All right. So in a moment, we're going to take
up the Lord's Supper. And at that time, we'll
ask the deacons to come forward. But before we
do that, I want to just kind of illustrate this
for you. The Lord really laid it on my heart.
I think sometimes we have something we don't
understand we have. This really applies to our
young people, like Ariana, like Zoe. Hey, Zoe,
I'm going to tell a story that really applies
to Zoe. Are you ready? Okay, she says she's ready.
Carson, I'm going to tell a story that really
applies to Carson. Are you ready? Okay, here
we go. So when I was young, Carson's age about,
was my first opportunity to frost Christmas cutout
cookies. Take the cookie, still faintly warm.
Not warm, because if you do it when it's warm,
the frosting just rolls right up. The cookie,
I can slather the frosting on there nice and
heavy. And then, if it's a reindeer, you've got
to put a little red candy dot on the nose. Maybe
some brown sprinkling or yellow sprinkling over
the antlers. Maybe brown for the body. And then
after the first couple, you think, well, I can
make this a rainbow reindeer, right? You get
a bunch of different colors going on there. Or
I could just cover it with those cinnamon dots
because they're the best looking anyway, right?
And my grandmother was fine with however we decorated
those cookies. My mom and my grandmother were
in the kitchen. The smells were amazing. I was
very blessed to be a part of a family. Every
year, my grandmother would cook probably, 40,
50 dozen cookies, and then box those up, and
they would get parted out to all the different
parts of our family. And we would get our several
dozen cookies when that was done, and I would
eat a lot of them. Individually, they weren't
very large, but, man, they tasted so good. Now,
I was never allowed to help with the baking.
Not when I was 6, not when I was 7, not when
I was 10. Not when I was 14. And by the time
I was 14, I really wasn't super excited about
helping with the frosting anymore. But I was
super excited about feeding the cookies. And
my mom said, if you don't help with the frosting,
you don't get any cookies. So that's a deal.
So I helped with the frosting very faithfully.
Helped with the frosting in the spring. But I
never helped with the baking. Now my grandmother
passed away when she was about 80 or so. And
she passed the recipe down to my mother. And
my mother began to make cut -out cookies in relatively
large quantities. Now, she had less people to
distribute the cut -out cookies to. My grandmother
had 14 children, of which my mother was one.
But my mother only had me and my brother. And
then there were those relatives that lived nearby
or whatever, and they still wanted cookies, but
they weren't going to cook, and my mother would
bake them. And my mother never let me help with
the baking. I never mixed the ingredients. I
never measured the ingredients. I never baked.
the cookies to know exactly how long, what they
look like, take them out, or whatever. So then,
fast forward some years later, my mother's baking
the cookies, and she shipped them to us. She
lived in Michigan City, Indiana, and she'd ship
us the cookies in the mail, or blackmail us and
say, you've got to come see me at Christmas so
you can have your cookies, and we would go, so
we got ourselves cookies, so we could see my
mother too, right? And then they moved to Tennessee,
and then we would go see them in Tennessee and
get the cookies, and by the time we ate all the
cookies before we came home, we really shouldn't
do that, but it was... They were really super
good cookies. And so my mother was big into cookies,
and she'd give some. So then eventually Sherry
and I thought, and Sherry had a cut -out cookie
recipe from great -grandma. And there's a peanut
butter cut -out cookie recipe. I'm not a huge
fan of peanut butter in cut -out cookies, but
she kind of talked me into it, and over time
I began to like them almost as much as my grandmothers.
And one day I asked Sherry, I said, why don't
we make my grandmother's cut -out recipe? And
she said, well, what is your grandmother's cutout
recipe? Because, you know, I don't know if you
ever looked at this, but there are like a thousand
cutout cookie recipes. I mean, at least, probably,
I don't know, infinite number. And so we called
my mom up, and she gave us the recipe. And she
said, now here's a couple of key things. When
you do this, you've got to do this, mix the dough
exactly this way. It's got to stay in the fridge
exactly this long. You've got to cut it out exactly
this way. Put it in the oven for exactly this
time, at this temperature exactly. And if you're
using a gas oven, you've got to turn the tray
around. And, you know, we followed her instructions
to the tea. And I bet you can't guess what happened.
It didn't taste the same. So I called my mom.
I'm like, Mom, they don't taste the same. So
we went through the whole recipe again from beginning
to end. She said, do it like this. Do that. Did
you do that? Did you do that? And we might have
found some little things that we kind of like
cut corners on. So we gave it a try. And we baked
the cookies again. And guess what happened? They
still didn't taste the same. Now the truth is,
I ate those cookies when I was a kid every single
year. In fact, I can pretty much taste them now,
but I can't bake them. And if I bake them and
taste them, I will know that the taste that I
taste from back then is not the taste that I
have today. It's not the same. So that means
essentially what? My grandmother's cut -out cookie
recipe was lost. Even though we have the exact
recipe, if you online, you can get the exact
directions of all of those recipes. You can get
the exact directions from my mother for the cut
-out cookie recipes. Even so, my grandmother's
cut it. Now, you say, well, it's because my grandmother
baked those cookies with love. Hey, my mother
baked those cookies with love. And I'll tell
you right now, I baked those cookies with love.
I baked them for my kids. I baked them for my
wife. I baked them for anybody that would eat
my cookies. I baked them with love. I love the
people. Right. But never the same. So it's not
the love. Because they were baked with butter.
You say, well, it's because you were a kid. No,
they tasted that way when I was 14. They tasted
that way when I was 23 and lost. They tasted
that way when I was 28 and saved. So it's not
because I was a kid. The recipe is lost. I was
born into a family and blessed into a family
that had that recipe. And when I ate those cookies,
I knew it. I'm like, I can taste it. I taste
I'm blessed. I would eat a cookie and be like,
whoo! But, you know, it's not like I thought
about it like that. I just thought, man, this
is a good cookie. And then, on top of that, I
certainly never, I mean, I pushed when I was
younger, like from the time I was probably like
nine and I could cook myself my own grilled cheese
and things like that to the time I was probably
like 19. I pushed pretty hard to be allowed into
the kitchen to help bake the cookies. But I was
never allowed to measure. I was never allowed
to mix. I was never allowed to roll. I was allowed
to stamp some eventually. I was never allowed
to put them in the oven. I was never allowed
to take them out. See, that's what's different
about the kingdom of God. Zoe, this is what's
different about the kingdom of God. At your age,
you get to help. Carson, at your age, you get
to give input. You get to say, hey, I think we
should do this. Here's my opportunity. Right?
Last week, because of the crosswalk, we couldn't
do our visitation. We wanted to go and do flyering.
And so some of my grandkids were out there going
house to house. It's not an age thing. Right?
