1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,000 Dear God, we thank you so much for all that you do. 2 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:10,200 As we just heard in song, you know, when we have troubles and trials and stresses, there 3 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:12,000 is Jesus. 4 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:18,660 We thank you for this church and those that are willing to serve and take part, those 5 00:00:18,660 --> 00:00:22,320 that have done it in the past, and those who are doing it into the future. 6 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:25,280 Just guide and bless us in all that we do. 7 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:27,080 In your name we pray. 8 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:28,080 Amen. 9 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:32,960 I'm pretty sure that song you sung, Dolly Parton sings that doesn't she, as well, in 10 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:33,960 a duet. 11 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:38,320 So it's an appropriate song because we've got Dolly's painting, you know, just like 12 00:00:38,320 --> 00:00:40,600 three blocks from here. 13 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:46,120 But we had a very beautiful rendition of that. 14 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:55,480 So the story goes that the babies were due about January 24, and yes, I said babies, 15 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:56,920 as in plural. 16 00:00:56,920 --> 00:01:03,280 So there was more than one baby that was due on January 24. 17 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:11,280 And they did not get a phone call that day, but it was New Year's Eve, which is December 18 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:19,600 31, and mama said, you know what, I think today would be a good day to go to the hospital. 19 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:22,900 This was just, you know, two weeks ago on New Year's Eve. 20 00:01:22,900 --> 00:01:27,940 Her husband, the father, the mother's name was Eve, the father's name was Billy. 21 00:01:27,940 --> 00:01:33,460 He was excited because his birthday is actually on New Year's Eve. 22 00:01:33,460 --> 00:01:36,900 So these twins were going to be born on his birthday. 23 00:01:36,900 --> 00:01:39,640 So he was really excited about that. 24 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:41,920 And so they went to the hospital. 25 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:52,880 And in the course of time, as things go, baby number one, Ezra, was born at 1148 p.m. 26 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:55,360 on New Year's Eve. 27 00:01:55,360 --> 00:02:00,520 And they say that as they were in the delivery room, you know, when you're wanting the mother 28 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:04,600 to breathe a certain way, you count, you know, one, two, three. 29 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:05,760 I don't know how high they go. 30 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:07,760 I don't remember. 31 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:12,180 But as they were counting up for breathing, they could hear in the hall people counting 32 00:02:12,180 --> 00:02:18,120 down 10, nine, eight to midnight to the brand new year. 33 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:28,600 And so by the time baby number two, Ezekiel, was born, it was 1220 a.m. on New Year's Day, 34 00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:30,720 January 1. 35 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:40,280 So Ezra and Ezekiel were born 30 minutes apart, but it was two different days, two different 36 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:44,560 months and even two different years. 37 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:45,560 They weren't due. 38 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:46,560 They still weren't due yet. 39 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:52,520 They did not tell January 24, but those babies did not want to wait. 40 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:56,520 And so they came when the time was right. 41 00:02:56,520 --> 00:03:00,440 Sometimes in life, we don't like to wait for things. 42 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:08,240 How do we respond when we've been challenged or asked to wait for something? 43 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:12,740 Sometimes the waiting makes us excited as we're looking forward to something. 44 00:03:12,740 --> 00:03:18,440 Maybe we're grumpy because we're in anticipation of something that is to come. 45 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:25,580 Maybe we are, you know, nobody wants to be around us because the way that we're responding 46 00:03:25,580 --> 00:03:30,080 to this unanticipated wait. 47 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:31,480 What are some things we wait for? 48 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:37,040 Maybe we counted down to Christmas or counted down to New Year's or maybe you've got a birthday 49 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:38,040 coming up. 50 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:40,440 Today's my brother's birthday. 51 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:42,720 He's older than I am. 52 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:47,320 Maybe it's a graduation that you're looking forward to in a couple months and or a vacation 53 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:49,880 or whatever it happens to be. 54 00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:53,440 Oftentimes we don't like to wait. 55 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:58,100 And yet here we are in a brand new year, 2024. 56 00:03:58,100 --> 00:04:06,200 And as we look ahead, there's perhaps uncertainty in the year ahead. 57 00:04:06,200 --> 00:04:13,160 A lot of people looking at a lot of different factors think 2024 could be epic. 58 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:15,420 It could be earth shaking. 