now the middle school and 231 00:14:40,360 --> 00:14:42,360 high school students are the young adults in our church. 232 00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:45,400 So I've just kind of moved up with them and a lot of our 233 00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:49,000 conversations are difficult because they're in the stage of 234 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:52,200 life either not having gone to college or gone to college and 235 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:55,840 then moved home and they're unsure of what they want to do. 236 00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:58,400 They they feel like they have this greater purpose and this 237 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:01,600 greater calling and this zeal and desire to serve the Lord, 238 00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:05,560 but they're caught in between. You know, your 20s can be a 239 00:15:05,560 --> 00:15:08,800 really value setting time of life, but it can also be really 240 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:12,920 confusing and disorienting. Just coming out of my 20s, I can 241 00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:16,280 confess that it was disorienting for me to living at home with my 242 00:15:16,280 --> 00:15:18,000 mom and trying to figure out everything. 243 00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:22,360 It can be difficult in these times to know what Jesus wants, 244 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:32,520 but friends, we have praise God His word for us and here in the 245 00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:37,200 scriptures we see that Jesus did not tell his disciples that they 246 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:41,160 will build the Kingdom of God, but that they will be what's the 247 00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:45,440 word witnesses. That brings us to our second 248 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:50,400 point that the missional church is to know God well, to know God 249 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:51,960 well. No, I'm not saying we have to 250 00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:56,160 have degrees and and and education and formal education 251 00:15:56,160 --> 00:15:59,480 because I believe the good news is to all people and available 252 00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:03,960 to all people. Yet we need to know who God is. 253 00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:09,240 Kevin Deyoung, a well known Christian author says this about 254 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:13,240 Jesus Kingdom and I'd ask for you to think about it and 255 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:15,600 consider it. He says when you look at the 256 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:19,560 gospels and examine the verbs associated with the Kingdom, you 257 00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:23,160 discover something surprising. Much of our language about the 258 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:27,120 Kingdom is a bit off. We often speak of building the 259 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:30,080 Kingdom, ushering in the Kingdom, establishing the 260 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:33,720 Kingdom in our words, or helping the Kingdom to grow. 261 00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:39,320 Rang collective song Build your Kingdom Here Jesus does teach 262 00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:41,960 parables like the one of the Mustard seed that sure make it 263 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:45,280 sound like the Kingdom grows and is meant to be large and 264 00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:48,560 expansive. But within those parables, if 265 00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:55,040 you look closely, the Kingdom is not equated to something large, 266 00:16:55,320 --> 00:17:01,040 expansive, and taking over, but to something small, potent, 267 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:05,839 often overlooked, or deemed insignificant by the world. 268 00:17:07,079 --> 00:17:11,240 God is the master, friends, of using the things that don't seem 269 00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:16,599 like much in the world to humble the things that claim to be 270 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:20,760 significant. And in heaven, I truly believe 271 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:23,640 the people that are not known at all will receive standing 272 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:27,119 ovations by the angels and by the hosts of heaven. 273 00:17:28,280 --> 00:17:31,520 So then when Jesus tells his apostles who will who they will 274 00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:36,360 be in Acts 18, that famous Acts 18, we should be sure to note 275 00:17:36,360 --> 00:17:39,960 that he does not say and you will be an influencer. 276 00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:44,240 Although having a positive influence for God is a good 277 00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:46,560 thing. He does not say you will be a 278 00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:50,600 business leader, though you can lead in a godly way. 279 00:17:51,440 --> 00:17:54,200 He doesn't even say you will be Kingdom builders. 280 00:17:55,680 --> 00:18:02,200 He could have instead, he says what you will be my witnesses. 281 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:06,320 Doesn't that sound a little less inspiring to you? 282 00:18:07,280 --> 00:18:11,920 Witnesses. It's kind of our point today. 