Being saved is being part of God's kingdom. So
if you're not old enough to know that you need
to accept Jesus Christ, and it's possible, for
example, Zoe isn't exactly old enough to understand
what that means, then they're in the age of innocence.
And they can work for God like maybe you or I
can't or don't even have the capability of doing
so because they just work unrestrained. They
just go after it, right? Whereas when they get
old enough, then they accept Christ. Now they've
got the power of God working in them, the Holy
Spirit working in them to help them do the things
that they do. But they are not excluded from
the recipe. They're not excluded. These children
can, and I've seen it on a number of occasions,
share a simple gospel truth, something straight
out of the Bible, out of the gospel, whatever
like that. In a simple, direct, poignant way
that adults struggle to do because they want
to complicate everything. We know that someone
might say, well, but what about this? Or what
about that? And so we hesitate to just share
the fact, just like what it is. But it just is
what it is. And we ought to get back our childlike
faith and just accept that it just is what it
is. When you do wrong, you deserve punishment.
You deserve chastisement and correction. You
want it. You need it. If you don't have it, you'll
continue to do wrong and drift further. Even
if it's a little wrong, you start with it and
drift further and further away until it's a really
bad thought. And so you literally do something
and you go, I would never do that. But I just
did. How did I get here? How did I wind up doing
that? And so this is part of what the Lord's
Supper is all about. The recipe for salvation
is this. Are we ready? The recipe for salvation
is this. Jesus Christ sacrificed himself. on
the cross, to pay for sins. And we must never
forget that single, most important ingredient.
And for that purpose, God gave us, through His
Son, Jesus Christ, in part of the Holy Spirit
teachings, the Lord's Supper. That we can think
about the body that was sacrificed for us. There's
that major ingredient in our salvation, which
is the blood spilled for us. And there's songs
that sing the power of the blood, and it is the
blood of Jesus. That pays to wipe away your sins.
The next time you sin and go, oh, thank God I'm
saved. God, I'm sorry. I repent. Turn to you.
Cleanse me of all unrighteousness. Right? 1 John
says God was faithful. He'll do that. He'll cleanse
you of all unrighteousness. The next time you
do that and you're like, whew, sure glad I'm
saved. We're going to burn in hell for that one.
Don't forget, the body was paid. The blood was
paid. Not the body and blood of some dude who
was a sinner himself. Some bad guy who was good
one day, bad the next. Some parent that was up
and down with their discipline or up and down.
No. A perfectly righteous man. The body and the
blood of a perfectly righteous man. And Jesus
knew the propensity of human beings to forget
how important the ingredients are to pay for,
to create, to bake, if you will, the salvation
that is available to the entire world. And because
of that, he gave us the word supper. So that
we'll never forget. So today, Carson, when you
take the bread today, you take a little bit of
the square bread. When you take that, don't forget.
That bread represents the body of a man who loved
you so much that he died for you. That's a pretty
big deal, isn't it? Zoe, are you with me? Today,
when you take the juice, it's going to taste
good. That juice tastes good, doesn't it? But
when you take it, don't forget that it represents
the blood of a man who died for you. But not
just a man. God in the flesh. God the Son. Who
didn't have to die because he didn't have sin.
The waves of sin and death. He didn't have to
die because he didn't have sin. But he chose
to do so. He willingly laid down his life for
us. And if you live in a house of a Christian
household, hear me now, grandkids of mine. Right,
you're in the room. Adeline, hear me out. If
you live in a Christian household, you are getting
the blessing. Your parents are taking the hits.
They're paying the bills. They're putting the
roof over your head. They're disciplining you
when necessary. They're providing the strength.
They have been there. They have seen it. They
know you've got to brush your teeth or you'll
get cavities. I was just sharing that with Ariana
this morning. You eat certain foods, you've got
to either brush your teeth or you've got to rinse
your mouth or something because... When I was
17, I got 17 cavities, and I had them all filled
in one day. It was one of the most torturous
events of my life. Don't ever do that. They'll
tell you, we're just going to fill them all in
one day. Don't let them talk to you unless they're
going to put you to sleep. Just don't get the
cavities in the first place. How do you get it?
Take care of your team. And your parents know
you have to do that, and they've been teaching
that from the beginning. You're getting the blessings
of being part of a Christian household, but at
the same time, you have the Lord's help. We will
not forget. As we get the blessing of being part
of the kingdom of God, we will not forget. that
the two chief recipes, the two chief ingredients
of the recipe are the body and the blood, which
was technical. So if you're in the room and you're
sitting away from your parents, your child, I'm
actually going to meet your parents at this time.
I'll be right here. I'm not far away. These young
people are present. And if you don't have a parent
here, you're fine. You're happy. Alright, I'll
ask that our poor deacons, our poor deacons would
come forward at this time. This is a couple of
these men, first time they've ever done this
because they were not against previously. We
do have two both faithful yoke fellas and sometimes
we'll intermittently change them in there. But
we are going to tap, they don't know we're going
to do this, we're going to tap our yoke fellas
at this time. So I'm going to ask Michael, would
you stand and ask a blessing upon the bread?
In a second, I'm sorry. Before we do that, we
need to clear the cloth. Normally, my wife would
do that and pick somebody. So today we're going
to ask Alicia, would you come and do that? And
Molly, would you come and do that? And then just
remove the cloth and fold it up. Sherry's at
home watching this right now going... I wish
I was there. They have the same bread and juice
at the house this morning. We'll be taking it
before the supper with us. Thank you very much,
ladies. Ready? Michael, would you stand and ask
a blessing? On the bread. Father God, we want
to thank you. Thank you for this time. Thank
you for this place. Please, thank these people.
Your people, God, want to thank you for your
body having broken for us. Yes, Lord. Pray that
we take this and take it in remembrance of what
you did for us. I pray you bless us and instill
us while we do this in remembrance of what you've
done. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Thank you.
around finishing up. The bread, you'll notice,
is unleavened bread. It is not raised. It is
definitely not like the bread that you would
buy from the store. Tony, if you would serve
the other deacons and myself. Jesus, clearly
already knowing what he was about to go through
that night, took that bread. He pronounced a
blessing on it, as we have. He broke it. He said,
this is my body, which is broken for you. Always
do this in remembrance of me. Now take and eat.
Let me take a second. At this time, I'll ask
Ron Mack to pronounce a blessing on the Jews.
Father, thank you for this opportunity. As we
partake in the Lord's Supper, I pray, Lord, that
we will remember the blood that was spilled for
us on that day. As the song goes, Lord, there
is power in the blood. Because that blood was
freely given. It wasn't forced. You could have
changed the outcome at any time. You had the
power. But you willingly sacrificed it for the
joy that was accepted for you. I ask a blessing
now upon everybody in this room that we would
experience you in a You empowered the way today.