59 00:04:15,420 --> 00:04:19,880 And it seems like every day, every week, there's some kind of news story. 60 00:04:19,880 --> 00:04:25,880 Like on New Year's Day, 13 days ago, what was the story of the day? 61 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:31,480 It was actually an earth shaking year because in Japan there was a big earthquake. 62 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:35,760 And I don't know the death toll of what it is up to. 63 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:38,400 But something happened. 64 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:45,520 Then Ukraine, you know, every day almost there's bombs being dropped and cities being exploded 65 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:47,500 and tensions. 66 00:04:47,500 --> 00:04:49,880 And then a week ago, a school shooting took place. 67 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:53,600 On the very first day, the kids are back to school. 68 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:57,120 There was a shooting that took place in Iowa. 69 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:03,060 And this week there's, you know, snowstorms and freezing temperatures and whatever else 70 00:05:03,060 --> 00:05:05,480 the news story might be. 71 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:10,720 And to cap it all off, 2024 is an election year. 72 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:12,520 Have mercy. 73 00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:16,740 In a normal year, there's a lot of tension and contention in an election year. 74 00:05:16,740 --> 00:05:21,200 But in this year, it seems like it's going to be amped up so much more. 75 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:26,720 And let me just say here, in this place, we're not going to talk about politics. 76 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:27,720 We're not going to take side. 77 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:29,520 We're not going to do any of that. 78 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:32,320 We're going to talk about the Bible. 79 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:34,120 We're going to talk about Jesus. 80 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:35,800 So don't worry about that. 81 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:40,920 But just be aware that there's so much uncertainty in this world. 82 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:46,880 And what we're going to be doing here is looking at what it means to live as Christians in 83 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:49,360 this world of uncertainty. 84 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:52,580 Now we are beginning a brand new sermon series today. 85 00:05:52,580 --> 00:05:57,800 For the next several weeks and months, we're going to be looking at the book of Acts. 86 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:03,640 So the sermon series is consumed because for the first several weeks, at least the first 87 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:10,520 several chapters of Acts, it talks about the people of God who were consumed by their passion 88 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:11,520 for God. 89 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:15,840 And then in a couple of weeks, we'll talk about tongues of fire, the Holy Spirit coming 90 00:06:15,840 --> 00:06:19,440 down upon them that consumed them even more. 91 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:22,680 And so our title today is, is Wait For It. 92 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:29,120 But as we are studying this book of Acts, we're going to be looking at the disciples 93 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:31,680 at the early church. 94 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:38,160 In fact, the book of Acts is basically the origin story of the Christian church. 95 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:43,920 The reason we're here today, the reason there are churches scattered across the city and 96 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:48,520 the country is because of what happened in the book of Acts. 97 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:56,160 They were ordinary people living out their lives in an antagonistic society, seeking 98 00:06:56,160 --> 00:07:04,960 to draw closer to Jesus and at the same time, seeking to let others know about Jesus as 99 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:06,320 well. 100 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:08,940 So turn to the book of Acts. 101 00:07:08,940 --> 00:07:14,400 We're going to start here in Acts chapter one, and we're going to be flipping a little 102 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:16,880 bit back to another book as well. 103 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:22,080 So Acts chapter one, this origin story of the church, I'm going to read a couple of 104 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:24,340 verses here. 105 00:07:24,340 --> 00:07:28,840 We talked about this in the kids Sabbath school that I sat in. 106 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:33,600 This is one of their little Bible questions that they had. 107 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:42,280 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus begun both to do and teach 108 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:48,560 until the day in which he was taken up after he through the Holy Spirit had given commandments 109 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:51,680 to the apostles whom he had chosen. 110 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:53,160 What? 111 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:59,920 And it goes on in verse three, to whom he also presented himself alive after his sufferings 112 00:07:59,920 --> 00:08:07,280 by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during 40 days and speaking of the things 113 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:10,560 pertaining to the kingdom of God. 114 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:15,480 That's a lot of information packed into those three verses. 