283 00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:15,360 So I'm I really want to hammer at home, but it's also it it's 284 00:18:15,360 --> 00:18:17,440 it's kind of a little more quiet, isn't it? 285 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:20,720 Witnesses. I mean, if if I told you right 286 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:25,040 now go out and be leaders for God, that sounds a little bit 287 00:18:25,040 --> 00:18:27,760 better, right? Or go out and be the best 288 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:32,400 version of yourself for God, Go out and and love everybody right 289 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:37,160 from here for God. But if I say go and be witnesses 290 00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:42,080 for God, how many of how many of us are going to leave here with 291 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:48,960 burning hearts or even a clear idea of what that means to be a 292 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:52,800 witness for God? But friends, I want to convince 293 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:56,160 you and and convince myself and argue today that a witness is 294 00:18:56,160 --> 00:19:02,040 really important, essential. So important that Luke uses the 295 00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:06,080 same word to describe Christians again and again in chapters 296 00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:13,440 235671013. You get the point. 297 00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:19,240 Also in his Gospel of Luke, when Luke wants to talk about who a 298 00:19:19,240 --> 00:19:22,560 Christian is, he chooses to use the word witness. 299 00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:30,400 Why witness? A few years back, my cousin is a 300 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:36,000 little bit deeper, but my cousin was was actually passed away in 301 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:40,120 a drug deal gone wrong and it's still a hard event to sort 302 00:19:40,120 --> 00:19:42,080 through. But I can remember sitting in 303 00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:46,120 the courtroom and the proceedings with my uncle who 304 00:19:46,120 --> 00:19:50,680 had just lost his son and listening to other high school 305 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:53,000 students at the time that had witnessed the event. 306 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:59,040 And it was extremely important that their witness would be 307 00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:03,840 accurate because this other high school student that was being 308 00:20:05,040 --> 00:20:07,720 tried is guilty. He was. 309 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:12,480 He was essentially being potentially put away for almost 310 00:20:12,760 --> 00:20:16,720 the rest of his life. This witness that these high 311 00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:19,000 schoolers were giving was so important. 312 00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:21,840 It was so important that it had to be accurate. 313 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:26,800 Have you realized or do you need reminded today that a large part 314 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:31,520 of your role as a believer is to accurately represent Jesus? 315 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:34,840 Now, I don't mean to put so much pressure on you necessarily. 316 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:38,440 That's that It's just like crippling, but rather to call us 317 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:44,000 up like Paul does, to know what the Bible says about God. 318 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:48,800 In an age of of low biblical understanding and literacy. 319 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:56,000 I'll admit that I don't often see my role as a witness, but 320 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:58,880 this is the role that Jesus leaves his apostles with. 321 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:02,840 Not to go around putting words in Jesus's mouth or putting nice 322 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:07,080 slogans that are attributed to him saying that he was going to 323 00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:11,320 restore the Kingdom to Israel soon and, and, and then 324 00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:17,680 therefore mix their hopes with his word that would be shaping 325 00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:21,080 Jesus to their agendas. But instead, Jesus wants them to 326 00:21:21,080 --> 00:21:26,240 go around accurately portraying who Jesus is, who he is, and 327 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:29,120 taking on his agenda because he did have one. 328 00:21:30,120 --> 00:21:33,400 It was clear. And I want to ask us today, how 329 00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:37,280 would our church look different if it was made-up of Christians 330 00:21:37,640 --> 00:21:42,480 who know knew Jesus really well, who saw their role as being a 331 00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:45,560 witness? And it takes time, friends, to 332 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:47,240 understand his will and his plan. 333 00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:50,320 If you don't believe me, just look at the disciples. 334 00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:57,080 Just look at yourself, myself. Faith in Jesus, like fly 335 00:21:57,080 --> 00:22:00,400 fishing, which I've taken up recently, is a lifetime sport, 336 00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:03,960 isn't it? We never graduate from the 337 00:22:03,960 --> 00:22:07,360 gospel, but there's always more to learn, and that's a good 338 00:22:07,360 --> 00:22:10,040 thing. Through this personal 339 00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:14,400 relationship of knowing God, we get to be his witnesses, 340 00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:18,360 attesting truthfully to his Kingdom and carrying out God's 341 00:22:18,360 --> 00:22:21,720 mission for his church in this world, for the life of the 342 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:26,360 world, so that it would flourish and see God and know him. 343 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:31,480 So the missional church is to know God well, but we cannot do 344 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:34,280 this alone. Jesus knew this, the apostles 345 00:22:34,280 --> 00:22:36,240 knew this. And this brings us to our final 346 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:38,200 point. We see that the missional church 347 00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:42,640 is to go transformed by God's power and by the power of the 348 00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:44,400 Spirit and the leading of the Spirit. 