Bless this. Bless this Lord's Supper. In Jesus'
name. Amen. Thank you. Thank you. In my mind,
I always see the imagery of juice pouring one
to another, and I see the blood and the water
that flows from our Savior. But the truth is,
he began to bleed a lot before that. He began
to bleed. in the garden the night before when
he prayed so fervently. Can you imagine being
faced with your own crucifixion? Knowing that
it was a great ingredient in the salvation that
was prepared for all mankind and all you could
do was go through it. Like when the dentist is
about to give me one shot, I'm like, ah! It's
crucifixion. You know, I have a split second
before a softball hits me and I'm unprepared.
Oh no, here comes Kane. He was praying about
his crucifixion. His blood would be poured out
for us. He took the blood on that night when
they were eating together and probably poured
it from one to another. He blessed the juice,
the wine, very little difference. And he said,
this is my blood, just pour it out for you. In
taking this, do so in remembrance of me. Take
now and drink. ascension of Jesus in Acts chapter
1. In Acts chapter 1, Luke, who was not an apostle,
people always do so, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John,
and we think, well, he must have been an apostle,
but he was not an apostle. He joined the ministry
sometime later, probably a doctor, a man of medicine,
a learned man, and he investigated thoroughly
the activities that took place during Jesus'
lifetime. And then in the book of Luke and in
the book of Acts, he lays out a history as accurately
as he is capable of doing and also inspired by
the Holy Spirit, of course, of what transpired
up to the crucifixion during the gap in between
when there was a crucifixion resurrection and
during the gap in between there and when Jesus
went back to heaven to stay. And we are now in
the gap. Before I get there, I want to kind of
illustrate the principle that I think the Lord
kind of was pushing on me as I was looking at
this text. Some years ago, we had gamers. We
are gamers. We play role -playing games, card
games, board games, all kinds of games. We like
games. If you go to my house, I have 100 games.
I probably have 200 games. We had gamers over
at our house playing games. Quite a few people
were there actually. Stay till about 1030 or
so. It was time to be done. All the games were
over and put away. And then it was time to clean
up the mess. Because invariably, while people
play games, they eat snacks. And there was bits
of snacks and there was paper plates and there
was cups and the tables had been moved around
and pillows were in odd places and even a chair.
And there were a few faithful servants who stayed
to clean up because they realized. That sometimes
when an event or a thing is over, life goes on
afterwards and you have to prepare for it. After
all family fellowship on Friday the 18th, there
were tables to be put away, chairs to be put
away, dishes that had to be washed. Holly stood
at the sink washing dishes for probably 45 minutes
straight. The building had to be returned to
usable status because Friday is not that far
away from Sunday. And even though cleaning was
slated for Saturday during the day to get us
ready for Sunday, there was still work that needed
to be done even so we could get ready to clean.
And some stayed to do the work of cleanup because
they realized that because the event is over,
the building has to return to whatever is going
to go next. One time we went to a football game
to listen to Alicia play in the marching band,
and we stayed to the very end of the football
game, even though the game was not a nail -biter.
Northwood was up by like 50 points. And as we
walked out, I noticed there were popcorn and
empty bottles like everywhere. The garbage can
was overflowing. People had stuffed as much as
they possibly could in there. There was garbage
sticking out in every direction and piled up
on top and then laying on the ground all around
it. And as we were leaving and the marching band
had already marched off, the football team was
gone and there were very few fans left, I saw
just a couple of people, I believe they worked
for the school, working their way through the
stands picking up the mess. And I thought, this
is going to be a big job. Someone was doing the
job of cleaning up and getting ready for what
comes next. I walked the fairgrounds the day
after a fair and a flea market was over. There
was garbage plentiful, snacks again. People tend
to leave a trail behind them wherever they eat
snacks. But also, people selling in the flea
market that had stuff that they didn't want to
pack back up and take home had placed the stuff
next to the garbage receptacles. There was furniture,
suitcases, I remember, all kinds of stuff just
piled up next to the garbage can because they
didn't want to take it home because for them
the event was over and they were going on to
the next thing. but they didn't realize that
someone was going to have to return the fairgrounds
to use for the next thing, or they just thought
somebody would take care of it. The bottom line
is that people leave an imprint wherever they
go. The activities that people engage in leave
a footprint and a lasting effect. Jesus knew
that his physical absence, he was about to leave
physically from the earth to go be in heaven
with the Father. His physical absence from among
people would leave a huge vacancy. and also had
left a huge impact. So now we see in this text,
and it's going to go by rather quickly, we have
exactly two texts today, and I might quote a
couple others, but we're only going to look at
two texts today, and they're going to go by pretty
quickly. So I hope you got your thinking caps
on. We see in this text that he is preparing
them to deal with what comes next, because he
physically is not going to do it himself. This
is what it says then in Acts chapter 1. It says,
The first account I composed, Theophilus, about
all that Jesus began to do and teach. So our
best understanding is this is Luke writing, and
he's writing to Theophilus, and he's saying,
We got the story started. I gave it all to you.
It's already done. And probably in reference
to the book of Luke. Then he says in verse 2,
he says, Until the day when he, that's Jesus,
was taken up to heaven, after he had, by the
Holy Spirit, given orders to the apostle, to
the apostles whom he had called. So now he's
saying, I wrote all that leading up to this point
now where Jesus would go back into heaven. He
hasn't yet, but we're written, we're back into
heaven. And how Jesus had taught them in preparation
for that. Notice that here, when it says that
he had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the
apostles whom he had chosen, that it's talking
about essentially like three things. It's talking
about an empowering, that Jesus was empowered
while he was alive to do the ministry that he
was doing. By the Holy Spirit. He said, well,
he didn't really need to be empowered because
he was God in the flesh. And that's true, but
he was also in the flesh. And so our bodies are
not necessarily designed after post -fall, after
things have fallen apart. We're not able to contain
the God of the universe. That's a different kind
of a thing. And so the Holy Spirit makes... Him
able as a man to do what he was doing and makes
us able as people to do what we're doing. It
also says that he was guiding him. He taught
them by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit showed
him on a regular basis what to say and do. He
said, I don't do anything that I see my father
doing. The Holy Spirit was right there making
clear what it was that he was supposed to be
doing, what it was that he was supposed to be
saying. And also inspiring him. And the word
inspiring is a big word because it means like
to breathe into something. And so the Holy Spirit
was breathing life into the body of Jesus. When
we think about how he said, I have food that
you know not of, that's when he's talking to
the Samaritan woman by the well. Or when he goes
into the desert and fasts for 40 days without
food, which we believe, scientifically, our bodies
can't do that. If we go without food for 40 days,
you'll probably die well before then, in fact.