115 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:23,320 So what we need to understand as we're getting into the book of Acts, that Acts is actually 116 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:24,920 a sequel. 117 00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:27,000 It's part two. 118 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:31,200 Does anybody know what was the prequel? 119 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:33,000 Do you remember the book? 120 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:37,160 Okay, the book of Luke, the gospel of Luke. 121 00:08:37,160 --> 00:08:44,420 So Luke, who we later find out is a doctor, he wrote the gospel of Luke, and he also wrote 122 00:08:44,420 --> 00:08:45,520 the book of Acts. 123 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:50,780 And if you were to read the first four verses of the gospel of Luke, it would be much like 124 00:08:50,780 --> 00:08:52,080 this. 125 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:57,560 And we would find that Luke, although he was not a disciple, he was not one who walked 126 00:08:57,560 --> 00:09:04,240 with Jesus, who saw all those miracles, Luke actually kind of was like a journalist. 127 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:10,840 It seems like he went and interviewed people or talked to people, and he heard their stories, 128 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:16,040 and guided by the Holy Spirit, he was able to write down the story of Jesus. 129 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:23,120 And he wrote it to a particular person, just like here, someone named Theophilus. 130 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:30,760 And this book of Acts is part two, and he's writing again to Theophilus. 131 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:39,280 It's a common name, but it means God lover, Theo or Theos is God, and Philos, you know, 132 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:41,400 Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love. 133 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:44,480 So that name means lover of God. 134 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:51,480 So hopefully, each of us here could consider ourselves a lover of God, a God lover. 135 00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:57,440 And so all these words that we read here in the first three verses, you could kind of 136 00:09:57,440 --> 00:10:05,040 sum it up like if you were watching a television show that was continued, it might say previously 137 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:08,820 on ER or whatever the show is. 138 00:10:08,820 --> 00:10:12,120 This is previously in the life of Jesus. 139 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:15,080 You remember what I wrote to you before, Theophilus? 140 00:10:15,080 --> 00:10:23,080 Here, he's summing it up in just a couple verses, previously in the life of Jesus. 141 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:29,560 Now in just a moment, we're going to see that Jesus asked his disciples to wait. 142 00:10:29,560 --> 00:10:31,880 And we don't always like to wait. 143 00:10:31,880 --> 00:10:34,120 Those babies, they didn't want to wait. 144 00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:35,760 They came when the time was right. 145 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:41,400 It was about a week ago, a week and a half ago, Jolie and I were in the car and we were 146 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:47,680 on I-75 and we were driving north from like Udua up towards Cleveland. 147 00:10:47,680 --> 00:10:50,280 So I-75 north. 148 00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:55,600 And as sometimes happens, the car in front of us was going slow. 149 00:10:55,600 --> 00:10:58,640 And I don't mean going the speed limit slow. 150 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:02,600 You know, we sometimes think if you're actually going the speed limit, you're going, they 151 00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:06,320 were going like 10 miles an hour under the speed limit. 152 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:11,200 And it just happened to be we were in one of those places where we couldn't get by. 153 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:13,340 You know, the traffic was zipping by. 154 00:11:13,340 --> 00:11:15,200 There was no brakes. 155 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:19,400 And we couldn't get around this slow driver. 156 00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:24,400 And normally, you can ask Jolie, sometimes I'm a little impatient when there's, you 157 00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:29,740 know, someone impeding the progress of where we were supposed to be going. 158 00:11:29,740 --> 00:11:37,080 But in this case, I wasn't so impatient because on the back of the car was a little sign and 159 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:41,560 it said student driver, student driver. 160 00:11:41,560 --> 00:11:46,640 And eventually we were able to get into the other lane and we went by and we looked over 161 00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:53,280 and there was the instructor in the passenger seat and in the driver's seat was a tiny little 162 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:58,600 young lady with a look of terror upon her face. 163 00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:04,040 And we imagined that probably she was hoping to get her driver's license soon. 164 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:09,000 And maybe this was the very first time she had ever gotten onto the interstate and was 165 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:11,780 asked to go 70 miles an hour. 166 00:12:11,780 --> 00:12:18,400 And so we had a little more patience as we felt sorry for this young lady. 167 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:19,820 We were able to be patient. 