349 00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:48,880 So when Jesus promises that the Spirit would give the apostles 350 00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:53,280 power, when they hear that, that word power, when we hear that 351 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:56,600 word power, they probably got excited again about this vision 352 00:22:56,600 --> 00:23:00,320 for restoring Israel. Power sounds like it can restore 353 00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:02,080 a Kingdom. Actually, it sounds like it can 354 00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:05,960 take over a Kingdom. But in his very next words, 355 00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:10,120 Jesus tells them that Israel will not be their sole focus. 356 00:23:12,120 --> 00:23:15,920 Jesus gives us and his disciples a very clear picture. 357 00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:19,080 He doesn't speak in parables here. 358 00:23:19,480 --> 00:23:26,200 He's very straightforward. He says that in he does not give 359 00:23:26,200 --> 00:23:30,480 a parable, sorry, but a prophecy, telling them that he 360 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:35,640 they will be his witnesses, not just in Israel or Jerusalem, but 361 00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:39,720 then in Judea, Samaria, to the ends of the earth. 362 00:23:41,120 --> 00:23:46,480 And he's right, because the course of the book of Acts goes 363 00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:50,400 exactly this way. If you trace the progression of 364 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:52,720 the new church's missional journey in Acts, you'll find 365 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:57,960 that this is the exact route laid out by Jesus gone on by the 366 00:23:57,960 --> 00:24:01,840 disciples. Chapters one through 5 of Acts 367 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:04,320 concern their witness in Jerusalem. 368 00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:08,600 Chapters 6 through 9 of Acts cover their ministry in Judea 369 00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:11,560 and Samaria. And chapter 10, chapters 10 370 00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:15,000 through 28 trace the witnesses in far reaching places like 371 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:17,080 Rome. And obviously the Gospel 372 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:21,040 continued far beyond that. The witnessing ministry begins 373 00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:24,560 in Jerusalem, goes out to Judea, again to Samaria, and out beyond 374 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:29,040 the reaches, far beyond what these apostles, simple people, 375 00:24:29,080 --> 00:24:32,760 would have ever imagined. These concentric circles of 376 00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:36,720 missional journeys continue to expand and broaden the horizons 377 00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:40,600 of who the gospel is. For it will no longer be for one 378 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:44,880 ethnic group or one people or one church, but for all people, 379 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:50,760 gathering a multitude from every tribe, nation, and language. 380 00:24:52,360 --> 00:24:55,320 The power that Jesus spoke of would not be used to restore the 381 00:24:55,320 --> 00:25:00,800 Kingdom to ethnic Israel, but to bring a potent breaking in of 382 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:03,640 the Kingdom of God. A potent breaking in of the 383 00:25:03,720 --> 00:25:08,040 Kingdom of God. When I thought of this, I 384 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:11,040 thought back to Jesus's parable of of the mustard seed. 385 00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:13,520 And when I thought of the parable of the mustard seed, I 386 00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:16,320 thought, I've never tasted mustard seed. 387 00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:20,240 So we had some in our, in our spice cabinet and in our pantry 388 00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:22,640 and I went in, I don't know if you've ever done this kind of a 389 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:24,640 strange thing to do actually, now that I think about it. 390 00:25:25,360 --> 00:25:26,560 And I took a little mustard seed. 391 00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:28,640 I wanted to just see what 1 was like. 392 00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:32,040 And I popped it in my mouth and I was, oh man, after I crushed 393 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:35,000 it, really, really potent, really potent flavour. 394 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:37,200 Wouldn't recommend it. So let me just tell you about it 395 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:43,240 and save, save you from that. But this is one of the parables 396 00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:45,600 that he uses. A mustard seed. 397 00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:50,120 Just one small seed contains all that flavor. 