But when Jesus did that, he was receiving and
inspiring a pouring out in him of God's power
through his Holy Spirit. Verse 3 then says, To
these he also presented himself alive after his
suffering. He's talking about the disciples,
the apostles, the 11 and then 12. He presented
himself alive after his suffering by many convincing
proofs. That's an interesting phrase when you
think about it because it would be hard, wouldn't
it? Now you see Jesus die and then see Jesus
alive after that. It would be hard to accept
that he's alive again. That's kind of a tough
thing. In fact, it's tough now for people who
are lost to suddenly come to this. the realization
that Jesus is alive, right? People say, oh yeah,
he lived, he died, and they say he rose again.
And that's how that usually goes. But once you're
saved, you know he rose again because you've
had a personal experience with him. But then
even on days where it's dark or struggling or
you're in the middle of difficulty, you start
kind of wavering a little bit on your adamant
sensation that he is alive. So he, by many convincing
proofs, showed them that he was alive. He appeared
to them over a period of 40 days, and speaking
of the things concerning the kingdom of God.
So basically he was teaching them about the kingdom
of God while he was appearing to them over and
over and over again and spending time with them.
Verse 4 says, Gathering them together, he commanded
them to leave Jerusalem. Now you're going to
go out. But then he commanded them not to leave
Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had
promised. So you're going to go out, that's what
an apostle is, a sent one, but you're not going
to go out until God sends what he has promised.
Gathering them together, he commanded them not
to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the
Father had promised, which he said, you heard
of from me. In other words, I already told you
about this. You already knew this was going to
happen. For John baptized with water, but you
will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many
days from now. So he was talking about a coming
of the presence of the Holy Spirit, an immersion.
We'll get back to that in a second. Something
that would happen on the inside of them. Water
baptizes the outside and it's an immersion being
dunked. It's completely encasing you, right?
And if you breathe in, it would literally go
into your lungs because you're totally underwater.
But the Holy Spirit would be an immersion, something
different. Verse 6, we're almost done with the
text. So when they had come together, they were
asking him, saying, Lord, is it at this time
you are restoring the kingdom to Israel? Now
before I get into this for a second here, see
what just happened there? Jesus is saying, you're
going to stay here in Jerusalem for a while,
and then God's going to pour out on you what
I already promised you he would pour out on you,
which is the Holy Spirit, a living water, a powerful,
upcoming, empowering from the inside of you,
God's presence, all of those things that it would
be, that he's taught them that it would be. And
their response is to ask him, Lord, is it at
this time you're restoring the kingdom to Israel?
Because people are more concerned about their
situation than they are about what God is doing.
People are more concerned about their heritage,
their family values, their culture, the flow
of their money, the way they think they're going
to get what they think they need than they are
about what God is doing. He's already been teaching
them about it. outpouring, and let's say it this
way, an inpouring of the Holy Spirit. He's already
been teaching. He's already told them that very
clearly. And now he's saying, you're going to
stay here until that happens. And they go, is
it at this time that you're going to restore
the kingdom to Israel? He said to them in verse
7, it is not for you to know times or epics which
the Father has fixed by his own authority. Now
he didn't say no, and he didn't say yes. He said,
what I want you to do is get off your petty concerns.
It doesn't seem petty. The nation is enslaved.
There were laws, for example, if a Roman soldier
was walking along the road and he had a heavy
military pack on, weighs 40, 60 pounds, and he
bumped into a Jewish citizen, he could grab that
Jewish citizen and he could say, hey you, carry
this, and he could put his pack on him and make
him walk the next mile. The law said he could
walk the next mile carrying that man's military
pack and the man could not refuse. They were
in slavery. It's a pretty big deal. They didn't
have an army. They couldn't make their own laws.
They couldn't put to death somebody who was guilty
of a capital crime. The Romans had to do that
so they could go and petition, which is why they
had to go and petition to put Jesus to death.
And Pilate had to give them the authority to
do so because they didn't have the authority
to kill even a mass murderer in their midst.
They couldn't really enforce any of their laws
unless those laws were specifically said to be.
Religious laws. Because the Roman government,
the emperor, had recognized Judaism as a religion.
So inside Judaism, they could do things. But
otherwise, they were in slavery. It's a pretty
big deal. Imagine if our nation were conquered
by another country. Or if our church were invaded
by Satan. We would want that dealt with. And
God says, okay, the Holy Spirit power is going
to come. And you're like, okay, but are we going
to get the solution that we need? Will the money
come in? Will the bill be paid? Lord? Yes, I
hear you want to heal me. You want to make me
perfect. You want to take me to heaven one day.
It's all good things. I'm glad for all that.
But are you going to fix my problem? Are you
going to solve this very major issue that is
lingering? And he says, redirect your attention.
Take your focus off the things of this world
that you're concerned about, whether they be
nations or principalities, whether they be powerful
things that are affecting you, enslaving you,
hurting you. Take your focus off of that and
look at what God wants to do. So he says, it
is not for you to know the epics or the times
which the Father has set in his own authority.
And then in verse 8 he says, but you will receive
power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.
As he's been saying, you will receive the power
when the Holy Spirit comes on you. And you shall
be my witnesses. And we could stop right there
for one second and clarify when he says you shall
be my witnesses. The word there is martyro. And
it was fully understood. He's been teaching it
since Luke 9, right? He's been teaching it all
along that their lives were essentially forfeit
to do the work of God. And so that's why it makes
it all the more stupid. If your life is forfeit
to do the work of God when you become a believer,
that is essentially what it says. Deny yourself.
Take up your cross. That means be willing to
be crucified if necessary. What else can take
up your cross mean? Even though you want to make
it poetic in this world and say, we've got to
bear my own burdens. So my burden is my wife
doesn't treat me nice or my house doesn't get
clean on time. That's not your burden. Your burden
is crucifixion. The same as Jesus' burden. It's
talking about his cross. And everybody in that
day understood. Taking up your cross meant you
were being crucified. Okay, so he said, deny
yourself, take up your cross, and follow after
me. So if their lives were sacrificed, then how
on earth did they come about going, okay, but
are we going to see the kingdom restored to Israel
at this time? The great political advantage that
we thought we would get, our situation changed.
And he says, but you will receive power when
the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall
be my witnesses, and that's martyro. That means
you will even, if necessary, die for me. And
we know for them, for everyone that was gathered
that day, it was except the Apostle John. And
the truth is they all would eventually die, even
if they died of old age, for him, if they lived
for him to the end. And so will you. If Jesus
does not come again in the next hundred years,
everyone in this room who believes in Jesus as
Lord and Savior will die for Jesus. You will
die for the Lord. So how are you going to die?
And not only that, how are you going to live
until you die? Because if Jesus does not come
again, you will die for him. If Jesus comes again
in, say, ten years, some of us will live for
that long or would live for more. And when Jesus
comes again, we will not die. Not see any death.