168 00:12:19,820 --> 00:12:24,560 We were able to wait because we knew why we were waiting. 169 00:12:24,560 --> 00:12:27,840 There was a sign that said student driver. 170 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:33,480 If we know why we're waiting, sometimes it's a little bit easier to wait. 171 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:41,220 So as we read on in this story in verse four, Jesus asked that of his disciples. 172 00:12:41,220 --> 00:12:47,480 It says, and being assembled together with them, he commanded them not to depart from 173 00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:56,340 Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the father, which he said you had heard from me. 174 00:12:56,340 --> 00:13:02,920 For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit, not 175 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:05,080 many days hence. 176 00:13:05,080 --> 00:13:09,160 Now Jesus didn't tell them how long they had to wait. 177 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:13,760 It says, oh, it's going to be not too long, but I'm not going to tell you exactly. 178 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:18,260 But he did tell them what they were waiting for. 179 00:13:18,260 --> 00:13:23,400 They were waiting for something that I had talked about before. 180 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:26,440 And it says here the Holy Spirit. 181 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:32,240 So we could do a whole sermon series on the Holy Spirit, but let's just look at a couple 182 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:33,240 of verses. 183 00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:34,240 So we're going to go to Luke. 184 00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:37,060 Remember, Luke is the prequel. 185 00:13:37,060 --> 00:13:44,860 So this is the same story, the same author, Luke 24, the very last chapter of the Gospel 186 00:13:44,860 --> 00:13:45,880 of Luke. 187 00:13:45,880 --> 00:13:49,240 And notice what Jesus said. 188 00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:54,080 Perhaps it's the same conversation, just worded a little bit differently. 189 00:13:54,080 --> 00:14:02,480 Luke 24 verse 49, behold, I send the promise of my father upon you, but tarry in the city 190 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:04,200 of Jerusalem. 191 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:06,520 Now what does tarry mean? 192 00:14:06,520 --> 00:14:08,520 Tarry means to wait. 193 00:14:08,520 --> 00:14:14,520 Wait in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high. 194 00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:18,980 And so Jesus asks his disciples to wait. 195 00:14:18,980 --> 00:14:20,400 Let's explore this a little further. 196 00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:23,040 Let's go to the Gospel of John. 197 00:14:23,040 --> 00:14:28,760 Now there's lots and lots of scriptures that talk about the Holy Spirit. 198 00:14:28,760 --> 00:14:34,000 But probably the most concentrated area is three chapters right in a row. 199 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:42,160 John 14, 15, and 16 talk about the Holy Spirit. 200 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:49,360 So let's look at John chapter 14 and we're going to read verses 16 and 17. 201 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:55,700 It says, Jesus says, it's written in red in my Bible, and I will pray the Father and He 202 00:14:55,700 --> 00:15:02,620 will give you another helper that He may abide with you forever. 203 00:15:02,620 --> 00:15:03,620 What helper? 204 00:15:03,620 --> 00:15:09,880 Well, verse 17, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither 205 00:15:09,880 --> 00:15:17,000 sees Him nor knows Him, but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 206 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:20,440 Now it says, another helper. 207 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:28,560 Now the way that word looks in the original, it means another of the same kind. 208 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:34,240 You know, you could have another that's totally different, but this means another helper. 209 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:39,040 Some versions say comforter, another of the same kind. 210 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:45,040 Now if you were to go back to the first verses of John chapter 14, you probably memorized 211 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:49,360 them, at least some of you have at some point in some Sabbath school class. 212 00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:52,600 It says, let not your hearts be troubled. 213 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:57,040 You believe in God, believe also in me, in my Father's house are many mansions. 214 00:15:57,040 --> 00:15:59,620 If it were not so, I would have told you. 215 00:15:59,620 --> 00:16:08,860 And then it says, I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go, I will come again. 216 00:16:08,860 --> 00:16:13,800 And so Jesus had just told His disciples, I'm about to leave. 217 00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:18,240 I'm going in the near future to prepare a place for you. 218 00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:22,320 That could be heart wrenching for those disciples. 219 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:28,080 And here just a few verses later, He says, I'm going, but I'm going to send another, 220 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:33,840 another just like me, another helper, another comforter is going to come in my place. 221 00:16:33,840 --> 00:16:37,340 And He's referred to as the Spirit of truth. 222 00:16:37,340 --> 00:16:43,240 We can go, excuse me, to John chapter 16, John chapter 16. 223 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:53,000 And it says something very similar in John chapter 16, verses 15 and 16. 224 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:56,640 It says, actually let's go back to verse 14, John 16, 14. 