398 00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:52,920 It barely had a scent. It barely seemed like much. 399 00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:56,440 But when planted, it spreads. When crushed, it's potent. 400 00:25:57,480 --> 00:26:01,720 Even when seemingly destroyed, it still has its taste. 401 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:05,400 The church in Acts has this potency. 402 00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:08,600 When the church seems crushed. It's actually most potent when 403 00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:11,720 where it's planted, it breaks through and doesn't return void. 404 00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:16,400 Where the seeds of faith are carried, the Spirit is there. 405 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:19,480 The missional church goes by God's power. 406 00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:22,880 Finally, friends, how do we know this to be true? 407 00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:26,520 Well, God the Father doesn't just give us Acts chapter 1, 408 00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:29,160 Matthew 28, or missionary efforts of Paul. 409 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:33,080 We have historical evidence that the gospel continues to go forth 410 00:26:33,280 --> 00:26:35,360 even in countries that do not allow it. 411 00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:39,000 Even in countries that say that church is not allowed, the 412 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:43,560 gospel there actually is very potent and breaking forth and 413 00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:46,440 coming through. And what's more, we also get a 414 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:51,000 glimpse of our final day, of the final day in Revelation 7, the 415 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:54,080 same 1 the apostles asked about in Acts 1. 416 00:26:54,080 --> 00:26:58,960 And here in this scene, Kingdom witnesses, like I had mentioned 417 00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:02,520 earlier, from all reaches of the globe are gathered to worship 418 00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:08,240 one person, the Lamb, and attendance so high none can 419 00:27:08,240 --> 00:27:13,880 count. All praising the Lamb, the ends 420 00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:18,000 of the earth together in one place for one purpose, to enjoy 421 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:21,120 the Lord. Finally to rest. 422 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:28,120 So we get to go forth today, not just waiting in full certainty 423 00:27:28,120 --> 00:27:31,680 of that day and saying I can, I can relax. 424 00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:37,320 It's not a la Z boy faith or recliner that we sit back into, 425 00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:43,280 but rather friends as participants now in our world 426 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:47,640 and in our communities. Not hiding from the world, but 427 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:51,360 actually engaging with it. Because we have the hope that 428 00:27:51,360 --> 00:27:54,000 the world needs. We have the hope that we need 429 00:27:54,200 --> 00:27:57,800 every day as we wake up, the wait is over. 430 00:27:57,800 --> 00:28:03,280 Then we can stop asking because the Kingdom of God is at hand. 431 00:28:05,360 --> 00:28:07,280 So what does this all mean for us? 432 00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:14,360 What does it mean for you to be a witness, to know God well, to 433 00:28:14,360 --> 00:28:19,200 want what He wants? It means we can and are free to 434 00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:24,320 seek the flourishing of our city and of our town and of our 435 00:28:24,320 --> 00:28:29,400 households, of our communities, of our blocks, even amidst 436 00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:34,400 population decline or times of scarcity and uncertainty. 437 00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:38,600 It means we point to practical hopes of food and water and 438 00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:41,920 lasting hope found in the living water and bread of life. 439 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:46,680 It means that we're not afraid to know God well and make 440 00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:52,320 changes to our lives right now as it's revealed to us because 441 00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:57,080 God tells us. It means that you and I as a 442 00:28:57,080 --> 00:29:02,280 church are called both as individuals and then also 443 00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:08,760 together to want what God wants, to know him well, and to go 444 00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:12,080 transformed by the love of God, the grace of the Lord Jesus 445 00:29:12,080 --> 00:29:15,560 Christ, and the fellowship found in the Holy Spirit. 446 00:29:16,560 --> 00:29:22,480 Amen. Can I pray for us, Lord God, we 447 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:27,480 thank you for your love for us that empowers us, that does not 448 00:29:27,480 --> 00:29:33,200 leave us nor forsake us. We thank you, Lord, for your 449 00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:35,200 patience with us when we don't get it. 450 00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:40,080 We thank you for the power of your spirit that leads us when 451 00:29:40,080 --> 00:29:45,440 we're unsure or uncertain. And we thank you, Lord God, for 452 00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:49,920 your continued presence with us that you don't leave us, that 453 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:52,200 you go before us, that you're here today. 454 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:57,440 So we come with Jesus today, and we pray this all in His name. 455 00:29:58,360 --> 00:29:58,600 Amen.