No cancer, no disease, no car hits us, no gun
to the head. Right? Nothing. If Jesus comes again
before we die, then we will essentially not die
for him, speaking of life or death. But you die
for him still in that you are willing daily to
set your own desires aside and put his first.
And that's what it means to be a witness for
the Lord. And they were being told that. And
you shall be my witnesses. And right there, they're
going, yeah, sure. We'll witness for you. Especially
if we're going to get power from the Holy Spirit.
That sounds logical, right? I'll witness for
you if I get power from the Holy Spirit. That
makes perfect sense. Because they had seen the
empowering of the Holy Spirit at work in him.
So now it makes sense. If they also have the
Holy Spirit living in them, that they'll be able
to do amazing things like he can. And that makes
perfect sense. We'll be witnesses for you. And
then he adds this. He says, and you will do so
both in Jerusalem. That makes sense. That's home,
right? We'll be here. We'll do it in Jerusalem.
And in all Judea. It's a bit of a walk, but we
can do that. That's no real problem. And Samaria,
now wait a minute. A devout Jewish man doesn't
go to Samaria because those people are half -breeds.
A devout Jewish man, not all the disciples were
devout Jewish men, but some of the ones that
were were going like, ah, but we go around Samaria.
We don't go to Samaria. When we go that way,
we go around Samaria. But now you're going to
be my witnesses in all Samaria. So, okay, now
we're going to go where we're uncomfortable.
We're going to go where it's going to be difficult.
We're going to go where the rest of the Jews
are going to look down on us because we go there
to talk. Right? Because we go there to do what
Jesus has commanded us to do, but we've got to
do it because he says we'll be our witnesses
both in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria, and
that that wasn't bad enough, and they're going,
ooh, got to go where it's uncomfortable. But
now he says, even to the remotest parts of the
earth. Now, this is a pretty common phrase, Acts
1a, and people have talked about it a hundred
different ways. I don't want to drill down on
it too much, but this is what I want you to see
today. When he said that, they knew without a
doubt. For the first time ever, without a doubt,
that the mission would be a lifelong mission.
The apostles were no longer thinking, Jesus is
going to go back to heaven, kingdom is going
to come back to Israel, it's all going to change,
massive changes, etc. And it's all going to be
done. No, if we are going to be your witnesses,
we 12 are going to be your witnesses, then we...
We're going to go to the remotest parts of the
earth? Like you can't get there in less than
40 days. It's going to take over a month for
us to even get there just one time. But then
we're going to get there and we're going to pronounce
it and then turn around and come back home. That's
a month and a half, two months minimum. But we
have to go there and tell everybody? So this
became a lifelong mission. So here's a few things
in here that I want you to see. The first one
is Jesus is preparing them for his prolonged
physical absence. And he's laying out a pretty
clear plan. When the party is over and the event
is done, in this case that's the crucifixion,
burial, and resurrection of Jesus. When that
is done, there are things that still have to
be done. And he's laying out a pretty clear plan
for what that looks like. God's Holy Spirit will
come and live in you and you will take this message
that I have been presenting to you, all of my
teachings, you will take them. to everywhere
on the earth. In preparation for this, as he
says he was going to have a prolonged physical
absence, but he's laying out a pretty clear plan,
he convinces them of the truth. The truth. The
number one truth. Looking at this text, do you
know what the number one truth was that he was
convincing them of? It says that he gave abundant
evidence. What was he convincing them of? Over
and over again. Do you remember it from what
I read? I'll go back. And to these, he presented
himself alive after his suffering by many convincing
proofs. He was convincing them that he was alive.
And the great part of the gospel message today
is that Jesus is alive. And extended off of that,
it makes perfect logical sense. If Jesus is alive
after his death, then what happens to Dan after
Dan's death? Dan will be alive, right? But you
have to be convinced that he's alive. Can you
say Jesus is alive? Let's do that. Okay, we're
going to stop right now. This is not a rhetorical
question. I'm asking you to participate with
me. Let's say Jesus is alive on the count of
three. Ready? One, two, three, go. Jesus is alive.
Now, could you not say it? Was there anybody
in the room? I want you to be boldly honest.
Just boldly honest with me right now. Anybody
in the room who, A, could not say it, raise your
hand if you just couldn't do it. You're frozen.
Right now, we're going to fix it. Anybody? Nobody.
All right, good. That's good. Now, is there anybody
in the room that when they said it, doubted it?
And it's okay if it's the case. If that's the
case, we're going to fix it right now. Is there
anybody that doubted when they said Jesus is
alive? Raise your hand if it's true. We'll fix
it. Okay. Now, see, you know why that's true?
You know why we can say it and know that it's
true? Because Jesus convinced the apostles. And
the apostles, who were, many of them were devout
Jewish men, became what we would call Christians.
They became the first church with the mission
of taking the gospel to the entire world, even
willing to die to deliver the truth that Jesus
Christ died on the cross, buried in the grave,
and on the third day rose again. That is the
basics of the gospel. And if you can't deliver
any other message to anyone who will possibly
listen in your life, you've got somebody who's
cussing you out and just saying, hey, I've got
one thing for you. Jesus was the Christ. He lived.
He died on the cross. He was buried. He rose
again. And we're like, but F this and that and
you're this and that. Jesus goes straight to
the truth. You don't need to convince them they
shouldn't be acting that way. You don't need
to take what they're saying to heart. Go straight
to the truth. Jesus. lived, died, was buried,
and rose again. Give him that at least. In fact,
the next time you're running from some guy with
a baseball bat, yell that over your shoulder.
Because someday, that guy's going to go to hell.
And he needs the ingredients of salvation lest
he burn in hell for eternity. Before you say
he deserves it, so do we. Jesus convinces them
of the truth. He is alive. He warns them of their
need to stand. This is going to be a long journey.
Stick near me. Listen to the Holy Spirit. Let
Him work through you. He lays out the mission.
What will they be doing? They will be living.
Oh, I wish it stopped there, but it doesn't,
does it? And dying for Jesus. There's a lot of
people who get saved. They get saved and they're
like, I received a great blessing. I am receiving
the free gift of salvation. I'm totally paid
for it. I don't have to do nothing. Yay, me.
Go to heaven now. All true to an extent, assuming
you realize to be a follower of the Lord Jesus
Christ is about living and dying for Jesus. He
lays out the mission. What will they be doing?
They will be living and dying for him to the
uttermost parts of the earth. He explains God's
provision, his power, how the Holy Spirit will
come in them and empower them as he did Jesus.
His presence, how he will remain in them and
with them and never leave them. That's the end
of Matthew. And he's been talking about it for
40 days. My presence will be real with you even
though I'm not physically walking this earth
the way you are. I will be with you. His purpose.