225 00:16:56,640 --> 00:17:04,840 It says, He will glorify me, for He will take of what is mine and declare it to you all 226 00:17:04,840 --> 00:17:07,440 things that the Father has are mine. 227 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:12,480 Therefore I said that He will take of mine and declare it to you. 228 00:17:12,480 --> 00:17:14,800 That's the role of the Holy Spirit. 229 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:22,320 As He comes to take the place of Jesus, He comes to remind us of what Jesus has said. 230 00:17:22,320 --> 00:17:28,680 He comes to remind us of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done. 231 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:36,000 And so Jesus says, He told His disciples, I'm leaving, but I'm going to send someone 232 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:42,880 in my place that's going to be just like me and do incredible things. 233 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:47,840 Let's turn back to Acts chapter 1, our scripture reading of the day, which Colton did an amazing 234 00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:48,840 job reading. 235 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:49,840 Thank you. 236 00:17:49,840 --> 00:17:51,400 Acts 1 and verse 8. 237 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:53,440 Yeah, he's raising his hand back there. 238 00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:54,440 Good job. 239 00:17:54,440 --> 00:18:06,720 Acts 1 and verse 8, it says, but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come 240 00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:07,960 upon you. 241 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:14,720 So Jesus first gave them a promise and then this promise is for power. 242 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:20,040 I'm just going to warn you right now, we preachers like things that sound similar. 243 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:23,820 So there's going to be another word that starts with P in just a moment. 244 00:18:23,820 --> 00:18:27,720 So there's a promise and there's a power. 245 00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:36,400 Now my Bible and many Bibles say the Acts of the Apostles, because it's about the early 246 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:39,640 church and the apostles and so forth. 247 00:18:39,640 --> 00:18:46,000 But many commentators have said that Acts could legitimately be called the Acts of the 248 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:47,960 Holy Spirit. 249 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:53,640 Because if you were to read through the book of Acts and underline or circle every time 250 00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:59,920 that the Holy Spirit is mentioned, either by name, Holy Spirit or spirit, or by reference 251 00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:05,560 such as power or promise, every single chapter, except I think it's just one chapter in the 252 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:11,160 book of Acts, does not in some way reference the Holy Spirit. 253 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:15,240 And the book of Acts is about power. 254 00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:19,240 Now there's another word there, power is the word dunamis. 255 00:19:19,240 --> 00:19:22,000 And that's where we get the word dynamite. 256 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:27,320 So you can think of what kind of power that is, explosive power, kinetic power, energetic 257 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:28,960 power. 258 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:30,820 And think of the book of Acts. 259 00:19:30,820 --> 00:19:38,100 It's a book full of miracles, healings take place, resurrections take place. 260 00:19:38,100 --> 00:19:43,940 People suddenly speak in different languages so that 15 different nations can understand 261 00:19:43,940 --> 00:19:47,720 at the same time all of these different things. 262 00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:52,960 People are willing to stand up in the face of authority with the threat of death upon 263 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:56,440 them and still stand for Jesus. 264 00:19:56,440 --> 00:20:05,120 There's this life changing power of the Holy Spirit, life changing, Christ copying, world 265 00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:09,640 telling power of the Holy Spirit. 266 00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:11,000 But how does that verse go on? 267 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:16,880 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. 268 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:22,760 There's the third P, there's a promise, there's power, and then there's a purpose. 269 00:20:22,760 --> 00:20:28,000 What is the purpose for this promise of the power of the Holy Spirit? 270 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:35,440 The purpose is not for you to get famous, for you to get rich, for you to be a viral 271 00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:38,200 person on the internet or anything like that. 272 00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:45,500 The purpose as it says, you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. 273 00:20:45,500 --> 00:20:54,720 And you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends 274 00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:55,960 of the earth. 275 00:20:55,960 --> 00:21:01,480 The purpose of the Spirit is for you to be a witness. 276 00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:03,460 Now what does that mean? 277 00:21:03,460 --> 00:21:10,240 That doesn't mean you have to understand or memorize every single Bible verse that there 278 00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:11,840 is. 279 00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:18,920 To be a witness simply means to tell your story of Jesus. 