We have one job to do. God has one job to do
to bring man back into fellowship with God. That's
our one job. It may feel like you have to pay
your bills. And in our society, if you want things
to function smoothly, you kind of do have to
pay your bills. But if it ever comes to paying
your bills or bringing people to Jesus, you better
choose bringing people to Jesus because in your
identity as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ,
that's who you are now. You bring people to Jesus.
We have the ministry of reconciliation. At any
point in time, you're too busy. You're too tired.
You're too sick. You stayed up too late. It doesn't
matter. If at any point in time, anything in
this life would interfere with your desire to
carry out the mission that God gave the church,
then you need to understand that you are turning
your back. On the purpose that God has given
you, which is a problem because the power was
given for the purpose. So now you're turning
back your back on the purpose and losing access
to the power. It's also a problem because the
one who has presence in you has that purpose.
And so just the same as if you invited a friend
over your house, you say, hey, let's play poker.
Not going to gamble, but let's play poker. We'll
play cards. I'll order pizza. Then when it's
done, we'll watch a movie. Got a first -run movie.
I just bought it on Prime or something. We'll
watch that. And then they get there, and actually,
you're cleaning out the basement, throwing stuff
in a dumpster, and then you're going to put all
your stuff in a truck and move across town. And
we're like, hey, this is supposed to be poker,
pizza, and a movie. You lied to me. I'm here
for poker, pizza, and a movie, not heavy, hard
work that's going to make me sweat, and tomorrow
I'm going to be sore. You lied to me. If he comes
for... poker, pizza, and a movie, and when he
gets his hard work, if he comes that time, he
ain't going to come the next time he's promised.
Probably he's just going to try to walk back
out and say, you deceiver. God has a purpose,
and it is to bring people into a relationship
with him, and we cannot turn our back on that
purpose, because in doing, we will turn our back
on his power and on his presence. He is teaching
Jesus throughout this time on the kingdom of
God. Now, really, in the last three minutes,
I've said just about everything that you really
need to know about the kingdom of God to get
started. But there's more. All throughout Scripture,
all throughout the New Testament, there's tons
of teachings of Jesus about the kingdom of God.
But the truth is, as we'll see, there really
is no end. That's why it's the kingdom of God,
not the kingdom of a set of rules or a set of
laws or even the kingdom of a book. It's the
kingdom of God. He has no end, nor does the kingdom.
He trains them then in delivering the message.
And you know what he says? You already do. He
doesn't say to them, go and tell them that they
have sinned. He doesn't say to them, go and tell
them that they should live a certain way. Stop
doing certain things or do certain things now
that I've told you to do, right? He says, go
and tell them that what? I am alive. Go and tell
them that I am alive. I was dead. I was buried.
I am rose again. There's an internet guy. He
says, if you come to the end of a road and there's
a fork in the road, you can go right or left.
You can't go straight anymore. And there's two
guys there. One guy's dead. One guy's alive.
Who are you going to ask for directions? The
live guy, right? Because he can answer. Jesus
is alive. That's not true in any other religion.
Frankly, every other religion is dead, and everybody
who ever worshipped it or served in it is dead,
and those that are alive now will be dead, and
if they are dead in their trespasses and sins,
they're essentially already dead, and they'll
just stay dead, and then they're going to go
to hell and be dead for an eternity. And that's
apparently fine with them, because they are part
of a religion that does not lead to God. Jesus
is alive. There is only one way to the Father,
and it is through him, and it is partly, if not
mainly, if not totally, because he is alive.
One more thing then in there to see is that the
disciples will be his body now. That's interesting.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12, 27, I believe
it is, it says, Now you are the body of Christ,
and each one of us is a member of it. So what
he was basically saying is, I am bodily leaving
this earth, but actually what I'm doing is I'm
multiplying myself. When I was at Pizza Hut,
I was on the track to promote. So first I was
a shift manager at a delivery restaurant out
on Reynolds Road and I was serving there. I've
been there for about two, two and a half years,
whatever. And I was basically running the restaurant.
My manager was hardly ever around. I wrote the
schedule, did all the ordering, put all the orders
away. And my area manager came in and she says,
you're on the track to promote. And the first
thing she said to me was, when you get promoted,
will the restaurant function without you? And
I said, well, there's a couple of younger managers
and general manager can do everything that I
do. But, you know, I do it. because he's been
training me and I didn't throw him under the
bus or anything like that. I said, he's been
training me. I do most of what he could do. So
I could do the job above me for sure, which was
actually manager and training or assistant manager.
I think the guys under me could pretty much do
it. And she said, well, that's what we're going
to figure out first. First, we're going to figure
out, is there anybody behind you that can do
what you do before we take you out of here and
ruin this restaurant? Jesus was leaving, but
he wasn't really leaving. He was multiplying
himself. And now you're the body of Christ. And
you're the body of Christ. And you're the body
of Christ. Some of you are prettier. Some of
you are handsome. Some of you are more intelligent.
Some of you are more creative. Some of you are
artsy. Some of you are musical. And we all have
different spiritual gifts and that kind of thing.
And I'm not judging that any one of those things
is any better than any other one of those things.
What I know is that Jesus was multiplying himself.
And I think if we could somehow add together
our sum total of every human that will ever exist,
we could almost begin to represent God like we
were supposed to in the beginning before Adam
and Eve sinned. Now you are the body of Christ,
he says. They will be his witnesses. They will
tell and die as necessary. They will spend their
whole lives on it to the ends of the earth. They
will be empowered to stay the course to the ends
of the earth, representing Jesus. And then the
third thing to see in the text, then, is the
empowerment. Notice that they will be baptized
in the Holy Spirit. It says here and elsewhere.
Notice that they will be guided as Jesus was
guided. In fact, Luke 12 .1 says, now when they
bring you before the synagogues, the officials,
the authorities, do not worry about how or what
you are to speak in your defense or what you
are to say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you
at that very hour what you ought to say. The
Holy Spirit would be present and teach the disciples
at that very hour what they were supposed to
say at that very moment, as we talked about a
few weeks ago, at which you must tell the truth.
Oh, but it would be easier to lie than be put
to death for Christ. Easier to lie than to serve
to the extent. I submit to you that they were
told they would be inspired like Jesus was inspired.
They would be empowered like Jesus was empowered.
In truth, they would be indwelt. And that brings
us to our conclusion. Already, God the Father
wrote the plan. God the Son is here carrying
it out. God the Holy Spirit walking in and through
Jesus. Commands are given to the apostles to
continue the mission. And now the apostles will
be filled with the Holy Spirit. And the apostles
will carry out Jesus' mission in the power of
the Spirit. Which apparently they did a pretty
good job. Because here I stand before you. A
saved person who by no rights had any right to
be saved. By the Holy Spirit means that the Holy
Spirit would be the one doing the work. God is
pouring himself into them, changing them, equipping
them for the mission ahead. The church will spread
the truth to the world, display the truth to
the angels, that's Ephesians 3 .10, and be the
body of Christ, that's Corinthians 12. 27, until
he returns. The party is over. There's a mess
to clean up and a God -sized mission ahead. Do
you understand what the mess is to be cleaned
up? The apostles were going to go out into the
world and face persecution. We're talking about
Jesus. But also, who else is out there? Who's
in the world that Jesus left behind? Well, people
that he healed. Right? The paralytic. The blind
man. They're all out there. Tons of people. How
many? Hundreds? Thousands maybe? There are thousands
of people out there that Jesus fed miraculously.
Thousands of people that Jesus fed miraculously.
Is that not somebody with a question? What do
you think they want to know? Whatever happened
to the guy who fed us miraculously? Whatever
happened to the guy who healed my legs? Whatever
happened to the guy who made it so I could see
for the first time ever in my life? Whatever
happened to him? and the disciples are going
to go and answer the question, and they're going
to say, he's alive. Now he's standing at the
right hand of the Father in heaven, making intercession
for us. He has right to be Lord and Savior of
your life. Would you have him as that? You think
they would say yes? You better believe it. The
man that healed my legs is alive? How do I know
that for sure? Really? That happened? That happened?
All these witnesses? Wow. Okay, yeah. Give me
my Lord and Savior. There's a mess to be cleaned
up. There are people that were healed. And further,
there were people that weren't. Remember that
Jesus went through Galilee and there was a time
lots of people needed healed, but they didn't
really believe. And because they didn't believe,
he did only a few miracles of healing. Because
they didn't believe. Because their faith was
so weak or non -existent. And the people that
weren't healed, you think they had a question?
Sure they did. They had a question. Why didn't?
Where is the man who didn't heal me? He was certainly
something special, but I don't understand why
he didn't heal me. But you're telling me now
he's alive? And I submit to you, there was those
that he could not heal during his lifetime because
they wouldn't believe. Still walking around on
stumped legs, using bent arms, blinded, whatever.
All of that was going on. We've got people in
this room right now that need healing. And they're
going, I don't understand. But let me tell you
this. Jesus is alive! He's alive and standing
at the right hand of the Father in heaven making
intercession for you. And your ache, your hurt,
your situation that you're facing does not matter
in the grand scheme of things unless by some
chance it would draw you away from the Jesus
who will take you to heaven forever. You won't
have a stumped hand or messed up bowels. You
won't have a brain disease, tumor, anxiety. You
won't have any of that. It will all be perfect
because he's alive. The party is over and there's
a mess to clean up and a God -sized mission ahead.
There's an enemy still in the weeds. He's still
out there, still resisting the fact that Satan
has lost control of this world, that Jesus now
has control, that God has placed it fully in
his authority. Satan is beaten and weak. compared
to the Holy Spirit. Greater is he that is in
you than he that is in the world. We've got this.
We just need to stop playing with it and go and
be it and do it and take the gospel where it
needs to go, which is everywhere, including here
and wherever you don't want to go and beyond
that and ultimately to the ends of the earth.
There is kingdom work to be done. And that brings
us to our conclusion text. If you're following
along in your Bibles, if you want to go there
with me, it is Psalm 71. Psalm 71. I'll begin
reading in verse 15. And this is it. So if you're
tired, if you're warm, stretch. If you're falling
asleep, stand up. That's what it takes. Whatever
it is, you got this. Psalm 71. Here we go. Beginning
in verse 15. This is what it says. My mouth shall
tell of thy righteousness. It's a long time before
Jesus ever lived, died, was buried, and rose
again. My mouth shall tell of thy righteousness
and of thy salvation all day long. for I do not
know the sum of them. Hold on a second. I want
you to understand this. The primary reason which
we will never, ever, ever stop talking about
what God has done is because you and I do not
fathom the depth of it. When we say Jesus is
alive and believe it, we do not even begin to
understand how much that means. You understand?
You're still thinking about it in terms of what
can it mean to me? What do I know? What do I
know the world is like? What is my heart like?
Oh, my decrepit soul and the things that I've
done and I wish I had and I need to be cleansed.
We're thinking of those terms. God has so much
more that lies behind your basic understanding.
We cannot stop speaking of it because we never
know what he might use us to say. I've been immensely
blessed since I started preaching because I can
preach sometimes the same text and God will use
it to say something I never even saw there before.
I've preached Acts 1 at least three times since
I became pastor of this church. A couple of them
you can probably go and listen to online on the
podcast. But this message is uniquely different.
And none of those times did I focus on the fact
and realize the fact that Jesus was saying, He
who empowers me to be God in the flesh and be
able to use my body accordingly will now empower
you. I've never said that before. I've talked
about the power that comes with the Holy Spirit
for sure. But that was a direct connection that
he was making. We have things to say that we
don't even know what they are. You can't stop
talking because you don't know what you're going
to say. Or how far it goes. Or what it means.
Verse 16 says, I will come with the mighty deeds
of the Lord God. I will make mention of thy righteousness
thine alone. Only God. Only Christ is righteous
and can give us righteousness. Oh God, thou hast
taught me from my youth. And I still declare
thy wondrous deeds. And even when I am old and
gray, O God, do not forsake me until I declare
thy strength to this generation. And that word,
this there, it is a certain word that means this
generation in the time that I'm talking about.
He's talking about the generation when he's old.
So you have a responsibility to declare this
truth to your generation now. But by the time
we are as old as we can get, there's going to
be another generation. and then another generation.
And if it should skip three generations, we have
the same responsibility. You say, well, I can't
even talk to them. They don't understand me.
I can't even talk. They use words that don't
even make sense to me. Yeah, but you can say
he's alive. You can say he lived, he died, he
was buried, and he rose again on the third day.
And as long as English persists, they will understand
those words. They might say, man, he's sick.
And you might think, oh, no, he's sick. No, that
means good. They might say it differently to
their generation, but they need the basic truth
of it, and we have a responsibility to deliver
it even when we're old to whatever generation
comes. And if the teenagers in this room don't
get it, and God forbid, we don't want it to be
so, but if they would walk away from the Lord,
God will still raise up a faithful generation
out of the other teenagers that we have not yet
met or out of the teenagers that will come in
the next generation. God will declare his own
strength through his own people, and they will
come. Verse 19 says, For thy righteousness, because
thy righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens.
Thou hast done great things, O God. Who is like
thee? You know the answer to that question. No
one. Verse 20, Thou hast shown me many troubles
and distresses. In other words, I've been through
it. I've been through the ringer at times. I
have had first -hand experience with some stuff
I would never have liked to see. A trouble is
what happens on the outside and it sucks. A distress
is what happens on the inside and it sucks. He
says, Thou hast shown me many troubles and distresses.