280 00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:21,640 What has Jesus done in your life? 281 00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:23,840 What has Jesus meant to you? 282 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:28,080 What difference has Jesus made in your life? 283 00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:36,580 You see in this day, the story of Jesus, it was about 40 days or so before this, depending 284 00:21:36,580 --> 00:21:40,120 on when this actual verse took place. 285 00:21:40,120 --> 00:21:47,040 The story of Jesus was already world saving, but the world didn't know it yet. 286 00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:53,520 The world was saved, it had the opportunity to be saved, but it didn't know yet. 287 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:58,040 Let's turn back to Luke 24, because remember Luke is the prequel here. 288 00:21:58,040 --> 00:22:02,720 So let's look at Luke 24 and verse 46. 289 00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:07,760 What is this that we are supposed to be witnesses of? 290 00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:17,240 Luke 24 verse 46, it says, Then Jesus said to them, thus it is written, and thus it was 291 00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:20,640 necessary for the Christ to suffer. 292 00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:23,080 That's the story of the cross. 293 00:22:23,080 --> 00:22:28,680 And to rise from the dead the third day, that's the resurrection right there. 294 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:36,160 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all nations 295 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:38,180 beginning at Jerusalem. 296 00:22:38,180 --> 00:22:41,080 And you are witnesses of these things. 297 00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:47,240 Jesus died, Jesus rose, Jesus forgives your sins and my sins. 298 00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:50,120 And that's what we can be witnesses of. 299 00:22:50,120 --> 00:22:57,560 What Jesus has done for us, what a difference Jesus makes in our life. 300 00:22:57,560 --> 00:23:05,240 It was a story of world saving consequences, but the people didn't know it yet. 301 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:11,080 Now the last little portion of Acts 1, 8, you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, 302 00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:14,200 Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. 303 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:20,200 That's actually kind of an outline, a table of contents if you will, for the rest of the 304 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:22,000 book of Acts. 305 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:26,960 Because if you were to read through the book of Acts, that's where the disciples went. 306 00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:29,000 They started in Jerusalem. 307 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:31,600 Then they went out a little further to Judea. 308 00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:34,780 And then in Acts 7 and 8 they're in Samaria. 309 00:23:34,780 --> 00:23:37,320 And then they're going throughout the Roman Empire. 310 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:41,980 They're going to the world that they knew at that time. 311 00:23:41,980 --> 00:23:47,720 And that could seem like an impossible thing. 312 00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:53,960 And it would have been, except for the promise of the power of the Holy Spirit. 313 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:55,760 And there was a purpose. 314 00:23:55,760 --> 00:23:59,280 Let's crunch some numbers here real quick. 315 00:23:59,280 --> 00:24:05,080 By the time you get to the end of Acts 1, there was about 120 people, it says, in the 316 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:06,080 upper room. 317 00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:09,200 120 followers of Jesus. 318 00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:12,400 Historians tell us, I don't know how they get their numbers, but there was about 18 319 00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:15,240 million people in the Roman Empire. 320 00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:20,240 So 120 Christians, 18 million people in the Roman Empire. 321 00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:28,000 If you do the math, it's about one Christian for every 1.4 million people. 322 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:35,800 Except for the promise of the power and the purpose of the Holy Spirit. 323 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:38,440 So let's fast forward about 2,000 years. 324 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:42,880 And let's just take our own denomination, the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 325 00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:48,720 There's about 20 million, probably a little bit more than that now, 20 million Seventh-day 326 00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:50,720 Adventists across the world. 327 00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:54,200 And how many people are in the world? 328 00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:57,640 About 8 billion people is the last number I heard. 329 00:24:57,640 --> 00:25:04,000 So if you crunch those numbers, there's about one Seventh-day Adventist for every 400 people 330 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:05,000 in the world. 331 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:06,800 That's a lot closer. 332 00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:12,640 It's still a big task, except for the promise and the power of the Holy Spirit. 333 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:17,320 If we're bringing it a little bit closer to home, let's just take Georgia Cumberland Conference 334 00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:19,280 that we're a part of. 335 00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:25,320 There's about 40, 42,000 Seventh-day Adventists in Georgia and East Tennessee. 336 00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:33,240 And with the population, it's about one Seventh-day Adventist for every 314 in Georgia and East 337 00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:34,240 Tennessee. 338 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:42,600 So still a big number, still challenging, but we have this promise of the Holy Spirit. 339 00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:49,200 Now when we think about this list of places, Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of 340 00:25:49,200 --> 00:25:53,560 the earth, that sounds like exotic places to go. 341 00:25:53,560 --> 00:26:00,660 But I don't think this verse is telling us to go to Samaria or wherever wars may be happening 342 00:26:00,660 --> 00:26:08,440 or whatever, because for the disciples, Jerusalem was not an exotic locale. 343 00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:09,860 Jerusalem was home. 344 00:26:09,860 --> 00:26:13,360 They opened up their door and there was Jerusalem. 345 00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:16,140 And then they spread out a little bit further. 346 00:26:16,140 --> 00:26:22,320 So I think this verse for us is not telling us we have to go far, far away, but we have 347 00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:30,960 to go to Georgia, to Catoosa, to Ringgold, to the street that you live on, maybe even 348 00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:32,160 in your own house. 349 00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:34,160 Maybe that's where the mission field is. 350 00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:35,680 Maybe it's the house next door. 351 00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:38,800 Maybe it's your office and the place where you work. 352 00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:44,000 That's the place where you can tell people what Jesus has done for you. 353 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:47,240 There was a story about a week or two ago. 354 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:48,240 It's a sports story. 355 00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:49,240 I apologize. 356 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:51,200 I enjoy sports. 357 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:53,400 There's a quarterback for the Denver Broncos. 358 00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:55,800 His name is Russell Wilson. 359 00:26:55,800 --> 00:27:00,120 He used to be on the Seattle Seahawks and a couple years ago he won a Super Bowl. 360 00:27:00,120 --> 00:27:04,040 He was on Denver this last season and he was doing okay. 361 00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:05,120 He wasn't doing great. 362 00:27:05,120 --> 00:27:07,400 He wasn't doing horrible. 363 00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:11,800 But a few weeks ago he got word that he was going to be benched. 364 00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:14,920 He was going to sit on the bench and not play anymore. 365 00:27:14,920 --> 00:27:19,600 And for an athlete, that's a huge thing, pride and all that. 366 00:27:19,600 --> 00:27:23,040 And he wasn't being benched because he was playing poorly. 367 00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:30,120 He was being benched because the way that his contract read that if he was injured at some 368 00:27:30,120 --> 00:27:35,320 date in the future, I think it's in February, that if he wasn't able to pass a physical, 369 00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:39,000 the team was going to have to pay him a huge amount of money. 370 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:41,260 And the team said, you know what? 371 00:27:41,260 --> 00:27:44,000 We don't really want to pay him all this extra money. 372 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:47,120 So we want to make sure that he is not injured. 373 00:27:47,120 --> 00:27:50,920 So you don't get to play anymore and risk injury. 374 00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:53,000 You have to sit on the bench. 375 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:59,520 And so you could imagine that that was hurtful, that as athletes go, he had every right to 376 00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:00,840 be upset about that. 377 00:28:00,840 --> 00:28:05,000 And so Russell Wilson posted something on social media. 378 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:06,840 He didn't curse anybody out. 379 00:28:06,840 --> 00:28:10,200 He didn't gripe at the owners or anything like that. 380 00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:12,200 This is what he said. 381 00:28:12,200 --> 00:28:17,960 He said, God's got me looking forward to what's next. 382 00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:19,720 That was his response. 383 00:28:19,720 --> 00:28:26,120 He had a reason, if you will, to be upset, to be angry. 384 00:28:26,120 --> 00:28:27,400 But that's what he said. 385 00:28:27,400 --> 00:28:32,040 God's got me looking forward to what's next. 386 00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:36,360 I don't know what your 2023 was like. 387 00:28:36,360 --> 00:28:40,800 There was probably some challenging situations that you faced, whether it was health issues 388 00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:44,840 or financial issues or relationship issues. 389 00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:50,000 There's probably plenty of reasons to be upset. 390 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:53,400 But can we share this testimony? 391 00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:55,200 God's got me. 392 00:28:55,200 --> 00:28:57,640 Now you may be able to see the number down there. 393 00:28:57,640 --> 00:29:02,880 86,000 people liked this little post that he made. 394 00:29:02,880 --> 00:29:08,640 Now we're probably not going to be able to tell 86,000 people that God's got us. 395 00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:11,000 But could you tell eight? 