Wilt revive me again. That is to say, God will
revive me again. And will bring me up again from
the depths of the earth. No matter how far down
I go, God will bring me up again. Mayest thou
increase my greatness and turn to comfort me.
I will also praise thee with a harp. Even thy
truth, O my God. To thee I will sing praises
with the lyre, O thou holy one of Israel. My
lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to
thee, and my soul, which thou hast redeemed,
my tongue also will utter thy righteousness all
day long. For they are ashamed, for they are
humiliated, who seek my hurt. You understand,
if somebody kills you and does not come to the
Lord, they will spend eternity in hell. If somebody
curses your name, somebody mocks you, It does
not turn their life over to the Lord Jesus Christ.
They will spend eternity in hell. And I submit
to you that what they did to you, what put them
there, will be on constant playback for an eternity.
He cursed my name. July 15, 2025. And they'll
hear what they said to you over and over and
over again for an eternity. We don't have to
do anything to them. God's already got it well
under control. We do have to do something to
them. We have to tell them the truth. Jesus is
alive. Jesus is alive and accordingly there is
something we need to do. Now you heard in there
this is going to be something. You heard in there
that we will praise the Lord and it's specifically
named with a harp or with a lyre. I don't have
a harp. But I am a liar. This is a liar. Ariana's
learning to play Amazing Grace on it. It's mostly
tuned. And up here on the surface, here on the
front of it, up here, we've written the letters
for the notes of Amazing Grace. So somebody who's
kind of like dexterous like Ariana can just go
like that and pluck the notes. So somebody could
play the lyre and praise God. Who wants to do
it? Alright. Here you go. It's Amazing Grace.
You can play that song or you can play something
else. Sorting it out. They're all there. We're
waiting to see if it sounds like Amazing Grace.
The one with the dash is the higher. Everything
else is in the lower range. So play G, play C.
Those are the notes. No, not at the same time.
One after another. That was pretty close. I'm
playing upside down. Say that. I'm sorry. All
right, so you're going to try. Here we go. Don't
laugh. Yeah, like... I'm sorry. Yeah, that's
fine. Okay. Want to also try it? Amen. Thank
you. Stand over. Ready? Same thing. I got this.
I got this. Okay, you do it without me. Go. Sorry.
Okay, next person. Tim? Okay, after service,
anyone can try it. Let me ask you a question.
Haley, why was it so difficult? Simple answer.
Why was it difficult? I don't know. Have you
ever done it before? No. If you had done it before,
it would be easier? No. So probably that's why
it's difficult. Part of it. Why was it so difficult?
Other than the fact that I was helping you. Don't
blame it on me. Why was it so difficult? It's
harder to read the instructions. It's harder
to read the instructions. Okay. Tim, why was
it difficult? Tim can play multiple instruments.
The keys, the strings, the guitar, they're all
different, right? Why is it so difficult? It's
so difficult because that's not what you're good
at. It's not what you've done before. You haven't
practiced it. You haven't drilled down on it.
Ariana's practiced playing this song with these
little notes here quite a bit. In fact, she took
it to school one day and showed it to her band
instructor, and so now they've asked her to play
it at the band concert in front of the entire
audience. And she took a deep breath and went...
I don't know about that. So we'll see whether
she does it or not. That's up to her. It's between
her and the Lord. My point is this. He was saying
to the apostles, I'm asking you to do what you've
never done. I want you to take this message that
I am alive and take it to everyone. And yes,
you will be persecuted. And he said, when you're
persecuted, you know, they persecuted me first.
Right? When they hate you, realize they hated
me first. When they refuse to listen, take the
dust off your feet and move on to the next time.
The power is in the Holy Spirit. The purpose
that God has, if we say no to the purpose, which
is for the church to deliver the gospel to the
world, the truth, beginning with the fact that
Jesus is alive to the world, then we say no to
the purpose. If we say no to the purpose, we
say no to the power. If we say no to the purpose
and the power, you're essentially saying no to
the presence. Because God has just one God. He
wants to bring people to himself. And that's
what we have to do. Now, you may do it by learning
to play the lyre, or you may do it by learning
to fix cars, or you may do it by learning to
quote Bible verses, or post memes, TikToks or
whatever, things like that. You may learn a lot
of different things that you can learn to try
to get there. The question is just as simple.
Will you follow Jesus? In fact, it really is,
will you become the body of Christ? And do what
Jesus set out to do? That's the question. And
you're going to be like, I don't know. I've never
done that before. It's freaked me out a little
bit. It's going to be hard. Yeah. But somebody
can play the liar. And it's the one who practiced.
It's the one who took the steps. It's the one
who bought a liar. Whatever. And you can do it
too. You can share the gospel in whatever situation
you're in. You can tell people he was dead, he
was buried, he was risen. He is alive. I have
met Him personally. I have a personal... If you
could just get as far as to say, I have a personal
relationship with Him and I really would like
for you to have that. And if they say no at that
point, then it's no. But if you could just get
that far, then I think you can. If you just realize
the only thing stopping you from doing it is
doing it. We'll have the praise team to come
forward at this time. We're going to have a closing
hymn. This is going to end our service, but you're
here today. I know the Lord's been speaking to
your heart in some way. You know, I've got to
do what I've got to do. I've got to do what God's
calling me to do. And you respond to the Lord
and say, yes, I will do it. Right where you sit,
you don't need me for that. You say, okay, God,
I'm going to do it. But then if God impresses
a point in your heart, you can make that decision
publicly. Like say, maybe this is my church.
I can go, hey, God has told me this is going
to be my church. Or say, I need to be baptized.
Or say, I need to give. Or I need to serve. Or
whatever it might be. And you say, okay, God,
I'll do it. And then God says, make that decision
publicly. And you come up here and you tell me.
And together, we'll tell the group. And everybody
prays together. And we say, okay. Watch this.
And why do you tell? Because you've got no knowledge
that's finite compared to the whole of the message.
You could tell somebody about Jesus, they could
accept Jesus, and then they could take it to
their hometown or a whole country. The gospel
could spread like wildfire starting with the
one. I submit to you that that's how it usually
works. It's one step away. Just outside the reach
of Christians who won't quite do what they're
supposed to do. That's where the real kingdom
growth lies. So let's be Christians who will
do what we're supposed to do. Would you stand
with me and sing this song for the Lord who's
laid something on your heart today that you need
to share with us when you come and respond? Make
this your prayer to God today. Will you sing
it out or just say it where you're standing?
Thank you to all of you for being patient with
me today as I felt the Lord move in to do some
things a little bit differently. I hope you were
blessed. I hope you've been blessed to be in
the house of the Lord today. I hope you're blessed
by the message that God is speaking and that
it's not for only a certain time.