396 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:15,200 Could you tell the people that you interact with every day that know the pain and the 397 00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:22,080 suffering that you're going through, that no matter what's happening, God has got you? 398 00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:24,880 That's what the disciples were supposed to do. 399 00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:28,200 Tell what Jesus had done for them. 400 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:32,240 Let's read a couple more verses here, and then we'll be done in just a moment. 401 00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:34,160 Acts 1, verse 9. 402 00:29:34,160 --> 00:29:40,440 It says, Now when he had spoken these things, while they watched, he was taken up, and a 403 00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:44,280 cloud received him out of their sight. 404 00:29:44,280 --> 00:29:50,100 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them 405 00:29:50,100 --> 00:29:52,000 in white apparel. 406 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:58,280 So imagine the disciples are there, they're talking with Jesus, and suddenly, what must 407 00:29:58,280 --> 00:29:59,520 that have been like? 408 00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:02,920 Jesus just starts floating up into heaven. 409 00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:08,440 Their jaws are probably dropped, but also their hearts are broken, because Jesus had 410 00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:13,120 told them he was leaving, and now he is leaving. 411 00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:18,220 We remember just 40 days before, Jesus had died on a cross, and the disciples had locked 412 00:30:18,220 --> 00:30:22,720 themselves in the room, because they didn't know what was going to happen. 413 00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:26,680 And now he came back to life, but now he's leaving. 414 00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:29,240 But two people show up in white apparel. 415 00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:30,240 Angels show up. 416 00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:38,120 This is what the angels say, verse 11, who also said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand 417 00:30:38,120 --> 00:30:40,600 gazing up into heaven? 418 00:30:40,600 --> 00:30:43,480 Why are you standing there gazing up into heaven? 419 00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:50,760 This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as 420 00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:53,400 you saw him go into heaven. 421 00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:58,280 This verse has a lot of visual words here to remind us that one day, Jesus is coming 422 00:30:58,280 --> 00:31:02,920 back, and every eye will see him, this same Jesus. 423 00:31:02,920 --> 00:31:09,880 But this word that the angels said to the disciples, why are you standing here? 424 00:31:09,880 --> 00:31:13,520 Didn't Jesus give you a promise? 425 00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:16,440 Didn't he give you power? 426 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:19,320 Didn't he give you a purpose? 427 00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:21,460 Why are you standing here? 428 00:31:21,460 --> 00:31:30,640 Is it possible for us to dream about heaven and to forget about our mission here on earth? 429 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:37,920 This same Jesus is coming, and we have the privilege of telling the world. 430 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:44,400 One more verse, just a couple down, verse 14, because before they could go, Jesus had 431 00:31:44,400 --> 00:31:45,640 told them to do something. 432 00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:47,720 What did they have to do? 433 00:31:47,720 --> 00:31:48,720 They had to wait. 434 00:31:48,720 --> 00:31:49,720 They had to tarry. 435 00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:55,520 They had to wait for this promise of this power of this Holy Spirit. 436 00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:59,040 And this is how they waited in verse 14. 437 00:31:59,040 --> 00:32:05,000 These all continued, and the verse before lists all these names, these all continued 438 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:12,300 with one accord in prayer and supplication with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus 439 00:32:12,300 --> 00:32:13,480 and with his brothers. 440 00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:15,120 They were waiting for the promise. 441 00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:21,480 They were waiting for the Holy Spirit, and they spent that time in prayer. 442 00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:26,040 And as we begin a new year, I hope that we are doing the same thing. 443 00:32:26,040 --> 00:32:30,800 I know some of you were reading through the 10 days in the Bible, those 10 chapters to 444 00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:32,560 start off the year. 445 00:32:32,560 --> 00:32:38,880 I think some of you are taking part in the worldwide 10 days of prayer that's going on 446 00:32:38,880 --> 00:32:45,120 as we are praying for the Holy Spirit, as we are praying for God to be with us, to guide 447 00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:47,600 and bless us each day. 448 00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:51,960 So where are you at spiritually today? 449 00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:55,160 What are you waiting for this year? 450 00:32:55,160 --> 00:33:04,360 We come here week by week to be inspired, to worship, to praise for a reason so that 451 00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:12,320 we can go out of here with a promise and with a power and with a purpose and let people 452 00:33:12,320 --> 00:33:16,120 know what Jesus has done for us. 453 00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:21,640 But first, you have to open up your heart and allow Jesus to make a difference in your 454 00:33:21,640 --> 00:33:35,160 life.